Gov. David Paterson has had enough of state senators' clownish refusal to get back to business – so much so that he's launching a direct assault on their bank accounts.
Paterson has asked the state treasurer to block direct-deposit payments to the senators' accounts, and plans to ask a judge Monday whether they should be paid at all, according to The New York Daily News.
Efforts to stop paying the boorish senators have already been set in motion, with State Controller Thomas DiNapoli asking a court to determine whether his office has the authority to withhold their paychecks beginning on Wednesday.
While DiNapoli is asking a judge whether his office has the power to block payment, Paterson is taking things to a higher level.
"We want a direct ruling on whether it's right or wrong for them to be paid when our position is they have abdicated their role," the governor told the Daily News.
The Senate has remained deadlocked 31-31 for nearly a month since two dissident Democrats joined a Republican-backed coup. Sen. Hiram Monserrate, of Queens, switched back to his party a few days later, leaving the chamber in a state of paralysis from which it has yet to recover. The senators haven't conducted any real state business since June 8.
"It's also our contention that they have been derelict in their duties," Paterson said, according to the Daily News. "Government has been shut down by the Senate. Cities and counties are losing money off of this."
Local
The lame duck Senate has left some key pieces of legislation on the table, including bills to increase the sales tax in several locales, which would provide communities millions of dollars in much needed tax revenue.
Paterson's argument is simple: If the senators can't reach an accord on who presides over the chamber, there's no one to sign off on their paychecks.
Apparently undeterred by the threat of losing their cash flow (or intent to keep it for doing nothing), senators argue that Paterson and DiNapoli are way out of line – that their jobs include much more than voting on legislation and that both parties have worked together when a judge ordered them to, according to the Daily News. They admit, however, that they refused to work together when Paterson was the one telling them to do so.
Paterson says the senators' argument has no merit whatsoever.
"They come in for two minutes, stare at the ceiling, wish each other happy birthday, salute the flag for Independence Day and go home," he said. "We see that as they're convening, but not deliberating. They're present, but not working. No work, no pay."
Pointing to the fact that the state can stop paying senators if they don't pass a budget by April 1, Paterson says the same should hold when it comes to failure to meet local monetary deadlines.
Both parties continued to negotiate yesterday, although the leaders of the warring factions did not meet directly with Paterson, who had arbitrated the discussions last week. Senators from both sides say they plan to meet more in the coming days, but none say a deal is imminent.
