Sworn as New Britain mayor, Bobby Sanchez resigns from CT House

Bobby Sanchez resigned his seat in the state House of Representatives on Wednesday, hours after his inauguration as the mayor of New Britain.

Sanchez, a Democrat who has represented the 25th House District since 2011, was elected mayor last week, succeeding Republican Erin Stewart. The vacancy will be filled in a special election yet to be scheduled.

With a Democratic majority of 102-49, the loss of one Democrat will not appreciably change the balance of power in the House.

It will have a modest impact on the three-fifths vote necessary to pass legislation that temporarily diverts $500 million slated for the state’s pension fund to its budget reserves. Ninety votes now will be necessary for passage, not 91.

In establishing so-called fiscal guardrails in 2017 that, among other things, required surpluses generated by volatile sources go first to budget reserves, lawmakers imposed a “bond lock” that bars changes to the guardrails with less than a three-fifths vote.

Three fifths of 151, the number of House members without vacancies, is 90.6, which would be rounded up to 91. Three-fifths of 150 is 90.