State Representative T. R. Rowe (R-123) hailed the passage of legislation by the General Assembly which will require applicants before the Connecticut Siting Council who wish to install new cellular towers to work more closely with municipalities where the proposed host site is located.

Rowe says the bill makes significant improvements to the law, and will give impacted towns a stronger voice in process of locating telecommunication cell towers.

“Current law doesn’t have very much flexibility with regards to the concerns of towns, or residents who may be directly impacted in numerous ways by the placement of cell towers,” said Rep. Rowe.  “This measure will go a long way toward granting towns and their citizens more say in the process to make sure there is an adequate balance between sustaining our technological infrastructure and enhancing the rights of citizens to preserve their neighborhoods.”

The bill prohibits the placement of wireless telecommunications towers within 250 feet of a school or commercial day care center unless the location is acceptable to the town’s chief elected official or the Siting Council finds that the facility will not have a substantial adverse effect on the aesthetics of the area where the schools or commercial day care facilities are located.

The bill requires applicants to work with host municipalities in the pre-application process, and extends the municipality consultation process from 60 days to 90 days.  It also requires the applicant to utilize the latest technological designs intended to minimize aesthetic and environmental impacts.

Additionally, the bill permits the municipality to initiate civil action against any party that intentionally omits or misrepresents facts in the process.

H.B. 5271, An Act Concerning the Siting Council now heads to the State Senate for action there.

It took a number of years, but Republicans today succeeded in convincing their Democratic counterparts to cap the gross receipts tax on wholesale gasoline, a move that will restrict the rising costs of fuel and provide some relief to Connecticut motorists who have been paying among the highest prices per gallon in the nation. Representative T. R. Rowe (R-123) was pleased that bipartisan agreement was reached on the bill.

“Unfortunately the State of Connecticut has had a double tax on gasoline for a long time,” said Rep. T. R. Rowe. “The hidden gross receipts tax has been heaped upon our flat gas tax and when the price of gas went up, this hidden tax increased along with it assuring extra pain at the pumps. This is long overdue, and I am pleased that we have finally convinced our colleagues across the aisle that people in this state need relief.”

Republicans put forth various forms of gas tax relief 17 times over the last five years but at each turn their proposals were rejected. But as the cost of fuel has jumped this year, and public outrage escalated over the high cost of fuel, finally the majority leadership changed their minds and adopted our long standing proposals.

The legislation will cap the 7 percent gross receipts tax once the wholesale price of gas reaches $3 per gallon. The gross receipts tax, a hidden tax on the wholesale cost of gasoline in addition to the standard 25-cent state gas tax, climbs as the price of gasoline does.

The bill passed both the House and Senate unanimously. Republicans also succeeded in getting the majority leadership to make the cap permanent and not expire after one year as they originally proposed.

But Rowe also wanted to limit the tax at 7 percent to prevent a scheduled increase on July 1, 2013 to 8.1 percent which will cost motorists $55 million next year. That amendment failed largely along party lines 94-53.

The bill will now head to Governor Dannel P. Malloy for his signature.

Opinion by State Representative T.R. Rowe

Last year Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, Dan Esty, wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times that said we needed more pain at the gas pumps, as high prices would force us to develop alternative energy solutions.

It appears that Mr. Esty is getting his wish as the spring approaches, at least as concerns pain at the pump, and nowhere in New England is that pain more acutely felt than right here in Connecticut. Of all the New England states, Connecticut has the highest combined federal, state and local gasoline tax came in at 67 cents per gallon as of February 26, 2012.

Right now Connecticut’s gas tax is twenty-five cents per gallon, but that’s not the whole story. There is another gas called the “Gross Receipts Tax’ which is placed on gasoline at the wholesale level.

The Gross Receipts Tax changes just as the price of wholesale gasoline does. When the price goes up, the percentage of tax paid increases. It is assessed to distributors, but naturally, the tax is passed on from them top us at the pumps. It is a hidden tax that appears in the price of gasoline before the regular tax on gasoline is added.

Compare our sixty-seven cent combined tax to our neighbor to the east. In Rhode Island, the gas tax is sixteen cents less at fifty-one cents per gallon. To the north in Massachusetts, the combined gas tax is an astonishing twenty-six cents per gallon less at forty-one cents. No other New England state even comes close to having the high gas tax we have. And if you happen to drive out to New Jersey will save you over thirty cents per gallon.

A quick look at ConnecticutGasPrices.com, a great resource that I highly recommend, shows that the average price of a gallon of gasoline has risen 24.3 cents in just the last month and 40.5 cents over the previous year. As we approach warmer weather and get closer to Memorial Day you can be assured that the price of gasoline will increase.

