Democratic Lawmakers Begin Posturing On Budget Vote

HARTFORD, CT — Democratic leaders in the General Assembly said that any vote against the budget they put on the board during the week of Sept. 11 should be seen as an endorsement of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s executive order.

Republicans say that’s “ridiculous” and “absurd.”

Following a closed-door meeting with Republican legislative leaders Wednesday, House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, and Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said that voting against a two-year budget should be seen as an endorsement of Malloy’s executive order, which eliminates education funding for 85 communities.

“If you don’t want to work in a bipartisan way and you vote no, you are going to be just as responsible as everybody else for the cuts that go to your town. I truly believe that,” Ritter said.

Looney said anyone who votes against a budget the week of Sept. 11 is casting a vote to continue to operate under the governor’s executive order.

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