Governor Rell Hails ‘Fiscal Responsibility,’

CSU 2020 Program in Signing Bonding Package

            Governor M. Jodi Rell today signed into law the bond package passed by the Legislature on Tuesday, calling the measure “a victory for fiscal responsibility” and highlighting the 10-year “CSU 2020” plan for remaking the four Connecticut State University campuses.

            In a ceremony in the Student Union at Western Connecticut State University, the Governor said the bill directs the bulk of state bonding for the next two years to critical priorities such as school construction, continued transportation improvements, open space acquisitions and assistance to Connecticut employers – including $50 million to protect and enhance the U.S. Navy submarine base at Groton.

            “More importantly, this bill recognizes the kind of financial common sense that you or I would bring to the family finances,” Governor Rell said. “I often compare bonding to the state credit card: It’s there for the big purchases we need to make and pay for over time. We need to be wise about when and how we use that credit card, and we need to make sure there’s enough spending room there for emergencies in the future. This bill does that – and I call that a victory for fiscal responsibility.”

{Gov. Rell signs the bond bill as legislators and guests look on}

Gov. Rell Signs the Bond Package

            Governor Rell noted that the CSU program builds on major investments the state has already made in recent years at the Western, Central, Southern and Eastern Connecticut State University campuses. More Connecticut youth are enrolled as full-time undergraduates at the four CSU campuses than either the University of Connecticut or the community college system.

            “If there is a crown jewel in this bonding bill, it is the program that will continue the glorious transformation of higher education in Connecticut,” Governor Rell said. “That transformation began with ‘UConn 2000’ and continues today with ‘CSU 2020.’ Over the next 10 years we are dedicating nearly $1 billion to remake the CSUs – but here, too, we are doing it in the same common sense way that you and I would use if we were sitting at the kitchen table, paying the monthly bills.”

            The legislation signed Friday includes regulations and conditions that grew out of the state’s experience with the UConn program. It requires state fire and safety inspectors to be involved throughout the projects, to avoid problems that cropped up in completed construction at UConn, and specifies that the Department of Public Works will administer the program and sign off on equipment purchases. It also has a “safety valve” that permits a Governor to pause bonding during the 10-year span of the project if the state is in a financial crisis.

{Gov. Rell speaks during the bond package bill signing at Western Connecticut State University}

Gov. Rell Speaks During the Bond Package Signing

            “These are common-sense guidelines and precautions,” Governor Rell said. “They make the bill I am signing today vastly better than the one I vetoed in September. In fact, they make this a bill Connecticut residents can be proud to support.

            “That makes this a great day for the people of our state – especially the young people who will study, learn and grow at the CSU campuses in the years to come,” the Governor said. “In their name, especially, I am proud to sign this bill.”