The Malloy administration actually proposed raising the gasoline tax in the Governor’s 2011 budget up to twenty-eight cents per gallon. Had that been approved, we would all be paying seventy cents per gallon of gas in taxes right now.

I have joined House and Senate Republicans in a renewed call to cap the Gross Receipts Tax when the wholesale price of gasoline exceeds $3 per gallon. This would prevent a further massive tax increase on gasoline should the price of gasoline spike in coming months.

It will also help alleviate a concern we have at the borders. You can be certain that Connecticut residents who live near enough to Massachusetts and Rhode Island are not going to pass up the significant savings they would get by driving into those states to buy gas. By failing to keep our gasoline prices reasonably in step with surrounding states we are damaging business and jobs within Connecticut that rely on the sales of gasoline.

Earlier this week legislative Democrats announced that they would examine supporting a one-year cap on this gross-receipts tax, set to expire just before a major increase in the tax is scheduled to go up. In an election year, one might be tempted to question their motives, especially when one considers that between May of 2007 and today, the majority Democrats have rejected Republican attempts to cut the gas tax no less than fourteen times. That being said, their apparent change of heart is most welcomed.

The Gross Receipts Tax needs to be capped immediately. The status of our fragile economic circumstances and a decent respect for hardworking taxpayers in Connecticut demands it.

Representatives T. R. Rowe (R-123) and Tony Hwang (R-134) have co-sponsored legislation this session of the Connecticut General Assembly that would require the labeling of genetically-engineered foods and to create best practices for GMO farming, as well as establish preferences for food products that are voluntarily labeled to indicate whether they include genetically-engineered ingredients.

Neither the federal government, nor any other state in the nation has a labeling requirement that applies to all genetically modified foods, though it is currently under consideration in a number of legislators.  Both representatives said the measure does not take a position that genetically modified foods are good or bad, and the bill is simply about giving information to consumers.

“Currently, there is no requirement that foods that are genetically modified for the purpose of being pest-resistant or for any other reason be labeled to reflect that fact,” said Rep. T. R. Rowe.  “Consumers may or may not wish to purchase foods that they know to be genetically modified, but they need the information made available to them to make those informed choices.  This bill would require labels provide that information to consumers. I am not one to favor excessive state regulation, but the fact of the matter is that there is no oversight of GMO foods.  With so many unanswered questions about their safety, the state needs to step in and at least ensure GMO foods are labeled as such.”

“I have learned about GMO’s from community advocates like Analiese Paik, Tara Cook-Littman and Glen Colello.  They have reinforced that this bill is simply a ‘right to know’ what is placed into our food supply and our bodies, I also agree with Rep. Rowe’s concern about excessive state regulations but we are simply asserting the consumer’s right to know” said Rep. Tony Hwang.  “I appreciate the economic implications of this legislation and I believe the consumer marketplace should make that determination.  In fact, we could help our community farmers produce organic non-GMO products that could evolve into a higher margin/high demand business model.  It can be a win-win situation.”

“HB 5117 is very important,” said Glen Colello of Catch a Healthy Habit Café inFairfield, who testified at the public hearing.  “Connecticutcan be the first to lay the ground work to label foods that include GMO’s. Other states will follow only after the first state stands up and passes the law!”

The Bill, HB 5117 is currently before the legislature’s Environment Committee, and had a public hearing on February 22.

L-R: Rep. Tony Hwang, First Selectman Tim Herbst, Rep. T.R. Rowe, Secretary of State Denise Merrill, Rep. Larry Miller and Scot Mackinnon hold Trumbull's Democracy Cup.

State Representatives T. R. Rowe (R-123) and Tony Hwang (R-134) joined State Representative Larry Miller ((R-122) as Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst was presented the Democracy Cup by Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. The Town of Trumbull was recognized for having the highest voter turnout for a municipality of its population level which was designated “large-sized” having between 15,000 and 49,999 registered voters.

The Democracy Cup is co-sponsored by the East Haddam Civic Association as a way of encouraging higher voter participation. Scot Mackinnon, co-founder of the Democracy Cup and member of the Association was also on hand for the presentation.

“It is a tremendous honor and source of great community pride that Trumbull won for the highest level of participation in our population category,” said Representative Hwang, who serves as Ranking Member on the legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee. “I encourage all of our eligible voters to participate in our democratic process of voting in future elections.”

“Trumbull’s voters should be proud of the relatively high voter turn-out this past election,” said Representative Rowe. “Of course, we look forward to the day when we are celebrating turnout far in excess of the 48% who participated last year. We also should thank our Registrars and Assistant Registrars, as well as our Town Clerk, and her assistants, all of whom work diligently throughout the year to ensure Trumbull’s elections run smoothly, and everyone has the opportunity to vote.”

