Regular Session - June 18, 1998
5340
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9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 June 18, 1998
11 10:05 A.M.
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14 REGULAR SESSION
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18 SENATOR CHARLES D. COOK, Acting President
19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
3 Senate will come to order. Please join me in
4 the Pledge of Allegiance.
5 (The assemblage repeated the
6 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
7 In the absence of clergy,
8 please may we join in a moment of silence.
9 (A moment of silence was
10 observed.)
11 Reading of the Journal.
12 Secretary will read the Journal.
13 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
14 Wednesday, June 17th. The Senate met pursuant
15 to adjournment. The Journal of Tuesday, June
16 16th, was read and approved. On motion, Senate
17 adjourned.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Hearing
19 no objection, the Journal stands approved as
20 read.
21 Presentation of petitions.
22 Messages from the Assembly.
23 Messages from the Governor.
24 Reports of standing
25 committees.
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1 Reports of select committees.
2 Communication and reports from
3 state officers.
4 Motions and resolutions.
5 Senator Meier.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Mr.
7 President, on page number 21, I offer the
8 following amendments to Calendar Number 788,
9 Senate Print Number 6796-A, and ask that said
10 bill retain its place on the Third Reading
11 Calendar.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK:
13 Amendments received and adopted. Bill will
14 retain its place on the Third Reading
15 Calendar.
16 Substitutions.
17 THE SECRETARY: On page 13,
18 Senator DeFrancisco moves to discharge from
19 the Committee on Rules Assembly Print 2378-C,
20 and substitute it for the identical Senate
21 Bill 477-C.
22 On page 24, Senator Velella
23 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
24 Assembly Bill 9888-A, and substitute it for
25 the identical Senate Bill 6519-A.
5343
1 On page 26, Senator Maziarz
2 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
3 Assembly Bill 4368-B, and substitute it for
4 the identical Senate Bill 4989-A.
5 On page 32, Senator DeFrancisco
6 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
7 Assembly Bill 9533, and substitute it for the
8 identical Senate Bill 6443.
9 On page 34, Senator Farley
10 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
11 Assembly Bill 8556-A, and substitute it for
12 the identical Senate Bill 5556-A.
13 And on page 43, Senator Rath
14 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
15 Assembly Bill 7956-C, and substitute it for
16 the identical Senate Bill 5383-C.
17 SENATOR SKELOS: Please make
18 the substitutions, Mr. President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK:
20 Substitutions are accepted.
21 Senator Skelos, you ready for
22 the calendar?
23 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
24 at this time may we please adopt the
25 Resolution Calendar.
5344
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: All in
2 favor of adopting the Resolutions Calendar say
3 aye.
4 (Response of "Aye.")
5 Opposed say nay.
6 (There was no response. )
7 The Resolution Calendar is
8 adopted.
9 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
10 on behalf of Senator Bruno, on Resolution
11 4130-A, he'd like to open up the sponsorship
12 on that resolution, so if anybody would like
13 to go on it, please notify the desk.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK:
15 Resolution 4130-A is opened for co-sponsor
16 ship by the entire house. Senator, would you
17 wish to use the usual procedure on that?
18 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes, Mr.
19 President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: We will
21 add all members except those who indicate that
22 they prefer not to be on the resolution.
23 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
24 I'd just like to say that with you presiding
25 up there right now, I know that we are going
5345
1 to have a very orderly day, a productive day,
2 just as your career in the Senate has been,
3 Senator Cook -- Charlie. All of the member
4 ship here respect you for the fine work that
5 you have done throughout the years and in
6 particular as chair of the Aging Committee -
7 of the Education Committee.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: I'm
9 aging, Senator Skelos.
10 SENATOR SKELOS: I was chair of
11 the Aging Committee. You have been a
12 wonderful person to deal with in the Senate
13 and certainly we hope that you continue to be
14 active in government because certainly there's
15 so much that we can still gain from you.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Thank
17 you, sir.
18 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you for
19 your wonderful career.
20 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
21 President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Yes,
23 Senator Marcellino.
24 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I, too,
25 would like to extend my thanks to you as a
5346
1 member of the Education Committee for all the
2 courtesies you've extended to me. The fact
3 that I have not been able to pass a single
4 bill from your committee is a testament to
5 your good taste and judgment, Senator.
6 I say this now, Charlie, it's
7 been a pleasure serving with you. You are
8 truly a gentleman in this business, and well
9 respected, and deservedly so, and
10 congratulations on whatever is before you, and
11 long life and good health.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
13 Saland.
14 SENATOR SALAND: Mr. President,
15 I could not let this opportunity go by, since
16 we are taking the time to thank you for your
17 extraordinary service to this chamber and to
18 your district and to the people of the state
19 of New York. Your retirement to me is in part
20 a personal loss. For a number of years, you
21 and I have started our legislative days off
22 joining over breakfast to discuss various and
23 sundry issues, very few of which dealt with
24 the operation of this chamber or the
25 legislative business, which made it even that
5347
1 much more of an enjoyable breakfast.
2 Charlie, you've been wonderful,
3 kind and have really been a model in respect
4 for me. You're extraordinary -- an
5 extraordinary gentleman. You have been a
6 tribute to this chamber, to your family.
7 You've been a tribute, I think, to the human
8 race. We would all be better served if there
9 were more Charlie Cooks, whether they be
10 Senator Cooks or just people in every walk of
11 life doing their thing every day in every
12 way.
13 I couldn't say enough kind
14 things about you, and each and every one of
15 them would be deserved. I'll miss you and
16 hope that your departure from this chamber is
17 not the end of our relationship, and I wish
18 you nothing but good health and whatever it is
19 I would want for myself at this stage of my
20 career, were it yours for your career, I would
21 wish for you.
22 God bless you and your family.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Thank
24 you. I'd like to remind the house that I have
25 not yet died.
5348
1 Senator Meier.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Mr.
3 President, some time ago a school
4 superintendent in my district told me that he
5 thought there might be two people in all of
6 Albany who understood the school aid formula,
7 and I told him that I was proud to know both
8 of them, and one is the director of your
9 committee and the other is the chair of your
10 committee, and I want to thank you for leading
11 me through a normally eyeball-glazing
12 explanation of a very complex system and
13 explaining it to me, and I want to thank you
14 for helping me dealing with the most difficult
15 of all constituents, school superintendents.
16 A lot of people love to beat up
17 folks who hold elected office and there are
18 those out there who think that this is not an
19 honorable profession and you, Charlie, are one
20 of the people who remind everybody out there
21 that this is an honorable profession. You
22 bring credit to the career of public service
23 and we're not going to miss you because we
24 know you haven't died. We're going to stay in
25 touch, and thank you so much.
5349
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
2 Larkin.
3 SENATOR LARKIN: Mr. President,
4 I had the distinct pleasure of serving with
5 you during my first tenure in the Assembly.
6 There's no member in either house could ever
7 have a better friend, a friend that knew the
8 ropes and was willing to share the ropes with
9 them and share the pleasures that they brought
10 back to the community.
11 Never when I was a member of
12 the Minority in the other house, there was
13 something going on in the districts that you
14 and I were jointly serving, whether it was a
15 grant or what not, you didn't make me a
16 player. You could have just walked away and
17 just said, It's my pot of money and it's for
18 me, and that is the exact way that you treated
19 everybody in your district when you were an
20 Assembly member, and now that you've been in
21 this Senate.
22 The distinction which you have
23 carried on, the manner in which you have
24 protected, guided and responded to the
25 constituents you have has shown your true
5350
1 character of life, the type of person you've
2 been. The big district, God only knows who
3 will fill -- try to fill your shoes, but I
4 consider it an honor and a privilege that I
5 knew Charlie cook.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
7 DeFrancisco.
8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I also
9 would like to rise to say basically what
10 everybody else has said, maybe in a slightly
11 different way. In this business, there's a
12 lot of tension, sometimes a lot of friction,
13 sometimes ungentlemanly conduct, but in the
14 six years that I've been in the Senate, I've
15 never seen any of that negative behavior on
16 your part.
17 On the contrary, you've always
18 acted with dignity. People, you've shown
19 respect to everyone, no matter what their
20 point of view might be, and it's a guide that
21 I'm going to try to follow through the
22 remaining years of the Senate, my Senate life,
23 how long that may be.
24 I also would like to piggyback
25 on what Ray Meier said, and just beat me to
5351
1 it, about the state aid formula, and I
2 understand that you are going to give every
3 one a sealed envelope with a one-paragraph
4 explanation of the state aid formula so that
5 we can act coherently with our constituents.
6 Thank you, Charlie.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
8 Maziarz.
9 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you
10 very much, Mr. President.
11 We all know Senator Leichter
12 announced that he's retiring. Senator Gold has
13 announced that he is retiring and you, Mr.
14 President, have announced that you are
15 retiring. Charlie, we're really going to miss
16 you.
17 (Applause).
18 Mr. President, I, like Senator
19 DeFrancisco, have been here a very short
20 period of time but I just want to say that, as
21 a relatively newer member of this body, I know
22 that you've had a lot of history here, but
23 you've always made me feel welcome. You were
24 always willing and able not just to share your
25 own knowledge, but also to share your staff.
5352
1 Just this year we had a problem within my
2 district that could have been, quite frankly,
3 a personal problem for me, and you sent your
4 staff out there and we had a town meeting, and
5 things kind of cooled off a little bit, and I
6 think it's very indicative of the way that you
7 ran the Education Committee over the years and
8 I think probably the finest tribute that one
9 could say to you, Mr. President, is that the
10 children of the state of New York are far
11 bitter off with the leadership that you
12 displayed during your chair as Education
13 committee chairman.
14 Congratulations, and enjoy your
15 retirement.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
17 Maltese.
18 SENATOR MALTESE: Mr.
19 President, I guess -- I guess, as Senator
20 DeFrancisco said, any negative behavior that
21 you would have exhibited you either kept to
22 yourself or kept well hidden, so I was never
23 aware of any, but I wanted to rise, as you
24 said you're not past yet, and hopefully have a
25 hell of a lot of life left in you to do the
5353
1 things that you want to do, the things that
2 are prioritized, the things that are really
3 important to family and friends.
4 I know that, with your leaving,
5 I'll -- I'll lose a good friend, good to see
6 face, somebody that always kept me advised on
7 what was going on in those few times that I
8 was out of the chamber the -- stop laughing
9 there -- Charlie, seriously, with your leaving
10 a good deal of the gentility, the tradition of
11 the Senate, I think, leaves with you. I think
12 that's fair to say. The Senate will be a
13 lesser place for that. I'll miss you.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
15 Alesi.
16 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, Mr.
17 President, and I'm very happy to hear you
18 personally say that you haven't yet passed
19 on. However, in the short time I've been
20 observing your career here, it's been
21 difficult for me to tell the difference
22 sometimes, but let me just say -- let me just
23 say that I have, as one of the newer members
24 observed the way that you've comported
25 yourself, not only here on the floor, but with
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1 the members who are all your friends, and I
2 have admired the way you have done that and,
3 in wishing you good luck, let me just say that
4 this little matter that -- of the attendance
5 in conference, because of your leaving and in
6 honor of that, I will be very happy to destroy
7 that.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK:
9 Senator, I'm not sure that -- that the
10 transfer of anything of value within the
11 chamber is really appropriate, so maybe you
12 better retain that.
13 SENATOR ALESI: Senator, in
14 anticipation of your never paying that any
15 way, it had no value to begin with.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Thank
17 you.
18 Senator Leibell.
19 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you.
20 I'm hoping that amnesty will extend to some of
21 the rest of us also.
22 Mr. President, I'm just going
23 to echo the comments you've heard from so many
24 others this morning. I look back on our many,
25 many conferences we have held in the Majority
5355
1 over the course of the last few years and
2 whether I was here or in the Assembly, I have
3 to say your presentation in the areas of
4 presentation are unsurpassed; they are the
5 best, and I have a great deal of trepidation,
6 you know, I think into the future who's going
7 to brief us on these education issues because
8 they certainly are mind-numbing to most of us,
9 complex and difficult, and you imparted to us
10 masterfully and fully, the knowledge you have
11 in this area, but equally significant is the
12 manner in which you have conducted yourself
13 here throughout your long and distinguished
14 career. It is a role model for all of us.
15 Your deep friend, and our
16 mutual friend Steve Saland says it's just the
17 beginning. We hope to see you many, many
18 times over the years.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
20 Lachman.
21 SENATOR LACHMAN: As a member
22 of the Minority, I owe a great deal to Senator
23 Cook because it's only been two and a half
24 years since I entered these chambers, and I've
25 learned a great deal in terms of how a chair
5356
1 can run a meeting in complete fairness and
2 objectivity even though there might be some
3 verbose members of the Minority present.
4 Charlie Cook is one of the most
5 unusual people in character, integrity and
6 intelligence, and he really represents the
7 total educational community in the state of
8 New York. He's told me so much about his
9 community that he represents that Susan, my
10 wife, and I are thinking of changing our trip
11 from New Delhi to Delhi in the near future.
12 Congratulations, and good luck
13 and a very active retirement.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
15 Rath.
16 SENATOR RATH: Mr. President,
17 if central casting were to call for a Senator
18 for a very important role in a very important
19 movie, they would have chosen Charlie cook
20 because, first of all, Senator, you not only
21 look and have the bearing of a Senator, but
22 you could pull off the role and be totally and
23 a hundred percent believable, no matter which
24 committees you were representing.
25 However, as chairman of the
5357
1 Education Committee, since I've been here and
2 it's -- you were a former chairman of Local
3 Government Committee, you have borne with me
4 and been patient in instructing me what I
5 really needed to know in order to pick up some
6 of the meaning and the credibility to carry
7 the continuity forward on the issues that you
8 cared so deeply about, and I've truly
9 appreciated that and everyone in the education
10 community, of course, has recognized that, and
11 Senator Lachman, having been so involved in
12 that for so many years, his words were
13 particularly pointed.
14 So good luck, Charlie, and as
15 I'm looking for your phone calls the next year
16 when you tell me that these are turkeys I'm
17 considering, I will call you back instantly.
18 Good luck.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
20 LaValle.
21 SENATOR LAVALLE: Mr.
22 President, as one of the members of the
23 Education Committee, I've witnessed along with
24 other members of the committee and of this
25 body the enormous job that you've done as
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1 chairman of probably one of the most difficult
2 committees. The stakeholders sometimes come
3 at you with enormous gusto, but you probably
4 of any of the chairs in modern time, have
5 handled those responsibilities with enormous
6 grace, intellect and fortitude, and the
7 changes that we've made in the Education Law
8 in your watch will be recorded in history as
9 some of the most significant that we have
10 made -- we literally have made a sea change in
11 so many areas in the formula, in the way
12 people vote on school budgets and many, many
13 other things, and you should be congratulated
14 in this body and the citizens of this state
15 are in deep debt for the job that you've -
16 the professional job that you have done.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
18 Volker.
19 SENATOR VOLKER: Yeah. Let me
20 just say and, Charlie, I know we will see
21 you. I think the one thing everybody should
22 understand, anybody that really believes that
23 we're not coming back, I don't think there's
24 anybody who doesn't believe that we're coming
25 back, perhaps several times this year. But
5359
1 let me just say to you, Charlie, and you and I
2 came to the Assembly a number of years ago as
3 we talked last night. There's almost none of
4 our colleagues left in the Assembly. They've
5 gone on either to bigger or better things or
6 whatever, but the fact that we were just
7 talking about the education formula, Senator
8 LaValle doesn't like to admit it, but actually
9 he's the one who devised the formula back when
10 he was a staff person to Senator Leon
11 Giuffreda; I happen to know that way back in
12 the late '60s and '70s.
13 And, Charlie, you've been a
14 friend of mine for a long, long time. We're
15 graduates of another house that I believe now
16 represents a majority of this house, if I'm
17 not mistaken, or very close to it, former
18 Assemblymen who are now Senators, but not only
19 have you always been a gentleman and a top
20 flight legislator with a -- what I call a
21 first class conscience, but you've always been
22 a very good friend of mine and a gentle man,
23 and I certainly will miss you as all of us
24 will, and I certainly wish you the best of
25 luck, but I expect to see you later on in the
5360
1 year again, and good luck.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
3 Wright.
4 SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President,
5 unlike some of my colleagues who came in at
6 the same time, I want to show you the proper
7 respect, as you've always shown that to us
8 since we've been here.
9 One of the -- one of the key
10 issues that I think any representative of a
11 rural area has to deal with is the funding of
12 its school systems. In our instances, those
13 school systems are not only important to the
14 education of our children, but in many
15 instances they, in fact, are the single
16 largest employer in the community. They are,
17 in fact, the heart of our small rural
18 communities.
19 We've had the decided advantage
20 of your leadership, not only as chair of the
21 Education Committee and as has been mentioned
22 service as the chair of the Local Government
23 Committee, but also the leadership that you've
24 demonstrated as the chair of the bipartisan
25 Rural Resources Commission, and many of us
5361
1 throughout upstate New York in those rural
2 communities have benefited by the efforts of
3 the commission, the work that it has done, and
4 that commission truly has been successful
5 because of the leadership you've provided and
6 the bipartisan relationship that you've lent
7 to that commission.
8 So, Charlie, I think everyone
9 truly recognizes what you've done in your
10 tenure here in the Senate, what you've done
11 not only to the people of your district but
12 more importantly what you've done for the
13 people of this great state.
14 I want to say thank you very
15 much.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
17 Gold.
18 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you, Mr.
19 President.
20 Firstly, before I make my
21 remarks because I do want to thank Senator
22 Maziarz for acknowledging that I do my job.
23 And you do your job too. I remember one
24 conversation where I -- I had a bill in your
25 committee, and you sat over there and you let
5362
1 me tell you about the bill and tell you the
2 merits of the bill and you said, "Manny, I'm
3 going to look into in this, and I'll get back
4 to you," and you did, and you said, "Yes,
5 you're right, it is in my committee." That
6 was the end of it, unfortunately.
7 Actually -- actually, Charlie,
8 you are -- you are one of the people who I've
9 admired because you knew, in all of your
10 dealings with the Minority that, day in and
11 day out, no matter what we did, you had at
12 least 31 votes and there are people who
13 understood that in a pleasant way; some people
14 who were a little bit ruder about it, but
15 certainly as somebody who has been in the
16 Minority all these years, you have been a
17 delight to be with. People have been talking
18 to me and others, you know, you're going to
19 miss this place, you're going to miss this
20 place, and I can only speak for myself. I
21 don't know whether I'll miss the place. You
22 miss people; that's what it really is. You
23 miss people, and you are one of those people
24 that I will miss.
25 If anybody has a dictionary and
5363
1 you pull it out right now and you look under
2 the word "class" you'll see a picture of
3 Charlie Cook because that's really what the
4 summation of what people have been saying is.
5 Your service in this Senate has really honored
6 all of us. People meet you and they learn
7 that you're a Senator, and then I meet
8 somebody I think I've been raised up the rung
9 once or twice because Charlie Cook is a
10 Senator, and that must be what a Senator is.
11 The word has been said that
12 you're a gentleman; you're gentle, you're
13 gentle. Well, the fact of the matter is,
14 Charles, that you are gentle in manner but, if
15 the truth be told, very firm in your
16 conviction, and that is, I think, why
17 everybody admires you.
18 Your dedication is unwavering
19 and the gentle manner in which you have done
20 your job just made you a delight. I wish you
21 good luck in the future. Most of all, I
22 certainly wish you good health, Charlie.
23 Please enjoy it.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
25 Leichter.
5364
1 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
2 President, since I find myself sitting in this
3 chair, I can speak not only for myself but
4 also for the Minority in thanking you not only
5 for your service in this chamber for the
6 people of your district and the people of the
7 state of New York, but to thank you for your
8 courtesy, your decency, for your collegiality
9 to us here in the Minority.
10 You really brought, I think,
11 some very special qualities to this chamber in
12 a body -- not only the Senate but the Assembly
13 -- where sometimes egos among so many of us
14 get a little inflated. I think one of the
15 things that we can say about you is that you
16 always kept your cool, you were calm, you were
17 mature. I think it's fair to say that you
18 were really very self-effacing.
19 The annals of laws of the state
20 of New York are full of Cook laws, and really
21 have contributed and bettered the lives of the
22 people of the state of New York, but I've
23 never seen you go around and preen and crow
24 about it, and so on. You've been really a
25 delight to work with as a colleague, and I
5365
1 just want to say, Charlie, you -- you and I,
2 we were both in the Assembly. I think I came
3 to the Senate before you did. You've served
4 here many years, and it's really been for me a
5 privilege to have served with you.
6 Thank you for what you've done
7 for all of us and for the people of the state
8 of New York. Good health!
9 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
10 Mendez.
11 SENATOR MENDEZ: Charlie, some
12 -- all of us here do, in fact, love you. All
13 of us here do, in fact, we're going to miss
14 you very much, and as I was sitting here and
15 hearing the expression of affection and
16 respect that has been expressed here today, I
17 must say this, that yes you have been
18 excellent in terms of filling the
19 constituents' needs and helping all the
20 residents of New York State through your able
21 legislation, but I think myself that you have
22 honored this chamber as well as the profession
23 of politics because of two things:
24 You have been very honest and
25 you have a word and the politician who doesn't
5366
1 have a word does not belong in that field, we
2 all know it, and secondly because you have
3 always been a loyal friend, and loyalty we
4 also know is a priceless commodity in the area
5 of politics.
6 I am your neighbor, you know,
7 my little country, living in your county,
8 Delaware County, and I hope to see you. I
9 wish you well as my other -- all the members
10 here wish you the very best healthy life and a
11 life of joy without the pressures of office,
12 and I know that you're getting drawn into
13 other things to achieve, and I also know that
14 we shall see you around, and we will be
15 delighted to do so.
16 Thank you.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
18 Seward.
19 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you, Mr.
20 President.
21 As you know, Mr. President,
22 because our -- not only our Senate Districts
23 adjoin but our home counties are adjacent to
24 each other, and I've already attended some
25 tributes to Senator Cook, and I suspect before
5367
1 the year is out I will be attending more
2 locally, but nothing gives me greater pride or
3 satisfaction than to stand here on this floor
4 of this Senate and to express my feelings
5 about Senator Charlie Cook.
6 I've known Charlie in a variety
7 of different ways, certainly as a friend, a
8 neighbor, as I've said. In a previous life, I
9 was one of Charlie's county chairmen. He had
10 my county in his district. I worked on
11 Senator Cook's staff for four years and for
12 the last 12 years I've been very honored to
13 call him a colleague here in the Senate as a
14 member myself.
15 Back in the district, I can
16 tell you that Charlie is known as a people
17 person. His style is to -- when the Senate is
18 not in session, to be out there in his
19 district spending time with his constituents,
20 having office hours in the little fire... the
21 town halls around his district, talking to
22 people one on one.
23 That's something very, very
24 special about Charlie Cook, that closeness
25 that he has with the individual people of his
5368
1 district. Of course, in this Capitol, and
2 throughout this state and throughout this
3 country, I would say, Charlie Cook has the
4 reputation of being a real leader, an expert
5 in such areas as rural health, education,
6 other issues that are so vitally important to
7 not only the people he represents but every
8 person in New York State.
9 I have chosen a path of public
10 service for myself and, when I think of people
11 that I would hope to emulate, the name of
12 Charlie Cook is at the top of the list. He's
13 a stand-up guy, a principled guy, intelligent,
14 and always does what he feels is in the best
15 interests of the people.
16 He emulates the very best in
17 public service and, Charlie, we're going to
18 miss you in this chamber, but I hope that the
19 closeness of our homes will mean that we'll be
20 together often in the future. It would be my
21 honor to meet with you.
22 Thank you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
24 Markowitz.
25 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Mr.
5369
1 President, Senator Cook, a Republican with
2 soul. You are definitely -- you are
3 definitely -- you are definitely the last of
4 the Mohicans, very few on that side, but the
5 last one perhaps. But I really want to say
6 that all of us will miss you so very, very
7 much, and I'm sure that I can share with my
8 colleagues how Senator Cook joined me in my -
9 in my district and was kind enough to visit
10 some of the best schools in Brooklyn and some
11 that need some greater attention, and he spent
12 the whole day not only meeting with parents,
13 students, teachers, faculty, administrators,
14 workers in the schools, and I have to tell
15 you, quite frankly, that you not only did your
16 party proud because you were one of the first
17 Republicans that ever walked into any of these
18 buildings, believe me, in the lifetimes of
19 most folks that you met, but also you showed a
20 rare intellect and a complete knowledge and
21 sensitivity towards people that you know and
22 still know need the attention and awareness of
23 the state Legislature, and so I'm indebted to
24 you for years.
25 I know you're going to be
5370
1 missed here because you have that rare display
2 of being genuine, being genuine, really
3 caring, really caring, and having the
4 intellect to make it all possible.
5 Good luck, Charlie.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: With
7 the -
8 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr.
9 President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
11 Stafford.
12 SENATOR GOLD: Late again.
13 SENATOR STAFFORD: Right. I
14 would suggest that it's been very, very
15 fortunate for us to have a person who had the
16 ability to put John Wesley's teaching into
17 government. We all know it's needed. I wish
18 some of the rest of us could do as well as you
19 have done.
20 All the words that have been
21 used -- decency, conscientiousness, civility
22 and, again, I wish we could do as well.
23 Now, Senator Leichter touched
24 on this, and I also would point out that, as
25 one who has had a bit of experience and been a
5371
1 bit objective about it, I can say that you and
2 Senator Gold and Senator Leichter certainly
3 have shown very sound judgment. I would say
4 this, that Senator Leichter mentioned I would
5 use the word disarming. If anyone doesn't
6 think that it's true, I suggest a few years
7 ago you should have challenged Senator Cook in
8 a primary. That's just an example. Nothing
9 against anybody, but I suggest that the very
10 kind, gentle man knew how to take care of
11 himself extremely well.
12 Now, don't scowl. Don't scowl,
13 it's a compliment but, you know we can't have
14 all this gentleness; we can't have this
15 gentleness overdone. That's my point, but
16 with that, again, everything that's been said
17 I second and, as I say, we're shifting gears,
18 and on a very, very personal point, you and I
19 shared some things in common and you have been
20 very, very helpful, and certainly have given
21 me a good bit of courage, and they're going to
22 wonder what that is and we aren't going to
23 tell them, but on a personal basis, it means a
24 great deal because health really is where it
25 all is.
5372
1 With that, I think Dale
2 mentioned we're just shifting gears here. We
3 all take various roads. And I won't quote
4 Robert Frost, but I woo say this: I think you
5 have made as much of an imprint on your fellow
6 man as Robert Frost and many others.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
8 Fuschillo.
9 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
10 President, I was recently elected when one of
11 my former legislative colleagues told me it's
12 nice to be important, it's always important to
13 be nice. The past three months I've been here
14 you certainly have observed that, and I've
15 observed difficult situations and good
16 situations and you taught me a valuable
17 lesson. I've always watched you. You've
18 always treated everybody with dignity and
19 respect, and for that I thank you and I wish
20 you the best in your retirement.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
22 Kuhl.
23 SENATOR KUHL: Yes, Charlie.
24 You know, it's been interesting to listen to
25 some of the members here talk about their
5373
1 memories of you, and I wanted to tell you that
2 you will have forever a picture in my mind and
3 it's not because of your tremendous leadership
4 in the educational committee or your
5 statesmanlike approach on the floor.
6 It has to do with a video where
7 you -- and I learned in watching that video
8 never to use a live prop. I know you remember
9 the video I'm talking about. That's the one
10 where you're trying to promote agriculture and
11 the dairy industry and there's a cow that
12 wants to nestle very close to you.
13 But in any case, I think it's
14 just wonderful that you're able to sit and
15 share memories with members here and certainly
16 all of us wish you very well, as I do. You've
17 been a wonderful friend, certainly a great
18 colleague to work with, and I wish you good
19 health always.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Thank
21 you.
22 With unanimous consent,
23 hopefully, I'd like to suspend the rules and
24 assume the privilege of the floor, if I may,
25 for just a moment.
5374
1 The first thing is -
2 SENATOR SALAND: You don't have
3 it.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Oh, I
5 don't have it?
6 The first thing is, I
7 apologize, it's awfully early in the morning
8 and I hope all this syrup doesn't make you
9 sick to your stomach, but we will pass out
10 some Tums later on.
11 But I could not be more honored
12 than the comments that I've heard this morning
13 from everyone in all places. It has been an
14 experience that -- of a lifetime, and I hope
15 that none of us in this chamber ever forgets
16 what a unique privilege it has been to serve
17 in this house. That certainly applies to me.
18 I consider that it has been a very special
19 privilege, and it has particularly been a
20 special privilege because I've had the
21 opportunity to get acquainted with the people
22 in this room, and you are people -- and I
23 thank you, Senator Gold, for saying "class"
24 but I think that the people in this room are
25 people of class.
5375
1 The abuse that is heaped on us
2 as a group, of, quote, "politicians" is
3 certainly unwarranted, given the kind of
4 dedication that I have seen in the individuals
5 who have served in this house, and I just
6 having had the opportunity to be with all of
7 you is just more than I could ever have
8 expected out of life.
9 Senator Gold, Senator Leichter
10 and I are going to be heading on to other
11 things very shortly, and I certainly wish them
12 well along with everyone else. I don't know
13 why I was given this privilege of standing
14 here and you weren't because certainly these
15 things could have been said about you as well,
16 but I mean -- on an individual basis, I
17 certainly want to return everything that's
18 been said and to wish all of you well
19 personally as well as in your continued life
20 in the Senate.
21 Thank you.
22 (Standing ovation).
23 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
24 there will be an immediate meeting of the
25 Finance Committee in the Majority Conference
5376
1 Room.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK:
3 Immediate meeting of the Finance Committee in
4 the Majority Conference Room.
5 You ready for the
6 non-controversial calendar, Senator Skelos?
7 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes, if we can
8 take up the non-controversial calendar.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK:
10 Non-controversial calendar.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 90, by member of the Assembly Dinowitz,
13 Assembly Print 1829-A, an act to amend the
14 Criminal Procedure Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
16 the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
18 This act shall take effect on the first day of
19 November.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the
23 roll. )
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
5377
1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 123, by Senator Holland, Senate Print 5918-A,
4 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
5 in relation to exempting.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
7 the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
9 This act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the
13 roll. )
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
16 bill is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 157, by member of the Assembly Lafayette,
19 Assembly Print 1357-A, an act to amend the
20 General Business Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
22 the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
24 This act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
5378
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll. )
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 187, by member of the Assembly Brodsky,
9 Assembly Print 6754-C, an act to amend the
10 Agriculture and Markets Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
14 This act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
16 the roll.
17 SENATOR LAVALLE: Lay that
18 aside.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Beg
20 your pardon?
21 SENATOR LAVALLE: Would you lay
22 that bill aside.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Lay the
24 bill aside.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5379
1 326, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 6247, an
2 act to provide for transfer of funds.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
4 last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
6 This act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the
10 roll.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
13 bill is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 339, by member of the Assembly Crowley,
16 Assembly Print 6685, an act to amend the
17 Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding
18 Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
20 the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
22 This act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the
5380
1 roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
4 bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 405, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 6013, an
7 act to amend the Public Health Law, in
8 relation to -
9 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
10 aside.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Lay it
12 aside.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 445, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 6477, an
15 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
16 relation to extending.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
18 the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
20 This act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
5381
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 487, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 6479-A,
5 an act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
6 disclosure.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
17 bill is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 488, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 6481-A,
20 an act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
21 applications.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
23 the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
25 This act shall take effect immediately.
5382
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 516, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
10 Assembly Print 7624-A, an act to amend the
11 Retirement and Social Security Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
13 the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
15 This act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the
19 roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
22 bill is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 685, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 7113-A,
25 an act to amend the Correction Law and the
5383
1 Public Health Law.
2 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
3 aside, please.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Lay it
5 aside.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 687, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 1745, an
8 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
9 requirements.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
11 the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
13 This act shall take effect on the first day of
14 January.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the
18 roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 716, by member of the Assembly Glick, Assembly
24 Print 4790-A, an act to amend the Retirement
25 and Social Security Law.
5384
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
2 the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
4 This act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 720, by member of the Assembly DiNapoli,
14 Assembly Print 6875, an act to amend the Civil
15 Service Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
17 the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
19 This act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the
23 roll.)
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
5385
1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 729, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 6758-A,
4 an act to amend the Retirement and Social
5 Security Law, in relation to benefit
6 calculations.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
17 bill is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 784, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 2821-A, an
20 act to amend the Labor Law, in relation to
21 authorizing.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
23 the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
25 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
5386
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 794, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 6991-A, an
10 act to amend the Workers' Compensation Law, in
11 relation to permitting.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
13 the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
15 This act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the
19 roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
22 bill is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 802, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 7096-A, an
25 act to amend Chapter 596 of the Laws of 1994.
5387
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
2 the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
4 This act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 848, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 7150-A,
14 an act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in
15 relation to authorizing.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 11.
19 This act shall take effect on the first day of
20 November.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
5388
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 884, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 6035, an
5 act to amend the Retirement and Social
6 Security Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
17 bill is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 886, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
20 Assembly Print 10690, an act to amend the
21 Retirement and Social Security Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
23 the last section.
24 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
25 aside.
5389
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Lay it
2 aside.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 899, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 7242, an
5 act to amend Chapter 666 of the Laws of 1990.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
9 This act shall take effect on September 1st,
10 1998.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
12 roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
17 bill is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 904, substituted earlier today, by member of
20 the Assembly Greene, Assembly Print 9888-A, an
21 acted to amend the Banking Law and the
22 Insurance Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
24 the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
5390
1 This act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
3 the roll.
4 (The Secretary called the
5 roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 909, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
11 6444-B, an act to amend the Parks, Recreation
12 and Historic Preservation Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
16 This act shall take effect November 1st.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 910, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 7327, an
5391
1 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
2 relation to limiting.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
4 the last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
6 This act shall take effect on the first day of
7 November.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43, nays
13 one, Senator Kuhl recorded in the negative.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 911, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 7355, an
18 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, the
19 Environmental Conservation Law, and the
20 Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
21 Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
25 This act shall take effect on the first day of
5392
1 November.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the
5 roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 924, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
11 Senate, Assembly Print 11185-A, an act to
12 amend the Public Health Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
14 the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
16 This act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 930, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 5488-B,
5393
1 an act to amend the State Finance Law, in
2 relation to authorizing.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
4 last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the
10 roll.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
13 bill is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 954, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 3632-A,
16 an act to amend the Education Law, in relation
17 to establishing.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
19 the last section.
20 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
21 aside.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Lay
23 aside? Is there a lay aside on it?
24 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay aside.
25 SENATOR COOK: Lay aside.
5394
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK:
2 Calendar Number 999, by Senator Saland, Senate
3 Print 5163, an act to amend the Criminal
4 Procedure Law and the Family Court Act.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
6 last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
8 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
10 roll.
11 (The Secretary called the
12 roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1057, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 6501-A,
18 an act to amend the General Business Law, in
19 relation to courier pick-up.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
21 the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
23 This act shall take effect July 1st, 1998.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
25 roll.
5395
1 (The Secretary called the
2 roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1093, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 7317-B,
8 an act to amend the Tax Law and the
9 Administrative Code of the city of New York.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 SENATOR LEICHTER: Would you
15 lay that aside for me.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Lay it
17 aside.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1246, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print -
20 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay aside.
21 Lay aside for the day.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Lay it
23 aside for the day.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1276, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 2464-C,
5396
1 an act to amend the General Obligations Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
3 last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
5 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 44.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
12 bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1280, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 4492-B,
15 an act to amend the General Municipal Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Last
17 section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
19 This act shall take effect on the 60th day.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the
23 roll.)
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
5397
1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1316, by member of the Assembly Weinstein
4 Assembly Print 5116-A, an act to amend the
5 Administrative Code of the city of New York.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
9 This act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the
13 roll.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
16 bill is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1345, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print 7579,
19 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
20 in relation to criminal history check.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
22 the last section.
23 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
24 aside.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Lay
5398
1 aside.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1382, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 2007-A,
4 an act to amend the General Municipal Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Home
6 rule message is at the desk. Read the last
7 section.
8 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay aside.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Lay
10 aside.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1414, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 7614,
13 an act to permit the sale or lease of Pond
14 View Homes.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
16 the last section.
17 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
18 aside.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Lay it
20 aside.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1420, by the Committee on Rules, an act to
23 amend the Public Authorities Law, in relation
24 to extending the authority.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
5399
1 the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
3 This act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
5 the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the
7 roll.)
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
10 bill is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1431, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 7700-A,
13 an act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in
14 relation to peace officer status.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
16 the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
18 This act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45, nays
24 one, Senator Leichter recorded in the
25 negative.
5400
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1436, by Senator Maltese, Senate Print 3180-B,
5 an act to amend the Administrative Code of the
6 city of New York.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Home
8 rule message at the desk. Read the last
9 section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
11 This act shall take effect on the 180th day.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the
15 roll. )
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes forty...
17 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
18 bill is passed. I'm sorry; I'm sorry.
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45, nays
20 one, Senator Leichter recorded in the
21 negative.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
23 bill is still passed.
24 Senator Padavan.
25 SENATOR PADAVAN: Yes, Mr.
5401
1 President. Can I be recorded in the negative
2 on Calendar Number 784.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Without
4 objection.
5 Secretary will read.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1440, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 6028-A,
8 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
9 in relation to authorizing.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Home
11 rule message at the desk. Read the last
12 section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
14 This act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
16 roll.
17 (The Secretary called the
18 roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1446, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 6781-B,
24 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
25 misrepresentation.
5402
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
2 the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
4 This act shall take effect on the first day of
5 November.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
12 bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1451, by Senator Holland, Senate Print 7483-A,
15 an act to amend Chapter 436 of the Laws of
16 1997.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
18 the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
20 This act shall take effect on January 1st,
21 1998.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
23 the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the
25 roll. )
5403
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
3 bill is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1460, by Senator Hannon, Senate Print 7699-A,
6 an act to amend the New York Medical Care
7 Finance Agency Act.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
9 This act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the
13 roll.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
16 bill is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1464, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 7722, an
19 act to amend the Economic Development Law and
20 the Public Authorities Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
22 the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
24 This act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
5404
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1466, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 7731,
9 an act to amend the Economic Development Law.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
13 roll.
14 (The Secretary called the
15 roll.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1470, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
21 Print 7768, an act to amend the Tax Law, in
22 relation to net operating losses.
23 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
24 aside, please.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Lay the
5405
1 bill aside.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1475, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print
4 1342-C, an act to amend the Family Court Act.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
6 the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
8 This act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
10 roll.
11 (The Secretary called the
12 roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1477, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 3311-C,
18 an act to amend the Agriculture and Markets
19 Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
21 the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
23 This act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
25 roll.
5406
1 (The Secretary called the
2 roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1478, by Senator Marchi, Senate Print 3449-C,
8 an act to amend the Navigation Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
10 the last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
12 This act shall take effect on the 30th day.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the
16 roll.)
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
19 bill is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1483, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 6046-A,
22 an act to amend the Navigation Law and the
23 State Finance Law.
24 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside
25 temporarily.
5407
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Lay it
2 aside.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1484, by member of the Assembly Farrell,
5 Assembly Print 9428-A, an act to amend the
6 Local Finance Law, in relation to the sale of
7 bonds.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
9 This act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the
13 roll.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
15 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay that
16 aside. Would you lay that aside, please.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK:
18 Withdraw the roll call, lay the bill aside.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1505, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
21 Print 7783, an act to amend the Social Service
22 Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
24 last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
5408
1 This act shall take effect in 120 days.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the
5 roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1506, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
11 Print 7795, an act to amend the Insurance
12 Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
23 bill is passed.
24 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
25 President.
5409
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Oh,
2 Senator Leichter.
3 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yes, Mr.
4 President. 1484 was laid aside in error. If
5 you want to call that bill up, we have no
6 objection to it.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK:
8 Secretary call the roll on 1485 -
9 SENATOR SKELOS: '84.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: -- '84,
11 I'm sorry.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1484, by member of the Assembly Farrell,
14 Assembly Print 9428-A, an act to amend the
15 Local Finance Law, in relation to sale of
16 bonds.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read the
18 last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
20 This act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
5410
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
2 bill is passed.
3 Senator Skelos, that completes
4 the non-controversial calendar.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
6 would you, on the controversial calendar, call
7 up Calendar Number 886.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK:
9 Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 886, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
12 Assembly Print 10690, an act to amend the
13 Retirement and Social Security Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
17 This act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the
21 roll. )
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
24 bill is passed.
25 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President.
5411
1 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
2 Skelos.
3 SENATOR SKELOS: Would you
4 please call up Calendar 1382, Senate 2007-A.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK:
6 Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar number
8 1382, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 2007-A,
9 an act to amend the General Municipal Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: A home
11 rule message at the desk. Read the last
12 section. Call the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll. )
15 SENATOR SKELOS: Senator
16 Leichter would like an explanation.
17 Mr. President, this would grant
18 New York City correction officers and members
19 a heart presumption similar to that currently
20 adopted -- afforded to the New York City
21 police and firemen. This has been requested
22 by the city of New York.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
24 Leichter.
25 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yes, Mr.
5412
1 President, just very briefly, speaking in my
2 own capacity, certainly not on behalf of the
3 Minority, but I've opposed heart bills for
4 public employees on the, I think, very sound
5 basis that there's no medical proof that this
6 employment actually leads to heart disease or
7 certain other diseases that we've made a
8 presumption that the service is likely for the
9 -- for the members to incur, and while I
10 certainly appreciate the work that correction
11 officers do and without question, it's
12 stressful work, but there's so many factors
13 that go into heart disease. There's genetic
14 factors, there's your life style and it's
15 extremely difficult once a presumption is
16 established to show that somebody who, upon
17 retirement, claims that they have a heart
18 disability to show that it didn't come or that
19 it came in some other way.
20 Really, this is a medically
21 fallacious bill and, for this reason, I'm
22 going to oppose this bill as I oppose other
23 heart bills, but without in any respect
24 denigrating or not -- or certainly don't want
25 anybody to think that I don't appreciate the
5413
1 work of the correction officers. It's
2 important work. It's tough work, but to give
3 that sort of presumption that when they retire
4 if they have a heart disease, that it was
5 caused by their work there is just no medical
6 evidence to sustain that.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
8 Gold.
9 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President,
10 very briefly, I -- my recollection could be
11 wrong because while Senator Skelos has been on
12 the Aging Committee, I'm the one that's aging,
13 but I believe that when we first had some of
14 these bills, the City was opposed. That's my
15 recollection. I may be wrong, but I think
16 it's important that I'm told now that it's a
17 City bill and, if we're doing equity with
18 these people and we do have a lot more medical
19 evidence I think today than we did years ago,
20 I'm going to support the bill.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Read
22 the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
24 This act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Call
5414
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll. )
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 50, nays
5 one, Senator Leichter recorded in the
6 negative.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: The
8 bill is passed.
9 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr.
10 President.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Senator
12 Skelos.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: If we can
14 return to reports of standing committees. I
15 believe there's a report of the Finance
16 Committee at the desk.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT COOK: Yes,
18 Senator Skelos. We do -- excuse me just a
19 moment.
20 (Acting President Cook passed
21 the gavel to Senator Gold.)
22 SENATOR CONNOR: Mr.
23 President.
24 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Point of
25 order.
5415
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: This
2 isn't any old joke any more.
