Regular Session - June 15, 1998
4499
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9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 June 15, 1998
11 3:12 p.m.
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14 REGULAR SESSION
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18 LT. GOVERNOR BETSY McCAUGHEY ROSS, President
19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
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4500
1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
3 come to order. Would everyone please rise and
4 join with me in the Pledge of Allegiance.
5 (The assemblage repeated the
6 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
7 The invocation today will be
8 given by Reverend Jim Burton, who is Pastor of
9 Union Church of Bay Ridge in Brooklyn.
10 Reverend Burton.
11 REVEREND JIM BURTON: Thank you
12 for the privilege of prayer, and I bring you
13 greetings from the Reverend Dr. Douglas
14 Olenberg, who was elected Moderator of the
15 Presbyterian Church in the United States of
16 America this week end.
17 Senators and all present, will
18 you join with me. Let us pray.
19 We give You thanks, O Lord, for
20 this wonderful country and for the Empire
21 State in which we live. Because Your love and
22 Your mercy is from everlasting to everlasting,
23 guide Your Senators and Your state that they
24 may love justice, guide mercy and walk humbly
25 with You. As they direct us in their
4501
1 decisions, grant that they may be followed by
2 Your goodness and mercy, in all the dwelling
3 places of their lives.
4 We ask and call on You, our
5 Lord, the one God of us all. Amen.
6 THE PRESIDENT: Amen. Thank
7 you.
8 The reading of the Journal,
9 please.
10 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
11 Sunday, June 14th. The Senate met pursuant to
12 adjournment, Senator Farley in the Chair upon
13 designation of the Temporary President. The
14 Journal of Saturday, June 13th, was read and
15 approved. On motion, Senate adjourned.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Without
17 objection, the Journal stands approved as
18 read.
19 Presentation of petitions.
20 Messages from the Assembly.
21 Messages from the Governor.
22 Reports of standing
23 committees.
24 Reports of select committees.
25 Communications and reports from
4502
1 state officers.
2 Motions and resolutions.
3 Senator Marcellino.
4 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
5 Madam President.
6 Amendments are offered to the
7 following Third Reading Calendar bills:
8 Senator Cook's bill, on page 7,
9 Calendar Number 274, Senate Print Number 2729;
10 Senator Wright's bill, on page
11 number 12, Calendar Number 442, Senate Print
12 Number 4224-A;
13 Senator Nozzolio's bill, on
14 page number 19, Calendar Number 685, Senate
15 Print Number 7113;
16 Senator Spano's bill, on page
17 24, Calendar Number 788, Senate Print Number
18 6796;
19 Senator Spano's bill again, on
20 page number 24, Calendar Number 802, Senate
21 Print Number 7096;
22 Senator Balboni's bill, on page
23 number 25, Calendar Number 848, Senate Print
24 Number 7150;
25 Senator Larkin's bill, on page
4503
1 number 29, Calendar Number 924, Senate Print
2 Number 7100-A;
3 Senator Hannon's bill, on page
4 number 29, Calendar Number 926, Senate Print
5 Number 7345;
6 Senator Velella's bill, on page
7 number 31, Calendar Number 954, Senate Print
8 Number 3632;
9 Senator Leibell's bill, on page
10 number 37, Calendar Number 1131, Senate Print
11 Number 6642;
12 Senator Lavalle's bill, on page
13 number 39, Calendar Number 1167, Senate Print
14 Number 7036; and, Madam President, I now move
15 that these bills retain their place on the
16 order of third reading.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments
18 received.
19 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank
20 you.
21 Senator Paterson.
22 SENATOR PATERSON: Madam
23 President, on page number 37, I offer the
24 following amendments to Calendar Number 1122,
25 by Senator Santiago, this is Senate Print
4504
1 7449, and ask that it retain its place on
2 third reading.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments
4 received.
5 Senator Spano.
6 SENATOR SPANO: Madam
7 President, on behalf of Senator Rath, please
8 place a sponsor's star on Calendar 1275.
9 And on page -
10 THE PRESIDENT: The bill will
11 be starred.
12 SENATOR SPANO: Madam
13 President, like to call up Calendar Number
14 268, Assembly Print 76.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will
16 read.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 268, by member of the Assembly Feldman,
19 Assembly Print 76, an act to amend the
20 Workers' Compensation Law.
21 SENATOR SPANO: Move to
22 reconsider the vote by which the Assembly bill
23 was substituted for Senator Farley's bill,
24 Print Number 1689, on March 10th.
25 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll
4505
1 on reconsideration.
2 (The Secretary called the roll
3 on reconsideration.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 37.
5 SENATOR SPANO: Now move that
6 the Assembly bill 76 be recommitted to the
7 Committee on Rules and the Senate bill be
8 restored as to the Third Reading Calendar.
9 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered.
10 SENATOR SPANO: Offer the
11 following amendments.
12 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments
13 received.
14 SENATOR SPANO: Madam
15 President, I wish to call up the following
16 bills: Print Numbers 1189, 5918, 5123-C,
17 6479, 6481, 6343, 5181, 5488-A, 2464-B, 337-A,
18 6156.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will
20 read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 90, by Senator Velella, Assembly Print 1189,
23 an act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law;
24 Calendar Number 123, by Senator
25 Holland, Senate Print 5918, an act to amend
4506
1 the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
2 Calendar Number 347, by Senator
3 Alesi, 5122-D, an act to amend the General
4 Business Law and the Executive Law;
5 Calendar Number 487, by Senator
6 Wright, Senate Print 6479, an act to amend the
7 Tax Law;
8 Calendar Number 488, by Senator
9 Wright, Senate Print 6481, an act to amend the
10 Tax Law;
11 Calendar Number 523, by Senator
12 Velella, Senate Print 6343, an act to amend
13 the Insurance Law;
14 Calendar Number 678, by Senator
15 Nozzolio, Senate Print 5181, an act to amend
16 the Correction Law;
17 Calendar Number 930, by Senator
18 Stafford, Senate Print 5488-A, an act to amend
19 the State Finance Law;
20 Calendar Number 1276, by
21 Senator LaValle, Senate Print 2464-B, an act
22 to amend the General Obligations Law;
23 Calendar Number 137, by Senator
24 Balboni, Senate Print 337-A, an act to amend
25 the Penal Law;
4507
1 Calendar Number 650, by Senator
2 Volker, Senate Print 6156, an act to amend the
3 Penal Law.
4 SENATOR SPANO: Madam
5 President, I now move to reconsider the vote
6 by which these bills passed this house.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll
8 on reconsideration, please.
9 (The Secretary called the roll
10 on reconsideration.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
12 SENATOR SPANO: I now offer the
13 following amendments.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments
15 received.
16 Senator Holland.
17 SENATOR HOLLAND: Amendments are
18 offered to the following bills:
19 Senator Lavalle's bill, page 4,
20 Calendar 67, Senate Print 5592;
21 Senator Maziarz' bill, page
22 number 23, Calendar Number 763, Senate Print
23 3217;
24 Senator Velella Senator
25 Velella's bill, page number 28, Calendar 904,
4508
1 Senate Print 6519;
2 Senator DeFrancisco's bill,
3 page 28, Calendar 909, Senate Print 6444-A;.
4 Senator Maziarz' bill, page
5 number 29, Calendar Number 919, Senate Print
6 Number 7367-A;
7 Senator Rath's bill, page
8 number 30, Calendar Number 949, Senate Print
9 Number 6914;
10 Senator Volker's bill, page
11 number 33, Calendar Number 1025, Senate Print
12 Number 6739-B;
13 Senator Maziarz' bill, page
14 number 42, Calendar 1280, print Number 4492-A;
15 Senator Cook's bill, page
16 number 18, Calendar 633, Senate Print Number
17 6276-A;
18 Senator Volker's bill, page 8,
19 Calendar Number 281, Senate Print Number 365
20 D; and Senator Lavalle's bill, page number 39,
21 Calendar 1166, Senate Print 6621.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments
23 received.
24 SENATOR HOLLAND: Madam
25 President, I now move these bills retain their
4509
1 place on the order of third reading.
2 THE PRESIDENT: Bills will
3 retain their place.
4 Senator Skelos, may we read the
5 substitutions?
6 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes, Madam
7 President, please make the substitutions.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will
9 read.
10 THE SECRETARY: On page 11,
11 Senator Saland moves to discharge from the
12 Committee on Rules Assembly bill Number 8836
13 A, and substitute it for the identical Third
14 Reading Calendar 390.
15 On page 30, Senator Marcellino
16 moves to discharge from the Committee on
17 Finance Assembly Bill Number 9765-A, and
18 substitute it for the identical Third Reading
19 Calendar 935.
20 On page 37, Senator Leibell
21 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
22 Assembly Bill Number 10407-A, and substitute
23 it for the identical Third Reading Calendar
24 1130.
25 On page 42, Senator Santiago
4510
1 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
2 Assembly Bill Number 5968-A and substitute it
3 for the identical Third Reading Calendar
4 1279.
5 On page 43, Senator Trunzo
6 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
7 Assembly Bill Number 5116-A, and substitute it
8 for the identical Third Reading Calendar
9 1316.
10 On page 43, Senator Maltese
11 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
12 Assembly Bill Number 892 and substitute it for
13 the identical Third Reading Calendar 1318.
14 On page 43, Senator Stachowski
15 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
16 Assembly Bill Number 8309-A, and substitute it
17 for the identical Third Reading Calendar
18 1323.
19 On page 44, Senator Holland
20 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
21 Assembly Bill Number 9125-B, and substitute it
22 for the identical Third Reading Calendar
23 1325.
24 On page 44, Senator Marchi
25 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
4511
1 Assembly Bill Number 10379, and substitute it
2 for the identical Third Reading Calendar
3 1332.
4 On page 45, Senator Spano moves
5 to discharge from the Committee on Rules
6 Assembly Bill Number 10755 and substitute it
7 for the identical Third Reading Calendar
8 1342.
9 On page 46, Senator Johnson
10 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
11 Assembly Bill Number 8815-B, and substitute it
12 for the identical Third Reading Calendar
13 1346.
14 On page 46, Senator Saland
15 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
16 Assembly Bill Number 10990, and substitute it
17 for the identical Third Reading Calendar
18 1348.
19 And on page 46, Senator Velella
20 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
21 Assembly Bill Number 5750-B, and substitute it
22 for the identical Third Reading Calendar
23 1350.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
25 Substitutions ordered.
4512
1 Senator Skelos.
2 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
3 there is a privileged resolution at the desk
4 by Senator DeFrancisco. May we please have
5 the title read and move for its immediate
6 adoption.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
8 Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
10 DeFrancisco, Legislative Resolution 4039,
11 honoring Vera House, Incorporated of Syracuse,
12 New York, an agency that works to end domestic
13 violence, upon the occasion of the kick-off of
14 its White Ribbon Campaign June 13 through 21,
15 1998.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
17 Senator DeFrancisco.
18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes.
19 Each year during this week, I rise to support
20 this resolution and to explain that this is a
21 week long wearing of a white ribbon, a program
22 that was started by Vera House, which deals
23 with domestic violence in the county of
24 Onondaga. It's a program where men wear white
25 ribbons to show their solidarity against
4513
1 domestic violence in our community.
2 I bring it to the Senate each
3 year so that we can make this a statewide
4 event, and I've delivered white ribbons to all
5 of the offices in the -- of the Senators in
6 this house. Apparently they haven't gotten
7 their white ribbons yet, because I don't see
8 many being worn here, but I'm sure that before
9 the day is out everyone will have theirs on
10 and wear it proudly during the week.
11 When you wear it, you always
12 ask what it's about and at least it gives
13 people the awareness that you are, in fact,
14 supporting a very worthwhile campaign.
15 So I seek the unanimous support
16 of this resolution, and hopefully all will
17 wear their white ribbons this week.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
19 question is on the resolution. All in favor
20 signify by saying aye.
21 (Response of "Aye.")
22 Opposed nay.
23 (There was no response.)
24 The resolution is adopted.
25 Senator Skelos, we have two
4514
1 additional motions by Senator Marcellino at
2 this time.
3 Senator Marcellino.
4 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Actually,
5 Mr. President, we have three.
6 Mr. President, on behalf of
7 Senator Farley, on page number 28, I offer the
8 following amendments to Calendar Number 906,
9 Senate Print Number 7168, and ask that said
10 bill retain its place on the Third Reading
11 Calendar.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
13 Amendments received. It will retain its place
14 on Third Reading Calendar.
15 Senator Marcellino.
16 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 On behalf of Senator Farley
19 once again, on page 28, I offer the following
20 amendments to Calendar Number 903, Senate
21 Print Number 5716, and ask that said bill
22 retain its place on the Third Reading
23 Calendar.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
25 Amendments received. If will retain its place
4515
1 on the Third Reading Calendar.
2 Senator Marcellino.
3 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
4 President, on behalf of Senator Kuhl, I wish
5 to call up his bill, Print Number 6184,
6 recalled from the Assembly which is now at the
7 desk.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
9 Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1284, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 6184, an
12 act to amend the Private Housing Finance Law.
13 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
14 President, I now move to reconsider the vote
15 by which the bill was passed.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
17 the roll on reconsideration.
18 (The Secretary called the roll
19 on reconsideration.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
21 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
22 President, I now offer the following
23 amendments.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
25 Amendments received.
4516
1 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank
2 you.
3 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
4 I believe there's one more substitution to be
5 made.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
7 Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: On page 13,
9 Senator Kuhl moves to discharge from the
10 Committee on Rules Assembly Bill Number 8437
11 and substitute it for the identical Third
12 Reading Calendar 496.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: So
14 ordered.
15 Senator Skelos.
16 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
17 if we could take up the non-controversial
18 calendar.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
20 Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 9, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 3636-A, an
23 act to amend the General Municipal Law, in
24 relation to alternative methods.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
4517
1 the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
3 This act shall take effect on the 60th day.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
5 the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the
7 roll. )
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
10 bill is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 40, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 5942-D, an
13 act to amend the General Business Law, in
14 relation to requiring.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
16 the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
18 This act shall take effect on the 90th day.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll. )
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
25 bill is passed.
4518
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 213, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 3157-B, an
3 act to amend the Environmental Conservation
4 Law, in relation to the use of pesticides.
5 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
6 aside.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
8 that bill aside at the request of Senator
9 Leichter.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 423, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 5563-A,
12 an act to authorize the Commissioner of
13 General Services.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
17 This act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the
21 roll. )
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
24 bill is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4519
1 444, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 6460, an
2 act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law, in
3 relation to providing a uniform operating
4 article.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
6 the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 8.
8 This act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the
12 roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 449, by member of the Assembly Nolan, Assembly
18 Print 10,042, an act to amend the Labor Law,
19 in relation to payroll records.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
21 the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
23 This act shall take effect -
24 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Lay the
25 bill aside, please.
4520
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
2 the bill aside at the request of Senator
3 Stachowski.
4 THE SECRETARY: 480, by Senator
5 Leibell, Senate Print 6281-A, an act to amend
6 the Real Property Tax Law in relation to
7 exemption.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
9 the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
11 This act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the
15 roll.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 496, substituted earlier today, by the
21 Assembly Committee on Rules, Assembly Print
22 8437, an act to amend the Agriculture and
23 Markets Law, in relation to agricultural
24 assessment values.
25 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
4521
1 aside.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
3 the -
4 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
5 aside.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
7 the bill aside at the request of Senator
8 Leichter.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 584, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 4496-B,
11 an act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
12 Law, in relation to requiring.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
14 the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
16 This act shall take effect on the 30th day.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
18 the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 737, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 7318-A,
4522
1 an act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
2 Law, the Vehicle and Traffic Law and the
3 Public Health Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
7 This act shall take effect September 1st.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
14 bill is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 760, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 6133-B, an
17 act to amend the General Business Law, in
18 relation to prohibiting.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
20 the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
22 This act shall take effect on the 120th day.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the
4523
1 roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
4 bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 794, by Senator Spano.
7 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay aside for
8 the day, please.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Bill
10 is laid aside for the day.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 887, by Senator Meier, Senate Print 6927-B, an
13 act to amend the Military Law, in relation to
14 credit to members.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
16 the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
18 This act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll. )
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
25 bill is passed.
4524
1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr.
2 President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
4 Senator Skelos.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: If I could
6 interrupt, there will be an immediate meeting
7 of the Rules Committee in the Majority
8 Conference Room.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
10 There will be an immediate meeting of the
11 Rules Committee in Room 332.
12 Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 953, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 7325-A,
15 an act to amend the State Administrative
16 Procedure Act, in relation to consensus.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
18 the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 8.
