The Long, Dirty Debate
June 16th, 2011
So the Senate has been in session most of the day and are only standing at ease now so that the Democrats can conference–something fairly ugly took place in the chamber tonight. The debates have gone from sharp and enthusiastic to rambling and uncivil. Sure they are probably getting tuckered out with the late hours and all but don’t shed a tear quite yet.
A great deal of the legislation that has been debated in the Senate doesn’t have same-as bills in the Assembly–in other words nothing is going to come of it. And the Senate hasn’t really been up to much for most of the year. One legislator described the legislation passed most of the year as, “not life changing,” with a wry smile. Another described it as, “a waste of taxpayer money.”
If you are a glutton for punishment you can check out video of what they debated here. And if you are in the mood for some late-night debate you can watch it live here.
Legislators have been constantly reminded throughout debate today that they are on a tight schedule. Democrats seem to be asking questions to stall out the process which has driven some Republicans up the tree. Sen. Greg Ball interrupted Sen. Eric Adams to ask the status of the investigation into the Aqueduct Entertainment Group. Federal officials are supposed to be looking into the Aqueduct deal that caused quite a bit of scandal last year. Ball of course has endured a load of scandal of his own. In fact Senate Republicans used Balls’ alleged attack on his girlfriend as ammunition against him during a Republican primary last year. They really didn’t want him to win. But I digress.
Not to be a curmudgeon but the Republican Senate probably could have introduced a few of these bills earlier this year–rather than cramming everything into a week at the end of session. Read the rest of this entry »
By David King on June 16, 2011, 10:09 pmIn category: Albany, Eye on Albany | 1 Comment »
