Democrats say they want to get back to work
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- July
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   Today’s 3 p.m. Senate session is expected to be short and senators are not expected to take up any business because of the 31-31 split between Democrats and a coalition of one Democrat and 30 Republicans. Following a June 8 vote in which the GOP took over control of the Senate from Democrats, there has been a leadership stalemate and legislative work has been at a virtual standstill.Â
  Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn, said this afternoon that his members plan to move right into a regular session and pass bills after the 3 p.m. special session ends. To get a quorum of members, at least one Republican would have to participate, or the Democrat who allied himself with Republicans would have to return to the fold.
  “We cannot allow Republicans to hold 19.5 million New Yorkers hostage any longer. Enough is enough,” said Sampson, who was flanked by signs that said, “Get back to work. Pass the bills.”
  Asked if he had any reason to believe there would be a quorum, Sampson responded, “As my mother always said, you have to have faith.”
  There are a dozen bills on Democrats’ active list, which is subject to change. All are bills that relate to local tax liens, assessments, contracts, waterfront revitalization and similar issues. For example, one would provide for the repayment of excess state payments made to the Highland Falls, Orange County, school district.
  Sampson accused Republicans of caring only about “T triple P—titles, power, pork and patronage.”
  For their part, Republicans have criticized Democrats for the holdup in legislative business, saying they refuse to accept what was a legal leadership vote June 8.
  Negotiations to develop a short- and/or long-term operating structure have not moved forward.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, July 7th, 2009 at 1:13 pm by Cara Matthews.
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