Détente proves elusive for state senators

June 06--ALBANY -- It held for 21 hours, but a temporary peace deal between warring Senate Republicans and Democrats imploded Tuesday during bitter parliamentarian wrangling between lawmakers already testy over which party will come to control the 63-member chamber after the November elections.

Coming less than a day after the Republican and Democratic Senate leaders came to an understanding to end a dispute in which no bills had been passed since May 16, the session threw into doubt the remaining days before a session scheduled to end in just over two weeks.

For Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has been threatening to take up her legal role as presiding officer of the Senate in order to give her fellow Democrats an advantage on stalled abortion and contraceptive coverage measures, it was a bruising afternoon in the nuances of Roberts Rules of Order.

One lawmaker, speaking privately, summed it up: "This sort of charade makes everybody look bad."

Lawmakers say there was a deal Monday between Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, a Republican, and Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, to restore détente to the Senate floor after weeks of chaos and non-action.

Part one of that deal was fulfilled Monday, when 130 bills were passed in less than two hours not long after the two Senate leaders.

Part two was that Democrats on Tuesday would introduce their long-planned so-called hostile amendments expanding abortion rights and access to contraceptives, and that Hochul, after weeks of threatening her arrival, would preside over the Senate, which is split 31-31 between the Republican-led and Democratic conferences.

But Senate Republicans, who literally wrote the rules of the chamber, called a parliamentarian audible. Catching Democrats off-guard, the GOP immediately brought to the floor a measure to override a veto earlier this spring by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo involving public school funding for kindergarten programs. Since Cuomo took office in 2011, he has not had the Senate override any of his vetoes.

The Republicans put Democrats in a tricky position: Would they vote for an override of a vetoed bill that they all voted for earlier this year or stand by Cuomo, the leader of their party. They chose the override, which passed unanimously despite an initial effort to delay the vote by Hochul, who is Cuomo's loyal running mate. When the GOP floor leader, Sen. John DeFrancisco of the Syracuse area, said she was violating Senate rules and suggested perhaps a senator replace her on the dais, Hochul let the vote go through.

Senate Republicans, who noted that Hochul will have to sign the override document in her role as presiding officer of the session, glowed. "We thank the governor for sending his lieutenant governor to preside over this historic override," Flanagan boasted shortly after the override.

The Cuomo administration said the issues raised in the bill were already dealt with in the budget adopted in March.

Things calmed down for a short bit during resolutions, including honoring a 4-year-old boy from the Binghamton area who died recently from cancer. But then Democrats introduced their first hostile amendment: expanding abortion protections in New York. They sought to attach it to a bill toughening penalties against people who sponsor animal fighting.

Sen. Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, was set to explain the amendment and the reasons for voting for it when DeFrancisco, again surprising Democrats, rose to say the GOP would accept it. (A vote on the full bill, with the new amendment, would not have occurred Tuesday and Senate Republicans could still bottle up a final vote on it before session ends on June 20.)

Democrats got their way, but an effort to permit Krueger to speak on the amendment led to a firestorm. Hochul ruled the Democratic lawmaker could speak, prompting outrage -- or at least the appearance of outrage -- by Republicans.

DeFrancisco snapped to Hochul that her decision was "improper" and a violation of Senate rules. "I just want to make sure, do you have a copy of the rules of the Senate up there?" Flanagan asked her.

Hochul stood her ground, all while being advised by the Senate parliamentarian, James Curran -- hired by the Senate Republicans -- who stood next to her on the dais; their back-and-forth could be heard on an open microphone throughout the floor fight. "I have recognized Senator Krueger to be able to speak on this issue," Hochul told lawmakers.

Democrats cited one rule allowing Krueger to speak, Republicans countered with a different rule saying she couldn't. At an impasse, DeFrancisco told Hochul the Republican votes for the abortion amendment was being taken back. And, from there, the gridlock carried on for hours without further floor action.

For the media's sake, the partisan spin then began. Stewart-Cousins said there was "certainly a tone" in the chamber during the fight. "They are just so terrified about talking about women's health," she said of Republicans.

The Democratic leader said Republicans, per a conversation she had with Flanagan, knew what was coming and that Hochul would be present. "It's scripted and you do the script and so there was absolutely no adherence to that conversation," she told reporters about her chat with Flanagan.

Democrats said the GOP disrespected Hochul and engaged in "mansplaining." DeFrancisco called such comments "asinine" and "foolish."

After the Senate adjourned without taking up any other business since the dust-up in early afternoon, Flanagan noted the 130 bills passed Monday. "I think it's clear that when the lieutenant governor is here things have gone awry," he said.

As for the heated nature of the debate, Flanagan said he's seen many such displays over his 16 years in Albany. He said a "fifth grade reading" of the Senate rules should have been clear to Hochul that her floor decisions were wrong. If it means raising his voice during a floor fight, Flanagan said, "We have rules for a reason and I'm not going to apologize for it."

Moments later, Hochul, departing the Capitol, said regular business will come back to the Senate once the abortion and contraceptive coverage amendments are given a final okay. She said voters have a right to know where senators stand on the issues. "I will tell you we were not out-maneuvered," Hochul said of Democrats being caught by surprise by the veto override and GOP initial approval of the abortion amendment.

Hochul, responding to Flanagan, said she was "talked down" by Republicans during her time in Congress and said she fully knows the Senate rules. "I'm not going to get into schoolyard politics and descend to that level," she told reporters.

The situation is what it is because of several factors, including the reunification earlier this year of the mainline Democrats with a breakaway group of eight Democrats who had previously conferenced with the GOP. But the GOP conference still had a one vote margin, until the recent decision by Sen. Thomas Croci, a Long Island Republican, to rejoin active duty in the Navy. Lobbyists Tuesday were wondering if the GOP should be reaching out to the Trump administration to at least get Croci to return for the last week of session.

That might be a Hail Mary for the GOP considering Croci did not leave on the best of terms with the Republican leadership in the Senate.

Beyond political face-saving, at risk are hundreds of bills, affecting every region of the state on matters large and small, stalled because of the situation in the Senate.

"We began the day with an understanding that there would be order, cohesiveness and responsibly run government," said Sen. Timothy Kennedy, a Buffalo Democrat. "And what we got was nothing more than a fiasco created by the Republicans trying to muzzle Democratic voices."

DeFrancisco, the GOP floor leader, described Tuesday's floor battle as akin to calling a play at the line of scrimmage. "It's like Peyton Manning yelling, 'Omaha, Omaha, Omaha,' " he said.

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