Regular Session - March 30, 1994
1985
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8 ALBANY, NEW YORK
9 March 30, 1994
10 3:44 p.m.
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13 REGULAR SESSION
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17 SENATOR NICHOLAS A. SPANO, Acting President
18 STEPHEN F. SLOAN, Secretary
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1986
1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The
3 Senate will come to order.
4 All please rise for the Pledge of
5 Allegiance to the Flag.
6 (The assemblage repeated the
7 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 In the absence of the clergy,
9 please bow our heads for a moment of silence.
10 (A moment of silence was
11 observed.)
12 Reading of the Journal.
13 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
14 Tuesday, March 29th. The Senate met pursuant to
15 adjournment, Senator Farley in the Chair upon
16 designation of the Temporary President. Prayer
17 by the Reverend Patricia MacKinnon of the Fair
18 Havens Church of North Tonawanda, New York. The
19 Journal of Monday, March 28th, was read and
20 approved. On motion, Senate adjourned.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Hearing
22 no objection, the Journal stands approved as
23 read.
1987
1 Reports of standing committees.
2 The Secretary will read.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lack,
4 from the Committee on Judiciary, reports the
5 following Bill directly for third reading:
6 Senate Bill Number 7160, by
7 Senators Lack and Trunzo, an act to amend
8 Chapter 502 of the Laws of 1992 relating to
9 certain non-judicial officers and employees of
10 the unified court system.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Without
12 objection, third reading.
13 Motions and resolutions.
14 Senator Dollinger.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
16 President, if I can be recognized just on a
17 point of personal privilege. Mr. President, I
18 get to welcome some of my constituents and the
19 sons and daughters of my constituents from the
20 12 Corners Middle School in Brighton.
21 This is where the Senate does its
22 business and I would like to welcome you to the
23 chamber. This group is the band from the 12
1988
1 Corners Middle School. They have brought the
2 gift of music to the South Corridor earlier
3 today, and I hope that you enjoy your trip and
4 your stay in Albany as you watch your state
5 government work.
6 Thank you for coming. Congratula
7 tions on your music, and I hope you have a safe
8 voyage home.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: On
10 behalf of all of the members of the Senate, we
11 would like to welcome all the students who are
12 here today. Hope you enjoy the deliberations
13 and hope you come back to visit us again real
14 soon.
15 (Applause.)
16 Senator Farley.
17 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Mr.
18 President.
19 On behalf of Senator Libous, on
20 page 7, I offer the following amendments to his
21 Calendar Number 249, Senate Print 6219, and ask
22 that bill retain its place on the Third Reading
23 Calendar.
1989
1 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: So
2 ordered.
3 SENATOR FARLEY: On behalf of
4 Senator Levy, on page 13, I offer the following
5 amendments to Calendar 432, Senate Print 79, and
6 I ask that that bill retain its place on the
7 Third Reading Calendar.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: So
9 ordered.
10 SENATOR FARLEY: On behalf of
11 Senator Sears, Mr. President, I offer -- I move
12 that the following bills be discharged from
13 their respective committees and be recommitted
14 with instructions to strike the enacting
15 clause: Senate Print 3500, Senate Print 5800-A,
16 Senate Print 5942-A and Senate Print 6089.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: So
18 ordered.
19 Senator Tully.
20 SENATOR TULLY: Mr. President,
21 there's a privileged resolution at the desk.
22 May I ask that the clerk read it, please?
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The
1990
1 Secretary will read the title of the resolution.
2 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
3 Resolution, by Senator Tully, commending the
4 John Philip Sousa Elementary School String
5 Orchestra upon the occasion of their
6 participation in "Music in Our Schools Month",
7 March 30th, 1994;
8 WHEREAS, it is the sense of this
9 legislative body that those who give positive
10 definition to the profile and disposition of
11 educational endeavors in the state of New York
12 do so profoundly strengthen our shared
13 commitment to the exercise of freedom;
14 Attendant to such concern and
15 fully in accord with its long-standing
16 traditions, it is the intent of this legislative
17 body to commend the John Philip Sousa Elementary
18 School String Orchestra upon the occasion of
19 their participation in "Music in Our Schools
20 Month", March 30th, 1994;
21 On Wednesday, March 30th, 1994,
22 the John Philip Sousa Elementary School String
23 Orchestra, Port Washington, New York, will
1991
1 present a concert at the North Concourse at
2 11:30 a.m. This concert is sponsored by the New
3 York State School Music Association and the
4 Music Educators National Conference will be
5 presented during a month long nationwide
6 celebration of music education in our schools;
7 Miss Lisa Dunaj is the Orchestra
8 Director for the John Philip Sousa Elementary
9 School String Orchestra;
10 John Philip Sousa Elementary
11 School String Orchestra consists of many young
12 people;
13 Through this long and sustained
14 commitment to excellence and musical artistry,
15 the John Philip Sousa Elementary School String
16 Orchestra has so unselfishly advanced that
17 spirit of united purpose and shared concern
18 which is the unalterable manifestation of our
19 American experience; now, therefore, be it
20 RESOLVED, that this legislative
21 body pause in its deliberations and most
22 joyously commend the John Philip Sousa
23 Elementary School String Orchestra upon the
1992
1 occasion of their participation in "Music in Our
2 Schools Month", March 30th, 1994, fully
3 confident that such procedure mirrors our shared
4 commitment to preserve, to enhance and to yet
5 effect the patrimony of freedom which is our
6 American heritage; and be it further
7 RESOLVED, that a copy of this
8 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
9 to each of the members of the John Philip Sousa
10 Elementary School String Orchestra and to Mrs.
11 Lisa Dunaj, Orchestra Director, John Philip
12 Sousa Elementary School, Port Washington, New
13 York.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
15 Tully.
16 SENATOR TULLY: Yes, Mr.
17 President. I have been privileged to visit with
18 the members of the John Philip Sousa Elementary
19 String Orchestra and their director, their
20 parents and teachers, and I consider it quite a
21 privilege to be able to recognize them here
22 today, and I would like to indicate to you and
23 to my colleagues in this house that they come
1993
1 from one of the finest schools on Long Island
2 and the state of New York, if not the United
3 States. They are youngsters of particular
4 brilliance and their academic and musical
5 accomplishments precede them.
6 I would really appreciate it if
7 you would extend the greetings of the house as
8 only you can do so well.
9 Thank you, Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO:
11 Questions on Senator Tully's resolution?
12 (There was no response.)
13 All those in favor, signify by
14 saying aye.
15 (Response of "Aye.")
16 Opposed, nay.
17 (There was no response.)
18 The resolution is adopted, and we
19 would like to join with Senator Tully and all of
20 our colleagues in congratulating the John Philip
21 Sousa Elementary School, welcoming you to the
22 state Capitol and hope that you enjoy the
23 deliberations today and come visit us again real
1994
1 soon. Congratulations.
2 (Applause.)
3 Substitutions.
4 THE SECRETARY: On page 5 of
5 today's calendar, Senator Daly moves to
6 discharge the Committee on Corporations,
7 Authorities and Commissions from Assembly Bill
8 Number 8570-A, and substitute it for the
9 Identical Calendar Number 474.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO:
11 Substitution ordered.
12 Senator DeFrancisco.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Mr.
14 President, I just would request the privilege to
15 recognize a couple of groups that are also in
16 the gallery that have provided us fine music
17 this afternoon.
18 They're from my district, the
19 West Genesee Street -- West Genesee High School,
20 Eilene Katz and David Norman, who are the
21 directors of the chamber choir and the mixed
22 chorus, and members of both groups are up there
23 and I just want to welcome them and congratulate
1995
1 them on their fine performance today.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Of
3 course, we would also like to welcome Senator
4 DeFrancisco's students who are also here today
5 and hope you're enjoying your visit to the state
6 Capitol.
7 Senator Present.
8 SENATOR PRESENT: Would you
9 recognize Senator Larkin, please?
10 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
11 Larkin.
12 SENATOR PRESENT: There will be
13 an immediate meeting of the Local Governments
14 Committee in Room 332.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO:
16 Immediate meeting of the Local Governments
17 Committee in Room 332.
18 Senator Present.
19 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President,
20 I move that we adopt the Resolution Calendar
21 with the exception of Resolution Number 3072.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The
23 question is on the adoption of the Resolution
1996
1 Calendar with the exception of Resolution 3072.
2 All those in favor signify by
3 saying aye.
4 (Response of "Aye.")
5 Opposed, nay.
6 (There was no response.)
7 The resolutions are adopted.
8 Senator Present.
9 SENATOR PRESENT: Would you
10 recognize Senator Kuhl, please?
11 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
12 Kuhl.
13 SENATOR KUHL: Yes, Mr.
14 President. I understand you have a privileged
15 resolution at the desk, Resolution Number 3072.
16 I would like to have the Secretary read it in
17 its entirety, please.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The
19 Secretary will read the resolution.
20 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
21 Resolution, by Senator Kuhl, mourning the death
22 of Judge Domenick Gabrielli, distinguished
23 citizen and philanthropist.
1997
1 It is the custom of this
2 legislative body to mourn publicly the death of
3 prominent citizens of the state of New York
4 whose life work and civic endeavor served to
5 enhance the reputation of the state;
6 Former state Court of Appeals
7 Associate Judge Domenick L. Gabrielli, who after
8 11 years ago, remained active in state legal
9 circles, died on Friday, March 25th, 1994, at
10 Villa Mary Immaculate Nursing Home at the age of
11 81;
12 Judge Domenick Gabrielli
13 distinguished himself by his sincere dedication
14 and substantial contribution to the welfare of
15 his community;
16 Judge Domenick Gabrielli's spirit
17 of humanity, of devotion to the good of all,
18 carried over into all fields of enterprise,
19 including charitable and philanthropic work;
20 Judge Domenick Gabrielli, a
21 native of Rochester who made his home since 1987
22 -- who made Albany his home since 1987, was
23 regarded as one of the most respected jurists in
1998
1 the state, having risen through the ranks of the
2 courts in a career that spanned 24 years;
3 Judge Gabrielli was -- graduated
4 from Haverling High School in Bath and St.
