Lawmakers Get Poor Grades On The Environment

By John Christoffersen

Associated Press

HARTFORD – Connecticut lawmakers failed to act on several environmental concerns this session ranging from limits on power.

plant pollution to protecting vanishing farmland, an advocacy group said Tuesday.

The Connecticut League of Conservation Voters said it found little to commend and much that should concern voters as the group issued its first “scorecard” on environmental voting.

The league also faulted the Legislature for not establishing a council to make statewide decisions on water use and rates, and for failing to pass “smart growth” legislation offering a coordinated policy on traffic, pollution and land use decisions.

“The inaction of the General Assembly has deprived the citizens of those measures,” said Russ Brenneman, co-chairman of the league.

The league did praise lawmakers for allocating millions of dollars to preserve open space.

Overall, the average scores in Connecticut’s House and Senate were 65 and 68 percent, respectively. A perfect score is 100 percent.

Sixty legislators received scores of 50 percent or lower. The low scores stemmed in part from the fact that 32 representatives were scored on the only two environmental votes in the House, the league said.

The league said it was difficult to hold individual legislators accountable because of the lack of recorded votes, with most decisions made behind closed doors.

Senate Majority Leader George Jepsen, D-Stamford, said hundreds of roll call votes are held on the floor and thousands more are made in committees. But he said the process would bog down if individual votes were held on every issue.

Jepsen, who received a score of 75, said he was proud that an open space trust fund he proposed was passed. He said the failure to curb air pollution from the state’s five dirtiest power plants was his biggest disappointment.

Sen Eileen Daily, a Westbrook Democrat who is co-chairwoman of the Environmental Committee, said she shared some of the league’s concerns but pointed to success in dealing with open space and other environmental issues. Daily, who received a score of 80, said she hopes the Legislature will make more progress in the next session.

Sen Martin Looney, D-New Haven, who received a score of 40 percent, said he hadn’t seen the survey. He said some votes are tied in with other issues and defended his environmental record, citing support to protect open space and Long Island Sound.

Legislators should pay attention to the criticism, said Rep. Robert Godfrey, a D-Danbury, who received a perfect score. He said the lack of action on environmental issues stems from a divided government and a short session in which the Legislature focused on major reforms to the sheriff’s, treasurer’s office and campaign finance.