Senator sues state Assembly

State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, sued the state Assembly on Monday in an effort to compel its clerk to deliver legislation to the governor that Mr. Aubertine argues was passed June 30 in the Senate.

The suit, filed in state Supreme Court, argues that the Senate had 32 lawmakers present — enough to conduct business and vote on bills — and the quorum was never challenged during the session. It also contends the Assembly's own rules require that any bill passing both houses and returned to the Assembly must be given to the governor within 45 days of being received.

Mr. Aubertine asked the court to force the Assembly to send the bills to Gov. David A. Paterson by Aug. 13. The case will be heard at 9:30 a.m. July 17 in an Albany courthouse.

Mr. Aubertine said he first suggested to Democratic colleagues that they sue the lower house to force it to take action on the 122 bills voted on June 30.

The suit says Bruce Strait, the Assembly index clerk, has refused without explanation to accept the bills, although the state Constitution does not allow the Assembly to challenge the validity of the Senate's proceedings.

The Assembly isn't alone in being cautious.

Sen. Dean G. Skelos, the Republican majority leader, denounced the session as "probably the most fraudulent, obnoxious, arrogant display of partisanship and quite frankly, total disregard of the institution of the Senate."

The Republican-led coalition doesn't think Sen. Frank Padavan, R-Queens, should have been marked as present when he walked in and then out of the Senate chamber just as a session was about to begin. Mr. Padavan has said he had no intention of attending.

Mr. Aubertine sees things differently.

"I certainly believe that Frank Padavan, after having served for 37 years, is conscious of the fact that going on that floor the way that he did helped create the 32 votes that were there," he said. "I don't know what his motivation was, but I certainly believe that, having been here as long as he has, he knew what he was doing."

Among the bills Mr. Aubertine considers passed June 30 was legislation that would extend Power for Jobs, a $136 million program that gives low-cost power to job-creating businesses.

The Democratic conference also passed bills that would allow the state to accept more than $3.8 billion in federal stimulus funding for education and health care. The group also contends it passed several local sales tax extenders, including those for Lewis and Oswego counties and the city of Oswego.

Mr. Aubertine said his suit does not attempt to legitimize or de-legitimize anyone's standing in the state Senate.

He said anyone who would consider challenging the suit "is clearly putting politics ahead of people."

"These bills must go to the governor's desk for his signature," the senator said. "And if he chooses to veto these bills, he's choosing to continue this crisis over protecting jobs and saving taxpayers. This fight over political power has gone on long enough. Regardless of how that plays out, these important bills were passed legally. The people of my district and the entire state do not deserve to have their issues held hostage in a power struggle."

The Senate was thrown into disarray June 8 when two dissident Democratic lawmakers teamed with their 30 Republican colleagues to force a leadership vote. Sen. Pedro Espada Jr., D-Bronx, has stayed with the Republican-led coalition, while Sen. Hiram Monserrate, D-Queens, has returned to the Democratic conference, putting the Senate in a 31-31 deadlock.