3 SENATOR MARCELLINO: As
4 chairman of the Rules Committee -
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
6 Connor.
7 SENATOR CONNOR: I would point
8 out it's not the first occasion Senator Gold
9 has had the gavel. On a couple of occasions
10 he's stolen it on me.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
12 Skelos.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
14 I think it's appropriate at this time as we
15 bring up the report of the Finance Committee
16 which will be ably handled by our Chair,
17 Senator Stafford, just to say to you also
18 thank you for all the contributions that
19 you've made to this great institution.
20 I know personally, I've learned
21 a lot from you, probably not as much as you
22 would like me to learn from you, but I have
23 appreciated our friendship. I have
24 appreciated some of the tips you've given me
25 on the golf course. I wish I was a little bit
5416
1 more adept at it, as you and Senator Onorato
2 but you have been an important part of this
3 great institution, and I personally salute you
4 and thank you for your friendship.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
6 you. Senator Connor.
7 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr.
8 President. No, go ahead.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Don't
10 leave it up to me.
11 SENATOR CONNOR: If I can't go
12 me first. Give him real difficulty. He knows
13 he's supposed to be with the Majority.
14 Mr. President, just let me say
15 I'm delighted to see you up there. Now, -
16 now, shall we do what we have planned on. Move
17 a few things.
18 Seriously though, just let me
19 say, Mr. President, I'm delighted to call you
20 that; you have these many years been not only
21 a friend but an inspiration. When I first
22 came here and sat over there and took the
23 Honorable Carol Bellamy seat in the middle of
24 the session, I ended up seated next to you.
25 She had told me I could rely on Manny Gold, he
5417
1 really knows what's going on; he's a good
2 legislator. And my first day I sat here
3 rather confused and people are putting their
4 hands up and people snapped their fingers to
5 vote, and you don't really know what's going
6 on, and Manny said, "Come over here in my
7 office, Kid. This is a calendar and what you
8 do is you mark on it how you're going to
9 vote," and that's how only -- only the very
10 very first thing that I learned from Senator
11 Manny Gold.
12 I've learned many, many more
13 things from him, some, many of them about
14 substance, about being a legislator, but more
15 importantly, I've learned some very, very
16 important lessons that I shall never forget
17 about other things, like friendship, loyalty,
18 courtesy, gentlemanliness and sincerity.
19 Thank you, Mr. President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
21 Stafford.
22 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr.
23 President, I first would say we all have
24 highlights, we all have times when we've had
25 various experiences here. I would say that a
5418
1 statement that is delivered with class, with
2 understanding, yet objectivity, is a statement
3 you stood here and made on the floor when your
4 predecessor passed on. I've never seen
5 anything done any better. Some of you think
6 back, it was rather difficult to handle as
7 well as I've ever seen anything handled.
8 Also things don't change. As
9 close friends as Joe Zaretzki and Earl Brydges
10 were, I saw Earl Brydges go right across the
11 floor and point his finger at Joe Zaretzki and
12 say, "Look, I never interrupted you," and it
13 was meant and directly with as much feeling as
14 anyone can do. Things don't change. Things
15 don't change.
16 We had counterpart jobs. I
17 haven't said it right -- what is it, the same
18 jobs only you on one side and me on the other,
19 a number of times. I think the floor would go
20 down in history as probably two people who are
21 as good friends as people have ever been in
22 here, but also as direct and as, yeah, con
23 frontational -- let's use the word -- as it
24 can be done in here, but yet as we -- every
25 one always says it's the friends you make
5419
1 here, and you know something? If you didn't
2 have friends in all areas, on all sides -- and
3 some people wouldn't understand this -- close
4 friends, this business wouldn't be worth a
5 candle. But it is, and the friendships you've
6 made here are examples of that.
7 Again, just shifting gears. We
8 don't discuss certain words, it's just what we
9 all do; we go on with our lives in various
10 ways, and I can only say that many, many
11 things will be said here, but with you and me,
12 friendship and a great deal that can be said
13 about it and the example is much better.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
15 Rath.
16 SENATOR RATH: Senator Gold,
17 it's nice to see you there, by the way. You
18 look very distinguished with the -
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Now you
20 say that.
21 SENATOR RATH: -- symbol of the
22 state of New York there behind you. The
23 photos will be wonderful. You'll be able to
24 tell me who said this because I'm sure you
25 will.
5420
1 You are a scholar in so many
2 areas, as I've come to know, but it was said
3 by a sage of old and repeated often that the
4 measure of a person can be taken by the
5 stature of their adversaries, and I have never
6 felt that we were adversaries, neither you and
7 I nor Senator Leichter and I, but when I have
8 a bill that comes up that you want to debate,
9 I'm really happy because it means I have
10 really caught the attention of people who I
11 respect because of their sincere interest and
12 deep dedication, not only to the government
13 but to the people of the state of New York.
14 You have instructed me from
15 your chair on the floor as we stood and talked
16 and debated bills and you've instructed me
17 privately in a congenial and a friendly way
18 and helped me to grow, so that I can do a
19 better job as I continue in that effort, and
20 the collegiality and the respect that you have
21 brought even to this chamber and to all of
22 your friends and colleagues through the years
23 has not gone unnoticed or unrecognized nor
24 will be forgotten.
25 Good luck and best wishes.
5421
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
2 Marchi.
3 SENATOR MARCHI: Mr. President,
4 I believe in your case and it just happens
5 this year that the absence of people like
6 yourself, Senator Leichter, I'm sorry I was a
7 little late but I would have reiterated the
8 same force and effect that was said for
9 Senator Cook, represents, I think, an
10 institutional loss. Our proceedings were
11 enriched by your presence, by the devotion and
12 dedication to your responsibilities to offer
13 loyal and constructive criticism, and to
14 contribute immensely, I think.
15 Without it, we'd be -- we would
16 not be a rational, functional society and you
17 have done that to an exemplary degree, in my
18 book with taste, with saving grace of humor
19 occasionally and then I have another more
20 private consideration, one which produces a
21 conflict of interest by your departure from
22 these -- this setting.
23 I'm surrounded on both sides of
24 the aisle by a flock of Philistines or
25 Philistin's, whatever your pronunciation, but
5422
1 who am I going to have the pleasure of
2 discussing opera, symphony -- opera, who does,
3 he knows the Italian arias better than I do
4 although I believe I'm fairly familiar with
5 every one, but this is something that I'm
6 going to sorely miss.
7 Do you see anything in here in
8 this vacuity that will make up for that loss?
9 But we can make up for that in other ways, I
10 think, Mr. President, and you certainly leave
11 with the friendship and the affection and good
12 will of the people in this chamber.
13 Thank you.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
15 Markowitz.
16 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Thank you
17 very, very much. Number one, let's take this
18 part very slowly. I urge every member of the
19 Senate, Democrats, let us all stand one by one
20 and take as long as we can because it's been
21 hundreds of years and God knows what the
22 future brings, Manny Gold, but I just want to
23 savor the moment. I just want to look at you,
24 look at the beauty of this Senate, look at
25 that beauty up front. Never have I seen a
5423
1 sight that brings more joy, more joy -- pure,
2 pure joy -- and so, Mr. President, all of us
3 know that there is no one, at least in my
4 experience and I have a hunch in the history
5 of this Senate, that was ever better on their
6 feet than you. Nobody can respond better to
7 the issues than you. Nobody knows how to
8 razzle-dazzle 'em better than you.
9 Nobody has more of a capacity
10 to store facts and figures and have it
11 translated in your -- in the the way you make
12 your presentations, and I know that you have
13 done an awful lot for Queens and, of course,
14 you know we have a little rivalry between
15 Brooklyn and Queens. That's why they call his
16 county Queens and my county, Brooklyn, Kings.
17 But putting that aside -
18 putting that aside, that rivalry, you have
19 made Queens a better place to live, and you
20 have made this city and state a better place
21 to live. Your dedication, your brilliance
22 will be -- will be missed, but I have a hunch
23 that for many of us, you will be in our lives
24 forever, for sure.
25 Best wishes, Manny.
5424
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
2 DeFrancisco.
3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
4 Gold, I haven't been here that long, at least
5 in terms of your years here, but it became
6 very obvious to me that the first day I was
7 here your ability to get on your feet and
8 argue a case, what was most impressive was
9 that you had no facts on your side, and you
10 had no logic on your side, but you still
11 sounded convincing, and that's the true -
12 that's a true advocate, when you can take a
13 position that maybe I don't agree with and
14 almost convince me of the point of view, and
15 you're going to be sorely missed.
16 I really enjoy listening to
17 your debates. I really enjoy watching you on
18 your feet. I've learned a lot from you and
19 you have had a job to do and we clearly
20 understood that job, but that never stood in
21 the way of a friendship that I think I have
22 been able to get with you over the few years
23 that I've been here, and I hope that that
24 friendship continues and, in response to your
25 request to me yesterday, yes, we will refer
5425
1 all our cases in New York City to your
2 office.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: I want
4 to call on him again. I liked the end of it.
5 Senator Marcellino.
6 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
7 Mr. -- thank you, Mr. -
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Get it
9 again.
10 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I'll get
11 it out.
12 Mr. President, it's a pleasure
13 to rise to acknowledge the fact that you are
14 retiring. You will be missed by Marty
15 Markowitz. You have set many records, not the
16 lease of which is getting Marty into the
17 chamber, albeit briefly, and I just wanted to
18 let you know that I had a look at the calendar
19 that was set up for next year for the Senate
20 and Assembly. It's already been agreed upon,
21 and since Franz and yourself are retiring, the
22 session will end April 2nd next year. We
23 figure we can do all our work with that done.
24 In all seriousness, thank you.
25 You're a good colleague. You've been a
5426
1 gentleman. We've not always agreed; I think
2 we've agreed more often than we disagreed but
3 I respect your opinions, don't always agree
4 with them, as I said, but I respect you. You
5 have shown that you can state your views and
6 state your point of view and still maintain a
7 sense of collegiality. I respect you for
8 that, and we'll miss you in this chamber and
9 God bless you, good luck and enjoy.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
11 Nanula.
12 SENATOR NANULA: Thank you,
13 very esteemed Mr. President, and you know,
14 when Marty Markowitz was talking, I got a
15 little bit concerned that he was taking it
16 just one step too far and you'd be yanked off
17 the podium there, Manny.
18 I don't know quite where to
19 begin. There are so many things that can be
20 said but -- and first of all, I want to say as
21 a member of this Conference you have provided
22 great leadership to us and, you know, Senator
23 DeFrancisco was very astute in saying that you
24 can make logic out of illogic and that, of
25 course, provides a tremendous role to this
5427
1 Conference, and I marvel, I've absolutely
2 marvelled at you when the -- I can remember
3 last year when you actually began reciting the
4 record and if -- during your recitation
5 actually, kind of defining and, you know,
6 doing as only you can do that great magic that
7 you can create with words.
8 But beyond the rhetoric and
9 beyond the inner working, so to speak, of this
10 chamber, you're a man that stands for an awful
11 lot. You're a man of principle. You're a man
12 that, when he sees something, when you see
13 something that you don't believe is right, you
14 step up and you speak up and you're not afraid
15 of a fight, and you're not afraid to use the
16 God-given talent and ability that you have and
17 that you've demonstrated so well in this
18 chamber for so many years, to take a good
19 fight up and it seemed to me, Manny, as though
20 you never tired of it, and I know you're
21 leaving this year, but I know that you're not
22 tired. I know that you're going to continue
23 to get out there and fight for other issues
24 and fight for other constituencies and you
25 know, in the Rules Committee meeting last
5428
1 night between you and Franz, I had a big grin
2 on my face.
3 For one, I said, I talked to
4 myself, Boy, isn't the Majority going to be
5 happy that we're losing these two fine
6 individuals that have wreaked so much havoc in
7 slowing things down and in challenging what
8 others might want to just let breeze through
9 and be easy yes votes. But at the same time,
10 Manny, I want to let you know personally that
11 you've been a mentor, you've been somebody
12 that I've been able to look up to as a younger
13 Senator here and as a member of this
14 Conference, somebody I've learned from.
15 I've never let you know it, but
16 I've been studying you and watching you, and I
17 want to let the Majority know today there
18 might be some others who maybe weren't so out
19 spoken in the past who are going to decide to
20 open their mouths, and I want to tell you,
21 Manny, and you as well, Franz, that you've
22 really been an inspiration and a great
23 teacher, I think to all of us in this chamber
24 but certainly to those of us who have been
25 able to see you in action, those of us who are
5429
1 newcomers here like myself, and I want to
2 thank you for that. I really do.
3 It's been a great pleasure to
4 serve with you and I'm personally going to
5 miss you very much.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
7 Stachowski.
8 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: I know you
9 confuse me with Senator Stavisky all the time
10 but that's all right, Senator Gold, Mr.
11 President.
12 (Microphone not operative.)
13 First I have to say that I'm
14 very disappointed that they decided to do this
15 in this fashion because I want to tell you
16 since you got up there a couple of times, Dean
17 and I had to come to the floor to continue,
18 the Democrats have gotten through, so in that
19 respect I'm kind of disappointed that you're
20 up there, kind of glad you're up there because
21 the only other time you got to do that is when
22 you got to bang the gavel when the Senators
23 were here with everybody, and everybody was
24 just hangin' out.
25 A very happy day when I get to
5430
1 say nice things about you but also very sad
2 because I know you're leaving. Obviously
3 you're not opposed to freedom of speech, so
4 it's not a reason you should be leaving like
5 he does, not as much as Leichter. You don't
6 talk as much as Leichter even though that was
7 your job. From my perspective, I've never seen
8 anybody who was able to stand up and talk
9 about whatever the issue was even if it was
10 nothing, so eloquently as you.
11 Sat in Rules yesterday and said
12 it was your job to kind of get things back on
13 track in a certain way of speaking, and you
14 asked questions on a bill that only had like a
15 half a page of print on it, and I couldn't
16 figure out where you were gettin' the
17 questions and I was sittin' right next to you,
18 so it's a challenge, you know, in your other
19 business where you get paid to talk and you
20 talk here.
21 You also are one of the most
22 talented people I ever met. Before you got
23 too old, you were very good talking on the
24 floor. Before you got trouble with your eyes,
25 you were a great tennis player. In fact, I'll
5431
1 tell you what the story is. I wanted to learn
2 to play tennis. Manny said -- it was the first
3 time I go out, and I get one of the balls and
4 took one of those metal fabricated walls that
5 you could bang in slightly and make a lot of
6 noise, and he says, Just hit the ball a little
7 bit, and he hits a lob over my head and I went
8 chasing it, and I hit the ball back and I hit
9 a pretty good ball, pretty fast, and the guy
10 come runnin' out, "Everybody all right," and
11 he's laughin', Everybody all right, and he
12 was. He's a very good tennis player, he's a
13 very good golfer. That he can do in spite of
14 his eye injury, and remarkably enough maybe
15 it's because of the eye injuries, taking money
16 from Senator Onorato, which never happened.
17 Obviously, if he had a weak
18 spot, it's that anybody that gets confirmed by
19 the Governor if they went to Cornell they get
20 his vote automatically. I'm not sure that
21 they were all, you know, as good candidates as
22 Manny said, but since they went to Cornell
23 they were the best candidates possibly the
24 Governor ever sent up.
25 For those of you that don't
5432
1 know, Manny boxed when he was at Cornell. If
2 you take a good look at his face you'd know he
3 boxed. But he did box, but he doesn't talk
4 about that often. He's conducted a symphony,
5 conducted the Queens Symphony. Now, Franz had
6 a chance to be in an opera but they only let
7 him hold the spear and stand in the back.
8 Manny got to conduct.
9 He's a great photographer, as
10 many of you know from the pictures he handed
11 you, not to mention the pictures he takes of
12 nothing same as he talks about nothing and
13 makes it sound so eloquent. He takes pictures
14 of corners of buildings and then when they get
15 blown up, they look like these great artful
16 masterpieces, and then when you finally stare
17 at it you figure out the corner of a building
18 you walk by all the time, but to somebody who
19 knows photography, it's a great picture.
20 One time we were coming down
21 and I learned a little bit about how come
22 there's good photographers and then there's
23 the rest of us that take pictures. We were
24 coming in from some place once and it was a
25 beautiful evening and there were some dark
5433
1 clouds and the sun was setting and the Egg was
2 in front of us as you come in on the road, and
3 the buildings were out there and it kind of
4 looked very pretty, and Suzi Oppenheimer said,
5 That would make a great picture, and Manny
6 said, No, it would be a lousy picture and he
7 explained to us why, and we then knew the
8 difference between somebody that's a
9 photographer and the rest of us who take
10 pictures. We thought that would be a great
11 picture but he knew it wouldn't be.
12 So he is a very talented man
13 and for those of us who know him as dedicated
14 as he is to his job and as he does oftentimes
15 these terrible positions we put him in to be
16 the attack dog on the floor, and he does it so
17 nicely and the fact is if you know him real
18 well, you know nothing is more important to
19 him than his family, and to hear him talk
20 about his wife or his children and the many
21 things he does for and with his children, if
22 you didn't think about family life and the
23 appreciation for family especially, you would
24 after you listen to him talk, and I have to
25 say that there's nobody I've admired more for
5434
1 their ability to do this job than Manny,
2 nobody I've admired more for how well he does
3 his job and the understanding he has for it
4 and, most importantly, he has a love for this
5 institution as great as anybody here, and I
6 think that's something that sometimes we lose
7 more nowadays than we did in the past.
8 It seemed like when I first got
9 here, and I hate to say how long ago it is now
10 because it's making me one of the old guys,
11 not necessarily in age but in years here,
12 there was more of a love for the institution
13 itself than there is today I think, and I'm
14 kind of sad to see that disappear like it has,
15 but maybe we can get it back and maybe by
16 having these kind of speeches about people who
17 are leaving that truly love the institution,
18 maybe we will get that back if only through
19 repetition and mentioning it; but I have to
20 say once again that it is a very happy day
21 that I get to honor my friend and tell him
22 some of the things I think about him, but it's
23 also a sad day because I know he's going to
24 leave, and I don't know how often I'll see him
25 because Queens is quite a ways from Buffalo.
5435
1 But, Manny, I'd like to thank
2 you for all of your advice. I'd like to thank
3 you for all of your leadership, but most of
4 all, I'd like to thank you for my friendship.
5 Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
7 you, Bill.
8 Senator Leichter.
9 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
10 President, I've called you many things in our
11 years together, but I think never "Mr.
12 President".
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: And
14 I've never called you "Beatnik". (Laughter)
15 SENATOR LEICHTER: I don't know
16 if you remember the first time we met, but I
17 remember it very clearly, I got on a Trailways
18 bus to go back to New York City. It was the
19 end of the session and Sy Thaler was sitting
20 there with this young gangling looking kid and
21 he saw me and he called me over. He said, "I
22 want to introduce you, this is going to be
23 your new colleague in the Assembly. He's
24 going to take Moe Weinstein's place," and we
25 talked a couple minutes, and I went back to my
5436
1 seat, and I said to myself, This is a really
2 shy guy. He's never going to cut it up here.
3 Well, I guess my judgment on
4 that, like many other things -- has proven to
5 be not so correct. But, Manny, you've really
6 been, to my mind, the quintessential
7 legislator. You have been so effective, such
8 a presence on the floor and in conference. I
9 have so many memories of us together and
10 things that we've done, but the one memory
11 that will always stay with me is your debating
12 bills on the floor while you're on the phone
13 dictating an affidavit to your office in New
14 York.
15 You're a person of great range
16 of interests, as an athlete, as a musician, as
17 a lawyer, and as a legislator, as a person who
18 reads and thinks. By the way, now I finally
19 found out why Billy Stachowski never learned
20 to play tennis. You taught him.
21 But really serving with you has
22 been one of the high spots of my service here,
23 and I don't mind saying to you and sharing
24 this with all my colleagues, when I went
25 through the wrenching decision -- and it was a
5437
1 wrenching decision -- whether I would run
2 again, when you had already announced that you
3 weren't going to be here just very hard for me
4 to imagine the Senate without Manny Gold.
5 You've really graced this
6 institution. You've been incredibly
7 dedicated. As Billy said, and it's true, you
8 love the institution. You've been as critical
9 of it as anybody, but criticism that flows
10 from your esteem for the institution, wanting
11 it to do well, and you could be extremely
12 partisan, as I know my friends on the other
13 side of the aisle can attest to, but I think
14 they also know that it flows from the
15 dedication you have to your job and the
16 seriousness with which you take the job.
17 Manny, you've taken your job
18 very seriously, but you've never taken
19 yourself seriously, and it's been such a joy
20 and pleasure to have served with you and, as I
21 said, it's hard for me to imagine this place
22 without a Manny Gold, but you certainly left a
23 record that, for many, many, many years people
24 are going to think of and hold in the highest
25 regard.
5438
1 Thank you for what you've done
2 for all of us, Manny.
3 SENATOR ONORATO: Mr.
4 President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
6 Onorato, why do you rise?
7 SENATOR ONORATO: I rise for a
8 point of information. I would like the Chair
9 to rule on the germaneness of all of this
10 nonsense going on here today.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD:
12 Senator, I've got ten bucks in my pocket
13 that's yours, and you're going to have to get
14 it back the hard way.
15 SENATOR ONORATO: I appeal the
16 ruling of the Chair.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
18 Skelos, why do you rise?
19 SENATOR SKELOS: Would you
20 please call him out of order.
21 With the consent of the
22 Minority, we're going to have a quick meeting
23 of the Rules Committee at this time in the
24 Majority Conference Room.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Meeting
5439
1 of the Rules Committee immediately.
2 SENATOR LACHMAN: Mr.
3 Lieutenant Governor.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
5 Lachman.
6 SENATOR LACHMAN: It's a
7 pleasure to rise and speak.
8 As Senator Connor said before,
9 his first day here was helped greatly by you.
10 A first day as a legislator is not just a
11 day. In terms of time, it's a couple of years
12 and I've been helped tremendously by you and,
13 as Senator Marchi said, I really believe it
14 will be an institutional loss at the end of
15 the session when you and Franz and Charlie
16 Cook leave this institution.
17 Institutions have to go on, and
18 they go on based upon what we learn from those
19 who were here before and, Manny, I know no one
20 in or out of this chamber who can combine the
21 sharp analytical debating skill with a first
22 class razor-sharp mind and a wit that is
23 sometimes acerbic but hits the mark as state
24 Senator Manny Gold, and I have not had the
25 pleasure of knowing you as long as others
5440
1 have, but I will always see you when I look at
2 my newsletter. There is that picture of me
3 that the photographer could not take, and you
4 took as the best amateur photographer around
5 and I'm looking forward to the new pictures
6 that you took this week for future news
7 letters as well.
8 We're all going to miss you in
9 our own way but, as you said to me in one of
10 your TV programs, I believe that we need more
11 citizen politicians in the Senate and in my
12 eyes you will always be a citizen politician
13 of the Senate whether you're working full time
14 at law, as you will be, or whether you work
15 full time as Senator and part time as an
16 attorney, as you have been.
17 So congratulations. Enjoy your
18 active retirement, and one more addendum.
19 Based upon what Bill Stachowski said, Senator
20 Stachowski admired your devotion to family and
21 he mentioned your Judy, he mentioned your wife
22 and your children. I was very visibly
23 impressed when you lost your parents and
24 during the period of mourning and what you did
25 for that immediate period of mourning and the
5441
1 year after that, in not only remembering them
2 but perpetuating that memory in a way that you
3 knew they would want you to do, and I
4 congratulate you for that.
5 So your love of family is
6 intergenerational, those that are with you
7 today, those that were with you yesterday and
8 those that are -- will be with you in the
9 future, and I commend and congratulate you for
10 that, but that's what life is all about.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
12 you, Senator.
13 Senator Goodman.
14 SENATOR GOODMAN: Mr.
15 President, if anyone in this chamber can
16 legitimately lay claim to being a "renaissance
17 man," I think it is you, Mr. President, and
18 I'm happy to attest to this fact as a result
19 of our long experiences together.
20 You have combined a tremendous
21 athleticism, physical prowess, aesthetic
22 sensitivity, photographic capacity of remark
23 able breadth, even to the point of having
24 prepared a collage of portraits of your
25 colleagues on the softball team of the Senate
5442
1 which hangs in perpetuity in the Senate lounge
2 and will always be an inspiration to
3 generations to come as they view these
4 handsome visages and recognize tremendous
5 athletic skills of the past. This is sort of
6 like the Brooklyn Dodger team of 1939 or
7 several of the Yankee World Series
8 championship teams. We thank you for that.
9 No one has had more vigorous
10 capacity to attack when you were playing your
11 partisan role but at the same time your
12 ecumenical capacities were amply demonstrated
13 in the chamber only a few weeks ago when you
14 were gracious enough to stand and debate a
15 bill on my behalf against the rigorous attack
16 launched by my colleagues on this side of the
17 aisle against the bill. I thought that your
18 perspicacity in doing that was commendable and
19 indeed showed your breadth of understanding of
20 the true merits of legislation.
21 Quite seriously, Manny, you'll
22 be sorely missed. You're a wonderful guy, and
23 we respect you both for the rigor of your
24 competitive spirit, but at the same time for
25 the gentleness and goodness of your true self
5443
1 and we shall miss you very deeply indeed.
2 And may I say before concluding
3 my remarks that I was out of the chamber a few
4 moments ago when my dear colleague, Senator
5 Cook, was mentioned and I'd like to just say a
6 word about him, with your indulgence.
7 Charlie Cook and I, as you
8 know, have often been lonely voices in
9 standing up for what you might be able to
10 describe in certain areas as progressive
11 principles whether it relates to matters of
12 choice, women's rights and the like, and I
13 wish that you could all have been with me in
14 New York when a progressive Republican group
15 honored Senator Cook within the past few days
16 at a special dinner called in his honor. It
17 happened that the Governor of California was
18 there to salute him and a group of people from
19 the Republican Party in the City and outside
20 it, gathered together for the sole purpose of
21 telling Charlie Cook how deeply we appreciated
22 his efforts on behalf of many worthy causes
23 here in the Senate.
24 Charlie is a man of enormous
25 stature. I cannot say how much I will miss
5444
1 him both personally and philosophically
2 because he has always, in my judgment, hued to
3 the highest standards in both his personal
4 behavior and his legislative acuity in
5 pursuing the things in which he deeply
6 believed. Charlie has never abandoned his
7 compass points on issues of basic morality and
8 his perception of human behavior.
9 There is no one in this chamber
10 whom I more highly respect and for whom I have
11 greater affection, and, Charlie, we're going
12 to miss you from the depths of our hearts, and
13 I wish you well.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
15 Saland.
16 SENATOR SALAND: Mr. President,
17 a few short moments ago I walked into the
18 chamber and did an about-face and walked out.
19 I thought due to my sleep deprivation that I
20 was hallucinating, that I was in the midst
21 of this absolutely horrible nightmare, the
22 worst of all possible worlds, not merely to
23 find myself as I had been in previous
24 incarnations in the legislative Minority, but
25 to have you presiding. What could possibly be
5445
1 worse than that?
2 SENATOR PATERSON: Leichter.
3 SENATOR SALAND: I heard a
4 voice -- I heard a voice in the distance. I
5 think I can identify it, but won't. I think
6 the voice said Senator Leichter.
7 Seriously, Manny, I have
8 enjoyed very much not only your friendship. I
9 can recall when I first had arrived in this
10 chamber, my first year or two here. We had
11 the opportunity to be on differing ends of
12 issues, and you so capably put my feet to the
13 fire and perhaps singed them rather badly.
14 You are an extraordinaryly formidable
15 adversary, but much better than that you're
16 wonderful friend. We have very much enjoyed
17 our times together. I fear they haven't been
18 frequent enough, but I'm sure opportunity will
19 present itself to have some more of those
20 rather enjoyable social events.
21 I suspect that the world in
22 front of you is going to be far more
23 professionally lucrative than the one that
24 you've left behind. Public service, as many
25 of us understand, doesn't necessarily
5446
1 translate to remuneration. You have the
2 wisdom to look to a bit of the financial side
3 that leaving us here to toil in the sometimes
4 seemingly endless and irrational way that we
5 do.
6 You, I think, in many, many
7 ways define what a legislator is all about.
8 I've seen you, much as Senator DeFrancisco
9 mentioned, take a seemingly almost
10 non-existent point and weave it into something
11 that you managed to keep us a day at, for good
12 part of an afternoon. I understand you
13 performed rather admirably in the Rules
14 Committee a bit earlier, actually yesterday,
15 and while you will be missed, Manny, you will
16 be missed for your wit and your charm and not
17 for your ability to make us sort of stand here
18 on edge as you perform as ably as you do.
19 So I wish you, you and your
20 family all -- all that I would wish, as I've
21 said earlier to Senator Cook, for myself and
22 my family. I'm sure that we have not heard
23 the last of you, but thankfully we won't have
24 to listen when you attempt to impose your will
25 on us once we get beyond this session.
5447
1 God bless you.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
3 you so much, Senator.
4 Senator Onorato.
5 SENATOR ONORATO: Mr.
6 President, I'm sorry I was a little late
7 getting to the chamber. I'm trying to think
8 of something nice to say about you, and I
9 still haven't been able to come up with it.
10 The only thing that I was able to succeed in,
11 I have a petition here signed by Joseph Bruno
12 and all of the members of the Republican Party
13 requesting that Senator Dollinger join you and
14 Franz on your retirement, but be that the case
15 that it's not about to happen, we do want to
16 say a special thank you for all of the things
17 that you've contributed to this chamber, for
18 standing up for each and every one of us when
19 you were the deputy Minority Leader.
20 I have a great deal of remiss
21 about the fact that I can't believe that the
22 last two times out with you that I contributed
23 six dollars and four dollars but that will
24 change very, very rapidly now that you're
25 going to be back home practicing a little bit
5448
1 more. I was really astounded. I knew that
2 you knew how to play the piano, but I wasn't
3 aware that you knew how to play the trumpet
4 until I heard you, and I can assure everybody
5 here that he doesn't know how to play the
6 trumpet, but he does a good attempt at it, as
7 he does everything here so masterfully, he
8 fakes it so well, the idea that he -- I don't
9 know what you call that cup over it. It's a
10 muter, so that you couldn't hear it, but on
11 two or three occasions I told him to tone it
12 down because I was able to hear him on several
13 occasions.
14 But Manny, again, Billy
15 mentioned the fact that he's not going to be
16 able to see too much of you because he's up in
17 Buffalo. I'm very sorry to say that I can't
18 say the same thing because I'm still going to
19 see a lot of you in Queens County, much to my
20 regret, but be that as it may, I'm still going
21 to look forward to it not only for playing an
22 additional round of golf or two with you but
23 going out to dinner with Judy and the family.
24 I wish you are the very, very
25 best in health, and may all of your retirement
5449
1 hours be billable ones.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
3 you.
4 Senator Smith.
5 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, Mr.
6 President -- honey!
7 All of you know how shy and
8 retiring and naive I am, and, Manny, I want to
9 thank you for my deflowering. Oh, I meant to
10 say my awakening in the Senate. You know, you
11 bust my bubble again, you and Marty talking
12 about this rivalry between Brooklyn and
13 Queens. I thought everybody was fighting over
14 me.
15 You know, Manny, we've had some
16 good times, sometimes the bad times. I
17 thought I was a member of the other side
18 occasionally, but you've always been there as
19 my leader from Queens. You've taught me a lot
20 and you have a hell of a nerve leaving me.
21 I'm going to miss you, but most
22 of all, I'm going to miss the sounds of yours
23 that I love so much, but I'm thankful for one
24 thing. You're going to be in Queens, and I'll
25 get to see you all the time and I might even
5450
1 have to hire you some time. You may have de
2 flowered me and taken away my naivete, but
3 it's all for the benefit of this Conference.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
5 you.
6 Senator Mendez. Senora.
7 SENATOR MENDEZ: So, Mr.
8 President, Mr. President. A lot of wonderful
9 things have been said about you, justifiably
10 so. You are very, very intelligent. You've
11 been an excellent legislator. You are a -
12 you've been a great colleague. You have
13 served well, and your constituents and the
14 residents of New York State, oftentimes I did
15 say to you that you were such an excellent
16 lawyer that at times I felt tempted to commit
17 a crime so to benefit from your defense.
18 But anyhow there is one quality
19 that you have which I enjoy enormously and
20 that we're going to miss, at least I will miss
21 very much so, and that is that within your
22 personality you have such a -- such a
23 boyishness, an excellent sense of humor, and
24 the times in which you have differed in a
25 position or an issue with others, you have
5451
1 expressed your point of view, but you have
2 managed to differ respecting the other persons
3 that hold a different position on a particular
4 issue and, since everybody is remembering
5 different experiences with you, there is one
6 that I treasure, and that is once I was -
7 when my office was in the LOB I was working
8 late, and suddenly who appears in my office,
9 roller skating about eight o'clock at night?
10 My dear Manny, and so I will treasure that.
11 So we are going to miss you
12 very, very much so. As a matter of fact, as
13 today approached, I kept telling you, because
14 you have been sitting next to me for so many
15 years, I have been telling you all along, Oh,
16 Manny, Manny, we're going to miss you, we're
17 going to miss you, and we shall miss you. We
18 hope to see you anyhow. We wish you the very
19 best. You are -- you have shown great respect
20 for this institution and for all your
21 colleagues, respect and affection, and again
22 we shall miss you, Manny, and we hope to see
23 you and we wish for you the very best. Enjoy
24 your life and be well and healthy.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
5452
1 you very much.
2 Senator Nozzolio.
3 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr.
4 President, like Senator Saland, I was out of
5 the chamber. When I returned, it appeared to
6 be something very incongruous that was
7 presiding over us, but unlike the other
8 speakers, I don't rise to praise you. I just
9 got a note from Senator Skelos that said
10 stretch this out and keep you out of the Rules
11 Committee as long as possible.
12 Like many of us here, I did my
13 time in the Assembly, that I served ten years
14 there and rose to the ranks of Deputy Minority
15 Leader. When I first came to the Senate, my
16 very first bill before the Senate, I was
17 greeted by the then Deputy Minority Leader,
18 who was extremely collegial in the sense that
19 in debating my first bill, decided to pull out
20 the Red Book and said, "I see, Mr. Senator,
21 that you have two degrees from Cornell." I
22 said, "Yes, Mr. Gold, Mr. Senator, I do." He
23 says, "How could you be so stupid to put a
24 bill like this before this house by such an
25 educated Senator?"
5453
1 Well, Senator Gold, unlike
2 Senator Smith, you didn't deflower me, but -
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: You
4 know, this record is going to have to be
5 edited.
6 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. Presi
7 dent, with all the greatest respect, it has
8 been a very wonderful experience to serve in
9 the state Legislature, the finest experience
10 to serve in this house and you -- and I say
11 this with the greatest respect -- have made
12 this Senate a better place. Your legacy is
13 very significant, but I'd like to think that
14 also one of your contributions is you made us
15 better Senators, and as such I'd like to think
16 of myself learning from your experiences that
17 you've put before us in the best of collegial
18 debate, in the best of a friendship, and I
19 want you to know that you certainly have a
20 friend here from not only your alma mater here
21 but down above Cayuga's waters as well.
22 Thank you, Mr. President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
24 you so much.
25 Senator Volker.
5454
1 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
2 Manny, very quickly, and I say that because
3 I've heard that we're holding up the entire
4 process of the Capitol, but be that as it may
5 I just want to say that you and I've known
6 each other for so many years, both escapees of
7 the Assembly, as we say, you and I over the
8 years have even exchanged some law business.
9 I'll get to that, and we've gone through some
10 personal tragedies where we've exchanged calls
11 on a number of occasions when we weren't
12 here.
13 I think even though we have
14 debated probably, other than Franz, probably
15 debated with you more than just about anyone
16 else. I think we always maintained respect
17 for each other and for the points of view that
18 we had and there were times as you know, in
19 the past, where you and I were sort of
20 designated to try to calm waters down. It's
21 hard to believe, but -- and you and I have
22 often, as I said, have always been able to
23 share, I think, an understanding and I will
24 miss you, as I told you as soon as I heard
25 that you were retiring when I personally
5455
1 talked to you, and I know that with your
2 intellect and your drive that you'll still go
3 on to do even higher and better things, and we
4 will certainly miss you.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
6 you, Senator.
7 Senator Breslin.
8 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you,
9 Mr. President.
10 I don't believe many people
11 here in this chamber know that we share
12 something very much in common, that you were
13 elected to the Senate here the same year that
14 I was born, and I can just -- I can recall
15 when I heard the news that you were leaving
16 and I said, Why? Why are you leaving? And you
17 indicated, as some of you know, that Seinfeld,
18 Manny said, "Seinfeld called me and said to
19 me, 'Manny, why don't we both go out on top?'"
20 And now he is on top and Seinfeld did know
21 something, and sitting here as the Majority
22 Leader.
23 But as I sat here listening to
24 each of you on both sides using words like
25 "quintessential" or "bright", "artistic",
5456
1 "athletic", it really calls to mind the
2 sincerity of the comments that we really do,
3 in fact, have someone who is very much a
4 "renaissance man" and, as one of the Senators
5 said that it's -- we evaluate ourselves by our
6 peers. That's what I will miss most about
7 Manny, that I evaluate him as a "renaissance
8 man" and we each lose something by his loss to
9 us.
10 Thank you.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
12 you, Senator.
13 Senator Leibell.
14 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 Manny, I've served here in the
17 Assembly and Senate for 16 years, and I have
18 to say, to echo my colleagues, that when I
19 walked in the chamber and saw you presiding,
20 that this was without question the most
21 terrifying sight that I had ever seen. But
22 however, to see you in the position of
23 presiding officer, a position that requires
24 objectivity just shows that no matter how late
25 in someone's career, you can learn a new
5457
1 skill.
2 It's going to be a shock to
3 your law firm when they finally see those time
4 sheets without the per diem on them, but I
5 have no question that you are going back to a
6 far, far better world practicing in the
7 private sector.
8 I think most of the members
9 here certainly know you very well and maybe
10 most of them do not know, however, how
11 wonderful your family is and without question
12 as my wife and I have enjoyed the company
13 of you and your wife, you have one of the
14 nicest families that I have ever known. You
15 have served here well, and without question
16 has been with the support of your family, and
17 I look forward to over the course of the
18 future years getting together. I undoubtedly
19 will see you in Cuzco but more importantly,
20 hopefully I'll be able to see you over dinner
21 and drinks.
22 You've been a great friend, a
23 wonderful adversary, but more importantly a
24 good friend.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
5458
1 you, Senator.
2 Senator Oppenheimer. Senator,
3 will you stand up, please?
4 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: I'm
5 standing. That joke is getting so old.
6 Almost as old as you, Gold.
7 I wanted to note something
8 first, which is -- and I think this is really
9 important -- that there are so many members of
10 staff that have come out to listen and to pay
11 tribute to you, and I think that's because of
12 your wonderful cameraderie and friendship with
13 the staff, which is not all that common, so I
14 wanted to acknowledge all of your people, your
15 helpers, that have been there for you through
16 the years.
17 Well, we've talked about the
18 institutional loss, and your intellect and
19 your being there as the loyal opposition and
20 also the funny opposition. You've often
21 injected humor when we got a little tense
22 here, but I think it's going to be difficult
23 for us next year, and I think those of us on
24 this side of the aisle are going to have to
25 step up more to the plate because it's going
5459
1 to take all of us to step up and fill your
2 shoes.
3 Well, a lot has been said about
4 how multi-faceted you are, and we've heard
5 about the trumpet, but there's also the banjo
6 and the piano, which I've been fortunate
7 enough to hear, and the photographer -- by the
8 way, you have to take a picture of me today -
9 and the golf and the tennis, though the tennis
10 went because of your eye injury, and that was
11 too bad because we had wonderful games until a
12 few years ago.
13 But you're just an
14 extraordinarily gifted man, and you have a
15 great gift of friendship, and I think many of
16 the people that speak today are speaking as
17 your friends because you've reached out to so
18 many and established these warm personal
19 relationships, and I just want to say that
20 it's hard to imagine this place without you,
21 and because of all these friendships, I just
22 want to say I love you, and I think all of
23 these other people who have spoken love you,
24 and it's going to be very hard without you,
25 but we'll try and step up to the plate.
5460
1 If I can just say one word with
2 your indulgence, Mr. President, to Charlie
3 Cook. Oh, gosh, Charlie, I don't know what
4 we're going to do without you. You have been
5 such a friend to the women in this state.
6 There I go, I'm always putting my foot in my
7 mouth, as Marty Connor will attest. I did it
8 again, but you're just such a principled man
9 and such a humanistic man, and you have always
10 been there for so many of our causes, and I -
11 I hope that we will be able to garner more
12 support for -- for women and for our right to
13 reproductive freedom because you've understood
14 the significance and how it really is a
15 question of our destiny how we are able to
16 control the use of our bodies, and you're
17 going to be terribly missed, but I hope you
18 will be well and enjoy your retirement, and I
19 want you to know we really, really cared about
20 you, care for you, and wish you well.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
22 you very much.
23 Senator Balboni.
24 SENATOR BALBONI: Mr.
25 President, I couldn't let the opportunity pass
5461
1 to tell you something publicly that I have not
2 mentioned to you. As I suspect replays on
3 this floor every single year, I was standing
4 back here in 1985, the month was February, and
5 John Dunne asked me to come down and see
6 session for the first time, and I was standing
7 right over there, and you were up railing
8 against something and you were going on and
9 on, and everybody around was going, "Oh,
10 there's Gold going off again, there he is,"
11 and I looked at you and I said, "Damn, he's
12 good," and I've always wanted to do that. I've
13 always wanted to be able to have your ability
14 to stand up and be so forceful and to be so
15 witty, to make people laugh and, at the same
16 time, get the point home and I've spent the
17 intervening 13 years trying to do that, and
18 what I really wanted to tell you was that all
19 of my colleagues in the Assembly, particularly
20 in the Democratic majority, the reason why
21 they had to listen to all of my railing over
22 the last seven years is because of you, and
23 you're the reason why I spend so many hours up
24 on my feet and in my court practice trying to
25 do what you've done, and I won't do -- I won't
5462
1 repeat the same acts in this house, but I
2 couldn't let the opportunity pass without
3 telling you, and not to be sappy, but we all
4 look for people whom we emulate. We all look
5 for people who, you know, give us something to
6 shoot for and for this young man, young kid
7 fresh out of college, fresh out of law school,
8 you were it for me and so nice to see you go
9 out with all this admiration and you will
10 always be my standard for how to conduct a
11 really good floor debate.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
13 you, Senator.
14 Senator Paterson.
15 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
16 President. Senator Gold. Manny. I have a
17 few words -- dynamic, articulate, perceptive,
18 courageous, outspoken. Now that I've
19 described Senator Cook, maybe I'll think of
20 something I can say but about Manny Gold.
21 I came to this chamber in 1986
22 and I was, as a year earlier Senator Balboni
23 was, I was absolutely amazed and shocked at
24 the ability that you displayed on the floor.
25 I used to come to the chamber, I thought, for
5463
1 nothing else than just to watch Senator Gold
2 conduct floor debate. As I think Senator
3 Stachowski said earlier, there was no issue,
4 there was no situation that he didn't seem to
5 have an answer for, and it always appeared
6 that it was just coming to him, and it also
7 always appeared that it was an answer that not
8 only satisfied the immediate situation, but
9 was a good lesson.
10 There are so many lessons that
11 I have learned just listening to you on this
12 floor that I wouldn't even attempt to
13 enumerate them. I had heard about you before
14 I came to the Senate. I think it bears some
15 mention about your goals to try to establish
16 some integration in an area that was in a
17 northern community and was kind of a
18 controversial situation and you risked
19 probably your entire career at that particular
20 time.
