Posted on June 26, 2018 by jdooley
HARTFORD – State Representatives Brenda Kupchick (R-132) and Laura Devlin (R-134) voted on Monday to override Governor Dan Malloy’s veto of a bill prohibiting future governors from making cuts to education aid in the middle of a fiscal year. State Senator Tony Hwang (R-28) also voted to override the veto in the Senate.
Although there was enough support in the House on a 103-33 vote margin to override the governor’s veto, the override effort failed to achieve 2/3rd support in the Senate and was ultimately unsuccessful, meaning Governor Malloy’s veto will stand. The legislature also failed to override vetoes on several other pieces of legislation that passed this year when Senate Democrats sided with Governor Malloy.
Public Act 18-35 was legislation intended to impede a Connecticut governor from withdrawing Education Cost Sharing funds already promised to a municipality for the school year, and was a key priority for the legislators.
“Fairfield schools and social service programs have been routinely targeted for the governor’s mid-year education holdbacks that cause uncertainty for town officials and local school boards. I was proud to stand with my colleagues in the House for taking a positive step towards predictability and stability,” said Rep. Kupchick. “Unfortunately, Governor Malloy and his allies in the legislature are still major roadblocks to progress in our state. I’m very disappointed the majority in the Senate decided to not stand up against the governor’s vetoes. In addition to stopping education cuts in the middle of the school year, these were bills that would have reduced the taxpayer bailout of Hartford, offered incentives for manufacturing companies and created an animal abuser registry.”
“Governors – Malloy and future ones – need to be put on notice that making unilateral mid-year cuts to education funding can devastate our communities. Reductions during the fiscal year are particularly difficult and leave few options for administrators and teachers,” said Rep. Devlin. “I was proud to cast a vote to override the governor’s veto. Unfortunately, the Senate Democrats refused to join us today in protecting our children’s educational priorities.”
“I voted to override Governor Malloy, and I did so on behalf of Fairfield educators, children and families,” Sen. Hwang said. “I was proud to stand in opposition to the governor on this crucial school funding issue. This bill would have created stability and predictability for Fairfield beyond the current budget. I was pleased to see the governor’s ill-advised veto get overridden in the House. Shortly after the House’s override, I was bitterly disappointed to see many Senate Democrats reverse their prior votes. There were not enough votes for the bill to get to the finish line in the State Senate. That’s truly a shame, but I can promise Fairfield’s taxpayers this: I am not deterred, and I will continue to stand with in support of common sense policies like this one.”
All seven of the governor’s vetoes were sustained in a special session of the General Assembly on Monday.
Posted on June 26, 2018 by jdooley
TRUMBULL- Over the last month, State Reps. Laura Devlin, David Rutigliano and Ben McGorty sponsored a battered, tattered, torn or faded U.S. Flag collection which culminated this last Wednesday, June 14 on National Flag Day, where the American Legion Post 141 held a flag retirement ceremony to retire the collected flags at the Indian Ledge Park Maintenance Facility on Whitney Avenue.
All three Trumbull legislators wanted to acknowledge to assistance of the American Legion Post 141 and especially thank George Areson, who is the Commander of the Trumbull American Legion Post 141 for leading the solemn ceremony.
According to United States Code, Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8, “The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.”
Flag Day, the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777, was officially established by the Proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson on May 30, 1916. While Flag Day was celebrated in various communities for years after Wilson’s proclamation, it was not until August 3rd, 1949, that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14 of each year as National Flag Day.
Posted on June 13, 2018 by jdooley
Say Hearings for Reports on Three Agencies Overdue
Hartford – State Senator Michael McLachlan and Representative Laura Devlin are calling on their committee co-chairs to schedule hearings on agency reports from the State Auditors of Public Accounts (APA). The legislators sent a letter to the General Administration & Elections Committee Co-Chairs Senator Mae Flexer and Representative Daniel Fox.
While Sen. McLachlan (R-24) is a GAE Co-Chair, public hearings must be called by two of the committee Co-Chairs. Under state law, the GAE Committee is required to hold public hearings on the APA reports within 180 days of issuance. Hearings for three state agencies are overdue.
“Voters elected us to be the caretakers of taxpayer dollars and ensure that state agencies are spending those tax dollars efficiently and for their intended purposes,” Sen. McLachlan said. “These hearings allow legislators to question the state agencies about the Auditors’ findings, how these issues were able to occur, and what the agencies will do to prevent further occurrences. Allowing the statutory deadlines to pass without these public hearings does a great disservice to our employers, the taxpayers of Connecticut.”
The APA issued reports for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Connecticut State University System Office, and the Division of Criminal Justice in November of 2017. According to the law, hearing should have been conducted before the end of May. A report for the Connecticut Community College System was issued in December of 2017. The deadline for a hearing on that agency’s report is June 17.State Rep. Laura Devlin is the head House Republican on the General Administration & Elections Committee.
“Many times, the auditors uncover significant findings that we should NOT allow to collect dust leading to further fiscal maleficence,” said Rep. Laura Devlin (R-134). “Legislators are elected to make sure your tax dollars are spent wisely not wasted.”
Some of the APA findings include:
Veterans Affairs
Division of Criminal Justice
Sen. McLachlan and Rep. Devlin said they would like the public hearings to be scheduled as soon as possible so they can question agencies about the APA findings.
