Regular Session - April 6, 1998
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9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 April 6, 1998
11 3:08 p.m.
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13
14 REGULAR SESSION
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18 LT. GOVERNOR BETSY McCAUGHEY ROSS, President
19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, 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. Will everyone please rise and
4 join me in saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
5 (The assemblage repeated the
6 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
7 The prayer today will be given
8 by the Rabbi Shmuel M. Butman from the
9 Lubavitch Youth Organization in Brooklyn, New
10 York.
11 RABBI BUTMAN: As it is the
12 custom here, let us pray together. It is the
13 custom here every year to have a special
14 prayer in memory of the Lubavitcher Rebbe,
15 Menachem M. Schneerson, whose interest was in
16 education for all people, in the literary
17 education of all people regardless of race, of
18 religion, of color and creed. The Rebbe tells
19 us that we live in a special time, the
20 Messianic era, and we have to prepare for that
21 day.
22 We see that the world has
23 changed in front of our very eyes during the
24 last few years. There are no more wars as it
25 used to be. There is much, much less hunger
2294
1 in this world. Nations are now busy as to how
2 to live with each other as opposed to how to
3 fight and conquer each other. That is all,
4 the Rebbe says, because the Messianic age is
5 upon us, and we can prepare for that great day
6 by doing more goodness and kindness.
7 I want you to know that, as
8 legislators, that every Saturday when we take
9 out the Torah and we pray in our synagogues,
10 we say a special prayer for each and every
11 single one of you. We ask Almighty God to
12 bestow his blessing specifically upon those
13 who dedicate their lives for public service
14 and we say, and all of those who dedicate
15 their lives to public service, may Almighty
16 God bestow His blessings upon them; keep them
17 away from all illness and bless them with
18 abundance of goodness, of prosperity, not only
19 in their communal lives but also in their
20 personal lives, and we hope that Almighty God
21 will bestow His blessings upon each and every
22 one of you because you have dedicated
23 yourselves to a life of honesty and decency
24 and to be the custodians of law and order and
25 honesty and decency to all the people of New
2295
1 York, and through them to the people of the
2 United States, and through the United States
3 as a super power to all the people of the
4 world.
5 So may you all be blessed and,
6 when you are going to converse in the next few
7 days, I hope you will pass the budget. It is
8 our blessing that you shall do so successfully
9 for the benefit of all the people in this
10 great state of New York, and let me say amen.
11 I just want to conclude that
12 every year when we are here we do what the
13 Rebbe says. The Rebbe tells us that we should
14 always give to tzedaka -- charity. This is a
15 pushka known in Yiddish as a charity box. A
16 charity box reminds us in a very, very subtle
17 way that we have to give constantly. We have
18 to think not only of ourselves but also of our
19 fellow neighbors who are not as fortunate as
20 we are, so we ask you all the time to give
21 publicly a dollar bill where it says in God we
22 trust into the pushka. Everyone is welcome to
23 participate and you should know when were you
24 are offering five cents to the pushka, this is
25 not a campaign to raise funds; I don't want
2296
1 you to get scared, but this is a campaign to
2 do more goodness and kindness, so every time
3 you put in five cents or even a penny in a
4 pushka, you are doing a good deed.
5 Thank you very much, and may
6 God bless you, all of you.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Amen.
8 The reading of the Journal,
9 please.
10 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
11 Sunday, April 5th. The Senate met pursuant to
12 adjournment. The Journal of Saturday, April
13 4th, was read and approved. On motion, Senate
14 adjourned.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Without
16 objection, the Journal stands approved as
17 read.
18 Presentation of petitions.
19 Messages from the -- oh,
20 Senator Skelos.
21 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam
22 President, there will be an immediate meeting
23 of the Finance Committee in the Majority
24 Conference Room.
25 THE PRESIDENT: There will be
2297
1 an immediate meeting of the Finance Committee
2 in the Majority Conference Room.
3 Reports of standing committees.
4 Reports of select committees.
5 Communications and reports from
6 state officers.
7 Motions and resolutions.
8 Senator Marcellino.
9 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
10 Madam President.
11 Madam President, on behalf of
12 Senator Goodman, on page number 13, I offer
13 the following amendments to Calendar Number
14 325, Senate Print Number 5161, and ask that
15 said bill retain its place on the Third
16 Reading Calendar.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Yes, amendments
18 received.
19 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
20 Madam President.
21 On behalf of Senator Alesi, on
22 page number 14, I offer the following
23 amendments to Calendar Number 345, Senate
24 Print Number 4432, and ask that said bill
25 retain its place on the Third Reading
2298
1 Calendar.
2 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments
3 received.
4 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
5 Madam President.
6 On behalf of Senator Skelos, on
7 page number 17 I offer the following
8 amendments to Calendar Number 411, Senate
9 Print Number 332, and ask that said bill
10 retain its place on the Third Reading
11 Calendar.
12 THE PRESIDENT: Amendment
13 received.
14 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
15 Madam President.
16 On behalf of Senator Hannon,
17 on page number 22, I offer the following
18 amendments to Calendar Number 479, Senate
19 Print Number 6263, and ask that said bill
20 retain its place on the Third Reading
21 Calendar.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments
23 received.
24 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
25 Madam President.
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1 On behalf of Senator Wright, on
2 page number 22, I offer the following
3 amendments to Calendar Number 486, Senate
4 Print Number 6478, and ask that said bill
5 retain its place on the Third Reading
6 Calendar.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
8 Amendments received, and so ordered.
9 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 On page number 55, on behalf of
12 Senator Velella, I offer the following
13 amendments to Calendar -- I'm sorry. On page
14 number 25, two-five, I offer the following
15 amendments to Calendar Number 521, Senate
16 Print Number 6255, and ask that said bill
17 retain its place on the Third Reading
18 Calendar.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
20 Amendments received.
21 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 Senator Skelos.
24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
25 I believe there's a resolution at the desk
2300
1 sponsored by Senator Paterson. May we please
2 have the title read and move for its immediate
3 adoption.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
5 Secretary will read.
6 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
7 Paterson, Legislative Resolution in support of
8 the Centennial Celebration of Paul Robeson.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
10 Question is on the resolution. All in
11 Senator Paterson.
12 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you,
13 Mr. President. Just briefly, on the
14 resolution.
15 April 9th of this year will
16 mark the centennial anniversary of the birth
17 of Paul Robeson.
18 Paul Robeson was a singer,
19 actor, scholar and activist of political
20 science, a philosopher. He was a lawyer, an
21 athlete, a freedom fighter and a
22 humanitarian. He was basically a 20th Century
23 daVinci, and probably truly embodies the term
24 "renaissance person".
25 Paul Robeson won a scholarship
2301
1 to Rutgers University, was nominated Phi Beta
2 Kappa in his junior year, was the
3 valedictorian of his class. He graduated
4 Columbia Law School in 1923. He became part
5 of the anti-fascism, anti-colonialist movement
6 during the early '30s, fought the tyrrany in
7 Spain, fought tyrrany in other parts of
8 Europe.
9 He was a well known singer with
10 a signature baritone voice that propelled him
11 throughout the world, and sang in 25
12 languages. During the late '30s, the proceeds
13 from most of his concerts went to help the
14 Jewish people who were fleeing from Germany,
15 and just earlier today we had the Honorable
16 Rabbi Shmuel Butman presenting our prayer to
17 day, and we also remember that Paul Robeson
18 became at some point in this country involved
19 with those who were fighting for the rights of
20 workers and fighting for civil rights.
21 He at times met with the
22 Communist Party. He also rejected the
23 Communist Party. As it was said seven years
24 ago by President Nelson Mandela of South
25 Africa, Sometimes when you are fighting a
2302
1 great beast, you will associate with those you
2 might otherwise criticize.
3 Because of his actions, Robeson
4 was pretty much blacklisted during the
5 McCarthy hearings from 1952, but had his past
6 work restored in 1960.
7 He died in 1973. I was
8 privileged to attend his funeral right in
9 Harlem. He -- 19 years after his death, he
10 was admitted to the College Hall of Fame for
11 his attributes on the football field. While a
12 student, he won 15 varsity letters in the
13 areas of track, basketball, baseball and
14 football.
15 This individual was widely
16 known and historically acclaimed
17 internationally, is not as well known in this
18 particular country. Some of the attributes of
19 just single areas of his life would be marked
20 achievements if any of us would have actually
21 gone that far in a lifetime. This is the
22 reason that we chose to present this
23 resolution today, and I thank all of my
24 colleagues for allowing me to present it.
25 If there is anyone that would
2303
1 like to join me in the resolution, if they
2 would notify the desk, we'd be happy for your
3 co-sponsorship.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
5 Question is on the resolution. All in favor
6 signify by saying aye.
7 (Response of "Aye.")
8 Opposed nay.
9 (There was no response. )
10 The resolution is adopted.
11 Senator Marchi.
12 SENATOR MARCHI: Yes. By
13 consent, Mr. President -- I'm very happy to
14 join you on the resolution, Senator Paterson.
15 For the -- for many, many years
16 we have been observing the arrival, and for
17 the most part Rabbi Butman with his colleagues
18 from Kings County, but representing a movement
19 that is worldwide.
20 The Lubavitcher group and
21 entity is known throughout the world for their
22 dedication to education, and I had the
23 pleasure of discussing at great length with
24 Rabbi Schneerson, who passed away several
25 years ago, on the significant contribution
2304
1 that has been made by this group. Thousands
2 of centers -- educational centers have carried
3 forth a mission on spiritual -- spiritual
4 values and philosophy which are edifying and
5 define a high standard for people everywhere
6 on this planet.
