Regular Session - January 4, 1995
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9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 January 4, 1995
11 12:02 p.m.
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14 REGULAR SESSION
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18 LT. GOVERNOR BETSY McCAUGHEY, President
19 STEPHEN F. SLOAN, Secretary
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S.
2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
3 come to order. All members please take their
4 seats.
5 I'd like to ask everyone present
6 to rise and repeat the Pledge of Allegiance with
7 me.
8 (The assemblage repeated the
9 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. )
10 Please be seated.
11 The invocation today will be
12 given by the Reverend Howard J. Hubbard, Bishop
13 of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. Father
14 Hubbard.
15 REVEREND HOWARD J. HUBBARD: Let
16 us pray.
17 O faithful and eternal God, the
18 coming of a new year startles and challenges us
19 and calls us to renew our hopes for and our
20 efforts toward a more just and peaceful world,
21 both nearby and elsewhere. In that spirit of
22 renewed hope, we pray Your blessing, O God, upon
23 all who are gathered here for the opening of the
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1 1995 session of the New York State Senate.
2 In this new year of our state
3 government, there are a number of changes,
4 including those in leadership. What is
5 unchanged, however, is that the men and women
6 who represent us in New York State government
7 are setting out together on a common mission,
8 the service of the dignity, the needs and the
9 aspirations of the people of our Empire State.
10 O caring God, You have endowed
11 our leaders with varying gifts such as wisdom,
12 compassion, imagination, foresight and a saving
13 sense of humor. Bless, we pray, O God, the
14 gifts that our new Governor, Lieutenant Governor
15 and each legislator bring to the public service
16 of our people. Bless our leaders and enable
17 them to pool their very gifts and to channel
18 their efforts and energies to address
19 courageously the issues and the serious concerns
20 of so many people including those who are
21 unemployed or who suffer the severe plight of
22 homelessness, hunger, drug and substance abuse,
23 violence and affliction in so many forms. May
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1 the efforts of the Senate this year help to
2 bring about an improved business and economic
3 climate, greater educational opportunities, more
4 accessible and affordable health care, lower
5 rates of crime and violence and compassionate
6 concern for the poor and needy, especially the
7 vulnerable young and elderly. For all this, we
8 pray, O caring God of all people in the praise
9 of Your sacred name. You Who live and reign
10 both now and forever and ever. Amen.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Amen.
12 Thank you, Bishop Hubbard.
13 The Chair now hands down a
14 message from the state Board of Elections, being
15 the official certification of the duly elected
16 members of the Senate and direct that the same
17 be filed. So ordered.
18 I'd like to ask if there are any
19 Senators present who have not taken their oaths
20 of office.
21 Would you please come forward?
22 This gives me great pleasure because this is one
23 of my college classmates.
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1 Would you please introduce
2 yourself, introduce yourself, Catherine?
3 SENATOR ABATE: Yes. My name is
4 Catherine Abate, duly elected from the 27th
5 Senatorial District.
6 THE PRESIDENT: Vassar class of
7 '69.
8 Please raise your right hand and
9 repeat after me.
10 (Catherine M. Abate was sworn as
11 a duly elected Senator of the state of New
12 York. )
13 Congratulations, Catherine.
14 (Applause)
15 Senator Daly, it gives me great
16 pleasure to administer the oath of office to you
17 now. Please raise your right hand.
18 (Senator John B. Daly was sworn
19 as a duly elected Senator of the state of New
20 York. )
21 Congratulations.
22 (Applause)
23 The Secretary will call the roll
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1 to constitute a quorum.
2 Oh, excuse me. Latecomers.
3 Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, welcome. Would you
4 please raise your right hand and repeat after
5 me.
6 (Senator Suzi Oppenheimer was
7 sworn as a duly elected Senator of the state of
8 New York. )
9 Congratulations.
10 (Applause)
11 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Thank you.
12 THE PRESIDENT: And Senator Olga
13 Mendez, would you please raise your right hand.
14 Repeat after me.
15 (Senator Olga Mendez was sworn as
16 a duly elected Senator of the state of New
17 York. )
18 Congratulations.
19 Have we completed this business?
20 The Secretary will call the roll to constitute a
21 quorum.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Abate.
23 SENATOR ABATE: Here.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Babbush.
2 SENATOR BABBUSH: Here.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno.
4 SENATOR BRUNO: Here.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Connor.
6 SENATOR CONNOR: Here.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Cook.
8 SENATOR COOK: Here.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Daly.
10 SENATOR DALY: Here.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator
12 DeFrancisco.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Here.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator DiCarlo.
15 SENATOR DiCARLO: Here.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator
17 Dollinger.
18 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Here.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Espada.