21 I read about your legislation
22 involving the "Son of Sam" laws in the late
23 '70s, so when I came to serve with you, it
24 was not only an honor but it was also a little
25 frightening to sit down and try to impress
5464
1 this individual that you knew anything, and I
2 really knew very little and was also
3 interested that with all of this intelligence
4 and with all of this command of knowledge and
5 verse, of literature and understanding of
6 theatre and culture, that the truly
7 intelligent person makes themself available
8 and can simplify issues so that anyone can
9 understand them, and that was the kind of
10 training that I received under your tutelage
11 coming here to the New York State Senate.
12 I was fortunate enough to serve
13 with you for eight of your 16 years as Deputy
14 Minority Leader. In 1995, we gained a new
15 Minority Leader, Marty Connor, and he's not
16 perfect. He appointed me as his deputy.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Albeit
18 a brilliant choice.
19 SENATOR PATERSON: And I think
20 there was a perception that new leaders have,
21 that they want to bring in a new team, show a
22 little bit of a different look; it's certainly
23 something that I would have done, but I went
24 back about ten years ago to my old high school
25 and I saw a teacher who is still there, and he
5465
1 said to me, "You know, when I first came to
2 this school, I used to go out in the hall if
3 there was a fight among students and I would
4 get next to Mr. So-and-so and Mr. So-and-so,
5 teachers that I had had when I was in high
6 school, and" he said, "I'm really scared now
7 because now I go out in the hall and everybody
8 is trying to get next to me."
9 So I sit in this chair
10 sometimes and Senator Lachman comes over and
11 Senator Abate comes over and some of the new
12 Senators, Senator Sampson and Senator Gentile
13 come over, and they ask me these questions as
14 if I really know what's going on around here,
15 when, in fact, all I've ever been doing is
16 mimicking Senator Gold, and the reality is
17 that whenever a new look was shown that
18 Senator Connor would come to me and he's
19 saying, Look, David, we've shown a new look
20 and saying we're now going to go back to the
21 most effective thing that we can do and, with
22 your indulgence, we're going to bring Senator
23 Gold back to sit here, and then I would go
24 back and sit in the seat that Senator Smith
25 was in -- hopefully she will stay in it when I
5466
1 sit there -- and the point is that Senator
2 Gold would reassume command.
3 That's the kind of feeling I
4 have about you, Manny. There is no one who I
5 have ever seen that works harder on something
6 than you. You were organ playing when I was in
7 313, and those tones that would drift up to
8 the fourth floor was terrible, just to say the
9 least. But the point is that you kept
10 working, you were persevering, and all I can
11 say is you've moved to the ninth floor now, so
12 I would assume there's been some improvement.
13 But the reality is that when
14 Senator Gold -- I think the lesson that he
15 teaches all of us is he may make it look easy
16 but everything that he gets involved in, he
17 works at very hard. A magician doesn't reveal
18 his tricks, but Senator Gold's perseverance
19 and dedication to any issue that he works on
20 is a lesson I think we all could certainly
21 follow.
22 And so, as a person who outside
23 of this chamber is a leader in his family and
24 I -- someone mentioned about what a wonderful
25 family he has, when I came to the Senate, used
5467
1 to talk about his family and I always noticed
2 that his priority of when to be a legislator
3 and when to be a family member was something
4 that when I started a family a few years ago
5 is something that I've always listened to.
6 So Manny, we -- as you leave,
7 we certainly understand that there are other
8 commitments that you want to get involved in
9 and we hope you'll come back to visit, but
10 whenever you do come back, please remember
11 that the seat is always yours.
12 Thank you.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
14 you so much.
15 Senator Maltese.
16 SENATOR MALTESE: Mr.
17 President, I hesitate to go on at length for
18 fear that after listening to all these
19 adulates, you may decide to change your mind.
20 Seriously, I join with my
21 colleagues in indicating that we will suffer a
22 great loss. Certainly a year that you,
23 Senator Leichter and Senator Cook are leaving
24 leaves a mighty big gap in the Senate.
25 Because you're from Queens County, and I'm a
5468
1 neighbor, I have had an opportunity to meet a
2 lot more people that know you and that
3 interrelate with you and work with you, and
4 one thing about it as they have indicated that
5 you are a man of integrity, a man of honor, a
6 man of your word, which is very important in
7 politics.
8 Certainly we have been on
9 opposite sides of the issue at many, many
10 times. At the same time, there was never a
11 level of acrimony or I think bitterness in
12 those -- in the discourse between us. I -- I
13 really feel that your role here in the Senate,
14 together with my good colleague Senator
15 Leichter and, of course, Senator Cook, is the
16 key one and certainly the Senate will be a
17 much lesser place with your leaving.
18 Your debating skills have to be
19 commented on, have to be praised. I -- if I
20 were the Minority Leader at this time with the
21 loss of you and Senator Leichter, I would be
22 scouting around for -- for people in the bull
23 pen, so to speak, with knowing that it takes
24 some 10 or 15 years and perhaps they never can
25 attain your level of proficiency and skill;
5469
1 and certainly I, as your neighbor in Queens,
2 as your neighbor here in the Senate, will miss
3 you a great deal and there will be times, as
4 surprising as it may seem, that I'll wish you
5 were back.
6 Manny, we miss you -- we'll
7 miss you.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
9 Maziarz.
10 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you
11 very much, Mr. President.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: And
13 who's next? No.
14 SENATOR MAZIARZ: I just want
15 to follow up on one thing that Senator
16 Nozzolio said, Mr. President. You have made
17 better Senators out of all of us because I
18 know that, when my staff was preparing me on
19 some piece of legislation, we always tried to
20 anticipate the questions that you were going
21 to ask, and there was one particular bill, it
22 was acted on the last day of session last
23 year. I don't know if you remember this or
24 not, Senator Gold, but it had to do -- it had
25 absolutely nothing to do but everything to do
5470
1 with a parking problem that Senator Breslin
2 was having here in the city of Albany and it
3 was an Election Law bill and you and I debated
4 this stupid bill for two hours, and I was
5 amazed at the number of questions that you
6 could come up with about an Election Law bill
7 that had nothing to do with the Election Law
8 but more about parking in the city of Albany,
9 and about two weeks ago that bill was on the
10 active list and I asked that it be laid aside
11 because I wanted it on the calendar for today,
12 your last day here, and it just came out of
13 the Rules Committee, so we're going to do that
14 whole debate of two hours all over again.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
16 Dollinger.
17 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
18 Mr. President.
19 Before I talk about my friend,
20 Manny Gold, I want to join Senator Oppenheimer
21 in just a quick word to Senator Cook.
22 Senator Cook, for your advocacy
23 on behalf of women in the state, I think we
24 should all be indebted, and I'll just tell you
25 your departure makes the women in my district
5471
1 a little less free.
2 My friend, Manny Gold, I was
3 elected to the Senate in 1992 and immediately
4 someone got to me and said, "You're going to
5 meet my friend, Manny Gold," and frankly
6 everybody I've met in Monroe County says to me
7 when I speak to them, "You said you know my
8 friend, Manny Gold," and I'm starting to think
9 that his first name is "my friend".
10 But, Manny, you've left an
11 indelible expression in upstate New York,
12 people that knew you in Cornell who still
13 regard you 30 years later as their friend. I
14 think that's a tremendous testament to you. I
15 also have a brief telegram. It says "HEARD
16 GOLD IS LEAVING SENATE. STOP. DON'T LET HIM.
17 STOP. MUST PROMISE TO CONTINUE TAKE
18 PICTURES. STOP. OTHERWISE WILL DISCONTINUE
19 BRAND NAME IN HIS HONOR." I called George
20 Fisher. I said, "What do you mean, brand name
21 in his honor?" He said, "Well, Manny Gold is
22 the largest picture taker in upstate New York
23 and maybe in the Northeast. Where do you
24 think we got the name of Kodak Gold Film
25 from?"
5472
1 I would also tell everybody in
2 the chamber that you're in Manny's gallery,
3 those pictures that he takes are in your
4 gallery. I think Manny has a picture of
5 everyone he served in the Senate with and he
6 will take our face much as we will take his
7 memory with us.
8 And I'll close on just one
9 note: I regret your departing, much as Senator
10 Leichter and Senator Abate, because I think
11 you're a model of what the Legislature was
12 once like. Some people would say it had too
13 many lawyers. I'm one of those who believes
14 it may not be enough because it's a lawyer who
15 brings legal skills to the floor and talks
16 about bills and their implications and
17 details. It's the training that we have as
18 lawyers that gives us the ability to see law
19 and how it affects people.
20 We're moving to a time when
21 we're going to have a fully professional
22 legislature. We'll be perhaps paid more some
23 day. We'll be full time and the notion of a
24 part-time legislator who comes to Albany and
25 listens to his constituents at home, works
5473
1 with them as they work every day, and someone
2 who establishes and works -
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
4 Stachowski, why do you rise?
5 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr.
6 President, would Senator Dollinger yield for a
7 question?
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Will
9 the gentleman yield?
10 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Yes, Mr.
11 President.
12 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: I was
13 going to let this go, but your comments about
14 how there should be more lawyers and what you
15 bring to the table. Have you been drinking
16 this morning?
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: You're
18 out of order, Senator.
19 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Only with
20 Senator Gold, but I think, Manny, you came up
21 through the ranks as a lawyer, as a counsel in
22 this building, and I think at that time when
23 lawyer legislators were a part of this system,
24 when they contributed, when they went home and
25 they saw how the laws worked out for the
5474
1 people that they represented, I think that's a
2 tremendous perspective and, when you leave,
3 Senator Abate leaves, Senator Leichter leaves,
4 I think our debates and our discussions will
5 be a little less rich because that important
6 perspective will be lost.
7 I wish you Godspeed.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
9 you.
10 Senator Padavan.
11 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you,
12 Mr. President.
13 I've been listening carefully
14 to all these adjectives flowing back here and
15 lifted my pants a little higher than they
16 normally are. I've heard terms like
17 "articulate", "intelligent", "modest",
18 "unassuming". If someone asked me who Manny
19 Gold is, I'd say he's a pain in the "tuckas".
20 Now, you want to -- you want to spell that for
21 the stenographer, you have my permission.
22 I first met Manny Gold when I
23 was elected -- I don't even think we'd arrived
24 up here yet -- at a psychiatric center in my
25 district which seemed the most appropriate
5475
1 place to meet him.
2 When I arrived here -- not an
3 attorney, Senator Stachowski, and I stood on
4 this floor to debate a bill -- and the issue
5 was -- had somewhat of a Conservative bent to
6 it, and I saw Senator Gold call one of the
7 pages and they went outside and they came back
8 with the Red Book, and he opened up my
9 biography, and he said, "Would you yield to a
10 question?" And of course I did. "Did you just
11 leave the Lindsay Administration? Are you not
12 a Lindsay Liberal?" I learned never to lead
13 with my left on any issue that Senator Gold
14 was interested in.
15 Regard to Charlie Cook, I'm not
16 -- I have not said goodbye to Charlie Cook
17 because we're going to see each other a lot
18 being neighbors down the road at not far from
19 Delhi. In your case, I hope I never see you
20 again, at least here, but we will; our paths
21 will cross in Queens County.
22 I do want to say something
23 seriously at the moment and that was to build
24 upon the point that Senator Paterson made in
25 regard to your dedication to your family.
5476
1 I've had the pleasure of observing you and
2 your family over a period of 26 years that
3 I've been here, particularly with regard to
4 Adam and how you have done things that I doubt
5 most parents would have the capacity and the
6 ability to do, and that is, to me, the mark of
7 a man, the person, and for that I say to you,
8 we could all be very, very proud.
9 I know that your career in law,
10 and in government, will not subside because
11 that's just not your nature. I'm sure those
12 of us in Queens County will hear from you more
13 often than we wish, but when we do hear from
14 you, it will be something important.
15 Good luck.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
17 you, Frank.
18 Senator Fuschillo.
19 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
20 President, I'm going to be very brief. This
21 is the first time since I have been here that
22 there's more of your colleagues relaxed in the
23 chairs than mine. They have all run out of
24 the chambers here.
25 I don't go back many years with
5477
1 you, Manny, but I have to tell you, it's
2 probably my loss. The past four months have
3 really been beautiful. We've developed a good
4 friendship, and I hope that continues for a
5 long time. I've enjoyed your wit, your humor,
6 and I've certainly learned from your intellect
7 and wisdom.
8 Prior to coming here, I'd heard
9 a lot about you. Contrary to that, let me
10 tell you, you're a good guy and I just wanted
11 to rise and wish you and your family the
12 best.
13 I know you're not -- you're
14 just retiring from the Senate, but you're not
15 retiring from your legal practice, and I hope
16 to see you many years to come.
17 I wish you Godspeed.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
19 you.
20 Senator Montgomery.
21 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you,
22 Mr. President, Senator Gold.
23 I rise to join my colleagues in
24 expressing my admiration and my love and
25 really my admiration for your outstanding
5478
1 ability, especially in the area of debate.
2 I say that -- I want to thank
3 you and say to you the reason that I love you
4 so much is that it has always been such a joy
5 and a pleasure and a sense of pride when you
6 stand up and go after Senator Lack and raise
7 your miniature version of the Blue Book and
8 shake it at him and when you can go after
9 Senator Skelos and when you can go after
10 Senator Padavan and how you ease into a fight
11 with him. It's a wonderful feeling and even
12 Senator Bruno has had to deal with your debate
13 and your sometimes really cutting -- the way
14 you can cut them and they don't even know that
15 you've done it and most of all, who is going
16 to be able to stand up and really go after
17 Senator Stafford adequately, to make him feel
18 the discomfort of what we try to say and try
19 -- the points that we want to be made as
20 Democrats in this -- in this house and as
21 legislators who sit on this side.
22 So I'm going to really miss you
23 and I also want to thank you for the fact that
24 you've taken such wonderful photographs of
25 myself and my son. We will cherish those
5479
1 forever and I certainly look forward to
2 continuing at least a colleague relationship
3 with you because it's too much wealth of
4 knowledge and experience that you have to just
5 quit altogether and not be available to some
6 of us who really need your leadership on a
7 continuing basis in the future.
8 So good luck. All the best to
9 you, and we certainly will miss you
10 particularly for what you have been able to
11 represent for us on this side of the aisle.
12 Thank you.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
14 you, Senator.
15 Senator LaValle.
16 SENATOR LAVALLE: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 You've certainly, in the
19 discussion about you and your record here in
20 the Legislature, have really brought out
21 certain attributes in the members that have
22 risen to speak on your behalf.
23 We found out that Senator
24 Padavan actually does have a sense of humor.
25 We have learned that Senator Montgomery, in a
5480
1 prior life, announced the Friday night fights.
2 In all seriousness, it's been
3 mentioned, you know, those of us who have
4 served in this body for awhile remember that
5 Senator Lombardi, when he was here, was the
6 official volunteer Senate photographer. You
7 were his assistant. You took over that role.
8 With your passing, we now do not have anyone
9 who has at least come forward to be that
10 volunteer Senate photographer.
11 You have -- and I think we need
12 to say this. If we were to take your picture
13 and then write a biography, the bio' would
14 read, great intellect, great attorney, great
15 legislator, a Senator who performs his duties
16 with flare, theatrics, can be pugnacious and
17 when he leaves the Senate floor can be a very
18 caring person because I think, as Senator
19 Padavan said, a man who cares about his family
20 and can talk about it in a caring way can also
21 show that same level of care -- caring to his
22 friends and his colleagues.
23 You've done that many times by
24 putting your arm -- leaving this floor,
25 putting your arm around a colleague and asking
5481
1 questions about some problem that that
2 colleague has had. That's a mark of a good
3 person who has a sense of humanity and has
4 carried out his duties with, as we have said,
5 a great intellect, and your debating will be
6 missed.
7 As I said in a moment in the
8 lounge, you're probably one of the few people
9 that can speak the 15 or 20 minutes or half an
10 hour about nothing, and that's what Senator
11 Maziarz said about a bill. Pick up a bill and
12 ask questions for two hours. That's just a
13 wonderful trait that you can't learn. It has
14 to be innate.
15 Good luck to you, Manny Gold.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
17 you, Senator.
18 Senator Gentile.
19 SENATOR GENTILE: It's
20 certainly a glorious, glorious day to see you,
21 Mr. President, up there, not only as a fellow
22 Cornellian but also as a colleague here in the
23 Senate.
24 Certainly when I first -- when
25 I first met you, actually you probably -- I'm
5482
1 sure you don't remember -- the first time I
2 met you, Senator, I was on the campaign trail
3 back in 1994 and we were at a function
4 together and I got up and I was speaking to
5 the crowd, trying to convince them why my
6 candidacy was worthy of their support and you
7 were sitting, I believe in the first or the
8 second row and you kept saying to me, "Hey,
9 kid, come over here. Hey, kid, come over
10 here," and I didn't know who you were at the
11 time and I'm looking at you and I'm trying to
12 speak and you continue to say to me, "Hey,
13 kid, come over here," and frankly I was
14 getting annoyed as I was speaking -- as I was
15 speaking to the crowd.
16 So finally after I was finished
17 addressing the crowd, I came over to you and
18 you said, "Do you know who I am?" Now, having
19 worked in Queens County, I knew of you but I
20 didn't know you. So at that time you first
21 introduced yourself to me and it's been -
22 it's been a great, great relationship,
23 friendship since that time.
24 I must say here as a colleague
25 in the Senate, you have been one of my biggest
5483
1 advocates. You have leapt to my defense many,
2 many times here on the floor of the Senate and
3 for that I am very, very appreciative. I am
4 certainly in amazement, as many have said, on
5 your monologues, your ability to debate. In
6 fact, I think I have ordered more transcripts
7 of your talks here on the floor of the Senate
8 than any other member here. In fact, one of
9 the transcripts I ordered was the talk you
10 gave recently of what the Majority owes to the
11 Minority, and I have kept that as a reference
12 point.
13 So certainly your words will
14 live on with me, and it is really an honor as
15 a freshman Senator to have the opportunity
16 after your long career to spend at least two
17 years getting to know you, getting to work
18 with you and getting to learn from you.
19 So it is something that no
20 matter where I go and whatever I do, these two
21 years will be always very special to me
22 because of the opportunity I had to have
23 friendship with you and to learn from you and
24 last week you took my picture for the first
25 time. So I appreciate that also.
5484
1 Thank you very much.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
3 you, Senator.
4 SENATOR GENTILE: Good luck.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
6 Abate.
7 SENATOR ABATE: Looking at you,
8 Mr. President, it is a glorious sight and it's
9 a sight we all could get used to. Too bad you
10 can't stay up there for a little bit longer.
11 How do I say in a few words or
12 sum up 33 years of extraordinary service not
13 only to your district and to the state Senate
14 and to all the citizens of this great state?
15 You have been described as a
16 teacher and a mentor, but let me be truthful.
17 I know all of us have tried to be truthful
18 today.
19 In the last four years you have
20 not taught me a darn thing but in spite of
21 that the best thing I can say about you, you
22 are a man not in need of Viagra and that is
23 something -- am I right? (Laughter) I'm told
24 by many people -
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: This
5485
1 record is going to have to be expunged.
2 SENATOR ABATE: I asked Ada
3 Smith and Ada says no, but I think that's
4 probably the one thing in this whole -- this
5 whole dialogue today that you could say that
6 you're most proud of because when we look at
7 you, Manny, we don't think of someone who is
8 ready to retire. Obviously you're going to go
9 on to a very active practice.
10 I look at you as one of the
11 most vibrant thinkers, one of the most vibrant
12 human beings and that's why I raised the issue
13 of Viagra, because you are a delightful and
14 wonderful human being and that's why I think
15 all of us are standing up here today talking
16 about you in such positive and extraordinarily
17 wonderful ways.
18 When I first heard about you,
19 it was in the 1970s and '80s. I was involved
20 with crime victims and you were talked about
21 as a legend, the person who got the "Son of
22 Sam" Law passed, and they described you as
23 Emanuel Gold, Senator Emanuel Gold, and when I
24 got to the Senate and I finally met you
25 personally, I said Emanuel? This is Manny
5486
1 Gold and I was delighted that you weren't
2 someone who was, you know, older and
3 experienced and not approachable. You were
4 wonderfully approachable.
5 I remember my first days in the
6 Senate, you coming up to me and never being
7 serious. I was trying to read bills and do
8 what I thought was supposed to be done and you
9 made me laugh constantly and when we describe
10 you, it's not just someone who has a passion
11 for what they believe in, not just someone who
12 is funny and made me laugh but someone who is
13 extraordinarily brilliant and we can't say
14 that about all of us. All of us try to do our
15 job but you are born with enormous gifts.
16 So I would describe you as a
17 brilliant debater, a brilliant negotiator, a
18 brilliant thinker, strategist, an okay
19 photographer, someone who has less courage
20 because he would never play tennis with me.
21 Finally I got to the state Senate. I asked,
22 "Do you play tennis," and you developed some
23 kind of eye ailment. Hold that against you
24 for a long period of time, but one thing that
25 I admire about you, you are serious about your
5487
1 work. You're serious about your family but
2 you don't take yourself so seriously all the
3 time and that's what made working with you
4 such a pleasure and a privilege, and when I
5 think of the role of a state Senator, someone
6 who has the capacity to do the job and someone
7 that we could be proud of as a role model,
8 I'll close my ayes and look at your face, your
9 smiling face, and think, that's how the job
10 has been done. That's how the job should be
11 done, and I will think of Senator Manny Gold.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
13 you, Senator.
14 Senator Hoffmann.
15 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Well,
16 Senator Gold, you look wonderful up there.
17 Thank you, Mr. President. What a wonderful
18 move by Senator Bruno to have you preside on
19 this special and momentous day.
20 There has been so much said
21 about you that most people will think that it
22 is a typical work of fiction by people
23 debating in this chamber, but it is remarkably
24 accurate that you are what has often been
25 described as a "renaissance man", somebody who
5488
1 has done enough of everything and done it
2 surprisingly well to have earned the respect
3 of a friend and an adversary alike.
4 I don't think that it has been
5 put in the record yet that you are also a
6 roller skater and now roller blader and have
7 skated in these very halls, skating back and
8 forth from the LOB to the Capitol to, in best
9 Joe Bruno fashion, stay on time, keep this
10 place running like clockwork, once again
11 setting an example. Always here, always
12 prepared when the session was about to begin,
13 whatever time of day or night, setting an
14 example for those of us junior members who
15 were sometimes loathe to come here and dig
16 into issues of substance about which we were
17 unprepared. You would never hesitate to jump
18 right in, prepared or knowledgeable or not,
19 you always could give the impression that you
20 knew what you were doing.
21 I've had the unique experience
22 in my early years of having you decide that
23 you wanted to be of help to me because I was a
24 junior member from a rural area and I was the
25 ranker on Agriculture on this side of the
5489
1 aisle. Somehow you got the idea that it would
2 be useful to my cause to engage in debate on
3 agriculture bills, and issues about farming
4 and animals, about which you were totally
5 uninformed, would become the subject of long
6 inquisitions on this floor.
7 I remember being asked by you
8 to describe the difference between various
9 animals, including cows and bulls and bulls
10 and steers. Now, that was not something that
11 really needed to be discussed in any detail in
12 this chamber, but you pressed on, Senator
13 Gold, in the interest of educating people in
14 this state about the importance of
15 agriculture.
16 There was never a lost
17 opportunity for you to stop in the middle of
18 whatever I was saying, I might add. If I felt
19 that I was on a roll and was about to make a
20 point on why the prompt payment of dairy
21 checks from milk dealers in Pennsylvania was
22 important, if you thought that it would be
23 better for people in this chamber to hear me
24 talk about the different pounds of milk that
25 various breeds of cows could produce, you
5490
1 would stop in the middle and ask me to yield
2 for a question and we would go off into a
3 different direction and then afterwards you
4 would always come up with that wonderful warm
5 smile and say, "Was I a help today? Wasn't
6 that good?" People really got to see how much
7 you know about this stuff, as if anybody cared
8 about that stuff in the first place; but you
9 also were kind and warm to those of us who
10 came here because you had already experienced
11 so much in this Capitol and you wanted us to
12 feel comfortable.
13 I still remember the day that
14 you invited, I believe, six or seven junior
15 members -- junior and sophomore members into
16 your office for a very important meeting and
17 we were summoned with all formality, and I
18 suspect some of us thought there perhaps had
19 been some indiscretion on the part of a member
20 and we were going to be informed quietly what
21 it was that needed to be done to correct the
22 misdeed or we would have an important
23 political opportunity that only you had been
24 cognizant enough to recognize and seize upon.
25 Nope, nothing like that happened. We sat down
5491
1 and you had a large Albany Capital District
2 Multiple Listing real estate book in front of
3 you and told us that this was the time to buy
4 property in the Center Square area and you
5 were prepared to help us, that if we were
6 going to be around, we should be smart enough
7 to invest and that you would help guide us and
8 that we could do it singly; we could do it in
9 pairs. In fact, you even offered to play
10 matchmaker to help put people together who
11 were loathe to go out and do the legwork
12 themselves of actually looking at property.
13 You would guide us in the right direction and
14 just by the greatest coincidence had yourself
15 recently acquired your own real estate license
16 and out of the goodness of your heart, you
17 were going to help stimulate the Capital
18 District real estate market and provide us
19 safe accommodations at the same time.
20 You have consistently set a
21 standard for excellence in debate, in
22 preparation and in genuine intellectual
23 aptitude that is going to be forever a
24 hallmark of this chamber.
25 It's been an honor. It's been
5492
1 a pleasure. It's been an example that I hope
2 other members of this chamber will seek to
3 emulate and will succeed in emulating and make
4 you as proud in the years to come after you
5 leave this chamber as I believe we have been
6 of you while we've served with you, Senator
7 Gold.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
9 you very much.
10 Mr. President -- oh, Senator
11 Connor.
12 SENATOR CONNOR: Mr. President,
13 if I may have the privilege of closing. I
14 know I spoke before but -- okay. Well,
15 Charlie Cook can close. Absolutely.
16 No, what I did want to say,
17 though, is I wasn't here when Senator Cook was
18 presiding and I wanted to say, Senator Cook,
19 Charlie, we shall all miss you too. Though we
20 served on different sides of the aisle, you
21 have been a colleague who has earned the
22 respect of all of us. Your conviction and
23 courage and outspokenness, your concern for
24 education of all of New York State students,
25 including those in the city of New York which,
5493
1 you know, doesn't always at least in our
2 opinion get the recognition it should from
3 Senators who are from upstate because we do
4 have, because of size, enormity and the
5 uniqueness of that urban area have some
6 problems in education that need to be
7 addressed, you have always been concerned
8 about those. You visited our schools and you
9 have been someone who really cared and we
10 shall miss you.
11 Mr. President, my best to you,
12 to Judy, Suzi, Steve, Adam. You have been a
13 delight to have as a friend, to have as a
14 colleague. I know how much I've relied on you
15 these past years since I have been leader
16 and -- but I look back to some funnier
17 things.
18 My greatest trip to Albany, the
19 most fun I ever had coming to Albany -- I bet
20 you people have taken -- people have taken
21 planes and people have taken trains and people
22 have taken buses and automobiles, but I came
23 on Manny Gold's boat one year. He called -
24 I'll never forget this. He called up, Look,
25 next Monday, get down to the marina bright and
5494
1 early. I guess we left at 6:00 in the
2 morning. We had a cooler of cold
3 refreshments, Howie Babbush, Jerry Weinstein
4 and me and Manny Gold. This is going to be
5 fun. How long do you think it will take,
6 Manny? I don't know, four hours to get to
7 Albany.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: I never
9 said four hours.
10 SENATOR CONNOR: We were doing
11 great. Manny kept saying there's a lot of
12 junk in the river, a lot of rain upstate. We
13 got about 40 piles from Albany and all of a
14 sudden there was this noise and he said, Oh,
15 we lost a propeller. We were -- we'd long
16 since run out of liquid refreshments. When we
17 arrived in Albany at about 7:00 o'clock in the
18 evening -- in those days the rules were a
19 little more flexible -- we all checked in. We
20 could barely move. We checked in, in Joe
21 Cornell's office, Bermuda shorts and
22 everything, red as can be, had been on the
23 river from 6:00 in the morning until 7:00 at
24 night. It was fun, though. It was great,
25 Manny. I'll never forget that.
5495
1 And I know I will be able to
2 call on you any time I need your advice, I'll
3 only have to dial -- you may want to write
4 this down -- (212) 223-3400, the Law Offices
5 of Emanuel Gold, 950 Third Avenue. Manny Gold
6 is not retiring. He's devoting his full
7 effort to what he does better or as well,
8 better than just about anybody in this state,
9 practicing law and again, anyone who really
10 wants to see Manny Gold could go to 950 Third
11 Avenue and/or call (212) 223-3400. Do bring
12 your checkbook, and I know you will get the
13 finest reputation -- representation that you
14 could ever want because you will not only get
15 this man's brilliance, his intellect, you will
16 get his heart because he is such a caring
17 person.
18 Manny, you have been a joy and
19 I'm going to miss you, and I have a personal
20 thing that really -- with you and Franz
21 leaving, this Conference will miss you both
22 and somehow or other at my tender young age,
23 it will leave me as the senior Democrat in
24 service here, and I'm not old enough for that.
25 I shall try remembering the
5496
1 fine example you have all set to carry on.
2 Thank you.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
4 you very much.
5 Senator Cook.
6 SENATOR COOK: Mr. President, I
7 can't -- I can't tell you from personal
8 knowledge, as Senator Abate alleges to know,
9 whether or not you are in need of Viagra, but
10 I would simply say that -
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Excuse
12 me. You know, up until the end I thought my
13 family could read this.
14 SENATOR COOK: I would simply
15 say, Senator, in all seriousness, that you
16 didn't have to stand up on that elevated
17 platform for all of us to look up to you
18 because we always have.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
20 you, Charlie.
21 SENATOR COOK: With that, I
22 believe we're prepared for the reading of the
23 Rules -- the Finance report.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Yes.
25 Well, Senator Skelos, if I could waive the
5497
1 rules for a very, very, very brief -
2 SENATOR SKELOS: Absolutely.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: I
4 really want to thank everybody and Charlie
5 Cook said something earlier which really is
6 the truth. It's a unique experience to be
7 able to serve in this body and anyone who
8 doesn't appreciate the gift that we're given
9 by our communities is very, very foolish, and
10 I have been very lucky 33 years in Albany but
11 33 years of juggling two jobs, I think, is
12 enough, and Marty is right. I think just
13 going to 950 Third Avenue, New York, New York
14 is going to be enough.
15 Without saying too much, I
16 would be lying if I didn't say that I not only
17 cherish the friendship of my colleagues but
18 the staffs that work in this building are
19 extraordinary, and Billy and the people at the
20 desk have been -- have been just wonderful to
21 me and other members of the Minority and the
22 counsels, it's not only the counsels on my
23 side but the Majority counsels. I started as
24 a counsel up here. I know what's involved in
25 that work and they have been wonderful and if
5498
1 the truth be told and if nobody mentions this
2 outside this room, probably one of the
3 greatest Senators to run for election and
4 that's Jack McPadden who's run my staff and
5 without whom I probably couldn't have done
6 one-tenth of what I've done over the years and
7 I know Carolyn is here and Mary is around.
8 It's just -- I have been very lucky with their
9 friendship over the years.
10 Particularly I'm lucky that
11 there is a great gentleman in that place who,
12 once an aborted leadership fight was over, was
13 great to me. Senator Connor, you are -- you
14 are really a terrific guy and my Conference is
15 very lucky that not only that you won but that
16 you conducted this Conference with the talent
17 and the concern that you have and -- but
18 that's not my problem. My problem is
19 personally, and personally you have been
20 really great to me and I appreciate that.
21 And in closing, let me say just
22 two things. First of all, I never, ever
23 suggested that sincerity and dedication was
24 limited to my side of the aisle and one of the
25 reasons this is a great place is that when I'm
5499
1 debating people and the opinion is totally
2 contrary to what I think, I know that in my
3 heart the person I'm talking to cares as much
4 as anybody on my side of the aisle and that's
5 what makes this place so great.
6 And as far as my leaving and
7 Franz and others leaving, I have a great faith
8 in the capacity of the people in my Conference
9 and the talent of my colleagues and this
10 place, got along without me before they met me
11 and they'll get along without me in the
12 future, thanks to the talent that does happen
13 to reside on the Democratic side, and I want
14 to thank you.
15 (Applause)
16 Senator Skelos.
17 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
18 I believe we're on reports of standing
19 committees. Could we have the report of the
20 Finance Committee read at this time.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
22 clerk will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator
24 Stafford, from the Committee on Finance,
25 reports the following nominations:
5500
1 As a member of the state Board
2 of Parole, Guisella Rodriguez, of Staten
3 Island.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
5 Stafford.
6 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr.
7 President, I again stand and I know this has
8 been said before, but I don't say it lightly.
9 I don't say it lightly.
10 Once again, the Governor has
11 sent us nominations of people who are capable,
12 people who are dedicated, people who have
13 excellent resumes, but people who also through
14 their work have shown and their lives have
15 shown what tremendous nominees they are and
16 the tremendous job that they will be doing and
17 it's a pleasure for me now to yield to the
18 Senator from Richmond.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
20 Marchi.
21 SENATOR MARCHI: Mr. President,
22 the apparently limitless area in the
23 generation of great leadership and great
24 character is Staten Island and back to back we
25 have a nominee before us as a prospective
5501
1 member of the parole commission.
2 Now, she's had -- she's had a
3 splendid background, one that speaks very
4 eloquently for the service that she is going
5 to be rendering to the people of this state
6 and to our system of justice.
7 She has had a hands-on
8 experience in a number of different areas
9 touching all of the vital circumstances that
10 are affected with the safety and security of
11 the people of the multiple communities in our
12 city and elsewhere.
13 A graduate of St. John's
14 University, one who has had extensive
15 experience, one who has served for 14 years
16 with the police department and it should be
17 recorded that never once in 14 years where she
18 was serving almost continuously at the cutting
19 edge of law enforcement was there ever a
20 complaint lodged against her. I think this is
21 a very marvelous attribute and one that is
22 appreciated by many of us here when we view
23 the passing scene.
24 She's also been given awards
25 for her meritorious achievements and when you
5502
1 reach the bottom line, it adds up to a -- to a
2 marvelous assurance that Guisella -- I hope I
3 pronounced that name right -- Rodriguez. I
4 always go to Olga for my reference, but she
5 was very true to your name -- spoke before the
6 members of the Finance Committee and survived
7 these surveillance and the investigations
8 conducted by the committee -- commission on -
9 Committee on Corrections but spoke before and
10 was submitted to questions before our Finance
11 Committee and I can say that she elicited a
12 very positive response from every single
13 member of that committee.
14 When Senator Stafford called
15 for a vote, the vote was unanimous. So what
16 I've done up to now, I have only succeeded in
17 understating the meritorious qualities of this
18 fine nominee.
19 So I move the confirmation of
20 this name.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
22 Mendez.
23 SENATOR MENDEZ: Mr. President,
24 I rise to support the nomination of Guisella
25 Rodriguez to the Parole Board. I am much
5503
1 impressed with her professional background.
2 She has been able as a woman to juggle her
3 life in terms of being a wonderful mother of
4 two children and a wonderful wife as well.
5 I think that she will bring
6 into the Parole Board the expertise because
7 she's been out there in the community fighting
8 crime. So if there's somebody that knows the
9 difference between an offender and a violent
10 felon, that's Mrs. Rodriguez.
11 She's -- as stated before,
12 she's a graduate from St. John's University
13 that produces so many wonderful legislators
14 and public servants in an incredible amount.
15 So it is with -- I want to
16 congratulate Governor Pataki for this
17 nomination. We hope everybody supports it and
18 the only thing that I wonder why she -- her
19 presence in the Finance Committee was that I
20 looked at her and there I see this lovely
21 innocent face and I couldn't picture her, Mr.
22 President, drawing out the gun and telling the
23 fellows, Back off, back off, but that she's
24 done and more.
25 So it's a wonderful appointment
5504
1 and I am very pleased to support it as well.
2 Thank you, Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
4 you, Senator.
5 The question is on the
6 confirmation of Guisella Rodriguez of Staten
7 Island as a member of the state Board of
8 Parole. All in favor signify by saying aye.
9 (Response of "Aye".)
10 Opposed, nay.
11 (There was no response.)
12 The nominee is unanimously
13 confirmed, and we are pleased today that
14 Guisella Rodriguez is with us in the gallery.
15 Congratulations.
16 (Applause)
17 The Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: As members of
19 the Advisory Council to the Commission on the
20 Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled:
21 Adam Denenberg, of Albany and Milo I.
22 Tomanovich, of Rochester.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
24 Stafford.
25 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr.
5505
1 President, we will keep this relatively brief,
2 but I would ask anybody -- any of the Senators
3 who are in the lounge, I think it would be
4 nice if they would come in because they
5 probably understand, we have a group who do a
6 great deal for us. They make sure the
7 material is distributed throughout our
8 offices. They are very dedicated. They're
9 friends of ours. To the credit of Earl
10 Brydges and Bill Conklin, this program was put
11 together. They were former Senators.
12 Adam Denenberg is from
13 Plattsburgh, New York, and I see that I really
14 got a response from our friends, but I will
15 just say what he wrote. Adam is sitting
16 upstairs with some of his colleagues -- when
17 he wrote -- when he was desirous of serving on
18 this commission.
19 He says "I am interested in
20 serving on this committee because I want to
21 help improve the quality of services for
22 people with disabilities. I also want to do
23 everything possible to help self-advocates
24 learn to speak up directly about how they feel
25 so the services they receive can be improved"
5506
1 and for those who are in the sound of my voice
2 so they'll understand, I don't use the word
3 because I don't think it connotes or really
4 demonstrates what they do for us, but again,
5 keeping our sense of humor, we're all
6 messengers really serving in the job we have.
7 We're messengers from our district bringing
8 representation here and bringing back -- from
9 our job here back into our district.
10 Adam does his work well. He's
11 very proud of the work that he does. We're
12 very proud of Adam and his colleagues and I'm
13 sure -- I'm sure that he will do an excellent,
14 excellent job.
15 You know, Mr. President, I
16 would say this: Someone mentioned this a few
17 minutes ago, and I want to mention this
18 because I think it is important. What we're
19 going to do for the rest of the day -- what
20 was mentioned a few minutes ago and I want to
21 say this. You know, the speeches that we have
22 had here today and the speeches that we have
23 had in the past will have, I know with Senator
24 Leichter also, you know, it kind of brings us
25 to what we're really doing here.
5507
1 We get very, very carried away
2 because we're human beings. We get carried
3 away with our own importance. We get carried
4 away with our own whatever, but speaking of
5 Adam, you know, I've often said this when I'm
6 out on the hustings. What people do in life,
7 we wouldn't put people on the moon if we
8 didn't have capable people working in every
9 single aspect of that bracket or whatever
10 going to the moon, including those who do any
11 job.
12 Well, we wouldn't have this
13 operation if it wasn't for every single person
14 who is part of the operation and Adam is very
15 much a part of it, all his colleagues are,
16 everyone is that's part of it.
17 So it's just a very nice day
18 when we can stand up, and again I see Senator
19 Marchi and I said I was going to be brief.
20 Senator Gold, you remember Senator Conklin and
21 Senator Brydges who started this program and
22 they were so proud of it and we're proud of it
23 also. We're proud of Adam, his colleagues.
24 We're proud of this whole operation, the
25 Senate, and they're very, very, very much a
5508
1 part of it, and we wouldn't have the Senate
2 without them.
3 So it is my honor to move the
4 confirmation of Adam Denenberg to the Advisory
5 Council to the Commission on the Quality of
6 Care for the Mentally Disabled.
7 Thank you, Mr. President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
9 question is on the confirmation of Adam
10 Denenberg and Milo I. Tomanovich as members of
11 the Advisory Council to the Commission on
12 Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled.
13 All in favor signify by saying aye.
14 (Response of "Aye".)
15 All opposed, nay.
16 (There was no response.)
17 The nominees are unanimously
18 confirmed and let me say, Adam, I can't say it
19 better than Senator Stafford but every member
20 of this Senate is overwhelmingly proud today
21 because you are part of us.
22 Congratulations on your
23 nomination and your confirmation.
24 (Applause)
25 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr.
5509
1 President and I apologize, Senator Skelos,
2 because of it being a member of our own family
3 here, in the office right off of the Majority
4 Conference Room, there's a bit of ice cream.
5 So all the nominees are invited there,
6 including Adam and everybody here in the
7 Senate is, and when Senator Brydges used to
8 say ice cream, it wasn't ice cream. It was
9 some other refreshment. This is ice cream.
10 Thank you.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
12 clerk will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
14 the Board of Trustees of the State University
15 of New York: Harvey F. Wachsman, of Upper
16 Brookville.
17 SENATOR STAFFORD: Again, Mr.
18 President, excellent nominee, and I yield to
19 the Senator from the north shore.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
21 Lack.
22 SENATOR LACK: Thank you, Mr.
23 President.
24 It's a pleasure to rise to move
25 the nomination of Harvey -- renomination of
5510
1 Harvey Wachsman as a member of the Board of
2 Trustees of the State University of New York.
3 I'm proud to say that Harvey
4 Wachsman is my friend and that he's here today
5 and has appeared both before the Finance
6 Committee and the Higher Education Committee
7 and has been unanimously approved, once again
8 by both those committees and moved to the
9 floor of the Senate.
10 Harvey -- Harvey is truly a
11 renaissance person. He is not only a
12 neurosurgeon, which he first was, and a
13 practicing neurosurgeon and adjunct member of
14 the faculty at the Stony Brook Medical School
15 on Long Island, the State University Medical
16 School, he is also an attorney. He is
17 admitted in eight states as a doctor, seven
18 states as an attorney. He is a named partner
19 in probably the largest malpractice firm in
20 the United States, but Harvey Wachsman will
21 tell you that he spends probably less than
22 five percent of his time these days at his law
23 firm. He certainly could make a lot more
24 money if he spent 95 percent of his time
25 there, but that's not what is driving him.
5511
1 What is driving him these days
2 is doing things for people, for people in the
3 state of New York as a trustee of the
4 University and for people all over the country
5 in trying to reform the HMO system and the
6 system of managed care that we have in the
7 country and he's virtually dedicated his
8 professional life to doing just that and he
9 does fantastically.
10 He is always on the go and
11 probably has more energy than the entire
12 collective body of this Senate put together
13 and in all fairness, and I don't think Harvey
14 would mind, that's not a job that he does all
15 by himself because Harvey today is joined by
16 his wife, by his companion, an attorney in her
17 own right admitted in almost as many states as
18 Harvey, his wife Katherine who is actually
19 probably a lot more than his companion because
20 she's his best friend and his counsel as he
21 moves rapidly from facet to facet of a multi-,
22 multi-faceted life.
23 We are privileged in New York
24 that we get as an unpaid trustee of the State
25 University system not only Harvey but
5512
1 Katherine as well because they truly serve as
2 a team together and have an attendance record
3 that's virtually perfect as a trustee but a
4 caring record that is virtually perfect as a
5 trustee. He chairs the Health Sciences
6 Committee of the State University Trustees.
7 He's been heavily involved in trying to
8 improve the State University hospitals, of the
9 state medical schools, the interrelationships
10 between those institutions and private
11 institutions, consideration of what medical
12 care has turned out to be in the late 20th
13 Century and to the beginning of the next
14 century.