7 We go back and, as he raised so
8 eloquently with me, Maimonides who
9 re-introduced the Aristotelian natural law
10 philosophy and gave structure and began what
11 was a scholastic period in this -- in this
12 world which took fuller flower with Thomas of
13 Aquinas -- St. Thomas of Aquinas, and until
14 recently and I guess until very recent date,
15 the outstanding scholastics in this world were
16 the -- Mortimer Adler, the publisher of the
17 British -- the Brittanica rather, and
18 President Hutchings of Chicago University, who
19 were the leading Aristotelian-Maimonides and
20 was in that tradition. Of course, many of you
21 will be familiar with the fact that Maimonides
22 also expressed in the Torah all of the moral
23 law and reduced it, or reduced it -- magnified
24 its effect by the translation and by the
25 commentary that he made at that time.
2305
1 So the seminal work in a
2 history of moral law that persisted for
3 several thousand years, but also ensured that
4 it would go on forever, I believe. So it is
5 cause for joy; it is cause for celebration in
6 this chamber that you are here, Rabbi Butman,
7 and mindful of the fact that you have been
8 here on many occasions before, and we hope
9 that you go on doing this, because it's an
10 inspirational presence that you bring to this
11 chamber and what you requested us to do and to
12 focus on certainly defines very eloquently the
13 mission that is ours as elected
14 representatives of the people.
15 So I certainly want to
16 compliment resolve in a highly laudatory way
17 our pleasure in seeing you here, sir, and I
18 believe for purposes of recognition, a
19 distinguished colleague from the other side of
20 the aisle who does not warrant of erudition,
21 and I think would exemplify the very values
22 which you have brought so forcefully to our
23 attention.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
25 Senator Lachman.
2306
1 SENATOR LACHMAN: Thank you.
2 It's a pleasure to join my distinguished
3 colleagues in discussing briefly the
4 accomplishment of the Lubavitcher movement
5 internationally and historically, as well as
6 the great spiritual accomplishments of the
7 late Lubavitcher Rebbe of blessed memory,
8 their Hasidic Lubavitch.
9 He was a giant in his time and
10 his accomplishments, both in a spiritual and
11 intellectual sense, are still with us today
12 and the movement is ever growing, and rather
13 than discussing it from a philosophical theo
14 logical sense, as Senator Marchi has, I defer
15 to him as a theologian and as a philosopher.
16 I'd like to just bring two
17 incidents from my personal background to bear
18 upon the extraordinary movement that is known
19 as the Lubavitcher movement today.
20 Throughout the United States in
21 colleges and universities -- north, south,
22 east and west -- there is what is known as
23 chabad houses, chabad houses, and these are
24 spiritual oases in sometimes what is a
25 spiritual wilderness. They were set up by the
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1 Lubavitcher movement at the behest of the late
2 great Lubavitcher Rebbe, where people -- where
3 students -- where young men and women could
4 come and have their spiritual batteries
5 regenerated at the same time they participate
6 in the intellectual community. Not only that,
7 but many of these young men and women are on
8 scholarships and frequently do not have the
9 wherewithal for accommodations or for food,
10 especially for sabbath meals, and meals on
11 Jewish holidays, and the Lubavitcher movement
12 through the chabad houses provide this
13 provide these essentials to them.
14 On the other issue, in my own
15 community in Brooklyn, I know since we are
16 approaching the Jewish festival of Passover,
17 that the members of the Lubavitcher movement
18 sometimes walk three or four hours, sometimes
19 five or ten miles to different synagogues,
20 temples, houses of worship, people's homes, to
21 make certain that every Jew participates in
22 the Pesach Sedarim, the Seders of Passover, so
23 they could remember the birth of freedom when
24 the Israelites left Egypt thousands of years
25 ago, and the significance and the meaning to
2308
1 all people today, Jews, Christians, Muslims,
2 Buddhists and Hindus, of this great historic
3 act, and I applaud the Lubavitch movement for
4 their continued activities on behalf of their
5 fellow people in America and around the
6 world.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
8 Senator Paterson.
9 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 I'd just like to lend my voice
12 to that of Senator Lachman and Senator Marchi
13 in congratulating Rabbi Butman and all those
14 who have come today as part of the Lubavitcher
15 movement and in memory of the late Menachem M.
16 Schneerson and the tremendous work they've
17 done all throughout the world, but
18 particularly benefiting those throughout New
19 York City, whether they be Jewish or
20 Christian, or Muslim or Hindu, whoever people
21 were, that they really embody that spirit of
22 oneness that our city and our state could
23 often benefit from a little bit more than
24 perhaps we've experienced, and through the
25 number of organizations that have brought me
2309
1 in touch with them. Even though my district
2 is some miles away I have been able to observe
3 the tremendous amount of work that they've
4 done and wanted to mention it at this time,
5 and to wish them well.
6 It was very sad that in 1994 in
7 early March, as the late Rabbi Schneerson lay
8 in a -- on his death bed that a student was
9 killed on the Brooklyn Bridge through an act
10 of hatred and manifested in violence, and it
11 was something that coincided with the last
12 days of his life, but a painful reminder that
13 perhaps in this era of somewhat sanctity that
14 we have forgotten about all those who suffered
15 years ago, all those who suffered in
16 Auschwitz, all those who suffered at Crystal
17 Nacht, and all those whose memory we try to
18 hope that the movements that come forward
19 today and it's well expressed by the
20 Lubavitcher movement, is one that brings
21 people together and one that advances the
22 cause of humanity, and they have a tremendous
23 web site that people can read about if they
24 don't know as much about them, and we
25 encourage that everyone will take a moment to
2310
1 learn more about the tremendous work that they
2 do.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
4 Senator Skelos.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
6 there will be an immediate meeting of the
7 Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
8 Committee. It will be in the Majority
9 Conference Room.
10 Mr. President, if we could take
11 up the non-controversial calendar.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
13 Secretary will read the non-controversial
14 calendar.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 151, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 355-A,
17 an act to amend the General City Law and the
18 Penal Law.
19 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay aside,
20 please.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay
22 the bill aside.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 248, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 3618, an
25 act to amend the Social Service Law and the
2311
1 Family Court Act.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
3 the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 7.
5 This act shall take effect on the first day of
6 November.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
8 the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the
10 roll. )
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
13 bill is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 317, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 310-A, an
16 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
17 the search of criminal history records.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
19 the last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
21 This act shall take effect on the first day of
22 November.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the
2312
1 roll. )
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
4 bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 328, by Senator Seward, Senate Print Number
7 4279, an act to amend the Public Service Law,
8 in relation to the elimination of the mandates
9 for the Public Service Commission.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
11 the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
13 This act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
15 the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the
17 roll. )
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
20 bill is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 329, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 4282, an
23 act to amend the Public Service Law, in
24 relation to annual reports for gas, electric,
25 steam and water corporations.
2313
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
2 the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
4 This act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll. )
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 387, by Senator Cook, Senate Print 366, an act
14 to amend the Education Law.
15 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay aside.
16 SENATOR LACHMAN: Lay aside.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay
18 the bill aside.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 392, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 5149, an
21 act to amend the Domestic Relations Law, in
22 relation to orders of adoption.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
24 the last section.
25 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay aside.
2314
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay
2 the bill aside.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 393, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 5196, an
5 act to amend the Social Service Law, in
6 relation to Division for Youth programs.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
17 bill is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 427, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 1233, an
20 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
21 civil actions.
22 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay that
23 aside, please.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay
25 the bill aside.
2315
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 430, by Senator Present, Senate Print 4018-A,
3 an act to amend the Executive Law, in relation
4 to display of the Prisoner of War and Missing
5 in Action flag.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
7 the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
9 This act shall take effect on the 180th day.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the
13 roll.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
16 bill is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 447, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 6389, an
19 act to amend Chapter 890 of the Laws of 1982.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
21 the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
23 This act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
25 the roll.
2316
1 (The Secretary called the
2 roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 460, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 2074, an
8 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
9 repeat offender status.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
11 the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
13 This act shall take effect on the first day of
14 November.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the
18 roll. )
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55, nays
20 one, Senator Montgomery recorded in the
21 negative.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 482, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 6336, an
2317
1 act to amend Chapter 680 of the Laws of 1996.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
3 the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
5 This act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll. )
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
12 bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 521, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 6255-A,
15 an act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation
16 to authorizing.
17 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
18 is there a message of necessity at the desk?
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There
20 is a message at the desk.
21 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to
22 accept.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Motion
24 is to accept the message of necessity. All
25 those in favor saying by saying aye.
2318
1 (Response of "Aye.")
2 Opposed nay.
3 (There was no response.)
4 The message is accepted.
5 Read the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 18.
7 This act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll. )
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
14 bill is passed.
15 Senator Skelos, that completes
16 the reading of the non-controversial
17 calendar.
18 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
19 if we could return to reports of standing
20 committees, I believe there is a report of the
21 Finance Committee at the desk. I ask that it
22 be read.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
24 Reports of standing committees. The Secretary
25 will read.
2319
1 THE SECRETARY: Senator
2 Stafford, from the Committee on Finance,
3 reports the following bills directly to third
4 reading:
5 Senate Print 6842, by the
6 Committee on Rules, an act amending Chapter 29
7 of the Laws of 1998, making appropriations for
8 the support of government;
9 Senate Print 6843, by the
10 Committee on Rules, an act making
11 appropriations for the support of government
12 and to amend Chapter 30 of the Laws of 1998.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept
14 the report.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
16 Without objection, all bills to third
17 reading.
