Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed an energy bill passed by the Connecticut General Assembly, saying it would raise energy rates for consumers rather than lowering them as asserted by the bill”™s sponsors.
Democrats hold sufficient votes to override vetoes by the Republican Rell; party leaders did not immediately indicate whether they would schedule an override vote.
Among other measures, the bill would create a Connecticut energy and technology authority within state government, which Rell opposed. She voiced support for some elements of the bill, including solar power incentives and discounted electricity rates for low-income residents.
“The legislation, as well-intentioned as it is, would likely result in higher utility bills for consumers and, at time when taxpayers simply cannot afford bigger government, creates another state bureaucracy,” Rell said, in a prepared statement. “In the midst of both this ”˜great recession”™ and our well-known state budget challenges, I cannot ask our already overburdened and overtaxed residents and businesses to bear the additional burden of costs associated with this bill.”
Rell criticized what she said was a lack of transparency and public input leading up to the passage of the bill, which she said was crafted in the final days of the legislative session. Debate on the 52-page bill reached the House of Representatives after 3 a.m., 16 hours after the session had started. The vote came just after 6 a.m.
“Tired legislators debating a bill as complex and important as this under cloak of night is untenable and unacceptable,” Rell said.
