Editorial: Don’t Steal From Energy Programs
The Connecticut legislature, while struggling to pass a budget in October 2017, redistributed $165 million that was set aside to pay for energy efficiency programs into the state's general fund. Because this is not the first time this has happened, state attorneys are arguing that previous "sweeps" of energy funds in 2003 and 2005 justify the current one. Environmental organizations have filed a lawsuit against the Connecticut government in order to save ratepayer money and reduce air pollution.
Partner Stephen Humes, an attorney for the plaintiff organizations, was quoted in a Hartford Courant editorial piece saying that "a few prior acts of petty theft do not justify grand larceny."