Advocates made a strong showing for Connecticut’s vulnerable user bill (SB336) at last Wednesday’s public hearing of the Connecticut General Assembly’s Transportation Committee. Also with strong support in the committee: A resolution (SJ23) which would begin the process of amending the state’s constitution to safeguard transportation funds.

The safety bill would define a “vulnerable user” of the road as a pedestrian, cyclist, animal rider, highway worker, tractor operator, a blind person and his or her service animal, wheelchair user, or a rider of a skateboard, skates, or scooter. It would levy a fine of up to $1,000 for careless drivers who injure or kill a vulnerable user, provided that the vulnerable user was using the road with care. Twenty-three organizations are listed as supporters of the bill and are working together to support its passage. The bill unanimously passed the Senate last year, but it did not receive a vote in the House.

At the hearing, TSTC Senior Planner Steven Higashide cited testimony from Kirsten Bechtel, Karen Santucci and Antonio Riera, pediatric emergency doctors from Yale Medical School who wrote in support of the legislation. A volunteer from the Connecticut Horse Council and Bike Walk Connecticut’s Kelly Kennedy also testified in person. Notably, the Connecticut DOT also submitted a supportive statement, saying that the vulnerable user bill was “in line with the department’s mission to provide…a safe and efficient multi-modal transportation system.” In total, 39 organizations and individuals, including Transit for Connecticut, AARP, ConnPIRG, and the Connecticut Farm Bureau Association submitted testimony in support of the bill. No testimony was submitted in opposition.

Also up for a hearing was a resolution to amend the state constitution to prevent the Special Transportation Fund from being used for non-transportation purposes. Many lawmakers who supported the amendment cited Metro-North’s historically bad year as a need to invest in the state’s transportation infrastructure. Rep. Gail Lavielle (R-Norwalk, Westport, Wilton) cited a Regional Plan Association report showing $3.6 billion in repair needs for the New Haven Line. Rep. Jonathan Steinberg (D-Westport), who also supported the bill, asked, “If we’re going to be hard on the president of Metro-North for their lack of commitment and their culture, how can we not appear hypocritical if we don’t change our culture?” Co-Chair Rep. Tony Guerrera also said there would be bipartisan support for the amendment from the committee.

A spokesperson for the Senate Democrats, however, told reporters the measure would hurt the legislature’s ability to make spending decisions, and a spokesperson for Governor Malloy has called the amendment “unnecessary” because the governor has promised to avoid future raids on the Fund. That’s nice to hear, but a governor’s promise lasts only as long as he or she remains in office. There’s no telling what future governors would do with the Special Transportation Fund. Governor Malloy faces reelection in the fall, and with no guarantee for a second term, that’s all the more reason an amendment is needed now.

If the resolution passes both houses of the General Assembly by a three-fourths majority, the amendment would be placed on the ballot in 2015. (If the resolution passes by a smaller majority, it would go back to the legislature next session, and a majority vote then would put it on the ballot in 2016.) The deadline for the Transportation Committee to take action on these bills is March 19.