Term Limits To Be Addressed By The State Senate Tomorrow

When the City Council passed the term limits extension bill last year there were immediate cries to have it struck down from up above. So far the legal challenge has been stymied but the legislative challenge has not. In the State Assembly the process is moving slowly but surely and in the Senate the bill is going to be addressed by the Elections Committee tomorrow. Jimmy Vielkind has his reservations about it though:

ALBANY—A bill requiring a referendum on term limits will be heard in a Senate committee tomorrow, but won't necessarily get any farther.

Austin Shafran, a spokesman for State Senator Malcolm Smith, said it will be heard during a meeting of the Elections Committee, and then placed on the calendar. From there, it could sit for months.

State Senator Kevin Parker, the bill's sponsor, said in a Capitol hallway that he is confident it will clear committee and he will hold public hearings on the legislation.

"One game at a time," he said.

Of course legislative recourse is unlikely and I am extremely hesitant to say that the bill will pass. Most likely Bloomberg will have to be kicked out of power at the ballot box in November. However, if there is enough pressure put on Senators by their constituents, the speed of the bill can quicken. Smith may not have taken a position on the bill yet but considering the Majority Leader's power or lack thereof these days, it might not take much to knock him over onto the side that wants the power given back to the people of NYC.