HARTFORD, Conn. — As 2023 rings in, so will a whole set of new laws in Connecticut.
These laws range from erasing thousands of criminal records to an increase in lawmakers’ salaries.
“I would expect many of us are going to be watching to see how these things play out,” said State Rep. Tom Delnicki, (R-South Windsor).
Some of the measures are controversial, others passed with bipartisan support and state legislators said while they’re celebrating the passage of a few, they’ll be closely monitoring and even looking to repeal others.
“This highway use tax is not going to be paid by the motor carriers,” Delnicki said. “It's not going to be paid by the truck drivers. It's going to be paid by you and me.”
Delnicki is talking about the highway use fee, also called the “truck tax,” which will be imposed on certain heavy carriers, up to 17.5 cents per mile.
The measure is expected to generate about $90 million per year for transportation improvements in the state and Democrats said this revenue is needed.
“We expect it to be a very, very limited impact on Connecticut residents,” said State Rep. Matt Blumenthal, (D-Stamford). “It's providing revenue that all the states around us are already drawing from these trucks. Connecticut is just allowing them to get through with essentially less fee at this point.”
Opponents argue it’s a hidden cost for residents and said they’re considering introducing bills in the upcoming legislative session to repeal it.
“That's something we really need to keep an eye on and I would wholeheartedly support repealing that tax,” Delnicki added. “I didn't vote for it in the first place.”
Lawmakers also butt heads about criminal record erasure.
Two new laws will allow residents with cannabis possession and certain low-level offensives to have their records cleared.
“We say we want people to pay their debt to society and then become contributing members of that society again, but in many cases, people who have not reoffended for a long time face tremendous challenges as a result of having these convictions on their records,” Blumenthal said.
“It almost seems like we're giving more rights to some of the folks that were doing bad deals and less of a defense of the folks that are victims of some of these crimes,” continued Delnicki.
Lawmakers do agree overall these laws are just a “down payment” for more work to be done in the next legislative session.
“It's a reminder of what we have accomplished what we can accomplish and what we have to accomplish in the future to make life better for the residents of Connecticut,” said Blumenthal.
Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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