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If lawmakers don't break their deadlock in Albany, Gov. David Paterson is threatening to call a special session of the State Senate.

Paterson told reporters at a Sunday press conference that he is prepared to keep the State Legislature in session well into the summer if necessary. He said that he has a list of at least 42 bills that require action before lawmakers adjourn.

Senate operations have ground to a standstill as the Democratic and Republican parties squabble over which should have control of the chamber. Each party currently holds 31 seats in the 62-seat Senate.

The governor said that the Senate's performance in recent weeks has been "laughable."

Paterson has asked the chief judge of the Court of Appeals, Jonathan Lippman, to preside over a special session of the Senate if senators cannot choose their own presiding officer.

"If the senators do not cooperate with this order, I will convene a special session every day until they do," Paterson said. "That includes Saturdays and Sundays. That includes July Fourth. There will be no excuses, and there will be no tolerance for noncompliance of this order."

Paterson has also proposed arbitration of the Senate dispute, calling on former Lt. Gov. Stanley Lundine of Chautauqua County and former State Sen. John Dunne of Nassau County to serve as mediators. Lundine is a Democrat, Dunne a Republican.