ALBANY — Legislative leaders said on Tuesday that they had reached a tentative deal with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on renewing New York’s rent laws,
capping property taxes for homeowners, and raising tuition at state universities, among other outstanding issues.
But the Senate majority leader, Dean G. Skelos, a Long Island Republican, said that his caucus had not yet decided whether to bring to a vote the most contentious issue facing the Legislature: A bill introduced by Mr. Cuomo and approved by the Democratic-controlled Assembly to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. Thirty-one state senators have endorsed the marriage measure, one vote short of the number needed to pass in the 62-member senate.
Neither Mr. Skelos nor the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, offered any specifics as they emerged early Tuesday afternoon from a private meeting with Mr. Cuomo. Each leader said more details would come after they had briefed lawmakers later in the day. The annual legislative session had been scheduled to end Monday, but lawmakers have extended the session in an effort to address a number of thorny legislative matters.
“Most of those issues I think we’re going to resolve very shortly,” Mr. Skelos said. “We’re working on the details, but I am very confident that between the governor — and he has shown tremendous leadership once again — and the speaker, showing flexibility, that we will have a session completion by tomorrow.”
A spokesman for the governor, Josh Vlasto, confirmed that there was a “tentative framework agreement” with the two leaders but also provided no details.
Mr. Silver said the deal on rent regulations would help the many New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized apartments.
“It means that they will be able to sleep well,” Mr. Silver said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to expand the current protections.”
But as details of the tentative deal began to dribble out, tenant advocates said they were bracing themselves for disappointment. Advocates involved in the negotiations said that they expected the thresholds at which an apartment could be deregulated to increase to $250,000 in annual household income from $175,000 and to $2,500 in monthly rent from $2,000.
More critically, tenant groups said, was that the deal was not likely to index the income and rent figures to inflation. Tenant advocates said that they also were worried that the deal would leave intact much of the system of bonuses and increases tied to capital improvement that tenants groups have decried as loopholes through which landlords have illegally raised rents on thousands of apartments.
Disagreements over property taxes and rent had emerged as obstacles to resolving the issue of same-sex marriage. Now, with the other issues near resolution, marriage is the one last major unresolved issue facing lawmakers, and a vote on that subject could come Wednesday or Thursday if Republican lawmakers agree to bring it to the Senate floor. Twenty-nine Democrats and two Republicans have publicly endorsed the measure, which would need support from one more Republican to win passage.
“We have not finalized the language in terms of religious protections,” Mr. Skelos said of the bill on same-sex marriage. “That still is being reviewed. This conference meeting was to resolve all the other issues.”
Tuesday’s tentative deal effectively pairs one major priority of the Assembly Democrats, most of whom hail from New York City, with the top agenda item for Senate Republicans, most of whom hail from suburban and rural districts.
The Democrats have sought to strengthen regulations that limit rent increases on more than one million apartments in New York City and its suburbs, while the Republicans have sought to limit the rate at which towns and school districts may increase property taxes, which in some New York communities are among the highest in the nation.
Both priorities were supported by Mr. Cuomo, a first-term Democrat.
capping property taxes for homeowners, and raising tuition at state universities, among other outstanding issues.
But the Senate majority leader, Dean G. Skelos, a Long Island Republican, said that his caucus had not yet decided whether to bring to a vote the most contentious issue facing the Legislature: A bill introduced by Mr. Cuomo and approved by the Democratic-controlled Assembly to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. Thirty-one state senators have endorsed the marriage measure, one vote short of the number needed to pass in the 62-member senate.
Neither Mr. Skelos nor the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, offered any specifics as they emerged early Tuesday afternoon from a private meeting with Mr. Cuomo. Each leader said more details would come after they had briefed lawmakers later in the day. The annual legislative session had been scheduled to end Monday, but lawmakers have extended the session in an effort to address a number of thorny legislative matters.
“Most of those issues I think we’re going to resolve very shortly,” Mr. Skelos said. “We’re working on the details, but I am very confident that between the governor — and he has shown tremendous leadership once again — and the speaker, showing flexibility, that we will have a session completion by tomorrow.”
A spokesman for the governor, Josh Vlasto, confirmed that there was a “tentative framework agreement” with the two leaders but also provided no details.
Mr. Silver said the deal on rent regulations would help the many New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized apartments.
“It means that they will be able to sleep well,” Mr. Silver said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to expand the current protections.”
But as details of the tentative deal began to dribble out, tenant advocates said they were bracing themselves for disappointment. Advocates involved in the negotiations said that they expected the thresholds at which an apartment could be deregulated to increase to $250,000 in annual household income from $175,000 and to $2,500 in monthly rent from $2,000.
More critically, tenant groups said, was that the deal was not likely to index the income and rent figures to inflation. Tenant advocates said that they also were worried that the deal would leave intact much of the system of bonuses and increases tied to capital improvement that tenants groups have decried as loopholes through which landlords have illegally raised rents on thousands of apartments.
Disagreements over property taxes and rent had emerged as obstacles to resolving the issue of same-sex marriage. Now, with the other issues near resolution, marriage is the one last major unresolved issue facing lawmakers, and a vote on that subject could come Wednesday or Thursday if Republican lawmakers agree to bring it to the Senate floor. Twenty-nine Democrats and two Republicans have publicly endorsed the measure, which would need support from one more Republican to win passage.
“We have not finalized the language in terms of religious protections,” Mr. Skelos said of the bill on same-sex marriage. “That still is being reviewed. This conference meeting was to resolve all the other issues.”
Tuesday’s tentative deal effectively pairs one major priority of the Assembly Democrats, most of whom hail from New York City, with the top agenda item for Senate Republicans, most of whom hail from suburban and rural districts.
The Democrats have sought to strengthen regulations that limit rent increases on more than one million apartments in New York City and its suburbs, while the Republicans have sought to limit the rate at which towns and school districts may increase property taxes, which in some New York communities are among the highest in the nation.
Both priorities were supported by Mr. Cuomo, a first-term Democrat.
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