Regular Session - January 21, 1998
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8 ALBANY, NEW YORK
9 January 21, 1998
10 3:02 p.m.
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13 REGULAR SESSION
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17 SENATOR MICHAEL A.L. BALBONI, Acting President
18 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
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290
1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
3 Senate will come to order. I'll ask everyone
4 present to please rise and repeat with me the
5 Pledge of Allegiance.
6 (The assemblage repeated the
7 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 In the absence of clergy, may we
9 bow our heads in a moment of silence.
10 (A moment of silence was
11 observed.)
12 Reading of the Journal.
13 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
14 Tuesday, January 20th. The Senate met pursuant
15 to adjournment. The Journal of Saturday,
16 January 17th, was read and approved. On motion,
17 the Senate adjourned.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
19 Without objection, the Journal stands approved
20 as read.
21 Presentation of petitions.
22 Messages from the Assembly.
23 Messages from the Governor.
24 Reports of the standing
25 committees.
291
1 The Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Marchi,
3 from the Committee on Corporations, Authorities
4 and Commissions, reports:
5 Senate Bill 999, by Senator
6 Saland, an act to amend the Not-for-Profit
7 Corporation Law;
8 2654, by Senator Kuhl, an act to
9 amend the Public Authorities Law;
10 3597, by Senator Marchi, an act
11 to amend the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law;
12 3646, by Senator Leibell, an act
13 to amend the Public Authorities Law;
14 3752-A, by Senator Marchi, an act
15 to amend the Public Authorities Law;
16 3840, by Senator Larkin, an act
17 to amend Chapter 698 of the Laws of 1991;
18 4487, by Senator Velella, an act
19 to amend the Public Authorities Law;
20 5107, by Senator Velella, an act
21 to amend the Public Authorities Law.
22 Senator Stafford, from the
23 Committee on Finance, reports:
24 Senate Bill 5139-C, by Senator
25 LaValle, an act to amend the Public Officers
292
1 Law;
2 6012, by Senator Trunzo, an act
3 relating to providing; and
4 6015, by Senator Stafford, an act
5 to amend the Tax Law.
6 Senator Meier, from the Committee
7 on Veterans and Military Affairs, reports:
8 Senate Bill 2497-A, by Senator
9 Meier, an act to amend the Real Property Tax
10 Law;
11 2573, by Senator Meier, an act to
12 amend the Education Law;
13 3210, by Senator Alesi, an act to
14 amend the Executive Law; and
15 4005, by Senator Present, an act
16 to amend the Executive Law.
17 Senator Levy, from the -- Senator
18 Levy, from the Committee on Transportation,
19 reports:
20 Senate Print 102-A, by Senator
21 Levy, an act in relation to requiring;
22 119, by Senator Stafford, an act
23 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
24 602, by Senator Levy, an act to
25 amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
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1 638, by Senator Goodman, an act
2 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
3 5918, by Senator Holland, an act
4 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
5 All bills directly for third
6 reading.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
8 Without objection, all bills to third reading.
9 Senator Skelos, we have some
10 substitutions.
11 SENATOR SKELOS: Please do the
12 housekeeping.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
14 Secretary will read.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator LaValle
16 moves to discharge from the Committee on Finance
17 Assembly Print 8364-A and substitute it for the
18 identical Senate Bill 5139-C.
19 Senator Trunzo moves to discharge
20 from the Committee on Finance Assembly Bill 8916
21 and substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
22 6012.
23 Senator Stafford moves to
24 discharge from the Committee on Finance Assembly
25 Print 8922 and substitute it for the identical
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1 Senate Bill 6015.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
3 substitutions are ordered.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
5 if we could take up the Resolution Calendar and
6 move that we adopt it in its entirety.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Move
8 the Resolution Calendar. All in favor say aye.
9 (Response of "Aye".)
10 All opposed say nay.
11 (There was no response.)
12 The ayes have it.
13 The Resolution Calendar is
14 adopted in its entirety.
15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
16 are there any reports from select committees?
17 Are there any communications and reports from
18 state officers?
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
20 Reports of select committees.
21 Communications and reports from
22 state officers.
23 Motions and resolutions.
24 SENATOR SKELOS: We've completed
25 the resolutions. Are there any motions to be
295
1 made at this time?
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: No.
3 SENATOR SKELOS: Then if we could
4 just stand at ease, I believe our nominee will
5 be here shortly and we can continue with the
6 confirmation.
