On March 23, the Government Administration and Elections Committee unanimously passed Senate Joint Resolution 35: “Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution to Protect Real Property Held or Controlled by the State” to amend the state constitution to protect Public Lands.
(SJ 35)
With only 5 weeks left in the legislative session, your action on this important bill will continue to be key to getting it across the finish line.
What: SJ 35 would require that before the General Assembly could sell, trade, or give away public lands, they must first:
- Hold a public hearing in the General Assembly; and
- Achieve a 2/3rds vote for any public lands held by the Department of Agriculture (state-owned agricultural lands or easements) or the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (State Parks, Forests, etc.).
Why: The State holds over 250,000 acres of state parks, forests, wildlife management areas, and other open spaces valuable for conservation, recreation and agricultural purposes. These lands were acquired with an expectation that they would be preserved in trust for the benefit of Connecticut’s citizens. Yet our public lands are largely unprotected, and year after year we find ourselves in a position of having to defend them.
Action: Please contact your legislators with a short personal note or phone call THIS WEEK, and ask them to co-sponsor SJ 35.
- If your Legislator(s) have already co-sponsored SJ 35, please thank them!
- If your Legislator(s) co-sponsored similar resolutions in 2016 and 2017, please ask them to co-sponsor again.
- View talking points and links to more information on SJ 35 >>
Thanks to the CT Forest & Park Association and the Connecticut Land Conservation Council for information for this alert!
