Connecticut Local Politics

Though it continues to rain outside, Democrats inside the State Capitol seem primed to pass a budget:

“We believe additional spending cuts, along with a mix of borrowing and revenue increases, is the fairest and most responsible way to balance the budget,” said Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams, the highest-ranking senator. “Now is the time for everyone to put partisan differences aside and sit down at the negotiating table with a spirit of cooperation,” he said.

Once the Democrats do move forward, the focus of attention will turn not necessarily to the Governor but rather, as Dean Pagani points out, to the few conservative Democrats who will make the difference in an override vote.

But this latest effort to address conservative concerns about raising taxes could foreshadow another resolution to the matter. Democrats may spend the next several weeks negotiating within their own caucuses to come to a budget agreement that does not require the governor’s approval.

So which will happen first?  The end of the rain (not predicted for at least another week) or a budget resolution?