7 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
8 ease.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
10 Senator Skelos, we would like to go back to the
11 report of standing committees. We just received
12 another report.
13 The Secretary will read.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Present,
15 from the Committee on Commerce, Economic
16 Development and Small Business, reports:
17 Senate Print 2536, by Senator
18 Present, an act to amend the Economic
19 Development Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
21 Without objection, all bills directly to third
22 reading.
23 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
24 if we could have the non-controversial calendar
25 read at this time.
296
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
2 Secretary will read the non-controversial
3 calendar.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 7, by Senator Present, Senate Print 526, an act
6 to amend the General Municipal Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
16 bill is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 10, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 3670, an act
19 to amend the General Municipal Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
21 the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect on the 90th day.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
25 the roll.
297
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
4 bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 15, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 386, an act
7 to amend the Civil Rights Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
9 the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
17 bill is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 29, by Senator Present, Senate Print 3898, an
20 act to amend the Economic Development Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
22 the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
298
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 30, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 4271, an act
8 to amend the Public Service Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
10 the last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
14 the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 39, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 1301, an
21 act to amend the General Business Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
23 the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 47, by Senator Maltese, Senate Print 1560, an
9 act to amend the Labor Law and the Penal Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
11 the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
13 act shall take effect on the first day of
14 November.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
20 bill is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 49, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 2842, an act
23 to amend the Workers' Compensation Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
25 the last section.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 52, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 1920, an act
11 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
13 the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 83, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 335, an act
24 to amend the Executive Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
301
1 the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect in 30 days.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
5 the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
9 bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 84, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 4249, an
12 act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
13 distribution.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
15 There's a local fiscal note impact at the desk.
16 Read the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect in 30 days.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
24 bill is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
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1 112, sub'ed earlier today, by the Assembly
2 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print 8364-A, an
3 act to amend the Public Officers Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
7 act shall take effect -
8 SENATOR LEICHTER: Hold on a
9 second. Lay that aside, please.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Lay
11 the bill aside.
12 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
14 Senator Skelos.
15 SENATOR SKELOS: There will be an
16 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in the
17 Majority Conference Room, and if we could return
18 to reports of standing committees, I believe
19 there's a report of the Finance Committee at the
20 desk. I ask that it be read and if you would
21 recognize Senator Stafford, please.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
23 There's an immediate meeting of the Rules
24 Committee. The Senator has requested that now
25 in the Conference Room.
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1 We'll return to reports of
2 standing committees and the Chair recognizes
3 Senator Stafford -- the Secretary will read.
4 Sorry. Excuse me.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford,
6 from the Committee on Finance, offers up the
7 following nominations:
8 As Commissioner of Criminal
9 Justice Services: Katherine N. Lapp, of
10 Brooklyn.
11 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr. President.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
13 Senator Stafford.
14 SENATOR STAFFORD: Once again,
15 it's a pleasure to rise and support a nominee
16 and yield to the Senator who does such a fine
17 job in this area that Katherine N. Lapp has been
18 nominated for as Commissioner of Criminal
19 Justice Services.
20 The commissioner -- and I call
21 her "commissioner" because she will be
22 commissioner -- in my opinion -- and I say that
23 in support, not to be arrogant, but Katherine
24 Lapp appeared before our committee today, and I
25 would suggest before yielding that we're
304
1 fortunate to have this lady of her caliber,
2 stature and ability serving the state of New
3 York, and I yield to Senator Nozzolio.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
5 Chair recognizes Senator Nozzolio.
6 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. President,
7 thank you.
8 It is, indeed, an honor to have
9 the floor yielded by the distinguished Chairman
10 of the Senate Finance Committee and mentor and
11 good friend, Senator Stafford.
12 Mr. President, my colleagues, I
13 rise with an honor bestowed to me because of the
14 great quality of individual who has been
15 nominated by Governor Pataki to serve in an
16 extremely important capacity as Commissioner of
17 Criminal Justice Services.
18 Katherine N. Lapp, Katie Lapp as
19 she wishes to be referred to, is an individual
20 with great character and accomplishment and one
21 who Governor Pataki, in making this nomination,
22 certainly recognizes her unique qualifications
23 to serve in this very important capacity.
