Gov. David Paterson addressed the issue of his free Yankees tickets this morning after he voted in New York City, saying he wants a ruling from the state Commission on Public Integrity.

“I want to ask the state ethics commissioner what the proper ruling is in this area,” Paterson said, according to a transcript provided by his office. “And we’ll abide by it.”

While Paterson said he wants to ask for a ruling, his aides later clarified that the commission did in fact reach out to this office last week to inquire about the free tickets.

The commission is investigating five free tickets that the governor received to attend Game 1 of the World Series. The New York Post reported Monday that Paterson solicited the tickets, and a spokesman gave several versions on how the tickets were obtained.

Paterson said today that the four other tickets—for two staff members, his son and a son’s friend—have been paid for, and that the only issue is whether his ticket should be free. Each ticket cost $425.

The governor’s counsel, Peter Kiernan, sent a letter to the Yankees the day of the game saying Paterson would be attending on official business.

“Everybody is not on official business, only the governor is and that’s why we only sent a letter about the governor,” Paterson said. “The issue is only about me.”

Asked whether he agreed to pay for tickets only after it was reported in the Post, Paterson said “We planned to pay for the tickets all along. We only asked the question about me. Everything else had to be paid for.”

State law prohibits state officials from accepting any gift above nominal value, which the Commission on Public Integrity equates to the cost of a cup of coffee.

A commission ruling last year says that gifts are banned, however offered some exceptions, such as complimentary attendance, food and beverage at a “widely attended event” related to the attendee’s “duties and responsibilities as a public official or state employee.”

But in a footnote, the commission stated that “attendance at events at which the activities are substantially recreational in nature shall not be considered to be for a public purpose or related to a state employee’s official duties.”

To comply with state lobbying laws, Yankees spokeswoman Alice McGillion said the team requires public officials to pay face value for tickets to games. If an official claims they are there on public business, they are required to write a letter that states that.

Blair Horner, legislative director at the New York Public Interest Research Group, said it’s questionable whether Paterson was there on official business and if nothing else he should have gotten an opinion from the integrity commission before he accepted the tickets.

Horner said the Yankees are registered to lobby the state and that constitutes a clear conflict with Paterson accepting the free tickets.

“He shouldn’t have taken them,” Horner said. “He should have just paid out of his own pocket.”