Less than 48 hours after Gov. Ned Lamont vetoed emergency appropriations of $40 million for local special-education aid and $2.88 million for grants to nonprofits, the General Assembly moved to adopt two new emergency bills that provide the same amounts without an override fight.
The bills create off-budget accounts for the two appropriations, with the money expected to come from the $300 million in interest the state earned while holding federal pandemic aid. Lamont agreed Tuesday to sign them, even though they rely on a budgeting move that puts the spending outside the spending cap.
Republicans questioned why that approach was preferable to the vetoed special-education bill, which they described as a straightforward appropriation from an expected operating surplus to help local school districts meet the rising costs of special education.
The smaller appropriation would provide grants to nonprofits serving a clientele deemed by Democrats to be under attack from the Trump administration, including $800,000 for Planned Parenthood and smaller amounts for groups serving LGBTQ+ individuals, refugees and immigrants.
鈥淚 guess we鈥檙e having a redo today,鈥� said House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford. 鈥淭he governor, while he claims to stand for fiscal principles, vetoed a bill, then within a couple of hours had buyer鈥檚 remorse and changed his mind.鈥�
The special-education bill saves the Democratic governor from the first override of a veto since he was elected in 2018, the same year a closely divided General Assembly tilted towards unquestioned Democratic control. Democrats now hold 25 of 36 seats in the Senate and 102 of 151 seats in the House.
An override was certain on the special-education funding, given that it passed by veto-proof margins in both chambers. An override on the non-profit grants was unlikely in the House, where Republicans were uniformly opposed, along with two Democrats.
Lawmakers acknowledged that the episode 鈥� passing two appropriations with the governor鈥檚 blessing after he had vetoed them 鈥� undoubtedly was confounding to casual observers of state politics and, perhaps, to more than a few Capitol insiders.
鈥淚 ask all of us rhetorically, 鈥榃hat are we doing here? How did we get here?鈥欌�� Rep. Joe Zullo, R-East Haven, said during a brief floor debate on the special education funding. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 help feeling it鈥檚 Groundhog Day, because here we are again.鈥�
The money for the school districts and nonprofits technically is conditional, pegged to a certification in April that a surplus still is projected for the fiscal year that ends June 30. It was a condition insisted on by the administration. The February fiscal update projected a surplus of $390 million.
Candelora said the exercise Wednesday was a consequence of a governor hastily vetoing a bill that passed while he was in India on a trade mission. He said the primary reason was to help the governor save face and avoid an override.
The vetoed special education bill had passed on a 140-5 vote in the House last week. The compromise measure, , lost the support of another dozen Republicans on Wednesday, including Candelora, over opposition to the creation of a fund outside the state鈥檚 spending cap.
鈥淲hile it鈥檚 laudable that we are trying to help the governor save face and fix his mistake, we鈥檙e doing it in a way that I can鈥檛 principally support,鈥� Candelora said. 鈥淎nd so my 鈥榥o鈥� vote today is not a 鈥榥o鈥� vote for special education, it is a 鈥榥o鈥� vote to this particular bill and the way it鈥檚 been crafted.鈥�
It passed on votes of 117-29 in the House and 26-7 in the Senate. As was the case in the House, several Republicans for voted for the funding last week opposed it Wednesday over the decision to place the funding outside the spending cap.
鈥淲hen we start doing this once, we can do it again and again and again and again, and before you even realize it, we鈥檙e in the same fiscal standpoint we were not so far long ago, having to face tax increases that drive our constituents out of the state. So I鈥檓 voting no,鈥� said Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield.
Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, glossed over the process and underscore the money that soon would be going to school districts.
鈥淚鈥檓 glad that whatever route this took, we鈥檙e able to et this funding to our districts,鈥� he said.
Candelora, who generally has a constructive working relationship with Lamont, was unusually personal in his criticism of the governor. He said the compromise signaled that Lamont no longer viewed the spending cap as 鈥渟acrosanct,鈥� as he has previously described.
鈥淎nd I wish this governor would come back to 海角换妻, stop with the junkets, stop reliving childhood dreams on giving out medals to rock stars, and get in this building and actually govern,鈥� Candelora said.
Lamont was in Westport on Wednesday, giving Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, a long-time resident, the 海角换妻 Governor鈥檚 Award, which his office described as 鈥渁 prestigious new honor celebrating 海角换妻 residents who epitomize the state鈥檚 core values of creativity, resourcefulness, passion, dynamism and generosity.鈥�
Rob Blanchard, the communications director for Lamont, defended the compromise and ignored Candelora鈥檚 personal gibes.
鈥淭he governor will proudly sign the improved version of the special education and nonprofit spending bill if passed by the legislature today, as it maintains the fiscal discipline and sound budget management practices we need to keep our state on the right track 鈥� something the original bill did not do,鈥� Blanchard said. 鈥淭he governor vetoed the prior bill because it did not adhere to those practices.鈥�
The bill providing the grants, , passed on largely party-line votes.The measure passed the Senate on a 25-10 vote, with Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, joining with 24 Democrats in favor. It cleared the House on a vote of 92-51, with every Republican and three Democrats opposed: Bill Heffernan of West Haven, Trene茅 McGee of West Haven and Minnie Gonzalez of Hartford.
Republicans raised the same objections Wednesday as they did with the original measure last week: The list of beneficiaries reflected contemporary politics and connections in the Capitol, not any assessment of actual need.
鈥淚t should be an open process so people can apply and show a documented need,鈥� said Rep. Tammy Nuccio, R- Tolland. 鈥淧eople are literally sleeping in the cold right now.鈥�
Republicans complained that most of the beneficiaries had yet to lose federal funding, even if they were targeted by the Trump administration. But that was not true across the board.
The Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, Inc., which helps resettled refugees, including those endangered by their work for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, laid off 20% of its staff after losing $4 million in federal funding, said Rep. Mary Mushinsky, D-Wallingford.
It is getting a $225,000 state grant under the bill.
CT Mirror staff writer Keith M. Phaneuf contributed to this story.