20 This act shall take effect on the first day of
21 October.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
23 the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the
25 roll.)
4525
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
3 bill is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 996, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 2726-B,
6 an act to amend the Social Services Law and
7 the Education Law, in relation to the
8 protection.
9 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay aside.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
11 the bill aside at the request of Senator
12 Paterson.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1104, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 6848-A,
15 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
17 the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
19 This act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the
23 roll.)
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
4526
1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1263, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 7447, an
4 act to amend the Public Service Law, in
5 relation to unauthorized changes.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
7 the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
9 This act shall take effect on the 120th day.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the
13 roll. )
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
16 bill is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1265, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 7500-A,
19 an act to establish the Bay Park Library
20 Funding District.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
22 the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 12.
24 This act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
4527
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll. )
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1273, by Senator Stachowski, Senate Print
9 1273, an act to amend the General Municipal
10 Law, in relation to general requirements.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
14 This act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the
18 roll. )
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1285, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 6509, an
24 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in
25 relation to definition.
4528
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
2 the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
4 This act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
11 Senator Leichter.
12 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yes, did the
13 clerk read 1275 or 1285?
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: He
15 read 1285. 1275 was starred earlier today by
16 the sponsor, Senator.
17 SENATOR LEICHTER: O.K. Thank
18 you.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll. )
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
25 bill is passed.
4529
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1295, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
3 7097-A, an act to amend the General Municipal
4 Law, in relation to raffles.
5 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Lay aside.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Laid
7 aside at the request of Senator Dollinger.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1297, by Senator Holland, Senate Print 7187,
10 an act to amend the General Municipal Law, in
11 relation to compensation.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
13 There is a home rule message at the desk.
14 Read the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
16 This act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
18 the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll. )
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1309, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 7589-A,
4530
1 an act to amend the Domestic Relations Law,
2 the Family Court Act, the Criminal Procedure
3 Law, the Penal Law and the Executive Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 18.
7 This act shall take effect on the 90th day.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll. )
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
14 bill is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1314, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 500-A,
17 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in
18 relation to establishing.
19 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Lay aside.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
21 Calendar 1314 aside at the request of Senator
22 Dollinger.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1315, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 2034.
25 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Lay aside.
4531
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
2 the bill aside at the request of Senator
3 Oppenheimer.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1319, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 4888, an
6 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
7 relation to including trucks.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
9 the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
11 This act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the
15 roll. )
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1321, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
21 5338, an act to amend the Public Health Law,
22 in relation to pharmaceutical and optical
23 services.
24 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Lay aside,
25 please.
4532
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
2 the bill aside at the request of Senator
3 Dollinger.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1322, by Senator Montgomery, Senate Print
6 5374-B, an act to amend the Penal Law, in
7 relation to requiring.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
9 the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
11 This act shall take effect on the first day of
12 November.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
14 the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the
16 roll. )
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
19 bill is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1323, substituted earlier today, by the
22 Assembly Committee on Rules, Assembly Print
23 8309-A, an act to amend Chapter 276 of the
24 Laws of 1993.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
4533
1 There is a home rule message at the desk.
2 Read the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
4 This act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll. )
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1325, by member of the Assembly Harenberg,
14 Assembly Print 9125-B, substituted earlier
15 today, an act to amend the Education Law, in
16 relation to early intervention.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
18 the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
20 This act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll. )
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51.
4534
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1326, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
5 6385-A, an act to amend the Vehicle and
6 Traffic Law, in relation to the
7 applicability.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
9 the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
11 This act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the
15 roll. )
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1327, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 6404, an
21 act to amend the Retirement and Social
22 Security Law, in relation to the partial
23 direct deposit.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
25 the last section.
4535
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
2 This act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the
6 roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
9 bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1328, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 6495-A, an
12 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in
13 relation to state aid.
14 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Lay that
15 aside, please.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
17 1328 aside at the request of Senator
18 Dollinger.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1329, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 6664, an
21 act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
22 increasing the rate of hotel and motel taxes.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
24 There is a local fiscal impact note at the
25 desk. Read the last section.
4536
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
2 This act shall take effect December 1.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the
6 roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 50, nays 2,
8 Senators Dollinger and Gentile recorded in the
9 negative.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1330, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 6767, an
14 act to amend the Town Law, in relation to
15 installment billing in the Keuka Park Water
16 District.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
18 the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
20 This act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
4537
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1331, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 6874-A,
5 an act to amend the Retirement and Social
6 Security Law, in relation to eligibility.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
17 bill is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1332, substituted earlier today, by member of
20 the Assembly Diaz, Assembly Print 10379, an
21 act to amend Chapter 741 of the Laws of 1985.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
23 the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
25 This act shall take effect immediately.
4538
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1333, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 7035-A.
10 SENATOR HOLLAND: Lay aside for
11 the day.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Bill
13 is laid aside for the day.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar 1334,
15 by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 7101, an act
16 to amend the Transportation Law, in relation
17 to the regulation.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
19 the last section.
20 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay that
21 aside. Lay it aside.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
23 the bill aside at the request of Senator
24 Leichter.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4539
1 1335, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 7190-A,
2 an act to amend the Executive Law, in relation
3 to directing the Secretary of State.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
7 This act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
14 bill is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1336, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 7224-A,
17 an act to adjust certain state aid payments.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
19 There is a local fiscal impact note at the
20 desk. Read the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
22 This act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the
4540
1 roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
4 bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1337, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print
7 7297, an act to amend the Education Law, in
8 relation to courses of study.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
10 the last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
12 This act shall take effect on the first day of
13 August.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
15 the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the
17 roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
20 bill is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1338, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 7401,
23 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law
24 and the Transportation Law, in relation to
25 sanctions.
4541
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
2 the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
4 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll. )
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1339, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 7411,
14 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
15 in relation to mailing of suspensions.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
17 the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
19 This act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the
23 roll.)
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
4542
1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1340, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 7415,
4 an act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
5 corporate acquisition.
6 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay aside.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
8 Calendar 1340 is laid aside at the request of
9 Senator Leichter.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar 1341,
11 by Senator Leichter, Senate Print 7463-A, an
12 act to authorize the city of New York to
13 discontinue the use as park land.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
15 There is a home rule message at the desk.
16 Read the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 7.
18 This act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
25 bill is passed.
4543
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1342, substituted earlier today, by the
3 Assembly Committee on Rules, Assembly Print
4 10755, an act to amend the Local Finance Law,
5 in relation to bonds and notes.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
7 There is a home rule message at the desk.
8 Read the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
12 the roll.
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1343, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 7482,
18 an act to amend the Private Housing Finance
19 Law, in relation to loans.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
21 the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
23 This act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
25 the roll.
4544
1 (The Secretary called the
2 roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1344, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print 7578,
8 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
9 in relation to requiring.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
11 the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
13 This act shall take effect on the 180th day.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
15 the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the
17 roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
20 bill is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1343 -- excuse me, Calendar Number 1345.
23 SENATOR HOLLAND: Lay aside for
24 the day, please.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Bill
4545
1 is laid aside for the day.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1346, substituted earlier today, by member of
4 the Assembly DiNapoli, Assembly Print 8815-B,
5 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
6 in relation to the retail sale.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
10 This act shall take effect on the 180th day.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51, nays
16 one, Senator Meier recorded in the negative.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1347, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 7605,
21 an act to amend the State Finance Law and
22 others, in relation to the remittance.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
24 the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 8.
4546
1 This act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
3 the roll.
4 (The Secretary called the
5 roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1348, substituted earlier today, by the
11 Assembly Committee on Rules, Assembly Print
12 10990, an act to amend the Domestic Relations
13 Law, in relation to venue.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
17 This act shall take effect on the 90th day.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the
21 roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
24 bill is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4547
1 1350, substituted earlier today, by member of
2 the Assembly Nolan, Assembly Print 5750-B, an
3 act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in
4 relation to the composition.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
6 the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
8 This act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
10 the roll.
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
13 bill is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1349, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 7622,
16 an act to amend Chapter 814 of the Laws of
17 1987.
18 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
19 aside.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
21 We're laying aside Calendar Number 1349 at the
22 request of Senator Leichter.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1351, by Senator Meier, Senate Print 7635, an
25 act to amend the Civil Rights Law, in relation
4548
1 to the right of public petition and
2 participation.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
4 the last section.
5 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay that
6 aside.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
8 that aside at the request of Senator
9 Paterson.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1352, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
12 7650, an act to adjust certain state aid
13 payments to the Syracuse City School
14 District.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
16 There is a local fiscal impact note at the
17 desk. Read the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
19 This act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the
23 roll.)
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
4549
1 bill is passed.
2 Senator Holland, that completes
3 the non-controversial calendar.
4 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
5 President, can we move on to the controversial
6 reading of the calendar, please.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
8 Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 213, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 3157-B, an
11 act to amend the Environmental Conservation
12 Law, in relation to the use of pesticides.
13 SENATOR LEICHTER:
14 Explanation.
15 SENATOR HOLLAND: Will you lay
16 that aside for the day, please.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Bill
18 is laid aside for the day. Secretary will
19 read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 449, by member of the Assembly Nolan, Assembly
22 Print 10042, an act to amend the Labor Law, in
23 relation to payroll records.
24 SENATOR STACHOWSKI:
25 Explanation.
4550
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
2 Senator Spano, an explanation has been
3 requested of Calendar Number 449.
4 SENATOR SPANO: Mr. President,
5 this bill expands upon a bill that we passed
6 in 1997 that requires the reporting of payroll
7 transcripts on a 30-day basis. This one
8 requires contractors and subcontractors on any
9 public works projects to submit a summary
10 transcript at the end of the construction
11 period stating the hours, the days worked, the
12 trade occupations, and the hourly wage rates
13 and supplements that were paid to each worker
14 on that project.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
16 Senator Stachowski.
17 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr.
18 President, if Senator Spano would yield to a
19 couple questions.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
21 Senator Spano, would you yield for a question
22 from Senator Stachowski?
23 SENATOR SPANO: Yes.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
25 Senator Stachowski.
4551
1 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Senator, I
2 really don't have trouble with this bill. I'm
3 just wondering why are we doing it if we just
4 put another bill out from Rules that's
5 supposedly a compromise bill off of this bill,
6 to eliminate the opposition from most of the
7 people that were opposed to this bill, the
8 smaller contractors?
9 SENATOR SPANO: Senator
10 Stachowski, I'm not familiar -- what bill are
11 you comparing?
12 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: You're not
13 familiar with Senate 7744?
14 SENATOR SPANO: You talking
15 about -- this is the -- this is Workers'
16 Comp'. That was Workers' Comp'; this is
17 prevailing wage.
18 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Yeah, but
19 this still is different. This hours worked
20 bill, the maintaining the records, I thought
21 that's why the hourly work bill sets what this
22 one is.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
24 Senator Spano, do you yield for another
25 question?
4552
1 SENATOR SPANO: Sure.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
3 Senator Stachowski.
4 SENATOR SPANO: The bill that
5 would be reported out of the Rules Committee
6 is the bill that would place the salary cap
7 that we'll talk about later, I'm sure in the
8 day today. That -- this bill here is
9 specifically trying to give the tools and the
10 information available to prevent prevailing
11 wage law violations, and it goes a bit further
12 so that, in addition to the passage of what we
13 have in 1997, the 30-day requirement gives a
14 summary transcript at the end of the day.
15 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: O.K.
16 SENATOR SPANO: This is just -
17 this is prevailing wage.
18 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Last
19 question. This one's merely to make sure that
20 prevailing wages are kept and that records are
21 kept, but this one wouldn't affect the
22 Workers' Comp' bill, the other one does?
23 SENATOR SPANO: That's
24 correct.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
4553
1 Senator Spano, you continue to yield?
2 SENATOR SPANO: Yes.
3 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Sorry;
4 that was another question off of that.
5 SENATOR SPANO: That's correct;
6 that's the answer.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
8 the last section. I'm sorry. Senator
9 Dollinger.
10 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Yes. Will
11 the sponsor yield to one other question?
12 SENATOR SPANO: Yes.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
14 Senator Spano.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through
16 you, Mr. President, what does the phrase
17 "completion of the project" mean? Is that at
18 the time of the submission of the certificate
19 of substantial completion of the project?
20 When is that point in the process?
21 SENATOR SPANO: Literally when
22 the construction has been completed and all
23 the final paperwork has been turned in for
24 payment, and when they -- when that paperwork
25 would be turned in, this summary transcript
4554
1 would have to be a part of that document.
2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: O.K. Again
3 through you, Mr. President. Senator spano -
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
5 Senator Spano, you continue to yield?
6 SENATOR SPANO: Yes.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
8 Senator Dollinger.
9 SENATOR DOLLINGER: As I
10 understand it, the purpose of this bill is to
11 create a transcript so that someone at that
12 point can verify that all the prevailing wages
13 have been paid; is that correct?
14 SENATOR SPANO: The -- whatever
15 department has jurisdiction would then have
16 that opportunity, yes.
17 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Right.
18 Again through you, Mr. President, if Senator
19 Spano will continue to yield.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
21 Senator Spano, do you continue to yield?
22 SENATOR SPANO: Yes.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
24 Senator yields.
25 SENATOR DOLLINGER: My concern,
4555
1 Senator, is that oftentimes when workers are
2 involved on prevailing wage projects, one of
3 the problems is that they don't find out what
4 the prevailing wage was or that they should
5 have been paid it until long after they've
6 left the site. This, I assume, applies to a
7 contractor or subcontractor may hire someone
8 on a two-year project. They work for the
9 first four months and then they leave or
10 they're taken off the bench or put back on to
11 another project if they're a union employee,
12 and this says that it would -- they'd have to
13 wait basically two years before you'd know
14 that they had been paid the improper wages, is
15 that correct, because they have to wait until
16 the completion of the project?
17 I think it's a good idea. My
18 question is, why wouldn't you do it more
19 frequently than just at the end of the
20 project?
21 SENATOR SPANO: We've got two
22 -- the 1997 statute requires monthly
23 reporting, Senator. This one requires a final
24 summary transcript at the end of the -- the
25 end of the day, at the end of the project.
4556
1 Now, you mention on an annual
2 basis -- every two years. Where -- where are
3 you referring to that?
4 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Well, it -
5 I'm on page 2 of the bill -- again through
6 you, Mr. President. I'm on page 2 of the bill
7 and it says that after completion of the
8 project, the summary transcript specifying the
9 hours, which is the amendment that you're
10 making in that bill, and my question is, I
11 understand that there's a 30-day reporting
12 requirement, and there's an initial 30 days
13 after the project starts where you have to
14 make reports.
15 My question is, why do you do
16 it at the end; why wouldn't you provide this
17 detailed summary transcript on those 30 days
18 or 60 days or 90-day intervals instead of
19 waiting to the end of the project?
20 SENATOR SPANO: We do. We're
21 not repealing -- Chapter 565 is not repealed
22 in this statute.
23 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again
24 through you, Mr. President, then I don't
25 understand what the point of the statute is.
4557
1 If you got a 30-day -- if you're reporting
2 every 30 days, why do you need to do the
3 summary transcript at the end?
4 SENATOR SPANO: In addition to
5 the every 30 -- every 30 days, what this will
6 do will give the agencies that would be
7 overseeing this specific project the tools
8 that they need to make sure that there are no
9 violations of prevailing wage during that
10 course of the entire project, so in addition
11 to the every 30 days statute that we have and
12 getting that information that we have at the
13 end of the course of the project, what we'll
14 do, we'll be able to provide the additional
15 assurances that the contractors and the
16 subcontractors are obeying the prevailing wage
17 laws, and also it will provide the -- in
18 addition to the payroll transcripts, it will
19 help the agencies and contractors identify the
20 costs and the labor that are related to those
21 projects themselves.
22 SENATOR DOLLINGER: O.K. One
23 final question, Mr. President. I appreciate
24 the explanation.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
4558
1 Senator Spano, do you continue to yield?
2 SENATOR SPANO: Yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
4 Senator yields.
5 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Will this
6 data be subject to disclosure under the
7 Freedom of Information Act to anyone who wants
8 it?
9 SENATOR SPANO: Yes, this would
10 be FOILable but without names and Social
11 Security numbers.
12 SENATOR DOLLINGER: O.K. And
13 again through you, Mr. President, I assume
14 that that would be FOILable both by
15 individuals, organizations such as organized
16 labor or by another level of government, for
17 example, what I understand will happen is this
18 will be furnished to the Department of Labor,
19 these -- this is our bill, this requires it to
20 be furnished to the Department of Labor.
