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New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said hes still considering paying for affordable housing by seeking to raise taxes on wealthy non-residents who own luxury apartments.

One idea, proposed in September by the Fiscal Policy Institute, a union-backed research group, would raise about $665 million annually by requiring part-time New Yorkers to pay surcharges on dwellings valued at more than $5 million. Absentee owners pay no city or state income taxes.

There are a number of different proposals related to housing and affordable housing, but we have not ruled in or ruled out anything, de Blasio, a Democrat, said today during a news briefing in the Bronx.

The New York Post, citing an unidentified person, reported yesterday that officials in the de Blasio administration had ruled out a pied-a-terre tax because of the political challenges of getting it approved in Albany, where Republicans will control the Senate next year. De Blasio said the proposal is among several under consideration by his administration for a legislative agenda to be presented next month.

De Blasio, 53, assumed office Jan. 1 advocating a tax on incomes over $500,000 to pay for universal all-day pre-kindergarten, for which he failed to win state approval. The legislature agreed to give the city $300 million as part of a state-wide preschool program.

The mayor, who must present a preliminary budget for fiscal 2016 by the first week in February, has an agenda that includes 200,000 affordable-housing units, college scholarships, job training and reduced class sizes in schools.

The Real Estate Board of New York, the trade group for an industry that in 2012 accounted for 37 percent of the citys $41 billion tax revenue, opposes such a plan, saying it would harm the citys economy by suppressing investment, cutting jobs and lowering demand for high-priced apartment towers.

The United Federation of Teachers this week called for the city to pay for reduced class sizes by barring non-resident owners of expensive apartments from benefiting from tax abatements.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a Long Island Republican, has said he opposes a tax increase on pieds-a-terre. Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who built a campaign treasury of more than $30 million by accepting donations from corporate executives and real-estate developers, campaigned for re-election vowing to reverse the mentality of New York as the tax capital of the nation.

For Related News and Information: Property Pros Fight NYC Tax on Wealthy Absentee Owners: Cities NYC Teachers Union Wants to Tax the Rich for Smaller Classes N.Y. Takeover by Republicans Seen Thwarting De Blasio

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De Blasio Wont Rule Out Pushing Tax Increase on Pied-a-Terres

FOX NEWS: Republican Victory in Louisiana a Model for 2016
John Roberts reporting on the Republican victory in Louisiana: "this election could prove itself to be the model of the next election. when it counts, a unified front that can deliver a big victory."

By: LAGOP

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Republican Campaign Ad - Video

The father and son were arguing, which escalated when the father grabbed the boy in a choke hold, punched him twice in the face and pinned him to the ground, Winkler said.

Four days later, a child protective order was filed against him in 3rd District Court by his ex-wife, Yvette Donosso. The order is up for review on Thursday.

In the criminal case, Diaz is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Feb. 26 before Justice Court Judge Clinton Balmforth. Diaz has yet to enter a plea, according to court documents. If convicted, he faces the possibility of up to six months in jail.

Joseph Goodman Jr., his attorney, declined to comment.

In May 2013, Diaz who then headed the Utah Republican Hispanic Assembly ran for chairman of the Utah Republican Party, but lost to James Evans, a former chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party

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Former Utah Republican leader charged with child abuse

Speaker John Boehner and House Republican leaders are scrambling to line up support for a vital budget bill, as objections from both sides of the aisle cloud the forecast for a Thursday vote on the legislation.

The bill narrowly cleared an important procedural hurdle shortly after noon, on a tight 214-212 vote. This tees up a final vote on the spending package in the next few hours. Boehner is urging lawmakers to back the bill, to avert a partial shutdown when current funding expires at midnight.

"If we don't finish today, we'll be here 'till Christmas," he said Thursday morning, calling it a "good bill" and voicing confidence that it will pass.

But the procedural vote signaled the bill remains on shaky ground. It only advanced after GOP leaders convinced two rank-and-file members to switch their "nay" votes. All Democrats voted against it, while 16 Republicans defected.

Conservative lawmakers are angry they're not using the spending bill as leverage to defund President Obama's immigration executive actions.If more defect, that leaves GOP leaders relying on Democrats to help pass it. But House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is trying to extract new concessions -- namely, the removal of campaign finance and financial regulatory provisions that she and her colleagues don't like.

If they can't pass the bill, the sharp disagreement is likely to force lawmakers to, for now, pass a stopgap measure to buy time, probably just running into the weekend. That's because regardless of what the House does, the Senate probably can't handle the main spending bill until Friday at the earliest. And the chamber might not be able to get to a vote until Monday.

A senior source familiar with the appropriations process indicated to Fox News that the short-term "bridge" to avoid an immediate shutdown would likely run until midnight Saturday -- but could go longer.

But whether they can clear the larger, $1.1 trillion spending package to fund the government through fiscal 2015 is a very open question.

There are some real problems with finding the votes on both sides of the aisle -- more so than usual.

At a minimum, Republicans go into most fiscal bills lacking 30-plus votes from their side. This bill is no exception, particularly with conservative members upset about the GOP leadership not mounting an immediate fight to defund Obama's immigration executive actions.

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House Republican leaders scramble for votes on spending bill, as problems erupt - VIDEO: Republicans express ...