CONNECTICUT HOUSE PASSES VEHICLE TAX CHANGES

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — The Connecticut House of Representatives passed an omnibus bill, which includes changes to the vehicle tax, in a special session on Thursday afternoon by a vote of 82-42.

The coalition supporting the bill consisted mostly of Democrats joined by some Republicans, including the House Minority Leader.

The bill includes a change to the car tax that will increase the percentage of car’s value that can be taxed, a change that many Republicans believe will increase car tax bills. Those backing the bill believe the car tax tweaks, which are set to be accompanied by a planned change in how cars are valued for the purposes of taxation, will make the car tax more predictable and possibly lower for some.

“We’re looking at a major structural reform to how cars are assessed and taxed in the state of Connecticut,” state Rep. Jason Rojas (District 9), the Democratic House Majority Leader, said on Thursday morning. “There will be a one-year period in which that adjustment takes place and then I think it will even out and give some stability to the taxpayer.”

The Republican leader in the state House was less certain of the impacts on taxpayers.

“The bill is a change to the car tax,” Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-District 86) said. “We don’t know what the impact fully will be. But what we do know, it’s moving food around the plate and not addressing the real concerns.”

Candelora’s uncertainty about the impact of the car tax stood in contrast to his Republican colleague state Sen. Steve Harding (District 30), who leads the GOP in the legislature’s upper chamber.

Speaking on Wednesday, Harding characterized the car tax changes being brought up in the special session as a tax hike.

“We’re voting to increase motor vehicle taxes here today,” Harding said.

Also speaking on Wednesday when the Senate took up the measure, the Democratic Senate President Martin Looney (District 11) said that it is possible some will see a higher car tax when the changes are implemented, but that other may also see decreases.

“It is in fact true that there may be some, there may be some that will have a lower net bill,” Looney said.

He also stressed that the changes will bring more stability and predictability to tax bills that many residents saw fluctuate during the pandemic, when used car prices spiked.

The bill also includes a measure that averts a large tax increase that would have affected many commercial vehicles.

Lawmakers also spent much of the day on Wednesday and Thursday debating a large segment of the special session bill the would permit the Regional Water Authority to bid to acquire Aquarion Water Company.

As a quasi-public entity, the Regional Water Authority (RWA) needs the legislature to allow it to enter the bidding process for Aquarion, which is currently owned by Eversource.

The RWA has publicly stated its intent to bid on Aquarion. Representatives of the RWA said an acquisition would deliver greater efficiencies and economies of scale. Eversource declined to comment on the situation.

The move to allow the RWA to enter what could become a bidding war for Aquarion was supported by Candelora, the House Republican leader, and Matt Ritter (District 1), the Democratic House speaker.

“There are some people who think that a quasi-public utility is better because they don’t have shareholders to report to, helping to drive rates down–better local accountability,” Ritter said.

Candelora said that RWA provides local control.

Many who opposed the omnibus special session bill in both chambers described the process by which the RWA was permitted to bid on Aquarion as rushed and ill-advised.

One item not on the special session agenda: A fix to close a loophole in state law that led to the family of fallen State Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier being denied his pension.

House Democratic leadership said the agenda for today’s special session, which was formalized this past weekend, could not be changed in time to include a fix to the pension issue. Both Democrats and Republicans have expressed support for a fix.

One Republican state representative, who is also a police detective, expressed outrage.

“That we don’t consider it an emergency to make a legislative change to make sure that she and those children can get the pension that he paid into, I think is absolutely horrible,” state Rep. Greg Howard (District 43) said.

Echoing bipartisan consensus that something must be done both Pelletier’s family and for any similar cases in the future, Ritter said that he was open to coming back for a special session sometime in the future to fix the issue. 

In the Senate, the bill passed along party lines with all Democrats supporting and all Republicans opposing.

The governor is expected to sign the bill.

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