21 SENATOR SPANO: This will be
22 furnished to the department of jurisdiction,
23 not necessarily the Department of Labor and,
24 yes, it would be FOILable by any individual or
25 corporation.
4559
1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Explanation
2 satisfactory, Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
4 the last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
6 This act shall take effect on the 60th day.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
8 the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the
10 roll. )
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
13 bill is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 496, substituted earlier today, by the
16 Assembly Committee on Rules, Assembly Print
17 8437, an act to amend the Agriculture and
18 Markets Law.
19 SENATOR LEICHTER:
20 Explanation.
21 SENATOR HOLLAND: Lay it aside
22 for the day, please.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay
24 the bill aside for the day.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4560
1 996, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 2726-B,
2 an act to amend the Social Services Law and
3 the Education Law, in relation to the
4 protection.
5 SENATOR PATERSON: Can we have
6 an explanation of this bill, please.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
8 Senator Saland, an explanation has been
9 requested.
10 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Mr.
11 President.
12 Mr. President, this bill is a
13 bill which tends to deal with the issue of
14 abuse that occurs in a school setting, and
15 what it endeavors to do is to create a
16 mechanism which deals with employees of school
17 systems, whether they be professional
18 employees such as teachers or whether they be
19 clerical and other employees, and it attempts
20 to do this in a couple of ways.
21 In the first instance, it
22 attempts to determine by way of the screening
23 process whether anybody who makes application
24 to become a school employee does, in fact,
25 have a criminal record. Our experience, based
4561
1 upon data available from other states, tells
2 us that in New Jersey, for instance, out of
3 some 340,000 applicants over a period of ten
4 years from 1987 to 1997, in excess of 3,000 of
5 those applicants were people had criminal
6 records, some of them extremely serious crimes
7 including homicides and sexual offenses.
8 New York City has a system.
9 This system in the city of New York requires
10 fingerprinting. They fingerprint all
11 employees. They started back, I believe, in
12 the late '30s or early '40s fingerprinting
13 non-teaching employees, and some time in the
14 '60s I believe began fingerprinting teachers
15 as well. The last year for which I have seen
16 data was the 1996 year, and out of
17 approximately 25,000 screens, they had about
18 1200 of those employees who had criminal
19 records, again serious crimes including
20 assaults, abuses and homicides.
21 That screening basically meant
22 about four and a half to five percent of the
23 sample was seeking positions with the New York
24 City School District and at the same time had
25 a serious criminal record.
4562
1 We also attempt here to -- to
2 provide for the ability to -- to determine
3 whether or not an employee of the school has,
4 in fact, been the subject of a report of abuse
5 and neglect by permitting access to the
6 central registry for those purposes.
7 We establish a reporting
8 mechanism. The reporting mechanism is a
9 mechanism which basically would render the
10 so-called "silent resignation" a criminal
11 offense and by "silent resignation", what I
12 mean is those instances in which an incident
13 of physical or sexual abuse occurs in school
14 settings, an employee is permitted to resign
15 for fear that either the school district does
16 not want the notoriety surrounding it or just
17 wants it to sort of go away. That school
18 employee would then go to another district if,
19 in fact, it's a teacher that nothing is noted
20 anywhere that this event has, in fact,
21 occurred and that person then re-offend in yet
22 another community.
23 The reality is that there are
24 probably somewhere in the area of some couple
25 of million young people who go off to school
4563
1 every day, and their parents assume that
2 they're going to receive a quality education,
3 in a safe and secure environment. The reality
4 again is that the vast overwhelming majority
5 of those children will receive what their
6 parents expect. However, in numbers, however
7 small they may be percentagewise, translate to
8 far too many incidents and there have been
9 incidents reported right here in this Capital
10 District where one of the local school
11 districts was required to spend some $2.3
12 million to settle a case involving allegations
13 of abuse in a school setting, in this case
14 sexual abuse.
15 The reporting system is
16 intended to involve law enforcement, to get
17 law enforcement involved at the earliest
18 possible stage. The failure to report would
19 be a misdemeanor. The idea is that law
20 enforcement does far better than would
21 internal school district employees
22 investigation of alleged criminal activity.
23 Teachers teach, administrators administer.
24 They don't investigate crime scenes; they
25 don't investigate allegations of crime,
4564
1 certainly nowhere near as well as one would
2 reasonably expect trained law enforcement
3 personnel.
4 If, in fact, a teacher would be
5 convicted of a child abuse crime under this
6 bill, that teacher would lose his or her
7 certificate and would be unable to then go to
8 another district where they might engage in
9 that very same misconduct again. That would
10 be in lieu of a so-called Part 83 or Article
11 83 hearing which would otherwise be separately
12 required.
13 The beneficiaries of this bill,
14 I believe, are overwhelmingly the young people
15 of all of our communities, the hard working
16 honorable people who teach in our schools and
17 who are otherwise employed in our school
18 districts. The only losers under this system
19 are people who happen to be predators, child
20 sexual abusers or pedophiles.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
22 Senator Paterson.
23 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you,
24 Mr. President, and thank you, Senator Saland,
25 for an excellent explanation, one that
4565
1 probably is as founded in merit as the greater
2 part of this bill we accept and certainly
3 support. As Senator Saland said, there may
4 not be a great number of these incidents
5 percentagewise, but just what few there may
6 be, their report and the types of situations
7 that we read about and watch on television, as
8 the accusations are made so alarm the general
9 public, so alarm parents, and obviously
10 children who can understand what these charges
11 are, that there really must be greater
12 protections, and as much as we don't like to
13 subject employees, particularly those who have
14 undergone a great deal of education to get to
15 the position that they have, while we don't
16 like to subject them to any type of further
17 scrutiny and fingerprinting, we have to.
18 That's just the reality of the world we're
19 living in today.
20 My -- I have a question for
21 Senator Saland, if he would yield.
22 SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
23 President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
25 Senator Saland yields. Senator Paterson.
4566
1 SENATOR PATERSON: It's coming
2 in right now, Senator.
3 Yes. Senator, would you draw
4 for us in a little more detail the distinction
5 between what the penalties would be for a
6 person who has been -- well, would you explain
7 what the convicted person found out about
8 later on, but what punishment that would
9 incur, but I'm interested in what would be the
10 procedure after it's clear that someone has
11 been accused, because on the sexual abuse
12 registry, just a credible evidence would be
13 the threshold test for accusation, and if the
14 accusation has been made and it's in the
15 registry, meaning that it's deemed to be
16 credible, what would happen at that point?
17 SENATOR SALAND: There is no
18 penalty per se. The school district would be
19 apprised of -- the standard for employment
20 purposes, incidentally, is not fair, is not
21 mere credible evidence but a fair
22 preponderance of the evidence.
23 SENATOR PATERSON: Well,
24 Senator, this is the one section of the bill
25 that gives me some concern, and that is that a
4567
1 preponderance of the evidence which is
2 something that would apply more in a civil
3 lawsuit, here is being applied toward -- to an
4 individual such that constructively, if they
5 were to lose their job or lose their license
6 or some way be damaged, it would be tantamount
7 to a criminal charge because the suffering of
8 the loss of reputation could make it very
9 difficult for a person, a teacher, to go some
10 place else and find a job since the dismissal
11 might not altogether be clear through a
12 preponderance of the evidence and, therefore,
13 if the Senator would continue to yield.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
15 Senator Saland, do you continue to yield?
16 SENATOR SALAND: Yes, yes, Mr.
17 President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
19 Senator yields for a question.
20 SENATOR PATERSON: Well,
21 Senator, my question is, what is -- what is
22 the solution in a situation like this because
23 at the same time that we are trying to protect
24 children, we don't want individuals who may be
25 accused of -- to suffer as well as I'm sure
4568
1 you would agree.
2 SENATOR SALAND: Well, the
3 evidentiary standard, the preponderance of the
4 evidence standard, is the same standard that's
5 used in other administrative hearings and is
6 the same standard that's currently applied to
7 the Part 83 hearings where, if there's an
8 allegation of some type of moral turpitude and
9 there is a challenge to the continued practice
10 of a teacher, under his or her license, you
11 bring this Part 83 hearing, and it's the very
12 same standard that would be used, again not
13 mere credible but by a fair preponderance of
14 the evidence.
15 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
16 President, if the Senator would continue to
17 yield.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
19 Senator Saland, do you continue to yield?
20 SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
21 President.
22 SENATOR PATERSON: Senator, are
23 we arriv...
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
25 Senator yields. Senator Paterson.
4569
1 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 Senator, are we arriving at
4 this conclusion based on some due process or
5 some kind of hearing that's being conducted,
6 or are we arriving at it based on some
7 determination that relates to the actual
8 charges? In other words, does the person who
9 is being accused have the right to confront
10 their accuser?
11 SENATOR SALAND: Well, that
12 person who is being so accused has the ability
13 through a fair hearing to confront his or her
14 accuser.
15 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you
16 very much, Senator Saland.
17 Mr. President, on the bill.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
19 Senator Paterson, on the bill.
20 SENATOR PATERSON: It has even
21 been at times determined by the Second Circuit
22 of the Court of Appeals in the case of
23 Velmonte vs. Bain, that in many cases, up to
24 75 percent of the reports that initially come
25 to the sexual abuse registry are later found
4570
1 to be unfounded. It's almost standard in
2 divorce cases, and specifically those cases
3 that apply to custody battles, and Senator
4 Saland and I debated an issue involving
5 changing the name of visitation to -- to
6 parenting time, that there is such acrimony
7 and animosity in these type of cases that at
8 times even the attorneys have hinted or in
9 some way so as not to implicate themselves,
10 recommended that it won't help the other party
11 to be accused, and the '800' number becomes a
12 vehicle more for the buttressing of evidence
13 rather than really bringing forth the types of
14 sexual abuse cases that we as a society would
15 like to ferret out, as was its purpose, and
16 so, in discussing the issue with Senator
17 Saland, I just want to make sure that we are
18 scrupulously fair to the accused because we
19 still have a presumption that the party is
20 innocent. That does not mean that we
21 necessarily have to rely on a great standard
22 to take away their position as a teacher
23 because we don't want to subject the children
24 to someone who is even likely or somewhat
25 likely to be a predator. At the same time, we
4571
1 do want to preserve the rights of individuals
2 such that they are not so labeled or in -
3 their reputations tarnished to such an extent
4 that the innuendo becomes the basis for loss
5 of livelihood, and with the tremendous
6 achievement that Senator Saland has
7 demonstrated by putting together what seems to
8 be some apt regulations coming at this time
9 relating to employees in our school systems, I
10 just think that we need a little more work on
11 the registry for at least on what would
12 constitute the grounds for bringing an action
13 against an employee.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
15 the last section.
16 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
17 President, on the bill, just briefly.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
19 Senator Dollinger, on the bill.
20 SENATOR DOLLINGER: I'll be
21 very brief, Mr. President.
22 I've voted for this bill in the
23 past. I'm going to vote for it again, but,
24 Senator Saland, this is always one of those
25 bills that I jump up and I can only be
4572
1 astounded by its appearance on the calendar
2 with calendar numbers, make sure I got 'em
3 right here because I think Senator Rath
4 carried these bills, you carried them at at
5 one time, Senator Saland, because we had a
6 lengthy discussion about it.
7 But you know those bills, all
8 those bad mandate bills, all those bills in
9 which we're going to prohibit the state
10 Legislature from passing mandates that require
11 school districts to do things like spend their
12 money in criminal checks and spend their money
13 in reporting to the hot line, all of which are
14 good things. This is a good mandate. This is
15 one of those things that we should tell school
16 districts what to do, but sure enough, I think
17 Senator Rath even carries the Constitutional
18 Amendment that says no mandates whatsoever,
19 and yet here on this calendar passing a big
20 huge mandate for local school districts.
21 Nothing that local school districts couldn't
22 do. Nothing that they shouldn't do, but yet
23 it's just I guess I'm always astounded that we
24 seem to say no mandates in one part of the
25 calendar, and then appropriate and approve and
4573
1 I vote for mandates on the other part.
2 This is a good mandate. This
3 is something we ought to tell school districts
4 to do. We ought to make it uniform. I'd
5 simply ask, I guess, for a little tiny bit of
6 consistency. Maybe the calendar should only
7 have mandate bills on it and we save the no
8 mandate bills for a later time in the session
9 or maybe we just forget that idea that we're
10 going to pass flat no-mandate bills in the
11 future.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
13 the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 12.
15 This act shall take effect on the first day of
16 January.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
18 the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll. )
21 SENATOR SALAND: Mr. President,
22 may I explain my vote.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
24 Senator Saland, for the purpose of explaining
25 his vote.
4574
1 SENATOR SALAND: Mr. President,
2 I just wish to make it clear that this bill
3 specifically in several places says that there
4 shall be no mandates imposed upon school
5 districts with respect to the cost of the
6 fingerprinting that's the subject of this
7 bill, and I encourage all of my colleagues to
8 please support this bill.
9 Thank you.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
11 Senator Saland will be recorded in the
12 affirmative. Record the negatives and
13 announce the results.
14 I'm sorry. Senator Gold, to
15 explain his vote.
16 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President, I
17 looked at this bill and saw the sponsorship,
18 and right away my inclination was to vote for
19 it because of my deep respect for the -- for
20 Senator Saland, but then I did in shuffling
21 through my papers find the constitutional
22 amendment referred to by the gentleman from
23 Rochester supported by Mary Lou Rath and I
24 said to myself, I owe it to Senator Rath to
25 oppose this bill, because just in case -- in
4575
1 case in the wildest imagination her bill is
2 not accepted and doesn't become law, I wanted
3 her to know that the logic behind that bill
4 has not escaped me.
5 So, in due deference to Senator
6 Rath, I have to vote in the negative.
7 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
8 President.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
10 Senator Oppenheimer, to explain her vote.
11 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: To
12 explain my vote. I certainly don't want to
13 contradict my good friends on this side of the
14 aisle, but having just gone through the
15 experience with my daughter who wants to be a
16 New York City teacher and having just received
17 her Master's at Banks Street, she had to, of
18 course, go and get her fingers printed, so I
19 can tell you that the cost of my daughter's
20 fingerprinting was borne by my daughter and
21 paid $86 for the privilege of getting
22 fingerprinted. So I'm not sure this is an
23 actual cost on the local district.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
25 Senator Dollinger.
4576
1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
2 President, I'm going to vote yes, as I said
3 earlier, and I appreciate Senator Saland's
4 appropriation. We're not forcing them to pay
5 it. No appropriation in the bill, no money
6 for us to pay for it. When you're down in the
7 local school district, they spell that only
8 one way, m-a-n-d-a-t-e.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
10 Senator Dollinger in the affirmative.
11 Senator Oppenheimer, we need to
12 clarify; you're voting in the affirmative.
13 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER:
14 (Affirmative indication. )
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
16 other Senator wishing to explain his or her
17 vote? Record the negatives; announce the the
18 results.
19 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded
20 in the negative on Calendar Number 996 are
21 Senators Connor, Gold, Kruger, Leichter,
22 Markowitz, Montgomery, Paterson, Sampson,
23 Santiago and Waldon. Ayes 45, nays 10.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
25 bill is passed.
4577
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1295, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
3 7097-A, an act to amend the General Municipal
4 Law, in relation to raffles.
5 SENATOR DOLLINGER:
6 Explanation.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
8 Senator DeFrancisco, an explanation has been
9 requested of Calendar 1295 by Senator
10 Dollinger.
11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: For many
12 years, raffles done by charitable
13 organizations were illegal, in fact, for all
14 years until 1994 when we passed a bill
15 legitimizing raffles. For the last three
16 years we have been trying to correct the
17 problem dealing with the paperwork that was
18 imposed and the mandates that were imposed
19 upon town clerks in receiving these
20 applications and the like. There were so many
21 small organizations that would have a small
22 raffle or a 50/50 or something, raffle a bike
23 off, that would have to file this four-page
24 form, and it caused a lot of paperwork. So
25 what we tried to do was to set a limit below
4578
1 which only an affidavit would have to be
2 signed that we did a raffle, but it's less
3 than a certain amount of money.
4 We also had a complaint from
5 people conducting raffles that if a raffle was
6 conducted, for example, in one town and
7 immediately across the county border a ticket
8 was sold, that that would be illegal. So we
9 tried to apply it to -- statewide in one of
10 our attempted amendments. The Governor vetoed
11 the bill when we did it -- the corrected bill
12 when we did it before, I think it was last
13 year.