15 He truly exemplifies what civic
16 duty means for a private citizen on a pro bono
17 basis to act on behalf of all of the people of
18 the state of New York.
19 So, Mr. President, it is indeed
20 my honor to move the nomination of a gentleman
21 from Nassau County, not from my district but
22 indeed a very good friend of mine, to once
23 again be a trustee of the State University.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
25 Marcellino.
5513
1 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 I too rise to second the
4 nomination of Harvey Wachsman because, as my
5 esteemed colleague, Senator Lack, has pointed
6 out, this gentleman could be doing just about
7 anything he wants. He does not have to do
8 what he is being nominated here for today. He
9 does not have to give time and serve in
10 sometimes a very thankless position on the
11 board of trustees. He could be out earning a
12 lot of money, and I think that's a credit and
13 that's something that we have to acknowledge
14 and should always acknowledge and say thank
15 you for people who are willing to give up
16 their time to serve the people and more
17 importantly they're here serving our young
18 people because Harvey is trying to better our
19 educational facilities. He's trying to make
20 education in the state universities more
21 effective and better for all those who
22 participate in the state universities, and I
23 think that's something that we all would
24 strive for.
25 So I thank you, Harvey, for
5514
1 giving of your time. I thank you for taking
2 on this thankless job, and I thank you for
3 being a pot stirrer because that's what you
4 are. That's exactly what's needed, and keep
5 up the good work and we will be here to
6 support you.
7 God bless.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
9 question arises on the confirmation of Harvey
10 F. Wachsman as a member of the Board of
11 Trustees of the State University of New York.
12 All in favor signify by saying aye.
13 (Response of "Aye".)
14 All opposed, nay.
15 (There was no response.)
16 The nominee is unanimously
17 confirmed. Dr. Wachsman is with us today with
18 his wife Katherine and they're in the
19 balcony. Congratulations on your
20 confirmation.
21 (Applause)
22 The clerk will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
24 the Dormitory Authority: Jose Alberto
25 Corvalan, of Armonk.
5515
1 SENATOR SKELOS: Move the
2 nomination.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
4 question arises on the confirmation of Jose
5 Alberto Corvalan as a member of the Dormitory
6 Authority. All in favor signify by saying
7 aye.
8 (Response of "Aye".)
9 Opposed, nay.
10 (There was no response.)
11 The nomination is confirmed.
12 The clerk will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: As a public
14 member of the State Banking Board: Michael R.
15 Ambrecht, of Point Lookout.
16 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr.
17 President, excuse me.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
19 Stafford.
20 SENATOR STAFFORD: I yield to
21 Senator Skelos and Senator Balboni.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
23 Skelos.
24 SENATOR SKELOS: I'm delighted
25 to rise and move the nomination of Michael R.
5516
1 Ambrecht as the public member of the State
2 Banking Board.
3 Mike has a -- I saw him. There
4 he is -- has a distinguished public career and
5 we're delighted that he's going to continue to
6 serve the public in this very prestigious
7 board.
8 So I'm delighted to move the
9 nomination, and now I believe Senator Balboni
10 would like to make some comments.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
12 Balboni.
13 SENATOR BALBONI: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 Thank you, Senator Skelos, and
16 I rise to second the nomination of Michael
17 Ambrecht. I spoke before about my time in
18 this chamber as a member of John Dunne's
19 staff. Well, the gentleman before us now was
20 also a member of John Dunne's staff. He is an
21 incredibly young man by many standards and yet
22 he has accomplished much.
23 As a member of John Dunne's
24 staff, he distinguished himself, but then he
25 went on to work with the district attorney's
5517
1 office in Manhattan, then he went on to work
2 as a counsel to George Pataki at a very
3 difficult time because he was an essential
4 component of the Governor's deliberations on
5 the death penalty, and I recall dealing with
6 him, and I'll be honest with you, I was
7 shocked to suddenly see this young man who's
8 younger than myself in a position as Counsel
9 to the Governor intrinsically involved in the
10 question of what type of death penalty should
11 New York State adopt, and I recall talking
12 with him and I think it's instructive of the
13 man we are going to hopefully confirm today.
14 He has unquestionable fidelity to his
15 principle. He has integrity. He has honesty
16 and he has incredible perseverance.
17 In a story that I know I don't
18 really want to repeat but I'll say it anyway,
19 I went to him to try and get the skinny on
20 what was going on with the death penalty
21 issue. Tell me what's going on. You work for
22 the Governor. Tell me what's going to be in
23 the bill. Nothing. Didn't care how long we
24 had been together. Would not tell me a word
25 and that is his hallmark. He is now serving
5518
1 as the counsel to the Long Island Rail Road,
2 and I believe that he is the youngest general
3 counsel ever in the railroad's history,
4 something that should not be lost on this body
5 and he is now before us to be appointed as a
6 member of the Banking Board and this is,
7 again, George Pataki's wisdom to reach out to
8 someone who is young, distinguished, who is,
9 in my opinion, a rising star in public
10 service, promote him and give him the
11 opportunities to expand the horizons of
12 interest and knowledge and that, Mr.
13 President, is Michael Ambrecht, and it is a
14 unique and distinct privilege to rise and tell
15 you all we could not have a better appointee.
16 Thank you, Mr. President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
18 you.
19 The question is on the
20 confirmation of Michael R. Ambrecht as a
21 public member of the State Banking Board. All
22 those in favor signify by saying aye.
23 (Response of "Aye".)
24 Opposed, nay.
25 (There was no response.)
5519
1 The nominee is unanimously
2 confirmed and is with us, I understand, today
3 in the gallery. Thank you so much.
4 Congratulations.
5 (Applause)
6 The clerk will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
8 the Board of Trustees of the State University
9 of New York College of Environmental Science
10 and Forestry: Daniel Fitts, of Lake Placid.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
12 Stafford.
13 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr.
14 President, we have a lot of work to do today
15 and the nominees are being very, very
16 patient. So I will be very, very quick here,
17 but again the nominee is with us. He served
18 with me -- with us here in the Senate a number
19 of years. The organization that he now serves
20 with, I'm not going to mention.
21 Mr. President, when we discuss
22 issues, we sometimes agree as much as you and
23 I do sometimes. On the other hand, I have the
24 same respect, friendship with him. He's a
25 native of the North Country from Rouses Point
5520
1 and I knew his parents well. He will serve
2 the College of Forestry well with good humor,
3 dedication and an extremely keen intellect.
4 With that, Mr. President,
5 together with Michael who they talked about a
6 few minutes ago, I should mention always wears
7 braces. This is the Banking Board nominee
8 that was just mentioned and never is without a
9 Monte Blanc pen. These are things that people
10 that have served with us, we remember, but on
11 a serious note, both very, very fine
12 nominees. They've served with us earlier and
13 the Governor is to be complimented on
14 excellent appointments.
15 Thank you, Mr. President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Thank
17 you, Senator Stafford.
18 The question is on the
19 confirmation of Daniel Fitts as a member of
20 the Board of Trustees of the State University
21 of New York College of Environmental Science
22 and Forestry. All in favor signify by saying
23 aye.
24 (Response of "Aye".)
25 Opposed, nay.
5521
1 (There was no response.)
2 The nominee is unanimously
3 confirmed.
4 Mr. Fitts is with us in the
5 gallery. Congratulations.
6 (Applause)
7 The clerk will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
9 the Board of Directors of the New York
10 Convention Center Operating Corporation:
11 Christine Ferer, of New York City.
12 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the
13 confirmation.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
15 question is on the confirmation of Christine
16 Ferer as a member of the Board of Directors of
17 the New York Convention Center Operating
18 Corporation. All those in favor signify by
19 saying aye.
20 (Response of "Aye".)
21 Opposed, nay.
22 (There was no response.)
23 The nominee is confirmed.
24 The clerk will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: As director of
5522
1 the New York State Environmental Facilities
2 Corporation: William F. McCarthy, of New York
3 City.
4 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the
5 confirmation, please.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: On the
7 question of the confirmation of William F.
8 McCarthy as a director of the New York State
9 Environmental Facilities Corporation, all
10 those in favor signify by saying aye.
11 (Response of "Aye".)
12 Opposed, nay.
13 (There was no response.)
14 William F. McCarthy is
15 confirmed.
16 The Secretary will read.
17 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
18 the New York State Hospital Review and
19 Planning Council: John W. Rowe, of New York
20 City.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
22 question is on the confirmation of John W.
23 Rowe as a member of the New York State
24 Hospital Review and Planning Council. All in
25 favor signify by saying aye.
5523
1 (Response of "Aye".)
2 Opposed, nay.
3 (There was no response.)
4 The nominee is confirmed.
5 The clerk will read.
6 THE SECRETARY: As members of
7 the Board of Visitors of the New York State
8 Home for Veterans and Their Dependents at
9 Oxford: Loella Bishop, of Brooktondale and
10 Beverly P. Gardinier, of Amsterdam.
11 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Move the
12 confirmation.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
14 question occurs upon the confirmation of
15 Loella Bishop and Beverly P. Gardinier as
16 members of the Board of Visitors of the New
17 York State Home for Veterans and Their
18 Dependents at Oxford. All those in favor
19 signify by saying aye.
20 (Response of "Aye".)
21 Opposed, nay.
22 (There was no response.)
23 The nominees are confirmed.
24 The clerk will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
5524
1 the Board of Visitors of the Sunmount
2 Developmental Disabilities Services Office:
3 Reverend William R. Cuthbert, of Potsdam.
4 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Move the
5 confirmation.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
7 question occurs on the confirmation of
8 Reverend William R. Cuthbert as a member of
9 the Board of Visitors of the Sunmount
10 Developmental Disabilities Services Office.
11 All those in favor signify by saying aye.
12 (Response of "Aye".)
13 Opposed, nay.
14 (There was no response.)
15 The nominee is confirmed.
16 The clerk will read.
17 THE SECRETARY: As members of
18 the Niagara Frontier State Park, Recreation
19 and Historic Preservation Commission: Heather
20 A. DeCastro, of Lewiston and John P. Silsby,
21 of North Tonawanda.
22 SENATOR MAZIARZ: I definitely
23 move these confirmations.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
25 question occurs on the confirmation of Heather
5525
1 A. DeCastro and John P. Silsby as members of
2 the Niagara Frontier State Park, Recreation
3 and Historic Preservation Commission. All in
4 favor signify by saying aye.
5 (Response of "Aye".)
6 Opposed, nay.
7 (There was no response.)
8 The nominees are confirmed.
9 The clerk will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Members of the
11 Saratoga-Capital District State Park,
12 Recreation and Historic Preservation
13 Commission: Heather Mabee, of Saratoga
14 Springs; Thomas O. Maggs, of Scotia; Raymond
15 Waldron, of Saratoga Springs.
16 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Move the
17 confirmation.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
19 question is on the confirmation of Heather
20 Mabee, Thomas O. Maggs and Raymond Waldron as
21 members of the Saratoga-Capital District State
22 Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation
23 Commission. All in favor signify by saying
24 aye.
25 (Response of "Aye".)
5526
1 Opposed, nay.
2 (There was no response.)
3 The nominees are confirmed.
4 The Secretary will read.
5 THE SECRETARY: Member of the
6 Thousand Island State Park, Recreation and
7 Historic Preservation Commission: Myrna Ellen
8 O'Neil, of Ogdensburg.
9 SENATOR WRIGHT: Move the
10 confirmation.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
12 question occurs on the confirmation of Myrna
13 Ellen O'Neil as a member of the Thousands
14 Island State Park, Recreation and Historic
15 Preservation Commission. All those in favor
16 signify by saying aye.
17 (Response of "Aye".)
18 Opposed, nay.
19 (There was no response.)
20 The nominee is confirmed.
21 The Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Member of the
23 Harness Racing Commission: Joseph V.
24 Angiolillo, of West Harrison.
25 SENATOR SEWARD: Move the
5527
1 confirmation.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
3 question occurs upon the confirmation of
4 Joseph Angelo V. Angiolillo, of West Harrison,
5 as a member of the Harness Racing Commission.
6 All those in favor signify by saying aye.
7 (Response of "Aye".)
8 Opposed, nay.
9 (There was no response.)
10 The nominee is confirmed.
11 That completes the report of
12 the Committee and the nominations.
13 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
14 President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
16 Marcellino.
17 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
18 President, may I have unanimous consent to be
19 recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
20 802.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Without
22 objection.
23 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: Senator
25 Skelos.
5528
1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
2 I believe there's a report of the Rules
3 Committee at the desk. I ask that it be read
4 at this time.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GOLD: The
6 Secretary will read the report.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
8 from the Committee on Rules, offers up the
9 following bills directly for third reading:
10 Senate Bill 2621-A, by Senator
11 Lachman, an act to amend the Vehicle and
12 Traffic Law;
13 3351-C, by Senators Marchi and
14 others, an act to amend the Not-for-Profit
15 Corporation Law;
16 4846-A, by Senator Meier, an
17 act to amend the Social Services Law;
18 5002-B, by Senator Trunzo and
19 others, an act to amend the Retirement and
20 Social Security Law;
21 5568, by Senator Maziarz, an
22 act to amend the Election Law;
23 5616-A, by Senator Wright, an
24 act to amend the Environmental Conservation
25 Law;
5529
1 5689-A, by Senator Alesi, an
2 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
3 6279-A, by Senator Marchi, an
4 act authorizing the city of New York;
5 6344, by Senator Padavan, an
6 act authorizing the city of New York;
7 6376, by Senator Seabrook, an
8 act authorizing the city of New York;
9 6624-A, by Senator Goodman, an
10 act to amend the Tax Law;
11 6631-A, by Senator Marchi, an
12 act authorizing the city of New York;
13 6910-A, by Senator Johnson, an
14 act to amend the Highway Law;
15 7066-A, by Senator Seward, an
16 act to authorize Joseph A. Santoro;
17 7091, by Senator Balboni, an
18 act to amend the Executive Law;
19 7607, by Senator Wright, an act
20 to amend the Environmental Conservation Law;
21 7611, by Senator LaValle, an
22 act to amend the Environmental Conservation
23 Law;
24 7720, by Senator Kuhl, an act
25 to amend the Agriculture and Markets Law;
5530
1 7774, by the Committee on
2 Rules, an act to grant Tier I status;
3 7781, by Senator Trunzo and
4 others, an act to amend the Retirement and
5 Social Security Law;
6 7782, by Senator Trunzo and
7 others, an act to amend the Retirement and
8 Social Security Law;
9 7792, by Senator Trunzo and
10 others, an act to amend the Retirement and
11 Social Security Law;
12 7820, by Senator Volker, an act
13 to amend the Penal Law;
14 4095-A, by Senator Paterson, an
15 act to amend the Tax Law; and
16 7478-B, by Senator Velella and
17 others, an act to amend the Insurance Law.
18 All bills directly for third
19 reading.
20 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
21 move to accept the report of the Rules
22 Committee.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: All
24 in favor of accepting the Report of the Rules
25 Committee signify by saying aye.
5531
1 (Response of "Aye".)
2 Opposed, nay.
3 (There was no response.)
4 The report is accepted.
5 Senator Skelos.
6 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
7 would you call up Calendar Number 1529 on
8 Supplemental Rules Calendar 53-A.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
10 Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1529, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
13 Print 7774, an act to grant Tier I retirement
14 status.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
16 the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
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 61 -
24 excuse me. Ayes 60, nays 1, Senator Dollinger
25 recorded in the negative.
5532
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
2 bill is passed.
3 Senator Skelos.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
5 if we could take up Supplemental Calendar
6 53-A, non-controversial.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
8 Secretary will read.
9 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
11 Senator Skelos.
12 SENATOR SKELOS: Once again,
13 I'm wrong. If we could at this time take up
14 Calendar Number 1533, by Senator Volker.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
16 Secretary will read.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1533, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 7820, an
19 act to amend the Penal Law, the Executive Law
20 and the Criminal Procedure Law.
21 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a
22 message at the desk?
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
24 There is a message of necessity at the desk.
25 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to
5533
1 accept.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
3 motion is to accept the message. All those in
4 favor.
5 (Response of "Aye".)
6 Opposed?
7 (There was no response.)
8 The message is accepted.
9 Read the last section.
10 SENATOR DOLLINGER:
11 Explanation.
12 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
13 President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
15 Senator Volker, an explanation has been
16 requested by Senator Dollinger of Calendar
17 Number 1553 -- I'm sorry -- Calendar Number
18 1533.
19 Senator Paterson.
20 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
21 President, actually I was trying to get your
22 attention to ask Senator Volker for an
23 explanation, but particularly I think in light
24 of the last day of session here, we're trying
25 to move as quickly as we can, if he would
5534
1 address himself specifically to the
2 differences in this piece of legislation and
3 the one that we debated a couple weeks ago.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
5 Actually, Senator Paterson, that's exactly
6 what Senator Volker was going to do anyway.
7 Senator Volker.
8 SENATOR VOLKER: You are
9 exactly right, Senator Maziarz, Mr. President.
10 Mr. President, this -- Mr.
11 President.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
13 Senator Volker.
14 SENATOR VOLKER: Enough of the
15 peanut gallery. Okay. This bill is a
16 Governor's program bill which basically is a
17 version of Jenna's Law that we passed earlier
18 in this session.
19 We passed a bill that many of
20 us like to call a straight Jenna's Law. The
21 Assembly drafted a bill that put what I would
22 call a "Christmas tree" list in it of various
23 issues, including drug release and treatment
24 and various things.
25 This bill is a much more scaled
5535
1 down version from the Assembly version and let
2 me just say to you, first of all, essentially
3 the Jenna's Law provisions on sentencing
4 essentially are in this bill. There are some
5 changes but comparatively, I think, minor
6 changes in general.
7 The major changes are on parole
8 supervision. If you'll remember the initial
9 bill that we passed for "B" and "C" felons had
10 a five-year parole supervision after the
11 termination of the sentence and three years
12 for "D" and "E" felonies.
13 This bill still has a maximum
14 of five years for "B" and "C" felons and a
15 maximum of three years for "D" and "E" felons,
16 but it allows flexibility to the judge for a
17 minimum of a year and a half for those people
18 who are sentenced as "D" and "E" -- and
19 remember, these are all violent felony
20 offenders. These are serious offenders -- for
21 "B" and "C" felons a two and a half-year
22 minimum with a five-year potential maximum.
23 In other words, the judge has the ability to
24 sentence at least two and a half but up to
25 five years.
5536
1 The other major provision in
2 this area, if you remember the bill that we
3 passed said if you violate provisions of this
4 kind of parole, you must serve at least one
5 year, one additional year in jail for that
6 fact.
7 What this bill says is a
8 minimum of six months. It does not set a
9 minimum of one year. It sets a minimum of six
10 months but could be up to one year and, of
11 course, the rest of the provisions trip in.
12 Obviously if it's part of the sentence you
13 could do up to five years and all the rest of
14 that stuff, but a minimum of six months
15 instead of a minimum of a year.
16 There's also a provision in
17 here -- and if you look right at the head of
18 the bill -- that relates to domestic
19 violence. It is, in effect -- to boil it
20 down, it is a process that can be used in
21 cases involving domestic situations that
22 involve some of these potentially serious
23 violent felony offenses that would allow the
24 judge to do indeterminate sentencing instead
25 of the definite sentencing of Jenna's Law. So
5537
1 that, in effect, in certain cases, if they
2 follow the criteria that's in this bill, then
3 the domestic violence-type serious violent
4 felony offenders would be able to avoid the
5 serious consequences of Jenna's Law.
6 There is a provision in here
7 relating to drug treatment in the post-release
8 period and it specifically says that a judge
9 can sentence an individual to drug treatment
10 in the post-release period. In all honesty,
11 it codifies in law what they can actually
12 already do. A judge would have the power to
13 do that now during that parole -- post-parole
14 treatment period or post-parole period, but
15 what this does is, in effect, put it in law so
16 that it's absolutely clear.
17 There is a number of technical
18 changes, but I think those are primarily the
19 most substantive changes that are in this
20 bill. You still have -- you still have the
21 same provisions that were in the original bill
22 on victim notification and release and all the
23 rest of things but -- sorry -- but that, I
24 think, is the prime changes in the bill.
25 In all honesty, this bill, the
5538
1 Governor's on board, obviously, it's a
2 Governor's program bill and the Grieshaber
3 family has been involved in looking at this
4 bill and they have said that they are going to
5 try to get the Assembly to pass this bill.
6 It is not an agreed upon bill.
7 Let me make that very clear. The Assembly has
8 not agreed to this bill.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
10 the last section -- Senator Waldon.
11 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you.
12 Would the gentleman yield for a
13 question or two?
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
15 Senator Volker, would you yield to a question
16 from Senator Waldon?
17 SENATOR VOLKER: Certainly.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
19 Senator Waldon.
20 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you, Mr.
21 President.
22 Senator Volker, is there a
23 companion bill or an agreement with the
24 Assembly on this particular proposal?
25 SENATOR VOLKER: No, there's
5539
1 not. As I just said, this is not an agreed
2 upon bill with the Assembly. The Assembly has
3 not -- although the Assembly has indicated the
4 possibility, there really hasn't been much
5 negotiations going on in reality. There's
6 been a lot of talking about substituting
7 something or whatever in the press, but in
8 reality, as I understand it, the only real
9 movement was that the Assembly indicated at
10 one point that it was interested in the
11 possibility of discussing the drug treatment
12 portion of the bill but, as far as I know, the
13 bill that they still have in the Assembly is
14 what I call a "Christmas tree" bill which has
15 Jenna's Law plus all the rest of the things in
16 it.
17 SENATOR WALDON: Through you,
18 Mr. President, would the gentleman continue to
19 yield?
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
21 Senator Volker, would you continue to yield to
22 Senator Waldon?
23 SENATOR VOLKER: Certainly.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
25 Senator Waldon.
5540
1 SENATOR WALDON: Senator, as I
2 understand it, there are some differences in
3 this proposal and in what we've discussed
4 previously in this chamber and what you and I
5 have discussed at length outside of the
6 chamber, but this really doesn't change
7 anything in regard to judicial discretion on
8 the front end, meaning that if the person is a
9 violent felony offender first time, the judge
10 still has no discretion up front to do
11 anything in terms of the application of the
12 law, is that correct?
13 SENATOR VOLKER: Except in the
14 area -
15 SENATOR WALDON: I'm talking
16 about on the front end, not the back end.
17 SENATOR VOLKER: Right. Except
18 in the area of domestic violence. In the area
19 of domestic violence, there's a provision in
20 here that allows the possibility of
21 flexibility in sentencing if the person
22 involved in that domestic violence qualifies
23 with certain criteria which is listed in this
24 will.
25 SENATOR WALDON: Through you,
5541
1 Mr. President. Would the gentleman continue
2 to yield?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
4 Senator Volker, do you continue to yield?
5 SENATOR VOLKER: Yes.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
7 Senator Waldon.
8 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you very
9 much, Mr. President.
10 I apologize for that faux pas
11 in regard to the domestic violence piece. I
12 was briefed on it and I did see it. It's
13 just, you know, a senior thing, Dale. It
14 happens sometimes, but what I'm really
15 concerned about is that this does not allow
16 for definitive change in regard to judicial
17 discretion and that is what I've understood
18 you to say. That's correct.
19 SENATOR VOLKER: You are
20 absolutely right.
21 SENATOR WALDON: Two, there is
22 change on the back end in terms of when
23 someone violates while they are under
24 supervision, the penalties to be put back, et
25 cetera, are lessened and the judge has
5542
1 discretion there. Is that correct?
2 SENATOR VOLKER: That's right,
3 yes.
4 SENATOR WALDON: But there's no
5 opportunity here for a dramatic change in
6 terms of the first time violent felony
7 offender. So, in essence, we've put maybe
8 some additional colored lights on the
9 Christmas tree, but we haven't changed the
10 type of tree. It's still the same tree with a
11 couple of strings of new lights, is that
12 correct?
13 SENATOR VOLKER: This is still
14 -- I hesitate to use the word "Christmas
15 tree" because I used that in regards to the
16 Assembly bill but you're right. The light
17 still shows that this is a definite sentencing
18 bill.
19 It says that if somebody is
20 convicted of a violent felony offense, except
21 in the area of domestic violence where there
22 are certain -- there's an ability to escape
23 the provisions, that person must serve
24 six-sevenths, which is essentially we call it
25 no parole but essentially, 83 percent,
5543
1 whatever that is, of the sentence and then
2 would be subject to the post-parole provision,
3 but you are absolutely right. The lights are
4 still there. It's still a definite sentencing
5 first violent felony offense bill.
6 SENATOR WALDON: Okay. Would
7 the gentleman continue to yield?
8 SENATOR VOLKER: Sure.
9 SENATOR WALDON: Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
11 Senator Volker, do you continue to yield for a
12 question?
13 SENATOR VOLKER: Sure.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
15 Senator Waldon.
16 SENATOR WALDON: Senator
17 Volker, you and I have dealt with the issue of
18 philosophy regarding Jenna's Law and similar
19 situations, time and memorial. What I'm
20 looking for, so that I can be supportive -
21 and I obviously don't see it now -- is where
22 there's an opportunity for the judge to say,
23 this person is an exception to the thousands
24 of others who come before me and, therefore, I
25 can do something different in terms of the
5544
1 application of this particular statute.
2 All I'm looking for now from
3 you is a clarification, an absolute
4 clarification. There is no opportunity here
5 if a sitting judge has someone come before him
6 or her as a violent felony offender first time
7 to make an exception in regard to how that
8 person must be handled. This is, in fact, an
9 absolute mandate that the person have a
10 definite sentence as a result of this. Is
11 this absolutely correct?
12 SENATOR VOLKER: Just as in the
13 Rockefeller Drug Laws, there's no absolute
14 mandate. We know the district attorneys and
15 judges are able to find ways around it if they
16 truly desire to do so but, generally speaking,
17 this is a first violent felony offender.
18 Let's keep that in mind. As we've looked at
19 some of these cases, Senator -- and we know
20 that very, very few of these people haven't
21 been arrested before. In fact, as we're
22 looking at some of the cases that have been
23 demonstrated as non-violent felony fenders,
24 we're coming up with some very interesting
25 facts. People have been arrested 30 times.
5545
1 One fellow was selling 24 pounds of cocaine,
2 non-violent felony offenders.
3 The thing I'm trying to point
4 out to you is, it is an almost impossible
5 rarity for someone who is first convicted of a
6 violent felony offense to have not been
7 arrested many times before and been involved
8 in other crimes. This is violent offenses.
9 Let's keep that in mind. This is not first
10 offense. This is first violent. These are
11 VFOs.
12 So, Senator, yes, if that
13 person commits that crime and is convicted of
14 it, then technically speaking, that person is
15 subjected to a six-sevenths sentence. That
16 means that he or she must serve that sentence.
17 SENATOR WALDON: Through you,
18 Mr. President. Would you gentleman continue
19 to yield?
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
21 Senator Volker, do you continue to yield for a
22 question from Senator Waldon?
23 SENATOR VOLKER: Sure.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
25 Senator Waldon.
5546
1 SENATOR WALDON: Senator
2 Volker, I want to deal a moment -- in a
3 moment, I should say, with the drug issue, but
4 before that, your analysis just now might be
5 fairly accurate. In fact, it may be
6 absolutely accurate in an overwhelming number
7 of people who come before the bar of justice,
8 but it does not mean that someone can come
9 before the bar of justice for the first time
10 as a violent felony offender who has never
11 before committed a crime, and I want that left
12 out there in the ether. There is the
13 possibility that someone could commit a
14 violent felony offense as a first action that
15 they committed in regard to the criminal
16 justice system.
17 Now, in regard to the drug
18 component -- and you and I have discussed the
19 Rockefeller Drug Law until we probably feel
20 very comfortable with the name Rockefeller
21 floating between you and I, though I'm poverty
22 stricken -- I mean we've used that name to
23 where it has caused us to feel maybe a bit
24 more comfortable in terms of the social
25 pecking order, but in this bill I don't see
5547
1 anything which addresses my concerns and the
2 concerns of many of my colleagues on this side
3 of the aisle in regard to the reduction of
4 those who are inmates and also a more creative
5 way to deal with the current drug phenomenon.
6 Am I accurate in my analysis that there's
7 nothing in here which touches upon the
8 Rockefeller Drug Law or drug laws in
9 particular that would allow us to administer
10 them in a better fashion in New York State?
11 SENATOR VOLKER: You are
12 absolutely right. Although the Assembly bill
13 didn't deal with it either. The Assembly bill
14 didn't deal with the Rockefeller Drug Law.
15 There seems to be a use around here. It's one
16 of the reasons why you have bills named after
17 things. It seems it make it easier for the
18 press to understand what it's all about. So
19 that many of the penalties that are said to be
20 Rockefeller Drug Law are not Rockefeller Drug
21 Law penalties at all. There are other
22 provisions of the law that came in either
23 before or after so-called Rockefeller Drug
24 Laws, but the definitive answer is there's
25 nothing in this bill that definitively changes
5548
1 drug laws, and you're absolutely right.
2 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you,
3 Senator Volker. Will the gentleman yield just
4 one more time?
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
6 Senator Volker, will you continue to yield to
7 Senator Waldon?
8 SENATOR VOLKER: Sure.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
10 Senator Waldon.
11 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you,
12 Senator Volker.
13 In speaking to the Assembly's
14 version of what we're dealing with, they did
15 enhance detox' treatment, as I recall, and
16 there was a movement at least to ensure that
17 those in prison receive a GED and you know
18 better than I that those people who go to
19 prison who are, some illiterate but most have
20 an education that's below the eighth grade and
21 many at a reading level below the third grade,
22 if we don't do something to edify -- not edify
23 but to educate them while they're in, we're
24 creating a bigger problem when they come out.
25 I notice there's nothing in our bill which
5549
1 says, one, we will guarantee the opportunity
2 for a GED and, two, that we'll do something in
3 regard to detox', is that correct?
4 SENATOR VOLKER: Senator
5 Waldon, that's true. Let me say to you, I
6 don't necessarily disagree with some of those
7 positions. I don't think it should be in the
8 bill that deals with first violent felony
9 offenders, because it really essentially has
10 nothing to do with drug offenses. I think
11 those issues should be dealt with and I don't
12 necessarily disagree with you. I'm one of
13 those people who happens to believe in
14 treatment and I think that -- by the way, we
15 do some pretty good stuff in our prison system
16 today and if we get a little room in our
17 prison systems, hopefully we'll be able to
18 provide even more treatment in the prison
19 system.
20 I don't necessarily disagree
21 with you, but I think that's a separate issue
22 that we should look to. The Assembly bill we
23 costed out about $200 million in treatment
24 costs which is one of the problems with it
25 because it's a budget issue, some of which we
5550
1 discussed during the budget debate and then
2 frankly the Conference Committee rejected
3 because it was just too expensive, but it is
4 something we certainly can look at but it is
5 not in this bill.
6 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you,
7 Senator Volker.
8 Mr. President, if I may, on the
9 bill.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
11 Senator Waldon, on the bill.
12 SENATOR WALDON: This is not so
13 different from what we've dealt with in the
14 past. There are some new ideas suggested in
15 regard to domestic violence, in regard to what
16 the judge can do on the back end if someone
17 should violate while they're under
18 post-release supervision and those are good
19 things and we appreciate those things, but
20 there is not enough substantive change in this
21 proposal to cause myself, and I would hope a
22 whole host of other colleagues, to say this is
23 a winner. This will dramatically impact what
24 we're trying to do in regard to the criminal
25 justice system but specifically those who
5551
1 commit violent felonies in this state.
2 So I would encourage my
3 colleagues to recognize that a bill by any
4 other name is still a bill. A bill which
5 fails to accomplish what we need to accomplish
6 by any other name fails to accomplish it and
7 we should vote no on this and the message and
8 signal we want to send not only to the
9 Governor but to those who work for him and who
10 craft these proposals is that they ought to
11 give us something that is going to really deal
12 with the drug problem, it will really deal
13 with giving judges discretion in terms of
14 first time violent felony offenders, and I
15 think Senator DeFrancisco raised a very cogent
16 point last time we discussed this, that there
17 is little room for the judge to do something
18 but it's not enough room for me to feel
19 comfortable.
20 So I would hope that my
21 colleagues would join me in voting down on
22 this proposal. It is not going to accomplish
23 the task and the mission that is facing us as
24 a legislative body.
25 Thank you, Mr. President.
5552
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
2 Thank you, Senator Waldon.
3 Read the last section -- I'm
4 sorry.
5 Senator Gentile.
6 SENATOR GENTILE: Mr.
7 President, on the bill.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
9 Senator Gentile, on the bill.
10 SENATOR GENTILE: Despite the
11 words of my learned colleague, Senator Waldon,
12 certainly I have to -- I think everyone would
13 agree that we need to reform the parole system
14 in this state, especially for violent felons
15 and first time violent felons at that.
16 So I believe that this bill was
17 a good bill the last time we voted on it last
18 week. I commend Senator Volker for adding the
19 provisions. As a former prosecutor dealing in
20 domestic violence, these exceptions to the
21 sentencing provisions are appropriate excep
22 tions to the sentencing provisions and the
23 post-release supervision, the indeterminate
24 aspect now. The post-release supervision, I
25 believe, is appropriate. I think prosecutors
5553
1 will appreciate this, also the changes and the
2 ability to distinguish in domestic violence
3 situations.
4 So overall I believe that this
5 is a better bill. The last bill that we had
6 was a good one. This is a better one, and I
7 think that it will serve all New Yorkers well
8 and keep our streets safer.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
10 the last section -- I'm sorry.
11 Senator Paterson.
12 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
13 President, I would like to commend Senator
14 Volker. He seems to have negotiated in more
15 than good faith with the Assembly, and we're
16 moving hopefully toward a bill that we -- for
17 which we all can agree.
18 There's been a great deal of
19 lobbying on this particular bill and a real
20 effort to make sure that people who otherwise
21 would have been incarcerated -- see, there's
22 some lobbying right now -- people otherwise
23 would have been incarcerated would have been
24 able to be out and commit the kind of crime
25 that we -- unfortunately raised such statewide
5554
1 attention, that it brings us back here to
2 re-examine our ideas of parole.
3 Senator Waldon asked some very
4 good questions, and I'm happy to see the
5 compromise that's been struck over domestic
6 violence.
7 Now, this brings into mind the
8 whole issue of child sexual abuse or the
9 sexual abuse of an individual that may have
10 been from someone who was not from the home
11 and let's say over a period of time the pent
12 up frustrations and anger of the victim
13 strikes out when the opportunity arises at the
14 perpetrator and here we are with a first time
15 violent felony offender and we do not have any
16 recourse but to sentence this individual under
17 the statute.
18 This is the reason why I would
19 generally prefer for there to be some judicial
20 discretion in these types of situations
21 because there are always situations that are
22 analogous to the domestic violence situation
23 where what was in the mind of the perpetrator
24 is often very different than what may actually
25 happen in what might be the majority case.
5555
1 Now, Senator Volker cited the
2 majority case that most first time violent
3 offenders have some previous criminal record,
4 but that's a rather broad sweeping
5 generalization. That isn't always the case
6 and in those individual cases where it isn't
7 and there may be other impulses that were
8 acting on the individual, I think it's really
9 a shame that we would house them with those
10 who would certainly be eligible to serve their
11 entire terms.
12 The Rockefeller Drug Laws have
13 filled our state penitentiaries with
14 individuals to such a number that we can't
15 really even find the space sometimes for the
16 real violent offenders and we think they need
17 some address.
18 The Assembly's proposal may
19 have been described as a "Christmas tree". I
20 didn't know Senator Volker was opposed to
21 Christmas trees these days, but I understand
22 his point, but I really must tell the Senator
23 and everyone that's looking at this
24 legislation that there are often individual
25 situations that compel us to allow the sitting
5556
1 judge to make some kind of adjustment in the
2 sentence, but because this is a one-house bill
3 and the negotiations are continuing with the
4 Assembly, I'm going to show a little good
5 faith for all the good faith that Senator
6 Volker has showed in his negotiations.
7 I'm going to actually support
8 this bill in the hope that we can do something
9 to tighten up what may be the loopholes in the
10 law but at the same time preserve the justice
11 that we seek.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
13 the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 44.
15 This act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the
19 roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: I'm
21 sorry. Senator DeFrancisco, to explain your
22 vote.
23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. I
24 rise to explain why I'm voting yes on this
25 bill.
5557
1 As you know from the last
2 debate, I have been involved with the
3 Grieshaber family since the day this thing
4 began, and it's my understanding to notify the
5 rest of the house that the Grieshabers did, in
6 fact, have a news conference with the Governor
7 pledging full support for this particular
8 compromise bill and urging the Assembly to do
9 the same and on the floor today I want to also
10 in my explanation of my yes vote urge the
11 Assembly to pass this bill because this is the
12 last day of session. The posturing is over.
13 The add-ons of different theories of
14 legislation is over. The time has come. Pass
15 the bill.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
17 Secretary will call the roll -- results.
18 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded
19 in the negative on Calendar Number 1533 are
20 Senators Leichter, Montgomery and Smith.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
22 Senator Paterson.
23 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
24 President, just to explain my vote.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
5558
1 Senator Paterson, to explain his vote.
2 SENATOR PATERSON: If I might.
3 I would like to -- even having voted in the
4 affirmative, I would like to remind Senator
5 DeFrancisco that people are taking their
6 positions in this Capitol based on what are
7 really their honest convictions and they may
8 be somewhat in disagreement with the sponsors
9 of the legislation but to promote the kind of
10 atmosphere where we might reach a compromise,
11 I don't think it is particularly a good idea
12 to ascribe any kind of political posturing or
13 any kind of showboating or public
14 demonstration to points of view when, in fact,
15 these are the honest feelings of many of our
16 colleagues not only in the Senate -- the
17 Assembly, but right here on this floor.
18 The proposal that Senator
19 Volker called a "Christmas tree" proposal,
20 that was a fair representation, but I think
21 that we all do understand that these are the
22 honest feelings of people and that in the past
23 many people have been sentenced to times when
24 perhaps a shorter sentence would have been
25 more in order.
5559
1 So I just think that in the
2 discussion we might be a little more careful
3 not to mischaracterize those who loyally have
4 an opposing point of view.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
6 Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58, nays
8 3.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
10 bill is passed.
11 Senator Leichter.
12 SENATOR LEICHTER: May I have
13 unanimous consent to be recorded in the
14 negative on Calendar Number 1529, please.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
16 Without objection -- Senator Leichter could
17 you repeat the Calendar Number, please.
18 SENATOR LEICHTER: 1529.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
20 Calendar Number 1529, without objection, so
21 ordered.
22 Senator Kuhl.
23 SENATOR KUHL: Yes, Mr.
24 President. May we now take up Calendar Number
25 1483. That's on the first active list.
5560
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
2 Secretary will read.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar Number 1483, Senator Skelos moves to
5 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
6 Bill 8970-B and substitute it for the
7 identical Senate Bill 6046-A.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
9 substitution is ordered.
10 The Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1483, by member of the Assembly Weisenberg,
13 Assembly Print 8970-B, an act to amend the
14 Navigation Law and the State Finance Law.
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 61.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
25 bill is passed.
5561
1 Senator Fuschillo.
2 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
3 President, on behalf of Senator Larkin, I move
4 to amend Senate Bill Number 3840-A by striking
5 out the amendments made on 6/16 and restoring
6 it to its original Print Number 3840.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: So
8 ordered.
9 Senator Fuschillo.
10 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
11 President, on behalf of Senator Farley, on
12 page 8, I offer the following amendments to
13 Calendar Number 268, Senate Print Number
14 1689-A, and ask that said bill retain its
15 place on the Third Reading Calendar.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
17 amendments are received.
18 The Secretary will read 3...
19 I'm sorry. Senator Kuhl.
20 SENATOR KUHL: I was just going
21 to ask if you had some other housekeeping,
22 substitutions, and can we do that at this
23 time.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
25 Secretary will read the substitutions.
5562
1 THE SECRETARY: On page 7,
2 Senator Johnson moves to discharge from the
3 Committee on Rules Assembly Bill 4467-C and
4 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
5 2684-C.
6 On page 10, Senator Velella
7 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
8 Assembly Bill 3169-B and substitute it for the
9 identical Senate Bill 4597-B.
10 On page 24, Senator Farley
11 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
12 Assembly Bill 11218-A and substitute it for
13 the identical Senate Bill 7168-A.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
15 substitutions are ordered.
16 Senator Kuhl.
17 SENATOR KUHL: Does that take
18 care of the housekeeping right now at the
19 desk?
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Yes.
21 SENATOR KUHL: All right. Then
22 can we call up Calendar Number 195, please.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
24 Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5563
1 195, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
2 5799-B, an act to amend the Domestic Relations
3 Law and the Family Court Act.
4 SENATOR KUHL: Is there a
5 message at the desk?
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
7 Senator Kuhl, there is a message of necessity
8 at the desk.
9 SENATOR KUHL: I move we accept
10 the message.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
12 motion is to accept the message of necessity.
13 All those in favor signify by saying aye.
14 (Response of "Aye".)
15 Opposed, nay.
16 (There was no response.)
17 The message is accepted.
18 Senator Kuhl.
19 SENATOR KUHL: Read the last
20 section.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
22 the last section.
23 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Excuse me,
24 Mr. President.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: I'm
5564
1 sorry. Senator Dollinger.
2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Just as a
3 point of order, could we just -- when the bill
4 is announced and read, could we have the
5 calendar it's located on identified, so I
6 can -
7 SENATOR KUHL: I would be happy
8 to accommodate you.
9 SENATOR DOLLINGER: -- figure
10 out where it is.
11 SENATOR KUHL: Be happy to
12 accommodate you as best we can, Senator
13 Dollinger.
14 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
16 Senator Kuhl.
17 SENATOR KUHL: Could you read
18 the last section.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
20 the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
22 This act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the
5565
1 roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
4 bill is passed.
5 Senator DeFrancisco.
6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Just to
7 explain my yes vote. This is a bill that
8 arose out of a situation where a father
9 brutally murdered a mother in the presence of
10 children and then once he was in jail sought
11 visitation rights in jail with the kids and
12 it's named after Leanne Cruz, the deceased
13 mother.
14 This is an agreed upon bill
15 with the Assembly. There's an identical
16 bill. We passed an earlier one in our house
17 this year. It's been a long process up to the
18 last day to get the agreed upon bill and I'm
19 pleased to vote yes and have this house pass
20 the Leanne Cruz Memorial Act.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
22 Senator Kuhl.
23 SENATOR KUHL: Now, Mr.
24 President, we have a supplemental active list
25 on the members' desks and what we would like
5566
1 to do is to take the non-controversial reading
2 of that supplemental active list.
3 Now, for Senator Dollinger's
4 benefit, if he's going to stay, that will
5 require him going to the regular calendar,
6 starting out first with Calendar Number 213
7 and then progressing through that calendar
8 with active bills to then going to the
9 supplemental calendar.
10 Now, Senator Gold, who is
11 really in control of this chamber today, says
12 it's not necessary for you, but to accommodate
13 you, Senator Dollinger, that's what we're
14 going to do.
15 So could we have a non
16 controversial reading of the supplemental
17 active list, beginning with Calendar Number
18 213.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
20 Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 213, by member of the Assembly Tocci, Assembly
23 Print 6038-B, an act to amend the
24 Environmental Conservation Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
5567
1 the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
3 This act shall take effect on the 180th day.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
5 the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the
7 roll.)
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60, nays
9 one, Senator Leichter recorded in the
10 negative.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
12 bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1314, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
15 Assembly Print 11286, an act to amend the
16 Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.
