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Suffolk exec sues to end state Senate stalemate
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July 08, 2009 | 01:36 PM
Suffolk County has entered the state Senate fray. County Executive Steve Levy headed to Albany Tuesday to sue for a declaratory judgment on the disputed leadership of the lawmaking body.
A June 8 coup by a Republican dominated coalition threw the Senate into confusion, resulting in a 31-31 voting stalemate with an ongoing dispute over which party controls the chamber's leadership. While a state judge punted the decision in a similar suit by former Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans), at a July 2 press conference in Hauppauge, Levy argued that it's time for an independent government branch to intervene to break the impasse.
"We need the judiciary to take a stand and indicate whether or not that vote in June ... was valid," Levy said. He referred to the Republican-led coalition's June 8 vote to install Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. (D-Bronx) as temporary Senate president and Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) as majority leader. Democrats claim the vote was illegal because there was no quorum after they fled the chamber, meaning the January designation of Smith as majority leader still stands. Senate leadership is critical, allowing the controlling party to determine which bills make it to the floor.
The legislators "are obviously not coming to a decision," the Suffolk executive said. "There's too much power at stake."
Despite a number of attempted single-party sessions by each 31-member caucus in the past month, no legislation has been passed under a quorum viewed as legitimate by Gov. David Paterson, who has refused to sign the bills passed by caucuses acting alone. He has sought to pressure the Senate into a compromise allowing legislative actions by forcing the factions together in special sessions day after day, and influencing state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to agree to temporarily withhold senators' pay until official lawmaking resumes.
Much of the pending legislation authorizes taxes and services by local governments. Suffolk has at least $8 million in revenue awaiting Senate action, which includes an extension of the county's hotel-motel sales tax and a cell-phone surcharge to pay for enhanced 911 coverage, according to Levy spokesman Mark Smith.
But far more crucial to Suffolk's budget is an estimated $200 to $300 million in general county sales tax, which if not reauthorized by the state Legislature expires in September, Smith said. "If that were to expire, it would be a nightmare financially for us," he added. The Senate actually passed the extension before June 8, but the struggle over leadership has halted even routine functions and prevented the legislation from being submitted for Paterson's signature, according to Levy's spokesman.
"We don't have the luxury of waiting days, weeks or months for a resolution to this problem," Levy said. "Every dollar we do not get from the state is a dollar we have to cut from programs."
Legal designation of a chamber leader, while doing nothing about the 31-31 voting tie, would at least allow for legitimate sessions to be convened and votes taken. This would suffice for most municipalities; the reauthorization bills the Senate needs to pass are widely deemed "noncontroversial." A continuing voting stalemate would likely hold up only divisive issues such as instituting gay marriage.
Senate Democrats share "Levy's frustration with the gridlock in Albany that has prevented critical legislation from being passed," Smith spokesman Austin Shafran said in a Tuesday email. Democrats will continue their efforts to reach a power-sharing deal "that recognizes the reality of a chamber tied 31-31" and resume official lawmaking, he wrote. "For weeks, we have proposed bipartisan operating agreements ... but the Republicans have refused to entertain any offer that doesn't give them complete control of the chamber."
Republicans are also working to strike a bipartisan operating agreement, but "we think it's clear who the [Senate's] leaders are," Skelos spokesman Scott Reif said Tuesday. "A vote for new leadership was taken June 8. ... That's the last vote for leadership in the house."
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