Rick Karlin of the Times Union has a story out about the diminishing chances that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed 2 percent property tax cap will make it through the state Assembly, where it was discussed in a daylong hearing on Tuesday, March 1. "If remarks, questions and general skepticism shown by Democrats who dominate the Assembly were any indication, the success of the plan is uncertain in the lower house," Karlin writes, noting how the measure has drawn both support and sharp criticism from interest groups, and already passed in the Republican-led Senate. Most Assembly Democrats, he points out, still favor a circuit breaker system, which was also spoken of favorably by GOP Assemblyman Pete Lopez in a January interview. A circuit breaker would give homeowners an income tax break based on the percentage of their annual earnings that go toward property taxes. It is also backed by officials of New York State Teachers United, the state's major teachers union. Amongst issues discussed were questions of implementing a tax cap, which would involve a lag between proposed budgets and those figures certification by the state. Stay tuned...