5 Lawrence University, was born December 13th,
6 1912, the son of immigrants Rocco and Veronica
7 Gabrielli;
8 Judge Gabrielli graduated from
9 Albany Law School in 1936, where he served as
10 editor of the Law Review and was admitted to the
11 bar in 1937. He was admitted to practice before
12 the United States Supreme Court that same year;
13 He began his legal career in
14 private practice in Bath, Steuben County, where
15 he also served as corporation counsel;
16 In January of 1953, Judge
17 Gabrielli was appointed Steuben County District
18 Attorney by then Governor Thomas E. Dewey and
19 was elected to a full term that fall;
20 In 1957, he was elected Steuben
21 County Court Judge and Children's Court Judge,
22 and on July 13th, 1961, was designated a Justice
23 of the Supreme Court for the 7th Judicial
1999
1 District; he was elected to a full term in
2 November, 1961;
3 Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller
4 designated Judge Gabrielli an associate justice
5 of the Appellate Division in Albany in 1967, and
6 in 1969 he moved to the Appellete Division in
7 Rochester;
8 Judge Gabrielli, a Navy World War
9 II combat veteran who served as lieutenant,
10 joined the Rochester-based law firm of Nixon
11 Hargrave Devans & Doyle as senior counsel in
12 1982 upon retiring from the bench at the age of
13 70; he transferred to the firm's Albany office
14 in 1987 and retired from legal practice in
15 December, 1992;
16 He served as Chairman of the
17 Board of Trustees of Albany Law School from 1984
18 to 1989, and was the founder of the Gabrielli
19 Moot Court Statewide Competition sponsored by
20 the law school; he also served on the Board of
21 Governors of Union University;
22 Judge Domenick Gabrielli was a
23 former chairman of the Governor's Statewide
2000
1 Judicial Selection Screening Committee, the
2 Governor's 4th Judicial Department Selection
3 Committee for the Appellate Division, the State
4 Bar Association's Media Awards Committee, Vice
5 Chairman of the State's Bicentennial of the
6 Constitution Commission, was Special Counsel to
7 the State Comptroller for Ethics and Conflicts
8 of Interest and former President of the Bar
9 Association's Bar Foundation;
10 Judge Domenick Gabrielli was
11 awarded a number of honorary degrees, including
12 ones from St. Lawrence University, Albany Law
13 School, Siena College, Brooklyn Law School,
14 Nazareth College and St. John's University Law
15 School; he also was the recipient of the state
16 Bar Association's Gold Medal Award;
17 Judge Domenick Gabrielli is
18 survived by his wife, Dorothy, his two children,
19 Veronica G. Dumas and Michael E. Gabrielli, four
20 grandchildren, Gabrielle, Desarae, Mackenzie and
21 Morgan; and one great-grandchild, Audriana;
22 For the countless many who knew
23 and loved him, the death of Judge Domenick
2001
1 Gabrielli has most seemingly curtained the world
2 in darkness;
3 Like the light at dawn which so
4 completely eclipses the brightness of night's
5 stars, the life of Judge Domenick Gabrielli
6 bears radiant testimony that the ideals of
7 honor, courage, loyalty and dedication and of
8 personal love yet endure; now, therefore, be it
9 RESOLVED that this legislative
10 body pause in its deliberations in a moment of
11 silent tribute to Judge Domenick Gabrielli, a
12 warm, sensitive, caring and responsive man,
13 whose unselfish concern for the welfare of
14 others endowed and enhanced the lives of those
15 so fortunate as to call him family and friend;
16 and to further express its deepest condolences
17 to his beloved wife, Dorothy; his son, Michael;
18 his daughter, Veronica; his granddaughters,
19 Gabrielle, Desarae, Mackenzie and Morgan; and
20 his great-granddaughter Audriana; and be it
21 further
22 RESOLVED that copies of this
23 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
2002
1 to the family of Judge Domenick Gabrielli.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
3 Kuhl.
4 SENATOR KUHL: Yes, Mr.
5 President.
6 First of all, I would like to
7 extend an open opportunity to any of the members
8 of the chamber who would like to be a co-sponsor
9 of this resolution. If -- why don't we put
10 everybody on? If anybody objects, they can come
11 to the desk afterwards.
12 Mr. President, it's certainly
13 with a great deal of pride, but more in
14 particular, a great deal of sadness that I rise
15 to speak to this resolution.
16 Judge Domenick Gabrielli was
17 truly a favorite son of my home county, Steuben
18 County, I think known to a great many people in
19 this chamber in one fashion or another. "Mike"
20 Gabrielli, as he was fondly known, was certainly
21 known throughout his home county of Steuben
22 County where he grew up, and I had the good
23 occasion to know him at a very young age. He
2003
1 was very good friends with my parents and I had
2 the opportunity of growing up with his children,
3 and I watched him progress from obviously a
4 youngster's point of view, through the roles
5 that he fulfilled so well, and he started out a
6 local attorney representing the municipality of
7 Bath, and he grew, and he grew into a number of
8 governmental positions, first as a district
9 attorney. Then he became a judge and then
10 elevated himself to perhaps the highest judicial
11 position in this state that an individual can
12 acquire, be elected to or appointed to, and that
13 being an associate judge of the Court of
14 Appeals.
15 But "Mike" Gabrielli was truly a
16 man of the people. His parents were immigrants
17 from Italy. He took a great deal of fondness in
18 his heritage, but he started out -- and one of
19 his first jobs was shining shoes at the local
20 courthouse and from that emerged a real man, a
21 man who all of us knew and loved.
22 What I would like to do, Mr.
23 President, is to, not in my own words, but I
2004
1 think the words of one of the local newspapers,
2 read to you what I think is a very, very exact
3 expression of what "Mike" Gabrielli meant to the
4 people in my district. It goes as follows:
5 "To his friends in Albany, he
6 will be remembered for his scholarly legal work
7 and his conservative opinions on legal issues,
8 especially those involving crime, punishment and
9 the death penalty. To those in the political
10 circles, he will be remembered for his sharp
11 political acumen, but to the people in Bath, he
12 will be remembered as a hometown boy who arose
13 from the streets of Bath to the state's highest
14 court but never forgot his roots.
15 "Bath and its environment shaped
16 Gabrielli and his character. He believed
17 strongly in family, country, hard work and
18 community, ideals that were shaped in his
19 hometown. He started out shining shoes at the
20 steps of the Steuben County Courthouse.
21 "Throughout his life he was
22 proud of his Italian ancestry. He was a devout
23 Catholic, receiving the highest honor given to
2005
1 lay Catholics. He was active in veterans'
2 groups and delighted talking about his service
3 during World War II. He dedicated countless
4 hours to the Boy Scouts of America. His life
5 was a testimony to the American dream. By
6 working hard and giving back to your community,
7 you can succeed."
8 And that, I think, is the life of
9 "Mike" Gabrielli.
10 Thank you, Mr. President.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
12 Marchi.
13 SENATOR MARCHI: Mr. President,
14 Senator Kuhl's resolution really applies to a
15 magnificent individual, one of the real giants
16 of our time.
17 I -- over the years, I must have
18 broken bread with him at least several hundred
19 times. We would be over at St. Mary's here in
20 the morning and then having breakfast at the Ten
21 Eyck, and what an experience. This man was
22 filled with goodness, with brilliant insights
23 into the law, a spiritual dimension that knew no
2006
1 measure. Words are simply inadequate to
2 describe this person as a factor in your life,
3 if you had the privilege and the honor of
4 sharing moments with him. I don't think anyone
5 who ever spent some time with Judge Gabrielli
6 would ever forget him, because of those real
7 warm qualities that he exhibited and the feeling
8 that this was an accomplished individual who had
9 mastered -- mastered the law, mastered the law
10 of life and had an exemplary family that I'm
11 sure, when this trauma begins to settle, this
12 will be a consoling factor in their life,
13 because everything, every contact they had with
14 him was one that consoled and strengthened.
15 So, I do believe that he was
16 really one of the great judges of the 20th
17 Century and in the state of New York, and it's
18 proper and fitting that we observe his passing
19 and thank the Lord that we had him with us as
20 long as we did, and he contributed so much to
21 the society in which he worked and functioned so
22 beautifully.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
2007
1 Maltese.
2 SENATOR MALTESE: In the words of
3 Randy Kuhl, who knew him from the district and
4 Senator Marchi who knew him so many years, I can
5 say nothing that would add a great deal to those
6 memorial words, but "Mike" Gabrielli was -
7 exerted a great influence on the lives of not
8 only so many of us in politics or in law but the
9 young people of his community, the young
10 attorneys who used him as a model, a mentor,
11 that people like Judge Bellacosa who, in a way,
12 learned the law trade and the judicial trade at
13 his knee.
14 I first came to know Judge
15 Gabrielli, "Mike," so well in 1972 when he ran
16 for election to the Court of Appeals, and to
17 know him was to love him. He was a charming
18 individual, a kind individual. In the
19 intervening years, I never heard one solitary
20 word of criticism either about him or from him
21 about any human being.
22 He was well-known, as Senator
23 Marchi has indicated, as a daily communicant, a
2008
1 very deeply religious man. He always had a
2 twinkle in his eye, always with a kind word.
3 Having visited him during the
4 period that he was a Court of Appeals justice -
5 how many others do we know that would host
6 cookies and milk or cookies and coffee and be so
7 entertaining and charming that you hated to
8 absent yourself from him?
9 The Judge took pride in the fact
10 that, in 1972, when judges of the Court of
11 Appeals were still elected, that he exceeded the
12 vote total of any other judge running for office
13 at the time and deservedly so. As is often
14 said, "Mike" Gabrielli was a giant of a man, a
15 model to other Italian-Americans and, indeed,
16 Americans -- all Americans. He will be sorely
17 missed.
18 I know that he presided over so
19 many swearing-ins of other public officials,
20 myself included, always with a kind remark. He
21 seemed to know everybody in the courthouse,
22 seemed to know everybody in the Capitol. There
23 wasn't a time that you parted from him that he
2009
1 didn't ask that his good wishes and greetings be
2 given to your wife or the members of your
3 family.
4 He was a great human being, a
5 great judge, and I and others will sorely miss
6 him.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
8 Volker.
9 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
10 very briefly, I too want to say that Judge
11 Gabrielli was a good friend of mine as well as
12 the family. Actually, he had known my father
13 much better, I think, than myself, although he
14 also swore me in for the first time when I was
15 sworn into the Senate.
16 There is no question he was a
17 towering judge, even though his stature might
18 not warrant it, but his knowledge of the law was
19 virtually unequalled and I think, as Randy said
20 and Serph', he was a man, a gentle man and
21 somebody who you just didn't picture as a judge
22 because he had such a gentlemanly demeanor that
23 he just seemed like the friendly fellow down the
2010
1 block.
2 I know that the people of Steuben
3 County looked at him as almost a figure of epic
4 proportions, and I would only ask that, from my
5 perspective, that I want to remember him as a
6 person who was thoughtful and gracious, and I
7 hope that his family is able to -- is able to
8 withstand his loss in good stead, and that we
9 all say a little prayer for them.
10 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
11 President.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
13 Dollinger.
14 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
15 President, I rise to join my other colleagues in
16 this moment of sadness upon the death of "Mike"
17 Gabrielli. I knew him in a very unusual way,
18 different from my other colleagues. I was a
19 student at Albany Law School when he was named
20 the chairman of the Board of Trustees, and the
21 one thing I'll never forget is that he had a
22 tremendous devotion to the education of lawyers
23 and he followed that education both if you
2011
1 served as his clerk or if you were a student at
2 a law school of which he had graduated and which
3 he worked through most of his life to try to
4 support.
5 I can always remember the story
6 that Dick Bartlett told me when he was the dean
7 and Dom Gabrielli was the chairman of the board,
8 and we were in a room at a party together and
9 someone had mentioned that there was someone in
10 the room who was a likely contributor to the law
11 school, and Dick Bartlett said, "'Mike'
12 Gabrielli can put the touch on someone better
13 than anyone I know."
14 And he had the wit; he had the
15 warmth; he had the dimension; he had a real
16 touch with people and as I said, I only knew him
17 briefly in my capacity as a student and later as
18 a young lawyer but he did marvelous things for
19 Albany Law School and for the education of
20 lawyers.
