State lawmakers should extend their winter break. There doesn’t seem to be much for them to do when they return to Albany next week – so they may as well save taxpayers the $125,000 a week it costs to feed, house and transport them.

So far this year, policy matters haven’t dominated discussion in the state capitol. Instead, politics is center stage for the first time in a decade. Until political battles that don’t involve lawmaking are settled, lawmakers won’t accomplish much.

Since 1995, Governor Pataki has led the state without a truly significant challenge to his leadership. Mr. Pataki’s Republican counterpart in the State Senate, Majority Leader Joe Bruno, has also held firm grasp on his leadership position. While Mr. Pataki and Mr. Bruno do clash periodically, Mr. Bruno’s command has never been in doubt.

Across the third floor hall in the Capitol, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has also led uninterrupted since the beginning of the Pataki era. He did face a serious – although momentary – challenge from an upstate upstart in the spring of 2000. But other than for those few tense days, Mr. Silver’s command has also never been in doubt.

This political consistency has allowed policy issues to rule much of the conversation. And by the President’s week break, a single issue has generally begun to define the legislative session.

But this year, political uneasiness has everything on hold. It’s almost as if the annual legislative session – already brief, at just a few days a week for less than six months – hasn’t yet begun. While lawmakers have been making the weekly trek to Albany since early January, they have nothing to show for that time.

They do, however, have plenty of political issues to resolve. Mr. Silver’s leadership of the Assembly remains certain, but uncertainty reigns throughout the rest of the Capitol.

Top Republicans are divided over whom to support for governor. Their disarray goes beyond typical primary fights, with candidates even accusing each other of leaking allegations of adultery.

Republican control over the State Senate, firm for decades, is now in jeopardy – especially if Mayor Bloomberg follows through on his threat to help Democrats if Republicans don’t cough up billions for city schools.

Democrats are waiting to see how seriously the Nassau County leader, Thomas Suozzi will challenge their presumptive nominee for governor, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Party insiders are increasingly alarmed that Mr. Spitzer hasn’t fully formulated the inner circle of his campaign, even though he announced he was running more than a year ago.

Democrats in the State Senate need to find a new leader because David Paterson is running for lieutenant governor instead of for re-election. The minority leader slot is now significant because Democrats could become the majority during the next leader’s tenure, elevating that person to real power.

Uncertainty can breed opportunity – and that is clearly the theory Mr. Bloomberg is operating under. He is increasingly asserting control (or at least trying to exert control) over matters he left in the state’s hands during his first term. Mr. Bloomberg’s new involvement in rebuilding the World Trade Center site is largely a matter just between himself and Mr. Pataki. But other issues do directly involve rank-and-file senators and members of the Assembly.

The mayor’s push for school funding has a direct impact on lawmakers who are accustomed to letting issues fester for years. Consider that it’s been nearly three years since the state’s top court ordered more money for city schools. That seems like a long time for no progress. But Albany operates on its own elongated timeline.

Consider the issue of gambling, which could play a central role in school funding.

More than a decade ago, the Catskills seemed poised to see the first casino within a hundred miles of New York City. The concept went nowhere, though, until the financial panic that followed the September 11th attacks. Then lawmakers quickly approved plans for three Catskills casinos, plus a modern equivalent of slot machines at racetracks across the state.

Now, the Casino plan is once again stalled and the slot machines closest to the city – at Aqueduct and Yonkers racetracks – are way behind schedule. Look for the casinos to find new life if Albany has to find new money for schools.

Casinos could offer Mr. Bloomberg a way to help lawmakers help him without hurting themselves. He’s already tried bringing back the commuter tax, and he’s opposed to putting slot machines in Times Square. Casinos in the Catskills, an idea whose time has come and gone a number of times over the last decade, could be the answer to Mr. Bloomberg’s needs.

Last week, Mr. Bloomberg ratcheted up his demands for the billions of dollars in schools money. He told city residents to call the governor and their lawmakers to demand the cash city courts have said schoolchildren deserve. That followed his threat to help Democrats unseat Senate Republicans. But the mayor needs to do more, because upstate lawmakers simply won’t cut funding for their own districts in order to make him happy.

Mr. Bloomberg often complains that the vast majority of the city’s budget is locked into entitlement programs and crucial services – leaving him little discretionary cash. The state budget does have more flexibility, but it isn’t simply an unallocated pot of money. Mr. Bloomberg might have a chance winning schools money if he can find a new revenue source.

We still don’t know what issue will become the theme of this year’s session in Albany. Mr. Bloomberg has the opportunity to fill that void with school funding – or at least a genuine fight over school funding – if he can help lawmakers help him. That will require him to come up with new ideas while our elected representatives hang around waiting for something to do in Albany.

Mr. Goldin’s political column appears weekly.