18 Senator Skelos.
19 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
20 at this time, if we could take up Calendar
21 Number 529.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
23 Secretary will read.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 529, by the Committee on Rules, Senate Print
2320
1 6842, an act amending Chapter 29 of the Laws
2 of 1998, making appropriation for the support
3 of government.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a
5 message at the desk?
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes,
7 Senator Skelos, there is.
8 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to
9 accept. Move to accept.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Motion
11 is to accept the message of necessity. All
12 those in favor signify by saying aye.
13 (Response of "Aye.")
14 Opposed nay.
15 (There was no response.)
16 The message is accepted.
17 Read the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
19 This act shall take effect on April 1st.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the
23 roll. )
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55, nays
25 one, Senator Dollinger recorded in the
2321
1 negative.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
3 bill is passed.
4 Senator Skelos.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
6 if we could take up Calendar Number 530.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
8 Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 530, by the Committee on Rules, Senate Print
11 6843, an act making appropriation for the
12 support of government and an act to amend
13 Chapter 30 of the Laws of 1998.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
15 Senator Skelos.
16 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a
17 message? We did the message, right?
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes,
19 there's a message at the desk. Motion is to
20 accept the message of necessity. All those in
21 favor signify by saying aye.
22 (Response of "Aye.")
23 Opposed nay.
24 (There was no response.)
25 The message is accepted.
2322
1 Senator Skelos? Read the last
2 section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 50.
4 This act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll. )
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55, nays
10 one, Senator Dollinger recorded in the
11 negative.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
13 bill is passed.
14 Senator Skelos.
15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
16 if we could now go to the controversial
17 calendar and call up Calendar Number 392.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
19 Secretary will read the controversial
20 calendar. We'll go first to Calendar Number
21 392.
22 THE SECRETARY: On page 60,
23 Calendar Number 392, by Senator Skelos, Senate
24 Print 5149, an act to amend the Domestic
25 Relations Law, in relation to orders of
2323
1 adoption.
2 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Last
3 section.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
7 This act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll. )
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
14 bill is passed.
15 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Mr.
16 President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
18 Senator Oppenheimer.
19 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: If I may,
20 I'd like to have unanimous consent to be
21 recorded in the negative on 6842, passed a
22 moment ago.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
24 Without objection, Senator Oppenheimer will be
25 recorded in the negative on Senate 6842,
2324
1 Calendar 529.
2 Senator Skelos.
3 SENATOR SKELOS: Would you call
4 up Calendar Number 427, by Senator Volker.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
6 Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 427, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 1233, an
9 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
10 civil actions.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
12 the last section.
13 SENATOR PATERSON:
14 Explanation.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
16 Senator Volker, an explanation has been
17 requested by Senator Paterson.
18 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
19 this is a bill that -- what has occurred is
20 that it was always, I think, the rule that
21 civil actions against the State Police were
22 brought in the -- civil actions against the
23 State Police were brought in the Court of
24 Claims.
25 A few years ago, there was a
2325
1 case -- and I forget the number of the case; I
2 think it was Montgomery -- that basically said
3 that in certain -- certain cases could be
4 brought in Supreme Court. In all honesty, it
5 was kind of a -- something that some of the
6 trial lawyers thought was a great bonanza
7 because they felt that some of the litigation
8 against the State Police would be easier to
9 deal with if they were brought before a
10 Supreme Court jury.
11 It's generally been the law of
12 this state -- and presently parole officers,
13 for instance, and correction officers,
14 lawsuits against both parole and correction
15 officers are primarily and virtually
16 exclusively done in the Court of Claims. Most
17 of the actions on State Police are also
18 brought in the Court of Claims, except that in
19 this increasingly litigious time, as we call
20 it, there has been a number of cases in which
21 attorneys have tried to differentiate between
22 tort and certain kinds of civil actions and,
23 therefore, have been able to get themselves
24 into Supreme Court. Some of those cases, by
25 the way, have been thrown out and end up in
2326
1 the Court of Claims anyway.
2 What this bill attempts to do
3 is to say that all those cases end up where
4 they rightfully belong, I think, in the Court
5 of Claims and, therefore, that attorneys can't
6 do jurisdiction shopping, which is basically
7 what they're doing now. In fact, sometimes
8 what they do is they get into Supreme Court
9 and if it doesn't look very good, they'll move
10 over to the Court of Claims and bring an
11 action there, or even sometimes dual actions.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
13 Senator Paterson.
14 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
15 President, if Senator Volker would yield for a
16 question.
17 SENATOR VOLKER: Sure.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
19 Senator yields.
20 SENATOR PATERSON: Senator,
21 just a moment ago, you described the law as
22 being "general", this use of the Supreme Court
23 to entertain these tortious actions. My
24 question is, wouldn't it be safer to say that
25 that really is the law? It's not generally
2327
1 the law, but that has actually been the
2 specific practice that's been used in this
3 state that we would bring these types of
4 actions before the Supreme Court?
5 SENATOR VOLKER: Normally bring
6 these types of -- excuse me, we'd bring
7 actions against state employees in the Court
8 of Claims, not in the Supreme Court, so that
9 it is only, I think, just a few years ago that
10 any of these actions were allowed, as far as I
11 know, in the Supreme Court and I think it
12 related to a case -- I'm trying to think; I
13 think it's the Montgomery case; for some
14 reason it's ringing around in my head -- that
15 basically said that there were two kinds of
16 actions that could be brought, and the result
17 was that there is kind of a fine line now
18 between how these actions are brought in the
19 Supreme Court or in the Court of Claims.
20 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
21 President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
23 Senator Paterson.
24 SENATOR PATERSON: If Senator
25 Volker would continue to yield.
2328
1 SENATOR VOLKER: Certainly.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
3 Senator yields.
4 SENATOR PATERSON: Senator, I'm
5 distinguishing between the specific actions
6 where the case is being brought against an
7 individual employee of the state, not a case
8 against the state for back wages or something
9 to that effect. I'm talking about where
10 perhaps an employee injures another employee,
11 and you've got an action against the state for
12 the actions of an individual.
13 I thought that there, there was
14 a general understanding that the right was to
15 have these cases discharged in the Supreme
16 Court. Is that your understanding or not?
17 SENATOR VOLKER: Well, I think
18 the argument by attorneys is that, since it's
19 possible that an action can be brought by an
20 individual member of the State Police against
21 another member of the State Police in Supreme
22 Court because it doesn't directly relate to
23 the -- his actions as a state trooper, that
24 the same thing could be true as I understand
25 for individuals, that is for State Police
2329
1 action where an individual is involved who
2 sues the State Police or the individual, and
3 technically is acting as a State Police
4 officer.
5 I think what this -- what this
6 legislation would do is clear up any issue.
7 How these issues are decided is sometimes a
8 very fine line as to whether there's
9 indemnification involved or not. It would say
10 that all these actions have to be brought in
11 the Court of Claims.
12 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you,
13 Senator Volker.
14 Mr. President, on the bill.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
16 Senator Paterson, on the bill.
17 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
18 President, I think Senator Volker brought up
19 an example that I think is quite alarming, and
20 I understand his concern about attorneys that
21 would be forum shopping to try to win huge
22 millions of dollars perhaps in awards based on
23 these kinds of cases; but what seems to be the
24 issue here is that by passing this
25 legislation, I don't think we would be
2330
1 clearing anything up. If anything, I think we
2 would be actually making the process a lot
3 more difficult for those who would seek
4 redress in these types of actions against
5 another individual who is employed by the
6 state.
7 We think the jury trial would
8 be the best way. Is this at times forum
9 shopping? Yes, it is. However, the forum
10 shopping is going on even in the introduction
11 of this legislation because obviously there is
12 a fear about allowing juries to actually rule
13 on these particular cases, and it's my opinion
14 that this is our American system. This is the
15 one that we have chosen. It's often difficult
16 in a democracy. You will have these
17 exceptions, but we don't want to legislate the
18 exception. We don't want to have a situation
19 where individuals are denied really a fair
20 hearing or at least the hearing of their peers
21 based on legislation we would pass that would
22 rule on all of these type of cases.
23 It's our feeling that it is the
24 law that where the action is taken more so by
25 an individual that it's not administrative at
2331
1 that point, that it becomes a real civil case
2 that should be in the jurisdiction of the
3 Supreme Court and would like it to remain the
4 way it is.
5 I might have something else to
6 add, Mr. President, but if I can't remember
7 it, I know that Senator Gold will. I know
8 that he and I have a kind of mind meld and if
9 I don't remember something, I'm sure he will.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
11 Senator Gold.
12 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President, I
13 don't know why I got dragged into this, but
14 will the Majority Leader yield to a question?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
16 Majority Leader doesn't have the floor right
17 now. You're asking whether Senator Volker
18 would like to yield to a question?
19 SENATOR GOLD: I was just going
20 to ask the Majority Leader how it felt; that's
21 all.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: I
23 don't know how it feels, but he looks good in
24 that chair.
25 Senator Volker.
2332
1 SENATOR VOLKER: Last section.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
3 the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
5 This act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll. )
10 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded
11 in the negative on Calendar Number 427 are
12 Senators Connor, Leichter, Montgomery,
13 Paterson and Sampson. Ayes 53, nays 5.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
15 bill is passed.