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 61.
5568
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 657, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 5935-B,
5 an act to amend the General Business Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
7 the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
9 This act shall take effect in 120 days.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the
13 roll.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
16 bill is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 763, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 3217-A,
19 an act in relation to contracts for the
20 purchase of goods.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
22 There is a home rule message at the desk.
23 Read the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
25 This act shall take effect immediately.
5569
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1038, by Senator Meier, Senate Print 7426-A,
10 an act to authorize the town of New Hartford
11 to discontinue.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
13 There is a home rule message at the desk.
14 Read the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
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 61.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
23 bill is passed.
24 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Mr.
25 President.
5570
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: I'm
2 sorry. Senator Oppenheimer.
3 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Could I
4 have unanimous consent to be recorded in the
5 negative on 213. It just passed.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
7 Without objection, so ordered.
8 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: It's a
9 terrible bill.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
11 Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1064, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 7220-A,
14 an act to amend the General Business Law and
15 the Public Service Law.
16 SENATOR KUHL: Lay the bill
17 aside temporarily.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
19 bill is laid aside.
20 The Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1485, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print
23 6256-A -
24 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Lay it
25 aside.
5571
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
2 the bill aside at the request of Senator
3 Stachowski.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1486, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 6491-A,
6 an act to amend the Lien Law, in relation to
7 notification.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
9 the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
11 This act shall take effect in 30 days.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the
15 roll.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1492, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 7361, an
21 act to amend the Social Services Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
23 the last section.
24 SENATOR KUHL: Lay the bill
25 aside temporarily.
5572
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
2 the bill aside.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1494, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 7595-B,
5 an act to amend the Local Finance Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
7 the last section -- I'm sorry. There is a
8 home rule message at the desk. Read the last
9 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 61.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar
20 Number -
21 SENATOR WALDON: Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: I'm
23 sorry. Senator Waldon.
24 SENATOR WALDON: Mr. President,
25 I was away on other business for the Senate
5573
1 when the house dealt with 1533. I
2 respectfully request without exception -
3 without opposition that I be recorded in the
4 negative.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
6 Which calendar, Senator Waldon?
7 SENATOR WALDON: 1533.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
9 Without objection, so ordered.
10 The Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1495, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 7596-A,
13 an act to authorize the city of Rochester.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
15 There is a home rule message at the desk.
16 Read the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
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 61.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
25 bill is passed.
5574
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1497, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 7733, an
3 act to amend Chapter 649 of the Laws of 1996.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
5 Senator Skelos -- I'm sorry -- Senator Kuhl.
6 SENATOR KUHL: Is there a
7 message of necessity at the desk?
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
9 There is a message of necessity at the desk.
10 SENATOR KUHL: I move we accept
11 the message.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
13 motion is to accept the message of necessity.
14 All those in favor signify by saying aye.
15 (Response of "Aye".)
16 Opposed, nay.
17 (There was no response.)
18 The message is accepted.
19 Read the last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
21 This act shall take effect immediately.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
23 the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the
25 roll.)
5575
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
3 bill is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1500, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 7762, an
6 act authorizing the assessor of the county of
7 Nassau.
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 59, nays
17 2, Senators Cook and Dollinger recorded in the
18 negative.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
20 bill is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1504, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 7776,
23 an act to amend the General Business Law, in
24 relation to veterans.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
5576
1 the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
3 This act shall take effect September 1st.
4 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Lay it
5 aside.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
7 the bill aside at the request of Senator
8 Stachowski.
9 THE SECRETARY: Going back to
10 1502, in relation to Calendar Number 1502,
11 Senator Padavan moves to discharge from the
12 Committee on Rules Assembly Bill Number 11314
13 and substitute it for the identical Senate
14 Bill 7766.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
16 the last section -- the substitution is
17 ordered.
18 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Lay it
19 aside.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
21 Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1502, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
24 Assembly Print 11314, an act to amend the
25 Education Law.
5577
1 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Lay it
2 aside, please.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
4 the bill aside at the request of Senator
5 Stachowski.
6 The Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1509, by Senator Lachman, Senate print 2621-A,
9 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
10 in relation to the possession of an open
11 container in a motor vehicle.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
13 the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
15 This act shall take effect on the 120th day.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the
19 roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
22 bill is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1510, by Senator Marchi, Senate Print 3351-C,
25 an act to amend the Not-for-Profit Corporation
5578
1 Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
3 the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
5 This act shall take effect on the 30th day.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
12 bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1511, by Senator Meier, Senate Print 4846-A,
15 an act to amend the Social Service Law and the
16 Family Court Act.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
18 the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
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 61.
5579
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar Number 1513, Senator Trunzo moves to
5 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
6 Bill 7907-B and substitute it for the
7 identical Senate Bill 5002-B.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
9 substitution is ordered.
10 The Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1513, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
13 Assembly Print 7907-B, an act to amend the
14 Retirement and Social Security Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
16 the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
18 This -
19 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Lay it
20 aside.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
22 the bill aside.
23 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
24 Calendar Number 1514, Senator Maziarz moves to
25 discharge from the Committee on Elections
5580
1 Assembly Bill 8255 and substitute it for the
2 identical Senate Bill 5568.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
4 substitution is ordered.
5 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Can you lay
6 that aside for an explanation.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
8 Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar 1514,
10 by the Assembly Committee on Rules, Assembly
11 Print 8255, an act to amend the Election Law.
12 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Lay that
13 bill aside for an explanation.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
15 that bill aside at the request of Senator
16 Dollinger.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1515, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 5616-A,
19 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation
20 Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
22 the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section -
24 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
25 aside.
5581
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay
2 the bill aside at the request of Senator
3 Leichter.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1516, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 5689-A,
6 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
10 This act shall take effect in 30 days.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
17 bill is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1517, by Senator Marchi, Senate Print 6279-A,
20 an act authorizing the city of New York to
21 reconvey.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
23 There is a home rule message at the desk.
24 Read the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
5582
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 61.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1518, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 6344,
11 an act authorizing the city of New York to
12 reconvey.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
14 There is a home rule message at the desk.
15 Read the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
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 61.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
24 bill is passed.
25 Senator Stachowski.
5583
1 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr.
2 President, earlier Calendar Number 1513 was
3 laid aside inadvertently. If you would like
4 to take it up now, it would be okay with our
5 side.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
7 Secretary will read.
8 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: 1513, the
9 Trunzo bill.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
11 Calendar Number 1513 by Senator Trunzo.
12 SENATOR KUHL: Let's go back.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
14 Senator Kuhl.
15 SENATOR KUHL: 1513, call that
16 up.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
18 Secretary will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1513, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
21 Assembly Print 7907-B, an act to amend the
22 Retirement and Social Security Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
24 the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
5584
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 61.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1519, by Senator Seabrook, Senate Print 6376,
11 an act authorizing the city of New York to
12 reconvey.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
14 There is a home rule message at the desk.
15 Read the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
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 61.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
24 bill is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
5585
1 Calendar Number 1520, Senator Goodman moves to
2 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
3 Bill 8629-B and substitute it for the
4 identical Senate Bill 6624-A.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
6 substitution is ordered.
7 The Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1520, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
10 Assembly Print 8629-B, an act to amend the Tax
11 Law and the Administrative Code of the city of
12 New York.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
14 There is a home rule message at the desk.
15 Read the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
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 61.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
24 bill is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5586
1 1521, by Senator Marchi, Senate Print 6631-A,
2 an act authorizing the city of New York to
3 reconvey.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
5 There is a home rule message at the desk.
6 Read the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
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 61.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1522, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 6910-A,
18 an act to amend the Highway Law, in relation
19 to the establishment.
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.
5587
1 (The Secretary called the
2 roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1523, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 7066-A,
8 an act to authorize Joseph A. Santoro to apply
9 for an optional 25-year.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
11 There is a home rule message at the desk.
12 Read the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
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 60, nays
20 one, Senator Leichter recorded in the
21 negative.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
25 Calendar Number 1524, Senator Balboni moves to
5588
1 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
2 Bill 6085-A and substitute it for the
3 identical Senate Bill 7091.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
5 substitution is ordered.
6 The Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1524, by member of the Assembly Christensen,
9 Assembly Print 6085-A, an act to amend the
10 Executive Law, in relation to standardizing.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
14 This act shall take effect on the first day of
15 September.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 Call the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the
19 roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
22 The bill is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1526, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 7607, an
25 act to amend the Environmental Conservation
5589
1 Law, in relation to the definition of muzzle
2 loading firearms.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
4 the last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
6 This act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
8 Call the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the
10 roll.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
13 The bill is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
15 Calendar Number 1527, Senator LaValle moves to
16 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
17 Bill 11132 and substitute it for the identical
18 Senate Bill 7611.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 The substitution is ordered. The Secretary
21 will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1527, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
24 Assembly Print 11132, an act to amend the
25 Environmental Conservation Law.
5590
1 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
2 Read the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
4 This act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
6 Call the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
11 The bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1528, Senator Kuhl moves to discharge -
14 Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 7720, an act to
15 amend the Agriculture and Markets Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 Read the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
19 This act shall take effect on the same date as
20 a chapter of the Laws of 1998.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
22 Call the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5591
1 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
2 The bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1530, Senator Trunzo moves to discharge from
5 the Committee on Rules Assembly Bill 11130 and
6 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
7 7781.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
9 The substitution is ordered.
10 The Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1530, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
13 Assembly Print 11130, an act to amend the
14 Retirement and Social Security Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
16 Read the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
18 This act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 Call the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 The bill is passed.
5592
1 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
2 Calendar Number 1531, Senator Trunzo moves to
3 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
4 Bill 11129 and substitute it for the identical
5 Senate Bill 7782.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
7 The substitution is ordered.
8 The Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1531, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
11 Assembly Print 11129, an act to amend the
12 Retirement and Social Security Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
14 Read the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
16 This act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
18 Call the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
23 The bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
25 Calendar Number 1532, Senator Trunzo moves to
5593
1 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
2 Bill 11349 and substitute it for the identical
3 Senate Bill 7792.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5 Substitution is ordered.
6 The Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1532, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
9 Assembly Print 11349, an act to amend the
10 Retirement and Social Security Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 Read the last section.
13 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Lay it
14 aside.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
16 Lay it aside.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1534, by Senator Paterson, Senate Print
19 4095-A, an act to amend the Tax Law, in
20 relation to exclusion of certain earnings from
21 gross income.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
23 Read the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
25 This act shall take effect on the first day of
5594
1 January.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
3 Call the roll.
4 (The Secretary called the
5 roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
8 The bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1535, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 7478-B,
11 an act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation
12 to annual consumer guide of health insurers.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
14 Read the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
16 This act shall take effect in 180 days.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
18 Call the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
23 The bill is passed.
24 Senator Kuhl.
25 SENATOR KUHL: Yes, Mr.
5595
1 President. May we now have a controversial
2 reading of the supplemental active list,
3 beginning with Calendar Number 1064, by
4 Senator Alesi.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
6 The Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1064, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 7220-A,
9 an act to amend the General Business Law and
10 the Public Service Law.
11 SENATOR KUHL: Lay the bill
12 aside for the day.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
14 Lay the bill aside for the day.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1485, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 6256-A,
17 an act to amend Chapter 115 of the Laws of
18 1995.
19 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
21 Senator Goodman.
22 SENATOR KUHL: Lay the bill
23 aside temporarily and could you read Calendar
24 Number 1502 by Senator Padavan.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5596
1 The Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1502, substituted earlier today, by the
4 Assembly Committee on Rules, Assembly Print
5 11314, an act to amend the Education Law and
6 Chapter 720 of the Laws of 1996.
7 SENATOR STACHOWSKI:
8 Explanation.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
10 Senator Padavan, request an explanation.
11 SENATOR PADAVAN: You'll recall
12 that toward the end of 1996 we adopted a major
13 change in the governance of our community
14 school boards as well as the entire
15 educational system in the city of New York.
16 There are some aspects of that
17 bill that we are correcting in terms of
18 omission with regard to the bill before us at
19 this moment in time. One of them is to allow
20 community school boards to hire executive
21 secretaries responsible to them directly.
22 The other is to allow community
23 school boards to retain counsel in the event
24 they're being sued or for any other
25 appropriate purpose.
5597
1 We're also clarifying the role
2 of the chancellor as a result -- as it relates
3 to disciplinary actions against pedagogical
4 and supervisory staff.
5 Those are the essential
6 ingredients of the bill now before us.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
8 Read the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 Senator Lachman, why do you rise?
13 SENATOR LACHMAN: Will the
14 Senator yield for a question?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
16 Will the Senator yield for a question?
17 SENATOR LACHMAN: Don't
18 community school boards at this point have -
19 SENATOR PADAVAN: I cannot hear
20 you.
21 SENATOR LACHMAN: Do not
22 community school boards at this point have
23 legal authority to appoint counsel?
24 SENATOR PADAVAN: No, they do
25 not.
5598
1 SENATOR LACHMAN: They did
2 under the previous law.
3 SENATOR PADAVAN: Yes, but when
4 we adopted the major bill last -
5 SENATOR LACHMAN: In December
6 of '96.
7 SENATOR PADAVAN: -- in '96,
8 that part of it was left out, in my view,
9 inadvertently. We're now putting it back in.
10 SENATOR LACHMAN: Okay. Thank
11 you.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
13 Read the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
15 This act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 Call the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the
19 roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
22 The bill is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1492, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 7361, an
25 act to amend the Social Service Law, the
5599
1 Family Court Act and the Civil Practice Law
2 and Rules.
3 SENATOR KUHL: Lay the bill
4 aside temporarily.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
6 Lay the bill aside temporarily.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1504, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 7776,
9 an act to amend the General Business Law, in
10 relation to veterans of the Armed Forces.
11 SENATOR STACHOWSKI:
12 Explanation.
13 SENATOR KUHL: Lay it aside
14 temporarily.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
16 Lay it aside temporarily.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1514, substituted earlier today, by the
19 Assembly Committee on Rules, Assembly Print
20 8255, an act to amend the Election Law, in
21 relation to special federal voters.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
23 Read the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
25 This act shall take effect immediately.
5600
1 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
2 Call the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
7 The bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1515, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 5616-A,
10 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation
11 Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
13 Read the last section.
14 SENATOR STACHOWSKI:
15 Explanation.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 Senator Wright, an explanation is requested.
18 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you, Mr.
19 President.
20 This bill would exempt certain
21 disinfectants from future VOC limitations to
22 make sure these products continue to provide a
23 significant public benefit in combating
24 infectious disease.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5601
1 Senator Stachowski.
2 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Personally
3 I think the explanation is satisfactory, but
4 I'm trying to waste a minute so that Senator
5 Leichter, who laid this bill aside, if he had
6 any questions, I could find out what they
7 were, but I'm not quite sure where he is. So
8 go ahead.
9 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you,
10 Senator.
11 You've done an admirable job.
12 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Thank you.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
14 Read the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
16 This act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
18 Call the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
23 The bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1532, substituted earlier today, by the
5602
1 Assembly Committee on Rules, Assembly Print
2 11349, an act to amend the Retirement and
3 Social Security Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5 Read the last section.
6 SENATOR STACHOWSKI:
7 Explanation.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: An
9 explanation is requested.
10 Senator Trunzo.
11 SENATOR TRUNZO: Mr. President,
12 this is a supplementation bill which has been
13 approved three ways by the Senate, the
14 Assembly and the Governor's office regarding
15 supplementation for all retirees of all
16 systems in the state of New York, including
17 the Employee Retirement Systems, the Police
18 and Firemen, the Teachers Retirement System,
19 the New York City Teachers Retirement System
20 and all the city retirement systems and it has
21 a complete supplementation, taken care of
22 every retiree of the state of New York in one
23 form or another.
24 SENATOR NANULA: Mr. President.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5603
1 Senator Nanula.
2 SENATOR NANULA: Thank you, Mr.
3 President.
4 Would the sponsor yield for a
5 question?
6 SENATOR TRUNZO: Sure.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
8 The Senator yields.
9 SENATOR NANULA: Thank you, Mr.
10 President.
11 Senator Trunzo, you had just
12 stated that with respect to the
13 supplementation -- a supplementation would be
14 provided to retirees in every system in the
15 state retiree system, the teacher system.
16 SENATOR TRUNZO: Early
17 Retirement System for a two-year period, for
18 1998 as well as 1999, except for the city of
19 New York. In regards to the city of New York,
20 the legislation will take effect July 1st of
21 1999 and what -- also they have an assumption
22 if they want to go earlier, they can come into
23 September 1988 as payments will be happening
24 for all other systems.
25 SENATOR NANULA: Through you,
5604
1 Mr. President. Senator Trunzo, with respect
2 to the percentages -- actually, let me take
3 you back one step. The calendar year of
4 retirement, in the bill, 1992 is the first
5 number listed. Is that the first year with
6 respect to those people who have retired that
7 benefit will be provided?
8 SENATOR TRUNZO: Retired prior
9 to 1993. So those will be 1992 all the way
10 down to 1930-something.
11 SENATOR NANULA: Okay. So that
12 I understand the formula, in the case of
13 somebody who retired in 1992, they would
14 receive a 1.5 percent supplementation for each
15 year they were retired?
16 SENATOR TRUNZO: For the first
17 year, 1.5 percent of the first $13,500. The
18 base in the past had been 12,500. It has now
19 been increased to 13,500 and next year it will
20 be increased to $14,000 and next year those
21 who retired in 1993 would get a
22 supplementation of one-point -- whatever the
23 formula is, in the book.
24 SENATOR NANULA: Again through
25 you, Mr. President.
5605
1 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
2 Senator Trunzo, will you continue to yield for
3 a question?
4 SENATOR TRUNZO: Yes.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
6 Thank you.
7 SENATOR NANULA: Again so I
8 understand this, this isn't a two-year
9 supplementation. There will be a one-time
10 supplementation but it will qualify for two
11 one-year periods.
12 SENATOR TRUNZO: It's a
13 two-year bill in a sense but with that two
14 steps -- two different steps, except for the
15 increase in the base salary that would be
16 involved. So it's really a one-year bill but
17 pulled over a two-year period, making those
18 who retired prior to 1993 effective this year
19 and those who retired prior to 1994 effective
20 next year.
21 SENATOR NANULA: Very good.
22 Thank you very much, Senator Trunzo.
23 Mr. President, on the bill.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 Senator Nanula, on the bill.
5606
1 SENATOR NANULA: Let me start
2 by saying that it certainly pleases me at
3 least that this year we're seeing a
4 supplementation for retirees.
5 Senator Trunzo has worked
6 tirelessly on the issue of a COLA for state
7 retirees. I had a bill here in the Senate
8 that would have provided for a performance
9 COLA structure which became Senator Trunzo's
10 bill. It was originally Comptroller McCall's
11 bill -- program bill and that was for the
12 state retirement system which today, I
13 believe, has an asset base of $106 billion and
14 has retirees making as little as 7- or $8,000
15 a year and other than our periodic
16 supplementations, we were one of the only
17 states in the country that doesn't have some
18 type of COLA program for our retirees, whether
19 it's a performance COLA, which I think is a
20 very prudent way of going. It bases itself on
21 the performance of the pension system, so in
22 those years when we out-perform the dollars
23 needed to fund the pension payments to our
24 retirees, we then could not only fund a COLA
25 but an annuity, so that in future years when
5607
1 the performance of the pension system -
2 retirement system didn't meet the criteria to
3 provide a COLA, we then could provide a COLA
4 in those years, and it was a fiscally
5 responsible approach. It had no fiscal impact
6 either on local employers, governments, local
7 municipalities, nor would it have increased
8 employee contributions, and I just think
9 personally, although I'm happy to see we have
10 a supplementation at hand and I will be voting
11 for it, it's a tragedy. It's a tragedy that
12 in this state where we have a New York State
13 retirement system that is so well funded,
14 where we're not as a function of looking at a
15 performance COLA, looking to take one dime
16 from this chamber or the Assembly, when our
17 local governments are paying amongst the
18 lowest contributor rates in the country right
19 now, I believe it's less than one percent,
20 when our employees are paying amongst the
21 lowest contribution rates in the country, I
22 think it's a travesty that we as a legislative
23 body and amongst our retirement systems,
24 because I think there's leadership with
25 respect to the New York State retirees, but
5608
1 when you look at the city unions, the teachers
2 unions, with all this diversity among our
3 retiree systems, unfortunately we have not
4 been able to come to a consensus and provide a
5 COLA to all of our retirees in this state, and
6 I think as a legislative body and for that
7 matter our Governor and the leaders of these
8 pension systems, we need to continue the
9 effort to bring a permanent COLA to our
10 retirees in this state, whether it be in the
11 form of a performance COLA or some other
12 method of COLA because we should not be
13 subjecting our seniors to have to be coming
14 back and begging this Legislature and begging
15 the Governor on an annual basis for us to give
16 them what's theirs. It's their money.
17 They've worked for it. It's in the systems
18 and they're entitled to it.
19 So with that, again, Mr.
20 President, I will be voting on the bill but
21 with a great deal of frustration.
22 Thank you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
24 Thank you, Senator Nanula.
25 The Secretary will read -- read
5609
1 the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
3 This act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5 Call the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the
7 roll.)
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
10 The bill is passed.
11 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
12 President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
14 Senator Kuhl -- Senator Leichter.
15 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
16 President, may I have unanimous consent to be
17 recorded in the negative on Calendar 1515,
18 please.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: So
20 ordered.
21 Senator Oppenheimer.
22 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Oh,
23 sorry, no.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 Senator Oppenheimer.
5610
1 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: No. I'm
2 sorry. I was calling someone behind me.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
4 Senator Kuhl.
5 SENATOR KUHL: Mr. President,
6 may we return to the order of motions and
7 resolutions. I believe there's a Resolution
8 Calendar Number 2 on the members' desks. I
9 would move we adopt the Resolution Calendar at
10 this time.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 We'll return to motions and resolutions. The
13 motion is to adopt the Resolution Calendar.
14 All in favor signify by saying aye.
15 (Response of "Aye".)
16 Nay?
17 (There was no response.)
18 The ayes have it.
19 The motion is approved.
20 Senator Kuhl.
21 SENATOR KUHL: Yes, Mr.
22 President. For the benefit of the members,
23 what we would like to go to is the regular
24 calendar, Calendar Number 53, and we would
25 like to start out with Calendar Number 274
5611
1 first. We have received messages on a number
2 of bills. We would like to take those up and
3 move them to the other house.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5 The Secretary will read.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 274, by Senator Cook, Senate Print 2729-A, an
8 act to amend the General Municipal Law, the
9 General City Law, the Town Law and the Village
10 Law.
11 SENATOR KUHL: Is there a
12 message of necessity at the desk? I move we
13 accept the message.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
15 The motion is to accept the message of
16 necessity. All in favor signify by saying
17 aye.
18 (Response of "Aye".)
19 Nay?
20 (There was no response.)
21 The message is accepted.
22 Read the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 11.
24 This act shall take effect on the 180th day.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5612
1 Call the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
6 The bill is passed.
7 Senator Kuhl.
8 SENATOR KUHL: Now on the same
9 calendar, call up Calendar Number 1082.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
11 The Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1082, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 5548-B,
14 an act to amend the Tax Law and the
15 Administrative Code of the city of New York.
16 SENATOR KUHL: Is there a
17 message of necessity at the desk?
18 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
19 Yes, there is.
20 SENATOR KUHL: I move we accept
21 the message.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
23 The motion is to accept the message of
24 necessity. All in favor signify by saying
25 aye.
5613
1 (Response of "Aye".)
2 Opposed, nay.
3 (There was no response.)
4 The motion is approved.
5 The Secretary will read -- read
6 the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 17.
8 This act shall take effect January 1st, 1999.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
10 Call the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the
12 roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
15 The bill is passed.
16 SENATOR KUHL: On the same
17 calendar now, Mr. President, could we call up
18 Calendar Number 1131.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 The Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1131, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 6642-A,
23 an act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in
24 relation to the power of the state of New
25 York.
5614
1 SENATOR KUHL: Is there a
2 message of necessity at the desk?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
4 Yes, there is.
5 SENATOR KUHL: I move we accept
6 the message.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
8 The motion is on the message of necessity.
9 All in favor signify by saying aye.
10 (Response of "Aye".)
11 Opposed, nay.
12 (There was no response.)
13 The motion is approved.
14 Read the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
16 This act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
18 Call the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
23 The bill is passed.
24 Senator Kuhl.
25 SENATOR KUHL: Now, Mr.
5615
1 President, may -- on the same calendar, may we
2 call up Calendar Number 1234.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
4 The Secretary will read.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1234, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 3929-B,
7 an act to amend the Real Property Actions and
8 Proceedings Law.
9 SENATOR KUHL: Is there a
10 message of necessity at the desk?
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 Yes, there is.
13 SENATOR KUHL: I move we accept
14 the message.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
16 motion is to accept the message of necessity.
17 All in favor signify by saying aye.
18 (Response of "Aye".)
19 Opposed, nay.
20 (There was no response.)
21 The ayes have it.
22 Read the last section.
23 SENATOR LEICHTER: Can we have
24 an explanation.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: An
5616
1 explanation has been requested, Senator Kuhl.
2 SENATOR KUHL: Lay that aside
3 temporarily.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5 Lay that aside temporarily.
6 SENATOR KUHL: Now may we call
7 up Calendar Number 1303 on the same calendar.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
9 The Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1303, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print
12 7491-A, an act to amend the Tax Law, in
13 relation to the time for certain persons.
14 SENATOR KUHL: Is there a
15 message of necessity at the desk?
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 Yes, there is.
18 SENATOR KUHL: I move we accept
19 the message.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
21 The motion is to accept the message of
22 necessity. All in favor signify by saying
23 aye.
24 (Response of "Aye".)
25 Opposed, nay.
5617
1 (There was no response.)
2 The motion is approved.
3 Read the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
5 This act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
7 Call the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 The bill is passed.
13 Senator Kuhl.
14 SENATOR KUHL: Now, Mr.
15 President, on the supplemental calendar but on
16 the first active list, Calendar Number 678,
17 can we have that called up.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
19 The Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 678, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 5181-A,
22 an act to amend the Correction Law.
23 SENATOR KUHL: Is there a
24 message of necessity at the desk?
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5618
1 Yes, there is.
2 SENATOR KUHL: I move we accept
3 the message.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: On
5 the motion to accept the message of necessity,
6 all in favor signify by saying aye.
7 (Response of "Aye".)
8 Opposed, nay.
9 (There was no response.)
10 The ayes have it.
11 The motion is approved.
12 Read the last section.
13 SENATOR LEICHTER: Can we have
14 an explanation, please.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
16 Senator Kuhl, an explanation is requested.
17 SENATOR KUHL: Lay the bill
18 aside. Lay the bill aside.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 Lay the bill aside.
21 Senator Kuhl.
22 SENATOR KUHL: Yes, Mr.
23 President. Now, on the first active list, I
24 would like to take up the controversial
25 reading and we'll start with Calendar Number
5619
1 187, by Senator Johnson.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
3 The Secretary will read.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 187, by member of the Assembly Brodsky,
6 Assembly Print 6754-C, an act to amend the
7 Agriculture and Markets Law, in relation to
8 creating an Advisory Council on Seafood
9 Policy.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
11 Read the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
13 This act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
15 Call the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the
17 roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 The bill is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 405, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 6013, an
23 act to amend the Public Health Law, in
24 relation to adjusting.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5620
1 Read the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
3 This act shall take effect-
4 SENATOR GOLD: Explanation.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: An
6 explanation is requested.
7 Senator Rath, an explanation is
8 requested.
9 SENATOR RATH: Okay. My light
10 wasn't on. There we go. Thank you. Thank
11 you, Mr. President.
12 The bill that's before you is
13 an amendment to a bill that we passed last
14 year for an education program, osteoporosis
15 education program. The bill went through and
16 the Governor requested an adjustment in the
17 board -- or the council, rather, that is to be
18 appointed that will work with the
19 implementation of the legislation to be
20 reflective of the other councils that serve in
21 similar capacities throughout this
22 government.
23 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 Senator Gold, why do you rise?
5621
1 SENATOR GOLD: Ask Senator Rath
2 a question, but first I want to put on the
3 record, they're making me do it.
4 SENATOR RATH: You know how I
5 feel about debate.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
7 Senator Rath, do you yield for a question?
8 SENATOR RATH: Of course.
9 SENATOR GOLD: Senator, it's
10 just one simple one. Apparently the way the
11 board is structured now, the Legislature has
12 eight members and the Governor seven and if we
13 pass this the Governor will have eleven and
14 the Legislature four. Is there a reason why?
15 SENATOR RATH: Yeah, there is,
16 Senator Gold. When we put this together, we
17 put it together the way we thought we would
18 like it, Assemblywoman Weinstein and myself,
19 and then it was pointed out to us that the
20 Breast Cancer Detection and Education Program
21 Advisory Council, the Prostate Detection
22 Education Advisory Council, the Health
23 Research Science Board are all made up with
24 the kind of proportion that you see now
25 reflected, not the kind that Assemblywoman
5622
1 Weinstein and I would have put together had we
2 been able to prevail, but we thought that
3 inasmuch as this was pretty typical of these
4 other three boards, that we had ought to
5 acquiesce.
6 SENATOR GOLD: Last section.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
8 Read the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 Call the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 The bill is passed.
18 Senator Abate.
19 SENATOR ABATE: Yes. I would
20 like unanimous consent to be recorded in the
21 negative on Calendar Number 213.
22 Thank you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
24 Without objection.
25 The Secretary will read.
5623
1 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
2 Calendar Number 650, Senator Volker moves to
3 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
4 Bill Number 9252-A and substitute it for the
5 identical Senate Bill 6156-A.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
7 The substitution is ordered.
8 The Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 650, the Senate bill is high but the Assembly
11 bill is not, by member of the Assembly Hoyt,
12 Assembly Bill 9252-A, an act to amend the
13 Penal Law, in relation to unlawful acts.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
15 Read the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
17 This act shall take effect on the first day of
18 November.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 Call the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 The bill is passed.
5624
1 Senator Oppenheimer.
2 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: I'm
3 sorry. I seem to be behind in everything.
4 The one that just passed, Calendar 187 -- yeah
5 -- 187 -- yes, I would like to be recorded in
6 the negative, please.
7 SENATOR KUHL: No objection.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
9 Without objection.
10 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: 187,
11 Calendar 187.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
13 Calendar 187?
14 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Yeah.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
16 Calendar 187, Senator Oppenheimer?
17 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Yes, 187.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
19 Without objection.
20 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
21 President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
23 The Secretary will read.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 Mr. President.
5625
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar
2 Number -
3 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
4 Senator Dollinger.
5 SENATOR DOLLINGER: I'll wait.
6 Keep going.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
8 Senator Mendez.
9 SENATOR MENDEZ: I wish to have
10 unanimous consent to be recorded in the
11 negative on Calendar 157.
12 SENATOR KUHL: No objection.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
14 Without objection.
15 Senator Dollinger.
16 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
17 President, may I have unanimous consent to be
18 recorded in the negative on Calendar 213.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 Senator Kuhl.
21 SENATOR KUHL: No objection.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
23 Without objection.
24 The Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5626
1 678, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 5181-A,
2 an act to amend the Correction Law, in
3 relation to state Commission of Correction
4 oversight.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
6 Read the last section.
7 SENATOR LEICHTER:
8 Explanation.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
10 Senator Leichter, an explanation -- Senator
11 Nozzolio, an explanation is requested.
12 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr.
13 President, who requested the explanation?
14 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: I
15 believe it was Senator Leichter.
16 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: I find that
17 hard to believe, Mr. President, but I would be
18 glad to explain it for Senator Leichter.
19 Senator Leichter and my
20 colleagues, a few weeks ago we passed a
21 departmental bill which provided the Division
22 for Youth facilities would be under the
23 jurisdiction of the state Commissioner of
24 Corrections for oversight of those
25 facilities. As they become more and more
5627
1 correction-oriented, this seemed to make sense
2 in this body. It passed that legislation.
3 Upon further review, what the
4 legislation did was eliminate the Board of
5 Visitors for the respective institutions
6 across the state and it was the intent of
7 myself and others who believe the Board of
8 Visitors have provided a community
9 oversight/community review process, that to
10 eliminate the Board of Visitors at this time
11 did not make a lot of prudent sense, in my
12 opinion and others.
13 So the bill was recalled and we
14 are now passing the measure, providing the
15 Commission of Corrections with oversight over
16 these facilities yet at the same time ensuring
17 that a local Board of Visitors is maintained
18 so that the -- there may also be that local
19 implant.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
21 Thank you, Senator Nozzolio.
22 Senator Leichter.
23 SENATOR LEICHTER: If Senator
24 Nozzolio would yield for just a question.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5628
1 Senator Nozzolio, will you yield for a
2 question?
3 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
4 President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
6 The Senator yields.
7 SENATOR LEICHTER: If I look at
8 Calendar 678 -- I think we're talking about
9 the same bill -- that -- as I read it, it
10 gives to the Department of Corrections
11 oversight over limited secure facilities
12 operated by the state Division for Youth,
13 right?
14 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: That's
15 correct, Mr. President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 Thank you, Senator Nozzolio.
18 SENATOR LEICHTER: My question,
19 if you'll yield to another one is really -
20 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
21 Senator Nozzolio, will you continue to yield?
22 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: I would be
23 happy to yield to Senator Leichter, Mr.
24 President.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5629
1 The Senator yields.
2 SENATOR LEICHTER: The reasons
3 for that shift -- I don't see anything in
4 there about the Board of Visitors. Maybe
5 that's something that's carried over on the
6 bill, but that's really not our concern. My
7 concern is whether the operation of these
8 facilities by the Division for Youth has given
9 rise to the need to transfer the jurisdiction
10 or the oversight to the Department of
11 Corrections; in other words, why are we doing
12 this?
13 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: In essence
14 we're doing this again, Senator, as we passed
15 this measure already this session with the
16 exception of the first measure, eliminating
17 the Board of Visitors. This measure does not,
18 but the -- as the level is currently, there is
19 no executive level agency to provide oversight
20 regulatory functions for these residential
21 institutions with the exception of secure
22 facilities. The absence of oversight may
23 create the impression that there's
24 insufficient checks and balances in the
25 system. The Commission -- state Commission of
5630
1 Corrections has a wide range of authority that
2 this Legislature has given them but most
3 importantly they have the authority to visit,
4 to inspect, to appraise the management of
5 these facilities.
6 So that's the reason, Mr.
7 President, that we are pushing this particular
8 oversight at this time.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
10 Thank you, Senator Nozzolio.
11 Read the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
13 This act shall take effect in 120 days.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
15 Call the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the
17 roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 The bill is passed.
21 Senator Mendez, why do you
22 rise?
23 SENATOR MENDEZ: Mr. President,
24 earlier when I requested unanimous consent to
25 be recorded in the negative, I gave the wrong
5631
1 calendar number. I wish to be recorded in the
2 negative on Calendar Number 213 and in the
3 positive in 157.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: So
5 ordered.
6 SENATOR MENDEZ: Thank you.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
8 The Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 685, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 7113-A,
11 an act to amend the Correction Law and the
12 Public Health Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
14 Read the last section.
15 SENATOR LEICHTER: Explanation.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 Senator Nozzolio, Senator Leichter has
18 requested an explanation.
19 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
20 President.
21 This measure recognizes our
22 responsibilities to those law enforcement
23 officers who work in our correctional
24 facilities, that we believe they are dealing
25 with increasingly violent inmates and that the
5632
1 incidence of transmissible diseases, such as
2 HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis, within the
3 population our correctional personnel has
4 attempted to manage have increased
5 dramatically over these past few years.
6 What this measure before us
7 does is amend the Correction Law, the Family
8 Court Act and the Public Health Law to allow
9 for testing of such transmissible diseases and
10 the disclosure of test results to both the
11 employee and the inmate respondent
12 exclusively.
13 The need for this is obvious,
14 that as there are altercations in prison, our
15 correction officers and other correctional
16 personnel are asked to quell those
17 disturbances. Oftentimes violence erupts in a
18 prison and we're asking people to stop that
19 violence. With the stoppage of that violence
20 may be the result of injury and at the very
21 least close personal contact.
22 Unfortunately those who are in
23 close personal contact with known carriers or
24 unknown carriers of HIV and hepatitis must
25 live with that burden for an extended period
5633
1 of time. They do not know if they were
2 exposed to an inmate's blood or other bodily
3 substances which may, in fact, be carriers of
4 HIV or tuberculosis or other -- hepatitis,
5 other very serious diseases.
6 So what we're saying in this
7 legislation is simply that when there is an
8 altercation in prison, that the inmate
9 responsible for that altercation or within
10 that altercation purview is tested and that
11 those test results are -- will be available to
12 the correction officer or officers who were
13 part of that particular incident.
14 This is not to implement an
15 indiscriminate testing of inmates. Testing
16 can only be mandated by a court after the
17 inmate has been involved in an incident where
18 bodily fluids have been in some way or
19 capacity transferred.
20 The purpose of this legislation
21 is obvious. It's to protect the public
22 employees who are engaged in a very dangerous
23 activity under the best of circumstances.
24 Thank you, Mr. President.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5634
1 Thank you, Senator Nozzolio.
2 Senator Leichter.
3 SENATOR LEICHTER: If Senator
4 Nozzolio will yield.
5 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
6 President. I will be happy to yield.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
8 Senator Nozzolio, will you yield for a
9 question?
10 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator, I
11 do see in this bill that you've certainly
12 tried to provide due process safeguards.
13 Let me just ask you, you talk
14 about exposure to blood and then you say "or
15 significant risk body substance as defined in
16 10 NYCRR." Do you know what those significant
17 risk body substances are, what do they
18 include?
19 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: What we're
20 talking about is HIV.
21 SENATOR LEICHTER: What
22 particular bodily substances? Are we talking
23 about saliva? Are we talking about urine?
24 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
25 President. We did this in another measure
5635
1 that we had before this house. I cannot
2 recall all, but they are those that Franz just
3 mentioned, urine, feces, blood, saliva.
4 SENATOR LEICHTER: Okay.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
6 Senator Leichter. Do you have another
7 question, Senator Leichter?
8 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, I'm
9 somewhat stymied not getting an answer to this
10 question. I guess the other question I have
11 to you, Senator, but I guess it's really -
12 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: Do
13 you continue to yield?
14 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
15 President. I would be happy to yield.
16 SENATOR LEICHTER: It's more in
17 the nature of an argument. I mean, you say
18 that this is for the protection of correction
19 officers. Certainly I join you in that and I
20 think every member here does, indeed. This
21 protects correction officers and maybe certain
22 transmittable disease, it may. I know that
23 this bill, as so many of the similar bills
24 we've seen, is really directed to HIV and
25 there, as we know, testing the transmitter of
5636
1 the disease is really no safeguard to the
2 person who may have contacted the disease
3 because really the only safe thing to do is to
4 test the person who has contact, either the
5 person who has been in contact and who may
6 have developed the disease or has become
7 HIV-positive.
8 Therefore, I just wondered
9 whether you would address how that will
10 protect that person that you and I both want
11 to protect.
12 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr.
13 President, I would be happy to respond to that
14 question.
15 When these incidents occur, it
16 is not often clear how long an HIV antibody
17 may evidence itself in an individual. While
18 we're waiting for that antibody to grow, time
19 is wasting and as that time wastes, the
20 ability of the correction officer injured in
21 this melee may have been precluded from taking
22 some new drugs -
23 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
24 Excuse me, Senator Nozzolio.
25 Senator Kuhl, why do you rise?
5637
1 SENATOR KUHL: Thank you, Mr.
2 President.
3 I apologize for interrupting,
4 but we do have a 5:00 o'clock deadline with
5 closure this afternoon and in an attempt to
6 try to move along, we would like to call an
7 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
8 Room 332, the Majority Conference Room.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
10 Immediate meeting of the Rules Committee,
11 Majority Conference Room, 332.
12 Thank you, Senator Kuhl.
13 Senator Nozzolio.
14 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
15 President.
16 Thank you.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
18 Senator Nozzolio.
19 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: As new drugs
20 are being discovered every day effective in
21 combatting HIV and other diseases like
22 tuberculosis and hepatitis, that oftentimes
23 catching these diseases very quickly certainly
24 will aid in their elimination and
25 eradication.
5638
1 What we are concerned with is a
2 long period of time where an individual, the
3 burden of proof then becomes a burden -- the
4 burden comes on the individual correction
5 officer. He must test himself as opposed to
6 having the knowledge that an inmate, in fact,
7 is carrying -- could be carrying one of these
8 maladies.
9 So time is of the essence,
10 Senator Leichter, in discovering whether or
11 not you have been exposed. It certainly is an
12 anxious situation for -- you ask how does this
13 protect. It provides -- Senator Leichter,
14 you're one that really has been an advocate
15 for open government, for openness and knowing
16 -- the public's right to know, what public
17 has a better right to know whether they have
18 -- than those who have been exposed in the
19 line of duty in protecting the taxpayers of
20 this state that have been exposed to something
21 that could hurt them, harm them, if not kill
22 them?
23 So that, Senator, is how I
24 believe this rapid testing and information
25 flow will help our correctional personnel in
5639
1 New York.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
3 Thank you, Senator Nozzolio.
4 Senator Leichter.
5 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
6 President, because the hour is late, let me
7 just briefly comment on the bill.
8 Thank you, Senator Nozzolio.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
10 Senator Leichter, on the bill.
11 SENATOR LEICHTER: With all due
12 respect, Senator, your answer, I must say,
13 didn't show how you protect the correction
14 officer. On the contrary, this is a very
15 cumbersome procedure that you've set up which
16 requires court proceeding, and so on, and
17 nothing would be more harmful for the
18 correction officer to be told to wait the
19 outcome of this whole process.
20 My point is that if you want to
21 protect the correction officer if there has
22 been an exchange of dangerous fluids, of
23 fluids that conceivably could create disease,
24 then the correction officer has to be tested.
25 You don't test the person who may have
5640
1 transmitted the disease. Test the correction
2 officer. You're absolutely right. You want
3 to intervene quickly but you certainly don't
4 want to wait while you go through the process
5 of testing the person who may have transmitted
6 the disease and as we know with HIV and with
7 some of the uncertainty of testing, that
8 person could conceivably test negative and, in
9 fact, have transmitted the disease. This
10 doesn't help the correction officer.
11 What helps the correction
12 officer is if he has been in contact with an
13 inmate in such a fashion or manner that he may
14 have been infected with a disease, then test
15 the correction officer.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 The Secretary -- read the last section.
18 SENATOR WALDON: No. Wait a
19 minute.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
21 Senator Waldon.
22 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you, Mr.
23 President.
24 Will the gentleman yield for a
25 question or two?
5641
1 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
2 Senator Nozzolio, will you yield to a
3 question?
4 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
5 President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
7 The Senator yields.
8 SENATOR WALDON: Senator
9 Nozzolio, if I may ask you to amplify the
10 circumstances under which the correction
11 officer may be exposed -- and let me give you
12 a hypothetical so we can both be on the same
13 page.
14 The inmate hurls the substance,
15 let's say bodily fluids at the correction
16 officer. It does not strike the correction
17 officer in his eyes, does not go up his nose
18 and he has no open cuts. How would the
19 officer be susceptible to contracting anything
20 that was being carried by the hurler of this
21 fluid under those circumstances?
22 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: The measure,
23 Mr. President, before us sets forth a
24 procedure where the correction officer,
25 correctional personnel can make a request that
5642
1 along with the incident report, not just a
2 simple oral request but the incident report
3 should be also accompanying this and it then
4 is filed with the court. The court then, upon
5 hearing of the application within an expedited
6 process -- it's not to list on a calendar.
