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The statements are among the latest developments in the ongoing battler for control overthe Senate, a leadership fighy that has paralyzed the legislativee process. The fight pits all 30 Senate Republicansand Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. (D-Bronx) againstt the chamber’s remaining 31 Democrats. There’s no way to breako the 31-31 vote, becauswe the state has had no lieutenanft governorsince Gov. David Paterson vacatef that post to take over forforme Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Paterson called an emergency legislative sessioj for3 p.m. Wednesday. Republicans did not saying they did not want to repeaytthe “circus” that occurred in Tuesday’s special session.
Democrats locked themselves in the Senate chambers aheas of the sessions on Tuesday and attempting to preventthe Republican-lede voting bloc from taking controll of the gavel. When Republicabn arrived to Tuesday’s session, they conducted their own sessio using asecond gavel. At 3 the special session began with Democratxs and Republicans shouting overeach other, holding two sessions at • extending the state’s Power for Jobs progra m until May 2010. The popular program provides low-cosyt electricity to 570 companies, including many upstate in exchange for pledge s tocreate jobs. It is scheduled to end on June 30.
enabling Schoharie County to imposew an occupancy tax on hotel and motekl rooms of up to4 percent. Each side recorder votes as 62-0, even though the othe side did not participate inthe Now, both sides agree that it’s unclear whether any of the votexs were legal. “It is questionable whether the billx our members passed Tuesday coulxd be enactedinto law, even if those billes contained the same language as bill previouslyh passed by the Assembly,” said Sen. John Sampson (D-Brooklyn), the new leaderd of Senate Democrats. Any bills that legitimatelg passes the Senate would have to be voted on by the because bills receive new identification numbers duringb aspecial session.
Earlhy Tuesday morning, the Assembly adjourned for summer vacation. Tuesday was the first time in more than two weeks that the two sidee had been in the Senate at the same Senators have performed no official business sincee the surprise uprising that Republicansz led onJune 8, when two Democrats joinedd all 30 Republicans in an attempyt to oust Sen. Malcolm Smitj (D-Queens) as majority leader. One Democrat has since left the coalition, creating a 31-31 split in the The two sides still do not agree on who is in or whether the actions on June 8were legal. By law, Patersonh has the power to compel legislators to meet in aspecialp session.
He also dictates which billes will be included onthe session’zs agenda. The governor cannot, however, forcwe legislators to vote onthoses bills. Also today, a state judgse denied a lawsuit from Senate Republicand againstAngelo Aponte, who was elected secretary of the Senat e by Democrats earlier this The lawsuit alleged that Aponte is illegallgy preventing a Republican-led coalition from conducting official Senate
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