14 This year we worked with the
15 state Racing and Wagering Board and have a
16 bill that we believe the administration is in
17 agreement with, that the town clerks strongly
18 are in favor of which would have a $30,000
19 number below which substantial filing
20 requirements would not be necessary and only
21 an affidavit from the organization at the
22 beginning of the year, that we have raffles -
23 we will have raffles less than a total of
24 30,000 and at the end of the year verifying
25 that that's all that they had, less than
4579
1 30,000.
2 This is the sum and substance
3 of those negotiations not only with the
4 Governor but with the Assembly, Assemblyman
5 Joe Robach, and we are very confident this
6 will pass both houses and the Governor will
7 sign it.
8 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Just one
9 question, Mr. President. I know we -
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
11 Senator DeFrancisco, do you yield to a
12 question?
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
15 Senator yields.
16 SENATOR DOLLINGER: I know you
17 worked on a whole bunch of these bills. My
18 question is there's a reference in the memo to
19 the professional raffler. What is it about
20 this bill that prevents that from happening,
21 that is, someone going around peddling
22 raffling services all over the place?
23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Well,
24 that's what the Governor's concern was because
25 in prior bills there was no basic limit as to
4580
1 where you could sell these particular
2 tickets. Now it's limited to a county or a
3 contiguous county and apparently that is
4 satisfactory at this point.
5 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
6 Mr. President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 8.
10 This act shall take effect on the 120th day.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 54, nays
16 1, Senator LaValle recorded in the negative.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1314, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 500-A,
21 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in
22 relation to establishing.
23 SENATOR DOLLINGER:
24 Explanation, please.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
4581
1 Senator Johnson, an explanation has been
2 requested by Senator Dollinger of Calendar
3 1314.
4 SENATOR JOHNSON: Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 There is a problem, I believe
7 around this state and the fact that marinas
8 have to be on the waterfront to serve the
9 general public and their customers selling,
10 repairing and providing dockage space, we find
11 in too many cases marinas are being assessed
12 at the highest and best use, which means the
13 taxes on the property are intolerable. Many
14 marinas are failing. Some more than 20
15 percent have failed in the past couple of
16 years because they couldn't pay the freight,
17 specifically taxes, and we think it's very
18 important for the public to have access to the
19 shoreline, a place to dock their boat, a place
20 to come in and fuel up, and with the
21 properties being sold to developers putting up
22 condos, the only people who have access to
23 that waterfront are those who might buy that
24 condo or rent in that project and the general
25 public is being told essentially there's no
4582
1 place for your boat.
2 It's a very negative attitude
3 for boat owners and it's negative for
4 individuals who would like to go see a piece
5 of waterfront with boats around it once in a
6 while even if they can't buy one.
7 So I think it's important that
8 we advise the assessors that they should
9 consider taxing this property at its present
10 use and present income economic value and not
11 at the highest and best use.
12 That's all this bill says
13 essentially that they should consider that in
14 their assessing practices.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
16 President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
18 Senator Dollinger.
19 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Will
20 Senator Johnson yield just for a couple quick
21 questions?
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
23 Senator, do you yield to a question?
24 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
4583
1 Senator Johnson yields.
2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Senator,
3 are all other properties located adjacent to
4 waterways taxed at the highest and best use?
5 SENATOR JOHNSON: Are all
6 others?
7 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Well, my
8 house would be or a commercial piece of
9 property would be taxed at its highest and
10 best use under available zoning, isn't that
11 correct?
12 SENATOR JOHNSON: Well, I would
13 say that seems to be the general practice,
14 though I don't believe it's the law at this
15 point. It seems to be the general practice.
16 SENATOR DOLLINGER: My question
17 is -- and I have quite a few marinas up on the
18 southern shore of Lake Ontario, but my
19 question is why would we treat marinas
20 differently from homeowners or commercial
21 properties that happen to abut waterways as
22 well? What is it about marinas?
23 SENATOR JOHNSON: Because what
24 they're telling -- what they're telling the
25 marina operators by the practice of assessing
4584
1 highest and best use is that if you can't make
2 it, get out of here and we'll put some housing
3 up which pays better but, I mean, the point is
4 that's a negative policy, I think for the
5 entire community not just for the individual
6 who likes the boat business and can't make as
7 much as he could if he piled up condos or
8 apartment houses on that waterfront property.
9 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Okay, Mr.
10 President. Thank you.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
14 This act shall take effect January 1.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the
18 roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1315, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 2034,
24 concurrent resolution of the Senate and
25 Assembly, proposing amendments to Article IX
4585
1 of the Constitution.
2 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation.
3 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER:
4 Explanation.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
6 Senator Rath, an explanation has been
7 requested of Calendar Number 1315.
8 SENATOR RATH: Mr. President, I
9 noted with some interest a few minutes ago
10 that the "M" word was being spelled by, I
11 believe Senator Dollinger, and I think any of
12 us from local government know that the "M"
13 word is the "mandate" word and the worst part
14 of the "mandate" word is the unfunded mandate
15 part of that word and this bill amends the
16 Constitution to make compliance with unfunded
17 mandates optional and it also establishes a
18 council on local mandates to resolve
19 complaints of unfunded mandates.
20 I don't think that I need to
21 belabor the point that it's unfunded mandates
22 that have caused the cost of the local
23 governments to go up dramatically. I was
24 interested in the debate that revolved around
25 Senator Saland's bill. As he explained at the
4586
1 end, if it's unfunded, it isn't going to
2 happen, and I think that this bill will cover
3 an awful lot of what those of us that come
4 from local government have found to be the
5 absolute bane of your existence when you're
6 trying to make both ends meet.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
8 Senator Oppenheimer.
9 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: I'm going
10 to be supporting this bill, but I want to do
11 an exercise of on the one hand and on the
12 other hand.
13 On the one hand, as a past
14 mayor and an officer in the Conference of
15 Mayors, I certainly understand the pain that
16 we experience on unfunded mandates, and I see
17 that this establishes a council on local
18 mandates.
19 I think I would feel more
20 comfortable if that council had a broader
21 range of, you know -- over which they could
22 control issues coming to them. It seems they
23 can only resolve those which an aggrieved
24 municipality says that this is an unfunded
25 mandate.
4587
1 I think there are certain
2 issues that can come up in the course of
3 municipal life that might cause, if the
4 council had such purview, to have them address
5 other issues that might, for instance, be
6 considered an unfunded mandate but actually
7 have a greater benefit and should be not
8 looked upon solely as an unfunded mandate and,
9 of course, now I would like to turn to the "on
10 the other hand" and on the other hand is
11 environmental protection.
12 Would we have ever gone ahead
13 with our recycling programs in local
14 government which certainly costs more than
15 $20,000 were this bill to pass and while I
16 understand that certain things are exempted
17 from this bill like complying with federal law
18 and complying with our emergency executive
19 orders, I think there just has to be more
20 leeway. I would like to see more leeway in
21 the bill because certainly the recycling
22 programs in the long run have certainly paid
23 for themselves. It saved us a lot of money of
24 our waste going into -- into disposal sites
25 and it really brought in a fair amount of
4588
1 money to government, to municipal government,
2 but -- and that's where we are now. This is a
3 very successful local program that we have in
4 our state, but how would we have started it if
5 we had this restriction?
6 So while I'm voting for it, I
7 understand the intent. I think it can run
8 into some problems down the road and I would
9 like to have some kind of authority that would
10 permit -- that would permit individual laws as
11 passed to be reviewed to see if it really is
12 beneficial to the municipality.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
14 Senator Dollinger.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
16 President, I rise again because Senator Rath
17 properly pointed out, I would assume that if
18 someone was being consistent in voting for
19 this constitutional amendment, someone would
20 have voted against Senator Saland's bill, lots
21 of mandates, telling school districts what to
22 do, not giving them a nickel to pay for it,
23 and frankly, Senator, I'm also going to look
24 for support for two other bills on the
25 calendar.
4589
1 We've got a bill, 1345 from
2 Senator Fuschillo, a new member of the Senate,
3 a bill that will require school districts to
4 review the qualifications of every applicant
5 for the position of school bus attendant.
6 That's 1345. No appropriation on that bill.
7 1344, another bill from our
8 newest member, requires buses transporting
9 children with disabilities to maintain
10 pertinent information about the child, the
11 child's disability, the child's parent or
12 guardian and any other information deemed
13 necessary by the local school board. Another
14 mandate. Not a nickel paid for from this
15 chamber to support that either.
16 As much as I oppose mandates -
17 and I oppose them. How can anybody favor a
18 mandate, yet today I'm going to vote for three
19 of them. I voted for Senator Saland's. I'm
20 going to vote for Senator Fuschillo's. I'm
21 going to vote for the second one from Senator
22 Fuschillo. I'm not so much concerned about
23 the mandate debate. It's an important
24 debate. What I'm looking for is
25 c-o-n-s-i-s-t-e-n-c-y, consistency, so that
4590
1 when we say we don't believe in mandates, we
2 actually do something about it and we don't
3 pass these bills without appropriations to pay
4 for them.
5 It's great politics. It helps
6 us in our newsletters, but the policy seems to
7 me to lack that underlying substance that
8 says, okay, we'll pay for all these things.
9 We'll pay for Senator Saland's bill. We'll
10 pay for both Senator Fuschillo's bills. We do
11 100 of these bills a year, but it seems to me
12 the inconsistency is what we're all
13 comfortable with. Maybe it has something to
14 do with the politics of all of this.
15 I'll be voting in favor, Mr.
16 President. I support -- I don't want to be in
17 favor of mandates. I'm against mandates, but
18 I'm also in favor of Senator Saland's bill,
19 Senator Fuschillo's second bill. I support
20 most of these things because I think it's a
21 good thing that the state of New York, we, the
22 people who sit in this chamber who represent
23 the people of this state should have the
24 authority and do have the authority to tell
25 any other level of government what the public
4591
1 interest in this state is. We do it all the
2 time. I don't think it's a bad thing.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
4 Senator Waldon.
5 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you, Mr.
6 President.
7 Would the gentle lady yield to
8 a question or two?
9 SENATOR RATH: Certainly.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
11 Senator yields.
12 SENATOR WALDON: Senator Rath,
13 I noticed that there's no opportunity for
14 those representing the Minority Conference in
15 this chamber to appoint people to the council
16 on local mandates, yet we represent, I don't
17 know how many million people, 26 of us,
18 represent, I would think times 315,000, an
19 awful lot of people.
20 Was there consideration given
21 to including members of the Democratic
22 Conference in having a say as to who would be
23 the governing bodies in regard to local
24 mandates?
25 SENATOR RATH: No, there
4592
1 wasn't, Senator.
2 SENATOR WALDON: I beg your
3 pardon?
4 SENATOR RATH: There was not,
5 Senator.
6 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you.
7 Mr. President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
9 Senator Waldon.
10 SENATOR WALDON: Would the lady
11 yield?
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
13 Senator Rath, do you continue to yield?
14 SENATOR RATH: Surely.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
16 Senator yields.
17 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you, Mr.
18 President. Thank you, Senator Rath.
19 This $20,000 threshold seems to
20 me to be an ominous potential for danger. If
21 I understand it correctly -- and I'm asking
22 you to edify me -- as long as the cost is less
23 than $20,000, in an aggregate sense, it
24 conforms to the proposal, is that correct?
25 SENATOR RATH: That's right.
4593
1 SENATOR WALDON: Would the
2 Senator continue to yield, Mr. President?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
4 Senator Rath, do you continue to yield for a
5 question?
6 SENATOR RATH: Surely.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
8 Senator yields.
9 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you, Mr.
10 President.
11 Senator, if the cost is less
12 than $20,000 and if we say you must do this
13 and the locality says, I don't want to, how
14 will they force the state not to require that
15 they do whatever the mandate is?
16 SENATOR RATH: Well, I think
17 you know, Senator, that the council on local
18 mandates to resolve complaints is one of the
19 items that you mentioned a moment ago, and I
20 would think that they would bring that concern
21 to that council. However, your question
22 raises something that Senator Dollinger
23 brought up that I was about to speak to and
24 then thought, well, maybe it didn't need to be
25 addressed but now your questions raise this
4594
1 even further, and there were huge increases in
2 the dollars that went to schools this year,
3 and I think some of the mandates that we're
4 talking about are not only local governments,
5 which, of course, is what my committee
6 addresses day in and day out throughout the
7 year but, of course, the ones that are applied
8 to the schools and it's been brought to my
9 attention over and over again that we are not
10 as focused on something unless it comes under
11 the microscope, if you will, and when we're
12 talking about the kinds of issues that Senator
13 Saland is talking about, the one that's coming
14 up with Senator Fuschillo, I think that some
15 of these things are being done anyway but
16 they're not being focused on. They're being
17 paid for. They're being done but they're not
18 being focused on, and I think this bill will
19 bring that into focus and if there's a
20 question about the focus, it will come under
21 this council in order to get the review.
22 SENATOR WALDON: Would the
23 Senator continue to yield, Mr. President?
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
25 Senator Rath, do you continue to yield?
4595
1 SENATOR RATH: Surely.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
3 Senator yields.
4 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you very
5 much, Senator.
6 There is a plethora of
7 situations which occur at the local level.
8 Local government is responsible for
9 sanitation, law enforcement training, a whole
10 host of issues. Couldn't we be tied up with
11 litigation as a result of what you're
12 proposing with this if there's a resistance
13 from the local government not to comply with
14 what the state says is, in fact, mandated?
15 SENATOR RATH: If local
16 governments fail to comply now, the
17 circumstance that you outlined, of course,
18 would click into place, but I think, Senator,
19 you're talking about something that is coming
20 into a -- we have a microcosm here and we have
21 a macro picture also and the macro is the
22 governance -- the governance of the
23 communities in the state of New York.
24 There's a bill that I propose
25 -- it won't happen this year, but I'm hopeful
4596
1 to be here next year so we can talk about the
2 larger picture of governance because what's
3 happened is that we have micromanaged so many
4 times, so a council will advise us. We're
5 talking about what's going to happen with the
6 future of revenue sharing. That council -- we
7 passed on that last year. That council is
8 operating now. As you know, we've met three
9 or four times this year to talk about the
10 future of revenue sharing. Local governments
11 are coming into a whole different place and
12 time than they were when they first served
13 this state of New York, and I think it serves
14 us well as a state government to bring a
15 review forward on a lot of levels.
16 Senator Oppenheimer's point
17 about the environmental issues was another
18 focus of the same question, where local
19 governments fit into the larger picture of
20 governance, regional governance, local
21 government and all the myriad of governance
22 and special districts that we have in this
23 state.
24 SENATOR WALDON: Would the
25 gentle lady from the area, I believe it's
4597
1 Rochester, the great city and -
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
3 Senator Rath, do you continue to yield?
4 SENATOR RATH: Yeah, but
5 Buffalo, please.
6 SENATOR WALDON: I apologize.
7 A bigger, not necessarily a better, but a
8 bigger city, the city of Buffalo. Would she
9 yield to perhaps two more questions?
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
11 Senator yields, Senator Waldon.
12 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you, Mr.
13 President.
14 Senator, I apologize for the
15 faux pas. I would not move you so. It was
16 just a slip.
17 Was there any study done in
18 regard to what the cost of implementing this
19 measure would be over the next several years?
20 SENATOR RATH: Senator, I will
21 answer your question, but first of all, let me
22 set the record straight just so all my friends
23 in Buffalo don't say when did Mary Lou get
24 elected in the city. I represent the
25 districts north of the city of Buffalo.
4598
1 People like to locate me in Rochester, which
2 is fine with my Rochester colleagues, I'm not
3 -- fine with me. I don't know if it's fine
4 with my Rochester colleagues, but my district
5 is north and east of the city of Buffalo.
6 No, there has not been a study
7 that has been done as to what kind of costs
8 there would be to comply with this piece of
9 legislation. It's an effort to help local
10 governments see some way that they can get
11 some redress for what they consider to have
12 been inequities.
13 SENATOR WALDON: Last question,
14 Senator.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
16 Senator Rath, one last question. Do you
17 yield?
18 SENATOR RATH: Surely.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
20 Senator yields.
21 SENATOR WALDON: Senator Rath,
22 I asked you a question earlier in regard to
23 the Minority Conference, was consideration
24 given to giving them an opportunity, us an
25 opportunity to participate in determining who
4599
1 the people would be on the council on local
2 mandates and you said there was not. This
3 part of our legislative body known as the
4 Senate represents millions and millions of
5 people. Could you tell us if there is any
6 rationale for the exclusion of the Democratic
7 members in participating in that process?
