The Saga Continues In The New York Senate

According to the New York Post, Governor Paterson has called the state Senate into session at 3 p.m. to vote on 55 crucial pieces of legislation that must be passed by the end of summer to prevent taxes and other vital laws from expiring.  The Senators had asked for 24 hours to work out their differences, but the Governor turned down the request.  On June 8, two Senate Democrats voted with the Republicans to replace the Senate leader and the Senate was thrown into chaos.  They have not been able to agree on how to move forward since then.

According to the article, the Governor provided the Senate with a to-do list:

Bills to renew the 2002 law that gives City Hall control over the school system and hike the city sales tax by 0.5 percentage points were on the list.

More controversial items, such as his proposals to legalize same-sex marriage and create a new, less-generous pension tier, were not.”

The State Assembly is expected to wrap up legislative business late this morning and adjourn for the summer after passing more than 300 bills in the last week.  Meanwhile, the Senate is still trying to work out a power-sharing agreement.