ALBANY -- Most Democrats in the minority of New York's state Senate are boycotting the session despite a late budget because they say they were denied access to budget bills scheduled for votes.

Republican senators then accused the Democrats of devoting the past weekend to a political gathering where they bashed Republicans for upstate voters instead of doing their jobs in Albany.

The protest Monday -- unseen in the Senate for years -- comes as the $124 billion state budget is hours away from being a week late.