16 Senator Fuschillo.
17 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
18 President, may we please take up Calendar
19 Number 151, by Senator Velella.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
21 Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 151, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 355-A,
24 an act to amend the General City Law and the
25 Penal Law.
2333
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
2 Senator Velella, an explanation has been asked
3 of Calendar Number 151.
4 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes, Mr.
5 President.
6 This bill is one that we've
7 passed, I believe three or four times now.
8 It's the aggressive begging bill that I have
9 sponsored for several years now. The Assembly
10 has not seen the wisdom to pass this and give
11 it on to the Governor, but in a brief outline
12 of what the bill does, it prohibits the
13 sitting or lying down upon a public sidewalk
14 in a city which has enacted a local law
15 prohibiting any person, after having first
16 been warned by a police officer, from sitting
17 or lying down upon a public sidewalk in an
18 urban commercial zone during times when such
19 activity would cause a public nuisance or
20 safety hazard.
21 There are certain exemptions to
22 this. We've made exemptions for the
23 activities of organized labor which might want
24 to picket or demonstrate a particular
25 establishment; for persons sitting or lying on
2334
1 a sidewalk due to medical emergency; disabled
2 persons using a wheel chair; operating or
3 patronizing a commercial establishment on a
4 sidewalk pursuant to a valid permit; sitting
5 on a chair or bench supplied by a public
6 agency.
7 These are all the provisions
8 for the first part of the bill which deals
9 with sitting or lying down upon a public walk
10 way.
11 The second part of the bill
12 deals with urinating or defecating in public.
13 It creates a crime for urinating or defecating
14 in public. The crime occurs when a person
15 intentionally urinates or defecates in a
16 public place other than a public washroom
17 under circumstances where such acts could be
18 observed by any member of the public. First
19 violation -- first time is a violation; second
20 offense is a Class B misdemeanor.
21 And then the third part of the
22 bill is aggressive begging. This crime occurs
23 when a person begs by word, gesture, sign or
24 other means with the intent to intimidate
25 another person into giving money or goods by
2335
1 engaging in threatening conduct which, by its
2 nature, places a reasonable person in fear of
3 harm to his person or property.
4 That, in essence, is the bill
5 which addresses many of the quality of life
6 issues that we have in cities of this state
7 and particularly in the city of New York, and
8 I move its adoption.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
10 Senator Montgomery.
11 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes.
12 Would the sponsor, Senator Velella, yield for
13 a question of clarification?
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
15 Senator Velella, do you yield to a question?
16 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
18 Senator yields.
19 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you,
20 Senator Velella.
21 I'm trying to understand. It
22 was my impression and understanding that some
23 of these kinds of infractions are already
24 those for which one can be arrested; is that
25 not the case, under the current statute?
2336
1 SENATOR VELELLA: Well, yes.
2 Last year we had some question as to whether
3 or not this might negate a limited aggressive
4 vending law that was adopted by the city of
5 New York. In fact, this would not. The law
6 that the city of New York has deals with
7 aggressive action around ATM machines, and
8 people who have aggressive conduct around an
9 ATM machine.
10 This would be any form of
11 aggressive begging where a person places you
12 in imminent danger of physical harm if they
13 don't -- if you don't give up some money to
14 them. You know the kind of circumstances I'm
15 talking about, that in the city of New York,
16 someone might approach you on the street and
17 try to intimidate you into voluntarily giving
18 them a contribution or a donation to their
19 cause. That would be aggressive begging and
20 places you in imminent fear of bodily harm to
21 yourself, and would be a violation of the law
22 if this is passed.
23 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you,
24 Mr. Velella, for that explanation.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
2337
1 Senator Fuschillo.
2 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: There is
3 going to be an immediate meeting of the EnCon
4 Committee in the Majority Conference Room.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
6 Immediate meeting of the EnCon Committee in
7 the Majority Conference Room.
8 Senator Montgomery.
9 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes. Mr.
10 President, on the bill.
11 I just want to mention to my
12 colleagues that this is the annual urination
13 and defecation bill that Senator Velella
14 brings us, as I call it, and this year I'm
15 going to add that I perceive this also to be
16 the anti-homeless bill.
17 The bill, as it's written,
18 creates the offense of urinating or defecating
19 in public in the second and first degrees.
20 The second degree violation is a -- the first
21 degree violation is a Class B misdemeanor, and
22 the second degree violation is an offense.
23 The reason that I am opposing
24 this legislation is because there are many
25 instances where people in this category are
2338
1 essentially homeless, so if we begin to try to
2 charge them with various degrees of
3 criminality, I'm not sure just exactly what
4 it's going to do, because they are already
5 homeless. If they are begging, my assumption
6 is that most people who have a job, who have a
7 home, who are comfortable in their lives, are
8 not out on the streets begging. They are not
9 out with a squeegee, whatever it is, wiping
10 windshields of people's cars asking for a
11 nickel or a dime or a quarter.
12 So these are people who are
13 already destitute essentially, and Senator
14 Velella wants to make that a crime, so
15 essentially we are criminalizing a person
16 because they are poor, because they're
17 destitute, so I hope that my colleagues will
18 sort of see through this, not that it's not
19 already possible, as often happens, for the
20 police to pick up someone because they are
21 loitering on the streets or they are doing
22 something that threatens people. That's
23 already the case, but this law simply makes a
24 statement that we now are criminalizing
25 specifically beggars and people who don't have
2339
1 a place to sleep, so they're sleeping on a
2 grate, on a cardboard, under a filthy blanket
3 or they're sleeping in a tent that they made
4 up that's -- that they've thrown up by the
5 Manhattan Bridge because they have no place to
6 live. I see it all the time, and I would
7 certainly hope that we would find other ways
8 of addressing this quality of life problem
9 than criminalizing poor people.
10 So I'm voting against this, Mr.
11 President.
12 Thank you.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
14 the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 8.
16 This act shall take effect on the first day of
17 November.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the
21 roll. )
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
23 Senator Paterson.
24 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
25 President, to explain my vote.
2340
1 Right now, on the books we have
2 such charges -- misdemeanor charges as
3 disorderly conduct, fraudulent accosting,
4 harassment and menacing. We believe that most
5 of what Senator Velella would like to
6 accomplish would be covered under those
7 charges, and certainly in New York City proper
8 enforcement of those codes seems to have
9 changed that reality and reduced the amount of
10 aggressive begging, and we think that the laws
11 that exist now cover it.
12 There are elderly who suffer
13 from incontinence, disability, who can't
14 always find the restroom. We think that this
15 bill is so strong that it would actually bring
16 a lot of people into its scope who really are
17 not trying to be the public nuisances but
18 really can't help themselves.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
20 Senator Paterson will be recorded in the
21 negative.
22 Senator
23 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded
24 in the negative on Calendar Number 151 are
25 Senators Abate, Breslin, Connor, Gold,
2341
1 Leichter, Montgomery, Paterson, Sampson,
2 Santiago, Seabrook, Smith, Waldon and Mendez.
3 Ayes 47, nays 13.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
5 bill is passed.
6 Senator Fuschillo.
7 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: May we
8 please return to reports of standing
9 committees. I believe there is a report of
10 the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
11 Committee at the desk.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
13 Reports of standing committees. The Secretary
14 will read.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Marchi,
16 from the Committee on Corporations,
17 Authorities and Commissions, reports:
18 Senate Print 6579, by Senator
19 Hannon, an act to amend the New York State
20 Medical Care Facilities Finance Agency Act,
21 directly for third reading.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
23 Without objection, directly for third
24 reading.
25 Senator Fuschillo.
2342
1 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: May we
2 please -- may we please take up Senate 6579
3 which was just reported from the Corporations,
4 Authorities and Commissions Committee.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
6 Senator Fuschillo, I believe there is a
7 substitution for this bill.
8 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Take the
9 substitution.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
11 Substitution ordered. I'm sorry. Read the
12 substitution.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon
14 moves to discharge from the Committee on
15 Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
16 Assembly Bill 9947 and substitute it for the
17 identical Senate Bill 6579.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
19 Substitution ordered.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 527, by Assemblyman Vann, Senate Print 9947,
22 an act to amend the New York State Medical
23 Care Facilities Financing Agency Act.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
25 the last section.
2343
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
2 This act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the
6 roll. )
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
9 bill is passed.
10 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
11 President, can we return to the controversial
12 calendar and call Calendar Number 387.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
14 Secretary will read.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 387, by Senator Cook, Senate Print Number 366,
17 an act to amend the Education Law, in relation
18 to defining non-residents of a district.
19 SENATOR PATERSON:
20 Explanation.
21 SENATOR LACHMAN: Explanation.
22 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Lay it
23 aside for the day.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay
25 the bill aside for the day.
2344
1 Senator DeFrancisco.
2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'd
3 request unanimous consent to be recorded in
4 the negative on Calendar 427.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
6 Without objection, Senator DeFrancisco will be
7 recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
8 427.
9 Senator Waldon.
10 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you very
11 much, Mr. President.
12 I was, unfortunately, not here
13 when this august body considered Calendar
14 427. I would like the record to respectfully
15 show -- it's already out of the house -- had I
16 been here, I would have been voting in the
17 negative. That's 427, Senate 1233, by Senator
18 Volker.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
20 Senator Waldon, you can be recorded in the
21 negative on that. Do you wish unanimous
22 consent to be so recorded?
