Politics on the Hudson

State lawmakers and Gov. David Paterson were continuing today to try to find a compromise on a bailout of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, even as Senate Democrats sought to move forward with their own proposal.

The Senate Transportation Committee passed along party-line votes Monday a version of an MTA bailout that would impose a $1 surcharge on taxi rides in the New York City area and hit businesses in that region with a payroll tax to fund MTA operations.

But even as the measure was passing, Senate Democrats warned that no final agreement has been reached. Transportation Committee Chairman Martin Malave Dilan, D-Brooklyn, said the bill that passed his committee would likely be amended before it makes it to the Senate floor.

“We’re moving the conversation forward,” Dilan said.

He said lawmakers are looking at a variety of options, such as dumping or lowering the taxi surcharge in favor of a statewide tax on motor vehicles bought or leased in New York. Some lawmakers are pushing a $2 per gallon tax on jet fuel in the state.

Legislators are seeking an agreement to avoid major fare increases and service cuts for the transit authority, which serves a 12-county region including Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess counties.

The MTA faces at least a $1.2 billion budget gap this year, and the agency said Monday that even if cuts and fare increases are enacted, it would still face a $621 million deficit.

“Today’s re-forecast is further proof that the MTA desperately needs stable revenue sources that don’t plummet during economic downturns,” said H. Dale Hemmerdinger, MTA chairman.

Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, is pledging to pass an MTA plan this week, which would require 32 votes in the chamber. But so far, several Democrats oppose a payroll tax, and no Republican has come out in favor of the Democrats’ plan.

Democrats hold a 32-30 seat majority.

“This is a disgrace,” William Larkin, R-New Windsor, Orange County, said of the proposal.

Gov. David Paterson scolded lawmakers for not finding an agreement, saying proposed plans to raise fares by up to 30 percent are unacceptable. And he knocked a taxi surcharge, saying it would hurt the industry. He said he prefers adding tolls to the free bridges over the East and Harlem River bridges.

“I don’t think there should have been this kind of delay,” Paterson said of getting a deal. “I don’t think there should have been these wide misunderstandings that have occurred.”

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