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NEW YORK, NY July 11, 2007 —Republican Senate Leader Joseph Bruno says he'll call a special session on Monday to vote on Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan. But as WNYC's Beth Fertig reports, the legislation still faces an uphill fight.

Bruno accompanied the mayor to Washington yesterday, where they met with the Undersecretary for Transportation. But Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was notably absent, citing a prior commitment. Silver has been cool to Bloomberg's proposal to charge most drivers entering Manhattan. And a prominent assembly member released a report this week calling it a regressive tax on the middle class.

Still, the mayor insisted he's optimistic. He announced the details for plans to expand bus service before congestion pricing takes effect in 2009. And he reiterated that without state approval by Monday, New York would forfeit the chance to win $500 million from the federal Transportation Department. Bloomberg also called a rival assembly bill "preposterous" because it would encourage telecommuting and carpooling without raising tolls for mass transit.

For WNYC, I'm Beth Fertig.