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12/10/2020 11:00 PMOn Dec. 4, Minority Leader Vin Candelora (R, 86) announced his 2021-’23 house committee assignments, including the promotion of 99th Assembly District representative Joe Zullo to “ranking member” on the assembly’s Planning and Development Committee.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as ranking member on the Planning and Development Committee. I have a strong background in municipal government, housing, and zoning matters borne from eight years of experience as town attorney in East Haven,” Zullo said. “I know that experience will serve me well in this new, exciting endeavor.”
According to the committee’s website, the Planning and Development Committee “has cognizance of all matters relating to local governments, housing, urban renewal, fire, sewer and metropolitan districts, home rule and planning and zoning; regional planning and development activities and the State Plan of Conservation and Development, and economic development programs impacting local governments.”
“There’s growing conversation about issues tied to land use, zoning and development, and whether the legislature should begin to exert more influence in traditionally local decisions,” Candelora said. “These issues cut across party lines, and during his short time in Hartford Joe Zullo has proven to be not just a thoughtful legislator, but one who is genuinely interested in building consensus and solving problems. I know he’s up for the challenge of injecting our thoughts and ideas into the discussion, and I look forward to seeing what this up and coming leader will accomplish.”
Zullo explained, “As we look to pioneer a post-COVID economic recovery in Connecticut, we’re going to need to give local governments new and novel economic development tools. I see this as a critical function of the planning and development committee as we look ahead to the 2021 session.”
Zullo, who was elected to the legislature in a special election in February 2019, was quickly elevated to ranking member on the assembly’s Housing Committee in January 2020, just 11 months following his special election victory. He made headlines earlier this year after announcing a series of legislative proposals to retool the state’s affordable housing regulations to prevent manipulation by developers and to create new housing opportunities for first-time homebuyers by incentivizing use of the state’s first-time homebuyer lending programs.
While taking on a new leadership role on the planning and development committee, Zullo will retain appointments on the assembly’s Housing and Finance, Revenue, and Bonding committees.
Zullo added, “I absolutely plan to re-raise the concept legislation I introduced last session regarding affordable housing and my appointments on both the housing committee and on P&D give me a platform to do that.”
Zullo concluded, “I’m honored to have been re-elected in this November’s election and eager to continue my vigorous advocacy on behalf of our community in Hartford. I’m also excited to jump into this new leadership role and ready to work across the aisle with my colleagues to give towns across Connecticut the economic development and policy tools they need to thrive, especially as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.”