Reps. Perillo, McGorty Continue Push for Veto Override

House Speaker’s Attempt to Kill Bipartisan Budget Fails- For Now 

HARTFORD – In a hastily called special session of the State House of Representatives convened with only one day’s notice, State Representatives Jason Perillo (R-113) and Ben McGorty (R-122) criticized House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz (D-Berlin) for his attempt to kill the bipartisan budget passed by the legislature in September, but vetoed by Governor Malloy. Firmly aware that there would not be the necessary 101 votes to override the veto, the session was called by the Speaker to quickly defeat the bipartisan budget – but that’s not how it played out.

House rules require the bill to be recalled by a member on the prevailing side of the bill, and none who voted in favor of the budget called the bill to assure its defeat. The Shelton legislators joined with supporters of the bipartisan budget, both Republicans and Democrats, in preventing action from being taken, thwarting the Speaker’s attempt to kill the budget bill. Having not taken action on it, the budget remains on the table, though both Shelton legislators recognize that getting an additional 24 Democrats to support the budget is a tall task. 

“The Speaker meant it when he said he didn’t want to override the budget we passed here last month, and this slick attempt to hastily call us in when he knows many supporters of the budget won’t be her shows the lengths he will go to,” said Rep. Perillo. “His actions today directly place our communities in jeopardy with the loss of essential education funds, and critical support for mental health and addiction services to name a few, by continuing us under the governor’s executive orders. By refusing to take a vote today, we defeated his intent to kill this bipartisan budget, and ensured it remains as a viable alternative on the table for the time being. I remain absolutely committed to working for a budget solution that does not rely on the $1.5 billion in tax hikes, and restores the vital services our budget preserves and the governor intends to slash.”

“As long as we are in special session we can recall the bipartisan budget that Governor Malloy vetoed,” said Rep. McGorty. “Ours is the only budget on the table right now that has the support to pass both chambers, and it should stand. Today the leaders of the majority essentially declared that they would prefer communities across the state like Shelton to lose their education funding and see critical services gutted over passage of this bipartisan agreement. They are trying to start over from the beginning as if it were six months ago, meanwhile we are the lone state in the U.S that remains without a budget.”

The General Assembly would need 101 votes in the House and 24 in the Senate to override Governor Malloy’s veto. A date for the next session has not been set as of today.