7 It's an expedited request, expedited review of
8 the application -- it is then determined if
9 sufficient evidence exists, that it indicates
10 an exposure occurred and whether testing the
11 inmate shall be the only means by which an
12 employee can obtain that information, that we
13 are putting this in the hands of an arbitrator
14 and this arbitrator then decides whether a
15 hearing should be held and whether an order to
16 administer the test of the inmate then ensue,
17 and again, this is an expedited process, that
18 there is a sense that we -- a showing must be
19 forthcoming, that there was a clear and
20 present danger, that the incident could very
21 well result in an exposure to a transmissible
22 disease through bodily fluid, through -- it's
23 just not an arbitrary or a de minimus test.
24 There is a test and that that test is assessed
25 by an impartial arbitrator, that then if the
5643
1 arbitrator agrees, the court agrees, then the
2 inmate would be ordered for those specific
3 testing procedures.
4 SENATOR WALDON: Mr. President,
5 through you, if I may continue.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
7 Senator Nozzolio, do you continue to yield?
8 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
9 President.
10 SENATOR WALDON: Mr. President,
11 would the Senator continue to yield?
12 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
13 Senator Nozzolio?
14 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
15 President.
16 SENATOR WALDON: Senator
17 Nozzolio, I want the correction officers to
18 check this, that's the fact, this is not
19 something that you cannot find, or I'm stating
20 to you absolutely unequivocally, I support
21 effective correction.
22 Would we not be better served
23 if what we're proposing to require immediately
24 upon making the correction officers -- that
25 immediately the correction officer is tested,
5644
1 is cleansed, is given whatever injections that
2 might immunize him or her in futuro from that
3 moment in time on against this particular
4 potential danger, and wouldn't we be better
5 served if the correction officer immediately
6 following the incident, not 24 hours later,
7 not a week later when the incident report and
8 the accompanying requests are filed, not a
9 month later when the arbiter closes the
10 hearing but immediately thereafter, all of the
11 medical, pharmacological steps which would
12 ensure the safety of this officer are taken as
13 opposed to going through this process?
14 Wouldn't DOCS be better served; wouldn't the
15 officers be better served and, in turn, later
16 on perhaps even the inmates be better served?
17 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr.
18 President, in responding to the question, I
19 think it's a good question, then we do not
20 preclude an employee to test -- to go for
21 testing themselves, from electing to undergo
22 those tests, that certainly is the question, a
23 question better raised by the medical care
24 giver, the physician, the correctional
25 personnel, but what we -- and we also believe,
5645
1 and what this legislation indicates, that the
2 cost of that testing should be borne
3 appropriately by the state. However, one of
4 the things that needs to be emphasized is that
5 exposure may not show a test result. The test
6 result may not be indicated within a short
7 period of time, whether the individual who was
8 exposed did, in fact, contract one of the -
9 particularly with HIV, with a long incubation
10 period -- contracted that disease.
11 We're talking about peace of
12 mind here too. Think of yourself as that
13 correctional personnel, Senator Waldon, who
14 has a spouse. Think of the anguish that that
15 spouse will go through for months, months,
16 waiting to know whether her spouse or his
17 spouse developed the antibodies for HIV.
18 In fact, if we can require the
19 testing of an inmate immediately, at least you
20 would know, at least part of it. If the
21 inmate was negative, in fact, that may develop
22 some peace of mind.
23 Also more importantly, the
24 possibility of knowing exposure could also
25 ignite the treatments that would be necessary
5646
1 right from the get-go and science is changing
2 every day on this issue, that they may exhibit
3 the ability to say yes, you have been exposed
4 to an HIV positive, then you should undergo
5 this particular treatment now. Don't wait
6 until you display those antibodies.
7 That treatment could be costly;
8 it could be onerous, and I think that we need
9 to have that information, the correction
10 officers are owed at least that.
11 SENATOR WALDON: Mr. President,
12 on the bill. Thanks, Senator Nozzolio.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
14 Senator Waldon, on the bill.
15 SENATOR WALDON: You have -- I
16 think you've made a very substantive argument.
17 I'm going to support what you've proposed.
18 Because of the fact that this is a virulent
19 disease, not only would the officer be subject
20 to contracting HIV if exposed in an
21 appropriate fashion, but if this is a
22 promiscuous inmate, then others in the prison
23 facility may be exposed.
24 You don't like to address those
25 things necessarily openly, but it does
5647
1 happen. However, I think that in the future,
2 if we would require or suggest that a
3 mechanism be in place paid for also by DOCS,
4 that would immediately test the officer and
5 immunize the officer's -- as best as can be
6 done under our current technologies and
7 knowledge on this issue, that we would be
8 taking an equally important step in terms of
9 reining in this very virulent disease, and I
10 would encourage my colleagues to support this
11 measure.
12 I think this is one of those
13 exceptions whereby testing might prove very
14 beneficial and have a salutory effect on this
15 thing called HIV.
16 Thank you very much, Senator
17 Nozzolio. Thank you, Mr. President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
19 Senator Hoffmann.
20 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you,
21 Mr. President. I'm aware that many people
22 think that this is an important step in
23 dealing with the problem of potential AIDS
24 exposure within the correctional facilities
25 and I know that Senator Nozzolio has been
5648
1 working a long time on this.
2 I really feel compelled to
3 establish on the record today that there is
4 another approach which some of us have been
5 promoting for some time and one which members
6 of the correctional employee work family have
7 been advocating for, and I think it's
8 important just to let the record reflect that
9 some of us are disappointed that we don't have
10 that bill or a similar bill before us at this
11 time to vote on, and that this is a well
12 intentioned but somewhat imperfect way of
13 addressing a very serious problem within our
14 prison system.
15 Senator Nozzolio has explained
16 very well the kind of anxiety and personal
17 turmoil that a correctional employee and his
18 or her spouse faces with the risk of potential
19 exposure and there is only one way to
20 determine how much exposure has actually taken
21 place, and that is to know in advance the HIV
22 status of the inmate.
23 Regrettably, the Department of
24 Corrections in the state of New York has taken
25 a head-in-the-sand attitude on the subject of
5649
1 HIV testing for inmates. It has said, through
2 this administration and the previous
3 administration, that they would rather not
4 test all of the inmates in the correctional
5 system as is done in many other states -- many
6 other large states with large populations of
7 inmates. Routine testing is done upon
8 admission and is done on a follow-up basis
9 after the fact over the duration of the
10 inmate's period of incarceration.
11 There are good sound reasons
12 for doing this. In the first place, that is
13 the only way the inmate can be assured of
14 getting treatment for what can be a deadly
15 disease, but if identified early and treated
16 responsibly, can allow an individual, whether
17 incarcerated or not, to live a relatively
18 healthy life.
19 We, as a state, should make
20 that a goal for the inmate population which
21 now numbers some 69,000 people, I believe. Is
22 that correct, Senator? 69,000, almost 70,000
23 inmates in the state of New York.
24 The correction employees who
25 fear that they have been exposed either by
5650
1 urine, feces or blood in connection with an
2 inmate -- and frequently inmates will attack
3 employees or throw these body substances at
4 correctional employees; this is not an unusual
5 circumstance -- but when that happens, under
6 Senator Nozzolio's bill, it would require a
7 hearing for the employee to then request that
8 a test be administered of the inmate so that
9 the employee would know whether or not he or
10 she should take a prophylactic system of drugs
11 -- series of drugs, often referred to as a
12 "cocktail", in order to reduce the risk of
13 contracting the HIV virus through this
14 exposure.
15 There is a very big problem
16 with that process as outlined under the bill
17 before us, and I will support the bill, but I
18 want to make sure everyone in this chamber
19 understands, and I hope feels guilty that we
20 are not doing what is really necessary here.
21 We should not be led by the DOCS policy that
22 says they don't want to know because they
23 don't want to have to treat inmates, and they
24 don't want to be bothered with this problem.
25 They have enough to deal with because of the
5651
1 large number of inmates in all overcrowded
2 facilities, but it's up to us, the legislative
3 branch of this state, to come up with the laws
4 that force them to behave responsibly.
5 Under this measure that Senator
6 Nozzolio has worked so hard on, once that
7 correctional employee feels he or she has been
8 the victim of exposure to HIV, suspects they
9 might have and they then have to enact this
10 hearing process, there is a time delay. The
11 process that they must go through requires
12 them to wait at least 24 hours to go through
13 this hearing, and there is evidence to
14 indicate that that "cocktail" needs to be
15 administered immediately in order to be
16 effective, so the agony of that individual who
17 feels that he or she has been exposed, and his
18 or her family, begins from that moment that
19 they come in contact with any of those bodily
20 fluids and extends for months and sometimes
21 years until they have absolute certainty upon
22 repeated testing that there has been no
23 exposure and no contamination by the HIV
24 virus.
25 We have attempted in this state
5652
1 to establish a standard of employment and
2 establish a standard of behavior and high
3 level of professionalism within our
4 correctional employees, and we have succeeded
5 to a large extent. Our correction officers in
6 the state of New York are hard working, well
7 educated men and women that bear no
8 relationship at all to the prison guards of
9 the Jimmy Cagney movies. They should be
10 treated with dignity, and we should allow them
11 that peace of mind that would come with a
12 mandatory HIV testing bill for all inmates.
13 Upon exposure, an employee of a
14 correctional system should be able to go to a
15 superintendent or the primary health officer
16 of that facility and be able to receive
17 immediate assurance that that individual
18 inmate who perpetuated the potential exposure
19 was, in fact, HIV negative. There are clear
20 guidelines on confidentiality already in place
21 that would govern the way this information is
22 handled by all people within the prison
23 system. There are clear guidelines in the
24 medical community as to how treatment must
25 begin and the timing of such treatment in the
5653
1 event of actual exposure.
2 It is time for us as a
3 Legislature to deal with the reality of those
4 clear guidelines and that medical information
5 and bring them into harmony with the reality
6 of this terrible risk.
7 So I will support Senator
8 Nozzolio's measure today, but I will continue
9 to push for passage of S.3903 which -- in
10 several versions I have introduced since I
11 believe 1993 or '-4, following some very, very
12 serious problems in the Mohawk Valley at some
13 correctional facilities which I -- I'm proud
14 to represent.
15 On behalf of the employees of
16 those facilities who have requested me to
17 speak today about their frustration with this
18 process, I urge all of my colleagues, and I
19 specifically urge the esteemed chairman of the
20 Crime and Corrections Committee in this house
21 to take another look at this issue and let's
22 see if we can work with the other house, see
23 if we can work with the Governor's office and
24 most important of all, let's see if we can
25 tell the Department of Corrections that we
5654
1 want to do something that is more meaningful,
2 will provide more protection and will provide
3 appropriate and responsive treatment for
4 inmates as well as for correctional employees
5 where the issue of AIDS and HIV is concerned.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
7 Thanks, Senator Hoffmann.
8 Senator Abate.
9 SENATOR ABATE: Yes. Would
10 Senator Nozzolio yield to a couple questions?
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 Senator Nozzolio, will you yield to a couple
13 questions?
14 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
15 President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 Thanks. Senator yields.
18 SENATOR ABATE: Senator, what
19 is the position of DOCS on this bill? Is this
20 a DOCS program bill?
21 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: It is not.
22 It is not. I'm not sure what their position
23 is.
24 SENATOR ABATE: And in terms of
25 the AIDS Advisory Council, have they taken a
5655
1 position on this bill?
2 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, they
3 have.
4 SENATOR ABATE: What is that
5 position?
6 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: I understand
7 they support it.
8 SENATOR ABATE: They're in
9 support.
10 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: I understand
11 they support it. I don't have anything in
12 front of me to verify that.
13 SENATOR ABATE: And just let me
14 clarify, have the AIDS Advisory Council, have
15 they in the past -- have you been able to
16 overcome their objections?
17 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Senator
18 Abate. Yes, the AIDS Council's principles on
19 HIV testing of employees in this bill, I'm not
20 sure they have weighed in, but the principles
21 have in the drafting of the legislation.
22 SENATOR ABATE: Am I correct -
23 Mr. President, could I continue?
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 You continue to yield?
5656
1 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
2 President.
3 SENATOR ABATE: It's my
4 understanding that the three principles of the
5 AIDS Advisory Council have been concerned
6 about the past, I believe, are included in
7 this bill, and could I just go through it?
8 One that there's significant
9 risk of exposure and transmission of AIDS to
10 the correction officer, whether that's through
11 blood or bodily fluid, that there be a process
12 of a hearing and due process, that's all
13 covered within this bill; and third, there be
14 medical benefit to the employee, which means
15 that testing of the inmate does not provide
16 medical benefit whereas only testing of the
17 employee, that the judge might say that this
18 was not required; is that correct?
19 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: As I
20 understand it, yes, Mr. President, Senator
21 Abate is correct.
22 SENATOR ABATE: All right.
23 Thank you.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 Read the last section.
5657
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
2 This act shall take effect on the 30th day.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
4 Senator Nozzolio, to explain your vote.
5 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr.
6 President. Thank you for the opportunity to
7 explain my vote.
8 I certainly congratulate my
9 colleagues for supporting this measure. I
10 believe it's extremely important for the
11 protection of our correction officers.
12 I'd also like to add, though,
13 that I would agree with those that have
14 suggested this measure go farther than I, as
15 the author or the Assembly sponsor have, to
16 require testing of all inmates. Unfortun
17 ately though, our problem in getting this law
18 established is not the Department of
19 Corrections, although I agree they have not
20 been extremely supportive if at all supportive
21 of that policy.
22 Our problem is with the New
23 York State Assembly. Let's just go down the
24 hall and look at those who are not supporting
25 this measure, let alone a measure that is more
5658
1 comprehensive. I support a more comprehensive,
2 a more uniform process of testing inmates for
3 contagious diseases. Unfortunately, the New
4 York State Assembly Majority Democrats will
5 not support that measure. I think it's
6 unfortunate. I wish they would. I think we'd
7 have a better law and better policy as a
8 result if they did.
9 Mr. President, thank you. I
10 vote aye.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 Call the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll. )
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60, nays
16 one, Senator Leichter recorded in the
17 negative.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
19 The bill is passed.
20 Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 954, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 3632-A,
23 an act to amend the Education Law, in relation
24 to establishing an additional criteria for
25 library systems.
5659
1 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
2 Read the last section.
3 SENATOR MONTGOMERY:
4 Explanation.
5 SENATOR KUHL: Mr. President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
7 Senator Kuhl, yes.
8 SENATOR KUHL: Just before me
9 -- might we have a little order in the
10 house.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 Yes, the members take their seats, staff find
13 their seats.
14 SENATOR KUHL: For the benefit
15 of the members, we are on the controversial
16 portion of the first active list, we intend to
17 go to the active portion of the second active
18 list that will soon be at the desk from the
19 Rules Committee, at the desks.
20 For those people who have bills
21 on the calendar, we would suggest to the
22 members that they be here to debate their
23 bills because if they are not there is a
24 strong likelihood that the bill will not be
25 called up again, and that to meet with the
5660
1 5:00 o'clock conclusion, their bill will be
2 lost, so I would strongly suggest to those
3 members who have had their bills laid aside, I
4 would strongly suggest that they be in the
5 chamber when their bills are called up.
6 So with that, would you
7 recognize Senator Velella for an explanation
8 of his bill.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
10 Thank you, Senator Kuhl.
11 Senator Velella.
12 SENATOR VELELLA: Thank you,
13 Mr. President.
14 This is a library bill that
15 would require, in order to qualify for state
16 aid, you would have a plan of library service
17 with conjunction with the Commissioner's
18 regulation that you file a procedure which
19 would include a detailed guideline for
20 libraries which would include restricting
21 minors from access to obscene material
22 including any computers available for public
23 use.
24 This is as a result of a
25 problem that occurred in my district through
5661
1 the Rochelle -- New Rochelle library system
2 where minors were gaining access through the
3 computers in the library to some pornographic
4 material and, at the request of some of the
5 local people, we looked into this and it looks
6 like a good proposal that we ought to require
7 that there be a procedure that libraries can
8 recommend to prevent this from happening.
9 SENATOR KUHL: Read the last
10 section.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 Senator Montgomery.
13 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, if
14 the sponsor would yield for a question.
15 SENATOR VELELLA: Certainly.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 Senator Velella, do you yield?
18 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Senator
19 Velella, you talk about restricting certain
20 information in the library and that the system
21 itself has to somehow develop this mechanism
22 of creating these restrictions.
23 Is this -- it sounds to me like
24 this might be one of those unfunded mandates
25 that we talk about that you're now putting
5662
1 that kind of burden? It seems to me that's
2 going be a tremendous cost to the system and
3 how are they to achieve that without any -
4 your bill doesn't say that you're going to pay
5 for them.
6 SENATOR VELELLA: Well,
7 Senator, not everything in this world requires
8 money. Some creative thinking and dedication
9 for people who file library reports and the
10 operation of a library as to how they would
11 operate a library, are required now by law.
12 They must follow this process that they would
13 use and these guidelines that they use with
14 the state. This would merely require that
15 they spend a little time and think about how
16 best they might prevent minors from now
17 gaining access on the Internet which is now
18 available in libraries.
19 It would be -- and again, I'm
20 not an expert on computers, I'm totally
21 illiterate in terms of computers and some
22 things in general knowledge, but however, it
23 could be as simple as someone being able to
24 watch when minors are on the machine, to
25 dictate -- to watch what they're doing or
5663
1 could be as complex as a program that might be
2 installed. It doesn't mandate to what degree;
3 it just says it should be recognized and the
4 best possible system should be in place to
5 prevent minors from gaining access to
6 offensive materials as defined in the law.
7 It's not just vague, it's -- you know,
8 whatever would be obscene under the law.
9 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Mr.
10 President, if Senator Velella would continue
11 to yield.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
13 Senator Velella, do you continue to yield?
14 SENATOR VELELLA: Sure.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
16 Senator continues to yield.
17 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Now, when
18 you say restrict access, are there any other
19 ways that you possibly could consider
20 restricting as opposed to having a librarian
21 stand there and watch a kid on the Internet or
22 somehow restricting access to Internet
23 entirely?
24 SENATOR VELELLA: Senator, I
25 wouldn't presume to tell librarians how to run
5664
1 their system. What I am saying is, it ought
2 to be the public policy of this state that
3 every library that has computers and has
4 access to the Internet ought to have some
5 procedure to safeguard against our young
6 children gaining access to obscene materials,
7 and that is why I don't put -- that is why I
8 don't put a very detailed mandate on them.
9 I just say this should be the
10 policy of the state. We ask you to include
11 this in your plan when you file it with the
12 state and whatever they think, in their own
13 judgment, is adequate I would hope that most
14 of the librarians and most of the people that
15 file these plans don't really want children
16 gaining access to this kind of material so
17 they would do a good deliberative job on it.
18 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: And I'm
19 just wondering if your bill seems to require
20 that they would be required to do that in
21 order to receive state funding.
22 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes.
23 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: So any
24 system that is not at the point that the law
25 goes into effect, that is not -- does not have
5665
1 the capacity of that term to do whatever is
2 required in order to meet the law would then
3 not have access to state funding, is that what
4 would happen essentially? In other words, this
5 is a trigger of state funding?
6 SENATOR VELELLA: No, that
7 would not be what would happen.
8 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Could you
9 tell us then what would happen?
10 SENATOR VELELLA: What would
11 happen is, if you file some plan in order to
12 get your state funding you should include,
13 among other things in the law, a process by
14 which you would restrict access to children to
15 pornographic materials and as long as you have
16 something reasonably in there that can be
17 reasonably construed as a plan, it would be up
18 to the individual library system, and there
19 are other things they need to put in there
20 that make a plan.
21 It's important in our view for
22 the libraries that they recognize this as a
23 problem. It's something that many people may
24 not recognize, because we're just getting into
25 this computer stage. They have various
5666
1 systems that have plans that are just reviewed
2 each year; this is something new coming up.
3 It's something we just want them to know that
4 it should be included in the plan. It's as
5 simple or as complex as they might want to
6 make it.
7 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: All
8 right. Thank you, Senator Velella, for that
9 explanation.
10 SENATOR VELELLA: You're
11 welcome.
12 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Just as a
13 caution, I would say on the bill, it's
14 certainly nothing -- something that I would
15 say anyone in here and citizens in general
16 would agree with Senator Velella that we would
17 not want to see certain kinds of information
18 available to very young people, young children
19 in our state.
20 But at the same time, I think
21 we don't want to go too far and say that our
22 library systems and information systems are -
23 and indeed the schools are going to have to
24 absorb the burden of coming up with some sort
25 of sophisticated system of keeping that
5667
1 information from certain people while allowing
2 others based on the constitutional right to
3 have access to it, and -- and indeed having
4 school systems required in their library
5 systems to come up with this kind of a
6 sophisticated access blockage without
7 providing for funding, and further making it
8 part of the requirement in order for them to
9 receive funding from the state that they must
10 have this in place.
11 So I think this goes, you know,
12 it's -- the intent is admirable. It's
13 correct, we do want to see this. I think, in
14 fact, New York City, the library system
15 certainly in Brooklyn as people have talked to
16 me, they are trying to institute such a
17 mechanism, but I think we don't want to make
18 it part of their funding requirements that
19 they have it in place before they are able to
20 come up with a system on their own.
21 So I would -- I would advise my
22 colleagues to vote no on this legislation
23 because we don't want to send a message that
24 if you don't -- if you haven't already been
25 able to invest in this kind of program, you
5668
1 can't receive funding.
2 Thank you.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
4 Thank you, Senator Montgomery.
5 Read the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
7 This act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
9 Call the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll. )
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
14 The bill is passed.
15 Secretary will read.
16 THE SECRETARY: Excuse me. On
17 Calendar Number 954, Senators Montgomery and
18 Paterson recorded in the negative. Ayes 59,
19 nays 2.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
21 Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1082, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 5548-A,
24 an act to amend the Tax Law, the Labor Law,
25 and the Administrative Code of the city of New
5669
1 York.
2 SENATOR KUHL: Lay the bill
3 aside.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5 Read the last section.
6 SENATOR KUHL: Lay the bill
7 aside temporarily.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1345, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print 7579,
10 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
11 in relation to criminal history checks on
12 school bus attendants.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
14 Read the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
16 This act shall take effect on the 90th day.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
18 Call the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll. )
21 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
22 Record the negatives.
23 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded
24 in the negative on Calendar Number 1345 are
25 Senators Leichter and Montgomery. Ayes 59,
5670
1 also Senator Stavisky, ayes 58, nays 3.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
3 The bill is passed.
4 Secretary will read.
5 SENATOR KUHL: Mr. President, I
6 think 1093 was -- Calendar Number 1093 was
7 laid aside temporarily inadvertently. Could
8 you call that one up again, please.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
10 Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1093, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 7317-B,
13 an act to amend the Tax Law and the
14 Administrative Code of the city of New York.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
16 Call the roll. Read the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 35.
18 This act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 Call the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll. )
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 The bill is passed.
5671
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1414, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 7614,
3 an act to permit the sale or lease of Pond
4 View Homes.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
6 Read the last section.
7 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
8 President.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
10 Senator Leichter, why do you rise?
11 SENATOR LEICHTER: I don't want
12 to take time on this. I've discussed it with
13 Senator Balboni. He's apparently trying to,
14 on behalf of one of his local communities, to
15 deal with a housing project that requires
16 infusion of funds.
17 My concern is that we need to
18 protect the affordability of that housing and
19 to protect people who are in possession. I
20 understand Senator Balboni is working on this,
21 but it's not presently his bill, so I'm going
22 to oppose this version of the bill and wish
23 him good luck in getting in those safeguards
24 that I know he's committed to.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5672
1 Read the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
3 This act shall take effect immediately.
4 (The Secretary called the
5 roll. )
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60, nays
7 one, Senator Leichter recorded in the
8 negative.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
10 The bill is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1470, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
13 Print 7768, an act to amend the Tax Law, in
14 relation to net operating losses.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
16 Read the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
18 This act shall take effect immediately.
19 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
20 President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
22 Senator Paterson.
23 SENATOR PATERSON: This is
24 Calendar 1470, laid aside by Senator
25 Leichter.
5673
1 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
2 Senator Paterson. Senator Paterson.
3 SENATOR PATERSON: I'm just
4 giving you an update, Mr. President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
6 Update me, Senator Paterson. Explanation is
7 requested by Senator Leichter.
8 SENATOR KUHL: Mr. President,
9 Senator Rules is presently detained, so let me
10 just simply explain the bill.
11 There is a current provision of
12 law that allows for the net operating losses
13 of financial institutions to -- Senator
14 Leichter, this is a -- perhaps it would be
15 easier to explain that this is a technical
16 corrections bill.
17 In last year's budget adopted
18 there was a provision that allowed net
19 operating losses to be a portion of a tax
20 deduction. A year ago there was a -- as I
21 understand it, there was a fiscal impact
22 included in that budget process, but
23 mistakenly the carryover was set out to be
24 until year January 1st, 2001 when it should
25 have, in fact, been the year 2000; so what
5674
1 we're now doing is by law putting into place
2 what was the intent in that budget. That's all
3 this bill does.
4 SENATOR LEICHTER: Thank you.
5 SENATOR KUHL: Read the last
6 section.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
8 Read the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 Call the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll. )
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 The bill is passed.
18 Secretary will read.
19 SENATOR KUHL: Mr. President,
20 now may we take up the controversial provision
21 on the -- or calendar, on the supplemental
22 active list.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
24 Secretary will read.
25 Senator Seabrook, why do you
5675
1 rise?
2 SENATOR SEABROOK: Yes, Mr.
3 President. With unanimous consent, I'd like
4 to be recorded in the negative on Calendar
5 685.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: No
7 objection, so ordered.
8 Senator Meier, why do you rise?
9 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
10 may I have unanimous consent to be recorded in
11 the negative on Calendar Number 657.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
13 Without objection.
14 Secretary will read.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1485, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 6256-A,
17 an act to amend Chapter 115 of the Laws of
18 1995.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 Read the last section.
21 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation,
22 please.
23 SENATOR KUHL: Lay it aside
24 temporarily.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5676
1 Lay it aside temporarily.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1492, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 7361.
4 SENATOR KUHL: Lay it aside
5 temporarily.
6 Can we call up Calendar 1482,
7 please. Excuse me '-92.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
9 Secretary will read.
10 SENATOR KUHL: 1492.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1492, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 7361, an
15 act to amend the Social Service Law, the
16 Family Court Act and the Civil Practice Law
17 and Rules.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
19 Read the last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
21 This act shall take effect on March 1st,
22 1999.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
24 Call the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the
5677
1 roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
4 The bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1504, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 7776,
7 an act to amend the General Business Law, in
8 relation to veterans of the armed forces.
9 SENATOR KUHL: Lay the bill
10 aside.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 Lay the bill aside temporarily.
13 Senator Kuhl, that concludes
14 the controversial calendar for the time being.
15 SENATOR KUHL: Yes. Now, Mr.
16 President, on the first calendar of the day,
17 Calendar Number 53, may we return to Calendar
18 Number 1025, by Senator Volker. This bill was
19 not on either active list.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
21 Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1025, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 6739-C,
24 an act to amend the Local Finance Law, in
25 relation to financing costs.
5678
1 SENATOR KUHL: Is there a
2 message at the desk?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
4 Yes, there is.
5 SENATOR KUHL: I move we accept
6 the message.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
8 Motion is to accept the message of necessity.
9 All those in favor, say aye.
10 (Response of "Aye.")
11 Opposed nay.
12 (There was no response.)
13 The motion is approved.
14 Secretary will read. There is
15 a home rule message at the desk. Read the
16 last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
18 This act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 Call the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll. )
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 The bill is passed.
5679
1 Senator Kuhl.
2 SENATOR KUHL: Mr. President,
3 may we now return to the order of reports of
4 standing committees. I understand there's a
5 report of the Rules Committee at the desk.
6 Could we read -- ask the Secretary to read
7 that.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
9 Return to the order of reports of standing
10 committees. Secretary will read the report of
11 the Rules Committee.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
13 from the Committee on Rules, reports the
14 following bills:
15 Senate Print 2307-A, by Senator
16 Larkin, an act to amend the Insurance Law;
17 3654-A, by Senator Skelos, an
18 act to amend the Retirement and Social
19 Security Law;
20 3778-B, by Senator Rath, an act
21 to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
22 4897-C, by Senator Saland, an
23 act to authorize;
24 5040-A, by Senator Hannon, an
25 act to amend the Public Authorities Law;
5680
1 5811-A, by Senator Spano, an
2 act to amend the Retirement and Social
3 Security Law;
4 5947-A, by Senator LaValle, an
5 act to amend the State Finance Law;
6 5988-A, by Senator Hannon, an
7 act to amend the Public Health Law;
8 6398-B, by Senator Goodman, an
9 act to amend the Tax Law;
10 6892, by Senator Present, an
11 act to amend the Highway Law;
12 6911, by Senator Kuhl, an act
13 to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law;
14 6915, by Senator Trunzo, an act
15 to amend the Retirement and Social Security
16 Law;
17 6992, by Senator Johnson, an
18 act to amend the Transportation Law;
19 6996-B, by Senator Balboni, an
20 act to amend the Education Law;
21 7145-A, by Senator Present, an
22 act to authorize the conveyance;
23 7228, by Senator Velella, an
24 act to amend the Civil Service Law;
25 7264-A, by Senator Johnson, an
5681
1 act to amend the Environmental Conservation
2 Law;
3 7358-A, by Senator Marcellino,
4 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation
5 Law;
6 7363-A, by Senator Balboni, an
7 act to amend the Insurance Law;
8 7381, by Senator Alesi, an act
9 to amend the County Law;
10 7506, by Senator Marcellino, an
11 act to amend the Environmental Conservation
12 Law;
13 7529, by Senator Oppenheimer,
14 an act to amend Chapter 711 of the Laws of
15 1907;
16 7553-A, by Senator Larkin, an
17 act in relation to authorizing;
18 7559, by Senator Holland, an
19 act to amend the Social Services Law;
20 7573-B, by Senator Saland, an
21 act to enact the "Families in Transition Act
22 of 1998;"
23 7587-A, by Senator Hannon, an
24 act to amend the Public Health Law;
25 7619, by Senator Hannon, an act
5682
1 to amend the Tax Law;
2 7634-B, by Senator Alesi, an
3 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
4 7641, by Senator Connor, an act
5 to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
6 7684-A, by Senator LaValle, an
7 act to amend the Education Law;
8 7697, by Senator Seward, an act
9 to amend the Education Law;
10 7756, by Senator Johnson, an
11 act to amend the Environmental Conservation
12 Law;
13 7769, by Senator Spano, an act
14 to amend the Education Law;
15 7772, by Senator Stafford, an
16 act to amend the Tax Law;
17 7821, by Senator Bruno, an act
18 authorizing the conveyance; and
19 Assembly 10985, by the Assembly
20 Committee on Rules, an act to authorize the
21 Grace Baptist Church.
22 All bills ordered direct for
23 third reading.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 Senator Kuhl.
5683
1 SENATOR KUHL: Move we accept
2 the report of the Rules Committee.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
4 Motion is made to accept the report of the
5 Rules Committee. All those in favor signify
6 by saying aye.
7 (Response of "Aye.")
8 Opposed nay.
9 The ayes have it. The message
10 is approved.
11 SENATOR KUHL: Is there any
12 housekeeping at the desk?
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
14 Motions.
15 SENATOR KUHL: Then if we can
16 return to motions and recognize Senator
17 Marcellino.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
19 Senator Marcellino.
20 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I wish to
21 call up Senate Print 7101, recalled from the
22 Assembly which is now at the desk.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
24 Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5684
1 1334, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 7101,
2 an act to amend the Transportation Law.
3 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
4 President, I now move to reconsider the vote
5 by which this bill was passed.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
7 Secretary will call the roll on
8 reconsideration.
9 (The Secretary called the roll
10 on reconsideration. )
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
12 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
13 President, I now offer the following
14 amendments.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
16 Amendments are received.
17 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Amendments
18 are received? Thank you, sir.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 Secretary will read one substitution.
21 THE SECRETARY: On page 33,
22 Senator Lack moves to discharge from the
23 Committee on Rules Assembly Bill Number 7037
24 and substitute it for the identical Third
25 Reading Calendar 1143.
5685
1 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
2 Substitution is ordered.
3 Senator Kuhl.
4 SENATOR KUHL: Yes, Mr.
5 President. There is a Senate Supplemental
6 Calendar 53B on the members' desks. We're
7 going to take up one bill before we break for
8 a short period of time, and that's Calendar
9 Number 1560, by Senator Hannon, 7587-A. If I
10 could have that bill called up right now, that
11 would be tgerrific.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
13 Secretary will read 1560, by Senator Hannon.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1560, by Senator Hannon, Senate Print 7587-A,
16 an act to amend the Public Health Law, in
17 relation to requiring.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
19 Read the last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
21 This act shall take effect immediately.
22 SENATOR HANNON: Explain my
23 vote.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
5686
1 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
2 Call the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll. )
5 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
6 Senator Hannon, to explain his vote.
7 SENATOR HANNON: Briefly.
8 Thank you, Mr. President.
9 In the spectrum of health care
10 we have in this state, there is a unique
11 hospital that deals with the terminally ill
12 where patients who have, unfortunately, no
13 hope of reversing their course of illness are
14 cared for and this is the most sensitive
15 treatment.
16 In an attempt, and I believe a
17 belief that we've been succeeding to remove
18 their treatment from the usual travails that
19 attend the reimbursement process, we're
20 passing this bill so that we can make sure
21 that those people in the gravest stages in
22 need of care are appropriately cared for.
23 Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 Thank you, Senator Hannon.
5687
1 Results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
4 The bill is passed.
5 Senator Kuhl.
6 SENATOR KUHL: Now, on the
7 regular calendar, one more bill to take up
8 before we break, and it's Calendar Number 53,
9 it's Calendar Number 1284. We ask that one to
10 be called up, please.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 The Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1284, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 6184-A, an
15 act to amend the Private Housing Finance Law
16 and Chapter 596 of the Laws of 1995.
17 SENATOR KUHL: Is there a
18 message at the desk?
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 Yes, there is.
21 SENATOR KUHL: I move we accept
22 the message.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
24 Motion is made to accept the message of
25 necessity. All those in favor signify by
5688
1 saying aye.
2 (Response of "Aye.")
3 Opposed nay.
4 (There was no response.)
5 The motion is approved. Would
6 you read the last section.
7 SENATOR KUHL: Last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
9 This act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
11 Call the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the
13 roll.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
16 The bill is passed.
17 SENATOR KUHL: Mr. President.
18 Mr. President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
20 Senator Kuhl.
21 SENATOR KUHL: On the regular
22 calendar, Calendar Number 53, could you call
23 up Calendar Number 1234, please, for Senator
24 Leibell.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
5689
1 Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1234, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 3929-B,
4 an act to amend the Real Property Actions and
5 Proceedings Law.
6 SENATOR KUHL: Will you lay
7 that bill aside for the day.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
9 We'll lay that aside for the day.
10 SENATOR KUHL: Mr. President,
11 there will be an immediate meeting of the
12 Majority Conference, immediate meeting of the
13 Majority Conference in the Majority Conference
14 Room, and the Senate will stand at ease until
15 4:30 sharp.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
17 Thank you, Senator. Immediate meeting of the
18 Majorioty Conference in Room 432, and the
19 Senate will stand at ease until 4:30 sharp.
20 (Whereupon at 3:53 p.m., the
21 Senate stood at ease until 5:15 p.m.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
23 Senate will come to order. Ask the members to
24 find their seats, the staff to find their
25 seats.
5690
1 Senator Skelos.
2 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
3 there will be an immediate meeting of the
4 Finance Committee in the Majority Conference
5 Room.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
7 Immediate meeting of the Finance Committee,
8 immediate meeting of the Finance Committee in
9 Room 332, the Majority Conference Room.
10 Senator Skelos.
11 SENATOR SKELOS: Would you
12 please recognize Senator Saland.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
14 Chair recognizes Senator Saland.
15 SENATOR SALAND: For purposes
16 of housekeeping, Mr. President, I would like
17 to star Calendar Number 1559, Senate 7573-B.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
19 Calendar Number 1559 will be starred at the
20 request of the sponsor.
21 Senator Santiago, why do you
22 rise?
23 SENATOR SANTIAGO: I would like
24 to be recorded in the negative on Calendar
25 1345, Mr. President.
5691
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: 1345?
2 Without objection.
3 SENATOR SANTIAGO: Thank you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
5 Santiago will be recorded in the negative on
6 Calendar Number 1345.
7 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there any
8 housekeeping at the desk at this time?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
10 is. We'll return to the order of motions and
11 resolutions.
12 The Chair recognizes Senator
13 Rath.
14 SENATOR RATH: Mr. President, I
15 wish to call up my bill, Print Number 4422-A,
16 recalled from the Assembly, which is now at
17 the desk.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
19 Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 337, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 4422-A,
22 an act to amend the Public Health Law.
23 SENATOR RATH: Mr. President, I
24 now move to reconsider the vote by which this
25 bill was passed.
5692
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
2 motion is to reconsider the vote by which the
3 bill passed the house. The Secretary will
4 call the roll on reconsideration.
5 (The Secretary called the roll
6 on reconsideration.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
9 Rath.
10 SENATOR RATH: Mr. President, I
11 now offer the following amendments.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
13 amendments are received and adopted.
14 Senator Rath.
15 SENATOR RATH: Mr. President, I
16 wish to call up my bill, Senate Print 5689-A,
17 recalled from the Assembly, which is now at
18 the desk.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
20 Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senate Print
22 5689-A, by Senator Alesi, an act to amend the
23 Vehicle and Traffic Law.
24 SENATOR RATH: Mr. President, I
25 now move to reconsider the vote by which the
5693
1 bill was passed and ask that the bill be
2 restored to the order of third reading.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
4 Secretary will call the roll on consideration.
5 (The Secretary called the roll
6 on reconsideration.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
9 bill is restored.
10 Senator Rath.
11 SENATOR RATH: Mr. President, I
12 now move to discharge from the Committee on
13 Rules Assembly Print Number 1495-B and
14 substitute it for the identical Senate bill.
15 The Senate bill, on first passage, was voted
16 unanimously, and I now move that the
17 substituted bill have its third reading at
18 this time.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
20 substitution is ordered.
21 The Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1516, by member of the Assembly Bragman,
24 Assembly Print 1495-B, an act to amend the
25 Vehicle and Traffic Law, in relation to the
5694
1 ignition.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
3 Secretary will read the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
5 This act shall take effect in 30 days.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
12 bill is passed.
13 Senator Skelos.
14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
15 if we could take up the supplemental calendar,
16 beginning with Calendar Number 109, by Senator
17 Larkin, non-controversial.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: For the
19 benefit of the members, there is a
20 supplemental active list which should be
21 reading Supplemental Number 2 but the number 2
22 is not there. It starts with Calendar Number
23 109. That's on your regular calendar.
24 So the Secretary will read the
25 supplemental active list beginning with
5695
1 Calendar Number 109, by Senator Larkin.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 109, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 3840, an
4 act to amend Chapter 689 of the Laws of 1991.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 Secretary will read the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
8 This act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the
12 roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 536, substituted earlier, by member of the
18 Assembly Schimminger, Assembly Print 2378-C,
19 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
21 Secretary will read the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
23 This act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
25 the roll.
5696
1 (The Secretary called the
2 roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1108, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
8 Assembly Print 7656, an act to amend the
9 Navigation Law, in relation to adjusting.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
11 Secretary will read the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
13 This act shall take effect in 30 days.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
15 the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the
17 roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
20 bill is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1222, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
23 Assembly Print 10930, an act to repeal Section
24 10 (b) of the Highway Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5697
1 Secretary will read the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
3 This act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
5 the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the
7 roll.)
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
10 bill is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1243, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 6238 -
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside
14 temporarily.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the
16 bill aside temporarily.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin
18 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
19 Assembly Bill Number 6266-A and substitute it
20 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 1512.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
22 substitution is ordered.
23 The Secretary will read.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1512, by member of the Assembly Gunther,
5698
1 Senate Print 6266-A, an act to amend the
2 Insurance Law, in relation to continuing.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
4 Secretary will read the last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
6 This act shall take effect January 1.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
8 the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the
10 roll.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
13 bill is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1536, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 3654-A,
16 an act to amend the Retirement and Social
17 Security Law, in relation to the retirement.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
19 is a home rule message at the desk. The
20 Secretary will read the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
22 This act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the
5699
1 roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
4 bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Rath
6 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
7 Assembly Bill Number 8010-B and substitute it
8 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 1537.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
10 substitution is ordered.
11 The Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1537, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
14 Assembly Print 8010-B, an act to amend the
15 Real Property Tax Law, in relation to the use
16 of tax equalization rates.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 Secretary will read the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
20 This act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5700
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1538, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 4897-C,
5 an act to authorize Edmund Haase to change the
6 beneficiary of his retirement allowance.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
8 Secretary will read the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
17 bill is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1539, by Senator Hannon, Senate Print 5040-A,
20 an act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in
21 relation to the collective bargaining unit.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
23 is a home rule message at the desk. The
24 Secretary will read the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
5701
1 This act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
3 the roll.
4 (The Secretary called the
5 roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Spano
10 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
11 Assembly Bill Number 11058 and substitute it
12 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 1540.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
14 substitution is ordered.
15 The Secretary will read.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1540, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
18 Assembly Print 11058, an act to amend the
19 Retirement and Social Security Law, in
20 relation to the transfer.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
22 Secretary will read the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
24 This act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
5702
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1541, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 5947-A,
9 an act to amend the State Finance Law, in
10 relation to the references.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
12 Secretary will read the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
14 This act shall take effect on the 120th day.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the
18 roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1543, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 6398-B,
24 an act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
25 exempting certain tangible personal property.
5703
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
2 Secretary will read the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
4 This act shall take effect on the first day of
5 a sales tax quarterly period.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
12 bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1545, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 6911, an
15 act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
16 Law, in relation to the authorization.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 Secretary will read the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
20 This act shall take effect on the 120th day.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5704
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Trunzo
4 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
5 Assembly Bill Number 9798 and substitute it
6 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 1546.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
8 substitution is ordered.
9 The Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1546, by member of the Assembly -
12 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it
13 aside.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the
15 bill aside.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson
17 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
18 Assembly Bill Number 10914 and substitute it
19 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 1547.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
21 substitution is ordered.
22 The Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1547, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
25 Assembly Print 10914, an act to amend the
5705
1 Transportation Law, in relation to enabling
2 the commissioner.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
4 Secretary will read the last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
6 This act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
8 the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the
10 roll.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
13 bill is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1548, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 6996-B,
16 an act to amend the Education Law, in relation
17 to authorizing memorial awards.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
19 Secretary will read the last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
21 This act shall take effect April 1, 1999.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
23 the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the
25 roll.)
5706
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
3 bill is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1549, by Senator Present, Senate Print 7145-A,
6 an act to authorize the conveyance of certain
7 state lands.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
9 Secretary will read the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
11 This act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the
15 roll.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1550, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 7228,
21 an act to amend the Civil Service Law, in
22 relation to provisional appointments.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
24 Secretary will read the last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
5707
1 This act shall take effect on the 60th day.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
3 the roll.
