Rift Forms Over Stimulus Plan

Top lawmakers are angling for a larger role in the process of determining which projects will go to the head of the line for possible funding under President-elect Barack Obama’s proposed $800 billion economic stimulus plan.

But a spokesman for Gov. M. Jodi Rell said the governor will make the final decision.

“It’s an executive branch function because they’re state projects,” Christopher Cooper, the governor’s spokesman, said of developing the project priority list.

“[Rell] is working with her own state agencies and evaluating them. The lawmakers certainly had input on recommending projects,” Cooper added.

But certain legislators aren’t happy about ceding total authority to Rell. In particular, they are concerned that a proposed New Haven-Hartford-Springfield passenger rail line may not be getting the backing it deserves.

House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan said he wants an open discussion about which projects Rell plans to push.

“I’d like to figure out those projects with my colleagues and work with the federal government and come up with as many ideas as we can to get the federal government moving,” Donovan said.

Sen. Donald J. DeFronzo, co-chair of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Transportation Committee, also said he’d like to have more say in the decision-making process.

“I’m sure we’ll have some input, but not as much leverage as we might otherwise have if the projects needed state funding,” DeFronzo said.

Meanwhile, ConnPIRG, a public advocacy group, is slamming the state Department of Transportation for not making public its stimulus plan recommendations.

As many as half the states have already submitted lists to Congress, and several have made them public, said ConnPIRG transportation associate Ilicia Balaban.

“If Connecticut is going to receive these funds, we need to show some initiative,” said Balaban, who said her organization wants stimulus funding to focus on improving existing roads and bridges and creating new transportation options, such as a New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail line.

Several calls placed by the Harford Business Journal to a DOT spokesman over the past month were not returned.

Talk of a major federal initiative to fund infrastructure projects has been going on for months.

In November, Rell asked state agencies, municipalities and legislators to submit by yearend lists of “shovel-ready” projects that could qualify for federal funding.

Last week, Obama said he was eyeing a stimulus package of roughly $800 billion. Some of that money will go toward tax cuts and health care spending, but a large chunk will be designated for infrastructure projects. Obama has stressed funding will go toward “shovel-ready” projects.

In response to Rell’s request, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities put forth 1,300 projects totaling $2.1 billion, and Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez submitted a $70 million wish list.

The departments of Economic and Community Development, Public Works and Transportation also submitted proposals. Rell’s office, which received more than 1,000 project suggestions by the Dec. 31 deadline, will review the proposals and submit its own list to Congress “within weeks,” Cooper said.

“She’s in the process of prioritizing and finalizing that list,” Cooper said. “The governor wants to push forward projects that are consistent with the stimulus, that create jobs and build infrastructure and invest in our future economy.”

DeFronzo said that DOT officials told him the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail line would not meet the standard of being shovel-ready. DeFronzo said he hopes the proposed line, which still requires environmental review, would be eligible for a possible second round of stimulus funding for infrastructure projects.

“[DOT] Commissioner [Joseph] Marie indicated it would not be shovel-ready — maybe for a second round, but not immediately,” DeFronzo said.

Now that the state has an opportunity to draw significant federal funds, it should speed up the process to get the rail line approved, Donovan said.

“I’ve been frustrated with the DOT over the years, particularly with the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield line,” Donovan said. “I think we could have moved forward on that. Sometimes, we seem to be moving backwards instead of forwards.”

Many transportation and development advocates see the long-delayed, proposed commuter rail from New Haven to Springfield as a potential economic driver, one that could encourage business development along the rail lines and ease congestion on the state’s crowded highways.

Donovan said he is still hopeful that project could emerge as shovel-ready contender for stimulus funding.