Gov. M. Jodi Rell Monday vetoed a bill that state legislators had passed Friday in an effort to repair Connecticut's public campaign financing law, after a federal appeals court's recent finding that parts of the law are unconstitutional.
In reaction, Democratic legislative leaders said they plan to convene in a special session to try to override Rell's veto - or, if they don't think they have the votes, to refashion the bill in a way Rell will accept. That session could happen this week or next, they said.
The Republican governor had vowed to veto the measure if it increased the grants for gubernatorial candidates who participate in the state's public campaign financing program - and that is exactly what the bill did. It increased the base grants from $3 million to $6 million - to compensate for the appeals court's ruling that it is unconstitutional to give extra public financing to participating candidates whose wealthy opponents pour millions of their own dollars into their campaigns.
What follows are all the statements issued Monday by Rell and House Democrats about the veto.