By Gerald Benjamin   The brief dustup in the Judiciary Committee regarding the nomination of Jenny Rivera for the Court of Appeals is just the latest piece of evidence that Republicans, with their Independent Democrat coalition partners, are presiding in the Senate but not governing through it. The Committee is comprised of 12 Republicans, 9 Democrats and 2 Independent Democrats; unlike the Senate as a whole, it has a Republican majority. The committee chair, John Bonacic, and some GOP members… [More]

Senate Democrats released a 20-page report today on a proposed minimum wage hike, calling on Republican Senators to vote on the increase from $7.25 an hour to $8.50 in a special session. In a release accompanying the report, bill sponsor State Sen. Adriano Espaillat writes, “This report underscores just how critical it is to raise New York’s minimum wage. Every day the Republicans block passage of the minimum wage is another missed opportunity to lift millions of New Yorkers out… [More]

A source points out a new PAC giving money to Senate Republicans bearing the vague name “Educational Fund” whose donors are two conservative billionaires  and one former aide to President Richard Nixon. The donors are Bruce Kovner, Roger Hertog and Peter Flanigan. Kovner, former head of the hedge fund Caxton Associates, is a major supporter of conservative causes, labeled by New York magazine as “George Soros’s Right-Wing Twin.” He’s also the chairman of conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute… [More]

Candidates who may have once thought Republican Sen. Tom Libous too entrenched and well-funded to be defeated in a state senate race are reconsidering, after a witness in Federal court testified Libous behaved unethically in procuring a job for his son at a law firm. The most recent candidate to consider challenging Libous is Barrett Esworthy, a 36-year-old college professor, who joins Binghamton mayor Matt Ryan and former public schoolteacher John Orzel as potential Democratic challengers to the 12-term state… [More]

What’s wrong with compromise? Last month saw the end of Albany’s decennial redistricting wars. The Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed on Assembly and Senate lines, and punted the Congressional lines to the federal courts. The Assembly lines were by and large unexceptional, the Senate lines were carefully drawn to maximize Republican chances to retain their one-vote majority and the Congressional lines followed conventional political wisdom. All this attracted high octane, top-of-the-lungs interest from the editorial and good-government classes, and… [More]

By Susan Del Percio Skelos scores big, while Silver is barely on the board As Albany transitions from passing a budget to tackling the rest of this year’s session, everyone except the unions is giving Gov. Andrew Cuomo high marks. But the victories racked up by the two legislative leaders over the last 15 months tell a much different story. After Cuomo’s big win in 2010, conventional wisdom held that the Republican Senate majority was over a barrel: The governor… [More]

New York’s proposed health insurance exchange, the virtual marketplace where consumers can shop for insurance, is falling prey to bad timing. Next Monday, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the first of three days of arguments in a challenge to the federal Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law that would establish the exchange system. And while the Court won’t rule on the constitutional law until June, Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants the Legislature to approve the health… [More]

The debate over drawing new district lines for New York politicians is ignoring an important law—the law of unintended consequences. It has received little attention as reformers like Ed Koch and Sean Coffey rail against partisan gerrymandering, while LATFOR chairs Assemblyman John McEneny and Sen. Michael Nozzolio make their case for legislative prerogative. But history shows past reapportionments have always generated unintended consequences, as crafty line drawers end up outsmarting themselves. When Senate Republicans worried about growing Democratic voter registrations… [More]

Projected FY2013 deficits, actual FY2012 deficits, and proposed or planned cuts, as of March 2010 New York is in good company as it tries to close this year’s budget gap. Other states are cutting healthcare and education spending and some are mulling tax cuts to balance their budgets. In many states, though, the size of the deficit is starting to shrink. — jlentz@cityandstateny.com California: 2013: $8.4 billion deficit 2012: $23 billion deficit California Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget banks on a… [More]

For health exchange, all eyes are on the Supreme Court New York’s proposed health insurance exchange, the virtual marketplace where consumers can shop for insurance, is falling prey to bad timing. An exchange, originally a conservative idea with overwhelming support from small businesses across the state, is part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget this year. But the bill’s fate hangs in the balance of two challenges to President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law that will not be decided until long… [More]