Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called a special session for Thursday at 10 a.m. to deal with the budget revisions.
His statement:
“It was always my hope that the SEBAC Agreement would be ratified and we could move forward with the process of getting our state’s fiscal house in order and creating new jobs,” said Governor Malloy. “But that looks increasingly unlikely. Calling both chambers into session next week is necessary to close the budget deficit that we will be facing. I am loathe to make the decisions facing us at this juncture – including layoffs, programmatic and municipal aid cuts – but I am left with no choice. Working with the legislature, we will have a balanced budget and one that, while making painful cuts and difficult decisions, will be balanced honestly without tricks or gimmicks.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, told senators in an email that they will likely will be asked to approve significant layoffs and to give the governor temporary authority to cut the budget.
“We all wish this were unnecessary. The failure to ratify by state employees does more harm to them and the cause of labor than anything their enemies could possibly achieve. It’s unbelievable that they don’t understand that,” Williams said. “Thank you for your willingness to step up once more in these difficult times.”