24 Ms. Lapp was appointed by Mayor
25 Giuliani to serve in a very similar capacity as
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1 New York City's Coordinator of Criminal Justice
2 and in that capacity had tremendous oversight
3 responsibilities and coordination responsibili
4 ties to bring together the City's public
5 agencies, police and fire, corrections,
6 probation, juvenile justice and oversaw all of
7 those departments in implementing a coordinated
8 criminal justice policy. Certainly that is a
9 task in and of itself and one that bodes
10 extremely well in that Ms. Lapp was extremely
11 accomplished and got tremendous grades for that
12 service.
13 Prior to her employment as the
14 City's criminal justice coordinator, Ms. Lapp
15 was the chief of staff and special counsel to
16 the deputy mayor for public safety, a graduate
17 of Hofstra University Law School and from
18 Fairfield University. Ms. Lapp comes to this
19 point in our state's history as one who brings
20 such a wealth of experience and accomplishment
21 in criminal justice matters that this nomination
22 should get a five-star rating in terms of praise
23 for the Governor.
24 Governor Pataki has put together
25 a tremendous criminal justice team. I see
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1 seated in the gallery Ted Hallman, Ken
2 Connolly. They are no secret. They are no
3 strangers to this body, serving Senator -
4 serving Senator -- serving the Senate and
5 particularly Senator Volker for many years and
6 their work in DCJS has been exemplary.
7 I would also be remiss if I did
8 not mention our corrections commissioner, Glen
9 Goord, as part of -- the essential part of this
10 criminal justice team that Governor Pataki has
11 put together. It serves as a team. It works
12 together as a team with corrections, parole,
13 with Brian Travis, that those in DCJS and our
14 State Police in coordinating this policies -
15 these policies that have had enormous successes
16 in these last three years of reducing violent
17 crime, making our streets safer and making our
18 prisons safer in putting together a coordinated
19 effort that has done a great service to the
20 people of this state; and now as the new head of
21 DCJS, Katie Lapp, one who is experienced and
22 qualified, will join this team and be
23 coordinating the efforts of this team, and I'd
24 say it's a team that is absolutely second to
25 none in criminal justice service.
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1 Mr. President, my colleagues, we
2 have a tremendous nomination, one that we all
3 take great pride in voting for and that without
4 further adieu, I move the nomination of
5 Katherine Lapp as head of Criminal Justice
6 Services.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Thank
8 you, Senator Nozzolio.
9 The Chair recognizes Senator
10 Padavan.
11 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you, Mr.
12 President.
13 The previous speaker, Senator
14 Nozzolio, I think has outlined and Senator
15 Stafford the credentials of this nominee which
16 are obviously quite impressive, but I think it's
17 important for this body to know that in her
18 capacity, parallel responsibility in the city of
19 New York, Katherine Lapp's performance was
20 nothing short of outstanding.
21 The advice and guidance and
22 direction she provided to the mayor of the city
23 of New York and his agencies, I think was a
24 major contributing factor to the significant
25 reduction in criminality at all levels in the
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1 city of New York, and we had the pleasure of
2 working closely with her on matters that involve
3 the Safe Streets and Safe Cities program, which
4 all of you know, I think was a mainstay of our
5 criminal justice initiative in the City.
6 Certainly if there was any
7 proving ground, any place where one would gain
8 the experience and insight to all of those
9 myriad of issues, it would be in the city of New
10 York, and there's no doubt in my mind she will
11 translate that experience, that performance
12 level to the state as a whole.
13 So I join with my colleagues in
14 seconding the nomination, applauding the
15 Governor's choice, and I can only say it's the
16 state's gain and the City's loss.
17 Thank you, Mr. President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Thank
19 you, Senator Padavan.
20 Senator Volker.
21 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President, I
22 too want to echo the thoughts of Senator
23 Nozzolio, Senator Padavan about the nomination
24 of Katie Lapp. She's somebody who has an
25 enormous reputation as has been said in the
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1 City, both during -- actually during two
2 administrations and is considered to be one of
3 the leading experts on criminal justice not only
4 in prosecution but also in criminal justice
5 management, and I think that what she gives us
6 is an able replacement for the previous head of
7 DCJS, Paul Shechtman, who not only was a super
8 manager and person but a good personal friend,
9 and I expect that I'll have the same
10 relationship that I had with Paul. I know that
11 my two former staff members who are counsel and
12 also Deputy Commissioner, Ted Hallman and Ken
13 Connolly, both feel very, very strongly that
14 Katie Lapp will fill the bill that they have
15 been looking for for Criminal Justice Services.