21 I know it's mentioned in Senator
22 Kuhl's resolution, but I would be remiss if I
23 didn't also extend my personal thanks to him as
2012
1 a graduate of that law school, for all the work
2 and, frankly, all the money and all the
3 fund-raising that he did on that law school's
4 behalf.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Question
6 is on the resolution.
7 All those in favor signify by
8 saying aye.
9 (Response of "Aye.")
10 Opposed, nay.
11 (There was no response.)
12 The resolution is adopted.
13 Senator Daly.
14 SENATOR DALY: Mr. President,
15 there will be an immediate meeting of the
16 Corporations and Authorities Committee
17 immediately outside the chamber.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO:
19 Immediate meeting of the Corporations Committee
20 outside the chamber.
21 Senator Holland.
22 SENATOR HOLLAND: Can you remove
23 the star on my bill S.2839, please?
2013
1 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senate
2 2829, remove the star.
3 SENATOR HOLLAND: 2839.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: 2839,
5 remove the star. Remove the star, Calendar 233.
6 Senator Gold.
7 SENATOR GOLD: No, no, no.
8 Senator Present.
9 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President,
10 let's take up the non-controversial calendar.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO:
12 Secretary will -- Senator Daly.
13 SENATOR DALY: That meeting of
14 the Corporation and Authorities Committee has
15 been changed to the Majority Conference Room.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Meeting
17 of the Corporations Committee meeting in Room
18 332 in the Capitol.
19 The Secretary will read the
20 controversial calendar -- sorry, the
21 non-controversial calendar.
22 THE SECRETARY: On page 7,
23 Calendar Number 26, by Senator Seward -
2014
1 SENATOR GOLD: Lay it aside,
2 please.
3 SENATOR SEWARD: Star that bill,
4 please.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Star the
6 bill at the request of the sponsor.
7 THE SECRETARY: On page 9,
8 Calendar Number 345, by Senator Maltese, Senate
9 Bill Number 4917-A, Civil Service Law, in
10 relation to the duration of civil service
11 eligible lists.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Read the
13 last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Call the
17 roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The bill
21 is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 353, by Senator Cook, Senate Bill Number 6776-A,
2015
1 an act to amend the Insurance Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Read the
3 last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
5 act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 375, by Senator Volker -
14 SENATOR PRESENT: Lay it aside.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Lay it
16 aside.
17 Senator Volker.
18 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
19 would you please star that bill pending an
20 amendment, that's 375, please?
21 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Star
22 Calendar 375 at the request of the sponsor.
23 SENATOR VOLKER: Thank you.
2016
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 401, by Senator Skelos -
3 SENATOR PRESENT: Lay it aside.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Lay it
5 aside.
6 SENATOR GOLD: For the day.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 423, by Senator Farley, Senate Bill Number
9 5152-A, Real Property Tax Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Read the
11 last section.
12 SENATOR GOLD: Lay it aside.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Lay it
14 aside.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 464, by Senator Farley, Senate Bill Number 1595,
17 an act to amend the Banking Law and the Criminal
18 Procedure Law.
19 SENATOR FARLEY: Read the last
20 section.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Read the
22 last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2017
1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The bill
7 is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 469, by Senator Cook, Senate Bill Number 2289,
10 State Finance Law -
11 SENATOR GOLD: Lay it aside.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Lay it
13 aside.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 470, by Senator Farley, Senate Bill Number 6772,
16 New York State Printing and Public Documents
17 Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Read the
19 last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
21 act shall take effect immediately.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Call the
23 roll.
2018
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The bill
4 is passed.
5 Senator Present, that's the non
6 controversial calendar.
7 SENATOR PRESENT: Controversial
8 calendar.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The
10 Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: On page 11,
12 Calendar Number 401, by Senator Skelos, Senate
13 Bill Number 60...
14 SENATOR PRESENT: Lay it aside
15 for the day.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Lay it
17 aside.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 423, by Senator Farley, Senate Bill Number
20 5152-A, Real Property Tax Law.
21 SENATOR GOLD: Hold on one
22 second. Last section.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Read the
2019
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The bill
9 is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 469, by Senator Cook, Senate Bill Number 2289,
12 State Finance Law, in relation to court
13 facilities incentive aid.
14 SENATOR GOLD: I just have a
15 question, if Senator Cook is available. I just
16 have a simple simple question.
17 Senator Present?
18 SENATOR PRESENT: Lay it aside
19 temporarily and return to reports of standing
20 committees.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Lay the
22 bill aside temporarily.
23 Reports of standing committees.
2020
1 The Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin,
3 from the Committee on Local Government, reports
4 the following two bills directly for third
5 reading:
6 Senate Bill Number 7239, by
7 Senator Marino and others, General Municipal
8 Law, in relation to the designation of economic
9 development zones. Also, Senate Bill Number
10 7318, by Senators Larkin and Libous, Real
11 Property Tax Law, in relation to improvements
12 required by the Americans with Disabilities Act
13 of 1990.
14 Both bills reported directly for
15 third reading.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Without
17 objection, third reading.
18 Senator Present.
19 SENATOR PRESENT: Stand at ease
20 just a moment while awaiting another report from
21 a standing committee.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The
23 Senate will stand at ease.
2021
1 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
2 ease.)
3 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
5 Leichter.
6 SENATOR LEICHTER: While we're at
7 ease, Mr. President, on Calendar 464 which
8 passed while I was out of the chamber, I want to
9 be excused from voting on that bill, so would
10 you please note that?
11 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: That's
12 Calendar 464, without objection.
13 Senator Present.
14 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President,
15 can we call up Calendar 469, please?
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The
17 Secretary will read Calendar 469.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 469, by Senator Cook, Senate Bill Number 2289,
20 an act to amend the State Finance Law, in
21 relation to court facilities incentive aid.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Read the
23 last section.
2022
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Call the
4 roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The bill
8 is passed.
9 SENATOR PRESENT: Can we continue
10 our standing at ease while awaiting the report
11 of a standing committee?
12 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
13 ease.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
15 Present.
16 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President,
17 can we return to reports of standing committees?
18 I believe there's one at the desk.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The
20 Secretary will read it.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Daly,
22 from the committee on Corporations, Authorities
23 and Commissions, reports the following bill
2023
1 directly for third reading:
2 Senate Bill Number 7125, by
3 Senators Velella, Leichter and Mendez, an act to
4 amend Chapter 499 of the Laws of 1991, amending
5 Chapter 285 of the Laws of 1891, relating to the
6 establishment of the New York Botanical Garden.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Without
8 objection, third reading.
9 Senator Hoffmann.
10 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Mr. President,
11 I believe I have some motions to discharge
12 several bills at the desk.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Yes, we
14 do have them here.
15 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you.
16 I would like to discharge those
17 motions today, if it suits your pleasure, Mr.
18 President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
20 Hoffmann.
21 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you.
22 3509? Thank you.
23 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
2024
1 Hoffmann, Senate Bill Number 3509, an act to
2 amend the Public Officers Law, in relation to
3 exempting political committees.
4 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, Mr.
5 President.
6 This has become somewhat of an
7 annual event for those of us in the Senate, and
8 I'm delighted to see as many friendly faces in
9 the chamber as I see today and I know that there
10 are other people with their ears close to the
11 box in the lounge and in their offices, but I am
12 more encouraged by the fact that all over this
13 state, there are now people who care very deeply
14 about this particular measure, and regardless of
15 whether I speak or some of you speak or none of
16 us speak on the floor today, the issue that's
17 manifested in Senate 3509 is not going to go
18 away. In fact, I was quite pleased a little
19 while ago to be joined by the president of
20 Change New York, the past Master of the New York
21 State Grange, and representatives from some
22 other organizations who sent in writing their
23 comments about why they fervently believe we
2025
1 need to change the Open Meetings Law and other
2 rules and laws that affect the operation of this
3 Legislature.
4 What we do here in Albany
5 frequently brings ridicule upon us as
6 individuals and, more importantly, it disgraces
7 the chamber that we operate in, and all too
8 often people regard with suspicion our motives
9 because what we do here is crafted in secrecy,
10 is subject to partisan control and very often
11 gives the impression of having been motivated by
12 political considerations rather than a
13 willingness to serve the taxpayers of this
14 state.
15 We could do wonders to change
16 this perception. No public relations person
17 could come and give better advice to us about
18 how to improve our sense of prestige in this
19 state than by cleaning up our act and passing
20 these bills today. We could then turn to the
21 business at hand. We could address the problems
22 caused by loss of jobs, by increased need for
23 services, by feeding and clothing people who are
2026
1 unable to do that themselves, providing
2 increased job opportunities through economic
3 development programs.
4 The wide range of
5 responsibilities that are out there for us to
6 address, all too often come second to our
7 partisan responsibilities as members of two
8 political conferences. And what is particularly
9 unfortunate is the fact that we are completely
10 out of sync with the people of this state
11 because an increasing number of people of this
12 state no longer belong to political parties but,
13 instead, have chosen to be independent or
14 operate out of a third or a fourth party.
15 In this chamber, if you want to
16 assume for a moment that it makes some sense to
17 have closed door party conferences as the
18 principal motive in decision-making, please
19 remember that every time the Majority in this
20 house meets and makes decisions in secret, they
21 are speaking for 31 percent of the registered
22 voters in New York State, because that's how
23 many registered voters have chosen to declare
2027
1 themselves as Republican party members in New
2 York State, 2.7 million -- 2.75 million. That's
3 as of November 1993. Democrats fare slightly
4 better, if it makes any difference. 47 percent
5 of the voters in this state are registered as
6 Democrats, but in neither case is there a clear
7 majority of the members of this house
8 representing a clear majority of the voters of
9 this state who have chosen a political banner
10 next to their name and, in fact, it makes sense
11 for us to look at it the other way.
12 Every time the Republican
13 Majority in this house goes into its conference
14 room, makes a decision and then ratifies it some
15 time after midnight on the floor of this
16 chamber, 67.7 percent of the people of this
17 state who are registered voters have been
18 effectively disenfranchised.
19 How can we justify conducting our
20 business under this partisan banner? How can we
21 continue claiming that we are representing the
22 needs of the people of this state when we do it
23 under a political definition and not through the
2028
1 committees and through the responsibilities that
2 should motivate us to act in the public's
3 behalf?
4 There was an opportunity in 1985
5 for us to address this situation. The courts
6 ruled that we were violating the Open Meetings
7 Law, that we were meeting illegally every time
8 public business was being discussed in a closed
9 party conference, specifically when a majority
10 of the members of either house met in secret.
11 In an effort to comply with that
12 law, we could have at that time acceded and
13 changed our way of doing business to allow
14 committees to function sensibly, but instead,
15 this Legislature, in haste, in the middle of a
16 budget season no less -- while we were late for
17 a budget by several days already, this
18 Legislature rushed in to print a bill in 24
19 hour's time instead of complying with the law to
20 change the law so that we would specifically
21 exempt our party conferences from public
22 scrutiny.
23 Now, S.3509 -- what's my bill
2029
1 number here? S.3509 has an escape clause in
2 there, friends, that should be big enough to
3 drive a cement truck through. If it is still
4 important to you to meet under this political
5 banner, then all you need to do is announce to
6 the taxpayers of this state, we are closing the
7 doors and we are meeting as Republicans or we
8 are meeting as Democrats, to discuss political
9 business. There is that opportunity.
