ALBANY—Democrats controlling the State Senate have pared down their agenda for tomorrow's session.
Four bills were removed from the rules calendar, according to spokesman Austin Shafran, after Republicans "expressed to us that they would not be supporting them" and Democrats, without Senator Brian Foley, won't have the 32 votes needed to pass them.
Two bills by Senator Eric Adams–one relating to the interstate compact for horse racing and another relating to OTB were taken off, as was a bill that would exclude livery cabs from a new surcharge. A bill that would prevent people from buying apartment buildings and converting them to private residences–pushed by State Senator Daniel Squadron at a press conference today in front of 47 E. 3rd Street, where it happened–was also taken off the agenda. (Squadron can't get a break, can he?)
Three other bills are on life support; they're still on the agenda but Republican have indicated non-support. They are another Squadron bill related to shelter rents, a larger "clean-up" bill sponsored by Senator Carl Kruger and a bill by Senator Neil Breslin that would create a residential parking system in Albany. (It enjoys strong support among Capitol staffers and my colleagues in the LCA, some of whom live in the affected downtown area.)
Shafran insisted (and a round of calls to Senate sources validates) that the "flagship" items of the session–a restructuring of ethics reinforcement and a bill to incentivize winterization–will "definitely" be on the agenda, and are expected to pass. As are three nominations, including that of Jay Walder to head the M.T.A.
Like all things Senate related, this is subject to last-minute change.
