FYI: As legislative leaders caucused behind closed doors over how to sort out their disputes with the governor late last week, Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat, introduced a raft of legislation aiming to destroy the infamous “three-men-in-a-room” model that dominates Albany. Among the 15 bills the senator introduced is one that would change “empty seat voting”–one of the more outstanding examples of rules that centralize power in a few hands–in which members who are not present during a vote are automatically counted as votes for the majority. Another bill would eliminate “lu-lus,” or stipends of up to around $40,000 that members receive when assigned to chair committees. Krueger was elected in a 2002 special election on a reform platform that most believe continues to be a long shot. [4/29/03]