FYI. My State! --Chris ***
The Coup What happened? Pedro Espada Jr (D-Bronx) and Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) decided to caucus with the Republicans to form a Republican majority. The Republicans named Espada temporary President of the Senate and Republican Dean Skelos of Nassau County Vice President and Majority Leader. Skelos was majority leader in 2008 prior to the election. A resolution electing the new leadership was introduced at 3pm, and ruled out of order by the senator presiding over the chamber, Neil Breslin (D-Albany). Sen. Thomas Libous (R-Binghamton) then shouted for a roll-call vote on that order, which, after considerable legal huddling by Democrats, was permitted. In the far corner of the room, Espada and Monserrate, his seat-mate, rose to join the Republicans on the other side of the chamber. At that point, trying to stop the vote, Breslin declared the session adjourned and stormed out. Power and internet service were turned off, and the in-house television station that carries Senate proceedings live in the Capitol went dark. All that appeared on the screen was a still photo of the Senate chamber and the words "Please stand by." Guards threatened to lock the door. Down the hall, state troopers began guarding the Democrats in a closed-door strategy session. At that point, Libous secured a vote to put Sen. George Winner (R-Elmira) in charge of the proceedings. The remaining 32 members -- a majority in the 62-member house -- then ruled the move by Democrats to adjourn out of order. They gaveled back in, pushed through the leadership change and swore in the new leaders. Five minutes later, the power was restored, and revealed the deposed Democratic leadership in the Senate replaced by its new authorities. However, the Democrats refused to accept the vote, and claim they are still lawfully in charge. Secretary of the Senate Angelo Aponte, a Democrat, has locked the chamber and refuses to surrender the keys. The Democrats have vowed to keep the Senate from meeting unless their leadership is reinstated. They plan to challenge the vote in court. The Republicans say they will simply meet elsewhere, outdoors if necessary. Who else is reminded of the coup that ended the Soviet Union? Guess we still have the most dysfunctional state government in the country. Business as usual for New York politics -- as Senator Betty Little (R-Glens Falls) put it, "The biggest surprise is that the plan wasn’t leaked ahead of time." Rules Changes The new majority passed some rules changes, including term limits for Senate leadership positions, measures to equalize earmark, staff and resource allocations, and a provision allowing a majority of Senators to bring legislation to the floor for a vote -- previously the Senate leadership controlled the process. Many of these changes were sought by Paychex founder and billionaire Tom Golisano. Full list of rules changes: http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/15240/skeloss-statement-rules-changes Effect of Stalled Legislation The state legislature must approve any county sales tax over 3% every two years. Many counties, including Monroe County, charge 4%. If the Senate does not reconvene before the session ends June 22nd, many counties will face budget shortfalls. Paterson complained that the battle stalls progress on legislation he wants to cap state spending, curb property tax increases by local governments and allow same sex marriages. A law giving the New York City mayor greater control of New York City schools is scheduled to expire at the end of the month unless the full Legislature acts. Senate Democrats have sought to take away some of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's authority while maintaining overall mayoral control. But Bloomberg and the Senate's Republican conference have been very close on policy, and the billionaire mayor has funded many of their campaigns. Bloomberg has given New York State Republican Senate campaign committees more than $1.3 million since 2003, according to New York State Board of Elections records. The new majority has released a calendar of bills to be voted upon -- if they're able to meet somewhere other than the Senate chambers. The list includes authorization for 10 counties to increase sales taxes, allowing tax-increment bonds backed by property taxes levied by school districts, and authorizing Westchester County to sell bonds through electronic bidding in a three-year pilot program. There is no companion tax-increment bond bill in the Assembly. A number of gun control bills had passed the Assembly and appeared likely to pass the Senate, but appear to be dead at this time. Interestingly, the media has been completely silent regarding these bills, even as they detail the many other bills now in doubt. Tom Golisano Tom Golisano claims his PAC, Responsible New York, played a major role in the coup. "Responsible New York, particularly Steve Pidgeon. We went to work and Steve brought these factions together over a period of six or seven weeks and today was culminated by the announcement that we have a new majority leader in the Senate and they passed these reforms like, easy," Golisano said. Mr. Golisano played a role in negotiating original deal under which Espada and Monserrate -- along with Ruben Díaz (D-Bronx) and Senator Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) -- gave their support to Mr. Smith. The deal included making Espada Senate President, but other Democrats refused to go along with the plan. The rules changes were also a priority for Tom Golisano. G. Steve Pigeon, his political advisor, said Monday that Golisano felt betrayed by Smith because the Democratic leader had not delivered the overhaul of Senate rules he had promised upon taking power. "He feels very strongly that he backed Malcolm Smith, and Smith didn’t keep his word, and didn’t make the changes he said he would," said Pigeon. "What you will see now is power-sharing, real reform." Golisano spent more than $4 million last fall helping Democrats take the Senate. After becoming disillusioned with the Senate Democrats, he and Pigeon spent several weeks helping the Republicans with the planned coup. Sources say planning for the coup began six weeks ago in an Albany bar called Red Square, in a meeting involving Pigeon, other Golisano advisers, Skelos and Libous. By last week, Espada and Monserrate were on board. In a town that can’t keep a secret, this one was amazing: even rank-and-file Republicans were not told what would happen Monday. "It was obvious to us they weren’t going to keep their commitment, and that was very bad for New York State," Golisano said of Senate Democrats in an interview. He called Monday "a great day for New York," and said his disappointment with his financial investment with the Senate Democrats helped force Monday’s coup. "It didn’t materialize," Golisano said of the donations he thought would fuel change in Albany. for Liberty, Chris Edes ------------------------------------ ForumWebSiteAt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Libertarian/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