10 Reapportionment, I suppose, would
11 be a situation that some people might find
12 warrants that type of action, but how can we
13 justify making decisions about taxes, about
14 economic development, about social services by
15 people who sit in a closed conference room as
16 Republicans or who sit in a closed conference
17 room as a Democrat -- as Democrats?
18 The public of this state is fed
19 up. They want a change and they will hold us
20 accountable. The organizational list is
21 growing. They are paying much more attention
22 now than they ever did in the past, to the
23 process by which we operate because they are not
2030
1 satisfied with the product. So, even when we
2 come up with good solutions through this
3 ridiculous system, we are still going to be
4 excoriated publicly because we have done it
5 secretly and that we are, therefore, suspect.
6 So, I would ask all of my
7 colleagues today to join with freed hostage
8 Terry Anderson, who has come back from seven
9 years in captivity in a Third World country and
10 with a wide range of issues to which he could
11 have dedicated his newfound energy and freedom,
12 he decided that the most pressing thing before
13 him was reforming the New York State
14 Legislature, and he has created an organization
15 called New York Renaissance, and among the other
16 issues that he's supporting are these reform
17 bills and Terry Anderson, I'm very pleased to
18 say, has been stumping the state, urging the
19 taxpayers, the voters of this state, to join
20 with you and me in reforming the way we conduct
21 our business.
22 The Mohawk Valley Building and
23 Construction Trades Council, which represents
2031
1 about 3,000 people who work in the Mohawk Valley
2 -- several of us have constituents in that
3 group -- sent the following very nice letter in
4 today:
5 "The Mohawk Valley Building and
6 Construction Trades Council supports your
7 proposed four steps to reforming state
8 government. The public trust in today's elected
9 officials has reached an all time low. The
10 closed door meetings, excessive spending, the
11 enormous power of a choice few give an image of
12 questionable improprieties.
13 The four steps you have proposed
14 would demand that the complete legislative body
15 be responsible and accountable. This would also
16 help create an atmosphere to raise the level of
17 trust in today's elected officials. The members
18 in their respective trades of the Mohawk Valley
19 Building and Construction Trades Council will
20 take an active part in supporting your
21 proposals."
22 "An active part"; that means
23 they are not going to be content with the
2032
1 outcome of today's deliberations. They will
2 insist that from now through the end of this
3 session, along with other organizations that
4 have already gone on record, they will insist
5 that we make some of these changes happen.
6 I have no pride of authorship on
7 these proposals, my friends. I would be very
8 happy to remove my name and gladly give these
9 bills over to Senator Marino. They could become
10 leaders' bills. They could become Rules bills.
11 There are any number of ways that I would be
12 more than willing to accommodate the leadership
13 of this house if the desire is for someone else
14 to be identified with these measures.
15 In fact, I have circulated them
16 and have requested co-sponsorship from every
17 member of this house for four years con
18 secutively and, to date, I have seen an
19 increased number of colleagues on this side of
20 the aisle add their name to one or more or all
21 of the bills but, as of yet, I'm sorry to say, I
22 have not seen a single one of my Republican
23 colleagues join me in co-sponsorship, and I'm
2033
1 particularly saddened by that because I know a
2 number of you approached me or asked my office
3 to provide information about these bills during
4 the time of your campaigns. I have read in
5 print how some of you have indicated a desire to
6 see these things happen or a willingness
7 conceptually to reform the Legislature and, in a
8 few cases, even absolute commitment to support
9 these ones elected.
10 So I am left at a complete loss
11 to understand how it is you could, on the one
12 hand, be committed to reform and to believe that
13 we should have an open and fair process and then
14 on the other hand, refuse even to engage in
15 debate on the floor of this Senate today.
16 The record is abysmal of what we
17 have done over the last few years with our late
18 night sessions and with bills that were
19 initially agreed to by the leaders and the
20 Governor and forced upon us in the middle of the
21 night. The lag payroll is one that has got
22 everybody around the state smirking and wagging
23 their fingers at us.
2034
1 Do you remember how we instituted
2 a lag payroll one year as a budget balancing
3 gimmick? In 1990, it was some time after
4 midnight, I recall a Finance Committee meeting
5 called off the floor so that we could quickly
6 ratify in Finance, the bill that would then pass
7 on the floor as part of a budget amendment. It
8 was a one week additional lag payroll. It was
9 designed to save the state $135 million which
10 was used to close part of the budget deficit.
11 Several things came up during that little
12 Finance Committee meeting that, I think, bear
13 review.
14 First of all, that was the first
15 opportunity any of us had as Senators to see
16 what had been discussed in the press for a
17 couple of years. The bill was presented to us
18 some time after midnight and, of course, we were
19 expected to vote on it immediately. I recall
20 asking the chairman of the Finance Committee at
21 the time if this was, in fact, legal. He said
22 there were assurances that it was legal but
23 offered nothing in the way of proof. I then
2035
1 asked if it could be amended so that legislators
2 would be included in the lag as well, and I was
3 told by the chairman of the Finance Committee,
4 "Under our rules, there are no provisions to
5 amend bills in committee."
6 Eventually, after the lag payroll
7 was passed that night and put into effect, it
8 was the Court of Appeals which overruled our
9 actions and made it very clear that we had
10 operated illegally that night. Of course, we
11 had operated illegally that night because we
12 didn't know any better. We weren't given the
13 opportunity to do our jobs thoughtfully and
14 deliberately. We were not even given the
15 opportunity to take advantage of legal resources
16 that should have been in place that evening in
17 the Legislature. It was another clear example
18 of manipulation by the party leadership done in
19 political deal-making behind closed doors, and
20 then a charade played out here on the floor of
21 the Senate in front of the press and a few
22 listening lobbyists.
23 The retirement system was
2036
1 similarly sabotaged by this Legislature as a
2 result of the closed-door deal-making and the
3 late night sessions. Chapter 210 of the Laws of
4 1990 changed the method of computing municipal
5 and state contributions to the State Retirement
6 Fund from the aggregate cost method which none
7 of us in this room would probably be able to
8 explain on short notice, to the projection unit
9 credit method, in shorthand, the ACM to the puck
10 method.
11 Everybody remembers being asked
12 to write letters and explain what it was we had
13 done. I had the good sense or at least the good
14 luck to be awake at the time that this measure
15 came up and to raise my hand to vote in
16 opposition, so at least I could write back to
17 people who wanted an explanation and say I
18 didn't fully understand it but it didn't make
19 any sense, so I voted against it. I was,
20 therefore, not surprised when the Court of
21 Appeals ruled on November 16th of 1993 in the
22 case McDermott versus Regan and New York State,
23 that Chapter 210 of the Laws of 1990 was, in
2037
1 fact, unconstitutional under Article V, Section
2 7 of the New York State Constitution, which
3 requires that a retirement system's member's
4 benefits not be diminished or impaired. So, as
5 of March 1994, the postponed payments of the
6 retirement system, which totaled $4 billion, had
7 to be repaid back.
8 Now, the Comptroller, our new
9 Comptroller, is left to contend with this mess,
10 and he has proposed a four-year plan in which
11 that $4 billion now must be paid back. What we
12 did is unconscionable in an effort to allow
13 ourselves to continue spending like drunken
14 sailors. We took a $4 billion, no interest,
15 illegal loan from the retirement system of this
16 state, and we did it in the middle of the night
17 and we did it without any kind of public
18 deliberations that would have allowed some sense
19 of reason to prevail.
20 Is there any wonder then that
21 people are now writing editorials attacking us?
22 One that appeared yesterday in New York Newsday
23 has, as a lovely headline. It says, "They're
2038
1 Just as Pure as the Driven Slush," by Pulitzer
2 Prize winning writer Sydney Schanberg, in which
3 he excoriates us for the $60 million slush fund
4 rollover as part of our legislative budget.
5 The list of abuse is longer than
6 any one of us want to recount in this chamber
7 this afternoon, and there will be new examples
8 before we leave here at the end of this session,
9 I'm sure, but the big question we have to ask
10 ourselves is how much longer we want to
11 individually and collectively be part of an
12 operation which is diminished daily in the
13 public's eyes. How much longer do we want this
14 ridicule heaped upon us, and how much longer are
15 we going to misrepresent to the people at home
16 that we are part of an earnest process of
17 deliberations when we know, in fact, we are part
18 of political deal-making of the rankest order.
19 I won't debate every single one
20 of these measures at great length, Mr.
21 President. I thank you for the opportunity,
22 such as it is, to bring these up. I would have
23 preferred to have discussed these around a table
2039
1 with my colleagues in a committee meeting.
2 There are several committees that probably would
3 have been appropriate; Codes, for instance,
4 where we could have sat, rolled up our sleeves
5 and like ladies and gentlemen, discussed the
6 advantages of changing the process by which we
7 conduct legislation, but that opportunity
8 doesn't exist for me.
9 As a Minority member of this
10 house, my bills are not afforded the courtesy of
11 discussion in committees with rare exceptions
12 and, in fact, I took the time to do the research
13 on how Minority members' bills fare in general
14 in the Senate and, to date this year, we have
15 had only one Democratic bill pass this chamber.
16 In contrast, 368 Republican bills have passed.
17 Now, let's think about this for a moment. There
18 are 26 Democrats, 35 Republicans. Are we lazy
19 sloths? Do we have no wit? Do we have
20 absolutely no intellect? I don't think so. We
21 simply don't have access to a system that is
22 designed to benefit a political party and create
23 a grandiose image for the people who happen to
2040
1 have an "R" as opposed to a "D" next to their
2 name.
3 So, the taxpayers of this state
4 are left to wonder why only .27 percent of the
5 bills to come out of this chamber to date have a
6 Democratic sponsor and 99.73 percent of the
7 bills have Republican sponsors. There used to
8 be a time when it was possible at election time
9 to go out into a district and claim that a
10 Democrat should not be elected or should be
11 thrown out of office because he or she didn't
12 know what to do, was incapable of responding
13 through legislation, didn't try hard enough.
14 I've experienced all of that, and I'm sure
15 Senator Jones is going to live through that
16 infamy this fall. Well, it's a lie, and now
17 that people of this state understand it's a lie,
18 and they hold you in contempt for abusing this
19 chamber, to manipulate your political goals.
20 I would ask all of my colleagues
21 to join in discharging Senate 3509 from
22 committee so that it could be brought to the
23 full Senate for a vote this afternoon, Mr.
2041
1 President.
2 SENATOR MARCHI: Would the
3 Senator yield for a question?
4 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Yes, Senator.
5 SENATOR MARCHI: I'm sure that -
6 I'm convinced that you're advancing these in all
7 sincerity, but is there any law that prevents
8 either conference from opening their doors and
9 saying, "Come on in," press or anyone who wants
10 to attend? Are we prohibited from doing that
11 under existing law?
12 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Senator
13 Marchi -
14 SENATOR MARCHI: My understanding
15 is that the Freedom of Information Act does not
16 extend to party conferences, but if we wanted to
17 open up our doors to the public or if you wanted
18 to do it on your side, there's no law that
19 prevents that, is there?
