UPDATE: The senate has adjourned for the night, leaving key bills—including NYSUNY 2020—unresolved for yet another day.
Our initial report (see below) was confirmed by Scott Reif, a spokesman for Majority Leader Dean Skelos. But even though the SUNY proposal seems to still be finalized and ready for open debate, it fell victim to continued negotiations over rent control issues, a bloated omnibus spending bill, same sex marriage, and quite possibly, a printer jam.
No we’re not joking. Staff have explained that the adjournment is “due to bills not being ready.”
We’re told senate staffers will be working all night to print the bills in preparation for a resumption at around 10am. As best we can tell, SUNY 2020 is still intact and is closed to amendments.
EARLIER: After days of stalling and negotiating, Albany is finally ready to pass judgment on NYSUNY 2020.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos’ office confirms that the senate has printed the bill in preparation for a debate and vote, and while we still don’t know what provisions have been included and what’s been left on the cutting room floor, we do know that the bill will come up for a vote tonight and almost certainly pass in both the senate and the assembly.
We’re waiting for a callback from Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s office on the two big prizes of the night: the Keep-It-At-SUNY provision and a provision that maintains the state’s current level of funding for SUNY.
Also up for grabs is the governor’s $35 million challenge grant program, the fate of future public/private partnerships, and more. As soon as we get our hands on the bill we’ll share what we find with you.
