Minority leader wants to stick around
  Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, who leads a small contingent of Republicans in the chamber, announced today he’s running for reelection. The Schenectady resident has served as GOP leader...
View ArticleEx-State Police head fumed over records release
  Former Acting State Police Superintendent Preston Felton said he never knew travel records his department gathered on now-former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno would be published in a...
View ArticleState worker got paid for private work on state time
  The affirmative action and equal employment-opportunity officer for the New York Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance was fired Monday following state Inspector General Joseph Fisch’s...
View ArticleBehind-the-scenes support for budget cuts?
  There has been no public indication yet that the Legislature has any intention of approving $600 million in budget cuts next week, as Gov. Paterson wants them to do. But that doesn’t...
View ArticleAnti-poverty group says tax the rich
  Heather Senison in the Albany bureau reports that an anti-poverty group wants to boost income taxes for the wealthy, limit property taxes based on ability to pay:   On the eve of the...
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Tax Cap Express, take two
  The “Tax Cap Express,†carrying Assemblyman Greg Ball, R-Patterson, and Republican Assembly candidates from the Hudson Valley, arrived in Albany about 10:20 a.m. today. About two dozen...
View ArticleAssembly, Senate don’t see eye to eye
  The Democrat-controlled Assembly passed what’s known as a circuit-breaker tax this afternoon, meaning property taxes would be capped based on homeowners’ ability to pay. The goal is to help...
View ArticleVote on utility company buyout delayed
  The state Public Service Commission will not be voting today on whether to let the Spanish company Iberdrola buy out Energy East, the parent company of Rochester Gas and Electric Co. and New York...
View ArticleTask force season in Albany
  A few new state task forces will begin their work in the coming weeks, joining a number of ongoing ones in Albany:      —The Task Force on Flame Retardant Safety holds its first...
View ArticleSenate minority leader wants more Albany time
Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith wants his colleagues to take time off campaigning for the November elections and return to Albany. He is calling for a special session of the Senate “to protect...
View ArticleBuffalo lawmaker chastised for relationship with intern
  Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver just announced that he would take action against Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, for what the bi-partisan Assembly Ethics and Guidance Committee unanimously...
View ArticleGov. not planning layoffs, tax hikes
  Gov. David Paterson, speaking on an Albany radio news show this hour, said he’s not planning any tax hikes or layoffs of state workers to help get New York out of its fiscal crisis.  But, he...
View ArticleRockefeller Institute: trouble is brewing
  The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government’s quarterly state tax revenue report cautions that “damage is just beginning†in state budgets, with revenue declines likely leading to...
View ArticleNo bail hearing for ex-lawmaker
Gannett News Service intern Heather Senison attended a court appearance today by a former state assemblyman from Plattsburgh charged with felonies this week. This is her report:   A former state...
View ArticleAdvocates meet on 10th anniversary of abortion doc’s murder
  Gannett News Service reporter Heather Senison went to Family Planning Advocates’ annual meeting in Albany today. This is her report:   Family Planning Advocates, an advocacy group that...
View ArticleOfficials are on the same page
  State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli appears to agree with Gov. David Paterson that the state will have to reduce spending next year to deal with New York’s fiscal crisis. Here’s what DiNapoli...
View ArticleResponsible NY — by the numbers
  Here are a few more details on how Tom Golisano’s Responsible New York did in Tuesday’s elections. Golisano, a billionaire who founded Paychex Inc. and ran for governor three times, poured...
View ArticleSenate GOP releases revenue forecast
  In its mid-year economic and revenue-forecast report, the Senate Republican majority said the governor’s Division of Budget consistently overestimates future-year budget deficits. In the past...
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Swan song for chief judge
Judith Kaye, New York’s longest serving and first woman chief judge, will deliver her final annual State of the Judiciary report tomorrow in Albany. Kaye is stepping down Dec. 31 because she is “aging...
View ArticleGov: act now, not later
Gov. David Paterson is not too happy with Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos’ remarks on the governor’s proposal for $2 billion in budget cuts this fiscal year. Paterson unveiled his plan today on...
View ArticleGov. would proceed slowly on Clinton replacement
Gov. David Paterson, who spoke after thanking volunteers prepping thousands of Thanksgiving meals in Albany this afternoon, said he doesn’t want to rush his selection of a successor to Democratic...
View ArticleAlbany area Green Party opposes Clinton nomination
The Capital District Green Party just issued a statement opposing Hillary Clinton’s nomination for secretary of state. The group is criticizing President-elect Barack Obama’s selection, saying it...
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The governor’s thoughts on Palin, Obama and others
Gov. David Paterson touched on a range of topics in answering questions from the news media at the National Governor’s Association meeting in Philadelphia this week. —On U.S. Sen. Hillary...
View ArticleSmith: real reform can’t limit civil rights
Here’s a statement put out by Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith of Queens, who said today that he was no longer negotiating with a trio of Democrats that he had been wooing (see earlier posting)....
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UPDATED: Democratic leadership of Senate still uncertain
It’s status quo on the Senate leadership watch, at least for now. About a dozen Senate Democrats, including Malcolm Smith, majority leader hopeful, met in New York City for about two hours this...
View ArticlePaterson to release budget Tuesday
Gov. David Paterson will deliver what is predicted to be a devastating budget Tuesday, as the state struggles with a deficit of $1.75 billion for this fiscal year (which ends March 31) and more...
View ArticleSenate leadership still up in the air
There are just two days to go until the start of a new legislative term, and three Democratic senators from New York City have not publicly said who they will support to lead the upper chamber....
View ArticleGovernor threatens to continue calling legislative sessions
Lawmakers may be spending their summer vacations in Albany. Gov. David Paterson said on WOR-AM talk radio in New York City that he is frustrated with legislators and will take action if they don’t...
View ArticleSilver: We’re here to help
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, emphasized on Talk 1300 AM radio today that his chamber has already passed all the budget bills. The Senate has not, “and we’re here to see what we could...
View ArticleQUIZ: Who said it? 23 years apart, anti-corruption panels had similar findings
In today’s Gannett newspapers, we look at Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s anti-corruption commission and its harsh criticism of the state Board of Elections. The Moreland Commission’s findings, as it turns out,...
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