HARTFORD — This week State Representative David Scribner (R-107) successfully pushed for the establishment of a Connecticut Port Authority – an entity that will overlook the profitability and improvement of our underutilized water ports.
The Connecticut Port Authority will be a quasi-public agency that aims to:
- coordinate port development, focusing on private and public investments
- pursue state and federal funding for dredging and other infrastructure improvements to increase movement of cargo
- market the ports’ advantages to domestic and foreign shippers
- coordinate the planning and funding of capital projects promoting the ports’ development
“Connecticut’s waterfront assets are a valuable but untapped resource, and this bill creates a path toward determining the appropriate structure, powers and functions to help make our ports successful,” said Rep. Scribner, Ranking Member of the Transportation and Transportation Bonding Committees. “The Port Authority would be a self-sustaining, financially autonomous entity that gives us opportunities to fully utilize our waterways for industrial and other purposes.”
Rep. Scribner, who is the longest serving member of the Transportation Committee, was the chief proponent of the legislation which passed the General Assembly unanimously.
The three state ports under the Authority’s purview are in Bridgeport, New Haven and New London.
The bill (HB 5289) now awaits the Governor’s signature, and would go into effect October 1, 2015.
