ALBANY – The State Assembly will not even consider the controversial congestion-pricing plan until a new state budget is passed, Speaker Sheldon Silver privately told his members, The Post learned last night.
The deadline for getting federal aid to implement the plan is April 7, and there’s no guarantee the budget will be approved by then.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans, with Mayor Bloomberg‘s backing, yesterday unveiled a last-minute series of amendments to the congestion plan.
Silver, speaking on New York 1 last night, criticized the amendments, saying they failed to address concerns of many of his members.
The proposed amendments would:
* Give the poor a tax credit amounting to the congestion-pricing fees paid above the cost of a monthly MetroCard.
* Exempt people who have an E-ZPass plus a New York City handicapped permit.
* Address concerns that New Jersey drivers would pay less than New Yorkers by requiring the bi-state Port Authority to contribute $1 billion to the MTA five-year capital plan.
* Give drivers without an E-ZPass four days, instead of two, to pay the congestion fee and be served three notices, with fines totaling a maximum of $140, before the issuance of a violation.
Bloomberg hailed the changes, saying they “address many of the remaining concerns that we’ve been hearing from the City Council and members of the state Legislature.”
If congestion pricing is approved, drivers would be charged $8 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays.