Commentary: Albany: Honeymoon's over, get ready to rumble

This is the week when the irresistible force meets the immovable object. Governor Spitzer, meet the state Legislature.

New governors come into office with their own agenda, and almost always that agenda conflicts with longstanding positions of the Assembly and Senate. The newly unveiled

There are numerous challenges awaiting the executive and the Legislature, starting with school aid. Legislators live or die by the amount of money that goes to their local school district. Former Gov. George Pataki chose to cut school aid in 11 out of 12 budgets, and each time, the two houses rebuffed his efforts and added substantially to the final package. Complicating this year's negotiations is the court-ordered requirement that at least $2 billion more must go to New York City schools.

The next potential clash comes over Medicaid. Spitzer desperately needs to find hundreds of millions of dollars for other budgetary needs. Medicaid is a realistic target. New York is acknowledged to be the state with the richest program in the nation - and that's the problem.

Over the years, Medicaid costs have skyrocketed and no serious attempt has been made to make meaningful cuts. Program recipients have taken their benefits for granted, protected by legislators who don't want to rock the boat. Linked to Medicaid are the various funds that go to the state's hospital system.

Compromises made with powerful unions and with hospital officials have cost the taxpayers billions of dollars. A deal made by Pataki with the hospital workers union to subsidize salaries is estimated to carry a price tag of $600 million.

Any proposal to take away funds from the hospital system will be met with furious opposition from powerful union interests, and legislators who run for re-election every two years are not inclined to back away from earlier commitments. This will be a real battle between Spitzer and the houses.

Property tax relief promises to be another toe-to-toe match between a newly elected governor and entrenched state leaders. Everyone in Albany is for tax relief, but everyone in Albany also has his or her own opinion on what type of real property tax relief is appropriate.

If you're looking for proof as to how many egos go into a tax reduction plan, look at New York City. For two years, Mayor Bloomberg has been sending out rebate checks to city taxpayers. Everybody eventually got their check - after the City Council and the mayor were able to agree on how the credit would be shared.

At the same time Spitzer unveils his first fiscal plan, he will be faced with a group of unhappy legislators upset over the results of the state comptroller selection process. The failure of the screening panel to name at least one legislator has created unnecessary friction between the executive and the Legislature.

April 1, the date the state is supposed to have a new budget, seems pretty far away. But it won't be long before we start feeling the tensions between the irresistible governor and the immovable Legislature.