Politics on the Hudson

Gov. David Paterson’s plans to bring back the state Legislature later this month to address the state’s budget gap may have hit another roadblock: Some senators think they should wait until later in the year to deal with it.

Senate President Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, said the state may be better off waiting until the fiscal picture is clearer. He pointed to strong recent performances from some Wall Street firms, like Goldman Sachs, that could signal an improving state economy.

“If we wait another quarter or so, I don’t think it would hurt us until we get a chance to see where we really are,” Smith told Gannett’s Albany bureau prior to the Senate holding a special session Thursday at the Capitol.

Paterson said he wants to call the Legislature into session later this month in order to close a $2.1 billion budget gap. He has warned that waiting until later in the year couldput the state in further debt.

But legislative leaders are balking at coming back, at least until leaders and Paterson can agree preliminarily on how to close the gap. Last week, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, told Gannett that he wouldn’t want to come back until legislative leaders and Paterson reached a deal.

Smith said he’s not even sure if the $2.1 billion deficit figure is accurate, saying it could be higher or lower. But he said higher taxes and fees will not be considered.

Updated: The governor’s office responded with this statement.

“Every state in the nation is confronting the same historic economic crisis.  The current $2.1 billion budget gap is consistent with this national trend and action is needed to close the deficit.  The longer we wait to deal with this problem, the harder the decision making becomes.  Other states that have failed to address this crisis have been forced to deal with cash flow problems, delayed payments on critical obligations, and diminished credit ratings.”

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