Senator Liz Krueger indicated on the air that while she had yet to see any “official bills” from the Governor’s office, she was expecting to see bill language during the course of the day on Wednesday in preparation for the extraordinary session.  

The short story is, she didn’t. 

The long story is not clear.   The Governor either did or did not submit the bills until much later in the day – something about which there is almost universal confusion.   A bafflement exacerbated by Senate Republicans Libous and DeFrancisco who, during the short session, semi-strafed the presiding Democrat, Neil Breslin, with questions regarding the underlying purpose of the session (ie; if there are no bills to vote on, why are we here?)

A temporarily flummoxed Senator Breslin repeatedly replied that the bills “were expected shortly”.

The incredulity among the Senate Republicans, whether real or overly dramatized, soon extended to Senators Robach and Skelos.  But just as the comic effect was getting stale, Senator John Sampson, the Democratic conference leader, announced that some of the bills had, in fact, just been delivered by the Governor’s office.  

The timing of the announcement prompted Senator Skelos to ask Breslin if the bills were “time stamped”, upon delivery.   Breslin didn’t know, but told Skelos he would find out.

And that was it.

After the session adjourned (until Thursday morning at 10am), Senator Liz Krueger told me that some of the Governor’s bills had in fact been delivered, and some had not. She wasn’t sure which bills were which. 

Here is some other fodder that my new producer Jennifer Kelley and I gleaned:

Senator Bill Stachowski of Buffalo remains firm in his commitment to the SUNY empowerment plan.  He was the single vote standing in the way of the Senate Dems being able to pass the revenue portion of the budget back in June. But we also heard some bad news for the Buffalo Democrat: It appears from a conversation his Buffalo colleague had with Jennifer Kelley that there is an alternative plan in the works that would eliminate Stachowski’s leverage.

“(It is) a possible pilot program for UB, University of Buffalo, to be able to grow the campus.”  

Thompson says there are 3 issues standing in the way of completing a budget.

“One is the revenue bill. Then also the issue that deals with fair housing in New York City. And a. So there are some issues within that proposal that need to be ironed out. And hopefully we can get that resolved. And I would like to get some other bills done too. Climate Change. Also, a one year moratorium on hydrofracking.” — Antoine Thompson

Speaking of which – Senator Darrel Aubertine says that, like many farmers, he is opened-minded about gas-drilling. When asked if he supports a moratorium, he replied, “I have said I support a 6-month moratorium”.

Katherine Nadeau of Environmental Advocates, one of the groups pushing for a moratorium points out that a six month moratorium is not currently an option.

And so it goes.