Governor Dannel Malloy has renewed his call for a constitutional lockbox to safeguard transportation funding as the state ramps up spending on infrastructure.
Malloy said he wants to see a vote on an amendment to the state constitution in November next year, when a presidential election will stimulate high turnout.
Malloy spoke to the issue Monday as he showed off upgrades to the New Haven rail yard, saying a lockbox is the next big step in his plan.
"As we move forward in funding, that people understand that any dollar that is collected for transportation will be spent on transportation, nothing else," Malloy said. "This is a contract with the citizens of the Connecticut and quite frankly we need to have it constitutionally aligned."
In the budget agreed earlier this year, the legislature set aside one half of one percent of the sales tax to help fund Malloy's ambitious 30-year transportation infrastructure plan.
The upgraded New Haven rail yard unveiled Monday will be able to perform maintenance on Connecticut rail cars that formerly had to be taken to New York for work.