20 SENATOR ESPADA: Here.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Farley.
22 Senator Galiber.
23 Senator Gold.
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1 SENATOR GOLD: Here.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator
3 Gonzalez.
4 SENATOR GONZALEZ: Here.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Goodman.
6 SENATOR GOODMAN: Here.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon.
8 SENATOR HANNON: Here.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hoblock.
10 SENATOR HOBLOCK: Here.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator
12 Hoffmann.
13 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Present.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Holland.
15 SENATOR HOLLAND: Here.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson.
17 SENATOR JOHNSON: Here.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Jones.
19 SENATOR JONES: Here.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kruger.
21 SENATOR KRUGER: Here.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kuhl.
23 SENATOR KUHL: Here.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lack.
2 SENATOR LACK: Present.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin.
4 SENATOR LARKIN: Here.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator LaValle.
6 SENATOR LAVALLE: Here.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Leibell.
8 SENATOR LEIBELL: Here.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator
10 Leichter.
11 SENATOR LEICHTER: Here.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Levy.
13 SENATOR LEVY: Here.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Libous.
15 SENATOR LIBOUS: Present.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Maltese.
17 SENATOR MALTESE: Here.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Marchi.
19 SENATOR MARCHI: Here.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Marino.
21 Senator Markowitz.
22 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Here.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Mendez.
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1 SENATOR MENDEZ: Here.
2 THE PRESIDENT: A quorum is
3 present.
4 The opening day of a session is
5 always a new beginning. It offers the promise
6 of a fresh start, new hopes and goals, this year
7 even more so. This is the dawn of a new era.
8 The people of New York State have sent a clear
9 message that they wanted a government that
10 listens and works, and I know that all of you
11 join me in the commitment to make this one of
12 the most productive sessions ever.
13 This year, for the first time
14 since Governor Myron Clark in 1855, our new
15 Governor, George Pataki, is a former member of
16 the Legislature. Every member of this house can
17 take pride in this, and in a few moments we're
18 going to have a new Majority Leader, Senator
19 Joseph Bruno, someone of experience and skill,
20 someone who understands where the people of New
21 York want their state to go. Senator Bruno can
22 help move us in that direction. He will be a
23 great Majority Leader, and he's a great friend.
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1 I would also like to welcome and
2 congratulate Senator Martin Connor as the new
3 Minority Leader. Senator Connor, I look forward
4 to working with you. The year to come is going
5 to be an exciting one with many challenges
6 ahead. I'm confident that we will all join
7 together to meet those challenges on behalf of
8 the people of the state of New York.
9 The Chair now hands down a
10 communication from the Governor. The Secretary
11 will read it, please.
12 THE SECRETARY: Dear Madam
13 President: I would appreciate the privilege of
14 appearing before your honorable bodies in joint
15 session on Wednesday, January 4th, 1995 at 1:00
16 p.m. or as soon thereafter as may be convenient,
17 to deliver personally my annual message to the
18 Legislature.
19 THE PRESIDENT: This should be
20 filed in the Journal.
21 SENATOR STAFFORD: Madam
22 President.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
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1 Stafford.
2 SENATOR STAFFORD: Thank you,
3 Madam President.
4 I hand up Senate Resolution
5 Number 1 and ask that it be read.
6 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
7 will read it, please.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
9 Number 1, by Senator Stafford: RESOLVED that
10 Senator Joseph L. Bruno be and he hereby is
11 elected Temporary President of the Senate for
12 the years 1995-1996.
13 THE PRESIDENT: The Chair
14 recognizes Senator Olga Mendez.
15 SENATOR MENDEZ: Madam President,
16 I rise today to nominate my colleague, Senate
17 Minority Leader Martin Connor, for the post of
18 Temporary President of the Senate.
19 I have known and worked with
20 Senator Connor for many years and he is uniquely
21 qualified to lead this body into a new era of
22 openness and accountability.
23 As the leader of our Conference
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1 Marty Connor represents change as a new
2 generation of leaders emerges in our state at a
3 time when the public has clearly voiced
4 dissatisfaction with the way New York State
5 operates, demanding a leaner, more responsive
6 government. Marty Connor is a perfect candidate
7 to lead the charge in the Senate. He believes
8 people should know how their tax dollars are
9 spent and whether they're getting their money's
10 worth. He believes important government
11 decisions should be made in the open, in
12 daylight with full public participation. He
13 believes it's time for a real change in the way
14 we do business in the Senate, one who will
15 uphold and honor the principle of government of,
16 by and for the people.
17 We anticipate that many of the
18 changes will come to fruition in this session.
19 Since Marty has spoken out for these changes for
20 so long, we Democrats believe he should be the
21 best choice to lead the Senate in implementing
22 them.