4 (The Secretary called the
5 roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1551, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 7264-A,
11 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation
12 Law, in relation to the taking of crabs.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
14 Secretary will read the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
16 This act shall take effect in 120 days.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
18 the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1552, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print
5708
1 7358-A, an act to amend the Environmental
2 Conservation Law, in relation to integrated
3 pesticide management.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5 Secretary will read the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
7 This act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
14 bill is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1553, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 7363-A,
17 an act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation
18 to conforming certain provisions.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
20 Secretary will read the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
22 This act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the
5709
1 roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
4 bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1554, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 7381, an
7 act to amend the County Law, in relation to
8 authorizing the county of Monroe.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
10 is a home rule message at the desk.
11 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it
12 aside.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the
14 bill aside.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1555, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print
17 7506, an act to amend the Environmental
18 Conservation Law, in relation to management of
19 wildlife resources.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
21 Secretary will read the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 11.
23 This act shall take effect on the first day of
24 January.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
5710
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1556, by Senator Oppenheimer, Senate Print
9 7529, an act to amend Chapter 711 of the Laws
10 of 1907, relating to providing for a public
11 park.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
13 Secretary will read the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
15 This act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the
19 roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
22 bill is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1557, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 7553-A,
25 an act in relation to authorizing the Dutchess
5711
1 County Industrial Development Agency.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
3 Secretary will read the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
5 This act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes -
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
12 Larkin, why do you rise?
13 SENATOR LARKIN: I want to
14 explain my vote.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
16 Larkin, to explain his vote.
17 SENATOR LARKIN: Mr. Speaker,
18 this bill is a very important bill to the
19 Hudson Valley. It shows a complete
20 cooperation between two counties in the Hudson
21 Valley, Dutchess County and Ulster county. It
22 was necessitated by the fact that Ulster
23 County did not have a cap on the bonding of
24 $80 million, wherein Dutchess County did.
25 This was a complete agreement by levels of
5712
1 government from here to the county to the
2 town.
3 We're very proud. This
4 essentially will be a $400 million project in
5 the Hudson Valley. It was coordinated at
6 every level. We have received commitment
7 letters from all echelons between the Empire
8 State News Print, which is the prime builder
9 of this facility and the cooperative effort
10 between all of the echelons of government of
11 what they would, what they wouldn't do. This
12 is something very personal to Senator Saland
13 and myself.
14 Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
16 Chair recognizes Senator Saland to explain his
17 vote.
18 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Mr.
19 President.
20 Mr. President, I would like to
21 thank Senator Larkin for working so
22 cooperatively not only with my office but with
23 the people in Dutchess County, in particular
24 the people in the town of Rhinebeck, and I
25 think that cooperation has been noted rather
5713
1 thoroughly in the bill memo. The bill memo
2 talks in terms of the spirit of regional
3 cooperation between Dutchess and Ulster
4 Counties, that between the applicant Empire
5 State News Print, Ulster County IDA, Ulster
6 County Economic Corporation in the form of
7 letter agreements between them and the town of
8 Rhinebeck, and what I would like to do, Mr.
9 President, is just noting from the letter of
10 June 16 from Empire State News Print to the
11 supervisor, Bill Dowden, of the town of
12 Rhinebeck, there are a number of points that
13 have been set forth representing the mutual
14 understanding coming from a meeting of June 15
15 with regard to the project and this letter
16 recites that "As discussed, Empire State News
17 Print is very sensitive to the environmental
18 concern raised by the town board in the town
19 of Rhinebeck and the company fully intends to
20 address such concerns within the manner set
21 forth herein." It says "In order to respond
22 to these specific concerns expressed by the
23 town in the spirit of regional cooperation,
24 the company agrees as follows:
25 "The company will recommend to
5714
1 the lead agency as defined in Article VIII of
2 the economic -- Environmental Conservation Law
3 and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto,
4 collectively called SEQR, that the town be a
5 participant in the environmental review
6 process and accordingly that the lead agency
7 will afford the town the opportunity to review
8 the scope, the DEIS, the FEIS and all other
9 information relevant to the town's
10 environmental concerns on a timely basis."
11 It then goes on through a
12 series of points to enumerate what those
13 concerns are. It talks about their
14 willingness to work with the town and that has
15 been reinforced by letter agreements from the
16 Ulster County Industrial Development Agency
17 signed by the president, Alfred Ford, who
18 polled his board assuring the town of
19 Rhinebeck that the board supports the
20 recommendations as does the president of the
21 Ulster County Development Corporation, Abel
22 Garrigan, to similar affect.
23 That being the case, the town
24 of Rhinebeck certainly joins in this venture
25 and much to the leadership of Senator Larkin,
5715
1 this thing has worked out cooperatively to the
2 mutual benefit of not only Ulster county but
3 Dutchess County and the Mid-Hudson.
4 Thank you, Mr. President. I
5 vote in favor of the bill.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
7 Saland and Senator Larkin both recorded in the
8 affirmative. Announce the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Holland
13 moves to discharge from the Committee on
14 Social Services Assembly Bill Number 6434 and
15 substitute it for the identical Third Reading
16 Calendar 1558.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 substitution is ordered.
19 The Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1558, by member of the Assembly Jacobs,
22 Assembly Print 6434, an act to amend the
23 Social Services Law, in relation to
24 authorizing.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5716
1 Secretary will read the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
3 This act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
5 the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the
7 roll.)
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
10 bill is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon
12 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
13 Assembly Bill Number 11073 and substitute it
14 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 1561.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
16 substitution is ordered. Lay the bill aside.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1563, by Senator Connor, Senate Print 7641, an
19 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in
20 relation to making certain technical
21 corrections.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
23 Secretary will read the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
25 This act shall take effect immediately.
5717
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Record
6 the negative. Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60, nays
8 one, Senator Leichter recorded in the
9 negative.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1565, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 7697, an
14 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
15 making maintenance contracts.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
17 Secretary will read the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
19 This act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the
23 roll.)
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5718
1 bill is passed.
2 I'll ask the Secretary to read
3 Calendar Number 1564.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1564, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 7684-A,
6 an act to amend the Education Law, in relation
7 to the powers of the Board of Education.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
9 Holland.
10 SENATOR HOLLAND: Is there a
11 message of necessity at the desk?
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
13 is.
14 SENATOR HOLLAND: I move we
15 accept the message.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
17 motion is to accept the message of necessity
18 on Calendar Number 1564. All those in favor
19 signify by saying aye.
20 (Response of "Aye".)
21 Opposed, nay.
22 (There was no response.)
23 The message is accepted.
24 The Secretary will read the
25 last section.
5719
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
2 This act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the
6 roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
9 bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1566, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 7756,
12 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation
13 Law, in relation to the taking of lobsters.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
15 Secretary will read the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
17 This act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the
21 roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
24 bill is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5720
1 1567, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 7...
2 SENATOR HOLLAND: Lay it aside
3 temporarily.
4 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it
5 aside.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the
7 bill aside.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar
9 Number -
10 SENATOR SPANO: Mr. President.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
12 Spano, why do you rise?
13 SENATOR SPANO: Calendar 1567,
14 can you please place a sponsor's star on that
15 bill.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
17 Calendar Number 1567 is starred at the request
18 of the sponsor.
19 The Secretary will continue to
20 read the non-controversial calendar.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1568, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 7772,
23 an act to amend the -
24 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Lay it
25 aside.
5721
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the
2 bill aside.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1569, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 7821, an
5 act authorizing the conveyance of land to the
6 South Glens Falls Central School District.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
8 Holland.
9 SENATOR HOLLAND: Is there a
10 message of necessity at the desk.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
12 is.
13 SENATOR HOLLAND: I move we
14 accept the message.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
16 motion is to accept the message of necessity
17 on Calendar Number 1569. All those in favor
18 signify by saying aye.
19 (Response of "Aye".)
20 Opposed, nay.
21 (There was no response.)
22 The message is accepted.
23 The bill is before the house.
24 The Secretary will read the
25 last section.
5722
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
2 This act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the
6 roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
9 bill is passed.
10 Senator Holland.
11 SENATOR HOLLAND: Could we
12 return to the main calendar, Mr. President,
13 and call up Calendar Number 139, Senator
14 Saland's bill.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
16 Secretary will read Calendar Number 139 on the
17 main Calendar Number 52.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 139, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 816-B, an
20 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
21 establishing a presumption.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
23 Holland.
24 SENATOR HOLLAND: Is there a
25 message of necessity at the desk?
5723
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
2 is.
3 SENATOR HOLLAND: I move we
4 accept the message, please.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 motion is to accept the message of necessity
7 on Calendar Number 139. All those in favor
8 signify by saying aye.
9 (Response of "Aye".)
10 Opposed, nay.
11 (There was no response.)
12 The message is accepted.
13 The bill is before the house.
14 The Secretary will read the
15 last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
17 This act shall take effect on the first day of
18 November.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
25 bill is passed.
5724
1 Senator Holland.
2 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
3 President, can we call up Calendar 1140,
4 please.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 Secretary will read Calendar Number 1140.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1140, by Senator Lack, Senate Print 588-D, an
9 act to amend the Real Property Actions and
10 Proceedings Law, in relation to mortgage
11 foreclosure.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
13 Holland.
14 SENATOR HOLLAND: Is there a
15 message of necessity at the desk?
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
17 is.
18 SENATOR HOLLAND: I move we
19 accept the message, please.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
21 motion is to accept the message of necessity
22 on Calendar Number 1140. All those in favor
23 signify by saying aye.
24 (Response of "Aye".)
25 Opposed, nay.
5725
1 (There was no response.)
2 The message is accepted.
3 The bill is before the house.
4 The Secretary will read the
5 last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
7 This act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Record
13 the negatives. Announce the results.
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60, nays
15 one, Senator DeFrancisco recorded in the
16 negative.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 bill is passed.
19 (Acting President Kuhl passed
20 the gavel to Senator Leichter.)
21 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
22 President, since we're about to begin the
23 controversial calendar, we thought it only
24 appropriate that you be up there (Laughter.)
25 Senator Libous.
5726
1 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
2 I have a motion to discharge that's at the
3 desk. (Laughter.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: Is
5 that the one I gave you?
6 SENATOR LIBOUS: Yes, Mr.
7 President.
8 Senator Holland.
9 SENATOR HOLLAND: Well, we just
10 want to give you an opportunity, Senator, to
11 thank you for the many years you have been
12 here and all the work you've done and the many
13 hours we've listened to you here in the
14 chamber and hope you enjoy your retirement and
15 I'm sure you'll come back and visit us many,
16 many times. We hope so.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
18 Senator Padavan.
19 SENATOR PADAVAN: Mr.
20 President, I would like to be among those who
21 say how much we will miss you as you leave us
22 and to say for the record that contrary to
23 Senator Velella, who I don't see, you are not
24 a big beatnik, a left-wing reactionary maybe,
25 but not a beatnik.
5727
1 I have been here for 26 years
2 and you have been here much of that time and
3 the fact that you have sat there as you have
4 been doing these recent days looking over
5 those bills, finding areas that are of concern
6 to you and you think to the people of the
7 state, bringing it to our attention has been
8 both an annoyance and a blessing. The wisdom
9 of putting you up there now as we're trying to
10 close the session down is obviously quite
11 clear, but nevertheless, you have made a major
12 contribution to this house and to the Assembly
13 from which you came.
14 I hope that our relationship
15 will continue. You have been a good friend
16 personally and otherwise, and I know you know
17 what I'm referring to and you will be sorely
18 missed both for your intellect, and your
19 untiring dedication to seeing that the
20 Minority, the loyal Minority, does its job is
21 unparallelled, I think, in this Capitol.
22 Godspeed and good luck.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
24 Thank you very much.
25 Senator Hoffmann.
5728
1 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 It is a real honor for all of
4 us to be able to see you up there presiding
5 even for a brief moment and have that sense
6 that some of those things which you have
7 desired, worked for, championed, could
8 actually occur and somebody of your wisdom and
9 patience and virtue could actually be in that
10 position some day and for me it's a very
11 personal satisfaction to see you being
12 recognized like this because I have lived for
13 a number of years as a person committed to
14 reforming this state and also as a person who
15 has been regularly labeled as a royal pain in
16 the rear end and my one sense of satisfaction,
17 which you are now robbing me of right now, is
18 that I could always say, but there is Franz
19 Leichter who is a much bigger one of those and
20 now your departure places a terrible burden on
21 me.
22 I am now asking your staff to
23 provide some of the material and I'm getting
24 the transcripts from some of your speeches,
25 some of these late night sessions over the
5729
1 years, and I have committed to doing my very
2 best, Franz, to fulfilling your legacy and I
3 will pull out all of those speeches and when
4 we have a slow moment, I'll do my very best to
5 read them and to recite them and to polish
6 them up to make them as contemporary as
7 possible. I don't want your work to be
8 forgotten when you leave this chamber.
9 We have benefited from your
10 championship of virtue and your vision of what
11 a legislative body in this state can be is
12 something that we won't lose sight of, Franz.
13 We will continue to champion and to rail for
14 those reforms which, in fact, are necessary.
15 Congratulations and please keep
16 us informed if we're doing the right job in
17 trying to make that happen.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
19 Thank you very much.
20 Senator Dollinger.
21 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 I come here today as I once a
24 couple weeks ago quoted Julius Caesar but I'm
25 not going to talk about your tennis game,
5730
1 Senator. We'll leave those tales all buried
2 deep in the annals of history and maybe by way
3 of a biography or autobiography but, Franz, on
4 a personal note, I came here a long time ago
5 and I was told by Jack Perry, who was my
6 predecessor in the 54th Senate District, that
7 if you wanted to find out what was going on
8 and get a unique perspective on what the
9 Senate was all about, talk to Franz Leichter.
10 Franz, you have been my
11 friend. You've provided leadership. You've
12 given me hope in this place that there's an
13 opportunity for change and you've reminded me
14 that we've all come here for a very noble
15 purpose, and that is to represent people who
16 elect us and to give some people who don't
17 oftentimes have a voice, a real voice in
18 government.
19 You've spoken for people who
20 are not wealthy, people who do not have great
21 assets, people who don't make campaign
22 contributions, people who don't own shares in
23 corporations, people who don't celebrate IDAs,
24 people who don't own big bank accounts.
25 You've been the voice for all those people and
5731
1 I'm going to miss you. I wish you all the
2 best and when we play tennis that you just lay
3 off that game just a tiny bit for me as you
4 have thus far.
5 Godspeed.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
7 Thank you.
8 Senator Montgomery.
9 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you,
10 Mr. President, Senator Leichter.
11 It has been a real wonderful
12 experience to have an opportunity to sit right
13 in back of you.
14 As you know, I sit here, on my
15 right hand are the Republicans -- this is the
16 beginning of the Republicans and if you will
17 note each of them leaves as soon as they can.
18 So I get always the newest Republican
19 Senators. So Senator Alesi left as quickly as
20 he could. Senator Leibell left as quickly as
21 he could and now I have Senator Balboni here
22 who is probably going to leave as soon as he
23 can get to the power side of the aisle. I
24 understand that and then, of course, to my
25 left I have a relatively conservative, at
5732
1 least a fiscally conservative Westchester
2 Democrat and that's not easy either, but then
3 I always had you in front of me and you were
4 always there to sort of give me a good sense
5 of the meaning of some of the legislation when
6 it was confusing to me. So I will really,
7 really miss you as you can see.
8 I have appreciated not only
9 what you have contributed here in the -- in
10 the Senate as a person who is always willing
11 to stand up and raise issues even if it's 2:00
12 or 3:00 a.m. in the morning and everyone else
13 wants to go home. You insist on making sure
14 that we address certain issues that you feel
15 are extremely important but you've also been a
16 person of courage to support and speak out and
17 champion those issues that are important to
18 little people in this -- in this state and
19 especially in New York City.
20 So for that I am very, very
21 grateful and we in the state of New York will
22 miss your consistent vision and voice as it
23 relates to those issues that are not popular
24 in the polls but rather that you feel are
25 right as it relates to people.
5733
1 So we thank you and we will
2 miss you, and I know that you will enjoy very
3 much your rest from this -- this place.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5 Senator Oppenheimer.
6 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: "This
7 place" didn't sound so good. Well, it's hard
8 to talk to you, Senator, from this position
9 because you have been my dear friend and a
10 very caring friend and someone who I know I
11 will continue to have a friendship with and
12 there's so much that we enjoy that we have
13 done together with our spouses. We've enjoyed
14 skiing together. We've enjoyed the culture
15 industry of New York City together. We've
16 enjoyed white water rafting, hiking and I do
17 hope all of that will continue, but here in
18 the Senate I think what we will miss is your
19 enormous intellect.
20 You have -- you have been one
21 of the rare people who -- and this is the good
22 and the bad -- who examines every line of a
23 bill and you know exactly what it is when you
24 stand up and speak and you do that with a
25 passion because in many ways you are the
5734
1 conscience of this Senate and, as the
2 conscience you have stood up for those people
3 who have no voice themselves and it has been a
4 wonderful thing for me to have you here to
5 speak for those people and to be their
6 champion because there is not a whole lot of
7 interest in some of the problems that exist in
8 our state that do need remediation because you
9 were there to speak for them.
10 So I want to say I wish you
11 well. It's really difficult for me because I
12 am losing my two closest friends here in the
13 Senate in one fell swoop, you and Manny, and I
14 really do wish you well even though I'm going
15 to stop talking to both of you forever.
16 Thank you.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
18 Senator Marchi.
19 SENATOR MARCHI: Mr. President,
20 my earliest recollections go back to the time
21 when we had engaged in some badinage in a
22 debate on the budget when I was Chairman of
23 Finance, and we would have a lively exchange
24 but you can now look back and observe much to
25 your satisfaction -- and I think much to the
5735
1 benefit of this chamber -- many of the things
2 that you had highlighted and championed have
3 come to fruition, and I believe you made a
4 very distinctive contribution to that.
5 Your input, you have a fine
6 legal background and most of you should know
7 he's a very excellent lawyer in his own right
8 professionally.
9 The contribution that you have
10 made, we must be aware of the heavy investment
11 that you make undoubtedly in the bills, in the
12 legislation and in the law that sustains the
13 various proposals. You just don't -- you
14 don't fly by the seat of your trousers or to
15 take a wild stab at things. You have been
16 informed. You have been careful and you have
17 probative instincts, and I think they have
18 served us all well.
19 You have been consistently
20 gentle and courteous with every single member
21 of this chamber. I don't think anyone would
22 ever dispute that. Whether most of the
23 members here are aware of the fact -- and you
24 hardly ever mention it. You mentioned it
25 casually just recently a last couple of weeks
5736
1 -- you came away from a tortured land. You
2 came away from a nation that -- where you saw
3 a lot of the -- the promise of it and the
4 prelude to the tragedy that Europe was visited
5 with.
6 I think that accounts a great
7 deal about your availability and access to
8 championing human liberty, human rights
9 because you're very, very consciously aware of
10 what happens to a people when that sense is
11 lost. So you never abandon that cause.
12 You've always rallied with strength, vigor,
13 compassion, and I might say very great
14 persuasiveness.
15 So I believe the Senate of this
16 house reflects the appreciation that we have
17 and the affection that we have for you
18 personally and for the services that you have
19 rendered which are unique in nature and have
20 served us so well and the people of your
21 district and the state of New York.
22 Godspeed.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
24 Thank you.
25 Senator Kuhl -- Senator Gold.
5737
1 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you, Mr.
2 President.
3 Mr. President. Mr. President.
4 Mr. President. That just sounds so good.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: I
6 didn't know who you were speaking to.
7 SENATOR GOLD: I got to repeat
8 it. It sounds terrific. You know, before I
9 get into some other comments, I must say that
10 one of my most vivid, vivid recollections of
11 Franz Leichter unfortunately is not in this
12 chamber, but it is on the tennis court and, in
13 all fairness, Franz and I didn't play tennis
14 so much together, but I would play with a
15 foursome. He liked singles on another court
16 and while we were playing, we would hear
17 Senator Leichter, "Jesus, Franz. What did you
18 do?" We would say, Who's talking to him?
19 He's talking to himself. "Jesus, Franz." He
20 was the cruelest person on himself than
21 anybody I've ever seen. I don't know how you
22 survived the torture you put yourself through.
23 The fact of the matter is,
24 Franz Leichter, that you are important to the
25 history of this Senate. There are people who
5738
1 talk. You don't talk. You debate. You
2 engage in important discussions.
3 I've often said that when
4 people said to me, Do you get frustrated, I
5 said, "I don't get frustrated." I said "If
6 what you said in chamber was said 100 yards
7 down the hall, we would win the vote." What
8 you've done all these years, Franz, is that
9 you have represented significant numbers of
10 people whose voice had a right to be heard in
11 this chamber.
12 I said earlier today that my
13 party did not own sincerity. My party does
14 not own the concept that what we do is right
15 and what you do is wrong on the other side,
16 but the fact of the matter is that on many
17 issues we cannot win the vote and if it wasn't
18 for you, Franz, all of these years, many of
19 the people whose arguments had to be heard
20 would not have been heard and it's wonderful
21 that you have been here to do that.
22 You have always been your own
23 person. You were very friendly with another
24 West Side Senator who after session would tell
25 me what a m-m m-m you were and who didn't
5739
1 really understand, in my opinion, how
2 important what you did was in many, many ways.
3 I think to myself, Franz
4 Leichter, you're one of a kind and then I say
5 to myself, that's a shame. It really is a
6 shame because there should be more people like
7 you.
8 There's another quality that
9 you have which is unusual in people. There
10 was something I heard years ago that I quote
11 all the time which says God gave us one mouth
12 and two ears and there was a reason for that
13 relationship. People talk about you speaking,
14 Franz, but the fact is that those who know you
15 know you listen and you're someone who can be
16 affected by what somebody else says, and I
17 think that that is a sign of a person of great
18 stature.
19 The other thing is that, as
20 everyone must know by this time, you love this
21 house. I remember years ago there were people
22 who said, America, love it or leave it and
23 Franz Leichter in this chamber loved it and
24 would not leave it. Franz Leichter loves this
25 house, would not leave it, would try to
5740
1 improve it. Why? Because you love it, just
2 the way you love a child and you don't leave
3 the child if you don't agree. You try very
4 hard to improve upon it.
5 I would be less than candid -
6 and this is a day when we ought to be candid
7 -- if I didn't admit that Franz Leichter is
8 one of my personal heroes and I say that,
9 Franz, with great love. Winning and losing
10 was never the issue with you. Principle was
11 and always has been the issue. Integrity
12 always was and has been the issue and also
13 graciousness.
14 This is a house when at times
15 my distinguished colleagues on the other side,
16 who are very, very fine gentlemen and lady,
17 can be cruel and you never, ever reacted to it
18 with cruelty. You never let it stop you from
19 doing what you thought was correct and you
20 persisted and it was that kind of persistence
21 in the face of "throw at me what you must but
22 I'm going to say my piece because I believe in
23 it." That is one of the main reasons why I
24 say that you are unquestionably, Franz
25 Leichter, one of my heroes.
5741
1 People will come, Franz, as you
2 and I both know, and take our place and they
3 will do well. It's nice to hear what's said
4 about us but the fact is people will come and
5 people will do well but, Franz Leichter, I
6 unashamably say, I love you. You are really
7 just a man with a huge heart and a great soul
8 and I think this body loses much in the fact
9 that you are retiring.
10 I wish you good health and good
11 luck.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
13 Senator Stachowski.
14 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr.
15 President, I can't get over that big smile you
16 have up there. Usually you have that serious
17 look when you're debating.
18 For those of you that don't
19 know, one of the reasons I might be a little
20 offset, the first night I was ever in Albany
21 when I first got in, in a special election, I
22 went to dinner at Joe's and they stuck me at a
23 table sitting between Franz Leichter and
24 Vander Beatty and what you got here is a
25 result.
5742
1 Franz is a wonderful
2 legislator. He goes through all the bills.
3 Unfortunately he reads them as we're sitting
4 here and it takes a while to read them and
5 digest and then have his questions, but
6 nonetheless he persists with his questions and
7 if he thinks he's right, he will fight
8 indefinitely on it. I think the reason for a
9 lot of the rules changes we have in the Senate
10 are leaving today, Franz and Manny, and we
11 should call those the Gold-Leichter bill
12 rules, the two-hour debates, et cetera.
13 I was always fascinated when I
14 first got here because Franz seemed like the
15 intellectual. He was from Manhattan. I was
16 from Buffalo. He was a lawyer. I was just a
17 regular guy. Then I thought, you know, we
18 really must not have too much in common and we
19 went to watch a basketball game and Franz
20 shows up, myself and Tony Masiello at the
21 time. Next thing you know, Franz got me
22 engaged in a deep conversation about
23 basketball and we switched over to baseball,
24 and I was shocked because I just never
25 expected this gentleman that's an attorney,
5743
1 that travels to Europe to do law business,
2 does his main business out of Manhattan to
3 have this vast knowledge of all these sports.
4 The good part about that is
5 that he also thinks he knows football and he's
6 a die-hard Jet fan and even though we haven't
7 had a raise in the Senate since -- for ten
8 years, I have subsidized my living betting the
9 Jets and the Bills with Franz Leichter, and I
10 might add that the only year that the Jets
11 swept the Bills, Franz said, "I'm not betting
12 this year." So that just showed you the great
13 judgment he had.
14 I thought for sure today that
15 we would work late into the night because we
16 had this Leichter resolution to do and since
17 we didn't have a horse racing bill, we would
18 substitute the Leichter resolution in honor of
19 it in the middle of the night and do it then
20 and the amazing thing about that, Franz could
21 have been off the floor wherever he is at 2:00
22 or 3:00 o'clock in the morning when we did
23 most of the racing bills -- not on purpose, I
24 don't think, but just by -- they took so long
25 to negotiate because there were so many
5744
1 different parties always involved in them, but
2 there he was. As soon as that bill hit the
3 floor, Franz was in his seat, reading it,
4 going through most of the lines, asking all
5 the questions on why are we doing this; why
6 are we doing that; how much does it cost the
7 state; can we afford to give all of this money
8 away, and really, I think he's developed a
9 name as the voice of the racing industry among
10 all those that love horse racing.
11 Those of you that may not know
12 this, and I referred to in the morning, but I
13 got to think that the highlight of Franz
14 Leichter's legislative career is when he got
15 that minor part in an opera. He was sitting
16 at a table in a tavern, if I'm not mistaken.
17 That was his part and he really got an extra
18 thrill when Carmen vamped him at his table.
19 Senator Leichter, the opera star. Those of
20 you may not know that, but that, I believe, is
21 the highlight of his career and Suzi is aware
22 of that too. That's why we got that late
23 laugh because she always gets things about two
24 or three minutes after the rest of us.
25 (Laughter)
5745
1 I have to tell you, Franz is
2 known throughout the world. I went once on
3 one of Tarky's famous trips to Europe and
4 we're in Austria, and I'm at this dinner at -
5 this beautiful dinner that was put on in the
6 summer palace and we're sitting at this table
7 and some gentleman I never saw in my life from
8 Austria turns to me and says, "Do you know my
9 close friend, Franz Leichter?" I just looked
10 at him, I almost dropped my fork and I said,
11 "Of all the people, you're going to ask me
12 about Franz Leichter." Now, I should have
13 known being in Austria, but not only does this
14 guy know Franz Leichter, but he came from
15 Austria to the United States with Franz
16 Leichter. He runs a museum and he brings
17 artwork over regularly and he's a very dear
18 friend of Franz, but I had no idea and that's
19 just who I happened to sit next to at this
20 dinner.
21 So Franz is worldwide, and I've
22 got to tell you, Franz, as an athlete, Manny
23 said it about the tennis. You could go to the
24 tennis center, any time we'd go in the winter
25 time and play indoor tennis, if you didn't see
5746
1 Franz, you heard him because he'd be yelling
2 at himself and, Oh, Franz, and what you really
3 wanted to do, if you went to tennis is you
4 wanted to get there when Franz first got there
5 because there is no sight in the world like
6 the Leichter warm-ups. If you ever saw the
7 Leichter jumping jacks, I don't care what
8 exercise show you've ever seen, you have never
9 seen anything like this. For those of us that
10 have seen it, those are the people who are
11 laughing. (Laughter)
12 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
14 Senator Skelos.
15 SENATOR SKELOS: Will Senator
16 Stachowski yield for a question?
17 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Yes, I
18 will.
19 SENATOR SKELOS: I just have
20 one question because I have to run to a
21 meeting and perhaps Senator Gold can help.
22 Are we sure that petitions are being
23 circulated for his district? (Laughter)
24 Because if they're not, we should just stop
25 right now. Now, are you giving an assurance
5747
1 that they are being circulated?
2 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Not only
3 am I sure, I'm so positive and this is what
4 really made me sure. I don't know if you
5 know, but Suzi is kind of a spendthrift and
6 she says she's the big spender and Martin is a
7 little tight. Martin has already donated
8 money to one of the people running to take
9 Franz' place. So based on that, I would say
10 he's definitely.
11 SENATOR SKELOS: Franz, like
12 all of your friends, I salute you.
13 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: I would
14 also have to add, Franz, we used to have a
15 regular softball game and we'd play a bunch of
16 practice games and not everybody would show up
17 for the practice games, but Franz Leichter was
18 always there for the practice games, the
19 regular games and always played as best he
20 could and it was a joy to play softball with
21 him because he did the best he could.
22 Padavan used to show up all the
23 time and he keeps claiming that we broke his
24 finger on purpose and some other things. I
25 wanted to clear that up and as long as -- I
5748
1 know this isn't about Padavan, but I've got to
2 clear that up. He always runs to people and
3 says, You see this finger? He broke this on
4 purpose and he was talking about me. I can
5 tell John who played shortstop, it was a
6 little underhand flip and Frank stuck his hand
7 in on purpose and I told him that if I knew he
8 was going to do that, I would have thrown the
9 ball overhand. So that clears up that story.
10 It has nothing to do with Franz, but I figured
11 why not as long as I had the record.
12 In all seriousness, I would
13 like to see, Franz, it was a joy to have
14 worked with you. It was a bigger joy to have
15 gotten to know you. I think you're a very
16 special man, a wonderful individual. I'm
17 proud to have worked with you. I'm even
18 happier that I can call you a friend of mine
19 and I look forward that, although you're
20 leaving us here, that your and my friendship
21 will continue on and that I can continue to
22 subsidize my income on the Jets and Bills
23 game.
24 Thank you.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5749
1 Thank you.
2 Senator Farley.
3 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Mr.
4 President.
5 Senator Skelos, I think it
6 would be an outstanding idea and get us out of
7 here two hours earlier if we let him preside
8 the rest of the night. (Laughter)
9 Franz, one of my most poignant
10 moments since I have been serving in the
11 Senate was every year when we used to be into
12 July, and so forth, that on July 3rd, Franz
13 would put on a party for his -- with his late
14 and beloved wife and for Steve Saland and his
15 wife, and for Suzi Oppenheimer and her husband
16 and for my wife.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
18 Owen Johnson.
19 SENATOR FARLEY: I don't think
20 Johnson is July 3rd, but it could be. There
21 was four of us. He bought the champagne and
22 cake and it was a very, very poignant and
23 lovely evening.
24 You know, Franz -- and I see
25 Patty Gioia who's been with you for a lot of
5750
1 years, my former constituent. I think she
2 lives in Albany now. What an asset she has
3 been to you.
4 When I served as chairman of
5 Aging, everything went along. He always
6 supported everything I had and then I got
7 chairman of Environmental Conservation and he
8 was the ranker, and I'll tell you, if he was
9 hard on himself playing tennis, I'll tell you
10 he taught me more. I had more headaches as
11 chairman of that EnCon Committee because of
12 Franz and -- anyway, and I said, Gee, I'm
13 going to Banking now and I'll tell you, I
14 don't have Franz Leichter on me all the time
15 and I'll tell you, is this guy a friend of the
16 New York State bankers? He's really taken on
17 all the bankers and -- but as has been said so
18 often, Franz is such a gentleman, is such a
19 nice guy, no matter what the issue is, and I
20 still can recall when Senator Marchi was
21 Chairman of Finance and would do the
22 Legislative Budget and Franz says, Now, what
23 was this and Senator Marchi would say it was
24 the same as last year. Well, what was it last
25 year? The same as the year before and it
5751
1 would go on and on and poor Franz would never
2 lose his patience and he would keep asking and
3 trying to get some information, none of which
4 -- I don't think you ever got, Franz, but it
5 was a true mystery, but let me say this:
6 There isn't anybody in this house on either
7 side of the aisle that doesn't recognize you
8 as a real true gentleman, a kind person. It's
9 tough to follow Senator Marchi because he did
10 say it all.
11 You've probably seen so much
12 hardship and sorrow, and so forth, in your
13 life. It's what makes you so compassionate
14 and so gentle to your fellow man and, Franz,
15 of all the people that have served here -- and
16 I recall the late John Caemmerer and the
17 colloquy that you used to have between the two
18 of you, and he was one of a kind. The
19 affection that everybody holds for you is
20 really a legend. We're losing a person from
21 this chamber whose like we haven't seen before
22 and I don't know if we'll see it again.
23 Franz, you're a dear friend.
24 We're going to miss you. Godspeed and again,
25 I would like to see you preside the rest of
5752
1 the night.
2 Thank you.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
4 Thank you.
5 Senator Goodman.
6 SENATOR GOODMAN: Mr.
7 President, this is a very difficult moment in
8 many ways because you and I have trod a
9 lengthy path together over the past
10 20-some-odd years in this house, and I would
11 like to say without fear of contradiction that
12 I know of no one who has been more dedicated
13 in his own way and who has sought to enliven
14 and to expand the worth of the house in the
15 same way in which you have sought to do.
16 In my judgment, though we have
17 often had occasion to debate on the floor, and
18 although we may view life through different
19 lenses, I have never for a moment doubted the
20 integrity of your purpose nor the compassion
21 or the desire to improve the lot of your
22 fellow human beings that you have always
23 exhibited in your work as a state Senator.
24 Furthermore, if I may say so, I
25 think the role of hair shirt in a body such as
5753
1 this is one which requires a fair degree of
2 courage. You have never been daunted by the
3 fact that it might be 4:00 or 5:00 or 6:00 in
4 the morning. In fact, I can remember
5 consuming the omelettes which they served here
6 one morning with the bright sunshine, having
7 been up all night and after the omelettes were
8 served, they seemed to re-invigorate you and
9 you only continued to attack the bills which
10 you thought were inappropriate with maximum
11 vigor.
12 May I just say that over the
13 years, we have known one another not just on
14 the floor but personally in various
15 connections. I had the privilege of knowing
16 your wife as a schoolmate many years ago and
17 her tragic loss was something which you bore
18 with dignity and forebearance under the most
19 difficult circumstances.
20 I'm also well aware of the fact
21 that you emerged from a situation which few of
22 us have ever, and I hope will ever have
23 occasion to be involved in, namely the tragedy
24 and the utter human catastrophe of the
25 Holocaust.
5754
1 Perhaps these are some of the
2 reasons why you have brought a perspective
3 which has been unique to your work. You
4 understand the tragedies which human foibles
5 can lead to and which human catastrophe can
6 wreak upon ourselves and, therefore, I think
7 you've always attempted to do what you could
8 to ameliorate the difficulties which we have
9 as we go through life.
10 Let me say that your departure
11 will leave us in a state of vacuum which will
12 be very difficult, indeed, to fill. I hope
13 nobody tries to fill it completely because
14 that would be impossible and perhaps too time
15 consuming, but I must say that you have always
16 won our greatest respect, affection and
17 admiration for the role you sought to play.
18 We wish you Godspeed, and I
19 hope in his wisdom the President of the United
20 States will see fit to give you an assignment
21 which will permit you to continue to use your
22 very rare skill in the service of the people.
23 God bless and Godspeed.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
25 Thank you.
5755
1 Senator Paterson.
2 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you.
3 You have to understand that I
4 also represent the Upper West Side of
5 Manhattan where Franz Leichter is considered a
6 conservative. So you will pardon me if I look
7 at the Senator in a much -- through a much
8 different prism.
9 Franz Leichter is the first
10 candidate that I ever campaigned for. When I
11 was a little boy, we went out to pass out
12 literature. My father was a candidate for the
13 state Senate and on the slate the candidate
14 for the Assembly was Franz Leichter, who at
15 the time I thought the person's name was
16 Florence Leichter. I thought that Franz
17 Leichter was a woman, and I passed out this
18 literature and finally unfortunately, although
19 my father prevailed in that particular
20 election, Franz Leichter was beaten by this
21 man who I thought was obnoxious and I tore
22 down all of his posters, and his name was
23 David Dinkins.
24 So he went to the Assembly but
25 my favorite candidate, Senator Leichter, came
5756
1 here, and so for a number of years we have
2 represented the same basic area and have
3 interchanged those districts of
4 reapportionment for a long period of time and
5 I can tell you that he is as vigilant and as
6 dedicated around the district as he is right
7 here in Albany, and so I look with great pride
8 and great distinction at what I consider to be
9 my uncle presiding over the Senate and all I
10 can tell you is, Franz, if you can preside
11 over the Senate, the Jets can win the Super
12 Bowl. (Laughter)
13 Now, Senator Leichter is a very
14 interesting person who has a dichotomy in his
15 personality. As progressive and fearless and
16 explorative as he is as a legislator,
17 personally he is stubborn, prone to do the
18 same thing over and over and generally
19 conservative in his personal habits.
20 Franz and I have dinner. We
21 had dinner at the same restaurant for ten
22 years. Finally only when it went under
23 renovations did Franz and I find another
24 restaurant, and I believe in all of our years
25 here as many times as we have had dinner, we
5757
1 have had dinner in only three restaurants.
2 I must tell you that on a
3 personal side as Senator Oppenheimer was
4 talking about Franz is a very affectionate,
5 very dear, very wonderful person. I got
6 married in 1992 and I have the distinction of
7 being married to a woman whose birthday is on
8 April 1st. So our budget periods have been
9 extremely difficult for me, but in the first
10 budget period that I went through, the first
11 year of my marriage, I want you to know that
12 Franz Leichter drove me from Albany all the
13 way home to visit my wife to surprise her on
14 her birthday. She wasn't there. (Laughter)
15 And Senator Leichter gave me a piece of advice
16 that night when I needed a piece of advice.
17 He said, But the important thing is you tried.
18 So what I want to tell you,
19 Franz, is that we've debated a lot of bills.
20 We haven't overturned any of them. We never
21 sustained a motion for discharge. We never
22 won the Majority. The Jets haven't won the
23 Super Bowl. You can't find a good restaurant
24 and we've been through a lot of things
25 together both here and in the district and
5758
1 have not prevailed, but what is so wonderful
2 to know is how much you've tried.
3 In my parenting years, I'm
4 beginning to learn life all over again and I
5 have been reading Dr. Seuss lately and there's
6 a Dr. Seuss character known as Alorax. He's
7 an environmentalist and is a little animal
8 that's known to be loud, lumpy and all shades
9 of grumpy, and they asked Alorax, Why do you
10 act the way you act, because he's always
11 blistering and in many ways antagonizing
12 people for cutting down trees and tearing up
13 the forest and they asked Alorax why he acts
14 this way and he said, "I speak for the trees
15 because they have no voice. I speak for the
16 animals because they have no voice."
17 And so, Franz, as you leave the
18 Senate, the only advice I would ever pretend
19 to give to you is, Senator Leichter, keep
20 speaking. Keep speaking for those who don't
21 have a voice. Keep speaking for those who are
22 unemployed. Keep speaking for those who live
23 in poor housing. Keep speaking for the
24 unemployed and those who are victims of
25 substance abuse. Keep speaking for those who
5759
1 live in poor -- who have poor, inadequate
2 health care. Keep speaking for those who may
3 be the victims of a failed educational system.
4 We hope that you will not only
5 keep speaking but that we will keep seeing you
6 in those positions where your voice will make
7 a difference and please come back and keep
8 speaking here, whether it be as a lobbyist, as
9 a friend or as a former colleague and in that
10 sense, I wish you the best and hope that your
11 days are happy and that you eat at more places
12 than you have up to this point but that you
13 can always depend on me.
14 Yes, I am the one who coined
15 the phrases "Air Jordan" and "Leichter lay
16 asides", and I have called you "Frunk" behind
17 your back, but deep down there's no one who I
18 admire and care about in this chamber more
19 than I do for you.
20 Thank you very much.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
22 Senator Stafford.
23 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr.
24 President, this is quite a day. This is quite
25 a day.
5760
1 First I have to say -- and I
2 just hate to say this so much, but I don't
3 know whether everyone agrees with me, but we
4 all have to admit that for the most part if
5 you didn't go to Harvard, you wished you did.
6 Now, that isn't quite true but
7 there's a little bit of truth in that and most
8 people won't admit it but it's true, and I
9 learned that after 63 years and, of course,
10 I'm often talking about the banks of the
11 Charles and I'm often talking about the Ivy
12 League, and I will say this, and I think it
13 goes without anyone refuting it. If Harvard
14 has a good ambassador and a good
15 representative and one who shows that he
16 learned something there, Franz Leichter.
17 When we get into things as we
18 have in the past, various sides of the aisle
19 and sometimes on the same side of the aisle,
20 by the way, and when people were a bit
21 frustrated, they would say, well, how can you
22 -- I would say wait a minute. Wait a
23 minute. We accept each other as hospitality
24 in the North Country. He pays taxes, I might
25 say quite a few too, in the county of Essex
5761
1 and he is so well liked there as a citizen and
2 I can only say this. I can only say this once
3 more because many people are speaking.
4 We talked about a colleague on
5 the other side of the aisle a few weeks ago
6 and we meant it. Please allow me to use the
7 same word. Relentless. And you remember who
8 I -- who we said that about earlier, and it
9 just goes to show, people can be on the same
10 -- on different sides of the aisle, and I
11 think Senator Gold mentioned this earlier
12 today, and they can have the same attributes.
13 I can share with you -- and
14 this sounds a bit like it's being overdone
15 because I want to share with some of my
16 colleagues that haven't been here as long as
17 some of the rest of us. I used to get so sick
18 of hearing people who had been here longer
19 tell about how great this place is and how
20 much they think of it and all the friends that
21 they have made and I would say to myself, Oh,
22 well, they'll get over it, you know? Well,
23 let me share with you. I am the same as they
24 were and are when I speak about my friends on
25 all sides of the aisle, and I share with you
5762
1 Franz Leichter is one of them and with his
2 heritage and with his ability, he has done so
3 much. Not always in agreement, but again,
4 that's what this country is all about, and I
5 would only say this, that as we said earlier,
6 there's one person that will never use that
7 word that I never use, by the way, retired,
8 it's Franz Leichter. May shift a few gears,
9 may change a few roads, but again, we're all
10 so much better off for you having been here
11 and, you know, it's really what it's all about
12 when you can talk to each other like this.
13 The best.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
15 Thank you.
16 Senator Marcellino.
17 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
18 Mr. President.
19 I have just a bit of a bone to
20 pick with you because when I took over the
21 chair of EnCon you were the ranker and it was
22 a pleasure. You're no longer the ranker on
23 EnCon, although you're still a member. My new
24 ranker, Suzi, sometimes even gets to meetings
25 on time before they're over but not often.
5763
1 Not often.
2 However, you did teach me
3 something when I first came here. We were
4 inside in the lounge and you came in and said,
5 "Are you going to be around for awhile?" I
6 said, "Yeah, I do." I said, "I've got a bill
7 out there and I think you laid it aside." He
8 says, "Yeah. I'm going to ask you a few
9 questions about it." He says, "You might bone
10 up on the bill."
