The following press release was sent Tuesday by Rep. Themis Klarides’ office.
The State Bond Commission’s approval today to give a hedge fund $35 million to improve its Greenwich operations should have gone through the entire Finance Committee as Republicans proposed in an amendment last spring for another hedge fund deal, House Republican Leader Themis Klarides said following the commission vote.
Last May Democrats unanimously rejected a House Republican proposal to require the planned $22 million Bond Commission authorization to Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world, to go back to the full Finance Committee. Klarides said that such economic development strategies need greater scrutiny by the House and Senate, not just approval by the Democratic-dominated Bond Commission.
“This is the type of economic development strategy that needs broader inspection by the legislature. Of course we want to keep high paying jobs in the state, but our wrong-headed decisions in the past have put us on the brink of losing these companies. ’’
She added the timing of the commission’s action had the feel of a “lame duck’’ session coming just one week after the election. “If this is such a great idea why not have a full discussion about it in the Finance Committee because it will have tremendous implications for our tax code and policies for years to come,’’ she said.
The $35 million will come in a combination of loans, forgivable loans and grants, depending on how many jobs are created and retain by AQR Capital in Greenwich.