23 Marty Connor understands the real
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1 concerns of the people we all represent, and
2 Marty Connor has worked the night shift on a
3 factory production line and has known life on a
4 loading dock as well as in the fancier places on
5 Wall Street. His background testifies to the
6 commitment to the working men and women in our
7 diverse state. He knows the value of a job. He
8 knows how painful it is when those jobs aren't
9 available, and the difference that compassionate
10 -- compassionate, intelligent and effective
11 government policy can make to people who need a
12 hand up on the road to success.
13 Marty Connor knows that we must
14 find a delicate balance between providing the
15 tax relief that New Yorkers so desperately need
16 and providing the services that so many of our
17 elderly, our children and other vulnerable
18 members of our society must have to survive.
19 For all of these reasons and many
20 more, I urge my Senate colleagues to join with
21 me in supporting Senate Democratic leader Marty
22 Connor for Temporary President. In doing so,
23 you will be voting for a real change in the
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1 Senate.
2 Madam President, I move the
3 substitute resolution. Thank you.
4 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
5 will read the resolution. Please.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senate
7 Resolution, by Senator Mendez, providing for the
8 election of Martin Connor as Temporary President
9 of the Senate for the years 1995-1996.
10 THE PRESIDENT: On the substitute
11 resolution offered by Senator Mendez, all those
12 in favor aye.
13 (Response of "Aye.")
14 Those opposed nay.
15 (Response of "Nay.")
16 The nays have it. The resolution
17 is defeated.
18 (Applause)
19 On the resolution, Senator
20 Stafford, proceed, please. Senator Stafford is
21 recognized.
22 SENATOR STAFFORD: Thank you,
23 Madam President.
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1 Your Excellency, Bishop Hubbard,
2 members and friends of Senator Bruno all: It is
3 indeed a privilege and a pleasure for me today
4 to rise and support Resolution Number 1 electing
5 Joe Bruno Temporary President of the New York
6 State Senate for years 1995-96.
7 Madam President, I'm sure that
8 you will be welcomed -- welcomed much more
9 eloquently by our new Majority Leader but, in
10 recognizing me, I would be remiss if I did not
11 say that we welcome you and we're pleased to
12 have you with us.
13 Madam President, we often use
14 humor when we're dealing with each other in
15 conducting business here in the Senate.
16 Sometimes I do to a fault, but today I ask you
17 to be serious with me for a few moments while I
18 speak on Resolution Number 1 that has been
19 handed up.
20 The voters spoke last fall and
21 there was a message and a mandate, and I suggest
22 there's no better Senator to carry out this
23 mandate as our leader here in the Senate than
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1 Joseph L. Bruno. Majority Leader Bruno and
2 Governor Pataki will be working together as
3 partners leading us in responding to the message
4 and to this mandate delivered on November 8th.
5 Madam President, Senator Bruno
6 knows what it's like to work. He was raised in
7 a working family. Joe's father, Vitaliano,
8 earned his living by the sweat of his brow and
9 he was proud to do so right here in New York
10 State.
11 At an early age, Joe Bruno
12 developed what de Tocqueville called "the habit"
13 -- "the habit of taking responsibility for
14 one's actions. If the people of a democracy lack
15 this habit," de Tocqueville said, "self
16 government is impossible, for without it they
17 will look to others and not to themselves for
18 the solution to the problems besetting us."
19 This is why Joe Bruno will be
20 such a valuable partner to our Governor and will
21 be helping again, as I've mentioned, the
22 Governor in expanding opportunities throughout
23 our state so that others can do what Joe Bruno
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1 and George Pataki have done. Indeed, electing
2 Senator Bruno is the best way we can support the
3 Governor in implementing the changes that will
4 restore our New York State to its former
5 greatness.
6 By now, most New Yorkers are
7 familiar with the Joe Bruno story. Tragically,
8 his mother, Catherine Rachel, affectionately
9 known as "Kate", died at an early age of 44 and
10 left eight children. Older Bruno siblings
11 helped and guided Joe as he helped his younger
12 brothers and sisters as they were growing up.
13 Joe learned at an early age what it means to
14 work, whether it was selling newspapers or
15 working on an ice truck. He knew what it was
16 like or what it is like at a young age to work,
17 to take money home to help support his family.
18 Senator Bruno has always been
19 most active in his church, his community, his
20 government and civic organizations. Among his
21 many accomplishments was the founding of a
22 company that he took public and was most
23 successful. As in everything he does, he was a
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1 tireless worker, indefatigable.
2 On a lighter note, I would say no
3 one can keep up to Joe Bruno and if you don't,
4 he'll remind you that you're not. But I also
5 know what an excellent chief executive officer
6 he was, because I served on his board of
7 directors.
