State Sen. Dan Debicella, R-Shelton, did a lot of clapping today. At one point, he even jumped out of his seat and gave Gov. M. Jodi Rell a standing ovation.
Debicella was excited, and he didn’t try to hide it.
He likes that the governor is not willing to raise taxes and supports the job-related programs she proposed in her State of the State address Wednesday. The state needed to figure out how to promote job growth and how to deal with a bad economy, Debicella said.
“Gov. Rell spelled out the exact right way today,” he said.
With proposals on the table, the hurdle will now be whether Democrats, Republicans and the governor can work together, Debicella acknowledges, adding that he hopes that will happen.
While Rell may have gotten standing ovations from Debicella, Democratic responses to Rell’s speech were less obvious.
House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, called Rell’s speech nice and said she made many comments he agreed with. Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, said lawmakers would be willing to look at the governor’s proposals and would try to work in a bipartisan manner.
Worth noting is that at least two of Rell’s proposals increases the power of the governor’s office. Just two years ago, Democrats were looking to curtail Rell’s power.
One such proposal would enhance the governor’s ability to make cuts to the state’s general fund when there is a projected deficit.
Another proposal would repeal bond authorizations that have not been approved by the State Bond Commission within five years. The governor, who serves a four-year term, is responsible for setting the bond commission’s agenda. A failed 2008 Democratic proposal would have changed that. At the time, Democrats said were frustrated that Rell wasn’t bringing projects forward for approval, and they wanted more say in the process.