The statewide average voter turnout in the 2011 municipal elections was 30.81%, and the lower than normal average was attributed to transportation difficulties following the October snowstorm that brought widespread power outages across Connecticut.

Trumbull last won the Democracy Cup in 2001. Other municipalities that won in their divisions this year are Waterbury (city), Middlebury (mid-sized town) and Hampton (Small-sized town).

Today marks the start of the three-month 2012 session of the Connecticut General Assembly, the even-year session where adjustments are made to the biennial budget. However State Representative T. R. Rowe (R-123) heard little in Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s annual State of the State Address today that would convince him that the state is headed toward firmer economic footing.

“This budget adjustment proposal is made after an historic $1.8 billion tax increase, on the heels of a credit rating downgrade to the state by Moody’s investment Services, and under the shadow of continually declining revenues,” said Rep. Rowe. “Now Governor Malloy is saying he won’t increase taxes, and we know borrowing will further degrade our credit rating. Something doesn’t add up, and with a projected deficit from the non-partisan office of Fiscal Analysis putting us in a $145 million deficit I fear we are continuing down the same path that got us in this crisis in the first place.”

However, he agreed with some provisions of the Governor’s proposals to dedicate an additional $50 million to state schools that are underperforming and retooling the state’s teacher tenure provisions which have long served to protect the jobs of teachers who fail to do their jobs.

Rowe said he remained optimistic this legislative session would provide an opportunity to work in a bipartisan fashion toward crafting meaningful changes to the state’s financial approach.

Rep. T. R. Rowe took time to speak to Mrs. Weiner’s “We the People” class on state and local government on February 1, 2012.  Rep. Rowe talked about the workings of the legislature behind the scenes, and a number of topics including partisanship, First Amendment Rights, and the state of Connecticut’s economy and what the legislature is doing about it.

Representative T.R. Rowe (R-123) and Rep. DebraLee Hovey (R-112) are introducing legislation this session of the Connecticut General Assembly which would increase the penalty for liquor stores and other properly licensed permittees when they sell alcohol to minors.

Current law prohibits sale and delivery of alcohol to those under 21-years of age and provides for a penalty of $1000, one year in prison, or both.  The penalty for sale or delivery of alcohol to a minor via the Internet is $1500, 18 months in prison, or both. There is no provision for a mandatory revocation of a liquor license; however the Department of Consumer Protection is authorized to revoke liquor licenses for any violation of the Liquor Control Act.

“The establishments that sell liquor have an obligation to ensure that they are not selling to minors, and most of them do a good job at it” said Rep. Rowe.  “In the instances where an establishment is lax or indifferent to selling to a minor, the current schedule of penalties isn’t appropriately tough.”

The proposed bill would increase the penalty for a permittee selling to a minor to a fine of $2000 and/or two years in prison, and $3000 or three years in prison for those selling via the Internet or through other means. A second offense would double those penalties, and a third offense would be a permanent revocation of the permittee’s liquor license.

“Of course, parents must be the first line of defense against underage drinking,” said Rep. Rowe.  “However, that defense ought not to be undermined by establishments who willfully turn a blind eye in order to profit.”

“Our intent is not to target law-abiding establishments, or even those who are duped by fake licenses or identification presented by a minor trying to illegally purchase alcoholic beverages,” said Rep. Hovey.  “This measure is intended to provide a substantial penalty against those who make an insufficient effort to ensure the law is adhered to and alcohol is not sold to minors.”

The 2012 session of the Connecticut General Assembly begins on February 8^th, and concludes on May 2^nd.

Rep. T. R. Rowe joined other Trumbull officials on Friday, November 11, 2011 to pay tribute to local veterans during a ceremony in honor of veterans day held at Trumbull High School.  Above is a video of his remarks.

State Representatives T.R. Rowe (R-123) and Tony Hwang (R-134) and State Senator Anthony Musto (D-Trumbull) announced today that the Department of Transportation has ordered a repaving of  Main Street (Route 111) and Church Hill Road (Route 127) in Trumbull, at the legislators’ request.

“These streets carry a tremendous amount of traffic, they are two of the ‘lifeblood’ streets in town,” said Rep. Rowe. “Paving them will increase both their safety and their aesthetics.”

“The maintenance and safety of these main roads are critical and important to the residents of Trumbull,” said Rep. Hwang.  “I am proud that our state legislative delegation worked in unison to ensure the concerns of Trumbull are heard and responded to in Hartford.” Read More→