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During my lunch break, I dropped into the LOB or Legislative Office Building. I highly recommend giving testimony in favor of or not in favor of a bill. This is how we exercise our democracy and effectuate change here in Connecticut.
State Sen. Stephen Harding, the Republican Senate Minority Leader, stood firm in his testimony that Connecticut ratepayers are already overburdened with costs and care little about how we got here. He is more focused on immediate relief for ratepayers, so that people and businesses do not leave the state as a result of the cost of utilities, which has been the second highest in the nation for several years now.
Democrats had no remark on that.
Democrats agreed that we are paying too much and something must be done.
The State of Connecticut Democrat party holds a supermajority of the elected seats right now, which is a veto proof legislature. The Democrat majority party holds most of the executive and judicial branch positions in Connecticut as well.
Harding praised State Senator Ryan Fazio for his work on the bill and for offering possible solutions to the problem. Democrat Committee members danced around, not commenting on the testimonies that Harding and other CGA members have presented from citizens who cannot afford their own bills, let alone a public benefits addition to electric bills--many of whom are elderly or single parents supporting a household.
Committee Co-Chairs Steinberg and Needleman ”loved the banter” with Republican Senator Harding, but didn’t love it enough other than to say they project that we will need to make some investments into how we increase and improve our grid, a nod to their projected next round of costs that will need funding.
There was no mention of Eversource, which grew tired of falling on the sword for the majority party that has seemingly dismissed constituents and suppliers in the state contributing to and using the grid.
Senator Harding repeatedly brought the argument to give ratepayers an immediate relief from the burden of public benefit charges crippling household budgets.
Republicans reject the idea of having a line item outside of the budget, and insist that for transparency, these charges should minimally be accountable in a way where we can see the programs that the money is funding, and disclosed the amounts and recipient programs to constituents.
This point should weigh heavy for Democrats because this issue is non-partisan. Pretty much everyone disagrees with the cost of living, especially for electricity in Connecticut, compounded with a tax to pay off the free electricity they gave away during Covid, the free heat pumps, or the taxpayer funded programs where qualified applicants got state funds (on the backs of ratepayers).
Harding insisted the public deserves to know what is funded, and how much it is. These are seemingly rational questions to ask, especially when you are responsible to pay a debt that you didn’t create. The government led by the Office of Governor Ned Lamont and the Democrat supermajority must own the consequences of their failed utility bill moratorium policy.
Both Democrats and Republicans at the Capitol felt like the Democrats on the committee are tone deaf and don’t care what their constituents want and need.
Harding doubled down on the fact that people are leaving and moving out of state. There is continued talk of how the middle class is getting erased because of burdensome taxes in the foyer and hallways at the Capitol’s Legislative Office Building.
Chick Fil A got a notable mention in the banter, but the real joke was how, similar to the Democrats at the federal level, they fail to see there was nobody there for humor when their failure to act quickly is drawing out the process so the public benefits charges will come to their natural end.
Democrats hold a veto proof super majority and can act swiftly to eliminate the hefty "percentage of usage" based cost that ratepayers pick up the tab for.
References of bi-partisanship were uttered by Democrats but not seriously felt by attendees.
