Fishing Fees Cut For Season That Starts Saturday; Hikes In Motor Vehicle Fees, Including Seat Belt Violations
By
Christopher Keating
on April 14, 2010 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
With fishing season starting on Saturday, the state Senate unanimously granted final legislative approval Wednesday to reduce hunting and fishing fees that were hiked last year because of the state's ongoing budget crisis.
Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who crafted many of the ideas in the multi-pronged fiscal bill, immediately signed the measure early Wednesday evening - days before the fishing season starts.
The bipartisan, consensus bill that cuts the fees was originally passed 147 to 1 in the state House of Representatives on Tuesday night. Shortly after 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, the state Senate voted 36 to 0 to approve the bill that reduces 47 different hunting and fishing fees while raising 15 different motor vehicle fees to pay for it. About 180,000 people pay the hunting and fishing fees each year.
A fishing license that is currently $40 will now cost $28 for Connecticut residents.
Some lawmakers were stunned that Senate Democrats and Republicans - after disagreeing for the past 18 months on many budget issues - had voted unanimously for a budget bill.
"We should take a picture for posterity purposes of that vote on the board,'' said Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, a New Haven Democrat.
The cuts in the sporting fees would only be for future payments. If someone, for example, bought a fishing license last week, they would not be able to get the fee reduced retroactively, officials said.
Overall, the sporting fees statewide would drop by $5.35 million, but the legislature would raise other fees and make moves to cover that exact amount.
Some of the most common motor vehicle fines would be increasing under the bill. For example, the fine for failing to wear a seat belt would jump to $50, up from the current level of $15. The seat-belt fines had been low because they have not been changed since 1985.
In addition, the minimum fee for speeding would increase to $50, up from $35. Those failing to carry their registration or insurance card in their car would pay a $50 fine, up from the current $35.
Sen. John Kissel, an Enfield Republican who pushed for the fee cuts, said it was a positive move that a hunting license for a Connecticut resident would be going down from the current $28 to $19.
"I know that the hunters, sportsmen and campers in my neck of the woods are going to be happy when they read what we did,'' said Kissel. "I would like to have seen this happen months and months and months ago, but I'm reasonable enough to know that half a loaf of bread is better than nothing at all.''
He also praised Sen. Donald DeFronzo of New Britain, who has been pushing for the proposal since December 2009.
"This is a wonderful step in the right direction,'' said Sen. L. Scott Frantz, a Greenwich Republican. "Mick Jagger hit it all wrong. Time is not on our side when we are facing large deficits. ... We have to keep in mind that Connecticut lags the national economy by 12 to 18 months to come out of the recession. ... The important thing is this sets the tone for moving forward.''
The two top Senate leaders - Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams of Brooklyn and Looney - issued a joint statement, saying, ""Today, the Senate unanimously approved a budget mitigation plan that essentially eliminates the current deficit - without raising taxes on the middle class and without shredding the social safety net. By working together, we have been able to accomplish what few thought possible just three weeks ago. Of course, our fiscal challenges are far from over. We must continue to work together and try to find common ground as we grapple with Connecticut's fiscal crisis."
The bill also reduces the state parks and camping fees by 32.5 percent for in-state residents and 25 percent for non-residents. For example, the fee for Connecticut residents at Hammonasset State Park on weekends and holidays is currently $20. That would be reduced to a maximum of $13.50, according to a calculation from the bill. The final fees will be set by the state Department of Environmental Protection, which had not released the final numbers on Wednesday night.
In the House, state Rep. Karen Jarmoc, an Enfield Democrat, was among those pushing for the rollback of the fees, and she organized a meeting with various sportsmen's organizations to obtain feedback on the fees.
The deficit-mitigation debate, including the fee cuts, started in the Senate at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday in an effort to wipe out the projected deficit of about $350 million in the current fiscal year that ends on June 30. The legislature wanted to act before the fiscal year had ended so that lawmakers would not be forced to borrow money to cover the deficit.
