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.
State Representative Brenda Kupchick represents the 132nd district, which includes Fairfield and Southport.
State Representative Laura Devlin represents the 134th district, which includes Fairfield and Trumbull.
State Senator Tony Hwang represents the 28th Senate district communities of Fairfield, Easton, Newtown, Weston, and Westport.
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