WHEREAS the Democratic and Republican Conferences are unable to agree as to who is the validly elected President Pro Tempore and Majority Leader of the New York State Senate; and
WHEREAS in order to move forward with legislation critical to the people of this state, the Democratic Conference and the Republican Conference (which, combined with Senator Espada, identifies themselves as the “Reform Coalition”) are willing to put aside temporarily the dispute over the election of the President Pro Tempore and Majority Leader, and to suspend the Rules of the Senate for the purpose of considering legislation critical to the public and municipalities of the State;
Yup, this is the proposed "Bipartisan Operating Agreement for the NY Senate."
If you want more background, you can click here. If you want to stay in the present, yesterday the NY Senate was passing bills 32-0 because the Republicans didn't show up. What's that you say? But there are only 31 Democrats in the NY Senate? Jimmy Velkind has this:
Senator Frank Padavan walked through the back of the chamber, Democrats say. He was spotted by several people (although I didn't see him), and journal clerks counted him as a present as Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins gaveled in and led the pledge. His presence, however brief, apparently, gives the Democrats the 32nd vote they need for a quorum.
Then again, Frank claims he wasn't really there, he was just looking for a cup of coffee. It might have been a soda. Depends if you believe the reporters who talked to him, or the affadavit he signed.
There is a great proposal for the NY Senate, which comes from Adama at The Albany Project:
I'm sorry that I have to say this, because I know that there are some people with excellent intentions who are working on the problem. But it's become increasingly clear that there is no scenario under which the two sides in the State Senate fight are going to put together a reasonable power sharing agreement. Several have been proposed, and then immediately shot down, because no one appears interested in actual governing.[...]
I'm hereby calling on the entire New York State Senate to resign, effective immediately.
Every member of the chamber, go home. Have the Governor call a special election, complete with primaries, for all the Senate seats. The current senators can run to get their jobs back if they like, but let's allow the voters to decide who they want running this thing. Everyone is at exactly equal risk--the only thing that you have to be judged on is how you've conducted yourself.
Believe me, I'm under no illusions that this will actually happen. But at this point it doesn't seem any more unlikely than a power sharing agreement that will do anything other than put the entire state on hold until 2010.
