Now that unemployment and poverty rates are sky high, why not open a few casinos? The Post reports that both parties agree: legalized gambling should happen. It'll give people a chance to discover a new rock-bottom get back on their feet, inject some cash into the state's austere budget, and finally allow us to knock Native Americans out of the one position of power that they currently hold. Everybody wins! more ›

Though Dean Skelos and the State Senate Republicans still haven't decided if there will be a vote on marriage equality before the legislative session in Albany ends, the issue is still dominating the capitol despite other hot topics to choose from. Advocates on both sides are currently hunkering down, preparing for all contingencies. Celebrities are descending on Albany, an amendment to deal with GOP concerns of religious exemptions has apparently been drafted, opponents are reaching for new angles (couldn't the gays just go straight?) and rumors of the issue being sent to popular referendum are running amok. On top of all that, New Yorkers for Marriage Equality is threatening to "go crazy" if there is no vote. more ›

If the State Senate is going to vote on marriage equality, it isn't going to happen today. Or tomorrow. Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos came out of yet another three-hour Republican conference today to tell reporters that “There is a concern right now as to the unintended consequences of some of the religious causes, carveouts, protections and we’re reviewing that.” If a vote is to happen on the measure it will now happen either Sunday (since, as Skelos points out, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will be observing the Sabbath) or Monday. Meanwhile, despite support for the measure from more than 700 faith leaders across the State, Archbishop Dolan continues to talk about the “ominous threat” the idea of marriage equality presents. more ›

Last month we said it was time to talk about rent control, and now things are starting to get serious. Sheldon Silver and the Assembly Democrats yesterday fired the first shot in what could be an epic battle for the fate of rent control in New York State. The current rent regulations expire on June 15. more ›

After emerging from a closed door meeting with Governor Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos sounded optimistic that a budget agreement could be announced tomorrow. But New Yorkers demanding changes to the rent regulation rules are bound to be disappointed, as are those who think the state's budget crisis should be solved, in part, by an income tax surcharge on New Yorkers making more than $200,000. "It’s off the table, it’s gone, it’s done, it’s dead," Skelos told reporters, referring to the so-called "millionaire's tax." more ›

Former Mayor Ed Koch complained that NY State Republicans are dragging their feet on making good on redistricting reform. Yesterday, at a press conference, he pointed out how Republicans promised reform during last year's election but have now reneged, "You know, you either have to honor your pledge or you’re, in my judgment, dishonorable." And one of those "dishonorable" lawmakers is State Senator Majority Leader Dean Skelos. more ›

While yesterday's Marist poll found that 53% of New Yorkers oppose constructing the Islamic community center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero, a closer look at the numbers reveals that Manhattan residents are solidly in support of the project. 53% of survey respondents in Manhattan—that island in elitist, unreal America where the thing will actually be built—are for the Islamic center, with 31% opposed and 16% undecided. Majority rules! And that's the last we'll hear of the mosque controversy; it's been a real blast, folks. more ›

Other than the fact it might have been illegal, was the expulsion of disgraced state Sen. Hiram Monserrate a bad idea? Voting to kick out Monserrate following his misdemeanor conviction for domestic assault leaves Democrats with a precarious 31-30 majority in Albany, where a 32-vote quorum is needed to pass any legislation. more ›

If there's one thing that brings Albany Democrats and Albany Republicans together, it's their general dislike of state Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens). According to the Daily News, Senate GOP Leader Dean Skelos believes there's a "real possibility" that Republicans will band together with some Democrats to bring to the Senate floor a resolution to expel Monserrate — who was convicted of misdemeanor assault for slashing his girlfriend with a broken glass. more ›

After Governor Paterson's appointment of Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor was struck down again recently in a state appeals court, it appeared to be curtains for one of Paterson's most popular moves in an attempt to combat the state senate takeover this spring. But yesterday the state's top court gave the governor and Ravitch a glimmer of hope after they were unexpectedly tough on the state senator who took the appointment to court, Republican Minority Leader Dean Skelos. more ›

This is the State Senate's idea of "meeting" today: The Senate Democrats met in the Senate chamber, gaveled in, said the Pledge of Allegiance, have a moment of silence and gaveled out. Then the Senate Republicans entered, gaveled in, said the Pledge, had a moment of silence and gaveled out. Capitol Confidential writes, "So there has been progress today. No camping out on the rostrum, no dueling sessions." The Daily Politics says the Republicans were faster by 42 seconds, but that's because Senator Craig Johnson (D-Long Island) asked for a moment of silence to remember the death of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson. more ›

With attempts by the Republicans in the state senate to hold a legislative session continuing to go nowhere, a bipartisan group of senators met behind closed doors today in an attempt to get through the impasse they have found themselves in. That too proved futile. more ›

State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. is sending shivers down the spine of New Yorkers today, with his solution to break the State Senate tie. Espada told the Post, "I can have two votes. We're going to maintain that, as the president pro tempore of the Senate, I am also the acting lieutenant governor, and the lieutenant governor can vote when there's a tie." Hey, is he suggesting that because he was elected to represent the Bronx, but really (allegedly) spends his time living in Westchester?! Democrat-appointed policy adviser and Counsel to the New York State Senate Michael Kink, though, Twittered, "Justice McNamara's decision explicitly says he's not deciding who is the NY Senate Temporary President -- it's up to the Senate to negotiate." At any rate, why we have a 62-member Senate was explored by Newsday's Dan Janison: Maybe-majority leader Dean "Skelos [R-Long Island] in 2002 discovered that a 62-seat redistricting scheme would work best for his party," and managed to create a district in Brooklyn that got Republican Martin Golden elected. more ›

