Syracuse, NY - Take that, governor. The state Senate called it a night three minutes after starting an extraordinary session called by Gov. David Paterson on Sunday. The Assembly also recessed quickly without voting on any of Paterson’s budget proposals. Paterson called the Senate and Assembly back to Albany at 7 p.m. Sunday for a special session on the nearly...
Syracuse, NY - Take that, governor.
The state Senate called it a night three minutes after starting an extraordinary session called by Gov. David Paterson on Sunday. The Assembly also recessed quickly without voting on any of Paterson’s budget proposals.
Paterson called the Senate and Assembly back to Albany at 7 p.m. Sunday for a special session on the nearly three-month-late $136 billion state budget. But the governor could not force the lawmakers to do anything once they arrived.
“I don’t know why he called us back. In all honesty, I don’t know why he did,” said Assemblymen William Magnarelli, D-Syracuse.
He predicted the Legislature will pass Monday afternoon amended budget appropriations bills, restoring $600 million in funding that the governor wanted to cut from education. After that, the budget will be final, he said.
But in a news conference at 8:45 p.m. Sunday, Paterson vowed to veto all of the extra spending the Legislature added to his Jan. 19 executive budget — including $193 million in member items — if the Legislature does not approve a contingency plan to use if New York does not receive $1 billion in Medicaid funding from the federal government.
Paterson said the Medicaid funding appears to be in jeopardy, but the Legislature acts like it is not.
“If you face the potential of the government shutting down, we should be in Albany making sure that doesn’t happen,” Paterson said earlier Sunday. “So I instructed the legislators to come back today on Sunday.”
He said the Legislature’s inaction Sunday night was “kind of appalling.”
Magnarelli said the state government will not shut down on Monday.
“There is no showdown,” he said.
Magnarelli said the Legislature will vote Tuesday on revenue bills which do not include allowing SUNY universities to set their own tuitions, a change the governor favors. The revenue bills also will not include Paterson’s plan to let grocery stores sell wine or to tax sugary soft drinks, Magnarelli said.
He said the Legislature will vote on a temporary suspension of the 4 percent state sales tax exemption of clothing that cost less than $110.
Magnarelli said he didn’t know what Paterson accomplished by calling the extraordinary session Sunday night.
Magnarelli said he believes the Assembly will break for the summer on Thursday.
Contact Mike McAndrew at mmcandrew@syracuse.com or 470-3016.