23 SENATOR WALDON: I respectfully
24 request unanimous consent, to be so recorded.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
2345
1 Without objection, Senator Waldon will be
2 recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
3 427.
4 Senator Seabrook.
5 SENATOR SEABROOK: I'd like to
6 request unanimous consent to be recorded in
7 the negative on Calendar 427.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
9 Without objection, Senator Seabrook will be
10 recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
11 427.
12 Senator Fuschillo.
13 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
14 President, is there housekeeping at the desk?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: No,
16 there is not.
17 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: You can
18 recognize Senator Paterson.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
20 Senator Paterson.
21 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
22 President, the Minority has some motions to
23 discharge at the desk, but prior to
24 relinquishing them, I would like to point out
25 that, because we did not have session last
2346
1 Tuesday and Wednesday, in some respects, if
2 there would be a formidable challenge as to
3 whether or not these motions have aged
4 properly, but with the intervention of Senator
5 Skelos, we will be able to present these
6 motions at this time.
7 I'd like to thank the Majority,
8 and particularly Senator Skelos, the Deputy
9 Majority Leader, "Skelos" coming from the
10 whose name comes from the Greek word that
11 means gracious, kind, concerned, caring,
12 wonderful, outstanding, dynamic and
13 articulate, and although they describe me, I'm
14 just saying that that's what Senator Skelos'
15 name actually is, and we would like to
16 profusely thank him from the bottom of our
17 hearts here in the Minority, from our
18 collective reasoning, from that pillar of
19 dynamic cooperation that has started to fill
20 this chamber, especially since we have broken
21 down into legislative conference committees.
22 SENATOR SKELOS: Something else
23 is beginning to fill this chamber also, but I
24 do appreciate the comments.
25 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you.
2347
1 Well, Mr. President, in light of Senator
2 Velella's bill, I wouldn't want to be brought
3 up on any charges.
4 SENAT0R VELELLA: My name being
5 taken in vain?
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Let
7 the Chair note that not since the last time
8 John Marchi spoke, has as much scholarship
9 been aired in this chamber.
10 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you,
11 Mr. President.
12 The motion for discharge that I
13 am offering at this time is hate crimes
14 legislation that we would like to receive
15 state passage.
16 This would certainly -- this
17 would raise the penalties for an individual
18 who is attacked because of their race,
19 religion, their age, their disability, their
20 sexual orientation
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
22 Senator Paterson, we need to put the motion
23 before the house before you speak on it.
24 SENATOR PATERSON: Yes. May we
25 have the motion read at this time?
2348
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
2 Senator, are you referring to Senate 3695?
3 SENATOR PATERSON: Yes, Mr.
4 President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
6 Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
8 Paterson, an act to amend the Penal Law, in
9 relation to the crime of murder in the second
10 degree, Senate Print 3695.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
12 Senator Paterson.
13 SENATOR PATERSON: As I was
14 saying, Mr. President, if we would find that
15 there was a bias on the part of the
16 perpetrator that the individual met with this
17 untimely tragedy because of their race,
18 religion, their national origin, their age or
19 disability, their sex or their sexual
20 orientation, we would raise the penalties in
21 these particular crimes. The National
22 Institute for the Prevention of Discrimination
23 offered a report recently showing that victims
24 of hate crimes are far more likely to sustain
25 psychological damage, and that actually the
2349
1 damage that arises from these crimes is the
2 worst emotional strain other than for a woman
3 who has unfortunately been the victim of a
4 sexual attack.
5 There are some famous cases
6 that brought on this legislation. On July
7 20th -- sorry, December 20th, 1986, the
8 terrible murder in Howard Beach of Michael
9 Griffith; on August 24th, 1989, the murder of
10 Yusef Hawkins in Brooklyn, and also in
11 Brooklyn on August the 18th of 1991, the
12 terrible murder of Yankel Rosenbaum. These
13 are probably the most celebrated cases but,
14 unfortunately, crimes that are committed due
15 to bias or hatred are increasing even as we
16 speak, and have increased by 12 percent just
17 over the last year.
18 What we are hoping, since in a
19 New York Post survey in 1991 showed that 57 of
20 the 61 members of this chamber favor some type
21 of hate crimes legislation to stop the
22 violence that is committed against individuals
23 because of what difference they might have
24 with the perpetrator -- a natural difference
25 -- then we would certainly feel and encourage
2350
1 through the offer of this particular motion
2 for the Majorities of the Senate and the
3 Assembly along with the Minorities and for the
4 Governor to take a strong look at trying to
5 pass before the end of this year some strong
6 hate crimes legislation.
7 The federal Civil Rights Act of
8 1964 has never had a state-accompanied -- a
9 state-accompanied legislation passed in New
10 York State, even though 39 other states have
11 actually achieved this.
12 What we really aim for in this
13 legislation is to increase crimes where there
14 is a bias connected with the actual crime.
15 Some who argue against this would say, but the
16 crimes are actually covered on our books. But
17 the problem is that when you attack an
18 individual because of their race or because of
19 their religion or their national origin, you
20 are attacking the entire community of people.
21 What you're saying is, if you were the same as
22 these individuals and happened to walk down
23 that same street, that you were just as likely
24 to meet with a violent act.
25 This causes people to feel
2351
1 separated from their other citizens and
2 society. This makes communities feel more
3 divided than ever, and then rather than living
4 in a state where we're more at peace with
5 ourselves as we are so often promised in
6 campaigns, we feel more divided than ever,
7 people against people, ethnicity against
8 ethnicity, and often race against raise.
9 This type of legislation would
10 send a strong message that the violence that's
11 committed in the most inhuman elements of
12 society is not going to be tolerated in a
13 discriminatory way, the same as we do not want
14 to tolerate any discrimination in the areas of
15 housing and health care, in the areas of
16 employment or the areas of opportunity and
17 education; and so this is a small step toward
18 trying to further humanize our state and to
19 say to those who have been brutalized because
20 of the color of their skin or the religion
21 that they practice or the origin of a country
22 that they once lived in, that we as a state,
23 as a family of New York, are not going to
24 tolerate it and that we are going to take
25 special action against those who would limit
2352
1 the opportunity for any citizen of this state
2 regardless of their race or religion, that we
3 are not going to allow anyone to deprive those
4 freedoms.
5 We certainly offer this
6 resolution not as much for the possibility of
7 its passage but for the opportunity to be
8 heard and that it may somehow reverberate in
9 some of the other chambers in this great
10 Capitol in which we conduct affairs today and
11 that at some time before the end of this
12 legislative year, we can all agree on
13 legislation that will increase the penalties
14 for hate crimes.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
16 Senator Gold.
17 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you.
18 Mr. President, there was a
19 movie out recently, called The American
20 President, and I know that in certain
21 conservative circles, they were very upset
22 with the overall themes invented in the movie
23 and I thought that Carl Reiner, who produced
24 it, made a great comment. He said, You know,
25 we -- it's a free country; let the
2353
1 conservatives make their own movie, and I
2 could understand how some of the themes might
3 be offensive to some people, but at the end of
4 that movie, there's a scene where the person
5 playing the rather liberal president has a
6 press conference and he starts to ask some
7 questions, and one of the questions was an
8 attack on him for carrying a card as a member
9 of the American Civil Liberties Union, and his
10 response in that movie was something which, to
11 tell you the truth, I've always wondered
12 myself. He says he doesn't understand how
13 anybody can say they love America and love the
14 Constitution and be opposed to people whose
15 job in life seems to be to protect rights
16 granted by the Constitution, and I know there
17 is a conservative response to that, and I
18 respect the fact that many of my colleagues in
19 this house have different political
20 philosophies than I do.
21 But I thought of that as my
22 very distinguished deputy leader was speaking
23 on this bill, because I don't understand -- I
24 don't understand how anybody can vote against
25 legislation which basically says that in
2354
1 America it is a crime to violate the rights of
2 other people based upon the outlines set in
3 this bill -- race, ethnicity, religion, sexual
4 orientation, et cetera. I just don't know
5 how, regardless of political persuasion,
6 anybody can disagree with the concept that an
7 American ought to be able to live his or her
8 life with their own thought patterns. They
9 can live his or her life based upon the
10 incident or accident of birth that makes one
11 an Asian or one born in this country, one a
12 Jew, one a Catholic, whatever.
13 Not in America. And I say to
14 myself, where does it come from, where -- I
15 understand political boundaries when it comes
16 to concepts of spending or conservativeness or
17 social concerns. I can understand a lot of
18 differences that we have.
19 I can not understand the
20 difference between us on opposite sides of the
21 aisle which would justify voting against
22 legislation which does nothing more than
23 protect a human being from either being
24 something he or she can't change or being
25 something that he or she does not want to
2355
1 change and has no legal obligation to change,
2 and if this isn't the most basic -- and I go
3 back again into something I've heard last week
4 when I mentioned the time frame when some of
5 my conservative friends were wearing the
6 American flag, and I would see votes and I
7 would say none of that is what the flag stands
8 for. If the flag doesn't stand for anything,
9 I mean it certainly has got to stand for the
10 Bill of Rights. If the flag stands for
11 anything, it certainly stands for individual
12 freedom in this country, and all that this
13 bill does -- and I say "all" in quotation
14 marks because this bill does a lot -- this
15 bill is a statement of policy in the state of
16 New York which says that people in New York
17 State have a right to walk around minding
18 their own business and not to be assaulted or
19 harassed or injured because somebody else
20 doesn't like what they are, and this bill
21 doesn't talk about -- about people getting up
22 on soap boxes and spewing political rhetoric
23 that offends people or incites people.