A State Supreme Court judge refused to rule on the State Senate's state of ridiculousness and instead urged (again!) the Senators to work out the matter. State Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara dismissed Smith vs. Espada (read the decision) and wrote, "A judicially imposed resolution would be an improvident intrusion into the inner workings of a coequal branch of government. The practical effect of having a court decide this issue would be that its decision, if only by perception, would have an influence on the internal workings of the Senate. … To have a court do so would be improper... The failure of the Senate to resolve this issue in an appropriate manner will make them answerable to the electorate." more ›

Sigh, of course, the State Senate Democrats' and Republicans' power-sharing deal talks totally collapsed yesterday, leaving the fate of the State Senate—and important state legislation—in the hands of Judge Thomas McNamara who had all but begged the Senators to get their acts together and work it out themselves. State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. (D-Bronx), who helped create this morass after last week's coup, said, "We need judicial intervention." more ›

With the new GOP regime in control of the State Senate, there's also a new person who is next in line after Governor David Paterson. That would be Senate president pro tempore Pedro Espada Jr. (D-Bronx). And since any trips that Paterson would make out of the state—even to NJ—would put Espada in power, Paterson is staying put. The governor told reporters today, "I would not plan on the leaving the state right now. Right now, if there's any type of misunderstanding or who is next in charge, I would think the best thing for me to do is to stay here." more ›

In a stunning turn of events, the Republicans appear to have taken back control of the State Senate after two Democratic senators defected and voted to place new leaders in control of the legislative body. Senators Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada, Jr., of Queens and the Bronx respectively, joined GOP senators in a 32-30 vote to make Espada temporary president of the Senate and Republican Dean Skelos the new Majority Leader. more ›

It seems unclear who Governor Paterson's allies are these days with him now coming out to criticize Republicans in legislature for their hard-pressed stance in voting against any potential MTA bailout plan suggested thus far. Referring to GOP members voting against a plan that would bring their upstate constituents economic benefits due to creating jobs in bus and subway assembly plants, Paterson said, "I don't see any reason why they wouldn't be voting for it because it has a direct economic, imperative affect on their districts...And I think that if 30 members of a party all vote the same way—what we used to call that when I was in the Senate was a party vote." A spokesman for GOP leader Dean Skelos called Paterson "delusional." With the Democrats' plan containing incorrect math, the deadline for the MTA set for Wednesday and each side in Albany seeming to go in its own direction, frustration and anxiety seem to be abound. more ›

After Malcolm Smith came forward yesterday with his highly anticipated version of a rescue plan, the Senate Leader turned around today and found just about no one standing behind him—not Governor Paterson, not Assembly Leader Silver and certainly not anyone from the New York newspapers. more ›

After 43 years in power, the Republicans gave up the majority in the NY State Senate and Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) became the majority leader. Outgoing majority leader Dean Skelos (R-Long Island) said, "Let me be one of the first to congratulate you as a friend and a colleague, of being elected. This has been a year of incredible change, and whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, we should be proud that any racial barriers have come down in this country." Smith is the first black leader of either part of the Legislature. more ›

The special legislative session called upon by Governor Paterson yesterday fell on its face with no action being taken to address the already sizable and quickly growing state budget deficit. The ninety-minute session open to the public amounted to what some called nothing more than "political theater" and even "an exercise in mockery." more ›

Governor David Paterson, frustrated by not getting a deal for the state's troubled budget before today's special Legislative session, described state lawmakers as being "out of touch," according to NY1. Paterson said, "Looking at Albany, and Albany not being able to cut $2 billion off of a $15 billion problem that has to be addressed in four months is more than irresponsible, it doesn't make any sense." He is particularly unhappy with Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R), who will introduce Paterson's unpopular budget cuts for a vote without offering any ideas of his own for cuts. For the record, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver didn't offer any ideas for budget cuts either, and Paterson told the Post, "I'm not going to take the blame if we come out of the session without a budget-cutting package." more ›

Yesterday, Governor Paterson had a "secret" meeting with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos to discuss the state's severe budget crisis. And apparently it didn't go very well: The NY Times reports that they "failed to reach a resolution...throwing into doubt the chances that an agreement could be reached" before Tuesday's emergency legislative session. Paterson, whose proposed budget cuts would hit Medicaid and schools the hardest, blamed Skelos, stating, "It was clear from the meeting that Majority Leader Skelos has not changed his position," but the Senate GOP said, "We are being called to Albany by the governor to act on specific bills, which he has yet to send us." And even some Democrats may be uneasy, since the plan hits hospitals and schools. more ›

Thank you, Governor David Paterson because now we have the long-awaited NY Post Photoshop job of Sheldon Silver as Count Dracula. The Governor caused a commotion after telling advocates for the disabled, "I used to sit in my legislative office and think about how difficult it is to travel 150 miles to Albany on a bus...and how there were legislators who I used to think practiced their own versions of being Count Dracula. They would be very nice to the advocates when they came to Albany and then...the sun would go down and they'd go back to who they really are, a bunch of bloodsuckers." more ›

A day after his stunning decision to leave the State Senate after 32 years, Majority Leader Joseph Bruno held a sentimental press conference. Capitol Confidential and Daily Politics has highlights from his remarks, like “Life decisions are never easy. And I’ve made a life decision. My life decision is to step back, and step out" and answering "I have news for you, we're all terminal here" when asked if he is terminally ill. more ›