House Republican Minority Leader Themis Klarides today blasted Democrats for failing to override Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s vetoes and pass legislation to scale back the Hartford bailout, make schools safer, preserve education funding and provide tax credits for manufacturers.
The bill to prevent governors from withholding education cost sharing money from towns and cities passed in the House and was sent to the Senate, where it failed to get the two-thirds support to override the veto.
“The Democrats had the chance to make our classrooms and schools safer, limit the Hartford bailout, and help manufacturers. Each time today they stood with Governor Malloy,’’ Klarides said. “Each time they opted for politics over public policy and it is unfortunate.’’
Klarides singled out legislation to restrict the Hartford bailout that Democrats originally voted for and publicly supported as an example of “cowardice’’ by Democrats. Republicans wanted to limit the Hartford bailout, which could cost state taxpayers more than $500 million over 20 years.
All the bills Malloy vetoed were passed with veto-proof margins. Klarides questioned why the bills were initially passed with overwhelming support during the regular session but were not supported in the veto session.
“What has changed in the last few weeks? It appears the Democrats decided to change their votes and stand with Governor Malloy,’’ Klarides said.
Another bill Republicans supported would have made schools safer by making it easier to remove dangerous and disruptive students from classrooms. Klarides supported the teachers on the issue and said she would be open to working with all education groups to create legislation that would pass in the future.