Senator William H. Nickerson (R–Greenwich) today voted for the omnibus bond package bill which passed the Senate by a vote of 35 to 0. The bill passed the House by a vote of 127 to 1 and now goes to Governor Rell who has indicated that she expects to sign it. The bill combines three elements: a transportation strategy plan, a bond bill and a Connecticut State University (CSU) long term support plan.

Nickerson said “I am delighted to support this new package. It contains vital transportation projects important to Fairfield County, brings fiscal discipline to the bond package by reducing over all bond authorization from $3.2 billion to $2.8 billion and provides important controls on the new $950 million CSU expansion portion.

Rail Transportation Highlights Include:
• Abolishing the $1 per trip surcharge on Metro-North rail tickets previously scheduled for January 1, 2008, which would have imposed a 12% fare increase. The bill replaces this with a 1.25% increase in 2010, followed by 1% increases in each of the following 7 years. This crucial change implements the recommendation proposed by Senator Nickerson who was appointed by Governor Rell to a task force to replace the $1 surcharge, together with Senator McDonald. This crucial reduction in the rail fare increase will provide an important incentive to promote rail travel. The funds from the fare increase are part of the financial underpinning for the purchase of the 342 new rail cars now being manufactured.
• Provides $140 million in additional support for the new rail cars, the new rail car maintenance facility and rights of way for the State’s rail system.
• Authorizes $35 million for a new parking garage at the Stamford Transportation Center which will replace the existing garage.
• Provides $ 6 million for rail station improvements throughout the Metro-North line other.

Other Transportation Highlights:
• Provides $150 million for the “Fix It First” bridge repair program. This follows the national concern regarding bridge safety following the collapse of the Minnesota Bridge.
• Mandates improved and detailed reports on the operations of all five truck weigh stations in Connecticut.

Bond Package Highlights:
• Reduces the bond authorization by $382 million from the amount included in the bond bill adopted in September, later vetoed by Governor Rell.
• Reduces bonding earmarks by 10%.
• Authorizes $2 million in bond funding for remediation of the brownfields at the Cos Cob Power Plant site. This continues the partnership between the State and the Town of Greenwich in addressing the serious environmental issues at the site, and will be a major step forward in developing the property as a town park.
• Authorizes $1.5 million in bonding for expansion of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich to greatly enlarge its exhibition, teaching and science areas in order to extend the museum’s reach beyond Greenwich into the surrounding area.
• Authorizes $15 million in bonding for open space land purchases.