From the New York Times's City Room blog:
The current record was set in 2004, when Gov. George E. Pataki and lawmakers wrangled until Aug. 11 over how to comply with a court ruling requiring the state to fix New York City schools. That put them fully 133 days past the statutory March 31 budget deadline — a record on which Gov. David A. Paterson and the current crop of lawmakers are now rapidly gaining.
Writer Nicholas Confessore paints a sobering picture of the upcoming election season:
Mr. Paterson...is not seeking election this fall. While that makes him a lame duck, it also means he has little incentive to give ground. Lawmakers, by contrast, face the real prospect of going before voters in November without having passed a budget, in a year when attitudes toward Albany are especially sour.
