BLEEDING $$

On June 13, the New York City Independent Budget Office sent out a news bulletin with the headline, "City's Payout for Lawsuits Continues to Rise Rapidly." The bulletin outlined how the cost of settling lawsuits has doubled for the city in the past 10 years, from $265.1 million in 1995 to $575.6 million in 2004. Compared with other major cities, these are staggering sums. Hence, it would be logical for New York politicians to keep their distance from anything involving lawsuit payouts, at least for a little while. Logic, however, has no place in Albany. The very same day, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and the assembly's Judiciary Committee rejected a bill that would curb personal injury payouts to public employees. The city officials who supported the bill thought it had a good chance of passing, but that morning Silver appointed three new Assembly members to the committee. The new committee members and Mr. Silver all voted against the bill; it was defeated by one vote. The dejected officials suggested that lobbying from trial lawyers got to Mr. Silver (who also happens to be a trial lawyer). A spokesperson for Mr. Silver disagreed, stating that swapping committee members around to fill vacancies is a standard procedure. The city loses $11 million a year due to redundant payouts to public employees, which the bill would have reined in.