24 This bill talks about human
25 beings, Americans, foreign visitors, anyone
2356
1 who's in this country, in this state, walking
2 through the streets and having the right to
3 walk and be left alone, and I cannot
4 understand anyone opposing it.
5 There are a lot of motions that
6 are made to discharge bills, and I understand
7 the difference in political philosophy when it
8 comes to campaign issues. I can understand
9 some people believe that a campaign should be
10 financed, some not. Some believe books should
11 be more open than others and we're involved in
12 political struggles, but this bill protects
13 every Republican from walking down the street
14 and not being assaulted because he or she is
15 of one race or another, of one ethnic group or
16 another, of one persuasion or another. This
17 doesn't protect Democrats. This protects
18 people, not even citizens. It protects every
19 human being who happens to be in this state
20 and who is doing nothing other than living and
21 breathing and, if that's not what the
22 Constitution says, then I don't know what the
23 Constitution says.
24 I want to applaud Senator
25 Paterson for pushing this and for making it
2357
1 come to a vote, whether it's successful or
2 not, because there are some issues you cannot
3 walk away from and, my friends, this is one
4 that it should be an embarrassment to every
5 member of this house to walk away from.
6 There have been negotiations in
7 the past. I've heard that in the past we were
8 close on a bill of this nature, but in order
9 to pass the bill, we had to eliminate one
10 group or the other. I can't understand
11 eliminating anybody under any circumstances.
12 If someone is minding their own business, I
13 don't know how this Legislature could want not
14 to protect any such individual.
15 We're not arguing now whether
16 someone committed a crime, is running from the
17 crime, is involved in the crime, should they
18 sue, not sue; we're not talking about whether
19 inmates should get college educations. We're
20 talking about the right of a human being to
21 live in this state, mind his or her own
22 business, and be left alone. What could be
23 what could be more American than a bill of
24 this nature? Nothing, I grant -- I say to
25 you, nothing.
2358
1 Mr. President, if we were ever
2 going to break precedent and grant a motion to
3 discharge, it would seem to me that Senator
4 Paterson has given us the vehicle and the
5 opportunity, and I would hope that this bill
6 would be looked at not as a partisan measure,
7 not as a political measure, but for what it
8 has the opportunity to do, and I would urge
9 everyone to support the motion.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All in
11 favor of the motion to discharge signify by
12 saying aye.
13 (Response of "Aye.")
14 Opposed nay.
15 SENATOR PATERSON: Party vote
16 in the affirmative.
17 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Party vote
18 in the negative.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll. )
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 25, nays
24 35, party vote.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
2359
1 motion is defeated.
2 Senator Hoffmann.
3 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Yes, Mr.
4 President. I believe I have some bills at the
5 desk, motions to discharge some bills, I wish
6 were at the desk.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
8 Yes, they are, Senator Hoffmann.
9 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you.
10 I would like to call up 4811, please.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
12 Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
14 Hoffmann, Senate Print 4811, concurrent
15 resolution of the Senate and Assembly.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
17 Senator Hoffmann.
18 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you.
19 This is a brand new bill that I have not
20 previously brought before this body or
21 attempted to bring before this body. I
22 introduced it last year. I don't believe we
23 went through motions for discharge because we
24 had some scheduling difficulties and I thought
25 that certainly we could wait a little bit
2360
1 longer since there seemed to be a move afoot
2 to reform our budgeting process; but 4811
3 before us at the desk would allow the state of
4 New York to have a budget by April 1st through
5 a very simple default mechanism.
6 If the Legislature failed to
7 enact a budget by April 1st, the Governor's
8 budget would become law, and under this
9 measure we would then have 30 days in which
10 the Assembly and Senate could come to
11 agreements on how to amend that budget. It
12 would mean under no circumstances would we go
13 past the 1st of May without a budget as we
14 have in all too many years to be reminded
15 about, and it would mean that the taxpayers of
16 this state would have the satisfaction of
17 knowing that at least one branch of government
18 was capable of having a budget in place, and
19 that would be the executive branch.
20 Obviously, I have no personal
21 reason to want to promote this or any other
22 executive's budget. I am simply anxious to
23 find a way that we could have a process that
24 would be fair and orderly for the taxpayers of
25 this state.
2361
1 I do believe that, if a
2 Governor of this state, be he Republican or
3 Democrat, or be she Republican or Democrat,
4 knew that it was possible that this default
5 provision would go into place that I think
6 they would then introduce a more responsible
7 budget than some which have been presented to
8 us in some of the years that I've been here.
9 So I would -- I would ask my
10 colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
11 consider this new budget reform proposal and
12 vote to discharge this bill from committee so
13 that it could be discussed in earnest on the
14 floor before us today.
15 I have several other bills that
16 I will bring up that deal with the process
17 following this one, Mr. President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
19 Question is on the motion to discharge. All
20 those in favor of the motion to discharge
21 signify by saying aye.
22 (Response of "Aye.")
23 Opposed nay.
24 (Response of "Nay." )
25 The motion is defeated.
2362
1 Senator Hoffmann.
2 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you,
3 Mr. President.
4 I'm a little disappointed, and
5 I hope that my Assembly colleague, Jay
6 Gunther, has more luck when he brings it up in
7 that house.
8 Now, I would like to call up
9 2298, Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
11 Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
13 Hoffmann, Senate Print 2298, an act to amend
14 the Public Officers Law.
15 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you.
16 This measure is referred to as
17 the "open meetings bill" and I first
18 introduced this bill in 1990. I have
19 attempted to discharge it from committees to
20 be brought to the full Senate for debate every
21 year since 1991, and I don't intend to stop.
22 This is based on a very simple
23 premise, that whenever the public business is
24 being discussed in this Capitol, it is the
25 right of the public to know what we are
2363
1 saying. When a majority of any political
2 party elected to either house of the
3 Legislature goes behind closed doors and
4 discusses the public's business in secret,
5 there is a tremendous abuse of power taking
6 place.
7 There has been much written
8 about this measure. In fact, there was a
9 lawsuit that was brought in 1985 that would
10 have prevented such closed door party caucuses
11 from taking place, and an amazing
12 accomplishment for a Legislature that is
13 sometimes rather slow at getting about its
14 serious business, this Legislature, both
15 houses, passed nearly unanimously a bill that
16 would amend the Open Meetings Law of the state
17 of New York to specifically exempt the Senate
18 and the Assembly, and this has been regarded
19 ever since that time as one of the most
20 arrogant and self-serving moves among many
21 arrogant and self-serving moves undertaken by
22 the New York State Legislature.
23 It would be nice if we could
24 earn back some of the public's respect that we
25 lost in that move in 1985, and then I would
2364
1 ask all of my colleagues to consider, in this
2 year of slightly more open discussions of the
3 budget, wouldn't it be a marvelous message to
4 send to the people of this state that we will
5 open the closed door party caucuses. In fact,
6 we wouldn't really need them any more. We
7 could do our budgeting through the committees
8 in which budgets should normally be
9 discussed. When there's a need to discuss
10 something that's political, all that is
11 necessary for the people who comprise a
12 majority or a minority of a political party in
13 either house of the Legislature is for a
14 notice to be posted, a notice to be made that
15 we are now off the clock, we are not working
16 for the taxpayers, we are meeting in secret
17 because we are discussing our political
18 affairs, but absent that kind of notice, there
19 would be no need for those closed door party
20 caucuses which unfortunately have become the
21 hallmark of the New York State Legislature.
22 So I would urge my friends to
23 join me and allow 2298, the "open meetings
24 bill", to come to the floor for a vote this
25 year.
2365
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All in
2 favor of accepting the motion -- I'm sorry.
3 Senator Gentile.
4 SENATOR GENTILE: Thank you, Mr.
5 President.
6 I rise to support my
7 colleague's motion to discharge on Senate Bill
8 2298. It appears that Senator Hoffmann has
9 been quite a visionary in this regard for
10 opening the closed door party caucuses. I
11 think, just looking at this year's open budget
12 committee hearings is a perfect example why we
13 need legislation like this, the fact that much
14 of what we're discussing on the budget, the
15 input that we all have on this years budget is
16 really saying to New Yorkers that this is the
17 way that we should conduct business in this
18 state and in this house.
19 It's very interesting, you
20 know, that being new to this Senate is that
21 sometimes you come here with certain
22 expectations, and one of those expectations
23 being, being somewhat of a democratic society
24 that we're in, would be that we all
25 participate in certain decisions of this
2366
1 Legislature and of this house.
2 Well, certainly, as you know,
3 this has not been the case in closed party
4 caucuses. I think that that has to change.
5 Senator Hoffmann's bill will help change that
6 and it will say to the people in the state of
7 New York that no one here in this room, in
8 this Senate chamber, has a greater mandate to
9 govern than anyone else in this room.
10 That's what this bill would do,
11 and I support wholeheartedly Senator
12 Hoffmann's motion.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
14 Senator Montgomery.
15 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Mr.
16 President.
17 As is often the case, Senator
18 Nancy Larraine Hoffmann has been sort of ahead
19 of herself or to some extent ahead of where we
20 have wanted to go, but now we have, I think,
21 very, very happily in my opinion, and I think
22 it's given us a great deal of respect, come up
23 to what her proposals have been or at least
24 partially to what her proposals have been, and
25 that is we now have recently experienced an
2367
1 open process with our budget negotiation and,
2 as was predicted by Senator Hoffmann in her
3 debates in prior years since she began to
4 introduce these bills -- these bills some time
5 back, we've gained the respect of the public
6 and I see my chair -- the chair of my caucus,
7 my budget committee, entering the chamber
8 now.
