“She’s happy to accept this version at this time,” gubernatorial spokesman Judd Everhart said early this evening.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell said yesterday she had some concerns over language in the campaign finance reform bill. But as the debate winds down in the state Senate tonight, Rell’s office flatly declared she would sign the bill.“Any concerns or flaws can be addressed in the next legislative session,” Everhart said. Though the Senate has not yet voted, many observers believe the bill will pass by a comfortable margin. A series of Republican amendments offered throughout the afternoon have been solidly beaten back. Debate in the state House of Representatives is expected to begin shortly after the Senate acts.With Rell’s announcement, if the bill does indeed pass the Senate, then reform opponents in the state House would face triangulation: the prospect of voting against a bill that has already been passed by the upper chamber, and that has been promised a gubernatorial signature. By voting against the bill- or by voting for amendments that would throw the bill out of concurrence with the Senate- opponents in the House would risk shouldering the entire onus of scuttling campaign reform. Legislators in the House expect debate to last well into the evening.