8 SENATOR RATH: Senator, the
9 responsibility of government lying with the
10 Majority, I won't go -- I won't bore all of us
11 with that. Let me ask you if you would like
12 to send me a letter in relation to this, I
13 would consider something next year that would
14 add some people from the Minority.
15 SENATOR WALDON: On the bill,
16 Mr. President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
18 Senator Waldon, on the bill.
19 SENATOR WALDON: I must most
20 respectfully disagree with the last statement
21 that my dear colleague from the environs of
22 Buffalo made that it is the responsibility of
23 the Majority to governance. It is the
24 responsibility of the Legislature, both Senate
25 and Assembly, all of the people there
4600
1 represented, representative of their
2 respective communities and the Governor to
3 govern the state and with that I close, I
4 cannot support this bill for the reasons that
5 came out in the dialogue with the Senator, and
6 I would respectfully ask my colleagues to also
7 consider the arguments against this proposal
8 are valid and, therefore, we should not vote
9 aye in favor of it.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
11 Senator Leichter.
12 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yeah, Mr.
13 President.
14 Senator Rath, would you yield
15 for a question, please?
16 Senator, let me first say, I
17 was out of the chamber when this debate
18 started. So if this question has already been
19 asked and answered, just tell me and I'll
20 withdraw it, but what happens if a locality
21 determines that an enactment of the
22 Legislature or by some state agency imposes a
23 mandate upon them and takes the position we
24 will not carry out that mandate? It doesn't
25 make a complaint to the council. Just says
4601
1 under Senator Rath's constitutional amendment,
2 this is illegal, not binding on us and we will
3 not take any action on it. What happens?
4 SENATOR RATH: It's the same
5 answer, Senator Leichter, as we mentioned
6 before when the same issue was raised. If
7 municipalities are not in compliance now, the
8 same circumstance would take effect as this
9 would be in -- if this law goes in.
10 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, excuse
11 me, if you would be so good as to continue to
12 yield.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
14 Senator Rath, do you continue to yield?
15 SENATOR RATH: Surely.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
17 Senator yields.
18 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator,
19 with all due respect, I have difficulty
20 accepting that answer because then under my
21 hypothesis, you now have a constitutional
22 amendment. You have a constitutional
23 amendment that says that no mandate may be
24 imposed and if it's a mandate that -- as
25 defined in your constitutional amendment, then
4602
1 it's not binding. Now you have a totally
2 different situation. If a locality says this
3 is an unfunded mandate, the state can go to
4 court. We can compel them. There's things
5 that we can do, but that's not the case under
6 -- once this amendment is in effect. So it's
7 a totally different situation.
8 SENATOR RATH: Senator
9 Leichter, I think all of the exceptions as
10 they are outlined in the legislation address a
11 large portion of what you're talking about.
12 What we're talking about as far
13 as taking a municipality to court if they
14 don't comply, I don't think that -- to my
15 mind, that section does not change. Nothing
16 changes in that regard when you look at the
17 exceptions that are outlined as well as a
18 council that would be constituted to take into
19 consideration problems that might occur as
20 this were going along.
21 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
22 President, if Senator Rath will be so good as
23 to continue to yield.
24 SENATOR RATH: Surely.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
4603
1 Senator yields.
2 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator,
3 would you direct our attention to any
4 provision in this constitutional amendment
5 which says that a locality has to avail itself
6 of this council? I don't see anything that
7 says that they need compliance with it. As I
8 read this, they have the right just to treat
9 it as an unfunded mandate and not to proceed
10 to carry out those provisions of legislation
11 or of regulation.
12 SENATOR RATH: I would think,
13 Senator, that the council would be a place of
14 relief that localities would look to.
15 Recalling the days of 15 -- 10, 15 years ago
16 in the welfare -- what we considered in local
17 government as unfunded mandates from the state
18 of New York, we would have welcomed a forum,
19 partisan or non-partisan, Senate and Assembly
20 combined, anywhere where our issues could be
21 picked up and heard by people who have
22 responsibility for the vote.
23 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
24 President, if Senator Rath will continue to
25 yield.
4604
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
2 Senator, do you continue to yield? The
3 Senator yields.
4 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator, why
5 didn't you provide in this constitutional
6 amendment that any locality which considers an
7 enactment to be an unfunded mandate has to
8 file a complaint with this council? As this
9 bill reads, it could just totally ignore what
10 it considers to be an unfunded mandate.
11 SENATOR RATH: Well, I believe
12 that the Attorney General, if they are not in
13 compliance, would be able to take them to
14 court and that's the way it is now.
15 So I think that the council
16 that we're talking about would sort through on
17 the practical level, which is what we're
18 talking about, as a local -- as local
19 governments find themselves the subject of
20 unfunded mandates.
21 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator, if
22 you'll continue to yield. Isn't it true that
23 if you look at your constitutional amendment,
24 the council can only act to resolve a
25 complaint by an aggrieved political
4605
1 subdivision? So if a political subdivision
2 says, this is an unfunded mandate, there's no
3 requirement, as you admit, that it goes to the
4 council. The council has no authority to act
5 unless there's a complaint before it.
6 SENATOR RATH: Well -
7 SENATOR LEICHTER: What happens
8 then?
9 SENATOR RATH: Well, Senator,
10 right now the municipalities have a
11 responsibility to those unfunded mandates and
12 if there is a mechanism in place for a redress
13 for them, they will at least have a mechanism,
14 to reuse that word, to see if it is an
15 unfunded mandate in a place that is a viable
16 council that will have access to the
17 government.
18 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
19 President, again, if Senator Rath is good
20 enough to yield.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
22 Senator Rath, do you continue to yield?
23 SENATOR RATH: Surely.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
25 Senator yields.
4606
1 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator,
2 isn't there a big difference, but now there's
3 no constitutional provision as to unfunded
4 mandates. If a locality fails to comply with
5 a requirement of law that's enacted by the
6 Legislature and signed into law by the
7 Governor or by a duly adopted regulation, it
8 goes to court, the court can compel it to act
9 in accordance with the law or the regulation.
10 That would not be the case if your amendment
11 were adopted. Isn't that so?
12 SENATOR RATH: No, I think it's
13 just the reverse, Senator. Frankly, I think
14 as a champion of local governments, which is
15 what I feel one of my roles is in Albany as
16 chairman of the Local Government Committee,
17 that this gives the local governments a place
18 to go if they are saying this is an unfunded
19 mandate. It gives some definition to what you
20 see as an unfunded mandate.
21 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well,
22 Senator, just -- maybe this is repetitive and
23 I'll make it the last question. If that's
24 what you wanted to do, why didn't you put in
25 your amendment that the locality, if it wishes
4607
1 to challenge a mandate, if it says this is an
2 unfunded mandate, that it has to go to this
3 council? You don't require that.
4 SENATOR RATH: This is an
5 optional piece -- unfunded making compliance
6 with unfunded mandates optional.
7 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, Mr.
8 President, on the bill.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
10 Senator Leichter, on the bill.
11 SENATOR LEICHTER: On the
12 resolution. Let me just say first of all
13 dealing maybe more with the contents of this
14 particular provision just from whether it
15 works or doesn't work, it just seems to me
16 that if the intent of Senator Rath was to
17 provide a mechanism to resolve issues as to
18 whether something is an unfunded mandate or
19 not and you set up a council, that at least
20 the constitutional amendment ought to provide
21 that the locality has to go to the -- to the
22 council.
23 I could see a situation where a
24 locality will say, well, I don't like what's
25 going to happen in the council. Let's not go
4608
1 to the council. Let's not do it and it then
2 comes to the court in a totally different
3 posture than it would if the locality had
4 filed a complaint, the council had acted
5 against or determined in opposition to the
6 complaint of the locality because then it
7 comes, as I read it, to the court in the
8 posture of an Article 78 where you would have
9 to prove that the decision of the council was
10 arbitrary and capricious.
11 I don't want to spend too much
12 time on that because I would be against -
13 against your amendment even if it provided for
14 that mechanism, if it actually compelled the
15 locality to go to the council. I just want to
16 point out that I think as you've written it,
17 this is really not very workable.
18 But I want to address the
19 broader issue, and that is that we're one
20 state. We've all come together as a state,
21 all of the municipalities. I think somebody
22 once told me there's almost 1,000 local
23 governments in the state of New York and we've
24 all come together as localities and we're part
25 of one state and we send our representatives
4609
1 up here to Albany and sometimes they do things
2 that the localities like and sometimes they do
3 things that they don't like, but we're trying
4 to legislate for one state and to say that you
5 cannot impose unfunded mandates would so
6 cripple the ability of state government to
7 function on behalf of all the people of the
8 state that you might just as well disband the
9 Legislature, and we had an example of that
10 just a few minutes before your bill came
11 before us, Senator Rath, when there was a bill
12 by Senator Saland that everybody pointed out
13 was clearly an unfunded mandate. We have
14 hundreds of unfunded mandates each year, most
15 of which are proposed by the Majority and most
16 of which carry out your vision of what should
17 happen throughout the state of New York.
18 Now, state government does
19 provide a great deal of money for localities.
20 We divide it up in different ways. Some
21 localities may benefit more than others but
22 that's also part of the role that we have.
23 That's part of being one state and if in point
24 of fact you had a provision such as yours in
25 the Constitution, we could not serve the
4610
1 interests of the people of the state of New
2 York. It would be a gross error, and I just
3 say maybe repetitively, but it ought to be
4 observed, all of the bills that you people
5 have proposed with unfunded mandates.
6 Obviously, Senator Rath -
7 because I know you to be a person of
8 particular integrity and principle -- you
9 wouldn't put forward bills with an un... that
10 had an unfunded mandate or vote for bills that
11 had an unfunded mandate if you didn't in part
12 agree with me that we have a broader
13 responsibility here which at times requires us
14 to impose what you call unfunded mandates.
15 I'll be happy to yield.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
17 Senator Rath.
18 SENATOR RATH: Senator
19 Leichter, I couldn't agree with you more, that
20 we have a broader responsibility, but I think
21 when we examine that broader responsibility as
22 a state, that competes not from one region of
23 the state to another region of the state. We
24 compete somewhat, of course, with our
25 surrounding states, but as the economy has
4611
1 become a global economy, I think we need the
2 flexibility in order to be able to make and
3 help the regions of New York State grow to
4 their full potential and, frankly, some of the
5 unfunded mandates that have been imposed on
6 the localities through the years have made
7 that very difficult.
8 This is a small step forward to
9 provide a focus and a parameter for getting
10 our hands around unfunded mandates.
11 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator
12 Rath, in answer to what you've said, your
13 argument really is against your bill because
14 it's precisely -- because we're competing in a
15 global economy that we can't hamstring
16 ourselves to the extent of saying, well, if
17 there's an unfunded mandate in this -- for
18 instance, if we require localities throughout
19 the state to do something which is going to
20 make the whole state more economically viable
21 and it may impose some requirements on a
22 locality, to say that we can't do it because
23 it's not going to put an unfunded mandate on
24 the locality. Competitiveness in this state
25 depends on our acting as an entity for the
4612
1 entire state and you're really hindering that
2 competitiveness.
3 I mean, I think it's something
4 that, you know, has a lot of appeal and I know
5 you go through communities throughout New York
6 State and I'm sure in my own city of New York
7 and my district and you say, Hey, they
8 shouldn't impose something on us that we don't
9 want to do, but that's what it means being
10 part of a greater entity is that it may happen
11 that there are -- for the common good, you
12 will have to bear some burden and if you're
13 unwilling do that, we can't function as a
14 state and not only in the area of education,
15 not only in the area of the environment, but
16 in so many different ways in transportation.
17 You could even have a problem insofar as the
18 enforcement of criminal laws are concerned.
19 Can somebody argue that you are
20 imposing a mandate on a locality when you ask
21 it to enforce the death penalty? Doesn't that
22 mean that it's now going to have costs that
23 are going to be greater than $20,000? I could
24 see a locality saying, well, this is an
25 unfunded mandate. We couldn't function. We
4613
1 would be incapable of carrying out the duties
2 and the responsibilities that we have.
3 Maybe it's good political
4 fodder and I don't mean to say you're doing
5 this politically because I know that you
6 sincerely believe this, but I think that when
7 you look at it and you examine it, not only
8 because of some of what I see are some flaws
9 in the process that you've set up in this
10 bill, but the broader concept that you want to
11 handcuff this state government to this extent,
12 we would no longer be able to function as a
13 state.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: On the
15 resolution, the Secretary will call the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the
17 roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded
19 in the negative on Calendar Number 1315 are
20 Senators Connor, Lachman, LaValle, Leibell,
21 Leichter, Markowitz, Montgomery, Paterson,
22 Waldon. Also Senator Sampson, also Senator
23 Santiago, also Senator Seabrook. Ayes 44,
24 nays 12.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
4614
1 resolution is adopted.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1321, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
4 5338, an act to amend the Public Health Law,
5 in relation to pharmaceutical and optical
6 services.
7 SENATOR DOLLINGER:
8 Explanation.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
10 Senator DeFrancisco, an explanation has been
11 requested of Calendar 1321 by Senator
12 Dollinger.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: By the
14 Health Care Reform Act of 1996, there was a
15 patient assessment that was enacted in order
16 to provide a fund for public good, the public
17 goods pool and one of those -- the area that
18 was hit was basically diagnostic and treatment
19 centers would have this 8.18 percent
20 assessment.
21 Some of the services provided
22 by such centers are pharmaceutical and
23 optometry services. If those services were
24 not provided -- if they're provided elsewhere
25 other than diagnostic centers and when it's
4615
1 provided elsewhere -- when these services are
2 provided elsewhere, there is no 8.18 percent
3 assessment.
4 So the intent of this bill is
5 really to treat diagnostic centers such as
6 this exactly the way people dispensing
7 optometry and pharmaceutical services are
8 treated when they're not part of a diagnostic
9 center; in other words, treat them the same
10 way and that's the intent of the bill, to
11 eliminate the 8.18 percent assessment on these
12 type of centers for these type of services,
13 pharmaceutical and optometry.
14 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
15 President, just a couple quick questions for
16 Senator DeFrancisco, if I can.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
18 Senator DeFrancisco, do you yield for a
19 question?
20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
22 Senator yields.
23 SENATOR DOLLINGER: What are
24 the anticipated fiscal implications? I know
25 your memo says that there are none to the
4616
1 state, but obviously if we're going to lose
2 some of that money, it would go into the bad
3 debt and charity care pool.
4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I
5 anticipated that question and I can candidly
6 say I have no answer, but I do know that if
7 there has to be a backfill into this fund, it
8 would have to come from the general revenues
9 and my thought would be that that's fair to
10 treat these types of delivery of services the
11 same whether it's in a diagnostic center or
12 elsewhere and that if we have to pull some
13 money out of the general fund, we should do
14 so.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again
16 through you, Mr. President. I understand that
17 the intent of the bill is to create a parity
18 between the D and T centers and those
19 community optical services or retail
20 pharmacies that are doing this dispensing.
21 What about the other portion of the market
22 that occurs at other health care facilities?
23 This would seem to create what was probably a
24 lack of full extension of the assessment.
25 We're now going to make the exception bigger
4617
1 and we're going to make the competitive
2 disadvantages of hospitals and community
3 health centers even greater. How do we deal
4 with that problem short of repealing the whole
5 thing?
6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Well,
7 that's an excellent question and that's the
8 problem with the bill, and the problem with
9 the bill is that when you start, I think it's
10 putting the camel's nose under the tent -- I
11 could spell camel to emphasize it since today
12 is spelling day, but that's always a problem,
13 but I guess in balancing the respective
14 interests, I think in this case this is a
15 substantially unfair situation and at least
16 correct this part and hopefully the camel
17 won't knock down the tent.
18 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 Just briefly on the bill.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
22 Senator Dollinger, on the bill.
23 SENATOR DOLLINGER: I
24 appreciate Senator DeFrancisco's candid
25 explanation of it. I think he's absolutely
4618
1 right. We have an exception that benefits one
2 party in this competitive health care
3 environment that we try to set up, we try to
4 balance it so that it would be fully
5 competitive so we would reward people who, for
6 their efficiency and ingenuity which is what
7 happens in perfectly balanced and perfectly
8 competitively marketplaces, we found a gap.
9 One person was able to take advantage of it.
10 Now what we're going to do is expand that gap
11 a little broader so that more people can take
12 advantage of it but not everyone, and I
13 appreciate Senator DeFrancisco's attempt to
14 try to restrike part of the competitive
15 balance. I think, unfortunately, that unless
16 you do it for all of the players in this
17 marketplace, we're just going to exacerbate
18 competitive advantages in what we thought was
19 a perfectly competitive system.
