If there was activity in Hartford on reconciling the state budget, that would be news to Minority Leader Larry Cafero. “The Democratic leadership has had a breakdown of common sense,” he said.

The evidence stems from the series of legislative maneuvers scheduling meetings that ended with a late Friday afternoon call for a rare Saturday legislative meeting for the House of Representatives and ended with a cancellations of that meeting 9 am Saturday morning. The reason was that by 5:25 am Saturday morning the State Senate passed the Democratic budget, but not with a veto-proof margin. State Senator Bob Duff voted for the Democratic plan Saturday morning.

Meanwhile the budget remains in deficit to a tune of $518 million. Governor M. Jodi Rell threatened to veto the House passed budget, saying the usual critique, not enough cuts. The Democratic plan came in with a $350 million increase, despite a projected deficit of $726 million in 2010-2011. Rell stated that the House Democratic plan relied on too many new taxes, including one that called for raising a hospital user fee which has not taken effect in the first place. This, said, Cafero, will hurt Stamford and Norwalk Hospitals.

Cafero also said that the Democratic plan kept open Riverview Hospital, a state-run psychiatric hospital for children located in Middletown. A hospital that Cafero claims has 400 employees for only 63 patients.

UPDATE: Bob Duff wants to clarify the votes on this;

“Bob Duff �voted�against the Dems Approps budget on Thursday that increased spending by $350M. Bob Duff voted for the Deficit Mitigation Plan (DMP) that�cut spending and balanced FY10 on Saturday morning at 5:30.”

But not so fast, let’s call spin for what it is. Whatever you want to call it, today the state budget is still in deficit.

As for what plan does what–�Christine Stuart at CT News Junkie reports:

Rell’s Budget Director Robert Genuario visited the Capitol press room to deliver her veto message around 11 p.m. Friday evening. He said the Democratic bill includes about $65 million in real spending reductions, $10 million in new taxes, and $175 million in other types of new revenue.

Democratic lawmakers argued that their�bill includes $140 million in spending cuts, sweeps $50 million from off-budget accounts including $6 million from the Citizens� Election Program, gets rid of the longevity payments for non-union employees and as of July 1 eliminates almost two dozen of Rell’s deputy commissioners.

In addition it relies on $75 million in new revenue by retroactively eliminating the Jan. 1 estate tax reduction. It also reinstitutes a hospital tax to help bring in more than $103 million in additional federal funds.

The Democratic package itself was a last-minute agreement between Democratic leaders in the House and the Senate, and includes some of the proposed spending cuts Rell suggested in her March 1 plan.

Stuart also reports that as of Monday, lots of talk, no action.