The Connecticut House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would set new rules to increase transparency around millions of dollars in legislative earmarks, which lawmakers direct to favored nonprofits and other organizations every year. The bill, which was proposed by Gov. Ned Lamont, would require additional documentation and reporting from any entity that receives a legislative earmark through the executive branch. The passage of the bill comes at a time when the legislative earmarking and budgeting process has come under intense scrutiny. Lamont pushed for the changes to the earmarking process amid an ongoing federal criminal investigation into Sen. Doug McCrory, who advocated for at least $11 million in legislative earmarks in recent years for the Blue Hills Civic Association, a Hartford nonprofit. A forensic audit commissioned by the state Department of Economic and Community Development found that McCrory, D-Hartford, controlled a large amount of the money that went to the Blue Hill Civic Association in recent years, and it showed that he used that power to subgrant millions of dollars to other nonprofits and businesses, some of which are currently under federal investigation alongside the state senator. The new bill, which passed the House 141-0, would take several major steps to increase the state’s oversight of those types of legislative earmarks. It requires state lawmakers to specifically name which entities are receiving money through the earmarking process, and it requires them to provide an explanation of what the money will be used for — something that currently doesn’t occur. The bill also requires any entity that plans to subgrant state money to another group to get approval from state officials in advance. The proposed legislation would also require the state’s Office of Policy and Management to assemble an annual report on all of the money that lawmakers tasked state agencies with passing out to nonprofits and other groups. There are several notable things that the bill does not do, however. It doesn’t require lawmakers to attach their name to individual earmarks to establish a public record of which lawmakers requested that funding. The new rules also would not cover money that is routed through the Connecticut Judicial Branch, where earmarks for the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus have historically been distributed. Both Democrats and Republicans in the House portrayed the bill as an important step to reforming the earmarking process, which often occurs behind the scenes. “I think any transparency that we can provide is critical, but we do need to make sure it is a comprehensive framework for addressing these legislative earmarks,” said Rep. Lucy Dathan, the Democratic chairwoman of the legislature’s Government Oversight Committee. “People want to know where their tax dollars are spent, and I feel this is a great start.” Several House Republicans said they would have liked to see additional reforms to the earmarking process. They specifically questioned why the money set aside for the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus was not subject to the same level of scrutiny. But the House’s Republican members unanimously supported the bill, arguing that it provided additional transparency measures that don’t currently exist. Rep. Devin Carney, R-Old Saybrook, told his colleagues on the House floor that the bill would shed some light onto a process that has drawn negative attention in the past year. It was not entirely clear whether earmark reform was going to be a priority of this year’s legislative session. But Lamont, who is running for a third term as governor, added pressure on lawmakers when he vetoed several earmarks that were included in a sprawling emergency bill. “I have some earmark reform legislation in front of the legislature. I’d like them to look at that. I think we got to do a better job of giving people confidence that taxpayers’ money is going for the purposes for which it’s intended,” Lamont said at the time. House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, said reforming the earmarking process has been something Republicans have been interested in for years. But he said Lamont deserves some credit for using his veto power to force the legislature’s hand this session. “That action made this a priority,” Candelora said. “I did appreciate that from the governor, because that forces us to take up this reform.” While the bill received unanimous support in the House, it remains unclear whether it will receive the same support in the Senate. ...read more read less