Sometimes you've just got to laugh at those elected officials in the State Capitol as they try to one-up each other in the annual Spring time verbal sparring match on budgets and taxes. This week they lit the coals and had a wiener roast of sorts over state bonding issues.

Republican Gov. Jodi Rell is complaining that Democrats who control the General Assembly made "deep funding cuts for important environmental programs" in the state bonding package that was voted out of the legislature's Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee recently.

She said the Dems cut her recommendation for the Farmland Preservation program in half. Ditto for Rell's bonding proposal for open space grants to cities and towns. The governor also criticized cuts in bonding for cleaning up hazardous waste sites.

 

Rell said this is the latest insult to her budget plans along with cuts in her recommended funding for education and denial of her bid for a local property tax cap. Then the governor raised the grilling heat on Democratic legislative leaders.

"Where are their priorities?," Rell asked. "Their (budget) package will churn out more pork than a hotdog factory, meanwhile they lessen the State's commitment to education and the environment." Rell added: "It is short-sighted to short-change these programs to fund $194 million dollars of pet projects."

Democratic House Speaker James Amann, who always enjoys a good joust with the governor decided to respond by barbequing the frankfurter analogy on his own.

"The Governor's hot dog remark comes up a little short--like a cocktail frank," said Amann. "Last week she said there was too much bonding, and now she complains we cut something." Amann said the bonding bill cleared committee with no real opposition and includes $80 million more than Rell sought for a key environmental program--the clean water fund.

Amann and other Democrats are pushing legislation that would give legislative leaders some clout in shaping the state bonding agenda. The governor currently has exclusive authority over that agenda. Amann says if Rell has issues with the overall size and scope of the bonding project list, she has only herself to blame.
"The Governor controls the bonding agenda and thus caused our debt situation," he said. "If there is a hotdog factory," said Amann, "the Governor is the CEO."

There are about six weeks left in the legislative session, plenty of time for more semi-humorous give-and-take before serious decisions must be made on budget issues. It would seem that the wiener theme is just about cooked. Hopefully the pols will "relish" something new in their press releases.

Posted 4/24/07

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