Rep. Frey Votes to Override Governor’s Veto of Bill Preventing Mid-Year Cuts

State Representative John Frey (R-111) voted on Monday to override Governor Dan Malloy’s veto of a bill prohibiting future governors from making cuts to education aid in the middle of the school year. 

Although there was enough support in the House to override the governor’s veto, the override effort failed to achieve 2/3rd support in the Senate and was ultimately unsuccessful, meaning Governor Malloy’s veto will stand. 

Public Act 18-35 was legislation intended to impede a Connecticut governor from withdrawing Education Cost Sharing funds already promised to a municipality for the school year.  The bill was a key legislative priority for Rep. Frey because Ridgefield has been targeted for mid-year funding holdbacks by the governor in recent years.

“We have never had a governor who used his executive powers to withdraw funds from municipalities so recklessly that we needed a new law to prevent it until Governor Malloy, who routinely made dramatic cuts to Education Cost Sharing funding in order to foot the bill for the state’s out of control spending in recent years,” said Rep. Frey, a co-sponsor of the original bill.  “The problem with mid-year cuts is not the amount of funding a town gets, but about the timing of the holdbacks.  Making unanticipated cuts in the middle of the school year disrupts students’ learning, puts teachers’ jobs in jeopardy, and brings chaos to town officials, boards of finance, and boards of education who craft budgets to live within their means.”

“I was encouraged that Governor Malloy’s veto of this bill was successful in the House, but it is very disappointing that there are still legislators who vote in lockstep with Governor Malloy.  Towns and school districts need predictability and stability, and that is what this bill would have done.  Mid-year cuts to municipal budgets are punitive and patently unfair.  The legislature should have acted to take the power to make mid-year cuts away from this governor and any future governor,” said Rep. Frey.

The veto was sustained in a special session of the General Assembly after the Senate fell two shorts of the 2/3 support needed to override, although the House override effort successfully passed on a 103-33 margin.

State Rep. John Frey represents the 111th Assembly district, which covers most of the Town of Ridgefield.

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Submitted by Ridgefield, CT

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