20 SENATOR HOFFMANN: No, no, the
21 law is in place -- actually, the amendment to
22 the Open Meetings Bill, as it was amended in
23 1985, simply exempts the Majority conferences
2042
1 and, specifically references all four party
2 conferences from subject requirements to the
3 Open Meetings Law.
4 SENATOR MARCHI: From the
5 requirements of the law.
6 SENATOR HOFFMANN: That's right.
7 SENATOR MARCHI: But if we wanted
8 to open up the door, we could do it.
9 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Absolutely,
10 Senator Marchi.
11 SENATOR MARCHI: Well, then, why
12 don't you persuade your colleagues?
13 SENATOR HOFFMANN: I'm attempting
14 to persuade my colleagues right now, Senator
15 Marchi, and that's why I'm asking you on the
16 floor of this chamber to join with me in
17 bringing this bill to the floor for a vote. I
18 think that would be a magnificent gesture on
19 your part, and I'm delighted to hear you
20 expressing an interest.
21 SENATOR MARCHI: Do you realize
22 the stunning example you would set -- I don't
23 advise you to do it, of course, but the stunning
2043
1 example you would set if you were suddenly to
2 declare, as a party conference, "Our doors are
3 open"? Do you realize the impact it would
4 have? It would be astonishing.
5 SENATOR HOFFMANN: I do. That's
6 why I'm urging the leadership of this house to
7 declare that that, in fact, is the order of the
8 day, to then insist that the committees take on
9 the responsibility of delineating and debating
10 legislation in a more appropriate format.
11 SENATOR MARCHI: No, I'm not -- I
12 have no intention of urging my conference, but
13 I would suspect that -
14 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Perhaps
15 Senator Marchi would yield for a question.
16 SENATOR MARCHI: I would suspect,
17 Senator, that there is no propensity on your
18 side of the aisle to do the same thing because
19 you can do it. There's nothing to stop you from
20 doing it.
21 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you,
22 Senator Marchi.
23 I would like to respond at length
2044
1 a bit to Senator Marchi's question or comment,
2 and I guess I was momentarily filled with some
3 enthusiasm inappropriately or mistakenly
4 thinking that perhaps you shared my zeal for
5 this effort, and I'm sorry so hear you close
6 that you're not in favor of it, but I think the
7 issue you raise is a very important one. It's
8 the "why can't you" and "it would be okay if you
9 did" argument. Everybody wants to see somebody
10 else take a brave step first, Senator Marchi,
11 especially if there's any risk involved and, as
12 a nation, I'm afraid we would not have advanced
13 very far past the frontier if everybody thought
14 like that.
15 One single step, opening the
16 conference doors, is not going to change this
17 Legislature. It is but a first step because
18 what it would entail would then be a reasonable
19 way for legislation to be conducted by
20 committees. Committees would then be meeting,
21 also in the open, to discuss issues. On rare
22 occasion, perhaps, there would still be need for
23 a conference, although I can't imagine why, but
2045
1 it would require realigning the entire structure
2 of this Legislature to create a forum for all,
3 because right now, for the members on this side
4 of the aisle, no such forum exists.
5 I fear Senator Marchi's
6 momentarily distracted by a counsel who's
7 conferring with him, and I will hold my remarks
8 for another time, but I appreciate the
9 opportunity to have explained in a little bit
10 more detail that it is not simply the process of
11 opening the conference. It is the act of
12 indicating that we have an earnest desire to
13 deliberate issues and to develop legislation
14 through a responsible procedure which would be a
15 committee system, but for any one group of
16 people in a grandstand motion to jump up and
17 suddenly claim, "we're going to unilaterally
18 disarm" and in a "show boat" move invite people
19 to come in, would really accomplish nothing, and
20 I am trying to do something that is real,
21 Senator Marchi, not symbolic.
22 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
2046
1 Gold.
2 SENATOR GOLD: Yeah, Mr.
3 President, I may have some remarks on some of
4 the other pieces of the program, but I just want
5 to respond also to my very distinguished
6 colleague from Staten Island.
7 Senator Marchi, you're right that
8 any member, any group of members can decide
9 something. What Senator Hoffmann is trying to
10 do, which is so much more significant, is to
11 deal with the institution because, if Senator
12 Hoffmann opens up, so to speak -- if the
13 Democratic Conference opens up, so to speak,
14 that doesn't say anything for the Senate; it
15 says something for the individual or for the
16 group.
17 What we are trying to do is make
18 a public statement from all of us about the way
19 the Senate as an institution will operate and,
20 Senator Marchi, that is more important and that
21 is why the motions brought on today are
22 important.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO:
2047
1 Questions is on the motion to discharge.
2 SENATOR STAFFORD: Party vote in
3 the negative.
4 SENATOR GOLD: Party vote in the
5 affirmative.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Call the
7 role.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 24, nays 35,
10 party vote.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Motion
12 is defeated.
13 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Were there any
14 exceptions, Mr. President? Did I miss
15 something?
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: No
17 exceptions.
18 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, Mr.
19 President.
20 I call up is S.3508, please.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The
22 Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
2048
1 Hoffmann, Senate Bill Number 3508, an act to
2 amend the Legislative Law, in relation to the
3 time for debate on matters before the
4 Legislature.
5 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, Mr.
6 President.
7 Again, this is the issue that
8 seems to most rankle the public because it is
9 the one where we clearly show almost total lack
10 of common sense. People ask frequently why it
11 is we can't get our work done on time and why we
12 have to go through these terrible late night
13 sessions in the Legislature or in the Senate,
14 because now the Assembly has decided they won't
15 allow that to happen anymore, and I am forced to
16 explain that it is not an accident that we are
17 passing terrible legislation and raising taxes
18 in the middle of the night; it is by design.
19 It's a system of orchestrated
20 gridlock through which bills can be held up,
21 dangled in front of a legislator's nose and the
22 legislator will be forced to remain in Albany,
23 in the chamber, and as we say in legislative
2049
1 parlance, "on the hook" until such time as it
2 suits those people who control the bills, in
3 this case, the Majority Leader of this house, to
4 let them go. It's also a way of utilizing our
5 rather absurd system of attendance in this
6 chamber so that people are counted voting for
7 measures which have been agreed upon by
8 leadership and pushed to the floor some time in
9 the wee hours of the morning even though the
10 members are not in the chamber and may not even
11 be in the city any longer.
12 Empty chairs raise taxes in this
13 Capitol. I don't think there are too many other
14 states in the nation that have that ridiculous
15 claim to fame. At 3:00 or 4:00 or 6:00 o'clock
16 in the morning, I have counted the empty chairs
17 in here and I have gotten down to numbers as low
18 almost as they are now and then read the next
19 day in the paper what the actual vote count was
20 on a measure of some importance, and few things
21 are more important than raising taxes, and again
22 it's fiction. We have created it or if we have
23 not created it, by our acceptance we condone it
2050
1 and it becomes a sham and a charade. It
2 violates the taxpayers of this state every time
3 we allow empty chairs in this chamber to pass
4 legislation at 4:00 or 5:00 or 6:00 o'clock in
5 the morning.
6 The Assembly, God bless them,
7 have decided they won't allow this to happen
8 anymore. A new Speaker, busy as he must be with
9 all of the affairs of organizing that house,
10 decided to make a cornerstone of his stewardship
11 of the Assembly, changing the way they conduct
12 business so that they will no longer allow bills
13 to pass in the middle of the night, and I
14 applaud him, and I know that other people around
15 this state applaud him. How can we do any
16 less?
17 Last year, I was very sick toward
18 the budget season and one night I had left the
19 chamber. After having been in session most of
20 the day, we were standing at ease as we do so
21 often for hours on end, and I returned to my
22 apartment and was in fitful sleep when my
23 counsel called and said, "It's 12:30 and they're
2051
1 going to bring up the legislative and judiciary
2 budget", and I was just too sick to get out of
3 bed, so I stayed in my apartment, probably no
4 more than six blocks from here, and at that very
5 moment, I voted for the legislative and
6 judiciary budget. I didn't actually vote for
7 it. Now, we all understand that in this room
8 because I was home with my head on a pillow, but
9 my empty chair with this little name plate that
10 identifies me was recorded as voting for a
11 legislative and judiciary budget that I abhorred
12 and had voted against eight previous times.
13 Isn't that an abuse of power,
14 ladies and gentlemen? Isn't that something that
15 is just plain wrong? How can we allow this type
16 of nonsense to occur in these beautiful
17 chambers? Isn't it time that we face the music
18 and said we can't continue doing things the way
19 we've done them before? The jig is up, and the
20 public won't be fooled any longer. The
21 simplest, the easiest thing we can do on this
22 list of legislative reform measures, the one you
23 will have the hardest time explaining that you
2052
1 can't do back home is to end the late night
2 legislative sessions.
3 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
5 Gold.
6 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President, I
7 can't -- obviously, I can't speak for the public
8 throughout this state, but I'm an observer, as
9 everybody else is, and I just have to believe
10 that at some point things catch up with us.
11 I'm looking at articles from
12 newspapers around the state. Here's one where a
13 very distinguished member on the other side of
14 the aisle, and I won't mention him by name -
15 the paper is from, I think, Schenectady, and it
16 talks about how this member told his local
17 newspaper that the concept of curfews is really
18 laudable and we ought to do it, but I guess not
19 if it's a motion made by a Senator on this
20 side. This one, I really resent. It's a story
21 in a Rochester newspaper and the column is
22 "Speaking Out", and it says, "Do Nothing
23 Legislature?" with a big question mark, and lo
2053
1 and behold it says, "I'm in the forefront of
2 reform efforts by Michael F. Nozzolio, August
3 1993", and here is Senator Nozzolio's program,
4 and I'm now reading after I get past his
5 itemized budget which I'll talk about later.
6 "Legislative curfew, a measure
7 requiring all legislative business to be
8 conducted between 8:00 a.m. and midnight, thus
9 preventing all-night sessions which are
10 counterproductive to the passage of important
11 legislation and are largely hidden from public
12 view."
13 Senator Nozzolio, you're right,
14 but where are you? It's not midnight yet. It's
15 only 5:00 o'clock. I assume you're around and
16 hear my voice. I certainly don't want to have
17 anybody say that I took advantage of a
18 situation. I assume you're around but, Senator
19 Nozzolio, here is an opportunity for you to vote
20 for part of your legislative package, and you
21 either believe in it or you don't.
22 Now, the purpose of these motions
23 are to change the rules. It's easy for you,
2054
1 meaning the Republican Party, through a
2 spokesperson who's never the Majority, to say
3 that this is all done just to embarrass you.
4 Now, that is nonsense. We're doing it to change
5 the rules. Change the rules. You don't have to
6 be embarrassed. If you put out an itemized
7 budget, you don't have to be embarrassed. If
8 you give back the $60 million, you don't try to
9 sucker it in the last minute and create a cookie
10 jar for yourselves. You don't have to be
11 embarrassed. I couldn't believe that.
12 I read in a story in one of the
13 newspapers, we're finally getting -- the press
14 is finally understanding that they can be useful
15 in this system in trying to make the Legislature
16 better, and in discussing the slush fund, the
17 only comment that they could get our legislative
18 leaders is we're doing it to embarrass
19 somebody. Well, sometimes you ought to be
20 embarrassed, but you can avoid the embarrassment
21 by doing the right things.