20 I also think that because we
21 don't know what the fiscal implication is and
22 how much it's going to cost, I certainly
23 understand what drives this bill but it seems
24 to me that there is a risk associated with it
25 in tilting the competitive forces out of whack
4619
1 and frankly costing money that we don't
2 understand.
3 So I'll be voting in the
4 negative, Mr. President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
6 the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
8 This act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the
12 roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded
14 in the negative on Calendar Number 1321 are
15 Senators Dollinger and Leichter. Ayes 55,
16 nays 2.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
18 bill is passed.
19 Senator Padavan.
20 SENATOR PADAVAN: Mr.
21 President, may I be recorded in the negative
22 on Calendar Number 1295.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
24 Without objection, Senator Padavan will be
25 recorded in the negative on Calendar 1295.
4620
1 The Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1328, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 6495-A, an
4 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in
5 relation to state aid.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
7 the last section.
8 SENATOR LEICHTER: Can we have
9 an explanation?
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
11 Senator Rath, an explanation has been
12 requested by Senator Leichter of Calendar
13 1328.
14 SENATOR RATH: In 1997 a bill
15 was enacted enabling assessing units to
16 qualify for state aid if a reval' at 100
17 percent of value is completed in '96.
18 However, we had a technical glitch in that
19 some assessing units were unable to qualify
20 because they revalued at less than 100 percent
21 before '97 -- the '97 bill was enacted and so
22 this is just requiring that reval's be at 100
23 percent of value. Once that law went in in
24 '96 because the effective date was 7/13/96,
25 which was after the filing of the 1996
4621
1 assessment rolls, the assessing units had no
2 reason to reval' at 100 percent of value and
3 this is a technical amendment enabling them to
4 take advantage of this opportunity.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
6 Senator Dollinger.
7 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
8 President, would the sponsor yield to just a
9 couple quick questions?
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
11 Senator Rath, do you yield for a question?
12 SENATOR RATH: Sure.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
14 Senator yields.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: What towns
16 or communities reassessed will be the
17 beneficiary of the $80,000 benefit?
18 SENATOR RATH: If you'll let me
19 take a look through my file, I'll see if I
20 have those names here. This being a
21 departmental bill, we did not have the names
22 of the towns, but if you would like that
23 information, we can get that for you, Senator.
24 SENATOR DOLLINGER: If you
25 could.
4622
1 SENATOR RATH: Sure.
2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: And the
3 second question is why does it have -- again
4 through you, Mr. President, if Senator Rath
5 will continue to yield.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
7 Senator Rath, do you continue to yield?
8 SENATOR RATH: Surely.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
10 Senator yields.
11 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Why does
12 the bill have to have been deemed to be in
13 full force and effect as of July 13th, 1996?
14 Why that somewhat unusual date?
15 SENATOR RATH: The law was
16 signed that date and so that was the date it
17 became effective.
18 SENATOR DOLLINGER: So it's
19 retroactive to the 1996 law.
20 Again through you, Mr.
21 President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
23 Senator Rath, do you continue to yield?
24 SENATOR RATH: Surely.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
4623
1 Senator yields.
2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Just so I
3 make sure I understand it, this $80,000 will
4 allow communities that had revalued prior to
5 that law to be fully reimbursed as though they
6 had done it after the law, is that correct?
7 SENATOR RATH: That's correct.
8 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Okay.
9 Thank you very much, Senator Rath. The bill
10 is acceptable to me. I would be interested in
11 the communities that are affected by that
12 $80,000.
13 SENATOR RATH: We will get you
14 that information, Senator.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
17 Senator Stachowski.
18 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Will
19 Senator Rath yield for one question, maybe
20 two?
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
22 Senator, do you yield?
23 SENATOR RATH: Yeah. Sorry,
24 Senator.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
4624
1 Senator yields.
2 Senator Stachowski.
3 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Senator,
4 the only question I have, to be eligible for
5 these grants, what particular year's value,
6 market value do they have to use on the
7 properties being revalued?
8 SENATOR RATH: I'll take a look
9 in my folder and see if we have that
10 information. Wait a minute. That is not in
11 the bill that we are working with and I would
12 have to take a little closer, deeper look
13 here. It appears that the values that are on
14 the assessment roll at the time of the reval'
15 are what they would use. It would not be that
16 it was any particular level of assessment, if
17 that's what you're aiming to get to.
18 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr.
19 President, if Senator Rath will continue to
20 yield.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
22 Senator, do you continue to yield?
23 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Actually I
24 was more interested, I know that certain
25 communities use 1990-whatever assessment
4625
1 values while some other use 1960-something
2 values still today and some others use 1940 or
3 1930-something values on their assessment. I
4 was just wondering if to qualify for these
5 grants you had to be at least in the '90s?
6 SENATOR RATH: No, it did not
7 -- that wasn't part of it. It was just for
8 the assessment units that were working toward
9 a reval' at 100 percent of value completed in
10 1996.
11 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr.
12 President, one last question.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
14 Senator, do you continue to yield for a
15 question?
16 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: So if
17 somebody did a revaluation based on 1967
18 values or 1937 values, as long as that's the
19 assessment rolls they're using, then they
20 would qualify.
21 SENATOR RATH: Going up to 100
22 percent, right, and this is the same bill that
23 we did last year and was signed into law.
24 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Thank you.
25 SENATOR RATH: This just
4626
1 enables others who were excluded in last
2 year's bill to be in it this year.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
4 the last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
6 This act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
8 the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the
10 roll.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
13 bill is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1334, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 7101,
16 an act to amend the Transportation Law, in
17 relation to the regulation.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
19 the last section.
20 SENATOR LEICHTER: Explanation.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
22 Senator Johnson, an explanation has been
23 requested by Senator Leichter of Calendar
24 1334.
25 SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr.
4627
1 President, this is going to amend the
2 Transportation Law to bring it into conformity
3 with federal law that preempts the states from
4 regulating rates, routes of services of
5 freight carriers except residential household
6 goods movers.
7 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
8 President, would Senator Johnson yield to a
9 question?
10 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
12 Senator Johnson, do you yield?
13 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
15 Senator yields.
16 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator, are
17 all these provisions in here required by
18 federal law?
19 SENATOR JOHNSON: That's
20 correct.
21 SENATOR LEICHTER: Thank you.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read
23 the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 17.
25 This act shall take effect immediately.
4628
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
7 bill is passed.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
9 Senator Seabrook.
10 SENATOR SEABROOK: Yes, Mr.
11 President. I would like to request unanimous
12 consent to vote in the negative on Calendar
13 Number 996.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
15 Without objection, Senator Seabrook will be
16 recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
17 996.
18 The Secretary will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1340, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 7415,
21 an act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
22 corporate acquisitions.
23 SENATOR LEICHTER: Explanation.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
25 Senator Nozzolio, an explanation has been
4629
1 requested by Senator Leichter of Calendar
2 1340.
3 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you,
4 Mr. President. I would be glad to explain the
5 measure.
6 This bill terminates carry -
7 this bill repeals provisions of the Tax Law
8 which have terminated loss carry-forwards of
9 the investment tax credit and employment
10 incentive credit provisions, that those
11 measures will be repealed for those
12 corporations that are acquired by another
13 corporation. Unfortunately because of some
14 glitch or oversight, a combination, that those
15 corporations that were the subjects of
16 takeovers were not allowed to carry forward
17 those credits that I have mentioned.
18 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
19 President, would Senator Nozzolio yield,
20 please?
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
22 Senator, do you yield for a question?
23 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
24 President.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
4630
1 sponsor yields.
2 Senator Leichter.
3 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator,
4 isn't it a fact that the reason that the law
5 reads as it does presently is that we're
6 trying to protect New York companies from
7 takeovers? There was no oversight. Isn't
8 this provision in the law which you're
9 repealing a protection for New York
10 companies?
11 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr.
12 President, I don't believe this protects
13 anybody, that it doesn't certainly protect
14 jobs. It doesn't do anything but stifle
15 commerce and initiative, that it makes New
16 York corporations less attractive to
17 corporations who may wish to expand in New
18 York State, in effect, I think has the
19 opposite effect of what Senator Leichter's
20 commentary exhibits.
21 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
22 President, if Senator Nozzolio would be good
23 enough to continue to yield.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
25 Senator, do you continue to yield?
4631
1 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
2 President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
4 Senator Nozzolio yields.
5 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator,
6 isn't it a fact that we've had many instances
7 where corporations in this state have been
8 acquired and then have seen a reduction in
9 employment in many instances, we've seen the
10 whole corporation moved out of the state.
11 Isn't that a fact?
12 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr.
13 President, it is a fact, as I see it, that
14 corporations have been taken over, have been
15 the beneficiaries of that takeover where jobs
16 have expanded in New York State.
17 I have also seen corporations
18 that haven't been taken over leaving New York
19 State because of our oppressive tax structure
20 and frankly, this is just another incentive
21 for a corporation to say, no, let's not do
22 business here in New York. Let's leave this
23 state so we may be more attractive for
24 business ventures and opportunities in the
25 future.
4632
1 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
2 President, if Senator Nozzolio would continue
3 to yield.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
5 Senator, do you continue to yield?
6 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
7 President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
9 Senator yields.
10 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator
11 Nozzolio, isn't it a fact that presently these
12 corporations that are being taken over,
13 they're doing business in New York State and
14 all you're doing is inducing or enticing, if
15 you will, for foreign corporations to come in
16 and buy New York corporations. Isn't that
17 what you're trying to do?
18 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr.
19 President, I don't believe I understood
20 Senator Leichter's question.
21 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, right
22 now, Senator -
23 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: It's
24 confusing and convoluted and frankly, I would
25 ask him if he's going to ask me for a direct
4633
1 response, I would ask for a direct question.
2 Would you repeat it, Senator?
3 SENATOR LEICHTER: I would be
4 happy to.
5 Senator, your bill applies to
6 corporations that are now doing business in
7 the state of New York. So it's not a matter
8 of trying to save corporations in the state of
9 New York. You have a corporation in the state
10 of New York that's doing business that has
11 received a tax benefit from the state of New
12 York. To protect that corporation and to
13 protect corporations in New York State
14 generally, we do not allow a purchaser of a
15 New York corporation, an out of state purchase
16 of a New York corporation to receive tax
17 benefits that we gave to a New York
18 corporation.
19 So my question to you, very
20 bluntly, is, aren't you by repealing the
21 protection that now exists in law making it
22 attractive for foreign corporations, maybe
23 Japanese corporations or California
24 corporations but certainly not New York
25 corporations to come and purchase New York
4634
1 corporations?
2 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr.
3 President, I'll try to respond to that
4 statement that attempts to be a question.
5 Franz, it never ceases to amaze
6 me and we have -- I have -- I won't say I have
7 enjoyed these colloquies over the years but it
8 certainly has been a stimulating exercise
9 whenever I'm questioned by you and it never
10 ceases to amaze me how you never see the
11 forest through the trees. In terms of
12 philosophy, I know you are meaning -- you're
13 well meaning, but frankly what this measure
14 has done is said to New York corporations, you
15 provide -- you are less attractive to
16 takeover, yes, but it's also less attractive
17 for you to do business in New York State as a
18 corporation, that you would be much better off
19 as you're looking for those additional sources
20 of capital, potential mergers, potential
21 acquisitions, if you will, if you were not a
22 New York corporation. That, in fact, says to
23 New York corporations that here in this case
24 the same loss carry-forwards that were allowed
25 for those New York corporations are not going
4635
1 to be allowed for those corporations that come
2 in and infuse capital and infuse potential
3 increases in job production in New York.
4 What we're saying is New York
5 companies are not to be looked to for the
6 infusions of capital, additional sources of
7 revenue -- enterprise, that the rest of the
8 nation is exhibiting and enjoying them.
9 Franz, I note what you're well
10 intended to do and I compliment you on your
11 intention, which is to ensure the continued
12 integrity of New York corporations and maybe
13 at the time that these provisions were
14 enacted, it made sense. Maybe it did, maybe
15 it didn't, but the fact of the matter, I don't
16 disagree with the fact that those intentions
17 were to help jobs in this state.
18 What has happened, though -
19 what has happened now is that because these
20 provisions are not available to acquiring
21 companies, that the current company has one of
22 two decisions. It could decide to leave so it
23 could, in effect -- because it is a less
24 attractive entity, or that the acquiring
25 corporation would, in fact, say, well, maybe
4636
1 this isn't such a good company to buy. Maybe
2 this isn't such a good company to spend our
3 capital with.
4 So from that standpoint, Franz,
5 I think that certainly this may have prevented
6 mergers in the past and acquisitions in the
7 past. I don't think that was all necessarily
8 good for the future of our business
9 opportunity and enterprise in this state, and
10 frankly I think that needs to be changed.
11 That's why we put the bill before us.
12 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
13 President, if Senator Nozzolio would continue
14 to yield.
15 Senator, I -
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
17 Excuse me, Senator.
18 Senator Nozzolio, do you
19 continue to yield?
20 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
21 President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
23 He continues to yield, Senator.
24 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator, one
25 of the -- if you take a look at what's been
4637
1 happening in the state, that more often than
2 not, when a New York corporation is acquired,
3 there's a reduction in the work force or, in
4 fact, there's a total elimination of the work
5 force.
6 Now, it's true that in some
7 instances maybe you can bring in a large
8 corporation that buys a New York corporation
9 and then actually increases business in New
10 York, but isn't there a simple way of dealing
11 with it and providing in your bill that the
12 investment tax credit will be permitted to be
13 carried over as long as the business continues
14 to be located in New York and there's no
15 decrease in the number of employees? Why not
16 put that provision in your bill, Senator?
17 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Well, by
18 definition, Senator, having these loss carry
19 forwards would ensure the future business in
20 New York State for those years. I think that
21 it would be another signal to business that
22 the Legislature and the state government are
23 trying to micromanage what they're going to do
24 and as such say that warning lights to
25 corporate executives making these decisions
4638
1 are that we can't trust government, that New
2 York is -- has too many strings attached to
3 everything that's provided and that frankly
4 we'll spend our money elsewhere.
5 I should also say, Franz, just
6 because a company comes in and acquires a New
7 York corporation, you look at it as a totally
8 negative situation. In many cases there are
9 in this state where that has occurred and it
10 saved that company. It saved the company
11 operating in New York State. It actually
12 served to expand jobs in New York State and
13 that that's really what we're looking at here,
14 that as we continue to revise our tax code,
15 bring our taxes down, we should get rid of
16 these onerous provisions that serve only to
17 deter investment in New York State companies.
18 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator
19 Nozzolio, one final question to you. If your
20 intent -- if your intent is to protect New
21 York jobs and if you're dealing with a
22 situation where that foreign company, Japanese
23 company to take an example buying a New York
24 corporation is going to increase jobs in New
25 York, why not say that that tax credit, that
4639
1 benefit that we gave to New York -- a New York
2 company will continue to be valid and maybe
3 carried forward only if you maintain the
4 jobs? What's unfair about that? Why should
5 we give tax benefits to companies that come
6 in, buy a New York company, get the benefit
7 and then move the jobs out?
8 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
9 President, I will answer that by saying that
10 those job -- those associations in this state
11 which are dedicated to the promotion of New
12 York and the promotion of business and jobs in
13 this state, most notably the Business Council,
14 the New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry,
15 both support this legislation wholeheartedly,
16 that it affects jobs upstate and downstate and
17 as such I think it's a measure that should be
18 enacted.
19 SENATOR LEICHTER: Good. Thank
20 you, Senator Nozzolio.
21 Let me just say, I mean, this
22 is a pretty simple bill.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
24 Senator Leichter, on the bill.
25 SENATOR LEICHTER: On the
4640
1 bill. Thank you, Mr. President.
2 We now give tax benefits known
3 as an investment tax credit. That goes to
4 companies that spend monies on capital
5 improvements here in the state of New York.
6 To make this available solely to the state of
7 New York companies and to provide protection
8 from New York companies against hostile
9 takeovers, we say that that investment tax
10 credit cannot be enjoyed by another company
11 that comes out of the state and buys the New
12 York company and we do that because we want to
13 protect the New York company because
14 experience has shown that very often when the
15 New York companies are acquired by an out of
16 state company, by a foreign company, that
17 there's a reduction in jobs. There no longer
18 is that nexus. There is not that attachment
19 to the state of New York. There's a reduction
20 in jobs. Very often the whole company has
21 moved out of the state. As I understand the
22 law, you could move the company out of the
23 state and you still would be able to take the
24 investment tax credit. So we have this
25 protection for New York companies and Senator
4641
1 Nozzolio eliminates that protection.
2 Now, he says, well, there's
3 some instances where a foreign company comes,
4 buys a New York company and increases jobs,
5 and I said, well, in that case, why not tailor
6 your bill to that situation? In that case
7 we'll say to the foreign company, if you come
8 to New York and you keep the jobs here or you
9 increase the jobs, you can have the benefit of
10 that tax incentive that we gave to New York
11 corporations. It certainly makes perfectly
12 good sense.