The bill includes about $139.3 million in spending cuts and balances the budget without any tax increases. Republicans and Democrats have clashed sharply over proposed changes in the estate tax and creating a new gross receipts tax on hospitals, but those debates were put off for another day.
"We shouldn't pat ourselves on the back too hard. This was the easy part,'' said Sen. Leonard Fasano, a North Haven Republican. "Our obligation is much, much more than 2010. We have an over $700 million deficit in 2011. We waited until April 14 to tackle 2010's problem. Before we get too jubilant and excited about doing our job, we have a big deficit ahead of us.''
Fasano told his colleagues on the Senate floor that Connecticut needs to change its image that it is not a "business-friendly'' state. One of the problems, he said, is that the tax-writing finance committee has continued talking about the "unitary'' tax that is strongly opposed by major corporations and the Connecticut Business & Industry Association.
"The policies that we put out there tells people what we're thinking,'' Fasano said.
"I stand today in support of this bill and stand here very pleased that we have been able to come together ... on spending cuts, rather than taxes,'' said Sen. Dan Debicella, a Shelton Republican who often votes against Democratic budgets. "This is not slash-and-burn cutting. ... I'm very pleased that the hospital tax and the estate tax are gone. I hope they are gone for good.''
Sen. Edward Meyer, a Guilford Democrat who has become a key swing voter on budget issues, said that school transportation, biomedical research, and school-based health centers were preserved as lawmakers used "a surgical knife'' to make the cuts Wednesday.
Looney said the deficit-cutting measure was a judicious package of improvements that closes the gap for the current fiscal year.
Both Republicans and Democrats rhetorically slapped each other on the back for a bipartisan plan that came in marked contrast to previous budget battles over taxing and spending.
"It certainly is a new day from when we last met at 5:30 in the morning,'' said Sen. Toni Boucher, a Wilton Republican who referred to the major battle on the morning of March 27 in which the Senate approved a budget-mitigation bill that was never approved by the House after Rell vowed to veto that bill.
"After that painful night, Gov. Rell stepped forward with her own program,'' said Senate GOP leader John McKinney of Southport. "That has to be the momentum we take forward in the next few weeks. ... There are tough decisions to be made. ... I'm happy that we are here with a bipartisan solution.''
Williams, the highest-ranking senator, said plenty of work was done behind the scenes in recent weeks to find savings in the state budget.
"It is a milestone,'' Williams said late Wednesday afternoon. "Three weeks ago, people would have been surprised if they were told that there would be an agreement'' that was supported by Republicans, Democrats, and Rell.
In other matters, the Senate voted 24 to 11 to approve a minor reform in the new campaign finance reform law that had been previously approved Tuesday by the House. The law currently says that if a court found the new law to be unconstitutional, the legislature would have only seven days to respond.
The bill was immediately sent to Rell, who signed it Wednesday.
The fix to the law would allow the state to have 30 days to act, rather than seven.
"We need more than seven days to digest an opinion'' and make proper changes, said Sen. Gayle S. Slossberg, the co-chairwoman of the legislative committee that oversees elections.
Currently, the state is waiting for a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Second Circuit, which is among the most powerful appeals courts in the nation.
Fasano, a deputy Republican leader, said the legislature has avoided making any decision since the original federal court ruling last year by Judge Stefan Underhill. He noted that McKinney had successfully predicted that the bill would be ruled unconstitutional.
"This decision has been here since August, and we have done nothing,'' said Fasano, a North Haven attorney.
The rules, Fasano said, should apply to the "Green Party, yellow party, Working Families, whatever.''
Fasano and Sen. Edith Prague, a liberal Democrat who often disagrees with the Republicans, said they would not accept public financing for their campaigns.
"I believe in my heart of hearts that we need this money for other things,'' Prague said on the Senate floor.
Williams, of Brooklyn, said the law is designed to "eradicate the influence of special interests'' in state politics. The rules for minor parties were modeled on the presidential public financing system that has been upheld in the courts, he said.
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* John McKinney,
* M. Jodi Rell
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* Gayle Slossberg,
* John McKinney,
* Len Fasano,
* M. Jodi Rell,
* Scott Frantz
