Everyone notices the day-to-day fluctuations of gas prices at their neighborhood station, but CT citizens are downright feeling the pinch of the cumulative 80 cent spike in gas prices over the past few months. Many are demanding relief, but as with many other major issues of late, state officials cannot agree on how to provide it.

According to AAA, the current average retail price of gas nationwide is $3.10. For the same period, the average gas price in CT is $3.18 per gallon. CT has the seventh highest gas prices in the country. Perhaps most notably, CT ranks third highest for combined federal and state gas taxes behind California and New York at more than 55 cents.

Governor Rell was the first to step up to offer some sort of plan to help ease taxpayers' shrinking wallets. Last week, she urged passage of legislation that would cap the state's gross receipts tax on gasoline and other petroleum products when the wholesale price hits $1.75 a gallon. "Connecticut residents are fed up. They've had it with the soaring costs of gasoline and rightfully so," Rell stated. Further, she wants to roll back the next planned gross receipts tax increase on July 1.

Soon after the Governor's announcement, the Republicans held a press conference to unveil their solution to the gas tax burden. Because there is currently no bill in place to do so, Republicans vowed to amend as many bills as possible in order to suspend CT's 25-cents-per-gallon state gas tax for a three month "holiday" of sorts. They would aim to lift the tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day - just in time for major summer travel.

Governor Rell applauded the Republicans' idea and said it should be considered in budget negotiations. Offering a break in the gas tax would cost the state $120 million. With a surplus of $848 million, Republicans believe this plan is tangible and do-able and would offer immediate assistance to citizens.

A 25-cents-per-gallon reprieve? Sounds good to many CT citizens, but Democrats are saying not so fast. Speaker Amann said the Republicans' plan is simply trying to "appease with pennies". Amann and other Democrats claim that temporarily repealing the gas tax would not guarantee real savings would be passed down to the consumer at the pump. Some worry about the possible backlash when the break ends at the end of the summer and gas prices increase. Still others, such as Rep. Steve Fontana, chair of the Energy Committee, have other ideas for the $125 million including buying commuter rail cars.

Republicans counter that the Democratic majority announced that they would pass comprehensive energy legislation during the first 30 days of session. To date, no such legislation has hit the floor of the House or Senate - it is still being debated, negotiated and revised. Whether a Democrat, Republican, or independent though, everyone has come to the realization that a simple one-size-fits-all solution simply won't work in this circumstance. It will take an enormous amount of attention to detail and a realistic, long-term approach for CT to get a grip on this expensive problem.

Even Attorney General Richard Blumenthal threw his hat in the ring on this issue. He wants to tackle the problem on a national level by urging the federal government to be stricter with oil industry mergers. He charges that that large oil companies use their market power to control the flow of oil and thus gas prices. However, the American Petroleum Institute claims that high gas prices are really a sign of consumer demand and the lack of foreign imports.

If officials can't even get to the root of the problem, how can actual gas price relief be realized? The Whos, Whys, and Hows seem to be lost in translation and citizens are simply left with the What: prices that seem to increase without limit. According to AAA, CT citizens will already be traveling closer to home and staying in cheaper hotels to compensate for gas prices, but with rumors that prices could hit $4 a gallon this summer, the breaking point could be near. With so many various solutions floating around, legislators have a very short period of time to find a way to help to public. "This is at least an attempt to let the citizens out there know that at least someone is listening," said Senator Minority Leader Lou DeLuca of the Republican plan.

Since the November 2007 elections, the Democrats' supermajority issue has been a shadow looming over every action taken at the Capitol. It looks as if in the next couple of days, folks will finally get a chance to see if the much talked about veto override will actually happen. On Wednesday, Governor Rell vetoed HB 7065, which would have required the General Assembly's Human Services and Appropriations Committees to give their consent on any waiver before being submitted by the Commissioner of Social Services to the federal government. The bill also sets up a process where if the two committees disagree on what action to take, they can resolve their differences. In the past, no action was deemed approval. It also requires the Commissioner of Social Services to attach any legislative history to all applications for federal waivers.

Connecticut has not seen an override on a gubernatorial veto since 1994 when Lowell Weicker was sitting Governor and the legislature overrode a law lifting the ban on the sale and use of radar detectors in CT. This time around, the bill in question passed both chambers with a veto proof margin, but now it comes down to a battle between the Governor's office and the members of the House and Senate to count votes. While the Democrats have the numbers, the question on everyone's minds is: Is this the bill they want to go to battle over? Yesterday, the House whips were actively counting heads to see where legislators stood on the question of an override.

Intrigue has filled the halls of the General Assembly, especially within the Republican caucus walls. Members of the minority party lack the ability to pass or defeat a bill on their own. However, with the Governor's veto powers and careful counting of Democratic heads, the mere possibility of retaining some influence over public policy is in reach. The opportunity to achieve this goal is causing both sides of the aisle to scramble. For Republicans, it's a scramble to maintain an active role in the game, and for Democrats, it's a rush to maintain control for the remaining 18 months until the next legislative elections.

The override of HB 7065 started out as a public policy issue, but now it could turn into a rally call for either political side. Should the Democrats attempt the override and fall short, the magic numbers of 107 in the House and 24 in the Senate will no longer be king. Every issue will have to earn its votes not only the first time around, but then a second time in the case of the Governor's veto. The ability to predict what bills are targets of a veto will be even more critical.

Ironically, in 2005 a similar bill to HB 7065 was passed and vetoed, but the Democratically-lead chambers did not have the numbers to override. We will see if history repeats itself soon enough.

According to the joint rules of the legislature, after a bill is passed by both the House and Senate during session, the Governor has 5 calendar days, exclusive of Sundays and holidays, from when a bill is presented to sign or veto the bill. After session has adjourned, the bill becomes a law unless the Governor vetoes the bill within 15 calendar days after presentment. It takes at least 2/3 of the members of each house to override the Governor's veto. The Democrats currently have the numbers to do so in both chambers.

As the House and Senate pass bills, S&L will continue to post the bills that are of interest to our clients that have been signed into law and become public acts (PA) or special acts (SA), or vetoed, by Governor Rell. For a list of bills passed, but not yet acted upon by the Governor, please click the link below.

The Governor vetoed the following bill:
HB 7065 AN ACT CONCERNING LEGISLATIVE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF WAIVER APPLICATIONS PRIOR SUBMITTED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SERVICES TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT