Albany (WSYR-TV) – Wednesday was another do-nothing day in Albany as the New York state senate continues to be locked up in its fight over control of the chamber.
The latest special session called by the governor was gaveled in at 3:00 p.m. and almost immediately gaveled out.
The governor says things in Albany have gone from conflict to crisis, with serious questions about Tuesday's bill-passing by Democrats, and Wednesday's very brief, no-action session. Items such as mayoral control of New York City schools have expired Wednesday, along with the Power for Jobs program.
Paterson is calling on both sides to enter into a co-equal power sharing agreement. He says he may consider Tuesday’s bills but only under one scenario: The Republicans promise not to file any legal action, and that “there is in a sense, an agreement between the two parties on those bills.”
Paterson says it's not the first time there's been locked governments; it's even happened in Albany before, and he says many of those conflicts were resolved with a power sharing arrangement.
Both sides have said they plan to negotiate Wednesday, but that has been said before.
Governor Paterson says he's already called for special sessions every day through July 6, and he says that includes a session on the Fourth of July.
Nothing accomplished during Tuesday's Senate meeting in Albany
Albany (WSYR-TV) – It was another unsuccessful evening for state senators in Albany Tuesday.
Republicans and Democrats gathered for yet another session where nothing got done, capping off a day of confusion.
It all started at 10:00 a.m. when senators from both parties were ordered to meet by a judge in extraordinary session. That meeting lasted no more than 15 minutes.
Then, around noon, Democrats met and passed a flurry of bills. They say it was legal because a lone Republican wandered in, giving them a quorum. Republicans and the governor dispute that.
And Tuesday evening’s session was a case of déjà vu, lasting only a few minutes.
The Democrats say the bills voted upon Tuesday passed, while Republicans say they're sticking to an earlier vote on June 23rd. Both sides are gridlocked, and nothing has been resolved.
“What we did today was done in a lawful manner, what they did a week ago never was,” says State Senator Dave Valesky. “It was done after the June 8th coup attempt, not validated by a judge – again, what we did was legal.”
State Senator John DeFrancisco says “they claim everyone should be treated equally, we agree. Rotating chairs? We agree. We want a permanent solution so we don't do this every time we come to Albany.”
After the shortened session, Republicans asked Democrats to meet with them at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday to discuss a solution to the gridlock in the state Senate.
When we spoke to Sen. Valesky, he hadn't heard about the morning meeting Republicans want to hold, but says he wants to work this gridlock out.
Senate Democrats pass bills; Gov. says he won't sign them
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP / WSYR-TV) - Democrats claimed control of the split New York Senate on Tuesday, declaring a quorum after a Republican took a short cut through the chamber because an exterior parlor had been blocked by Democrats for a press conference they never held.
The Democrats voted on about 75 bills stalled by a three-week power struggle and declared them passed. It wasn't clear if they engineered getting GOP Sen. Frank Padavan on the floor, or simply exploited his presence.
While Democratic Gov. David Paterson initially said he wouldn't sign any of the legislation, Senate Democratic leaders said it's up to the clerks of the House and Senate to certify the legislation duly passed, and at that point Paterson should be compelled sign it.
The Democrat-controlled Assembly hadn't decided Tuesday evening whether to certify them, spokeswoman Melissa Mansfield said.
Paterson ordered the Senate back into a special session at 7 p.m. to take up a handful of time-sensitive bills. They included mayoral control of New York City schools, which was set to expire at midnight.
"They can have this political fight later," Paterson said. "We don't care who the president of the Senate is, but we are affected when the laws expire and people suffer."
Padavan, a Queens Republican, acknowledged he walked through the chamber, but insists that was before the session started and only because the Senate parlor was blocked. "It's fraud," he said of the Democrats' claim to a quorum.
Sen. Diane Savino, a Staten Island Democrat, said it doesn't matter if Padavan was just walking through. "As soon as you enter the chamber you're recorded as present for the day. These are the rules of the chamber," she said, adding she thought Padavan did it intentionally because there are many important issues at stake.
The Republican senator is an author of the legislation to continue mayoral control of New York City schools. Democratic Sen. John Sampson, a Brooklyn Democrat, is backing a measure that would dilute mayoral control.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said summer school will be open Wednesday morning at the appointed time regardless of what the Senate does. "The chaos, the legal challenges, all the uncertainty, we'll face that as it comes up," he said Tuesday.
Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group described Tuesday's move by the Democrats as "a lawyer's dream. It would be a crazy way for the gridlock to be unhinged," he said. But unless someone has a picture of Padavan in the chamber during the session, there's probably no way to prove it, he said.
"We've got to put this trickery behind us," said Sen. Pedro Espada, the dissident Bronx Democrat whose alliance with Republicans has divided the chamber 31-31. "We have got to respect the institution."
The other Democrats continued voting through the afternoon, with Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins presiding and declaring a string of voice votes passed 32-0.
The Senate Democrats defeated one bill to authorize New York City to raise its sales tax to 4.5 percent, from the current 4 percent. The bill, which would have passed easily with Republican support, would make the city and state sales tax 8.875 percent. Bloomberg and the City Council have planned on it to balance the city budget.
Late Tuesday, an appeals court refused to block a judge's order that the divided senators must convene together to comply with Paterson's call for special sessions. Paterson has said he'll keep senators in Albany until they do their necessary work.
Sen. Suzie Oppenheimer, a Westchester Democrat, described Tuesday in terms from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." "Just when you think things can't get curiouser," she said.
The Albany Times-Union has a list of bills the Democrats approved.
Previous coverage from Tuesday
Albany (WSYR-TV) – Members of the State Senate met in Chambers for approximately 15 minutes, but like previous times, they did not get any work done.
The Democratic roll call took place with no Republican members in the chamber. As the Democrats asked for a list of all the senators that were not present, the Senate Republicans began to file in, as their names were read.
As the Republicans filed in, Democratic Senate Leader Malcolm Smith immediately asked for the Senate to be at ease; an attempt by the Republican leader Dean Skelos was not recognized by the chair.
Sen. Skelos said the Republican leadership did not recognize the chair, since in their opinion; Sen. Pedro Espada was elected as President of the Senate earlier in the month.
Democratic Senator Klein adjourned the session.
The Governor is scheduled to speak at 12:30. We’ll have live coverage of that news conference on 9wsyr.com and Digital Channel 9.2/Channel 890 on Time Warner Cable.
NewsChannel 9’s Jeff Kulikowsky is in the State Capitol; we’ll have continuing coverage from him thought the day.
