A battle over borrowing broke out on Friday between Gov. Ned Lamont and the Republican who wants his job.

After the State Bond Commission meeting, Lamont praised $652 million in new investments on everything from childcare to housing and highway safety.

But his GOP challenger, Ryan Fazio, accused the governor of charging too much to the state credit card.

Rentschler Field is home to the UConn Huskies football team, but the 38,000-seat Pratt & Whitney Stadium has seen better days. The facility will get $9.5 million for a new field, underground sprinkler system and scoreboard – part of a multiyear renovation.

Speaking of Rentschler, police will no longer have to borrow the parking lot to train for high-speed chases. The Bond Commission approved $3.8 million for a dedicated Emergency Vehicle Operations Course at the old Gates Correctional Institution in Niantic. State police hope to have the new course open by the end of this year.

Other investments include 16,000 new childcare slots over the next five years, more wrong-way driver detection systems, security upgrades for nonprofits and religious centers, plus hundreds of electric vehicles for the state fleet.

“We have certain goals that are outlined in both statute and under the executive orders of the governor,” said Michelle Gilman, commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services. “We are making progress. We are also looking at the market conditions, which have not been favorable.”

Lamont touted the new investments on Friday.

“Look what we’re doing in education,” he said. “Look what we’re doing on housing. Look at what we’re doing on not-for-profits.”

Also on the agenda?

Politics.

Sitting just three chairs away from Lamont was Ryan Fazio, the Republican – and fellow Greenwich resident – who wants to unseat him.

The GOP state senator accused Lamont of borrowing too much money, especially for UConn 2000, a multibillion-dollar capital improvement program at the state’s flagship university.

“Because of policy changes that have been made in the last year or so, we’re now borrowing above what our bond cap is, which will mean more debt on the backs of taxpayers in this state, who already can’t afford to live here,” Fazio told reporters after the meeting. “We need to hold fast to our budget guardrails, be fiscally responsible, protect taxpayers, and not go around or above bonding caps, spending caps, or any other cap.”

When Lamont was first elected, he promised to put Connecticut on a “debt diet.” While the governor has loosened the purse strings, he insisted the state is on much better fiscal footing than seven years ago.

“Our fixed costs are smaller piece of our budget, and we also have the Rainy Day Fund, which is up by a factor of 20 compared to what we inherited,” Lamont said. “That's allowed us to make investments, and all along the way, it's eight balanced budgets in a row.”

Lamont’s new budget chief said the administration is reevaluating borrowing for UConn 2000.

“We’re going to be very conscious of how much our bonded debt is taking up,” said Office of Policy and Management secretary Josh Wojcik.