16 I don't think people really
17 realize the enormity of the job that is involved
18 today with DCJS. Some years ago a lot of the
19 activities that were done separately were, in
20 effect, merged together in Criminal Justice
21 Services. So it is now one -- I think one of
22 the most demanding jobs in the state of New York
23 as the previous recipient of that job was quick
24 to tell me after being in it for a couple of
25 years.
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1 So my congratulations to the
2 Governor on making an excellent choice, and I
3 have great confidence that Senator Bruno and
4 myself and all the members of this house will be
5 able to work very well with Katie Lapp in making
6 sure that the criminal justice system in this
7 state continues to operate in a manner in which
8 we can all be proud of.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Thank
10 you, Senator Volker.
11 The Chair recognizes Senator
12 Abate.
13 SENATOR ABATE: Yes. I too am
14 privileged to stand before this body to support
15 the nomination of Katherine Lapp.
16 I had the great honor when I
17 served as correction commissioner and probation
18 commissioner in New York City to work directly
19 with Miss Lapp. She has enormous knowledge and
20 understanding of the criminal justice system.
21 There are very few people that I know in the
22 state that have had the broad experience of not
23 only working with the courts, with police, law
24 enforcement, correction, community correction.
25 She understands the value of all the parts of
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1 the criminal justice system. She has the
2 understanding and knowledge, and I think what
3 she brings to this task is her unique
4 understanding that it is a system, that it's a
5 criminal justice system made up of many parts
6 and when you tinker with one of the parts, it
7 has an impact on all the other parts of the
8 system, and she will bring this unique
9 understanding as well as all her analytical
10 skills and her ability to solve problems to this
11 very important position.
12 I've seen her time and time again
13 have the capacity to bring people together
14 around very complex issues and solve problems
15 and reach consensus, and on the other hand, I've
16 also seen her be tough enough to make some very
17 tough decisions when other people were trying to
18 walk away.
19 I believe she'll bring the
20 knowledge, the experience, the fair-mindedness
21 to this position and the planning that is very
22 desperately needed if we're going to have a
23 sound and effective and smart criminal justice
24 system.
25 I look forward to working with
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1 her, and I'm very pleased that she is about to
2 be nominated and hopefully confirmed to this
3 position.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Thank
5 you, Catherine Abate.
6 Senator Smith.
7 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, Mr.
8 President.
9 I too rise to first congratulate
10 the Governor for bringing such a qualified
11 individual to become the Commissioner of
12 Criminal Justice.
13 A friend of mine, the deputy
14 mayor of the city of New York, Rudy Washington,
15 had asked me to make sure that I watch out for
16 this nominee because she was definitely
17 qualified and he wanted me to ensure that she
18 got through the process without any problem, and
19 I had to inform him that I was no longer on
20 Judiciary.
21 On Sunday another deputy mayor
22 reminded me that she was coming before us this
23 week and that she was abundantly qualified to do
24 the job, but I took the time to read her
25 curriculum vitae and to see that she had
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1 performed all of the tasks throughout her
2 lifetime and that she had more qualifications
3 than I felt was necessary to become the
4 Commissioner of Criminal Justice, and I listened
5 to my colleague, Catherine Abate, talk about her
6 analytical skills and in reading through all of
7 the things that she had done, it became quite
8 evident that she brings a wealth of knowledge to
9 this position and it will be a pleasure working
10 with her, and I know that she will do the job
11 well and she will be a credit to all of us from
12 Brooklyn.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Thank
14 you, Senator Smith.
15 The question is on the
16 confirmation of Katherine N. Lapp as
17 Commissioner of Criminal Justice Services. All
18 in favor signify by saying aye.
19 (Response of "Aye".)
20 Opposed, nay.
21 (There was no response.)
22 The ayes have it.
23 Katherine N. Lapp is hereby
24 confirmed as Commissioner of Criminal Justice
25 Services. The commissioner is in the chamber
314
1 with us this afternoon. Congratulations,
2 Commissioner, and have a great tenure.
3 (Applause)
4 The Secretary will read.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: As a
6 member of the Empire State Plaza Art
7 Commission: Norman S. Rice, of Albany.
8 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the
9 confirmation.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
11 question is on the confirmation of Norman S.
12 Rice as a member of the Empire State Plaza Art
13 Commission. All in favor signify by saying
14 aye.
15 (Response of "Aye".)
16 Opposed, nay.
17 (There was no response.)
18 Norman Rice is hereby confirmed
19 as a member of the Empire State Plaza Art
20 Commission. Congratulations.
21 The Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
23 the state Council on the Arts: David A. A.