8 After serving as chief of staff
9 to the Speaker of the Assembly and Republican -
10 and Rensselaer County Republican chairman,
11 Senator Bruno ran for Senate -- for the Senate
12 and he was elected in 1976.
13 Madam President, all I'm trying
14 to say here today is summed up in the point I'm
15 about to make, and in my mind is the most
16 important of what I say here today. When
17 Senator Bruno came here to the Senate, he was a
18 bit older. He was mature. He had been
19 successful in business, government, and in the
20 proverbial political fray. He had established
21 his values. He had defined his own parameters.
22 He knew what he believed in, what government
23 should do and more importantly what government
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1 should not do.
2 He had a presence about where he
3 -- about where he was in life. He stood for
4 something and he never waivered. Many times he
5 has taken less than the easy road. He stood up
6 when he felt he had to.
7 We will see changes right here in
8 our procedure. You'll be interested to know
9 that Senator Bruno earned his college degree in
10 night school. He does not like night sessions.
11 (Laughter)
12 And, Madam President, I would
13 like to share with you another quality which
14 makes Joe the fine leader that he is. He will
15 listen; he will discuss. There'll be no limit
16 on the time whether in a meeting or on the
17 floor. He will talk the issues out and, Madam
18 President, he will make a decision and, as you
19 know, when it is necessary, he never hesitates
20 to speak his mind.
21 As the great poet Dante wrote
22 about those who maintain neutrality in great
23 struggles: Quote, "Those who were loathe when
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1 living to be either blamed or praised," close
2 quote, suggesting they deserve worse than the
3 lowest depths.
4 Madam President, Senator Joe
5 Bruno has never been neutral in a struggle.
6 Madam President, I move the
7 resolution.
8 THE PRESIDENT: On the resolution
9 nominating Senator Bruno as the Temporary
10 President of the Senate, all those in favor say
11 aye.
12 (Response of "Aye.")
13 Opposed nay.
14 (There was no response. )
15 The ayes have it. Senator Joseph
16 L. Bruno is the duly elected Temporary President
17 of the Senate for the years 1995 to 1996.
18 (Applause)
19 Senator Bruno, please stand and
20 be sworn in as the Temporary President of the
21 Senate. Raise your right hand.
22 (Senator Joseph L. Bruno was
23 sworn as the duly elected Temporary President of
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1 the New York State Senate. )
2 Congratulations.
3 Senator Bruno.
4 SENATOR BRUNO: To Senator
5 Stafford, I'd like to say a very heartfelt thank
6 you. Ron and I, for many of you who don't know,
7 go back almost an adult lifetime. I think I
8 supported him when he was my Senator when I
9 lived in Warren County, and the first time I
10 ever entered this chamber, it was as, I believe,
11 president of the New York State Young
12 Republicans, and I stood there to greet Ron and
13 he and I visited, and I remember looking around
14 this room and thinking what an elegant dignified
15 chamber this was, and I was awed by the things
16 that Ron was doing and that the people in this
17 room did, and I never, ever forgot that thought
18 and I don't think I've ever shared this with
19 you. That was the first time I'd ever stepped
20 into this chamber and Ron was as hospitable as
21 he was gracious with your remarks here, and I
22 thank you, Ron, for your friendship for all of
23 that.
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1 And to our Lieutenant Governor, I
2 bid you a very, very warm welcome and thank you
3 for your kind words and let me tell you that I
4 was as pleased as I could be with your very
5 first motion in banging that gavel with great
6 authority, and I also am so pleased that your
7 hearing is so astute in terms of the elections
8 that take place in this chamber. You are going
9 to do great, and you are going to be the great
10 Lieutenant Governor that all of us, when we
11 voted for you, thought you would be. So we look
12 forward to working together with you in this
13 chamber.
14 And Bishop Hubbard, thank you for
15 being here and for the prayers that we all so
16 desperately need.
17 And Marty, Marty -- I can only
18 tell you that, Olga, I've never heard you as
19 eloquent, let me tell you, but I wanted to say,
20 Marty, that I look forward to working with you
21 and your colleagues and our colleagues on this
22 side of the aisle because we have one objective
23 this year and that is to serve the people of
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1 this great state of ours and that objective, we
2 share together on both sides of the aisle.
3 When you think in terms of what
4 goes on in your life, and I've thought about
5 this for some hours and days and a lot of things
6 go through your mind and what comes to my mind
7 really over and over again is thank you and, by
8 the way, I want to wish everyone in this room a
9 belated Happy Thanksgiving.
10 (Applause)
11 Thanksgiving at my house was just
12 a little bit different this year than it has
13 been in the past, but I want to thank my family
14 and they're here, wife and children, Kenny and
15 Sue, and Kate sitting up there on the stairs and
16 my granddaughter Rachel. Hi, Rachel! My wife
17 Bobbie, who had a day of disruption and about 20
18 minutes of nice turkey dinner.
