Two bills headed for the state legislature’s Banking Committee are proposing to establish state-run banks in Connecticut.

One of those bills (5970) would support community banks and the economic development needs of residents and businesses around Connecticut, according to Westfair Online.

The other bill (5968) would establish the Connecticut Infrastructure Bank to provide financial support for infrastructure projects with funds appropriated from the general fund or other funds designated for financing transportation projects.

US News & World Report recently ranked the state’s infrastructure 41st in the nation. The Connecticut Department of Transportation estimates that congestion currently costs Connecticut residents and businesses $860 million per year in time lost sitting in traffic.

The bills come on the heels of lawmakers in late January fast-tracking and approving state-backed, no-interest bank loans to federal employees who have not been paid during the long-running government shutdown.

Other states including Massachusetts have looked at setting up state run banks, but both times state trade groups such as the Massachusetts Bankers Association were opposed to the idea for a number of reasons.

Lawmakers will hold a public hearing on bill 5970 on Thursday. A date for a public hearing on the infrastructure bank bill has not yet been scheduled.