Several Connecticut environment groups and companies are taking the state to federal court over the legislature’s decision to remove money from state energy funds in the two-year budget passed in October.States have a penchant for doing this shit. Raiding the "highway trust fund" is a favorite; the roads and bridges then fall apart and the very same politicians, who did the raiding, decry the condition of their state's infrastructure.
The Connecticut Fund for the Environment and 11 other plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court Tuesday in order to stop the $165 million sweep.
Using the funding for other than its intended purpose is a breach of the contracts clause of the United States Constitution, the plaintiffs argue. Much of the money is raised through a small surcharge on electric bills; because the money is now allocated for different purposes, the plaintiffs say this qualifies as an illegal tax on tax-exempt organizations — such as nonprofits that are ratepayers.
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The budget also removed $28 million from the Green Bank, $127 million from the Energy Efficiency Fund, and $20 million from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
This is akin to stealing the kid's college savings because the MasterCard is overdue. It's evil. The legislators of Connecticut should be ashamed of themselves, but hell, they're politicans. Being scum-sucking weasels is all in a day's work.
Trust fund...that's adorable.
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