Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

Per Governor Rell, Connecticut has the third-highest bonded debt, per capita, of all states. Connecticut already owes $14.5 billion from past borrowing and 11 cents of every state budget dollar pays for principle and interest on that debt. Governor Rell�� has courageously stepped forward to combat this debt as she proclaims:� The Total Package Is Unaffordable for Connecticut and Unacceptable in a State Whose Credit Card is Nearly Maxed Out.� Governor Rell needs our help and offers below some suggestions.� Please read her comments and respond.� Thank you.� Susan��

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From Governor Rell:� Here is how you can help to urge legislators to join me in working on a compromise package that is best for state taxpayers and best for the entire State of Connecticut. You can spread the message by:

Submitting a letter to the editor to your daily and weekly newspapers

Calling-in to the local radio station that you and your friends listen to each day

Contacting your state senator and state representative

House of Representatives: http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/hlist.asp

State Senate: http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/slist.asp

Senate Democrats: 1-800-842-1420

House Democrats: 1-800-842-1902

Talking to your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers and tell them to do the same

The message to state legislators is a simple one: work with Governor Rell in passing a bond package that is affordable, meets the state�s obligations and keeps politics out of the debate.

You can play a major role in this important debate. After all, it should be about you and other hardworking Connecticut taxpayers � not partisan politics.� Thank you.

Governor Rell

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From Governor Rell�s Website:� http://www.ct.gov/governorrell/cwp/view.asp?Q=396990&A=2791

Governor M. Jodi Rell has vetoed a bill approved by the General Assembly that would have authorized $3.2 billion in General Obligation Bonds, an amount that is $610 million more than the Governor originally proposed in February.

�The legislature must come to recognize that the State�s credit card is nearly maxed out,� Governor Rell said. �It is like the old line, �I must have more money in my checking account because I still have more checks.� That kind of thinking is a recipe for fiscal disaster.�

The Governor said that while �the bill contains many worthy components including funding for clean water programs, school construction reimbursements and open space acquisition, the total package is simply unaffordable for the people of Connecticut.� The Governor noted that the bill �is not only $610 million than my original proposal, it is $250 million more than the legislature�s own Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee recommended just three months ago.�

The bill is Public Act 07-06 of the September 2007 Special Session, An Act Authorizing and Adjusting Bonds of the State for Capital Improvements and for Transportation Infrastructure Improvements and Concerning State Contracting Reform.

�I am acutely aware that there are many necessary and beneficial capital improvement projects throughout the state that should be funded,� Governor Rell said. �I hope that the General Assembly will join with me in developing a bond package that contains funding for these necessary projects and maintains our debt at a responsible level. Public Act 07-06 does not meet these criteria.�

Governor Rell said that Connecticut�s annual allocation of general obligation bonds has increased from $660 million ten years ago to $1.4 billion last year and would have ballooned to $1.77 billion this year under the bill.

�Connecticut�s spending habit has evolved into a troubling addiction,� the Governor said. �It is time to break the cycle and it is time for the State of Connecticut to learn to live within its means.

�I have often compared state bonding to a credit card,� Governor Rell said. �We all know, as consumers, that we must be careful with our credit cards so that we do not borrow more than we can afford to pay back. As the state�s fiscal stewards, the General Assembly and I must be similarly prudent with our bond authorizations.�

Connecticut has the third-highest bonded debt, per capita, of all states. Connecticut already owes $14.5 billion from past borrowing and 11 cents of every state budget dollar pays for principle and interest on that debt.

In other words, more than ten percent of the state budget currently pays for debt service and cannot be used for important programs and services funded by the State. Since the bonds Connecticut issues are repaid over twenty years, the bill would have added even more to that burden.

The Connecticut Department of Labor recently announced that Connecticut had 1,701,600 jobs in August 2007, setting a new all-time high for jobs. The Governor noted that Connecticut is moving in the right direction, and now is not the time to drag the state�s future down with unsupportable levels of debt.

�There are legitimate times to use Connecticut�s credit card and our state has earned its solid credit rating,� Governor Rell said. �However, if we max the card out now, neither will be around when we need them.�

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(The Governor's Veto Message is noted below.)

October 6, 2007

The Honorable Susan Bysiewicz

Secretary of the State

20 Trinity Street

Hartford, CT 06106

Dear Secretary Bysiewicz:

I am returning to you without my signature Public Act 07-06 of the June 2007 Special Session, An Act Authorizing and Adjusting Bonds of the State for Capital Improvements and for Transportation Infrastructure Improvements and Concerning State Contracting Reform.

Public Act 07-06 was a well-intentioned effort by the General Assembly and contains many worthy components, including funding for clean water programs, school construction reimbursements and transportation projects. The total package, however, is simply unaffordable for the people of Connecticut.

Every time the state issues bonds to pay for a capital improvement project, we add to our debt. As a state, Connecticut is already deeply in debt. We have the third-highest bonded debt, per capita, of all of the states. And since the bonds we issue are repaid, with interest, over twenty or thirty years, this is long-term debt that ultimately will burden our children and grandchildren.

Over the last ten years, Connecticut�s spending habit has evolved into a troubling addiction. Ten years ago, our annual allocation of general obligation bonds was approximately $660 million. Last year bond allocations were almost $1.4 billion. Public Act 07-06 proposes bonding for the current fiscal year in the amount of $1.77 billion. We simply cannot continue to borrow money at this rate.

I have often compared state bonding to a credit card. We all know, as consumers, that we must be careful with our credit cards so that we do not borrow more than we can afford to pay back. As the state�s fiscal stewards, the General Assembly and I must be similarly prudent with our bond authorizations. In passing Public Act 07-06, the General Assembly has failed to exercise the level of prudence and fiscal responsibility that the taxpayers deserve and expect.

Public Act 07-06 not only sends the wrong message to our taxpayers, it sends the wrong message to the credit rating agencies that determine how much it will cost for us to borrow money. It continues the pattern of profligate spending that has developed over the last ten years and underscores an unwillingness to control borrowing. If spending continues at this level, not only will future generations be burdened with debt, our bond rating will be jeopardized and future borrowing will become much more expensive.

The time has come for the state of Connecticut to learn to live within its means. I am acutely aware that there are many necessary and beneficial capital improvement projects throughout the state that should be funded. I hope that the General Assembly will join with me in developing a bond package that contains funding for these necessary projects and maintains our debt at a responsible level.

Public Act 07-06 does not meet these criteria.

For all of the reasons stated above, therefore, I disapprove of Public Act 07-06 of the June 2007 Special Session.

Pursuant to Section 15 of Article Fourth of the Constitution of the State of Connecticut and Article III of the Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut, I am returning Public Act 07-06 without my signature.

Very truly yours,

M. Jodi Rell, Governor