22 Now, if you think that you cannot
23 lead this legislative house without dealing in
2055
1 sessions that go from midnight to 6:00 in the
2 morning, then I think you underestimate
3 yourselves, because I think you can do it.
4 There's no doubt in my mind that Speaker Silver
5 is a quality, genuinely qualified, good,
6 terrific leader, and that he doesn't need all
7 night sessions, and I would like to see them do
8 it also, but it is not the fact that we work
9 until 1:00, 2:00, 5:00 in the morning, that
10 keeps you in the majority or keeps the Democrats
11 in the majority in the Assembly, and we ought to
12 change it. It's embarrassing.
13 Now, from my point of view, I
14 respect people who stand up and say, "Look, I
15 don't agree with you and that's fine." Senator
16 Marchi, I've got you on a certain level.
17 Believe me, you can't go higher. I respect you,
18 and when you say you don't believe in the
19 concept of an open conference, I know that's
20 what you believe and the only difference between
21 you and a lot of people is, you get up and say
22 it and people respect you for it, but the one
23 thing that I've lost my tolerance for is the
2056
1 business of some members of the Legislature
2 saying one thing to local papers and local
3 editorial boards, and then come in here,
4 forgetting about it and hoping people forget
5 it.
6 Now, some of the articles I've
7 read are editorials in your local papers which
8 don't treat some of you too nicely, and I will
9 not mention names, because some of you are
10 getting caught up in these differences between
11 your rhetoric and your voting record, but I'm
12 telling you that this kind of business is not
13 the finest hour of any member of the
14 Legislature. If some of you believe that there
15 should not be a limit on legislative sessions, I
16 respect that as an intellectual judgment that
17 you have come to, but if you believe that we
18 should have a limit and say that locally because
19 you're ashamed to tell the local people the
20 opposite, and then you come here and vote
21 against it and then think you're going to
22 double-talk the local press, I think those days
23 are over too.
2057
1 I certainly hope that this is not
2 a party vote without exception. I know my party
3 will unquestionably vote in a party vote for
4 this bill. I certainly hope that those members
5 of the other side who have spoken out so
6 strongly in their local papers, will have the
7 guts to do something about it today.
8 And, lastly, I'll point out that
9 there's one newspaper article I have here which
10 really did bring a smirk on my face because one
11 of your members took on another one of your
12 members in a primary and said to the local
13 press, "And if the leaders think I'm going up
14 there to be another rubber stamp vote, boy --" I
15 haven't seen that person break with a party vote
16 since the day he walked in here, and by saying
17 "he", I'm not letting it out of the bag because
18 you only have the distinction of one lovely lady
19 on your side, so there's -- the person I'm
20 talking about has anonymity among the other 34
21 of you. But at any rate, I certainly hope that
22 this passes, and I hope that some of the
23 hypocrisy stops, and this is certainly one issue
2058
1 where we could stop it.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Question
3 is on the motion to discharge. The Secretary
4 will call the roll.
5 SENATOR GOLD: Party vote in the
6 affirmative.
7 SENATOR PRESENT: Party vote in
8 the negative.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 24, nays 35,
11 party vote.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Motion
13 to discharge is defeated.
14 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Mr. President,
15 were there any exceptions on the -
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: No
17 exceptions.
18 Senator Hoffmann.
19 SENATOR HOFFMANN: I would like
20 to call up S.3504 please, Mr. President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The
22 Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senate Bill
2059
1 Number 3504, by Senator Hoffmann, an act to
2 amend the State Finance Law, in relation to
3 requiring that budget bills making
4 appropriations or reappropriations to the
5 Legislature contain specific categories and
6 amounts of expenditures.
7 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, Mr.
8 President.
9 Well, this is the one that
10 they're having the most fun with in the
11 newspapers right now, and I took a little bit of
12 pleasure, sadly, but I guess you have to take it
13 where you get it. I took a little bit of
14 pleasure in seeing the term "slush fund" come
15 into common usage because I still remember the
16 first time I used it, and I felt like I was
17 speaking blasphemously when I raised that
18 particular adjective at a meeting of the
19 Grange. It was in Cortland about five years
20 ago, the legislative conference of the New York
21 State Grange had invited me to come to speak to
22 them, speak to their members from all over the
23 state and talk about what was going on in
2060
1 Albany. It was toward the end of the session, I
2 was particularly frustrated at having had all of
3 my bills bottled up and having been targeted
4 once again as a marginal for the maximum
5 onslaught at election time, so I spoke very
6 candidly, much more candidly than I had in the
7 past about what was wrong here, to people who
8 wanted -- who wanted the plain truth. They
9 didn't want any glazing. They didn't want any
10 sprinkles or "jimmies" or glitter on it. They
11 just wanted to know exactly what was happening
12 here, so I explained our legislative budget and
13 I said, "It is a "slush fund." It is in the
14 hands of the legislative leaders and they do
15 with it what they want and there is no
16 accountability, and there is no reconciliation
17 at the end of the year," and I can remember that
18 looking out into that room of 200 faces, most of
19 them Republican, median age probably something
20 over 60, that there was just this incredulous
21 look that this couldn't possibly be happening,
22 and I actually went to the trouble of getting a
23 copy of the legislative budget and taking it
2061
1 with me to other speeches that I gave after
2 that, and I would carry it with me and show that
3 it was, in fact, something on four pieces of
4 paper and there were no delineations of the
5 standard types of accounting you would expect.
6 There was certainly nothing to indicate what had
7 been left as surplus the previous year. That,
8 we have to find out when we go through the
9 little exercise that occurred the other day when
10 $60 million was rolled over.
11 Now, if that's in the a slush
12 fund, I don't know what is, and think what $60
13 million could be doing in this state outside the
14 hands of this Legislature, but the people in the
15 Grange were shocked when I explained how our
16 legislative budget is a slush fund, and they
17 have been on the warpath ever since then, and
18 I'm sure some of you were visited by Grange
19 members today, and if not today, I can almost
20 guarantee you will be hearing from some of the
21 Grange in your district some time in the future,
22 because they are now so irate that they are
23 making this a major issue. They have a
2062
1 legislative policy book that they print and mail
2 out to all of their members and then they
3 encourage them to contact their legislators at
4 the federal about federal matters in this state,
5 about these state matters, and all of these
6 reform measures are in there and all of the
7 Grange members around this state want you to
8 know that they care very deeply about the need
9 for an itemized legislative budget for this
10 chamber and for the other reforms that we have
11 talked about and will talk about later, and
12 other people who care about them are no longer
13 willing to be silent either.
14 Sydney Schanberg yesterday, New
15 York Newsday, Pulitzer prize winning journalist,
16 describes us as "Mesozoic," talks about us as
17 "brontosauruses in Albany, puffing out our
18 chests and just grinning rather than being
19 accountable."
20 Mr. Schanberg says, "Using these
21 wonderous blank check devices, the leaders have
22 built up surpluses over the years. Instead of
23 turning its unused money back to the taxpayer,
2063
1 they simply pile it on to the existing slush
2 fund and roll it over into their next budget.
3 It's tradition", and Mr. Schanberg closes by
4 saying, "Listen to this justification for the
5 slush fund by one Albany staff member who shall
6 go nameless as an act of mercy. If this were
7 private business, we would be congratulated for
8 not only living within our budget, but having
9 some left over for a rainy day", but Mr.
10 Schanberg points out, "It isn't private
11 business, it's the people's business and the
12 people's money. Give it back."
13 That's the attitude that's
14 sweeping this state. People want to know how
15 dare we keep their money and not give an
16 accounting of what we are doing with it, how we
17 are spending it on ourselves. I have been asked
18 several times for accounting of my office staff,
19 mailings, travel, and I'm kind of at a loss.
20 First of all, the only accounting of office
21 staff that is complete is in the hands of
22 Senator Marino, to the best of my knowledge.
23 It's impossible to know what individual staff
2064
1 payrolls are because sometimes staff members'
2 names appear on different member or commission
3 staffs or they're on loan. There is no set
4 allocation for an individual Senator. I
5 remember when I was elected in 1984, I came to
6 Albany in January or the end of December to be
7 processed, and I asked somebody, "where do I go
8 to start the procedure to hire my staff? What
9 is the allotment? What is the allocation for a
10 freshman Senator from Central New York?" And
11 the response to my question every time was,
12 "You'll have to talk to Fred. You'll have to
13 talk to Senator Ohrenstein."
14 The Minority Leader handles all
15 of that for Minority members. There is no
16 rule. There is no procedure. There is no
17 standard. Everything is negotiated. Everything
18 is devised to suit the whim of leadership and to
19 maintain maximum partisan control. Senator
20 Marino negotiates with Senator Ohrenstein and
21 there, the negotiations take place from them
22 with other individual members depending upon
23 whether they are Republican or Democrat, and you
2065
1 don't have to be a genius now to know who gets
2 more and whether it has anything to do with
3 merit or need.
4 I've tried for several years to
5 find out what happened to the mailing allotment
6 that I ostensibly saved by not sending out any
7 newsletters since 1990. I can guess
8 approximately how much I've saved the taxpayers,
9 probably something like 100-, $150,000, but I
10 can't document that and nobody else can document
11 it because the records are all secret. I do
12 know that some of the newsletters I didn't send
13 out in Onondaga, Madison and Oneida County
14 probably financed the newsletters for people in
15 other parts of the state. That money was simply
16 moved silently through the bowels of this
17 chamber and sent to Long Island or some other
18 county where it presumably was going to be used
19 by another member of the Legislature who didn't
20 feel as I did, the need to cut our spending for
21 mailing at a time when the state seemed to be
22 suffering a tremendous financial hardship, but I
23 can't even account for a savings that I
2066
1 attempted to make because we have no procedure
2 in place for documenting how we spend or how we
3 don't spend the legislative budget. Again,
4 isn't that a disgrace and isn't it an even
5 bigger disgrace if we fail to correct it?
6 Let's move S.3504. Let's get it
7 out on the floor for some discussion and then
8 let's itemize our legislative budget.
9 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
11 Gold.
12 SENATOR GOLD: Senator Hoffmann,
13 I think I've got some good news for you, because
14 I'm reading from Senator Nozzolio's letter to
15 the newspaper and it says he's -- he -- itemized
16 budget, a measure that requires a full
17 itemization of the state budget, including
18 mailing and travel costs of legislators. This
19 bill will fully detail how state government
20 spends our tax dollars, so I think you're going
21 to see one break at least in the party vote now
22 because I know that this had to have been sent
23 to the newspapers as a serious effort.
2067
1 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Question
2 is on the motion to discharge.
3 SENATOR GOLD: Party vote in the
4 affirmative.
5 SENATOR PRESENT: Party vote in
6 the negative.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 24, nays 35,
11 party vote.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Motion
13 to discharge is defeated.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Were
15 there any exceptions, Mr. President?
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: No
17 exceptions.
18 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, Mr.
19 President.
20 I would like to call up S.3506
21 and 3507 together, please, if we can take them
22 as one bill.
