New Yorkers got an early glimpse of what to expect in the coming Legislative year in Albany last week when the state Senate Republicans unveiled their sweeping property tax relief plan.

The plan calls for doubling, tripling and for some, quadrupling the property school tax rebates. That will cost roughly $8.4 billion. They also are floating a concept that would allow school districts to eventually eliminate property taxes altogether and turn it over to the state for $9.5 billion.

All of this comes, of course, going into a budget year in which a $4.3 billion deficit is projected. The plan's backers are offering little in the way of explaining how they'll pay for these cuts (perhaps higher income taxes?).

What is known is that the GOP leaders are ready to label everyone who questions their plan as being anti-taxpayer, of course.

Welcome to the state capital in an election year. Especially in the battle for state Senate, where the Republicans have a two-seat advantage, the rhetoric will be louder than ever.

It's likely that state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and his colleagues have no expectation that this proposal can actually become law. But by putting something out there first - even if it's unrealistic - and labeling themselves as the true friends of taxpayers, they're hoping to score political points with voters.

To do this, they're counting on voters who will basically read headlines without paying attention to the details.

We pick on Bruno and Co. at this point because they've struck first. But don't be surprise to see the Democratically controlled Assembly do something similar on some other issue. And Gov. Eliot Spitzer's office is not above the tactic, either.

The message we hope voters take is to simply take everything you hear this year from Albany with a large dose of skepticism.