Albany Watch

Don’t expect Assembly Democrats to join any lawsuit against Gov. David Paterson over his decision to delay payments to schools and local governments.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said this morning it is the governor’s job to manage the state’s cash flow. Senate Democrats said they may consider filing a lawsuit against the governor, arguing he doesn’t legally have the right to withhold payments approved in the 2009-10 budget.

Silver, who attended Paterson’s news conference in his lower Manhattan district to release a report on business-higher education collaborations, said Paterson needs to manage the state’s cash because the Legislature couldn’t agree to close the entire $3.2 billion midyear deficit.

“It is his job as governor and the budget director’s job to manage the cash of the state in a way in which he sees appropriate,” Silver told reporters.

Silver said the Assembly was prepared to close the full gap. He didn’t mention the Senate by name, though Silver has previously indicated that the trouble getting a three-way agreement lied in the Senate.

“My argument originally was make the 2 percent cut and avoid the state coming and saying we have no money,” Silver said. “Unfortunately, that did not carry the day and we were left to do what we could do and leave the governor in charge of managing cash.”

Silver’s support wasn’t lost on Paterson, who quickly thanked the “speaker for those remarks.”

Paterson said if the state did not delay payments, it would run out of cash.

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