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Question About Connecticut Land Conservation To Appear On November Ballot

Chion Wolf
/
WNPR

This November, voters will see a ballot question asking them to change Connecticut’s constitution. The question will focus on how the state controls public land and whether the whole process should be more transparent.

It’s been a few legislative cycles, but Eric Hammerling and other open space advocates finally got what they wanted this session.

“We wanted to make sure that there would always be a public voice for public land issues,” said Hammerling, executive director of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association.

For a while, he’s been pushing the state to stop the last-minute land deals brokered by legislators -- and make the whole process more open.

“That’s what this resolution would do -- ensure that there is a public hearing before public lands could be sold, swapped, or given away,” Hammerling said.

It also would make it so certain lands can’t be moved without a two-thirds majority vote in both the Senate and the House.

Now that the proposed constitutional change has been approved by legislators, a spokesperson for the secretary of the state said the question will go on the November ballot, which means it’s up to voters if state land deals deserve a little bit more sunlight.

Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. He can be reached at pskahill@ctpublic.org.

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