Gov. David Paterson says he's withholding the pork-barrel grants senators give out individually, citing their failure to go to work as he ordered for the fourth straight day.
The Senate has been deadlocked since June 8, when Bronx Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. staged a political coup. The governor ordered another mandatory special session, but senators failed to meet their deadline.
With two evenly-divided factions disputing majority control of the chamber, senators met again on Friday in two consecutive sessions. The first was attended by most of the Democrats in one faction, the second by most of the Republicans in the other. Neither side passed any legislation.
In regard to the situation, Sen. Espada says, ?We'll continue to talk through the day, throughout the weekend. We are making progress. ?
Critical legislation regarding mayor-controlled schools and taxes are set to expire on June 30. The governor is already talking about calling an emergency session to address those bills, as soon as senators get back to work.
The governor stopped giving senators their daily $160 stipend for travel expenses and will make them stay in Albany until their work gets done. Senators continue to say they are making progress in power-sharing talks and are criticizing Paterson for forcing them to meet.
AP wire reports contributed to this article.