House Votes To Consider Budget Implementation Bill; House Adjourns

The legislature is preparing to hold an upcoming special session on a budget implementation bill – updating the $20.5 billion budget that was approved in recent days.

The Democratic majority pushed for calling the legislature into special session, but House Republicans balked Wednesday night at the idea and tried to limit the scope of the agenda. The call of the special session was approved,  98 to 51, on a party line vote as Republicans were strongly against at about 11:30 p.m. on the final night of the regular session.

Even some insiders were unclear about exactly what would happen after the stroke of midnight.

“There’s been a lot of crazy rumors,” one insider said. “It’s been quite an evening.”

One Democrat said that lawmakers were preserving their options, and a special session could be held in June.

One Republican agreed, saying that a special session could be held in the future.

“There is no vehicle that has to go,” the source said of the late Wednesday night agenda.

The House adjourned, as required, at midnight, and a special committee was named to bring Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to the chamber for a post-session speech.  The committee was Rep. Jack Thompson of Manchester, Rep. Peter Villano of Hamden, and Rep. Lile Gibbons of Greenwich.