The opening of the 2014 session of the Connecticut General Assembly has been tentatively delayed until late Wednesday afternoon, postponing Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget address until early evening or, possibly, even Thursday.
With snow forecast Tuesday night and early Wednesday, the House and Senate are aiming for a 5 p.m. start Wednesday, but spokesmen for the leaders said they expect no final decision to be made until after seeing an updated forecast Tuesday.
“Right now, all of this is tentative,” said Gabe Rosenberg, a spokesman for House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch calling for snow to begin late Tuesday and continue through Wednesday afternoon. Accumulations could reach 6 to 10 inches, with a wintry mix in coastal areas.
Adam Joseph, a spokesman for Senate Democrats, said their members were told Monday to expect the session to open at 5 p.m. with the governor invited to deliver his budget address at 6 p.m.
Another possibility under discussion with the governor’s office would be for Malloy to delay his speech and the release of his budget proposal until Thursday.
Andrew Doba, a spokesman for Malloy, said the only thing certain is that the budget would be released shortly before the governor’s speech — whenever that occurs.
The annual session typically opens at 10 a.m. on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in February in an even-numbered year and the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January in an odd-numbered year.
In even-numbered years, the governor’s budget address is the main order of business on the opening day of the three-month session. In odd-numbered years, the five-month session begins with legislators taking the oath of office and the election of a House speaker and Senate president pro tempore.
Technically, the governor is only proposing revisions this year to a two-year budget adopted the previous year.