13 If you're trying to preserve
14 jobs in New York, if you're trying to protect
15 New York companies, you can't conceivably be
16 for this bill and you can't go back then and
17 say, I'm trying to better the business climate
18 in New York. You're bettering the business
19 climate for Japanese corporations, for other
20 corporations out of the state that want to
21 capture New York corporations and New York tax
22 benefits. Why would we do that? It doesn't
23 make sense.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
25 Senator Dollinger.
4642
1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 I have listened to this debate
4 because this is an issue I wasn't familiar
5 with before we walked into the chamber, but I
6 agree, I guess -- I understand the position
7 articulated by Senator Leichter, but it seems
8 to me that what you're doing in this bill, at
9 least as best I understand it, is to encourage
10 the use of the investment tax credit in New
11 York because if you have a corporation, a New
12 York corporation that makes the investment and
13 gets the investment tax credit, they built
14 jobs, built factories, done other things to
15 establish a presence in New York. The
16 carry-forward of the investment tax credit
17 becomes an asset on the corporate balance
18 sheet. A parent thinking about buying it and
19 perhaps buying it to continue the investment
20 looks at the balance sheet and says there's an
21 asset on there in the form of the
22 carry-forward of the investment tax credit.
23 It makes the New York corporation more
24 valuable and it seems to me that that can only
25 help a New York corporation if they're looking
4643
1 for capital, looking for an inquisitive parent
2 to come in and assist.
3 I would support an amendment
4 that required the corporation to stay here for
5 a longer period of time, but I think the mere
6 fact that this bill, as I understand the
7 language of this section of the tax code, it
8 doesn't differentiate between the hostile
9 takeover and merely the acquiring parent that
10 wants to come in and perhaps make a continued
11 investment in New York.
12 So I look as it as a close
13 question. I clearly see the risk that a
14 parent will suck out the investment tax credit
15 and leave liabilities or leave unemployed
16 people here in New York, but I also see that
17 there's the same possibility that an acquiring
18 parent would look at the balance sheet, say
19 here's a company that has carry-forward
20 investment tax credits that we can use, save
21 money, make a further investment in New York
22 and increase our presence there because
23 they're able to -- the acquiring parent is
24 able to use the investment tax credit as an
25 asset on the balance sheet making the New York
4644
1 corporation more valuable.
2 I agree it's a close question.
3 I would support an amendment that does what
4 you want to do to restrict it, to keep the
5 corporation here, but I think the general idea
6 of allowing the investment tax credit to be
7 carried forward should be encouraged whether
8 it's an out of state foreign corporation or a
9 domestic corporation.
10 The other easy way to do it
11 from my perspective is if I were a company
12 faced with the situation that Senator Nozzolio
13 talks about, I would simply whip together a
14 quick New York subsidiary and have the New
15 York subsidiary acquire the corporation, carry
16 the investment tax credits forward that way
17 and then you get the same benefits.
18 So I think it's a bill that may
19 have mixed results in the marketplace, but I'm
20 not so sure it's bad in and of itself that we
21 allow an acquiring corporation to carry
22 forward investment tax credits which may, in
23 some cases, even in corporations that have
24 limited resources and may be on the down side,
25 it -- maybe their only significant asset is
4645
1 the ability to recognize an investment tax
2 credit carry-forward at some time in the
3 future.
4 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
5 President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
7 Senator Leichter.
8 SENATOR LEICHTER: If Senator
9 Dollinger would yield.
10 Senator, will you yield?
11 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Yes, I
12 will.
13 SENATOR LEICHTER: Okay. Do
14 you not agree that as this bill is drafted,
15 that investment tax credit could be acquired
16 along with the acquisition of a New York
17 corporation and then the number of employees
18 could be decreased or the number of employees
19 could be totally eliminated and the general
20 belief is -- and I ask you sort of as a second
21 part of my question -- aren't we generally
22 better off if we have a New York corporation,
23 a New York ownership, a corporation where the
24 management has a history of being part of its
25 community?
4646
1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
2 President, in response to that, I agree that
3 an amendment that would suggest that it be a
4 New York corporation, that is, the actual
5 acquiring corporation, would perhaps give a
6 greater chance, create a greater chance that
7 the corporation would have a continuing
8 linkage or a nexus with New York State but
9 that isn't even necessarily true because you
10 could have a situation where the corporation
11 is a New York corporation, makes the
12 acquisition, takes the investment tax credits
13 and then six months later beats a path to
14 North Carolina or South Carolina.
15 So I would support an amendment
16 that does the kinds of things you talk about,
17 but at the same time, I think the notion that
18 the acquiring parent gets to use the
19 investment tax credit carry-forward is not
20 necessarily a bad idea because, remember, the
21 reason why it's there is because someone went
22 out and made an investment in jobs, plants and
23 equipment here in New York State, and I think
24 -- I believe it's a seven-year carry-forward
25 for the investment tax credit or a five-year
4647
1 carry-forward -- it means that the to be
2 acquired corporation has already made an
3 investment in New York. It's probably a
4 better or more likely than not that the
5 acquiring parent won't walk away from that new
6 investment.
7 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
8 President.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
10 Senator Leichter.
11 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yes. With
12 my apologies to Senator Nozzolio, I realized
13 there was one question I forgot to ask him, if
14 you would be good enough to yield, Senator.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
16 Senator Nozzolio, do you yield for a last
17 question?
18 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes.
19 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator -
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
21 He yields, Senator.
22 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you,
23 Mr. President.
24 I can't remember if I should or
25 not in this case, maybe. This is his last
4648
1 question?
2 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator, why
3 is this bill retroactive to January 1, 1997?
4 Are we trying to benefit a particular
5 corporation? Is there a special takeover that
6 you have in mind that you want to benefit the
7 acquiring corporation?
8 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: There are, I
9 believe three or four companies that have been
10 recently acquired in New York State that would
11 benefit from this provision.
12 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
13 President, Senator Nozzolio, could you tell us
14 which of these corporations are?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
16 Senator, do you continue to yield?
17 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: I thought
18 that was the last question, Senator.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
20 Apparently he has one more, Senator.
21 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: The -- I'm
22 informed that the -- there is a company called
23 the International Imaging Materials, Inc.,
24 with over 750 employees in Amherst, New York,
25 Gould's Pumps, which has been acquired by ITT
4649
1 Industries, Inc. in Central New York, Dresser
2 Industries in -- with manufacturing plants in
3 Painted Post, Olean and Wellsville and General
4 Motors Delco Chassis Motor and Actuator
5 Operations headquartered in Rochester.
6 SENATOR LEICHTER: Good. Thank
7 you, Senator Nozzolio. You're forthcoming as
8 always.
9 I just want to point out to my
10 colleagues, whatever the merits of the
11 arguments were beforehand -- and I don't
12 disagree with Senator Dollinger's point which
13 really isn't that different from mine which is
14 if you want to put in some protection for -
15 to keep jobs in New York, I would have no
16 difficulty in voting for this, but now it's a
17 totally different kettle of fish. We're
18 giving a benefit to corporations that have
19 already made the acquisition.
20 So if the argument is, Hey, we
21 want to do this to be more competitive, to try
22 to bring in capital, this has already
23 happened. This is a retroactive benefit and
24 gift that we're giving certain corporations.
25 I don't know where they were from. They were
4650
1 out of the state of New York. It would be
2 interesting to know, maybe Senator Nozzolio
3 can tell us if he does, whether any of these
4 corporations have decreased the number of jobs
5 that they have in New York after acquiring the
6 New York corporation, but why in God's name
7 would you throw away taxpayers' money by
8 giving a tax benefit to these corporations? I
9 mean, that really -- it's the worst sort of
10 special interest legislation. Whether or not
11 we should do this -- and I think as it's
12 written you shouldn't do this bill but you
13 certainly shouldn't do it if it's retroactive.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
15 Read the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
17 This act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
19 Call the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the
21 roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 56, nays
23 1, Senator Leichter recorded in the negative.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
25 The bill is passed with one negative vote.
4651
1 Sorry, Senator Montgomery. Why
2 do you rise?
3 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: I'm rising
4 to vote in the negative with Senator Leichter
5 on that bill that just passed. Am I too
6 late?
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
8 Since the bill was just marked passed,
9 Senator, would you make a request for
10 unanimous consent.
11 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Mr.
12 President, I request to be recorded in the
13 negative on Calendar 13...
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
15 ...40, I believe it is.
16 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: ...40.
17 Thank you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
19 Without objection, so ordered.
20 The Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1349, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 7622,
23 an act to amend Chapter 814 of the Laws of
24 1987, amending the State Finance Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
4652
1 Read the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 9.
3 This act shall take effect January 1.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
5 Call the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the
7 roll.)
8 SENATOR STACHOWSKI:
9 Explanation.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
11 Excuse me, Senator Leichter.
12 Senator, I'm sorry. I could
13 not hear it.
14 SENATOR LEICHTER: Can we have
15 an explanation.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
17 Senator Stafford, Senator Leichter is
18 requesting an explanation.
19 SENATOR STAFFORD: By all
20 means.
21 Mr. President, this bill makes
22 permanent the New York State Governmental
23 Accountability Audit and Internal Control Act
24 which we passed in 1987. It's been temporary.
25 I can go into many, many
4653
1 details but let me try to summarize it.
2 Effective January 1, '99, the following would
3 be permanent. It amends the (inaudible) to
4 make act's -- make the act's definition of
5 internal control. They'll be consistent with
6 the (inaudible) and with that included in
7 generally accepted auditing standards.
8 Now, what that is, you know,
9 you put out a statement and you, in effect,
10 say the state has been audited and within the
11 principles of accounting, here's what we
12 found.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
14 Senator Stafford, with due respect, the
15 stenographer is having difficulty picking up
16 the sound of your voice.
17 SENATOR STAFFORD: Sorry.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
19 Thank you.
20 SENATOR STAFFORD: Want me to
21 start over?
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
23 Yes, please, Senator.
24 SENATOR STAFFORD: All right.
25 Somebody said, Oh, no.
4654
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
2 I'm sure Senator Leichter couldn't hear it,
3 so -
4 SENATOR STAFFORD: Right. But
5 he knows the bill already. Anybody who has
6 been educated on the Charles knows accounting
7 much better than I do.
8 Now, it also amends the Finance
9 Law that updates the state comptroller's
10 responsibilities by specifically authorizing
11 the comptroller to issue internal control
12 audit standards.
13 I'm not making light here, but
14 I'm going to mention this, and I'll bet
15 Senator Leichter knows this. This says state
16 comptroller. Is Carl McCall the comptroller
17 or the comptroller? That's in the
18 Constitution, comptroller?
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
20 Senator, are you addressing the Chair because
21 I'm sure I don't know.
22 SENATOR STAFFORD: Right,
23 comptroller, but we know exactly what we're
24 talking about. We're talking about the office
25 that is held now by Carl McCall. It was held
4655
1 before by Ned Regan and before that by Colonel
2 Levitt and before that Frank Moore and before
3 that J. Raymond McGovern.
4 It also amends the Executive -
5 Executive Law and the Public Authorities Law
6 to update the definitions of internal controls
7 related to the responsibilities of the state
8 agencies.
9 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
10 President, excuse me for interrupting,
11 Senator.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
13 Senator Leichter, why do you rise?
14 SENATOR LEICHTER: If you would
15 yield to a question, that may make your
16 explanation briefer.
17 SENATOR STAFFORD: Always will
18 yield.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
20 The Senator yields.
21 SENATOR LEICHTER: Is the state
22 comptroller, however you spell it -- I spell
23 it c-o-m-p-t-r-o-l-l-e-r, but is he in favor
24 of this bill?
25 SENATOR STAFFORD: Is he? I
4656
1 would be glad to hold the bill and find out -
2 I took for granted that he was in favor of
3 this. It increases his -- I don't want to use
4 the word "power" because that isn't a good
5 word, but let me say it increases his shop.
6 Also it was passed on a bipartisan basis -
7 I'll be serious. It was passed on a
8 bipartisan basis. I remember I had some
9 concerns. I said, are we just adding another
10 bureaucracy here and adding -- passing laws
11 for the sake of passing laws? I do not think
12 so. We get an audited statement of the
13 state. The firm that gets the responsibility
14 -- you're not yawning, Mr. President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
16 Never, sir.
17 SENATOR STAFFORD: I'm afraid
18 you were, but I certainly understand. We now
19 get an audited statement and I think it's in
20 the 90s. I think we should have an audited
21 statement from a certified public accountant
22 firm. I can't always say that -- I can't
23 always say this, but I've actually read their
24 report and it actually is impressive because
25 someone professionally is saying or setting
4657
1 forth exactly what the books of New York State
2 say.
3 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
4 President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
6 Senator Leichter.
7 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator
8 Stafford, I think you're right that it would
9 seem, as I read this, to certainly enhance or
10 be in conformity with the comptroller's power,
11 but let me take you up on your kind offer.
12 Would you lay this aside?
13 SENATOR STAFFORD: I can't
14 believe I would overspeak like that. Amazing
15 but, of course, you and I work on camaraderie.
16 SENATOR LEICHTER: And you're
17 the best. You're the best, the absolute
18 best.
19 SENATOR STAFFORD: I have a
20 memo that says "Opposed, none available." No
21 opposition.
22 SENATOR LEICHTER: All right.
23 Would you mind if we got the views of the
24 comptroller and put this bill over until
25 tomorrow?
4658
1 SENATOR STAFFORD: You know I
2 overstepped on that one.
3 SENATOR LEICHTER: That's
4 because you're the best and I mean that.
5 SENATOR STAFFORD: The
6 comptroller has no position.
7 Now, this bill -- I will say,
8 this bill has been out there. We've had it in
9 effect since 1987 and we're just making it
10 permanent. I certainly understand your
11 interest.
12 SENATOR LEICHTER: Thank you.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
14 Read the last section, please, quickly.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 9.
16 This act shall take effect January 1.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
18 Call the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
23 The bill is passed.
24 SENATOR STAFFORD: I would just
25 mention this also because we all need to learn
4659
1 every day. Senator Cook has been most helpful
2 -- excuse me, Mr. President. Could I just
3 mention this.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
5 If you wish, sir.
6 SENATOR STAFFORD: Senator Cook
7 has been most helpful. It's spelled
8 comptroller c-o-m-p-t-r-o-l-l-e-r, but it is
9 pronounced, as Senator Leichter said,
10 comptroller.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
12 For the record, Senator Stafford's comments
13 will be enshrined -- should be enshrined in
14 the record.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1351, by Senator Meier, Senate Print 7635, an
17 act to amend the Civil Rights Law, in relation
18 to the right of public petition and
19 participation.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
21 Read the last section.
22 SENATOR LEICHTER: Can we have
23 an explanation, please.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
25 Senator Meier, an explanation has been
4660
1 requested by Senator Leichter.
2 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
3 this bill confers a limited immunity from
4 civil liability for actions which people take
5 to petition their government for a redress of
6 grievances.
7 Let me explain it more
8 particularly by describing the kind of fact
9 pattern where this would come into play. This
10 is something that occurred in my district
11 where some citizens were concerned about the
12 manner in which public funds and public
13 property were being used. They used the
14 Freedom of Information Law and other
15 mechanisms available by law to citizens to
16 question their government about how funds were
17 being used. They gathered that information.
18 The information they gathered later resulted
19 in some public officials being indicted and
20 later convicted. Those public officials,
21 while this was going on, brought a lawsuit
22 against those citizens. Those citizens,
23 because they took an interest in their
24 government and were attempting to stop an
25 improper use of town resources, had to expend
4661
1 funds for attorneys and legal expenses, had to
2 go through the emotional trauma of defending a
3 lawsuit. This bill would provide a limited
4 immunity, which would, in effect, be an
5 affirmative defense.