9 Senator Libous, I'm so proud to
10 have been part of the process where Senator
11 Libous and Assemblyman Brennan were -- worked
12 together over three days to hammer out in
13 public with other members of their committee
14 participating, an agreement on our small part
15 of the budget.
16 So I think that Senator
17 Hoffmann has been right in the past. She's
18 right now. We should be looking to open up
19 our doors to let the people who, in fact, are
20 responsible for paying our salary see what we
21 do, and feel that they too understand and can
22 participate and benefit from it.
23 So, Mr. President, I hope that
24 my colleagues will just see this as an
25 extension of what we've had, what we've
2368
1 experienced recently, and make this a part of
2 our institutional process from this point on.
3 Thank you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All in
5 favor of the motion to discharge signify by
6 saying aye.
7 (Response of "Aye.")
8 Opposed nay.
9 SENATOR ONORATO: Party vote in
10 the affirmative.
11 SENATOR SKELOS: Party vote in
12 the negative.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
14 the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the
16 roll. )
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 25, nays
18 35, party vote.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Motion
20 is defeated.
21 Senator Hoffmann.
22 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Mr.
23 President, were there any exceptions?
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: No
25 exceptions, Senator.
2369
1 SENATOR HOFFMANN: I was kind
2 of hoping there might be a couple of
3 exceptions this year.
4 Well, I'd like to move along
5 and request 2299, please.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
7 Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
9 Hoffmann, Senate Bill 2299, an act to amend
10 the Legislative Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
12 Senator Hoffmann.
13 SENATOR HOFFMANN: This bill
14 deals with the unfortunate practice of all
15 night or late night legislative sessions.
16 Now, most of us in this chamber
17 have been exposed to those, endured those.
18 They're agony personified, and I was never
19 more proud in my life nor more impressed with
20 the conviction of a colleague than I was the
21 day that Senator Bruno was installed as
22 Majority Leader in this chamber and, as his
23 very first piece of business, he announced a
24 rule change which, of course, we all
25 immediately ratified, a rule change that was
2370
1 based upon the language of this bill. The
2 rule change prevented all night legislative
3 sessions from taking place except under the
4 most extreme circumstances.
5 What -- what troubled me,
6 however, having taken this great bold step is
7 that there have already been one exception or
8 two exceptions to that rule, and rules seem to
9 be breakable.
10 This measure would put in
11 statute the need that I think we really have
12 identified to prevent those late night
13 legislative sessions from taking place. So I
14 am pleased also to have a colleague in the
15 Assembly, Assemblywoman Galef, sponsoring this
16 measure in that house in the interest of
17 everybody's health, safety, longevity and our
18 ability to function with all of our
19 faculties.
20 I can't see why anybody would
21 want to vote against this measure. So, Mr.
22 President, I would ask you please to call this
23 bill up and see if we can't discharge the end
24 to late night sessions bill from its committee
25 to bring it to the floor for a full vote.
2371
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All in
2 favor of accepting the motion to discharge
3 signify by saying aye.
4 SENATOR ONORATO: Party vote in
5 the affirmative.
6 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Party vote
7 in the negative.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
9 the roll. Oh, I'm sorry. Wait, wait. Yes,
10 call the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the
12 roll. )
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 25, nays
14 35, party vote.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Motion
16 is defeated.
17 Senator Hoffmann.
18 SENATOR HOFFMANN: I was hoping
19 there might be a couple of exceptions on that
20 one. Were there any exceptions, Mr.
21 President?
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There
23 were no exceptions, Senator.
24 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you,
25 Mr. President.
2372
1 I'd like to call up 2300,
2 please.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
4 Secretary will read.
5 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
6 Hoffmann, Senate Print 2300, an act to amend
7 the Legislative Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
9 Senator Hoffmann.
10 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you.
11 This bill deals with the issue of special
12 allowances for political titles. We have in
13 New York State in this Legislature an unusual
14 practice, one that doesn't appear in any other
15 state, certainly not in the scope that it does
16 in New York State.
17 Some time many years ago, I
18 believe it was back in the '50s, there was an
19 understanding that, because some legislators
20 incurred a great deal of out-of-pocket expense
21 performing their duties, and we are, of
22 course, part-time legislators, there was a
23 recognition that there should be a special
24 payment in lieu of -- payment in lieu of
25 salary enhancement, based upon the actual
2373
1 performance of duties in specific areas. For
2 instance, chairing the Education Committee in
3 either house of the Legislature can become a
4 very time-consuming duty requiring a great
5 deal of travel, extra meetings in the Capital
6 District, clearly making it difficult for a
7 legislator holding that title and that
8 responsibility to earn outside income, so that
9 "payment in lieu of" was a sensible solution
10 to provide fair compensation to legislators
11 who assumed extraordinary responsibilities.
12 Somewhere along the line it was
13 perverted to something very different. The
14 term of art now in New York State, as everyone
15 knows, is "lulu" and we have "lulus" for two
16 distinct categories in this house and in the
17 other house. One is for actual legislative
18 activity, chairing the Education Committee,
19 ranking Minority member of the Education
20 Committee, the same for every other committee
21 in this house. All of these carry a certain
22 level of compensation in recognition of the
23 duties that are performed and the difficulty
24 that those people would have in meeting the
25 same kind of personal commitment outside as a
2374
1 member who did not have those duties would
2 have.
3 However, in this house, we also
4 have and in the Assembly we have political
5 "lulus" as well. The taxpayers of this state
6 are billed every year for a political payment
7 to a sizeable number of legislators in the New
8 York State Senate and Assembly. There are
9 titles, some of them include whips, some of
10 them include Majority or Minority Leaders,
11 deputies, assistant, deputies' assistant
12 Minority, assistant Majority, right on down to
13 second and third level whips.
14 It doesn't take a genius to
15 figure out that you don't need that many
16 people with a political title to maintain
17 order in this house. A Majority Leader and a
18 Minority Leader or maybe two people holding
19 those titles on each side of the aisle
20 probably could be acceptable to the taxpayers,
21 but the taxpayers that I represent tell me
22 they cannot figure out for the life of them
23 why we need so many people with a political
24 title and taxpayer-subsidized compensation.
25 If the political parties want
2375
1 all of these people to have the highly
2 prestigious titles, then the political parties
3 should pick up the tab. I don't believe the
4 taxpayers of this state should be asked to pay
5 that bill, and I know that there are many
6 people around this state who, when informed of
7 this practice, share that same element of
8 surprise and disdain.
9 So I would ask, Mr. President,
10 that we call up 2230 out of committee and,
11 once and for all, end that unseemly practice
12 of billing the taxpayers for political
13 duties.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
15 Question is on the motion to discharge. All
16 in favor of accepting the motion to discharge
17 signify by saying aye.
18 (Response of "Aye.")
19 Opposed nay.
20 (Response of "Nay." )
21 The motion is defeated.
22 Senator Hoffmann.
23 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Were there
24 any exceptions, Mr. President?
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: I
2376
1 didn't see any, and I was standing up here all
2 the time.
3 SENATOR HOFFMANN: I would call
4 up 2301.
5 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
6 Hoffmann, Senate Bill Number 2301, an act to
7 amend the State Finance Law.
8 SENATOR HOFFMANN: This bill
9 would itemize the Legislative Budget. I don't
10 think we need to explain any more why that is
11 absolutely necessary. There is a tremendous
12 disparity between the way this Legislature
13 spends its budget and the way other state
14 Legislatures spend their budgets.
15 In this house, there is a spoil
16 system in place. In the Assembly there is a
17 spoil system in place. The only difference is
18 that the spoils are ruled by the Democrats in
19 the Assembly; in the Senate they are ruled by
20 the Republicans. The taxpayers of this system
21 never sanction the spoil system. When they
22 elect us, they expect us to put our partisan
23 differences aside. They expect us to function
24 as a body of equals with respect for each
25 other, not as a bunch of people who are more
2377
1 concerned about promoting a political party or
2 a political party's control over a legislative
3 house than they are in serving the people of
4 this state, which all too often seems to be
5 the case.
6 I would ask that 2301 be
7 reported from committee and brought to the
8 floor for a vote, Mr. President.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All in
10 favor of accepting
11 SENATOR GENTILE: Mr.
12 President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: I'm
14 sorry. Senator Gentile.
15 SENATOR GENTILE: If I may be
16 heard on this motion also in support is, while
17 I commend Senator Bruno for instituting
18 expenditure reports, it is my understanding
19 that many of those expenditure reports come
20 out as much as 18 months after the fact.
21 There is nothing that we can look at -- that
22 New Yorkers can look at at this point from the
23 beginning before a budget is spent as to what
24 is being spent on the Legislature itself.
25 Indeed, there is a constituent
2378
1 in my district who is attempting to do just
2 that through Freedom of Information requests
3 to find out exactly what the Legislature
4 spends on itself.
5 This legislation that Senator
6 Hoffmann has so aptly put forth would not
7 would allow my constituent that information
8 without having to go through a Freedom of
9 Information request.
10 So, again, Senator Hoffmann,
11 you ought to be commended, and I think this
12 house should follow your lead.
13 Thank you, Mr. President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All
15 those in favor of accepting the motion to
16 discharge signify by saying aye.
17 (Response of "Aye".)
18 Opposed, nay.
19 (Response of "Nay".)
