At 7:45 p.m., the House began debate on a bill to grant Gov. Dannel P. Malloy greater authority to make budget cuts.
Even though the bill places limits on the sweeping powers Malloy had sought, it was still too much for Republcian lawmakers. The bill specifies that legislative leaders may be consulted and the appropriations committee may hold hearings on the governor's planned cuts, such actions are not required.
"The governor of the state of Connecticut with the passage of one bill, can negotiate into an agreement that we've never seen and it will become law worth over a billion dollars, or in the alternative, can make cuts equaling $1.6 bilion and you or I will never say a word about it,'' House Republican Leader Larry Cafero said.
"We're giving up our power,'' Cafero added. "Oh we sort of cover our rear ends by saying we may take it up if we want, we could if the speaker or president pro tem care to refer it to a committee and if that committee cares to have a public hearing and if, after that, they care to maybe wanna sorta kinda want to bring us into session, I guess we can all take a crack at it. But if they don't, we don't. Unprecedented power, is that what were all about?"
Republicans later offered an amendment that would require the legislature to sign off on Malloy's plans. "We should pull together as a branch and stand up for ourselves,'' said Rep. John Piscopo, R-Thomaston.
Rep. Toni Walker, the New Haven Democrat who co-chairs the appropriations committee, said she understands the impulse behind the amendment but urged rejection, saying such a requirement might interfere with the process.
Brendan Sharkey, the House Majority leader, said the bill preserves legislative oversight.
"I want to make it absolutely clear: it is the intent of our leaders in both the House and the Senate to take the governor's recommendations that are mandated to be presented to us on July 15,'' Sharkey said.
Those recommendations will then be subject to a public hearing before the legislature's appropriations committee, and -- if the committee makes any changes -- "we will be calling ourselves into session to vote on those proposed changes,'' he added.
Sharkey said Democratic lawmakers are also concerned about the governor's authority. "[It] was something that we in the leadership demanded as part if this bill,'' he said. "We were equally concerned as our friends on the other side of the aisle with the potential of allowing the governor to adopt wide and sweeping rescissions to the budget without any input from this legislature.''
The amendment failed on a vote of 82 to 49.
Earlier in the evening, Walker expressed a hope the state employee unions will come around and embrace the concession agreement, even though it has already failed to muster sufficient support for ratification.
Cafero questioned why the unions ought to have another crack at it. "A lot of us believed...that they had their chance to ratfiy the agreement, They chose to vote no and we have to move on and balance the budget,'' he said. "Am I to understand there's a possibility, or a window open, that they could ratify the agreement, which would make some of what were doing null and void?"
Walker said staving off mass layoffs is a priority. "We need not expand our unemployment in the state of Connecticut,'' she said. "There is no focus on looking at the ratification of the (agreement) yet at the same time, we have to make the effort to try and understand that, by laying off perople...it is going to impact all of us. If the unions are able to come to some sort of ratification before the time line, I don't think any of us are going to be so entrenched in moving away from that...if that is possible, we hope that will be worked in. If not, we're going to continue to move on.''