19 My brothers, all five, and my two
20 sisters are here, and I very much appreciate
21 that because they come from Virginia and New
22 Jersey and other parts of this state. I really
23 appreciate their being here. My sisters Rose
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1 and Florence and my brother Pete, my big brother
2 Pete up here in the front, and Anthony and Bob
3 and Arthur and Vito. And who did I forget?
4 Thank you very, very much for
5 being here. My family has been very, very
6 supportive in my life, and I really have to say
7 thank you because there are times when all of us
8 know this, our work, they do without us and they
9 help us just by the support they give us by
10 allowing us to do what we do for the people that
11 we represent. So thank you.
12 Lot of friends in this room,
13 really great friends who have helped me in my
14 life, and it's very difficult to talk about
15 individuals, and it really is difficult but
16 there are people here, you know who you are and
17 I know who you are and others know who you are
18 who just have helped me throughout my life
19 politically and personally, and I really thank
20 you for that.
21 There's one gentleman here that
22 was my town chairman when I moved into
23 Rensselaer County and he encouraged me to get
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1 into politics in an elected way when I had moved
2 into Rensselaer to really concentrate on my
3 business, and he would not take no for an
4 answer, and he personifies the support that I've
5 had from colleagues and from friends, and he is
6 here with me today, and he really personifies
7 all of the support and friends that I've had and
8 I just wanted to acknowledge him by name. He is
9 93 years young, A. Frank Bentley.
10 (Applause)
11 I want to officially say a word
12 of welcome to my good friend, Senator Hoblock,
13 and Vinnie Leibell and Senator Abate, and we
14 welcome you to this chamber and we look forward
15 to working with you on behalf of your
16 constituency and our constituency. Thank you
17 for being here with us.
18 I can continue to say thank you
19 because in my life I have a lot to be thankful
20 for, and I really could go on and on, and I
21 can't go much further without just saying I also
22 have to thank the good Lord for the blessings
23 that he has given me in my life, and many of you
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1 have an awful lot goin' for you. I can tell you
2 that I've had very little going for me, so I
3 needed special support, and I got that special
4 support from my mom and dad, and if my pop and
5 mom could be here they'd be proud because with
6 eight children, and Ron said it right, my dad
7 was a laborer, never learned to read or write.
8 We never had a car. Never learned to drive,
9 worked as many as three jobs to feed the
10 family.
11 But you know what my father
12 taught me? To be proud to earn a living and to
13 work for what you get. Wouldn't take anything
14 from anyone, supported eight children with a
15 wife and a mother that was sick from the time
16 she was 33 years old. She had thirty -- seven
17 major operations in those years with eight
18 children, and I remember my dad going and coming
19 from work, but I never, ever saw him under the
20 influence of alcohol, and there was enough going
21 on in his life that it took a pretty, pretty
22 strong man to handle himself the way he did.
23 And my mother passed away when
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1 she was 44 with eight children. My dad kept us
2 together, and we all worked. Ron talked about
3 my work. Every one of my brothers and sisters
4 worked, not because they wanted to but because
5 we knew we had to and the money we earned, we
6 helped support each other, and I learned from
7 that and I appreciate that.
8 My dad always worked hard and I
9 respect him for that and I thank him for all of
10 the good things that he did in my life. My mom
11 really was a very special lady. (Pause) There
12 isn't much more that I have to say, I think,
13 than that.
14 We have a job to do in this
15 chamber. Our Governor-elect on Sunday set the
16 tone for this state which is up and up and up.
17 There's been pain in this state and there's been
18 suffering, but the message now is one of
19 optimism, and it's of hope, and it's of a new
20 direction and it truly is the dawn of a new era,
21 an era that will hold us all in good stead, and
22 with his leadership, we are going to move this
23 state forward.
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1 We're going to get the pain and
2 the suffering behind us because we know what we
3 have to do. We all know what we have to do and
4 it's going to be difficult, but we are going to
5 do it, and we're going to do it together, this
6 side of the aisle and this side of the aisle,
7 this house and the Assembly and the Governor,
8 and together we will govern.
9 And while we're praying, we all
10 want to pray that each of us individually
11 recognizes our responsibility to ourselves, to
12 our constituency and to the constituency of this
13 state, and that we put our individual wishes and
14 desires aside at times when it's appropriate and
15 act collectively on behalf of the people of this
16 state because they desperately need our help.
17 That message on November 8th was loud and
18 clear. The people of this state want our help
19 and that's why we're here.