23 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
2068
1 Hoffmann, Senate Bill Number 3506-A, an act to
2 amend the Election Law, in relation to
3 statements of campaign receipts and
4 expenditures. Also, Senate Bill Number 3507, by
5 Senator Hoffmann, an act to amend the Election
6 Law, in relation to political advertisement and
7 literature.
8 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, Mr.
9 President.
10 It's necessary to have two
11 separate bills. One deals with literature, the
12 other deals with spending so they have to be
13 broken but the issue is really the same. Again,
14 this is one of those accountability questions.
15 We are concerned about the need
16 to present ourselves fairly and with integrity
17 to the people in our districts when we're
18 running for election. All of us who have ever
19 campaigned, I'm sure, take great pride in trying
20 to present an upstanding image, but what is
21 sometimes very confusing to the voters in a
22 district is the volume of mail which comes in or
23 the types of television and radio commercials
2069
1 which sometimes run which do not reflect the
2 district, are not paid for by people in the
3 district and sometimes distort candidates, not
4 just the candidate who is benefiting from the
5 ad, but will sometimes distort very negatively,
6 the person who is being attacked by the ad, and
7 what has become a pattern of abuse for this
8 Senate is a type of campaign ad, both print and
9 electronic media, in which the persons
10 responsible, are not the candidate or anybody
11 close to the candidate. The persons responsible
12 are here in Albany or in some other part of the
13 state, and it's a big mystery to the people in
14 the district about this responsibility issue
15 because at no place in the Board of Elections is
16 the involvement of the outside committee
17 established clearly to link that author or that
18 purveyor of that advertising with the candidate
19 who benefits and, in fact, one could cynically
20 claim that there is a deliberate attempt to
21 evade that kind of accountability. And it's an
22 old pattern. It allows candidates to masquerade
23 as hometown boys and girls when, in fact, they
2070
1 are the creation of political bosses here in the
2 Capital of New York. It creates a situation
3 where people arrive in Albany already filled
4 with pockets of IOUs to the men and women who
5 run this chamber, and it could very simply be
6 addressed by passing S.3506 and S.3507 which
7 would require that all expenditures for a
8 candidate be filed next to that candidate's
9 name, and that samples of all literature or
10 scripts for all electronic media be filed next
11 to that candidate's name, not with some obtuse
12 committee name where only the most meticulous
13 investigative reporter can cross-reference and
14 try to figure out what it is that was done by
15 whom, to whom and for how much money. No, if we
16 are, in fact, willing to campaign openly, fairly
17 and proudly in this state, then we should make
18 all of that information immediately available
19 for public scrutiny.
20 I would call all of my colleagues
21 to join me in discharging from committee S.3506
22 and S.3507 so that we could rectify that
23 situation.
2071
1 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Question
2 is on the motion to discharge number 3506-A.
3 Call the roll.
4 SENATOR GOLD: I vote in the
5 affirmative.
6 SENATOR PRESENT: Party vote in
7 the negative.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 24, nays 35,
10 party vote.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Motion
12 to discharge is defeated.
13 Question is on the motion to
14 discharge 3507. The Secretary will call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 24, nays 35,
18 party vote.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Motion
20 to discharge is defeated.
21 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, Mr.
22 President.
23 Well, I guess we're not really
2072
1 batting a whole lot better than in previous
2 years, although I take some solace in knowing
3 that Senator Marchi was willing to stand and
4 speak on the floor today. That's a
5 breakthrough, and I think that this is a year of
6 other important breakthroughs, and it would be
7 regarded as a threshold year because now across
8 the state people at least understand the problem
9 and know that there are some solutions which are
10 possible if there are enough people who will
11 organize behind them and keep the momentum
12 moving.
13 I would call up S.3505. This is
14 my final bill for the day.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The
16 Secretary will read.
17 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
18 Hoffmann, Senate Bill Number 3505, an act to
19 amend the Legislative Law, in relation to Senate
20 and Assembly officers.
21 SENATOR HOFFMANN: In an effort
22 to maintain control in this house, it's become
23 fairly evident that there is a pattern of
2073
1 rewards which has little to do with legislative
2 responsibility and everything to do with
3 political loyalty. It was changed somewhat when
4 Senator Marino became Majority Leader, and I'm
5 referring to the way special allowances are
6 handled, legislative allowances, in addition to
7 the salaries that legislators receive.
8 When Senator Marino became
9 Majority Leader, the number of positions for
10 which special allowances were granted was
11 increased. The dollar amount of them was
12 increased, but more significantly, the titles
13 and the types of special offices in the Senate
14 changed, and we saw an increase in the number of
15 offices for which there is little or no
16 legislative responsibility.
17 I listened a few hours ago to the
18 president of Change New York describe the
19 attempt of that organization to obtain job
20 descriptions for these allowances. He wanted to
21 know what the Deputy Majority Leader for
22 Legislative Operations of the Senate does for
23 $24,500 of taxpayers' money a year, what the
2074
1 chairman of the Majority Program Development
2 Committee, the Senate does for 20- and on and on
3 and on, and the list for the Senate and for the
4 Assembly, for these purely political job titles
5 that have taxpayer stipends attached to them,
6 has no job description and the Legislature, the
7 Senate has refused to offer a job description
8 and yet insists that it has the right to use
9 taxpayer money to reward people with additional
10 compensation for what amounts to political
11 responsibilities.
12 The total for these special
13 stipends for both houses, excluding the Majority
14 Leader and Minority Leader and the Speaker,
15 which, I suppose for housekeeping purposes, are
16 necessary, the total is $700,000. At the very
17 least, we should explain what it is that people
18 do for this money, and to not explain only
19 creates the impression that we have something to
20 hide and there is no valid public justification
21 for this expenditure. The thing that troubles
22 me the most about this out of kilter situation
23 is the fact that there are many very dedicated
2075
1 people in this chamber, and I know in the other
2 chamber as well, who have tremendous expertise
3 and should be compensated to a much higher level
4 than they presently are for their committee
5 responsibilities. I think it's a worthy goal
6 for somebody to aspire to be chair of a
7 particular committee, and I remember my friend
8 and late colleague, Senator James Donovan, who
9 traveled all over the state as chairman of the
10 Education Committee and traveled nationally. He
11 was deeply committed to learning about
12 education, and he would leave his community in
13 Oneida County and travel into New York City to
14 understand the problems of urban schools. He
15 went to Buffalo. He went to cities all over the
16 United States because he was concerned deeply
17 about education, but under this present system,
18 it would have been in the best interest of
19 Senator Donovan and the Donovan family for him,
20 instead of being chairman of the Education
21 Committee, to have been Minority Leader or
22 chairman of the Majority Program Development
23 Committee or vice-president pro tem, which would
2076
1 have probably increased his family's income by
2 $10,000 beyond what he was earning in those
3 years as chairman of the Education Committee.
4 This is a system that is upside
5 down. We are part of a spoils system that
6 rewards people for political loyalty, gives them
7 an incentive to play ball just as people are
8 doing today, by sacrificing their own commitment
9 to ideals, by falling -- going back on their
10 word, violating campaign pledges in an effort to
11 remain part of a private club. How can anybody
12 explain why, as a candidate, he or she would be
13 committed to ending late night sessions and
14 changing the way we do business here and then
15 refuse to vote even to discharge those bills to
16 the floor for discussion? It can only be
17 because the political spoils system is so
18 strong, has such a strong "carrot and stick"
19 component that dedicated men and women fear for
20 their very lives when they are in this chamber
21 and that, my friends, has got to change. The
22 people of this state don't want cowards and they
23 don't want followers. They want leaders.
2077
1 Today, the Observer Dispatch in
2 Utica said, "Don't let this week pass without
3 remembering what happens and where your
4 representatives stood on the issue of open
5 government. Closed government in Albany affects
6 each of us. It is driving away more business.
7 It is taking more money out of our wallets and
8 purses. The longer we delay, the more difficult
9 it will be to bring open government back to
10 Albany. Secrecy is death to democracy.
11 Openness that allows public scrutiny ensures its
12 preservation." That was Utica. That was this
13 morning.
14 Rochester, Sunday, March 6th, "If
15 the state Legislature is ever to do more than
16 protect and perpetuate incumbency, then voters
17 should insist that their legislators support the
18 reform package, and those who haven't voted to
19 clean up their act by next election, should be
20 told to clear out.
21 So you may tolerate me this
22 afternoon while I speak and Senator Gold and
23 Senator Leichter, when he talks about the open
2078
1 budget, you may find this an annoyance. I have
2 been reminded by several people that there are
3 other engagements that people would prefer to be
4 attending right now, but I don't intend to stop
5 and, more importantly, the people who wrote
6 those comments in these publications around the
7 state don't intend to stop. I know it takes a
8 while to sensitize some people to the need for
9 change, and if some of those people are beyond
10 sensitivity, then perhaps they will be
11 replaced.
12 I had the opportunity two weeks
13 ago to spend ten days in El Salvador. I was
14 down there as a representative of the United
15 States State Department serving as a United
16 Nations representative monitoring the elections
17 in that country, and I saw people who live in
18 little mud and thatch homes or corrugated metal
19 buildings with no plumbing. They carry their
20 water sometimes a mile or more to bathe and to
21 cook. They have a median income of $750. Their
22 country has been destroyed by a civil war that
23 endured for 12 years. They have been living
2079
1 under U.N. protection for the last two years
2 preparing for this election. Democracy came
3 very hard for them. This was the first
4 Democratic election in 15 years, but they were
5 brave, and they came out to the polls and they
6 showed what people who really care about
7 participation and democracy are willing to
8 endure.
9 Perhaps we all need that
10 opportunity once in a while to be in touch with
11 people who don't take for granted the freedoms
12 that we have and don't take for granted the
13 responsibility that we have. I'm very proud to
14 have had that opportunity and I feel renewed.
15 Having come from El Salvador, having seen what
16 those people went through and remembering that
17 they deal with things in terms of decades and
18 generations, it is not an inconvenience for me
19 to spend a few more years trying to reform the
20 state Legislature here in the state of New
21 York. I just hope that I will be able to
22 welcome more of you to this effort in the coming
23 months.
2080
1 Thank you, Mr. President.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Question
3 is on the motion to discharge.
4 SENATOR PRESENT: Party vote in
5 the negative.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 24, nays
10 35 -
11 SENATOR GOLD: There's no party
12 vote. Slow roll call.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
14 Gold.
15 SENATOR GOLD: Anybody can call
16 for a roll call and I can't stop the Majority
17 Leader, but we are not casting a party vote, and
18 if you want to call a voice vote, fine. If you
19 want to take a regular vote, we can do that too,
20 in which case we can call the roll.
21 SENATOR PRESENT: Slow roll call.
22 SENATOR GOLD: Slow roll call.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Slow
2081
1 roll call has been asked for. Sergeant-at-Arms,
2 please get the members into the chamber.
3 Secretary will call the roll.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Babbush.
5 (There was no response.)
6 Senator Bruno.
7 (There was no response.)
8 Senator Connor.
9 (There was no response.)
10 Senator Cook.
11 SENATOR COOK: No.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Daly.
13 (There was no response.)
14 Senator DeFrancisco.
15 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: No.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator DiCarlo.
17 SENATOR DiCARLO: No.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator
19 Dollinger.
20 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Yes.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Espada.
