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CROG highlights legislative wins, secures $800,000 CTfastrak‑east study and outlines strategic priorities
Summary
Staff summarized the recent Connecticut legislative session, noting passage of a micro‑transit bill and $800,000 in state support for a CTfastrak east study; the committee also reviewed an April visioning session that produced eight strategic priorities and 'One region, One river' project concepts.
Donna Hamzy Croce, CROG's legislative lead, gave a brief recap of the recently concluded Connecticut General Assembly session and identified several items she described as wins for the region.
Donna told the committee that Senate Bill 9 — which extends the state's micro‑transit program — passed this year and that CROG secured $800,000 in the state budget to conduct a study of extending CTfastrak east of the river. "We were actually successful in getting CROG some money to actually conduct the study ... that money was included in the budget of 800,000," she said.
Donna also described iterations of House Bill 5226 that initially would have mandated creation of fair rent commissions (FRCs) that could have required COGs to stand up separate commissions for mobile home parks. She said conversations with leadership and Representative Rebecca Martinez, who represents the region, resulted in revisions that protected councils of governments from onerous mandates and ensured regional FRCs would have municipal liability protections; Donna characterized that outcome as "a really big win for us."
Staff said the CTfastrak east study will examine corridors including the I‑84 and I‑384 corridors and assess options such as last‑mile micro‑transit connections, dedicated lanes and other multimodal approaches. Matt described the funding and study as an opportunity to investigate expanding transit connections across the region.
The committee then debriefed a visioning session held April 22 that revisited CROG's eight strategic priorities and solicited new ideas from recently elected members. Staff outlined those priorities — governance and communications, federal infrastructure funding, economic vitality, regional housing strategy, regional environmental services (including a stormwater utility feasibility study), transportation and transit enhancements, road safety/complete streets, and workforce development/shared services.
As part of the visioning discussion staff presented several long‑range project concepts, including a 'One region, One river' coordination concept and a possible pedestrian bridge linking Hartford and East Hartford to align multiple riverfront projects. Staff emphasized these are planning concepts that would require multijurisdictional coordination and significant funding over many years.
Next steps: staff will hold a legislative committee meeting next week for more detail on the session outcomes, proceed with procurement and scoping for the CTfastrak east study, and incorporate the new topics from the visioning session into committee work plans.