20 We will change the direction of
21 government in this state. It is no accident
22 that over the last four years we in this state
23 have led the country in job loss. 40 percent of
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1 all jobs lost in this country come from New York
2 in the last four years. It's no accident that
3 we are lagging in the recovery in jobs the rest
4 of the country. If we were just staying with
5 the average state in recovery, there'd be a
6 million more jobs in this state today.
7 We can't continue because we have
8 lost our way here in this state. The Governor
9 elect said it right. He talked about the
10 Revolutionaries. He talked about the immigrants
11 who came here with hope and prayers in their
12 hearts and looked for opportunity. But
13 somewhere along the way we in New York State
14 took a little different direction and we thought
15 that government was the answer to everything,
16 and it isn't.
17 Government should be there to be
18 supportive of the people, to do for the people
19 what they can not individually or collectively
20 do for themselves, and government should serve
21 no other realistic purpose. We want to create
22 opportunity for people and we want people as
23 they get that opportunity to know that
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1 government is here to support them, to be their
2 partners and that we will work together because
3 it is business that drives the economic engine
4 of this state. It is not government, and when
5 business prospers, business pays taxes and
6 employs people and people pay taxes and it's
7 that revenue that allows all of us to do the
8 things that we have to do for the needy, for
9 Medicaid, for education, for roads and bridges.
10 It's the revenue that comes in from people and
11 businesses that are employed and prosperous.
12 So we're going to change that and
13 we're going to do it together, sincerely and
14 effectively and we start here. We are going to
15 lead here in the Senate by action. We're going
16 to lead by example. We're going to do things
17 that may be obvious but haven't been done.
18 We're going to start sessions on time, with your
19 help.
20 (Applause)
21 It's been a joke around the
22 Capitol that it's Senate time and real time.
23 Senate time was an hour to two hours behind real
32
1 time. Senate time and real time have just
2 become the same time, so we're going to start on
3 time. And there will be no all night sessions
4 and that I can promise you, and we're going to
5 have regular conferences two o'clock on Mondays
6 we will conference. We'll do things in an
7 orderly way. Why? Because it's more efficient.
8 It's more effective.
9 We have reforms that we're going
10 to propose for this house, and we're going to
11 have a press conference on Monday and we're
12 going to share those reforms that we have been
13 working on with my colleagues and this side of
14 the aisle as well for weeks. It's going to
15 change the way this house operates. It's going
16 to open it up, be more responsive, more
17 effective, more efficient for all of us. Why?
18 So we can serve the people of this state and
19 that's our mission and that's our goal and
20 that's our objective and we will do all of that
21 together.
22 So thank you. To my colleagues,
23 I've just got to say thank you. You have been
33
1 -- you've been just absolutely great. You
2 stood up and were there and I appreciate that
3 and I thank you. You know, it's funny, and I'm
4 going to sit down, because we have to move to
5 the Assembly and I sure don't want to be late
6 for our Governor Pataki, but I was thinking on
7 Thanksgiving week on that Monday morning, of
8 what I was about to do, and I hadn't talked to a
9 lot of people about it, but I said a little
10 prayer and asked, you know, for help in terms of
11 what I was going to be doing, because I was kind
12 of trying to scale a cliff and need a lot of
13 support and a lot of help and, you know, it's
14 funny when you're in that mode, I was listening
15 and I was thinking, you know, maybe I'll get a
16 message on what I should be doing. So I said,
17 you know, "Lord, how about making a few phone
18 calls for me?" And I listened, and guess what?
19 I heard an answer loud and clear, "Make 'em
20 yourself." (Laughter).
21 And you know what? But I wanted
22 to -- I only mention this because the Lord's
23 always right, because I recognize that my
34
1 colleagues wouldn't even listen to the Lord at
2 that time. But I say thank you for having
3 listened and having allowed me the privilege of
4 serving you as your leader here in this house
5 and let me tell you, dreams do come true and
6 we're going to help make dreams come true now
7 for all of the people that you represent and I
8 represent and that we represent together.
9 Thank you very, very much and God
10 bless each and every one of you.
11 THE PRESIDENT: The Chair
12 recognizes that a delegation from the Assembly
13 is present. Assemblymen Farrell and Straniere.
14 ASSEMBLYMAN FARRELL: Madam
15 President, the Assembly is organized; Sheldon
16 Silver has been elected Speaker, and we wait
17 upon the Governor and the Senate.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. The
19 Chair will acknowledge that we have also
20 received a communication from the Senate
21 Democratic Conference that Senator Martin Connor
22 was elected on November 21st, 1994 as the
23 Minority Leader of the state Senate.
35
1 Senator Connor.
2 (Applause)
3 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Madam
4 President, and let me pledge on behalf of my
5 colleagues, our cooperation with you in your
6 role as presiding officer even though, once
7 again, we've been disappointed. We've seen a
8 long succession of Lt. Governors, many of whom
9 were Democrats whose hearing on voice votes was
10 just as bad as your own, but we'll suffer
11 through that, Madam President.
