By Danny Hakim

The Republican-led State Senate returned on Friday and approved one of the most controversial issues in the capital — a measure drafted by the Democratic governor that would place a mandatory limit on school property tax increases.

It also passed a bill intended to force the state to start collecting taxes on cigarettes sold to non-Indians on Indian reservations, a move that could reap hundreds of millions of dollars but could also inflame relations with several tribes.

The Senate majority leader, Dean G. Skelos, a Long Island Republican who presided over his first special session since taking over as leader in June, brought the Senate back specifically to pass the property tax legislation, largely to make a statement before this fall’s elections.

Still, bipartisan support is unlikely to move the bill, proposed by Gov. David A. Paterson, closer to becoming law. The proposal was immediately assailed by labor unions and is seen as unlikely to pass in the Democratic-led Assembly, though the sides will be negotiating on a range of topics before a special session that both houses of the Legislature will hold later this month.

Mr. Skelos complained on Friday that New York City Democrats were turning their backs on homeowners in the suburbs and upstate by opposing the bill.

“I just think they’re out of touch with reality,” he said, “because they don’t understand the crushing burden of real-property taxes on people who live on Long Island, the capital region or Buffalo,” where the bulk of property taxes pay for schools.

Union leaders expressed anger and disappointment that the Senate passed the bill — and relief that Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, is likely to stop it in its tracks.

“Thank God for Speaker Silver and the Assembly, because we know they will listen to our arguments,” said Denis M. Hughes, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. in New York.

The governor’s proposal would limit school property tax increases to 4 percent a year, unless 55 percent of voters in a district approved higher spending. If the bill becomes law, its effects will not be felt until late next year, and even then it would not reduce property taxes, only restrain increases.

The measure would not apply to New York City and several other big cities.

But it could counteract the governor’s main goal, closing a $26.2 billion deficit projected over the next three years. A cap on increases at the local level could increase pressure on the state to increase aid to school districts.

The Senate also passed a bill that would place a two-year moratorium on property reassessments, and limit the ability of the state to impose mandatory programs on school districts. Democrats had supported an alternative property tax package, which would have limited property tax bills based on a homeowner’s income.

The problem of property taxes outside New York City was highlighted in a recent report issued by a special commission on the matter created by Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The report found that many of the areas with the highest property taxes in the nation were located in New York, particularly in the suburbs of New York City and on eastern Long Island. The commission was led by Thomas R. Suozzi, the county executive in Nassau, where the property tax burden is unusually high.

While other states, like Massachusetts, have tax caps, teachers’ unions have rejected the idea of limiting school tax increases in New York. Unions lobbied Senate Republicans on the matter, and the Senate refused to take up the measure during the regular session, which ended in late June.

“The Senate today chose political expediency and the illusion of property tax relief over a real, meaningful solution — a restructuring of our property tax system based on equity, income and ability to pay,” said Richard C. Iannuzzi, president of the New York State United Teachers.

Property taxes are an issue seen as a particular concern of the new leader, Mr. Skelos, who is from Nassau County.

The vote on the governor’s bill was 38 to 20 in the Senate, with seven Democrats, mostly from outside New York City, joining Republicans.

“The fact that the governor drafted the bill left many Democrats in the uncomfortable position of criticizing legislation backed by their former leader — Mr. Paterson led the Senate Democrats until 2006.

“We’re not going to be voting for political schemes today, we’re going to be standing up, speaking truth to power,” said Senator Kevin Parker, a Brooklyn Democrat.

Asked by a reporter if the governor’s bill was a “political scheme,” he took pains to say he was criticizing Republicans for bringing the bill to a vote now, without Assembly support, and not taking a shot at the governor.

“We don’t necessarily agree with him on this particular proposal, but we are certainly not questioning his intention on wanting to help people,” Mr. Parker said.

The other notable legislation passed Friday would bar tobacco manufacturers from selling cigarettes without assurances that they will be taxed when they are sold to consumers. The legislation requires stamping agents — middlemen between manufacturers and retailers — to provide certifications that the cigarettes will be taxed when they are sold.

The measure was previously passed by the Assembly, but it is not clear whether the governor will sign it.

Such a tax could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, but governors have held off collecting the taxes in the past because such moves have led to violent protests.

“We will review the bill and seek input from interested parties when it is sent to the governor,” said Risa B. Heller, the governor’s communications director. When Governor Spitzer pondered collecting the taxes last year, Maurice A. John, the president of the Seneca Nation, told The Buffalo News, “we are not going to be tax collectors for New York State.”

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, who recently joined with Bill Gates on a worldwide anti-smoking effort, praised the Senate for passing the bill.

“For too long, the New York State tax on tobacco products has applied to some but not all, with businesses on Indian reservations openly flouting a Supreme Court ruling and existing state law,” the mayor said in a statement. “The State Senate today joined the Assembly in shining a light on unmistakably unfair tax practices that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and keep tens of thousands of people smoking when they might otherwise quit.”