by Hudson Kamphausen CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT – Conversations about the General Assembly’s imminent special session loomed after the State Bond Commission meeting Friday, with Gov. Ned Lamont laying out his priorities for the opportunity to address some leftover issues.
The House is expected to come in for the session June 27, with the Senate either preceding it by a day or sharing the date.
Lamont said that as he sees it, the legislature should have a one-track mind during the special session.
“Fixing the car tax, that’s priority one,” he said, referring to a statute going into effect in October that will put in place a “depreciation schedule” to lower the amount of taxes paid on a vehicle as it depreciates.
A bill that would have changed the way in which motor vehicles are assessed for property taxes, but would not have repealed the car tax as a whole, was before the legislature during the last session that ended May 8..
That measure – House Bill 5172 – would have, among other things, raised the beginning rate on the depreciation schedule to help towns proactively recoup some of the lost revenue.
However, an amendment giving towns the option to repeal the car tax on their own, with recommendations for ways to replace the revenue, was added to the bill on the last day of the short session.
If passed during the special session, the legislation would raise the beginning depreciation rate from 80% to 85%, and would also remove a penalty for taxpayers who don’t declare their vehicles as personal property.
Lamont said the only aspect of the car tax that will be addressed during the special session is adjusting the original assessment rate.
“If they want to have a broader expansion, do that in the general session where you can have a full public hearing on it,” Lamont said.
Another bill that didn’t get across the finish line during the short session, House Bill 5004 – dubbed by opponents as the “green monster bill” – has been mentioned as a possible fix during the special session.
The governor said he thinks that should wait for another time.
“It’s a big bill, probably better suited for the last session – where it should have been voted on frankly – and the next session. This special session is going to be narrowly tailored to a couple of specific fixes that we didn’t get over the finish line,” he said.
Having spoken to legislative leaders, Lamont said there seems to be “less of an inclination” to include 5004 in the special session call.
“I’m very supportive. I was disappointed they didn’t vote on the bill when they should have voted on the bill,” Lamont said, adding that he had heard from Senate President Martin Looney that the upper chamber is looking at voting on the bill some time in the fall.
“I’ll follow the leadership on that,” Lamont said.
Many advocates for the bill shared Lamont’s dismay when the bill wasn’t called in the Senate before the end of the session, and are pushing for it to be included in the governor’s call for a special session.
Asked about the possibility of a one-line change in the omnibus bonding bill – after Lamont voiced his displeasure about the language change pertaining to construction managers bidding as subcontractors on school construction projects – the governor said that a possible change seems straightforward.