ALBANY - Prospects look dim for lawmakers to raise their salaries this year now that Gov. David Paterson says a recession is forcing harder choices in the state budget due Tuesday.

“I don't think the state can really afford to do very much really for anyone, least of all for legislators right now because of this situation,” Paterson said.

Most lawmakers will continue to muddle through, in part by falling back on millions of dollars in campaign contributions which, under the rules they wrote, can pay almost anything from Buffalo Bills tickets to a trip to Ireland, state records show.

Auto insurance payments, rental cars, gasoline, auto repair and other expenses are also paid by campaign contributions that offset household or daily work expenses most people must be take from their salaries, according to the records of many lawmakers reviewed this week.

“Campaign contributions should be used for campaigns, not for lifestyle subsidies,” Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group said Thursday. “Most campaign contributions come from groups that have business before government. This creates an inherent conflict.”

Need a dinner at one of Albany's best restaurants? No need to tap into that taxpayer-paid per diem of $150-or-so a day for expenses for staying in Albany. Bring some staff and friends to Jack's Oyster House and pick up the check for $310, like Republican Sen. Kenneth Lavalle's campaign did.

Bar association dues due? Cut a check for $125, they way Democratic Assemblyman Joseph Lentol's campaign did.

Want tickets to the Buffalo Bills? Plunk down $2,764 for them, like Democratic Sen. Bill Stachowski 's campaign did.

Need a car? Pick out a $25,000 Chevy and pay cash, like Republican Sen. Catharine Young's campaign did. Or pay monthly car payments, as several other lawmakers' campaign funds do.

Want to get away from it all? Try a trip to Ireland, as Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell's campaign did in 2007, for few euros over $2,500.

“Absolutely campaign money should be used for anything that would enhance an official's capacity as state legislators and certainly learning about Ireland and its people and its struggles ... will help our Irish brothers and sisters in our district,” said the East Harlem Democrat.

The trip from Sept. 29 to Oct. 10 in 2007 was attended by many American lawmakers, many of Irish descent. He said the trip included historic tours and a meeting with the prime minister to discuss pressing current issues.

Asked if any New York state legislation came of the trip, he said: “I'm not sure. Possibly.”

All of it's legal, and much of it, like NFL tickets for a team that means much to Stachowski's western New York district and a car for Young, who drives across the state from Olean to Albany, are quickly defended by lawmakers.

Lentol said the dues keep him associated with the Brooklyn Bar Association, an important constituent group, because he doesn't practice law anymore.

“There is generally not very tight regulation of them and probably for good reason,” he said. He said it's appropriate to use the funds to maintain and operate the public office, “but it should not be to improve their lifestyle or their lives. There should be a middle ground.”

Young also said the purchase of a car is a legitimate expense.

“My senate district is one of the largest geographically and is the farthest away from Albany,” she said. “I put about 70,000 miles on my Chevy per year doing my job. It doesn't cost the taxpayers one dime for mileage, even though I could be reimbursed by the state. I'd rather save taxpayer money.”

“If it's so important, then either the state or they should pay for it,” Horner said.

Legislators for nearly a decade have received a base salary of $79,500, but most get leadership stipends from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. Per-diem payments for living expenses in Albany can add another $15,000.