12 My congratulations to Senator
13 Bruno on his victory, and I don't feel like I
14 lost to him. I've never been so happy to lose
15 an election in my political life as, of course,
16 that makes me the Minority Leader, and the
17 representative of my colleagues.
18 And, of course, my thanks to
19 Senator Mendez for -- for her wonderful words in
20 moving the substitute resolution and to all my
21 colleagues on this side of the aisle whose
22 support in the past and upon whose support, of
23 course, I count in the future, I do thank you
36
1 very deeply for the trust you've given me.
2 If I may, as Senator Bruno noted,
3 we all don't just arrive here. We all come from
4 somewhere, and I am very, very privileged to
5 have here with me today, with us today two
6 people who, I guess, had more influence -- I
7 know had more influence over me than any two
8 other persons or any other persons possibly
9 could, and they taught me, besides raising me in
10 an atmosphere of love and caring, they taught me
11 values like hard work from a very early age.
12 They taught me that you had to work to get what
13 you wanted. As Senator Mendez alluded, they
14 helped me as I bounded home from college or
15 vacation, for Christmas vacation, to be told
16 you're on the night shift tonight in a factory.
17 They understood those values, and
18 out of necessity to pay for my education they
19 contributed and I was expected to and did
20 contribute by working when I -- when I could.
21 My -- my mother, any of you and I know some of
22 my colleagues here have shared in it, my mother
23 also taught me how to cook and bake, those of
37
1 you who've seemed to think I'm pretty good at
2 it, because that was another aspect of family
3 responsibility that my parents taught me.
4 They also taught me the
5 importance of my religion, the importance of the
6 values that that embraced, the importance of
7 respect for other people. And so I do -- would
8 like to acknowledge Harry and Sally Connor who
9 are here from New Jersey today with me. Thank
10 you.
11 (Applause).
12 And I do want to mention
13 naturally I was blessed with four wonderful
14 grandparents. As many of you know, my maternal
15 grandmother passed away last May. She was a
16 Democratic committeewoman most of her life. She
17 taught me a few things about politics, and I
18 think I learned those lessons pretty well. My
19 other -- my paternal grandparents are deceased,
20 but one person who was not able to be here but
21 who did visit with us 10 or 12 years ago is my
22 grandfather, Martin O'Brien, who is 104 and is
23 in pretty good health today but not in good
38
1 enough health to travel three and a half hours,
2 but I know he's with us in spirit.
3 When I was first elected to the
4 Senate in 1978, I was given some small sum for a
5 staff allocation as things were then, and I blew
6 a large portion of it to hire somebody away from
7 Wall Street. I think she was making 10,000 a
8 year and I offered her eleven-five to come to
9 work and be not only my first staff member but
10 in those days my only staff member in a district
11 that embraced two boroughs in the district
12 office. She set up that district office. She
13 worked it as we all know working a district.
14 She covered the meetings. She also was going to
15 college at night and she got her Bachelor's
16 degree summa cum laude and went on to law school
17 nights for four years, wasn't -- certainly
18 wasn't above cutting class to go to community
19 meetings -- I guess we can say that the statute
20 of limitations on the academic degrees having
21 expired, and was just a superb staff member. So
22 good that I fired her, absolutely. Came up one
23 day in early 1984 and I said, "You're fired" and
39
1 I said, "You want to have dinner tomorrow
2 night," and months after she was fired she
3 became my wife, and that's Christine, my
4 partner.
5 (Applause)
6 And my two wonderful sons are
7 here, Marty and Brian, sitting patiently through
8 this. Yesterday when I was driving up with
9 them, Brian said, "What are you going to do in
10 Albany?" I said, "I have some meetings." He
11 said, "Meetings! All you do is talk" -- he's
12 five -- "talk, talk, talk. I don't like these
13 meetings." I said, "You have a point there,"
14 but they are here.
15 My other friends and relatives,
16 my long-time staff members, Hedy Weinberger,
17 Carol Larrivee, Amy Solomon who has been with me
18 off and on for many, many years, someone who was
19 just very important to me politically who passed
20 away last year, my dear friend Billy, many of
21 you know of whom I speak. I think he's here
22 with us in spirit today, but my other friends
23 and staff who are here, I thank all of you
40
1 because I don't arrive here without a lot of
2 people being behind me.
3 As we look forward to the coming
4 session, Senator Bruno, we will cooperate. We
5 will undoubtedly disagree. Well disagree within
6 that traditional framework of debate and
7 discussion. That is a legislative body. And I
8 know we will see changes here. We will credit
9 you, of course, and your colleagues with doing
10 some of them. We will, on this side of the
11 aisle, I think you will suffer us saying we had
12 the idea a while ago. We were -- tried to
13 persuade.
