A state worker holds a sign during a rally against...

A state worker holds a sign during a rally against Gov. David Paterson's furlough plan outside the Capitol in Albany on Monday. (May 10, 2010) Credit: AP

Even in our fun house of a state Capitol, this one stands out as bizarre.

Lawmakers, for the first time, voted to force an estimated 100,000 state workers to take time off without pay. By itself, that was far from exotic. From Honolulu to Red Bank, N.J., more and more state and municipal governments are moving to furlough employees as they run out of cash.

But there's a special twist in Albany. Lawmakers there made their action equivocal enough to be self-canceling. That is, while approving furloughs as part of an emergency budget bill, the Legislature expressed doubts about their legality.

"The courts will overturn it because I think it interferes with a collective bargaining agreement," Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said Monday. And it wasn't just chat. The Senate on Monday unanimously backed a resolution questioning the legality of the furloughs. "The language in the bill requiring a one-day furlough," says this resolution, approved by Republicans and Democrats alike, "is contrary to the laws and public policy of this state."

Quick - when was the last time you heard of pols sticking a Post-it note to an approved bill that said, "Dear Judges: Please destroy upon receipt"?

The public-sector unions went off to court to fight the furloughs - armed in part with the legislators' own words.

Silver and others said they approved the action because Gov. David A. Paterson gave them little choice. They either had to approve furloughs or shut down state government as leaders remain divided on a budget plan.

In his day job as the state's lawyer, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo defends the legality of the measure.

Suffolk Executive Steve Levy, seeking to run for governor as a Republican, so far has emerged as the most fiscally-specific candidate. Levy said Tuesday: "Whether or not the Legislature decides to employ a furlough or another type of concession, it is imperative that there be sacrifices across the board to prevent the state from going insolvent."

"I have been critical of the government for waiting 18 months into this financial crisis to finally take some action, but perhaps now we may be able to avoid layoffs."

Before the votes Monday, rival Republican Rick Lazio said: "Governor Paterson has offered a way to prevent New York from defaulting on payments next month. Democrats and union bosses are obligated to decide to accept this choice or offer another sustainable reduction in the labor costs to the state. . . . "

The furlough episode reminds us that whatever the governor's fiscal plan, the Legislature has tools to subvert it. Some allies of Rudy Giuliani said constitutional powers were discussed when their man mulled his own run for governor. He's among those who called for a constitutional convention.

As it now stands, the ball ends up resting in the court of the Assembly and Senate. All candidates for governor seem well aware it will be a tough time for them to govern - especially when the rules of the fun house apply.

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