After his most recent plan to furlough half the state workforce was blocked, Governor Paterson is now drafting a plan that would lay off thousands of government employees at the beginning of next year. Paterson will soon be looking to state agencies for counsel as to which positions could be eliminated starting January 1, 2011, which is when the no-layoffs pledge he made with public-employee unions last year will expire. Of course, that date also marks the end of his term as governor, meaning the layoffs decision will ultimately be made by his successor. [NYT]
