New Senate leader to visit Binghamton
New Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos plans to visit Binghamton next week, the second stop on an upstate tour for the state’s most powerful Republican, a spokesman said today. Skelos, 60, a 24-year...
View ArticleNew best buddies: Paterson and Skelos
  The love-fest between new Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Gov. David Paterson apparently survived their first closed-door meeting. The two leaders, joking about Paterson’s “seniority’’...
View Article‘Three men in a room’ to reconvene next week
 Gov. David Paterson plans to meet privately with legislative leaders next Thursday in New York City to talk about his plan to cap property taxes. It will be the first time that new Senate Majority...
View ArticleSchool union weighs in on tax caps
  New York State United Teachers are striking out in an expensive way at proposals to implement a 4 percent annual cap in the growth of school property taxes. The union, which has about 600,000...
View ArticleAssembly leader warns against “backpedaling”
  Following Gov. David Paterson’s televised address on New York State’s bleak fiscal outlook, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said his members are ready to help get New York’s...
View ArticleNY physicians get temporary reprieve
  Gov. David Paterson announced today that he signed legislation to put a one-year freeze on medical malpractice rates for New York physicians and suspend an anticipated surcharge until June 30,...
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Skelos To Paterson: Get Your Facts Straight
So much for the bi-partisan spirit that permeated the Capitol last week. Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, put out a statement today that tries to remind Gov. Paterson that it...
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...
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...
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Opposing factions to dine together on Thanksgiving
Sen. Ruben Diaz of the Bronx, one of the “Gang of Three” Democrats who have refrained from endorsing a majority leader in their party, may be warming to the idea, the Associated Press is reporting....
View ArticleDem. leader takes shots at GOP counterpart
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, took some jabs at his Senate counterpart this morning on Talk 1300 Radio in Albany. Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, have...
View ArticleSenate leadership still unresolved
In an interview on Talk 1300 radio in Albany this morning, Senator-elect Pedro Espada, D-Bronx, continued to rail against Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, after a deal to unite...
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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 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 ArticleSkelos hopes Paterson sticks to borrowing pledge, but taxes another issue
Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos issued a statement this afternoon urging Gov. David Paterson to stick to his pledge that borrowing in order to plug a $9.2 billion gap in the state’s budget will...
View ArticleTalking taxes on tobacco
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, appearing in a television interview, said he was open to taxing other forms of tobacco such as chewing tobacco and cigars in order to generate much-needed revenue for...
View ArticlePaterson and leaders meet, offer few details
Gov. David Paterson and Democratic legislative leaders met for about a hour today to hammer some sort of compromise on the state budget, now 84 days late. The state leaders emerged to say little about...
View ArticleSenate Democratic leader, Assembly speaker haven’t signed reform pledge
New York Uprising, founded by former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, is asking candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives, state offices and the Senate and Assembly to pledge they will support...
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Skelos: Don’t forget about the “schism” in the Democratic Party
After taking in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget address and hearing his plan for universal pre-kindergarten, Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos had a reminder for the governor: There’s a “schism” among...
View ArticleSenate leadership on board for Common Core pause, too
Senate leaders are on board with the push to delay using Common Core-based tests to evaluate students and teachers, too. Senate Co-Leaders Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, and Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, issued...
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