DRIVE ON WITHOUT A RAISE FOR MANY YEARS?
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos
talks to members of the media outside his office following a meeting of
Senate Republican on Monday, Nov. 17, 2014, in Albany, N.Y.
Photo Credit: Albany Times Union / Paul Buckowski
ALBANY -- Sen. Dean Skelos was re-elected by his peers Monday to lead
the State Senate and indicated that a pay raise for lawmakers is one of
the possible subjects of a special session before New Year's Day.
"That's one of the issues that are out there," Skelos said
about a pay raise after emerging from a closed-door GOP conference
where he once again was designated Senate Republican leader. "I have
said I'm in favor of a pay raise on numerous occasions," adding it's
been 16 years since lawmakers' last pay hike.Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) said there have been no official pay-raise talks with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan).
If there is a special session, Skelos said carving up a $4 billion windfall from national financial settlements also should be part of the mix. He prefers using the money for infrastructure.
He added he would oppose a minimum-wage hike and public financing of campaigns but could support changes in lawmakers' daily and travel allotments, which have been the focus of several corruption investigations in recent years.
Others suggested an expansion in the number of state-authorized charter schools -- which Skelos and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo favor -- also could be discussed. Any special session likely would occur in early December.
With his election Monday, Skelos is poised to again become sole Senate majority leader.
He has shared the Senate helm for the last two years with Senate co-leader Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) under an unusual power-sharing agreement between Republicans and six breakaway Democrats that prevented mainline Democrats from taking control.
But Republicans won enough seats on Election Day -- 32 of 63 -- to take outright control of the chamber, meaning Skelos is set to become outright leader, a post he held briefly in 2008 and then again in 2009-10, when the legislature convenes in January.
Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), one of the breakaway Democrats, has said he'll continue to be part of the Republican conference.
Skelos also is talking about maintaining a partnership with the five-member Independent Democratic Conference that Klein leads, though some expect Klein would have to take something less than a joint leadership role. Skelos said the two have to discuss "how we move forward."
The partnership, as it worked in 2011-12, would give Republicans breathing room on some controversial bills and give Klein a better chance to pass legislation and garner legislative perks, such as committee leadership posts. Klein didn't immediately comment.
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Confidential > Stop
scratching on holidays
Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012
Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.
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