ALBANY, N.Y.—The unusual power-sharing arrangement in the New York state Senate between Republicans and a splinter faction of Democrats will continue despite the GOP’s gains, the chamber’s top Republican said Monday.
Following a closed-door meeting with fellow Republican lawmakers, Senate Leader Dean Skelos also announced he would support legislative pay raises for lawmakers and state commissioners if the question came up in a lame-duck session this year.
The Senate had been led by a coalition of Republicans and the breakaway Independent Democrats, but Republicans won the majority outright in the Nov. 4 elections and will hold 32 seats in the 63-member chamber come January.
The gains prompted speculation that Senate Republicans would brush off the five-member Independent Democratic Conference.
Skelos said he and Sen. Jeff Klein, who leads the IDC, will work out the details of the arrangement. Republican senators unanimously re-elected Skelos to his leadership position on Monday.