24 Ridings, of Syracuse.
25 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the
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1 confirmation.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
3 question is on the confirmation of David A. A.
4 Ridings as a member of the state Council on the
5 Arts. All in favor signify by saying aye.
6 (Response of "Aye".)
7 Opposed, nay.
8 (There was no response.)
9 David A. A. Ridings is hereby
10 confirmed as a member of the state Council on
11 the Arts.
12 The Secretary will read -
13 Senator Skelos.
14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
15 if we could return to Supplemental Calendar
16 Number 1, take up Calendar Number 114, Senate
17 6015, by Senator Stafford, that was reported
18 from the Finance Committee.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Return
20 to the calendar.
21 The Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 114, substituted earlier today, by the Assembly
24 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print 8922, an act
25 to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
316
1 authorizing.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
3 the last section.
4 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Can I have an
5 explanation? What does the bill do?
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
7 Senator Dollinger.
8 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
9 President, just an explanation from Senator
10 Stafford.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
12 Explanation has been asked for.
13 Senator Stafford.
14 SENATOR STAFFORD: Thank you, Mr.
15 President.
16 Senator, we've had a very, very
17 serious problem in the North Country, as a
18 matter of fact, not that far from Monroe because
19 a lot of your people summer up in -- on Lake
20 Ontario and Alexandria Bay and in Clayton. If
21 you'd been up there a couple weeks ago, you
22 would have wintered up there.
23 What this does is it delays tax
24 collections for people who are in a very, very
25 serious situation.
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1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
2 Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
4 Senator Dollinger.
5 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Actually, if
6 Senator Stafford will yield to one question.
7 SENATOR STAFFORD: Sure.
8 SENATOR DOLLINGER: You hit my
9 concern right on the head. There are a whole
10 bunch of people who live in my district who own
11 property there. Are they included even though
12 that's not their primary residence?
13 SENATOR STAFFORD: You've got a
14 problem.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: I just -
16 SENATOR STAFFORD: I would say
17 that I am now making a sidewalk -- a floor
18 interpretation. I would say probably you would
19 have to live in the area. I certainly am glad
20 to talk with you and work with you if it affects
21 them and also we'll have a bill on real estate
22 that I think you will be very interested in.
23 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Right. I
24 just -- through you, Mr. President. I think
25 this is a great idea. I think this is just the
318
1 kind of relief that we need to give people.
2 SENATOR STAFFORD: But if your
3 people are affected at all on anything that this
4 has affected, I certainly would sit down with
5 you.
6 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Right. My
7 only question was I have people that live in my
8 district who own property there but they clearly
9 are not primary residents there. So do they
10 still have to pay their taxes by the end of this
11 month, their real property taxes?
12 SENATOR STAFFORD: I would be
13 glad to talk to you about this.
14 SENATOR DOLLINGER: But this bill
15 doesn't specifically address that.
16 SENATOR STAFFORD: Well, now I'm
17 just using my -- again, my reasoning abilities.
18 Let's see. Let's look at it. "In the case of a
19 taxpayer determined to be affected by a disaster
20 declared by the President of the United States"
21 -- now, you're a lawyer, aren't you? Yes.
22 Now, I would say with that
23 language and looking at the bill, if anyone's
24 affected -- and I realize we may have some
25 legislative intent here, but I think we should
319
1 have. If anybody is on Long Island -- or in
2 Erie County and they're affected, I think your
3 question is very valid and I think it's very
4 fair and they're a business, for instance, but
5 not a residence, but say their business is
6 affected by this disaster, I'm going to share
7 with you in my opinion they would be.
8 Now, again, have you done much
9 tax work? Well, here, I'll share this with
10 you. I think we'll get some smiles with this,
11 but we're all affected by them and we all pay
12 them. Rules and regulations. You'll find that
13 this will be subject to the interpretation of
14 the regulations that, in effect, administer and
15 result in how the taxes are collected.
16 So I would hope that we would
17 have -- we would have sensible people
18 regulating, and I think we do.
19 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Okay. My
20 sense, through you, Senator, is that if you have
21 property up there and you need an extra period
22 of time, even though it may not be your primary
23 residence, you would still get the benefit.
24 SENATOR STAFFORD: That's good.
25 SENATOR DOLLINGER: That's
320
1 reasonable. Fine. I'm going to assume that
2 they're included in this bill, and I thank you
3 for the assumption, even if it's perhaps not
4 literally in there.
