Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith plans to meet today with two Democratic holdouts opposed to the MTA bailout bill designed to avoid the fare-hike "doomsday scenario" for straphangers.
Long Island lawmakers Craig Johnson and Brian Foley are opposed to the employer-paid payroll tax and 50-cent surcharge on city taxi rides in Gov. David Paterson's plan.
"He is waiting for a full briefing on the plan and a full review of the proposed legislation," Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Nassau County's Johnson, told the The New York Daily News.
The beleaguered MTA currently faces an estimated $1.2 billion deficit for 2009. If lawmakers cannot come up with money to plug that gap by the end of May, the authority plans to act on its "doomsday scenario" -- 20 to 30 percent fare hikes and massive service cuts, which include eliminating the W and Z subway lines and 35 bus routes, including many on Long Island.
Foley, who represents Suffolk County, fears the payroll tax will harm local business and nonprofits on Long Island, according to his spokesman. Democrats hold a 32-30 majority in the Senate and need both Senators' votes to overcome the Republicans who are united against the bill.
Democrats Suzi Oppenheimer and Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Westchester had also held out against he plan before changing their stance. Paterson alleviated their fears by agreeing to reimburse local school districts for the payroll tax at a cost to the state of $60 million per year
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has suggested the scaling down of funding for the MTA's expensive construction projects during the economic slowdown, a source told The New York Post yesterday.
"Maybe we should wait a few years before doing a full-blown capital plan to see how the economy is doing and see what the revenues are going to be like," the source told The Post. "Then, if we have to, we can do something better to address capital."
Gov. Paterson and Majority Leader Smith both admitted the MTA bailout bill doesn't immediately address the agency's big-ticket programs.
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"What we would be able to do immediately is to alleviate the concerns and the anxiety that commuters who would face skyrocketing fare hikes," Paterson told The Post.
Paterson pressured holdout lawmakers to approve an MTA bailout, saying he had heard enough "wrangling" on the issue on Saturday.
Paterson called for the Legislature to vote early this week on taxing employer payrolls and taxi rides If nothing is passed, fares will increase on May 31.
