Camp Niantic forevermore?

Hartford - The next time the state changes the name of the Niantic facility now known as Camp Rell, it could be for the last time.

Under existing state law, the name of the National Guard facility is changed every time Connecticut inaugurates a new governor, requiring taxpayers to foot the bill to replace road signs and highway markers to reflect the new chief executive's surname.

But the legislature's Public Safety Committee voted unanimously Thursday to change the name of the facility - permanently - to Camp Niantic once Rell leaves office next year.

The savings to the state were hard to estimate and would likely be small, said Rep. Ed Jutila, D-East Lyme, who sponsored the bill calling for the change. But as Connecticut faces serious, long-term deficits and the prospect of future spending cuts, "if there's any savings at all that we can do, we should do it," Jutila said.

- Ted Mann