Sweeney cagey on override whip count

Senate President Steve Sweeney wouldn’t say Thursday morning whether there were enough votes in the upper chamber to force a veto override of a housing assistance program Gov. Phil Murphy blocked late last month.

“We’ll find out,” Sweeney said when asked whether he had the votes.

Were it not for the political considerations of overriding a veto by a Democratic governor, there likely would be no reason to think Sweeney couldn’t whip enough votes to get the bill, S1965, through by a veto-proof majority.

The bill passed the Senate 35-0. It passed the Assembly 70-9.

Sweeney said he has spoken to Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin about the override earlier on Thursday but declined to indicate how Coughlin — who, unlike the Senate president, has attempted to avoid conflict with the governor — would react to the override attempt.

“I can’t speak for him, to be honest with you,” Sweeney said.

Murphy said he vetoed the measure because his office estimated it would cost the state $200 million. That figure was much higher than the one floated by Sweeney, who initially said it would not cost more than $100 million and has since curbed that figure down to $20 million.

“We were trying to figure out the numbers, and I said ‘it’s not $200 million.’ The most it could possibly be, because I was floored by it, is $100 million. but the whole program is $60 million, so we figure it’s at most 20,” Sweeney said.

Sweeney has latched onto that $20 million figure of late. It’s the same amount per year that the state gave in subsidies to the horse racing industry.

Some members of Sweeney’s caucus indicated they were undecided on whether they would opt to push for the override. They said they would likely make up their minds during the day’s caucus meeting.

“Just read about it last night, so we’re going to see what they’re going to say in caucus. Look, I voted for it once, and my entire campaign about Sen. [Jennifer] Beck was that she voted one way and would do something else,” State Sen. Vin Gopal said. “So, I believe in the bill, but we’re going to go through it and see where the administration is, whether they’re willing to compromise or not.”

Murphy’s administration is also seeking to pose an alternative to Sweeney’s bill, though details about that alternative are scarce — scarce enough that Sweeney doesn’t believe it exists.

“That’s what he’s telling everybody,” Sweeney said. “He hasn’t showed me a thing.”