State Loan Records Off Limits, Connecticut Officials Say

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Officials at Connecticut’s Development Authority contend that records millions of dollars in taxpayer-financed loans to businesses, including those in default, are not public record. The New Haven Register reported that the agency apparently wrote off $4.8 million in loans in 2001-02, most without approval of the agency’s board. And while the state auditor said the records should be public, a spokesman for the Gov. Jodi Rell said other factors, such as stability of the businesses involved, might warrant confidentiality: “If the survival of a business and potential loss of jobs are at stake, other factors may need to be weighed.” (10/12/05)