22 (There was no response.)
23 Senator Farley.
2082
1 SENATOR FARLEY: No.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Galiber.
3 (There was no response.)
4 Senator Gold.
5 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
7 Gold to explain his vote.
8 SENATOR GOLD: Yeah, to explain
9 my vote.
10 Mr. President, if there's one
11 thing I made clear since the day I came here and
12 that is that I don't think there's any issue
13 that I'm afraid to discuss and debate, and in my
14 opinion, if there's one Republican who deserves
15 some credit today, it's Senator Marchi.
16 Something's on the floor, you stand up and you
17 debate it.
18 I don't know what I would do with
19 this particular proposal, Mr. President, if it
20 was on the floor. There are parts of it I may
21 or may not agree with, but I'm not afraid to
22 debate a bill and to get it out here, and I will
23 vote yes on the motion to discharge.
2083
1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Gonzalez.
2 (There was no response.)
3 Senator Goodman.
4 (There was no response.)
5 Senator Hannon.
6 (There was no response.)
7 Senator Hoffmann.
8 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Explain my
9 vote. I appreciate Senator Gold's comments and
10 I know that this is an interesting issue. There
11 are many people here who would differ with my
12 very narrow definition in this bill. The bill
13 that I put together eliminating the political
14 "lulus" leaves only a few and I have said a
15 number of times that, perhaps for housekeeping
16 purposes, there need to be more but you see,
17 that would give us an opportunity to debate this
18 issue. If we had this bill come to the floor
19 for a vote, perhaps some people on the other
20 side of the aisle could make a very cogent case
21 which would convince me that my list was too
22 narrow, that perhaps we needed six or eight more
23 or maybe we needed some other titles or
2084
1 definitions.
2 The concept here is process. The
3 concept here is openness and accountability, and
4 I would urge all of my colleagues not to support
5 a single bill but to support the concept of open
6 and honest debate by voting yes to discharge
7 S.3505 so that it could be brought to the floor
8 for a vote.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
10 Hoffmann in the affirmative.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Holland.
12 (There was no response.)
13 Senator Johnson.
14 (There was no response.)
15 Senator Johnson.
16 (There was no response.)
17 Senator Jones.
18 (There was no response.)
19 Senator Kruger.
20 (There was no response.)
21 Senator Kuhl.
22 SENATOR KUHL: No.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lack.
2085
1 SENATOR LACK: No.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin.
3 SENATOR LARKIN: No.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator LaValle.
5 SENATOR LaVALLE: No.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Leichter.
7 SENATOR LEICHTER: No.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Levy.
9 SENATOR LEVY: No.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Libous.
11 (There was no response.)
12 Senator Maltese.
13 (There was no response.)
14 Senator Marchi.
15 SENATOR MARCHI: No.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Marino,
17 no.
18 Senator Markowitz.
19 (There was no response.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Mendez.
21 SENATOR MENDEZ: Stand to explain
22 my vote.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
2086
1 Mendez.
2 SENATOR MENDEZ: I am going to
3 vote -
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: You have
5 the floor, Senator Mendez.
6 SENATOR MENDEZ: Thank you, Mr.
7 President.
8 To explain my vote. Yes, I am
9 voting yes supporting the motion to not to be
10 able to have the opportunity to be discussed
11 here, and as chairman -- chairperson of my
12 Democratic conference, if the bill were to be
13 debated on the floor, I don't know if I would be
14 supporting it. What I resent, Mr. President, is
15 that the manner that -- in which this bill has
16 been presented might cast some nebulous percep
17 tions on some people, on the 61 individuals that
18 serve on this floor.
19 I am supporting my conference. I
20 am supporting the discharge of this bill, but I
21 resent enormously the kinds of perceptions that
22 it does bring, even though I also believe in
23 reform.
2087
1 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
2 Mendez in the affirmative.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator
4 Montgomery.
5 (There was no response.)
6 Senator Nanula.
7 (There was no response.)
8 Senator Nolan.
9 (There was no response.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Nozzolio.
11 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: No.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator
13 Ohrenstein, aye.
14 Senator Onorato.
15 SENATOR ONORATO: Aye.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator
17 Oppenheimer.
18 (There was no response.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Padavan.
20 SENATOR PADAVAN: No.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Pataki.
22 (There was no response.)
23 Senator Paterson.
2088
1 SENATOR PATERSON: Aye.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Present.
3 SENATOR PRESENT: No.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Rath.
5 SENATOR RATH: No.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Saland.
7 SENATOR SALAND: No.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Santiago.
9 (There was no response.)
10 Senator Sears.
11 SENATOR SEARS: No.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Seward.
13 SENATOR SEWARD: No.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Skelos.
15 SENATOR SKELOS: No.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Smith.
17 (There was no response.)
18 Senator Solomon.
19 (There was no response.)
20 Senator Spano.
21 SENATOR SPANO: No.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senator
23 Stachowski.
2089
1 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Yes.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford.
3 SENATOR STAFFORD: No.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stavisky.
5 (There was no response.)
6 Senator Trunzo.
7 SENATOR TRUNZO: No.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Tully.
9 SENATOR TULLY: No.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Velella.
11 SENATOR VELELLA: No.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Volker.
13 (There was no response.)
14 Senator Waldon.
15 SENATOR WALDON: Yes.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Wright.
17 SENATOR WRIGHT: No.
18 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
20 Leichter.
21 SENATORA LEICHTER: May I have my
22 name called, please, Mr. President?
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Leichter.
2090
1 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yes, Mr.
2 President. I came in the chambers as the roll
3 call was preceeding just as my name was called,
4 and I voted no thinking we were voting really on
5 the merits of the bill and do I not -- and I do
6 not -- I want to be very honest, I do not
7 support the merits of the bill but I realize, of
8 course, this is a motion to discharge. We're
9 not voting on the bill. I certainly support the
10 right of my colleague to present her case before
11 the whole body, and that we would then vote on
12 the merits. I want to be perfectly honest, I
13 would not support the bill on the floor on the
14 merits, but I will support her bringing it to
15 the floor and, therefore, if you would please
16 change my vote to yes, I would appreciate it.
17 Thank you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
19 Leichter in the affirmative. Call the
20 absentees.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Babbush.
22 (There was no response.)
23 Senator Bruno.
2091
1 SENATOR BRUNO: No.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Connor.
3 SENATOR CONNOR: Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
5 Connor to explain his vote.
6 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Mr.
7 President.
8 This topic of leadership
9 allowances is kind of a fascinating one. I,
10 over the years had them, not had them, have
11 them. I got one now, I hope, if we pass the
12 budget, but -- so as to the merits of the bill,
13 I'm not sure what I would do, whether I would
14 vote yes or no, although I would certainly
15 advise all my colleagues the history shows that
16 I have in the past cast votes that cost me one
17 of these allowances, so I might do it again if
18 it were on the floor, but the fact of the matter
19 is, I am going to support the motion to
20 discharge because I think it would be
21 interesting, and I think at some length, I could
22 discuss the merits of this whole system, were
23 the bill on the floor on the merits, but in the
2092
1 meantime, I certainly think we ought to give
2 Senator Hoffmann's bill a full hearing on the
3 floor, so I vote yes on the motion to discharge.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
5 Connor in the affirmative. Continue the roll.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Daly.
7 SENATOR DALY: No.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Espada.
9 (There was no response.)
10 Senator Galiber.
11 SENATOR GALIBER: Can I have my
12 name called?
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
14 Galiber to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR GALIBER: Mr. President,
16 it seemed like many hours ago, we had a debate
17 yesterday and, in the course of debate, I did
18 make an observation, and we were talking about
19 $60 million and trying to find it and where we
20 could replace it. At that time, Mr. President,
21 I indicated when we have a system of government,
22 where 51 percent of the Majority controls 100
23 percent, then we have something which is short
2093
1 of a democracy, and based on that, I think this
2 bill should be out on the floor so that the
3 Minority in this house would have an opportunity
4 to a fair debate. I vote yes.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
6 Galiber in the affirmative. Continue the roll.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Gonzalez.
8 (There was no response.)
9 Senator Goodman.
10 (There was no response.)
11 Senator Hannon.
12 (There was no response.)
13 Senator Holland.
14 SENATOR HOLLAND: No.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Maltese.
16 (There was no response.)
17 Senator Markowitz.
18 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Yes.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator
20 Montgomery.
21 (There was no response.)
22 Senator Nolan.
23 (There was no response.)
2094
1 Senator Pataki.
2 (There was no response.)
3 Senator Santiago.
4 (There was no response.)
5 Senator Smith.
6 (There was no response.)
7 Senator Solomon.
8 (There was no response.)
9 Senator Stavisky.
10 (There was no response.)
11 Senator Volker.
12 (There was no response.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Results.
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 17, nays 30.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Motion
16 to discharge is defeated.
17 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Mr. President,
18 I want to make sure that I have a copy of that.
19 I want to study that.
20 I would like to thank all of my
21 colleagues, and particularly Senator Present,
22 for creating this opportunity to have probably
23 the most spirited discussion this afternoon.
2095
1 Thank you for calling for the slow roll call. I
2 did not want to further antagonize my colleagues
3 on both sides of the aisle. I understood -
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Excuse
5 me, Senator Hoffmann.
6 SENATOR HOFFMANN: -- the
7 two-hour time limit and debate. I could have
8 probably utilized -
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Senator
10 Hoffmann.
11 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Yes, Mr.
12 President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Do you
14 wish to make a unanimous consent statement?
15 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Yes, thank
16 you.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Because
18 we have completed the roll call.
19 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Right.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Possibly
21 after the close of the business, if you would
22 like to make a unanimous consent statement, it
23 would be appropriate then.
2096
1 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Can I wrap it
2 up right now, Mr. President, without any
3 objection?
4 Thank you, Mr. President. And,
5 Senator Present, just to conclude what I said
6 before, I'm very appreciative of Senator
7 Present's interest in bringing at least one of
8 these issues to the floor for a greater
9 discussion, and you've afforded us an
10 opportunity today to do something which is a
11 real first step to have some discussion, and I
12 learned from my colleagues just in these few
13 minutes about a few objections which I will take
14 into consideration in attempting to create a
15 better bill, and I will attempt to solicit all
16 of their opinions, and particularly Senator
17 Leichter who I value greatly, and Senator Marchi
18 who spoke earlier and whose opinion I also value
19 most highly and will attempt to amend S.3505 to
20 make that a better bill, and I would repeat my
21 invitation to all of my colleagues in both
22 parties, to please consider ways that any of
23 these measures could be improved because I
2097
1 believe the public will be actively seeking our
2 solutions to the problems of the legislative
3 process over the next few months, and I would be
4 very glad to add other names and amend these
5 bills or to remove my name and to make them
6 leadership bills.
7 Thank you for your indulgence,
8 Mr. President.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: Any
10 other motions, resolutions, procedural motions?
11 Senator Present.
12 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President,
13 there being no further business, I move we
14 adjourn until tomorrow, 11:00 a.m.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SPANO: The
16 Senate will stand adjourned until tomorrow at
17 11:00 a.m.
18 (Whereupon, at 5:44 p.m., the
19 Senate adjourned.)
20
21
22
23