Gov. M. Jodi Rell said today she will veto the $3.2 billion dollar bonding bill approved by the General Assembly in its special session this week.
Rell, joined by Republican legislative leaders at a news conference in her Capitol office, said the bonding package is well-intentioned but unaffordable and sends the wrong message to credit rating agencies and to groups hoping to receive the bonding allocations.
The amount Connecticut pays for its debt has been steadily increasing, she said, making it more difficult to cover other programs.
“We’re on the wrong end of this seesaw and we have to get off,” Rell said.
She is calling lawmakers back to the Capitol on Wednesday for a special session to vote only on about $1.3 billion in local school construction projects.
The bond package approved by lawmakers authorizes spending over two years for projects ranging from sewage treatment plants to improvements to the Connecticut State University campuses.
Lawmakers also passed an additional $850 million in bonding for transportation initiatives and $550 million for clean water projects, for a total approximate package of $4.6 billion over two years.
House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, said Rell is turning her back on important projects such as flood control and improvements to the U.S. Naval Submarine Base to keep it off future federal closure lists.
Democrats who control the legislature said it’s unfair to blame them for the state’s bonded indebtedness because former governors, not legislators, have borrowed huge sums of money over the years for their preferred projects. Rell, as governor, sets the agenda for the State Bond Commission, which ultimately doles out the money.
“People need to understand that it is Gov. Rell and her predecessor John Rowland that are responsible for current debt,” Amann said. “No bonding takes place without the governor’s approval, yet she continues to try to blame the legislature.”
Democrats have also complained that Rell has not released bond funds for projects in their members’ districts ranging from new fire stations to local museum improvements.
“We have every right as a legislator to stipulate our legislative priorities as we have done in this bill,” said Sen. Donald DeFronzo, D-New Britain, co-chairman of the legislature’s bonding subcomittee.
Amann predicted that Rell’s veto will unite the majority Democrats.