14 I think, though, the people will
15 be well served and again, we have -- we share
16 many of the same goals, my colleagues on this
17 side of the aisle about taxes, about jobs, about
18 protecting our people against crime. We may
19 differ about ways to get there, that's why we
20 have a Legislature and that's why we will un
21 doubtedly have many debates, many discussions
22 all before midnight.
23 So again, Madam President, thank
41
1 you very much.
2 (Applause)
3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno.
4 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President,
5 I believe there are several resolutions at the
6 desk.
7 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
8 will read these, please.
9 THE SECRETARY: Concurrent
10 Resolution Number 3, by Senator Bruno: RESOLVED
11 that the Senate and Assembly shall meet in joint
12 assembly in the Assembly Chamber at 1:00 p.m.
13 today for the purpose of receiving a message
14 from the Governor.
15 THE PRESIDENT: On the
16 resolution, all in favor say aye.
17 (Response of "Aye.")
18 Opposed nay.
19 (There was no response. )
20 The ayes have it. The resolution
21 is adopted. The Secretary will read it, please.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
23 Number 4, by Senator Bruno: RESOLVED that the
42
1 President appoint a committee of two to inform
2 the Governor of the election of Joseph L. Bruno
3 as Temporary President of the Senate for the
4 years 1995-1996, that the Senate is organized
5 and ready to proceed with business and will meet
6 with the Assembly in the Assembly Chamber at
7 1:00 p.m. today to receive the Governor's
8 message.
9 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of
10 the resolution say aye.
11 (Response of "Aye.")
12 Opposed nay.
13 (There was no response. )
14 The ayes have it. The resolution
15 is adopted.
16 The Chair appoints Senator Kuhl
17 and Senator Abate to wait upon the Governor.
18 The Secretary will read, please.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
20 Number 5, by Senator Bruno: RESOLVED that the
21 President appoint a committee of two to wait
22 upon the Assembly and inform that body of the
23 election of Joseph L. Bruno as Temporary
43
1 President of the Senate for the years 1995-1996,
2 that the Senate is organized and ready to
3 proceed with business and will meet jointly with
4 the Assembly in the Assembly Chamber at 1:00
5 p.m. today to receive the Governor's message.
6 THE PRESIDENT: On the
7 resolution, all those in favor say aye.
8 (Response of "Aye.")
9 Opposed nay.
10 (There was no response. )
11 The ayes have it. The resolution
12 is adopted.
13 The Chair appoints Senator Skelos
14 and Senator Kruger to wait upon the Assembly.
15 Senator Bruno.
16 SENATOR BRUNO: I'd like to hand
17 up the following resolution and ask for its
18 adoption.
19 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
20 will read it, please.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
22 Number 6, by Senator Bruno: RESOLVED that the
23 rules of the Senate for the years 1993-1994 as
44
1 last amended be adopted as the rules of the
2 Senate for the years 1995-1996.
3 SENATOR CONNOR: Madam President,
4 with the understanding, I think, from both sides
5 that the issue of amending the rules and
6 changing the rules will remain open to a future
7 date.
8 THE PRESIDENT: That's right.
9 On the resolution, all those in
10 favor say aye.
11 (Response of "Aye.")
12 Opposed nay.
13 (There was no response.)
14 The ayes have it. The resolution
15 is adopted.
16 Senator Bruno.
17 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President,
18 can we have the next resolution, please.
19 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
20 will read it.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
22 Number 7, by Senator Bruno: RESOLVED that,
23 unless otherwise ordered, the hours of meeting
45
1 of the Senate shall be as follows: Mondays and
2 Tuesdays at 3:00 p.m., Wednesdays and all other
3 days at 11:00 a.m., provided that no session
4 shall be held between the hours of 12:00 a.m.
5 and 8:00 a.m., except to complete action on a
6 measure or measures upon which debate was begun
7 prior to 12:00 a.m., or to act on a measure or
8 measures for which a message of necessity has
9 been received from the Governor.
10 THE PRESIDENT: On the
11 resolution, all in favor say aye.
12 (Response of "Aye.")
13 Opposed nay.
14 (There was no response. )
15 The ayes have it. The resolution
16 is adopted.
17 Senator Bruno.
18 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President,
19 there being no further business to come before
20 the Senate, I move that we adjourn until Monday
21 at 3:00 p.m., and intervening days being
22 legislative days.
23 Thank you.
46
1 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate stands
2 adjourned.
3 (Whereupon at 12:57 p.m., the
4 Senate adjourned. )
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