The Connecticut House of Representatives met Tuesday and was expected to attempt to overturn the veto Gov. Dannel Malloy issued last week for the veto, but that did not happen.
Malloy vetoed the GOP budget that passed through the Connecticut General Assembly with help from votes coming from some Democratic members.
On Tuesday, Republican lawmakers declined to ask for a veto override.
Since the governor released the veto message, Republicans and Democrats have been holding events in their local districts in attempts to muster up support for their side.
In Meriden on Monday, Sen. Len Suzio stood with Republican local officials, candidates for office and residents, as they urged an override of the veto.
Suzio, taking a page out of the Democrats’ playbook from two weeks ago before the GOP budget passed and when a Democrat proposal was being crafted, said a vote against an override is akin to support for Malloy’s executive order that went into effect Sunday.
A vote against the override endorses Malloy’s executive order that cuts funding for cities and towns as a way to control spending, and added, “all of the devastation it will wreck on upon our towns, the elderly, and our disabled citizens. Legislators who vote against a veto override are voting to allow non-profits to continue being cut.”
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In Hartford earlier in the day, Democratic lawmakers argued for the veto, saying it was the best decision for the sake of the capital city’s fiscal health. With Hartford on the verge of bankruptcy, they said, the GOP budget would do more damage because it doesn’t fund as aggressive efforts to invest in the city.
“We’ve got to be conscious and careful because, without a vibrant capital city, our state will be in shambles and if Hartford is first, the other communities will be next.”
A veto override requires two-thirds majorities in each chamber of the General Assembly. In the Senate that means 24 votes in favor of an override, and in the House 101 votes. Since the budget passed the Senate with 21 votes and the House, 77 votes, it would take an impressive vote-gathering effort to secure an override.
Democrats said that since the Republican-passed in a shock to them, they won’t rule out an override being unlikely.
“In this business of politics, you don’t know until you know, and that’s why you always have to be able to count your votes,” said Sen. Doug McCrory. “And we want to make sure that we know that on this side of the aisle, that we will not be in support of the override.”
Also on Monday, about 60 mayors and first selectmen from across the state gathered in Wallingford to discuss how a lack of budget is hurting their communities. They plan to lay out three tests that they feel must be met in any state budget agreement.
