HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut legislators drew national attention for their bipartisan agreement on gun control, but that spirit of goodwill appears absent as they try to reach a final budget deal with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
The legislature’s Republican minority leaders, who also worked with Democrats on a bipartisan deficit-cutting plan in December, made it clear this week they’re smarting from being left out of the talks.
House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero Jr. of Norwalk has joked that Democratic leaders may say they love him, but not enough to let allow him in the final budget negotiations with the Malloy administration.
The Democrats question whether the GOP is serious about working on a deal that could prove unpopular, criticizing them for not offering an alternative budget.