6 The present state of the law in
7 New York is such that this kind of immunity
8 only applies where the public action being
9 questioned by a citizen would be the granting
10 of a permit, a zoning variance, that kind of
11 thing.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
13 Read the last section.
14 SENATOR LEICHTER: Just one
15 question, please.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
17 Senator Leichter.
18 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator
19 Meier.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
21 Excuse me, Senator. Are you asking Senator
22 Meier to -
23 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yes.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
25 Does the Senator yield?
4662
1 SENATOR MEIER: Yes.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
3 He yields.
4 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator, I
5 appreciate the benefit we get from giving
6 protection to citizens and trying to avoid the
7 slap suit. I'm just concerned -- let me first
8 ask you, except as otherwise provided in
9 Section 76 (a) of this article, what does that
10 provide?
11 SENATOR MEIER: Section 76 (a)
12 of the Civil Rights Law, the exception would
13 apply to cases where the slap suit brought
14 against the citizen -- the exception involves
15 falsity, malice, reckless disregard for the
16 truth. So, in other words, when I say it's a
17 limited immunity, those would be the
18 exceptions where it would not apply.
19 SENATOR LEICHTER: That was
20 precisely what I had in mind. So if I'm
21 correct, you're not eliminating those
22 instances where somebody acts out of malice or
23 acts in a defamatory manner.
24 SENATOR MEIER: No. That's
25 correct, Senator. That's exactly the intent
4663
1 of the bill.
2 SENATOR LEICHTER: Good. Thank
3 you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
5 Read the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
7 This act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
9 Call the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
14 The bill is passed.
15 Senator Skelos, that finishes
16 the controversial calendar.
17 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
18 would you please call up Calendar Number 13...
19 yes. If we could return to reports of
20 standing committees, I believe there's a
21 report of the Rules Committee at the desk. I
22 ask that it be read at this time.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
24 There is a report of the Rules Committee at
25 the desk.
4664
1 The Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
3 from the Committee on Rules, reports the
4 following bills:
5 Senate Print 2653, by Senator
6 Kuhl, an act to amend the Tax Law;
7 5098-B, by Senator Skelos, an
8 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
9 5477-C, by Senator Goodman, an
10 act to amend the Public Health Law;
11 5696-A, by Senator Smith, an
12 act authorizing the city of New York;
13 5780-A, by Senator LaValle, an
14 act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law and
15 others;
16 6036, by Senator Holland, an
17 act authorizing and directing the Commissioner
18 of General Services;
19 6200, by Senator Volker, an act
20 to amend the Erie County Tax Act;
21 6311-A, by Senator Meier, an
22 act to authorize the city of Utica;
23 6360-A, by Senator Holland, an
24 act to amend the Social Services Law;
25 6391, by Senator Seward, an act
4665
1 to amend Chapter 463 of the Laws of 1995;
2 6528, by Senator Trunzo, an act
3 to amend the General Municipal Law;
4 6638-A, by Senator Santiago, an
5 act to authorize the city of New York;
6 6722-A, by Senator Breslin, an
7 act to authorize the city of Cohoes;
8 6755, by Senator Johnson, an
9 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
10 6830, by Senator Leibell, an
11 act to amend the Town Law and the Public
12 Officers Law;
13 6831, by Senator Leibell, an
14 act to amend the Town Law and the Public
15 Officers Law;
16 6926, by Senator Wright, an act
17 to amend the General Municipal Law and the
18 Local Finance Law;
19 7008-A, by Senator Goodman, an
20 act to amend the General Municipal Law;
21 7193-A, by Senator Skelos, an
22 act to amend Chapter 269 of the Laws of 1979;
23 7288, by Senator Leibell, an
24 act to amend the Education Law;
25 7385, by Senator Saland, an act
4666
1 to authorize the town of LaGrange;
2 7388-B, by Senator Saland, an
3 act to amend the Tax Law and the General
4 Municipal Law;
5 7527-A, by Senator Maziarz, an
6 act to legalize, validate, ratify and confirm;
7 7588, by Senator Velella, an
8 act to amend the Insurance Law;
9 7626, by Senator Marcellino, an
10 act authorizing the assessor of the county of
11 Nassau;
12 7627, by Senator Skelos, an act
13 authorizing the assessor of the county of
14 Nassau;
15 7644, by Senator Stafford, an
16 act to amend Chapter 466 of the Laws of 1995;
17 7659, by Senator Volker, an act
18 to amend the Mental Hygiene Law; and
19 7744, by Senator Spano, an act
20 to amend the Workers' Compensation Law and the
21 Insurance Law.
22 All bills ordered direct for
23 third reading.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
25 Senator Skelos.
4667
1 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept
2 the report of the Rules Committee.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
4 All in favor of accepting the report of the
5 Rules Committee signify by saying aye.
6 (Response of "Aye".)
7 Opposed, nay.
8 (There was no response.)
9 The report of the Rules
10 Committee is accepted.
11 Senator Skelos.
12 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
13 at this time would you please call up Calendar
14 Number 1317, Senate 7744, and ask that it have
15 its third reading. It was just reported from
16 the Rules Committee.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
18 The Secretary will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1317, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 7744, an
21 act to amend the Workers' Compensation Law and
22 the Insurance Law.
23 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a
24 message of necessity at the desk?
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
4668
1 There is a message, Senator.
2 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to
3 accept.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
5 The motion is to move to accept the message of
6 necessity. All in favor signify by saying
7 aye.
8 (Response of "Aye".)
9 Opposed, nay.
10 (There was no response.)
11 The message is accepted.
12 Read the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 9.
14 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
16 Call the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the
18 roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57 -- ayes
20 56, nays 1, Senator Cook recorded in the
21 negative.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
23 Senator Stavisky too.
24 THE SECRETARY: On Calendar
25 1317, those recorded in the negative, Senators
4669
1 Cook and Stavisky. Ayes 55, nays 2.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
3 Excuse me. Senator, you just wanted to check
4 in? I'm sorry.
5 SENATOR STAVISKY: I also wish
6 to be recorded -
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
8 Senator, can we just finish this bill? We're
9 on a roll call. I'm sorry.
10 Please announce the negatives
11 again so we clarify it.
12 THE SECRETARY: On Calendar
13 Number 1317, those recorded in the negative,
14 Senators Cook and Meier. Ayes 55, nays 2.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
16 The bill is passed.
17 Senator Stavisky.
18 SENATOR STAVISKY: Mr.
19 President, without objection, I shall like to
20 be recorded in the negative on Calendar 996
21 and Calendar 1315.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
23 Without objection, Senator Stavisky will be
24 recorded in the negative on Calendars Number
25 996 and 1313.
4670
1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
2 I believe there may be some other individuals
3 that want to be recorded in the negative on
4 some bills. If you could recognize them to
5 ask for unanimous consent.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
7 Senator Seward.
8 SENATOR SEWARD: Yes, Senate
9 7744. I'm not sure of the Calendar Number,
10 but Senate Bill 7744.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
12 That's 1317.
13 SENATOR SEWARD: I'd ask
14 unanimous consent to be recorded in the
15 negative.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
17 Without objection, so ordered.
18 Is there anyone else? Senator
19 Meier -- sorry.
20 Senator Skelos.
21 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
22 is there any housekeeping at the desk?
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
24 Yes, there is, Senator. We'll return to
25 motions and resolutions.
4671
1 Senator Fuschillo.
2 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
3 President, on behalf of Senator Hannon, on
4 page number 9, I offer the following
5 amendments to Calendar Number 334, Senate
6 Print Number 1736-B, and ask that said bill
7 retain its place on the third reading.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
9 The amendments are received and the bill will
10 retain its place on the Third Reading
11 Calendar.
12 Senator Fuschillo.
13 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: On behalf
14 of Senator LaValle, on page number 39, I offer
15 the following amendments to Calendar Number
16 1168, Senate Print Number 7134, and ask that
17 said bill retain its place on the Third
18 Reading Calendar.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
20 So ordered.
21 Senator Fuschillo.
22 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
23 President, I wish to call up on behalf of
24 Senator Johnson, Print Number 2684-B, recalled
25 from the Assembly, which is now at the desk.
4672
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
2 The Secretary will read.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 257, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 2684-B,
5 an act to amend the Insurance Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
7 Senator Fuschillo.
8 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
9 President, I now move to reconsider the vote
10 by which the bill was passed.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
12 Call the roll on reconsideration.
13 (The Secretary called the roll
14 on reconsideration.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
17 Senator Fuschillo.
18 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
19 President, I now offer the following
20 amendments.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
22 The amendments are accepted.
23 Senator Fuschillo.
24 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
25 President, on behalf of Senator Libous, I wish
4673
1 to call up Print Number 1122-A, recalled from
2 the Assembly, which is now at the desk.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
4 The Secretary will read.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 1122-A, an
7 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
9 Senator Fuschillo.
10 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
11 President, I now move to reconsider the vote
12 by which the bill was passed.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
14 Call the roll on reconsideration, please.
15 (The Secretary called the roll
16 on reconsideration.)
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
19 Senator Fuschillo.
20 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
21 President, I now offer the following
22 amendments.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
24 The amendments are accepted.
25 Senator Meier.
4674
1 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
2 I wish to call up my bill, Print Number 7426,
3 recalled from the Assembly, which is now at
4 the desk.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
6 The Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1038, by Senator Meier, Senate Print 7426, an
9 act to authorize the town of New Hartford.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
11 Senator Meier.
12 SENATOR MEIER: I now move to
13 reconsider the vote by which the bill was
14 passed.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call
16 the roll on reconsideration, please.
17 (The Secretary called the roll
18 on reconsideration.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
21 Senator Meier.
22 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
23 I now offer the following amendments.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
25 amendments are accepted.
4675
1 Senator Meier.
2 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
3 I wish to call up Senator Goodman's bill,
4 Print Number 7317-A, recalled from the
5 Assembly, which is now at the desk.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
7 Call the roll -- I'm sorry -- the Secretary
8 will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1093, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 7317-A,
11 an act to amend the Tax Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
13 Senator Meier.
14 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
15 I now move to reconsider the vote by which the
16 bill was passed.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Please
18 call the roll on reconsideration.
19 (The Secretary called the roll
20 on reconsideration.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
23 Senator Meier.
24 SENATOR MEIER: I now offer the
25 following amendments.
4676
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
2 amendments are accepted.
3 Senator Meier.
4 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
5 I wish to call up Senator DeFrancisco's bill,
6 Print Number 477-B, recalled from the
7 Assembly, which is now at the desk.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
9 The Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 536, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
12 477-B, an act to amend the Real Property Tax
13 Law.
14 SENATOR MEIER: I now move to
15 reconsider the vote by which the bill was
16 passed.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
18 Please call the roll on reconsideration.
19 (The Secretary called the roll
20 on reconsideration.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
23 Senator Meier.
24 SENATOR MEIER: I now offer the
25 following amendments.
4677
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
2 The amendments are accepted.
3 Senator Meier.
4 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
5 on page number 22, I offer the following
6 amendments to Calendar Number 759, Senate
7 Print Number 5975, and ask that said bill
8 retain its place on the Third Reading
9 Calendar.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
11 The amendments are accepted and the bill will
12 retain its place on the Third Reading
13 Calendar.
14 Senator Meier.
15 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
16 on page number 34, I offer the following
17 amendments to Senator Alesi's bill, Calendar
18 Number 1057, Senate Print 6501, and ask that
19 said bill retain its place on the Third
20 Reading Calendar.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
22 The amendments are accepted and the bill will
23 retain its place on the Third Reading
24 Calendar.
25 Senator Meier.
4678
1 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
2 I wish to call up Senator Leibell's bill,
3 Print Number 3929-A, recalled from the
4 Assembly, which is now at the desk.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
6 The Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1234, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 3929-A,
9 an act to amend the Real Property Actions and
10 Proceedings Law.
11 SENATOR MEIER: I now move to
12 reconsider the vote by which this bill was
13 passed.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
15 Please call the roll on reconsideration.
16 (The Secretary called the roll
17 on reconsideration.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
20 Senator Meier.
21 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
22 I now offer the following amendments.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
24 amendments are accepted. Thank you, Senator
25 Meier.
4679
1 Senator Seward.
2 SENATOR SEWARD: Yes. If
3 Senator Meier would yield, I would like to -
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
5 The Senator graciously yields.
6 SENATOR SEWARD: On behalf of
7 Senator Velella, Mr. President, I wish to call
8 up Calendar Number 356, Assembly Print Number
9 3169-A.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
11 The Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 356, by member of the Assembly Pheffer,
14 Assembly Print 3169-A, an act to amend the
15 Real Property Tax Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
17 Senator Seward.
18 SENATOR SEWARD: I now move to
19 reconsider the vote by which this Assembly
20 bill was substituted for Senator Velella's
21 bill, Senate Print Number 4597-A, on March 11.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
23 Call the roll on reconsideration.
24 (The Secretary called the roll
25 on reconsideration.)
4680
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
3 Senator Seward.
4 SENATOR SEWARD: I now move
5 that Assembly Bill Number 3169-A be
6 recommitted to the Committee on Rules and
7 Senate -- the Senate bill be restored to the
8 order of Third Reading Calendar.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
10 So ordered.
11 Senator Seward.
12 SENATOR SEWARD: Yes, Mr.
13 President. I wish to call up Calendar Number
14 784, Assembly Print Number 4798.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
16 The Secretary will read.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 784, by member of the Assembly Nolan, Assembly
19 Print 4798, an act to amend the Labor Law.
20 SENATOR SEWARD: I now move to
21 reconsider the vote by which this Assembly
22 bill was substituted for Senator Spano's bill,
23 Senate Print Number 2821, on May 6th.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
25 Call the roll on reconsideration, please.
4681
1 (The Secretary called the roll
2 on reconsideration.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 57.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
5 Senator Seward.
6 SENATOR SEWARD: Mr. President,
7 I now move that Assembly Bill Number 4798 be
8 committed to the Committee on Rules and
9 Senator Spano's Senate bill be restored to the
10 order of Third Reading Calendar.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
12 So ordered.
13 SENATOR SEWARD: Mr. President,
14 I now offer the following amendments.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
16 The amendments are accepted.
17 Senator Skelos, may we do some
18 substitutions.
19 SENATOR SKELOS: Please make
20 the substitutions.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
22 The Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: On page 4,
24 Senator LaValle moves to discharge from the
25 Committee on Rules Assembly Bill Number 8579-A
4682
1 and substitute it for the identical Third
2 Reading Calendar 66.
3 On page 8, Senator Present
4 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
5 Assembly Bill Number 6084-A and substitute it
6 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 295.
7 On page 12, Senator Cook moves
8 to discharge from the Committee on Rules
9 Assembly Bill Number 1664-C and substitute it
10 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 446.
11 On page 18, Senator Cook moves
12 to discharge from the Committee on Rules
13 Assembly Bill Number 9444-A and substitute it
14 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 666.
15 On page 20, Senator Volker
16 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
17 Assembly Bill Number 3998-A and substitute it
18 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 717.
19 On page 29, Senator Leibell
20 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
21 Assembly Bill Number 4328 and substitute it
22 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 913.
23 And on page 33, Senator LaValle
24 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
25 Assembly Bill Number 9181 and substitute it
4683
1 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 1016.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
3 All substitutions are ordered.
4 Senator Skelos.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
6 if we could return to the order of motions and
7 resolutions and please recognize Senator
8 Meier.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
10 We'll return to the order of motions and
11 resolutions.
12 Senator Meier.
13 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
14 on behalf of Senator Volker, I wish to call up
15 Print Number 3358-A, recalled from the
16 Assembly, which is now at the desk.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
18 The Secretary will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 314, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 3358-A,
21 an act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
22 Law and others.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
24 Senator Meier.
25 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
4684
1 I now move to reconsider the vote by which
2 this bill was passed.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
4 Please call the roll on reconsideration.
5 (The Secretary called the roll
6 on reconsideration.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
9 Senator Meier.
10 SENATOR MEIER: I now offer the
11 following amendments.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
13 The amendments are accepted.
14 Senator Alesi.
15 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, Mr.
16 President.
17 On page 44, I offer the
18 following amendments to Calendar Number 1333,
19 Senate Print Number 7035-A, and ask that said
20 bill retain its place on the Third Reading
21 Calendar.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
23 The amendments are accepted and the bill will
24 retain its place on the Third Reading
25 Calendar.
4685
1 Senator Skelos.
2 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there any
3 housekeeping at the desk?
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
5 The house is clean, sir.
6 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
7 there being no further business, I move we
8 adjourn until Tuesday, June 16th, at 11:30
9 a.m. sharp.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:
11 The Senate will stand adjourned until Tuesday,
12 that is tomorrow, at 11:30 a.m. sharp.
13 (Whereupon, at 6:18 p.m., the
14 Senate adjourned.)
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