ALBANY—Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith emerged from a three-hour closed-door conference with the last two members of his conference holding up an M.T.A. bailout bill and announced that they had reached an agreement with each other about what the legislation should contain. Now it’s question of whether the Senate Democrats can get the governor and the Assembly to go along with what they pass.
“The governor proposed language that said he would reimburse the school districts,” Smith said. “We heard that language, and we want to talk to him and be clear about exactly what reimbursement means, and specifically want to make sure we’re comfortable with the fact that these school districts will be held harmless and it won’t fluctuate based on circumstances, and that’s why the language will be very important.
