Matthew Hamilton and Rick Karlin reported in Capitol Confidential that state legislators will not return to Albany Dec. 27 for a special session, but will be back for their regularly appointed lawmaking Jan. 4. A special session would have considered a pay raise and perhaps some ethics legislation. The Times-Union reporters cited a source that said Republican Senate leader John Flanagan, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie had all agreed on legislation to pass in the special session, but Flanagan could not deliver enough Republican votes in the Senate. "At the end of the day, however, there just isn't enough in this package to justify convening a special session and bringing 213 legislators back to Albany before the end of the year," Flanagan said in a statement released just before 10:30 p.m. Dec. 23. Read the full story in Capitol Confidential, a Times-Union blog.