20 The motion is defeated.
21 Call the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the
23 roll.)
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 25, nays
25 35. Party vote.
2379
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
2 motion is defeated.
3 Senator Hoffmann.
4 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Let me
5 guess, was that the same vote we had the last
6 time? Were there any exceptions on 2301?
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: No.
8 Senator Hoffmann.
9 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you.
10 I would call up 2302.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
12 Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
14 Hoffmann, Senate Bill Number 2302, an act to
15 amend the Election Law.
16 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you.
17 Now, this is a very logical,
18 very simple bill that I'm sure that my
19 colleagues on the other side of the aisle can
20 embrace once I explain it to them.
21 Let me just take a couple of
22 minutes to tell you why I have introduced this
23 bill for the ninth year in a row. This would
24 require that all campaign spending be recorded
25 in one place next to the candidate's name at
2380
1 the Board of Elections rather than buried in a
2 forest of mysterious political committees as
3 is often the case right now.
4 You see, that way it would be
5 possible for any of us in an election or any
6 of our constituents interested in finding out
7 information about an election or any reporter
8 tracking campaign spending to see who is doing
9 what for or against a specific candidate and
10 who's paying for it, because right now it's
11 virtually impossible to know that.
12 It's quite possible for
13 somebody, if they wanted to, to spend $100,000
14 on my campaign without me even knowing about
15 it. They could send out mailings. They could
16 do things on my behalf and send them into my
17 district. As long as they were a duly
18 registered political committee under the laws
19 of the state of New York, they could do
20 something on my behalf and even attack
21 somebody else without my knowing it, and it
22 would be very difficult for somebody to find
23 this in the Board of Elections because it
24 would be filed under some complex or arcane
25 name of a committee that might not have any
2381
1 immediate association with the 48th Senate
2 District.
3 Now, I don't think that any of
4 my colleagues across the aisle would ever want
5 to see something like that happen in my case
6 and I'm sure that several of them would be
7 embarrassed to know that similar things have
8 happened relative to campaigns on that side of
9 the aisle. So it troubles me to think that we
10 would allow this system to continue.
11 This bill, 2302 and its
12 companion, 2303, would require that all
13 campaign spending and all campaign literature
14 would be maintained in one single place next
15 to the name of the candidate who is benefiting
16 or the candidate who is being opposed in
17 either instance rather than scattered about,
18 tucked away under other campaign filings.
19 So I think in the interest of
20 openness and accountability, which I know
21 everyone in this chamber is committed to, we
22 should certainly discharge both of these bills
23 and bring them to the floor for an immediate
24 vote, Mr. President.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All in
2382
1 favor of accepting the motion to
2 SENATOR ONORATO: Party vote in
3 the affirmative.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: Party vote in
5 the negative.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
7 Secretary will call the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 25, nays
11 35, party vote.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
13 motion is defeated.
14 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Well, Mr.
15 President, I do have the companion bill to
16 2302, which is 2303 that I just spoke about,
17 and I would like to have that brought to the
18 floor and having explained both of them, let
19 me just further elaborate that it is only a
20 technicality that compels me to place them in
21 separate bills but they both deal with the
22 same concept, that is, having
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
24 Senator Hoffmann, excuse me. May I have the
25 motion put on the floor first and then
2383
1 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Yes, Mr.
2 President. I stand corrected.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Okay.
4 The Secretary will read.
5 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
6 Hoffmann, Senate Bill Number 2303, an act to
7 amend the Election Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
9 Senator Hoffmann.
10 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you.
11 This very simple measure
12 allowing easy access to information about
13 campaign literature to be found readily under
14 the campaign -- under the name of the
15 candidate who is benefiting and the name of
16 the candidate who is being attacked or
17 criticized makes eminent sense.
18 Certainly since Senator Bruno
19 has become Majority Leader and he has begun
20 the process of quarterly reporting on how we,
21 as a Legislature, spend money on our
22 individual staffs, it can't be too big a leap
23 to go into some accountability of a similar
24 meritorious matter when it comes to campaign
25 activities.
2384
1 All of us have to run for
2 office in order to arrive in this chamber, so
3 it's certainly in the best interest of every
4 member in this chamber and more importantly of
5 all of our constituents to see this matter
6 pass.
7 So I would ask that 2303 be
8 discharged from its committee and brought to
9 the floor for a vote.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All in
11 favor of the motion to discharge signify by
12 saying aye.
13 SENATOR ONORATO: Party vote in
14 the affirmative.
15 SENATOR SKELOS: Party vote in
16 the negative.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
18 Secretary will call the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 25, nays
22 35. Party vote.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
24 motion is defeated.
25 Senator Fuschillo.
2385
1 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
2 President, may we please return to reports of
3 standing committees. I believe there is a
4 report of the EnCon Committee at the desk.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
6 Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator
8 Marcellino, from the Committee on
9 Environmental Conservation, reports:
10 Senate Print 6833, by Senator
11 Johnson, an act to amend the Environmental
12 Conservation Law, in relation to winter
13 flounder regulations, directly for third
14 reading.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
16 Without objection, to third reading.
17 Senator Fuschillo.
18 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
19 President, is there any housekeeping at the
20 desk?
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: No,
22 there is not.
23 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: I'd request
24 the Senate stand at ease for a few moments.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
2386
1 Senate will stand at ease.
2 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
3 ease from 4:41 p.m. until 4:45 p.m.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
5 Senate will come back to order.
6 Senator Skelos.
7 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could
8 return to motions and resolutions. Mr.
9 President, I wish to call up Print Number
10 6097-B, recalled from the Assembly which is
11 now at the desk.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
13 Secretary will read.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senate Print
15 6097-B, Budget Bill, an act to amend the
16 Correction Law and the Criminal Procedure Law.
17 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
18 I now move to reconsider the vote by which
19 this bill was passed.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
21 Secretary will call the roll on
22 reconsideration.
23 (The Secretary called the roll
24 on reconsideration.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60.
2387
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
2 bill is restored to its place on the Third
3 Reading Calendar.
4 Senator Skelos.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
6 I now move to recommit the bill to the
7 Committee on Finance.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
9 bill is recommitted to the Finance Committee.
10 Senator Skelos.
11 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
12 I wish to call up Print Number 6100-A,
13 recalled from the Assembly which is now at the
14 desk.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
16 Secretary will read.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senate Print
18 6100-A, Budget Bill, an act making
19 appropriations for the support of government.
20 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
21 I now move to reconsider the vote by which
22 this bill was passed.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
24 Secretary will call the roll on
25 reconsideration.
2388
1 (The Secretary called the roll
2 on reconsideration.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
5 bill is restored to its place on the Third
6 Reading Calendar.
7 SENATOR SKELOS: I now move to
8 recommit the bill to the Committee on Finance.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
10 bill is recommitted to the Committee on
11 Finance.
12 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
13 I wish to call up Print Number 6102-B,
14 recalled from the Assembly which is now at the
15 desk.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
17 Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senate Bill
19 6102-B, Budget Bill, an act making
20 appropriations for the support of government.
21 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
22 I now move to reconsider the vote by which the
23 bill was passed.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
25 Secretary will call the roll on
2389
1 reconsideration.
2 (The Secretary called the roll
3 on reconsideration.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
6 bill is restored to its place on the Third
7 Reading Calendar.
8 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
9 I move to recommit the bill to the Committee
10 on Finance.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
12 bill is recommitted to the Committee on
13 Finance.
14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
15 I wish to call up Print Number 6103-B,
16 recalled from the Assembly which is now at the
17 desk.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
19 Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senate Print
21 6103-B, Budget Bill, an act making
22 appropriations for the support of government.
23 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
24 I now move to reconsider the vote by which the
25 bill was passed.
2390
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
2 the roll on reconsideration.
3 (The Secretary called the roll
4 on reconsideration.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
7 bill is restored to its place on the Third
8 Reading Calendar.
9 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
10 I now move to recommit the bill to the
11 Committee on Finance.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
13 bill is recommitted to the Committee on
14 Finance.
15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
16 I wish to call up Print Number 6104-B,
17 recalled from the Assembly which is now at the
18 desk.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
20 Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senate Print
22 6104-B, Budget Bill, an act making
23 appropriations for the support of government.
24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
25 I now move to reconsider the vote by which the
2391
1 bill was passed.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
3 Secretary will call the roll on
4 reconsideration.
5 (The Secretary called the roll
6 on reconsideration.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
9 bill is restored to its place on the Third
10 Reading Calendar.
11 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
12 I move to recommit the bill to the Committee
13 on Finance.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
15 bill is recommitted to the Committee on
16 Finance.
17 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
18 I wish to call up Print Number 6105-B,
19 recalled from the Assembly which is now at the
20 desk.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
22 Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senate Bill
24 6105-B, Budget Bill, an act making
25 appropriations for the support of government.
2392
1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
2 I now move to reconsider the vote by which the
3 bill was passed.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
5 Secretary will call the roll on
6 reconsideration.
7 (The Secretary called the roll
8 on reconsideration.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
11 bill is restored to its place on the Third
12 Reading Calendar.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
14 I move to recommit the bill to the Committee
15 on Finance.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
17 bill is recommitted to the Committee on
18 Finance.
19 Senator Skelos.
20 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
21 there being no further business, I move we
22 adjourn until Tuesday, April 7th, at 3:00 p.m.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: On
24 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
25 Tuesday, April 7th, at 3:00 p.m.
2393
1 (Whereupon, at 4:51 p.m., the
2 Senate adjourned.)
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