Dems, GOP stage dueling NY Senate sessions

ALBANY, N.Y. — Evenly split political factions turned the New York Senate Tuesday into a two-ring legislative circus of sharp words, laughter and jeers, including a derisive “Duh,” where Republicans and Democrats dueling for control held simultaneous sessions in the ornate chamber.

Democratic Gov. David Paterson ordered Tuesday’s session to break a two-week stalemate and get the Senate moving on issues with June 30 deadlines, including bond financing, municipal taxes and mayoral control of New York City schools.

While each faction appeared to have passed bills by voice vote, Paterson said he didn’t know if they passed anything amid the heckling. He called it disgusting and a dereliction of duty.

“They have clearly forgotten who they serve,” Paterson said. “They will stay here every day until they resolve it.”

Several senators exchanged sharp words in the latest confrontation since Republicans tried to regain a majority with the help of two dissident Democrats, one of whom later flipped support back to his own party. That left both sides deadlocked with 31 votes each.

Tuesday’s brief session was marked by heckling and laughing. Democrats in control of the audiovisual system cut off microphone and camera feeds when Republicans spoke.

Sen. Andrea Stewart Cousins, a Westchester County Democrat, had the podium. Democrats entered the chamber more than two hours early, getting the jump on Republicans who planned to occupy the ornate room at 2 p.m., an hour before Paterson’s scheduled start time. The Democrats briefly locked the doors, barring reporters and the public.

After the doors were unlocked and the Republican-led faction arrived, Elmira Republican Sen. George Winner was denied the podium and directed legislative business from the Senate floor separately from Cousins.

Democrats sat at their desks with hands over their hearts during the Pledge of Allegiance led by Republicans. They stood during their own recitation of the pledge later, as did the Republicans.

At another point, Winner told Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, a Bronx Democrat who was laughing, “You’re out of order.”

Hassell-Thompson replied, “You’re out of order. Don’t you dare tell me I’m out of order.”

Winner said he didn’t have copies of legislation from the governor’s office, consisting of some 95 bills, including 36 extending or increasing municipal taxes and aid set to expire Nov. 30.

Sen. Malcolm Smith, a Democratic leader, said he also didn’t have the bills, and they needed to sort it out with Paterson. Cousins ruled the session would stand at ease. Republican Winner ruled the session adjourned.

“It’s chaos,” said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Paterson aides said the bills had been provided to the Senate two hours earlier.

In the end, the Republicans and Democrats held another session or two alone, both oddly counting all 62 senators as present and voting in favor of their bills.

Earlier Tuesday, the Republican faction and the Democratic conference failed in talks to work out a possible power-sharing arrangement.

Republican leader Dean Skelos of Long Island and Sen. Pedro Espada, the Bronx Democrat who is voting with the GOP, met with Paterson earlier and discussed binding arbitration to settle the dispute.

Sen. Thomas Libous, a Binghamton Republican who ran the June 8 parliamentary overthrow that led to the coalition’s claim of leadership, said there’s one main difference in both sides’ proposals. “We want to do a power-sharing agreement through December of 2010; they only want to do one for two days,” Libous said. “We don’t think 31-31 is going to go away after this week.”

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Associated Press writers Michael Gormley and Valerie Bauman contributed to this report.