5 Thank you. I subscribe to your
6 interpretation, by the way.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
16 bill is passed.
17 Senator Skelos.
18 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
19 if we could return to reports of standing
20 committees, I believe there's a report of the
21 Rules Committee at the desk. I ask that it be
22 read.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: May we
24 return to reports of standing committees.
25 The Secretary will read.
321
1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
2 from the Committee on Rules, offers up the
3 following bill directly for third reading:
4 Senate Print 6026, by Senator
5 Wright and others, an act to amend the Labor
6 Law, in relation to eliminating the waiting
7 period.
8 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
9 move to accept the report of the Rules
10 Committee.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: All in
12 favor of accepting the report of the Rules
13 Committee signify by saying aye.
14 (Response of "Aye".)
15 Opposed, nay.
16 (There was no response.)
17 The report is accepted.
18 Senator Skelos.
19 SENATOR SKELOS: At this time if
20 we could take up Senate 6026.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
22 Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 125, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 6026, an
25 act to amend the Labor Law.
322
1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
2 is there a message of necessity at the desk?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Yes,
4 Senator Skelos.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: All in
7 favor of accepting the message of necessity
8 signify by saying aye.
9 (Response of "Aye".)
10 All nay -- opposed, nay.
11 (There was no response.)
12 The message is accepted.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Last section,
14 please.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
16 the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
24 bill is passed.
25 Senator Wright.
323
1 SENATOR WRIGHT: To explain my
2 vote on the bill we just passed, if I may, Mr.
3 President.
4 First of all, I would like to
5 commend the Governor for his initiative to send
6 this bill. This bill, as we have spoken this
7 morning on a number of other issues, relates
8 directly to the disaster that is facing the
9 counties of the North Country that Senator
10 Stafford and Senator Meier and myself represent,
11 and as we've proceeded through the response to
12 this disaster, we've had a great many people
13 throughout the North Country that have been
14 unemployed and out of work due to the storm
15 implications and the result of that storm.
16 As they went to file for
17 unemployment, they found that there was a
18 provision of a five-day waiting period and,
19 unfortunately, that's the critical time in which
20 people were without work and that, of course,
21 has a dramatic, negative economic impact on the
22 entire North Country. This will remedy that
23 problem.
24 We're very appreciative of the
25 leadership that the Governor has displayed and
324
1 we're very appreciative of the support that this
2 house has provided to the people of the North
3 Country.
4 Thank you.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Thank
6 you, Senator Wright.
7 Once again, the bill is passed.
8 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
9 is there any housekeeping at the desk?
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: I'm
11 informed that there is not, Senator Skelos.
12 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could just
13 stand at ease for a moment, please.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
15 house stands at ease.
16 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
17 ease from 3:41 p.m. until 3:45 p.m.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI:
19 Senator Skelos.
20 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
21 if we could return to the supplemental calendar
22 and take up Calendar Number 112, Senate 5139-C,
23 by Senator Trunzo.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
25 Secretary will read.
325
1 SENATOR TRUNZO: Calendar Number
2 112, substituted earlier today, by the Assembly
3 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print 8364-A, an
4 act to amend the Public Officers Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
6 the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 53.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
14 bill is passed.
15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
16 if we could take up Calendar Number 113, Senate
17 6012.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
19 Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 113, substituted earlier today, by member of the
22 Assembly Sullivan, Assembly Print 8916, an act
23 relating to providing for the adjustment for
24 salaries.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read
326
1 the last section.
2 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a
3 message of appropriation at the desk?
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: I'm
5 informed that there's a message of appropriation
6 at the desk.
7 SENATOR SKELOS: Accept it. Move
8 to accept it.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: All
10 those in favor of the motion to accept the
11 message of appropriation signify by saying aye.
12 (Response of "Aye".)
13 All opposed, nay.
14 (There was no response.)
15 The ayes have it.
16 The message is accepted.
17 Read the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 18. This
19 act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 53.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The
25 bill is passed.
327
1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
2 is there any housekeeping at the desk?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: I am
4 informed that there is none, Senator.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: There being no
6 further business, I move we stand adjourned
7 until Monday, January 26th, at 3:00 p.m.,
8 intervening days being legislative days.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: On
10 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
11 Monday, January 26th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening
12 days being legislative days.
13 (Whereupon, at 3:46 p.m., the
14 Senate adjourned.)
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