Friday May 29, 2009
The Thrifty 37 just…couldn’t….squeeze …. out that full nine hours of filibuster/debate during yesterday’s long day’s journey into night on the House floor.
The issue is eminently veto-ready and it’s likely that Gov. Rell will dispatch it forthwith, if it ever comes up in the Senate and gets approved as the days dwindle before the midnight June 3 adjournment of the budget-setting session that wasn’t/isn’t.
The bill in question would require businesses with fewer than 50 employees to provide paid sick days. If signed into law, it would make Connecticut the first state in the nation with such a requirement.
Republicans led by House Minority Leader Larry Cafero, R-Norwalk, warned that it would increase the cost of doing business at a time when the economy is in the tank. One after another, most of the 37 GOP members (Rep John Hetherington, R-New Canaan, probably did a solid hour by himself) stood to ask time-consuming questions of Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, co-chairman of the Labor Committee, who was up and down like a jack-in-the-box most of the time between 1:18 p.m. when the bill was called, and 10:12:59 when the final 88-58 vote was tallied.
Yep, five minutes short of a 9-hour debate.
Since 101 votes would be required for a veto override, the Republicans seem to have won this one with their rear-guard action.
Cafero praised his little caucus, which is a 37-114 minority.
“We understand that there were some people in this chamber who believe it is the wrong move to vote for this bill, believe they had an obligation to themselves, to those who elected them and the state they live in, to let the world know why,” Cafero said at the end of the debate. “If your time was wasted, your sleep deprived, I apologize, my friends,” he said. “But I needed to answer that question that has been asked of me as leader of this caucus so often in the last few weeks and I assume in the next few days: Why do you do it? Because we feel we have to.”