11 So I had to go back and read my
12 own bill. That wasn't easy to do, but you
13 taught me something about being a gentleman
14 and not taking advantage of the new guy. You
15 could well have but you never did. You always
16 treated everybody that I know with respect and
17 I've never heard anybody say a nasty word
18 about you, either in front of you or behind
19 your back because everybody around here
20 respects what you've done. We might not agree
21 and that's okay. It's been said many times
22 before. You don't have to agree here. This
23 is a deliberative body and you've done that
24 well.
25 As far as I'm concerned, this
5764
1 chamber this year has lost some really
2 top-notch people: Norman Levy, Mike Tully,
3 some tragic losses, not an easy way to go.
4 We're losing Manny and you and Charlie.
5 Although the circumstances of your departure
6 are a lot more positive in that sense, still a
7 loss to the chamber. The institutional
8 memory, I think Senator Marchi mentioned it
9 before, is diminished. There's something to
10 say for the Leichter Lay Aside Law. Somehow
11 the Stachowski Lay Aside Law doesn't quite
12 make it.
13 This is a loss, as I've said.
14 I'll miss the phrase "conspiracy to the far
15 right". I counted once when you were debating
16 one of my bills, you said that phrase about 28
17 times. I still don't understand it but that's
18 okay -- I mean the bill, not the phrase.
19 I just want to say, Franz, it's
20 been a pleasure serving with you. I wish you
21 well. I wish you Godspeed and good luck.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
23 Thank you.
24 Senator Mendez.
25 SENATOR MENDEZ: Mr. President,
5765
1 I am not surprised at all in seeing the
2 outpouring of love, respect and appreciation
3 for your service in this chamber of so many
4 years and thinking about you, I have always
5 become aware that you have a very strong
6 questioning and incisive mind which is the
7 catharsis to be questioning even why that duck
8 is on that bill. Should it be there?
9 Anyhow, your contribution here
10 in this chamber, as has been stated here, is
11 basically this: That you have -- you have -
12 whatever knowledge you have accumulated you
13 have put it in the service of those who are
14 unable to speak, to express themselves and
15 fight for their rights.
16 You have been an exemplary
17 friend, Mr. President. You have been a
18 tremendous example to all of us here because
19 you have been so determined to keep your
20 principles, uncompromising your principles and
21 in frustration, as it was stated before, at
22 times we felt, Oh, my God. There Franz goes
23 again and again and again, but we all, as it
24 has been stated here tonight, do know that
25 that way of being resulted in opening our
5766
1 minds to issues that at times will have paid
2 that close attention that it needed to be
3 paid.
4 I'll tell you, I don't know if
5 my colleagues here know, but in your district
6 -- in your district, they know you as the
7 soul of the Senate. I don't know if they know
8 this. Why? Because your constituents do know
9 very well that in the same fashion in which
10 you have been there with them day in, day out,
11 they also have the trust and the conviction
12 that while you were here, you have been
13 carrying the banner of expressing their needs,
14 of expressing their points of view, of taking
15 the right position on these issues that were
16 so important to them. So that is a tremendous
17 debt of gratitude to you, Franz.
18 I also love you. I do hope the
19 best for you, happiness, good health, and I
20 also do hope that we will have the pleasure of
21 seeing you often.
22 Thank you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
24 Thank you.
25 Senator Cook.
5767
1 SENATOR COOK: Mr. President,
2 thank you.
3 I hope that you and Senator
4 Gold might first indulge me to thank Senator
5 Bruno for arranging for this time of day and
6 also to thank our colleagues for their
7 forebearance in letting us bask in this
8 atmosphere of love and friendship which we
9 value so much, and I simply would enlarge upon
10 that, Senator, by saying that you are, in
11 fact, everything that everyone has said.
12 It is the characteristic of
13 this house that those of us who are at
14 philosophical poles have a real legitimate
15 affection for each other.
16 I ran in a primary in 1992
17 which some of you might remember and one of
18 the charges against me and against the
19 Republicans in the house at that time was that
20 we cooperated with Mario Cuomo.
21 There are people out there who
22 believe that we're supposed to hate each other
23 because there are reasons for us to disagree
24 and, Mr. President, you have always understood
25 the difference. You have always understood
5768
1 that when you stand for principle, that is an
2 ideal that in your mind is best for the people
3 of this state and the people that you
4 represent and you understand that everyone
5 else is also doing the same thing and that is
6 a maturity of the mind and of character for
7 which we admire you greatly.
8 We know that you have gone
9 through some great personal hardships in your
10 life. We admire you for where you came from
11 and what you have done, for the way that you
12 have worn those things which have come your
13 way in recent years. You and I have gotten to
14 know each other in the past few months a bit
15 better and I have valued that as well, and
16 indeed we are going to miss you greatly.
17 The thing that is important
18 about you is that you have called into
19 question the conventional wisdom of so much of
20 what we do, and I will confess, Senator, that
21 as I have listened to you debate bills, even
22 though I may have not ultimately really agreed
23 with you, you had made me think as to whether
24 the policies that we were following were
25 indeed the correct policies because you had
5769
1 done it in an analytical way and you have done
2 it in a way that looks at the ultimate goal of
3 what we're trying to do and the direction in
4 which we're moving and that is the mark of one
5 who is first an intellectual giant and,
6 secondly, one who is very dedicated to the
7 people of this state.
8 So even though we will, I
9 think, see each other again in the fall at
10 some point because there are some other pieces
11 of business that undoubtedly will have to be
12 done, I am very personally pleased to have
13 known you through the years and to have
14 learned so much from you.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
16 Thank you.
17 Senator DeFrancisco.
18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I rise to
19 add to the remarks of others and as I was
20 going along, it was very difficult because
21 everything I was saying is crossed out. The
22 list is getting very short, but I did do some
23 research because I know the analytical mind
24 that you do have and to see what some of the
25 things you've left to this body and one thing
5770
1 that became very clear during this research
2 was that you have set a record here and it's
3 not the number of years here because Senator
4 Marchi's got you on that, but you have
5 recorded 45,231 no votes which will -- since
6 there's only 60,000 votes you cast, this will
7 rest forever in the annals of this body.
8 The thing that amazed me most
9 about you when I first got here and all
10 through the years is the energy that you
11 exhibited in these all-night sessions and
12 whatever else we were doing. You never seemed
13 to have a lack of energy to speak your mind
14 and the reason when everyone is speaking this
15 evening is this is the first time that we have
16 had a time to pay you back. You have no
17 choice. You can't go to the other room. You
18 have to listen to us until you fall to show
19 that you are mortal and you do have the same
20 failings that we all do. (Laughter)
21 Simply put, I've never met an
22 individual with greater commitment, greater
23 conviction and that did what he had to do with
24 class and dignity. It was a pleasure knowing
25 you. You have taught me a lot and I hope our
5771
1 friendship will continue.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
3 Senator Nanula.
4 SENATOR NANULA: Thank you, Mr.
5 President.
6 You know, it's a real mind blow
7 when we looked up a little earlier and saw
8 Manny Gold, and I think it's just
9 incomprehensible seeing you up there. I think
10 it's beyond mind blow and, you know, I think a
11 big part of the reason is that -- and I
12 learned a lot of this actually from the
13 article I read yesterday on you in the Times.
14 You are the consummate outsider
15 and one thing that I don't know whether or not
16 was covered a little earlier by somebody
17 before I entered the chamber was your entrance
18 into politics and you have been a teacher to
19 me with respect to the roots of the reform
20 movement in New York and you are a real
21 historian, in my opinion, with respect to
22 that.
23 In fact, we were having dinner
24 not too long ago when you told me about the
25 campaign with Eleanor Roosevelt when you had
5772
1 her propped up on the back of the -- yeah, I
2 think he did actually, Manny. Manny says he
3 ran against Eleanor Roosevelt. He had her
4 propped up and brought her into the gas
5 station when she was sitting on the back of
6 the convertible and there's Eleanor Roosevelt
7 as you were fueling up the car and, you know,
8 you really were one of the first reformers, or
9 of that generation of reformers and in taking
10 on the old pop political structure of Tammany
11 Hall -- I also thought it was fun a couple of
12 years ago seeing you at a Hell's Kitchen
13 fund-raiser, and I think that was the night I
14 asked you in the '70s if you were ever called
15 Franzie during the popular Happy Days years.
16 I almost got a smile out of him for that one.
17 In any event, whether you're
18 entitled the last of the beatniks, whether
19 you're entitled a throwback to a forgotten
20 era, I want to say that certainly and quite
21 candidly as a Democrat, I appreciate what you
22 bring to this chamber in terms of our
23 principles and as time goes on and as we
24 meander back, the pendulum swings from
25 liberalism to conservatism, you have been a
5773
1 constant. You have been a constant with
2 respect to those constituencies that brought
3 you to this chamber and you've never forgotten
4 it and you've never forgotten the principles
5 that you believed in so many years ago when
6 you got active in politics and you are, you're
7 tireless. You are a tireless advocate, and I
8 admire -- believe me, I admire your fortitude
9 and, you know, serving on this side of the
10 aisle, I will say, is no easy chore and there
11 are times when you scratch your head and you
12 wonder, you know, what really am I doing here
13 and can I really get anything done and I have
14 to say, Franz, that you are a great role model
15 with respect to what you can do from this side
16 of the aisle. It sure takes an awful lot of
17 fortitude. It takes tenacity. You've shown
18 that but you've also shown, when you stay
19 committed to the things you believe in, every
20 now and then you can poke and prod enough to
21 get those folks who are rolling the rock up
22 the hill to maybe roll it in a little
23 different direction, to influence the debate
24 and really, I guess when you sum it all up,
25 that's, if nothing else, the role of those of
5774
1 us who sit on this side of the aisle and I
2 want to thank you for that, and I think we all
3 on both sides of the aisle owe you a great
4 debt of gratitude for that.
5 And so for all those reasons,
6 I'm certainly going to miss you and we hope
7 that you won't go too far. In fact, we should
8 hold Senator Goodman, seeing that he's got
9 some juice of his own in Washington, maybe
10 helping out in a bipartisan fashion to getting
11 you what I believe would be a great benefit.
12 If you do end up serving in Washington to this
13 country, and I hope and look forward to seeing
14 you there and to working with you in whatever
15 capacities, either public or private sector,
16 that you continue in your career to pursue.
17 Thank you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
19 Senator Smith.
20 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, Mr.
21 President.
22 I'm going to be something
23 you've never been and that's brief.
24 Franz, you have been the
25 conscience of this body even though many times
5775
1 we were all unconscious late into the evening
2 or into the early morning when all of us were
3 sleeping and the bills were coming through at
4 the last day of session, you were busy
5 debating and we were trying to go home, but
6 you have truly been the torchbearer and the
7 beacon for truth and justice, while many of us
8 were struggling out of darkness.
9 You will truly be missed,
10 Franz, and I hope that in your leisure time
11 you can spend some time with all of us who are
12 a little -- have a little less seniority and
13 teach us how to be as tenacious as you have
14 been, and the only thing that I can say, I'm
15 sorry to see all of you go, but I'm so glad
16 that my license plate numbers are going down.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
18 Senator Seward.
19 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you, Mr.
20 President.
21 I must say that to call you
22 "Mr. President" for this brief time today is
23 something very special and very much deserved
24 on your part.
25 I appreciate, Franz, your
5776
1 calling me Senator Seward because I recall my
2 first encounter with you, at least on this
3 floor, as you were beginning to question me on
4 one of my very first bills that passed in this
5 house some 12 years ago, you referred to me as
6 Senator See-ward and I was quick to say, it is
7 Senator Seward, Senator Lickter, but having
8 said that, I'll follow in the lead of Senator
9 Smith and be brief here tonight because this
10 is appropriate, Franz, that as we close down
11 another session, wouldn't you know it, it's
12 Franz Leichter that's delaying the end one
13 more time.
14 In all seriousness, there have
15 been so many issues that have come before this
16 house where we have disagreed and I have
17 questioned your judgment and how you viewed a
18 matter, but one thing that I have never
19 questioned is Franz Leichter's commitment and
20 dedication to the people that he -- that you
21 represent and your commitment and dedication
22 to the principles in which you believe, and
23 that's something that all of us, Franz -- even
24 though we may come to different conclusions on
25 issues -- your commitment and dedication is
5777
1 something that we all should emulate.
2 So, Franz, we're going to miss
3 you in this chamber, in all seriousness.
4 We're going to miss you in the lounge because
5 whatever disagreements may occur on this
6 floor, you have always been a very warm,
7 personable human being who I consider a friend
8 and very honored to call you a colleague.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
10 Thank you.
11 Senator Holland.
12 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
13 President, there will be a meeting of the
14 Rules Committee immediately in Room 332,
15 please.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
17 Senator LaValle.
18 SENATOR LAVALLE: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 It's difficult to speak in the
21 environment of true confessions and the kind
22 of humor that we have.
23 I thought it might be
24 appropriate, Senator Leichter, that I share
25 with the entire body the proclamation that was
5778
1 given to you at the last Higher Education
2 Committee meeting, one that was passed
3 unanimously by the -- by the Committee and the
4 proclamation reads as follows:
5 WHEREAS, the legislative
6 process thrives on the representation of the
7 full spectrum of viewpoints on the merit
8 issues that come before its members; and
9 WHEREAS, the exchange of
10 diverse ideas is most productive when it takes
11 place in an atmosphere of sincerity, candor
12 and respect; and
13 WHEREAS, the standing
14 committees are the locus for the most intense
15 discussion of the issues; and
16 WHEREAS, the quality of the
17 product of the Legislature is dependent on the
18 quality of the discussion of those issues at
19 the committee level; and
20 WHEREAS, Franz Leichter has
21 served as a member of the Senate standing
22 Committee on Higher Education since 1978; and
23 WHEREAS, Senator Leichter has
24 displayed sincere interest, candid involvement
25 and above all dedication to the work of the
5779
1 Committee; and
2 WHEREAS, it is appropriate for
3 the standing committee to pause in its
4 deliberations today at the last scheduled
5 meeting of this committee during his two
6 decades of service to officially acknowledge
7 the contributions of Senator Franz Leichter
8 and to wish him well as he retires and chooses
9 other pursuits.
10 Certainly, Senator, the
11 Committee on that very last day was most
12 enthusiastic in this proclamation, held out
13 great respect for you personally and I thought
14 it appropriate to read it today so the whole
15 membership would know of how at least one
16 committee feels about an outstanding Senator.
17 Thank you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
19 Thank you.
20 Senator Saland.
21 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Mr.
22 President.
23 I would have felt terribly
24 remiss if I didn't have the opportunity to
25 join in saluting you here today because it
5780
1 seems to me -- and perhaps this is just a
2 failing on my part -- that virtually every
3 time one of my bills has been laid aside, the
4 person who has laid it aside and debated
5 strenuously in opposition to it has been yours
6 truly, and I must share with our colleagues
7 what I shared with you some two or three weeks
8 ago.
9 I do radio shows in my district
10 regularly and in one of the shows I was doing,
11 your name came up and it came up in the
12 context of some criminal justice bill. I
13 can't remember which it was and it was one of
14 those votes, Senator Leichter, in which it was
15 like 58 to 3 or 57 to 2, whatever it was, and
16 I said to them and I told you as well. I
17 said, the likelihood is philosophically on
18 many, if not most and perhaps -- well, I won't
19 say all issues -- Senator Leichter and I are
20 probably about 180 degrees apart but Senator
21 Leichter is an extraordinarily honorable man
22 who is really a true believer.
23 The positions he takes may not
24 necessarily be the most popular positions if
25 you'll look at the polls, but they are
5781
1 positions which he genuinely believes in and
2 for which he's willing to stand tall when
3 others might prefer to perhaps make a
4 statement but withhold the willingness to do
5 that publicly and unlike our mutual friend and
6 colleague, Senator Gold, for whom I do have
7 great affection who sometimes I think derives
8 great pleasure in tweaking members of us in
9 this -- particularly on this side of the aisle
10 that he does from time to time members on your
11 side of the aisle, I don't think there's ever
12 been an occasion where I have seen you rise on
13 a bill, whether it was one of my bills or
14 somebody's else's bills in which your
15 conviction was not genuine, in which you were
16 not sincere.
17 Certainly nobody here would
18 ever question either your intellect, your
19 integrity or that sincerity and, while I
20 haven't had the good fortune to socialize with
21 you as you and Senator Padavan obviously have
22 had for the longest time, as I mentioned a bit
23 earlier today, Senator Cook and I do regularly
24 for breakfast, other than the occasions, I
25 think Senator Farley referred to our little
5782
1 July 3rd celebrations that we were holding
2 there for awhile, I think I have been the one
3 who has experienced the loss because I'm sure
4 that you are even more engaging on the social
5 side as -- and that's a tough thing because
6 you're very engaging here, used in another
7 sense, Franz, but I never for one minute have
8 ever questioned either your commitment or your
9 sincerity.
10 I would say that with your
11 departure other than the fact as has been
12 commented on sessions making it little shorter
13 but with your departure as well as that and
14 the other colleagues we have saluted here
15 today, the palpable quality of this
16 institution will have been missed.
17 I wish you well and
18 particularly I wish you good health.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
20 Thank you.
21 Senator Maltese.
22 SENATOR MALTESE: Mr.
23 President, one thing I learned today with the
24 departure of three giants in the Senate is
25 don't be one of the last ones to speak because
5783
1 there's very little new or innovative to say,
2 but all the same, I think that the tributes
3 certainly to the other gentlemen and yourself
4 are very well deserved.
5 I think perhaps I can make a
6 personal observation that -- and I know I
7 never said it to you before -- that prior to
8 becoming a Senator, I was an associate counsel
9 here for many, many years since the early '70s
10 at least and at a time when as a Senator I
11 might worry about making supper or meeting my
12 wife or going out, when I was here as a
13 counsel, you were and thinking back and trying
14 to remember, I believe the only Senator that I
15 would make a special point of coming into the
16 chamber and listening to as debating and
17 getting a chuckle and enjoying the debate -
18 not to say that I don't enjoy it now, Franz,
19 when it's somebody else's bill, but certainly,
20 Mr. President, the tributes that you have
21 heard today, the accolades are very, very well
22 deserved.
23 I share my good colleague,
24 Senator Saland's observation that with your
25 departure the Senate as an institution is
5784
1 diminished. There's absolutely no question
2 about that.
3 You're a man of honor,
4 integrity, principle. I salute you and will
5 miss you here in the Senate.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
7 Senator Rath.
8 SENATOR RATH: Mr. President,
9 Senator Leichter, I rise to join my colleagues
10 in wishing you well as you leave this
11 chamber.
12 The few times that we have been
13 on our feet and standing across from each
14 other have been memorable for me because I
15 knew I was working with someone who really,
16 really believed in the issue that we were
17 debating and our constituencies -- and I love
18 the way the members of Parliament refer to
19 their constituencies as if you can get your
20 hands around it and really kind of identify
21 what it is.
22 Our constituencies, I'm sure,
23 are very different, but I don't think there
24 was ever a time that I ever heard you debating
25 -- well, maybe I shouldn't say "ever", but
5785
1 rarely that it was not the process in what was
2 going to be done with the issue, not the issue
3 itself or what the goal or what the purpose
4 was, because our constituencies, many and
5 varied though they be, they're people and
6 they're people who live in the state of New
7 York and they have needs and they pay taxes
8 and we all agree as we try to get further
9 along the process of governing and your
10 dedication to that has been so clear, as
11 everyone has said today, and we are as we all
12 know committed to be a nation of laws and your
13 commitment to be sure that as these laws go
14 forward that they are not faulty, that they
15 are not lacking, has been so exemplary and
16 truly if you leave a legacy, that is what you
17 leave.
18 You leave us not only with a
19 realization that we can't leave these things
20 faulty and lacking but we also need to be
21 vigilant and that's what you have been,
22 constantly vigilant not only on behalf of your
23 constituency but on behalf of the law and that
24 is a noble, noble gesture to have made and a
25 wonderful legacy to leave behind us -- leave
5786
1 behind you for us to treasure.
2 So good luck, good health and
3 come visit often.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5 Thank you.
6 Senator Nozzolio.
7 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr.
8 President, I first wish to disassociate myself
9 from all the nice things said about you,
10 Franz, and secondly as Will Rogers said, he
11 never met a man he didn't like. Well, I think
12 Franz Leichter never saw a Nozzolio bill that
13 he did like but, Franz, all kidding aside, you
14 are a very quality legislator and it's been, I
15 don't want to say a pleasure doing battle with
16 you, but it has been an honor in the sense
17 that we represent our constituencies and you
18 certainly represent your constituency
19 extremely well, and I say this with all
20 sincerity that you are a fine legislator, a
21 fine representative and that you made this
22 place a place that is such a great place and
23 I'm going to put you on my mailing list to
24 ensure that you know exactly what we're doing
25 in your absence and I hope -- we'll probably
5787
1 be passing the same bills 60 to 1 but, Franz,
2 you've done a great job and it's been a
3 pleasure serving with you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5 Thank you.
6 Senator Stavisky. Please sit
7 down, Senator Stavisky.
8 SENATOR STAVISKY: Thank you.
9 This has been quite a day to
10 see two Senate presidents, Emanuel Gold and
11 Franz Leichter whom I never expected to be
12 achieving that status. Good things are
13 happening. Remarkable things are happening.
14 Now we should make it happen in reality, but I
15 believe that your departure and Manny Gold's
16 departure and Charlie Cook's departure does
17 diminish this chamber. All of you have served
18 with great distinction.
19 I've served with you, Franz and
20 Manny, in the Assembly before coming to the
21 Senate and Manny was a counsel to Majority
22 Leader Moses Weinstein and you entered into
23 the political process at about the same time.
24 You entered into the Assembly and when they
25 tried reapportioning you, you said, "I will
5788
1 not allow that to happen," and you chose to
2 run against the individual whom you felt was
3 responsible for your gerrymandering to have
4 your own district, and I respected the way you
5 did it. I respected also the outcome because
6 you made a difference. You came. You took an
7 unfortunate, unfair situation and you made it
8 right by winning.
9 Franz, you have won many
10 achievements. You have won every time you
11 have risen in this chamber. You have won
12 every time you have questioned a bill. You
13 have succeeded an individual whom you may not
14 know by the time of Harvey Strelzin who read
15 every bill and one time it was reported that
16 he read a bill in the bathtub and he said, "I
17 read this bill and the water turned cold as a
18 result of my reading of this bill."
19 I don't know if you read in the
20 bathtub but you read the bills carefully,
21 intelligently, judiciously. I wish that we
22 had the opportunity not to lose you and -
23 what's his name -- you and Manny at the same
24 time, and Charlie. Mr. Chairman, all of you
25 are leaving at about the same time, but I
5789
1 think it has been a remarkable experience.
2 You have enhanced the Legislature with your
3 probing questioning, with your intelligence,
4 with your commitment to issues of human
5 rights, equal rights, tenants' rights, the
6 rights of the underdog, transit issues,
7 environmental issues, higher education issues,
8 all of these inure to the advantage of this
9 chamber.
10 I wish for you great
11 happiness. I know there has not always been a
12 happy private life but you have overcome the
13 adversities and you have made it possible for
14 us to capture some of the sense of commitment
15 and excellence.
16 I don't know how many times I
17 questioned what you were doing. Sitting
18 alongside of Franz Leichter is no easy job.
19 He will probe you. He will seek to have you
20 vote the way he does. Not always but
21 occasionally I have done that, but I have done
22 it with the knowledge that he is right more
23 often than he is wrong, and I remember how
24 many times in the middle of the night on the
25 final days of the session he would ask for the
5790
1 budget, the Legislative Budget to be rewritten
2 so that the people would have a chance to know
3 what it contained.
4 Franz, sit down. We have to
5 finish today. We will not finish if you
6 aren't successful at getting the Legislative
7 Budget to be redrafted. No. He wanted to
8 make the point and he did.
9 Franz, we are losing
10 intellect. We are losing character. We are
11 losing two places and two precious gifts in a
12 departure on this side of the aisle of you and
13 Manny Gold.
14 You both served with me in the
15 Assembly, or I should say I served with you.
16 I was with Manny when he was an Assemblyman.
17 I was with you when you were a member of the
18 Assembly, and I watched you come here and
19 distinguish this body by your presence.
20 There's nothing more that I can
21 say except to thank you profusely for the many
22 times you enabled me to be recorded as present
23 on the first day of each week. How did that
24 happen? You have to be here before 5:00
25 o'clock and I knew that once you got up to
5791
1 speak, I would have ample opportunity to come
2 in and be recorded in this chamber.
3 Thank you, friend. Thank you
4 very much and we all thank you for your years
5 of service. May you continue to serve in
6 whatever capacity you choose, and I don't
7 understand why the two of you had to leave at
8 the same time. You have diminished the
9 intellectual quotient of this chamber by your
10 departure. I'm not sure that the replacements
11 will measure up to your abilities, but I hope
12 they will. I hope we still can hope that
13 there will be a future and that you will have
14 a future in the public service or in the
15 private practice of law, and I hope Manny Gold
16 will, but whatever you choose to do, I know
17 this is a carefully conceived, thought out
18 plan and I know you don't do it willingly.
19 You do it reluctantly because you will miss
20 what goes on in this chamber. You may not
21 miss the votes but you will miss the exchange,
22 the interplay of friendship and capacity.
23 Good luck. Good luck. Good
24 luck. I wish you all as you depart good luck,
25 and I wish for the rest of us to learn
5792
1 something from you from your years of service
2 to the government.
3 Thank you very much.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5 Thank you.
6 Senator Gentile.
7 SENATOR GENTILE: It is
8 certainly a pleasure to address one of the
9 titans of the Senate as Mr. President.
10 Senator, I bid you farewell
11 from the perspective of a freshman. As a
12 freshman Senator, certainly you have impressed
13 me tremendously and have taught me many things
14 that a legislator should know in approaching
15 pieces of legislation.
16 Let me say that we do share a
17 party affiliation but, as you know, the
18 district that I represent in both Brooklyn and
19 in Staten Island tends to be somewhat more
20 conservative than the district that you
21 represent in Manhattan.
22 So many times and often we
23 would part ways on actual votes and each and
24 every time I would speak to you about that,
25 you were extremely understanding. You were
5793
1 certainly very concerned about my future here
2 and certainly you -- we have spoken many times
3 about the fact that we might both be Democrats
4 but have certain philosophies in representing
5 our districts.
6 So I appreciate your
7 understanding on those -- on those -- on those
8 times and I have to say to you that the skill
9 that I've seen you perform in reading -
10 reading bills and coming up with the questions
11 as you read the bills has been so amazing to
12 me because I can -- I know how sometimes it is
13 difficult to read through the language here
14 and there are certain skills you learn as an
15 attorney but there are also certain skills
16 that you need to learn as a legislator. You
17 perform those skills. You showed me those
18 skills. I have not gotten there yet but I'm
19 learning and you helped teach that to me.
20 So along with certainly Senator
21 Cook and Manny Gold, this is really a
22 significant day for the Senate and whereas I
23 don't have the institutional history that many
24 of the colleagues have here today, as a
25 freshman, I wanted to thank you and tell you
5794
1 also as I said to Senator Gold, what a
2 pleasure it's been, a special pleasure it's
3 been to have this part of my career to share
4 and learn from you.
5 Congratulations. Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
7 Senator Waldon.
8 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you very
9 much, Mr. President.
10 Where have all the young men
11 gone? Long time debate. I wasn't here when
12 we paid homage to Charlie Cook, an icon and a
13 giant in his own right, and Manny Gold who is
14 equally of stature. So before I address my
15 words in regard to Franz Leichter, let me say
16 to both of you gentlemen that I have indeed
17 been pleased to serve with you, to be a part
18 of the process that you made work so well on
19 behalf of the people of the state of New York
20 and though you are on opposite sides of the
21 aisle, the passion and compassion that you
22 brought here on behalf of your constituents
23 was well recognized and I'm sure was well
24 appreciated by your constituency and as well
25 by those of us who had to rub shoulders with
5795
1 you on a daily basis. We'll miss the both of
2 you.
3 What is America to me? The
4 house I live in, the people that I meet, the
5 baker, the butcher and the young man down the
6 street who escaped the Holocaust and came to
7 America in a very pain situation leaving his
8 mother to die in a concentration camp, rising
9 above that beginning and taking these streets
10 not paved with gold but paved with opportunity
11 and saying, "I too can be an American. I too
12 can achieve. I too can be somebody," and he
13 became somebody and he sat not only in the
14 chamber down the hall but in this august body
15 and he became, in my opinion, the conscience
16 of the Senate -- not the gadfly, the
17 conscience.
18 There was a time when the
19 philosophy of Franz Leichter permeated this
20 place. There were extremely liberal people in
21 this place some years past. Regrettably, in
22 my opinion, such is not the case now but
23 that's okay. Life goes on. Legislation goes
24 on, but he was special because he had a
25 liberal approach, an inclusive approach, an
5796
1 approach with pride in us to really rethink
2 some of the positions we've taken here not
3 only on that side of the aisle but this side
4 of the aisle. He was the guy who reminded us
5 that maybe we ought to look at things a little
6 differently.
7 So my reflections upon you,
8 Franz, will be that you were somehow my
9 conscience. You were a guy that caused me to
10 say, Gee whiz, did I do the right thing?
11 Despite the fact that I thought
12 I read the bill and I understood it, did I do
13 the right thing because Franz Leichter was not
14 on the same page with me and we will miss
15 that, and I think this institution will be
16 hurting because we do not have such a voice,
17 such a liberal persuasive voice amongst us.
18 So as you leave, as you depart,
19 whatever you do in life, I'm sure you will be
20 able to impact people as you have done here in
21 a very positive fashion, a very caring and
22 sensitive fashion, and I know that you are the
23 representative of the best that we have to
24 offer. To come here as an immigrant and to
25 achieve what you have achieved is a singular
5797
1 distinction.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
3 Senator Breslin.
4 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 I will be very brief not
7 because I don't have a great deal to say but
8 everything has been said already.
9 When I hear Senator Waldon or
10 Senator Saland, they talk about you as a
11 conscience. I think about each piece of
12 legislation and many of us, Democrat and
13 Republican, labor over it in terms of how will
14 it be with our constituents. Will they accept
15 what we do, and I have never heard you say
16 that.
17 Your concern is, is it good
18 government and does it help humankind, and
19 you've taught me some significant lessons,
20 some lessons that I have to reflect on more
21 and I'm sure it's taught many of us here the
22 same lessons, when you are the only veto, the
23 only no vote, whether we should be part of
24 that as well.
25 You've taught me some important
5798
1 lessons during my first two years and
2 hopefully they will last throughout my time
3 here.
4 Thank you.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
6 Senator Abate. Senator Abate is out of the
7 chamber.
8 Senator Maziarz.
9 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you
10 very much, Senator Leichter.
11 I believe it was Senator
12 Stafford who alluded earlier, Mr. President,
13 to the fact that this was in some respects
14 both a very pleasant day and that we all know
15 that we are going to be back home now on a
16 more regular schedule after today and a very
17 sad day in the respect that we are losing
18 really three giants in this institution.
19 Senator Leichter, I have only
20 been here for three years and you certainly
21 and many other members alluded to your history
22 in this body as a fighter for the causes in
23 which you believe, and I think that there
24 could be no higher calling than to come here
25 day after day knowing that you were probably
5799
1 not going to be very successful but to
2 continue that fight for all the years that you
3 have continued the fight for the causes in
4 which you believe.
5 Senator, I'm not sure you're
6 aware of this or not, but I am not a very big
7 fan of Industrial Development Agencies, and I
8 was speaking one time to a group and I said
9 that, although there are many good Industrial
10 Development Agencies out there, I thought for
11 the most part there were some very bad ones
12 out there too and in some instances I
13 considered them to be nothing more than an
14 opportunity for lawyers to fill their pockets
15 with money, and somebody said to me after I
16 made that comment that they said, You sound
17 like Franz Leichter, and I think that they
18 meant it as a compliment, Senator, and I just
19 want to compliment you for all the years of
20 service that you've given to the people of
21 this state of New York, and I know
22 particularly for the city of New York a dear
23 love of yours personally certainly and wish
24 you well in your retirement.
25 Thank you, Mr. President.
5800
1 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
2 Senator Abate.
3 SENATOR ABATE: Mr. President,
4 Franz, I have known you for close to 20 years
5 and I see you in probably a different light
6 than many other people see you because I knew
7 you as a community activist and what people in
8 this chamber do not know about you is how much
9 you are respected and adored within your
10 community.
11 I don't think there's any other
12 elected official in Manhattan that is
13 respected more than you are as a fighter. If
14 there's an issue that you're not involved
15 with, everyone says, well, it's not an
16 important issue. If it's an important issue,
17 Franz Leichter is there not only involved but
18 providing leadership on that issue.
19 So if there were a poll
20 conducted in Manhattan asked of the residents
21 of Manhattan who is the most beloved elected
22 official; who represents the ideals of the
23 Democratic Party; who is the most courageous
24 fighter for the people in their communities
25 and fights for better and stronger
5801
1 communities, it would be Franz Leichter.
2 So when I came -- see, it's
3 Manhattan. That's why -- you're in Queens.
4 Okay. Yes. I hope in all due respect for
5 everyone else elected in Manhattan. And so
6 when I came here, I thought, Oh, Franz
7 Leichter can't live up to that reputation in
8 the community and I was extraordinarily
9 surprised to see even after how many decades
10 Franz Leichter has not tired for a minute.
11 Day after day I never saw how you got that
12 energy and where it came from, that year after
13 year you would debate the same bill with the
14 same kind of vigor, the same kind of
15 commitment to educate maybe one more person to
16 vote against the bill, and I admire you for
17 your tirelessness, your energy and your
18 commitment to the principles you believe in.
19 When people say in Manhattan,
20 Franz Leichter is the conscience of the
21 Democratic Party, it is so very true. I've
22 seen you in the community. I now see you in
23 the state Senate. Every day you live up to
24 that reputation.
25 What I have learned about you
5802
1 is that you love fine food and love wine. You
2 are a very good tennis player, and I'm glad
3 that on occasion you let me beat you, and I
4 know that today while you'll be leaving this
5 chamber, I'll have many wonderful
6 opportunities to see you, to work with you, to
7 see you in the community because I know you
8 will remain active for many, many years to
9 come.
10 So, Franz, it's been a pleasure
11 to see you at a distance, to see you close up,
12 to call you a friend. I am very proud that
13 you've been part of the Democratic Party, part
14 of the Manhattan leadership, part of what's
15 best about New York City.
16 I wish you very, very good luck
17 in the future.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
19 Thank you.
20 To close this debate, Senator
21 Connor.
22 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Mr.
23 President.
24 Mr. President, it really hasn't
25 been much of a debate, somewhat totally one
5803
1 sided it's been as members express their very,
2 very special regard, respect and affection for
3 you.
4 I have on this floor many times
5 -- and let me say because I haven't said it
6 publicly today, I certainly -- and I think the
7 members of the Minority are certainly
8 appreciative that Senator Bruno has accorded
9 this almost unprecedented opportunity and
10 recognition to two members of the Minority who
11 have served us for many, many years and while
12 some other members may be leaving, these two
13 members as well as, of course, Senator Cook -
14 but he's gotten to preside before having been
15 in the Majority -- these members have served a
16 total of so many, many years each. I can last
17 -- and if I may humbly say in suggesting this
18 the other day, I was -- my recollection was
19 the last time this had happened was Senator
20 Jeremiah Bloom was called to preside some 20
21 years ago when the Senate was, indeed,
22 meeting, I believe in one of the hearing rooms
23 in the LOB in December of 1978 because this
24 chamber was being -- was under renovation, and
25 I guess after 20 years here you have these
5804
1 flashbacks and can remember exactly where you
2 were on what date in December 1978, but -- and
3 I think it was important that we do this and
4 Senator Bruno's not here, but I know he must
5 be listening somewhere, that we do this today,
6 the last regular day of session because it was
7 some four years ago when we left here in
8 certitude that, well, we would be back in
9 December and have a chance, I guess to say
10 farewell to my predecessor as leader, Senator
11 Ohrenstein, who served here for some 30-some
12 years and we never came back in December. So
13 it never happened and it saddened many of us
14 that we couldn't on the floor recognize his
15 departure.
16 But Senator Franz Leichter, I
17 came here 20 years ago, a Brooklyn Heights
18 reformer, well admonished by my constituents
19 to look not to our previous Senator Marchi who
20 once had Brooklyn Heights, he was too
21 conservative but rather than to look at the
22 West Side. Don't emulate Ohrenstein. He
23 became leader. Therefore, you couldn't trust
24 him as a reformer. I was to follow the
25 guidance of Senator Franz Leichter, the
5805
1 conscience of the Senate.
2 I confessed to not always
3 following that guidance, indeed to depart down
4 a slightly different path somewhere along the
5 way in my younger days, but what I have always
6 tried to follow is the kind of enthusiasm,
7 conscientious application to the people's work
8 that Franz Leichter has epitomized.
9 You know, we talk about
10 courage. We talk about forms of courage and
11 let me tell you something. I think all of you
12 who serve here, all of us who serve in public
13 office exhibit a type of courage and when you
14 talk to what I call civilians, people who
15 haven't been in the political world, who
16 haven't run for office and you sometimes tell
17 them what it's like in a candid way, they go,
18 What? You put up with what? People say what
19 about you or to you? So it does take courage
20 to put yourself forward, to risk defeats
21 because we all risk defeats as well as trying
22 to grasp wins and victory, but a special kind
23 of courage is when you serve in an institution
24 for many, many years and you're willing at
25 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning when all the
5806
1 people you serve with, socialize with while
2 we're up here in Albany, people who are your
3 friends are literally groaning, please, who
4 cares if the bill is a giveaway and who cares
5 and you have the courage to say, Look, it's
6 what's right. You do it in a way that
7 everybody who's groaning, everybody that night
8 wished perhaps you had a sore throat and were
9 off at the nurse's is looking at you and yet a
10 few minutes later they all smile with such
11 great regard and affection.
12 You've earned that, Mr.
13 President. You've earned that because unlike
14 the stereotypical liberal reformer who must be
15 heard on every important issue large and small
16 and is stereotyped to be humorless, to take
17 himself to seriously, that is not Franz
18 Leichter. Franz Leichter cares. He doesn't
19 care if we're all ready to drop. He voices
20 his concerns but he doesn't really take
21 himself so seriously. He's the first one
22 afterwards to say, well, I did what I had to
23 do but chuckle about it. He's the first one
24 to really -- and let me tell you a secret now
25 that he doesn't have to run for re-election on
5807
1 the West Side. Every now and then he would
2 actually -- and I am grateful as leader of
3 this conference for the last four years -
4 every now and then I could actually go over
5 and say, Franz, and he would say, Okay, I'll
6 sit down.
7 Now, that doesn't mean -- let
8 me qualify that. We still have a couple hours
9 to go here. That doesn't mean I'm accepting
10 responsibility for Franz Leichter for the rest
11 of this session. I'm not representing to you
12 that I can stop him from debating anything.
13 I'm just telling you it actually worked a
14 couple times. I have no hopes of ever
15 repeating it, particularly under the present
16 circumstances.
17 Franz Leichter, it has been a
18 delight to be your friend, to be your
19 colleague. I have enjoyed not only the times
20 we worked together on the floor and off but
21 the times we have had dinner, shared meals,
22 shared laughs. You are indeed someone who
23 deserves the place you will hold forever in
24 the annals of the New York State Senate and in
25 the hearts of all the Senators.
5808
1 Franz, thank you. I wish you
2 well. I hope to see you in an important role
3 in the future. I know your dedication to
4 public service and your willingness to serve
5 will be ongoing and continuing.
6 Thank you, Franz.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
8 Thank you. (Applause)
9 I want to first thank Senator
10 Bruno. After 30 years in the Legislature I'm
11 finally doing something meaningful and
12 productive by presiding and if I had known I
13 was going to have this honor, I would have
14 dressed more traditionally. I would have worn
15 my beatnik love beads but I lent them to
16 Senator Velella.
17 I must say that standing up
18 here you get a really different perspective of
19 the Legislature and of service here, and so
20 on, and I want to ask the Chair of the
21 Election Committee, Senator Maltese, is it too
22 late to circulate nominating petitions?
23 You know, when I sit as people
24 who sit next to me know and I'm trying to read
25 the bills and at the same time trying to keep
5809
1 track of what's happening and I'm a nuisance.
2 I'm always asking what bill are we on, what's
3 happening. I must tell you as I stood up
4 here, I wanted to turn to somebody and say,
5 who are they talking about? You've really
6 been most generous, most gracious. You all
7 exaggerate extremely well.
8 I just want to say I think
9 you've shown much more patience over the years
10 that I have been here than I have. You've
11 taught me a lot more than I think I've taught
12 you and you've given me a lot more than I've
13 given you.
14 I really marvel how -- because
15 I know I have been a hair shirt and that's
16 maybe one of the kind expressions but how
17 fairly you've treated me and with the respect
18 you've treated me and above all with the
19 friendship that you've given to me.
20 It's indeed a wondrous thing,
21 somebody who came here having fled the
22 Holocaust, uprooted, arrived on these shores
23 without any means, any resources and yet to be
24 embraced by this country, to be given the
25 opportunity that I was given and finally to
5810
1 end up to serve in this Legislature and to
2 have you as my colleagues and to work with
3 you, it's indeed just so remarkable and I'm so
4 grateful to all of you and I'm so grateful to
5 so many people here in the Capitol, and I
6 first really want to thank somebody who has
7 been so special, and I think all of us
8 recognize that what makes us effective is
9 because of the staff that we have and their
10 dedication and I have been particularly
11 blessed. I have just had a wonderful person
12 all these many years and I want to take the
13 privileges of the Chair to ask her to stand
14 up, Pat Gioia, who's been with me for 20
15 years. (Applause)
16 There's so many people to thank
17 and I can't possibly thank them all. I see
18 that some of my Assembly colleagues are here
19 and I want to thank really all of the service
20 people that make the Legislature function.
21 Obviously the desk here, and I've often
22 thought as I drone on and on in endless
23 debates, they're so patient but all the people
24 that made -- that enable us to function from
25 the cleaning persons to the elevator
5811
1 operators, and I want to tell you, in my 30
2 years here, I cannot remember one instance
3 when any staff person was other than helpful,
4 cooperate -- cooperative, unfailingly
5 friendly. It's really a very special thing.
6 So it's not easy to leave
7 here. You've heard me get up on the floor and
8 at times harangue, but I really love the
9 institution and I particularly love it because
10 of the relationships, because I know I'm
11 working with men and women who, much as we may
12 differ, and yet all have the same aim and
13 purpose and that is really to serve our
14 constituents and to serve the state.
15 Yes, I have had some hardships
16 and I've had some tragedies, but I want to
17 tell you as I stand here and I think of my 30
18 years in the New York State Legislature, I can
19 truly say my cup overruneth.
20 Thank you so much. (Applause)
21 Senator Skelos.
22 SENATOR SKELOS: We're going to
23 return to reports of standing committees
24 because I know there's a report of the Finance
25 Committee at the desk but we would also invite
5812
1 you to stay up there for the controversial
2 calendar, if you would like to also, as long
3 as you understand the rules at that point.
4 If we could return to reports
5 of standing committees, I believe there's a
6 report of the Finance Committee at the desk.
7 I ask that it be read.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
9 Secretary will read the report of the Finance
10 Committee.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator
12 Stafford, from the Committee on Finance,
13 reports the following nominations:
14 As a member of the Workers'
15 Compensation Board, Agatha Edel Groski, Esq.,
16 of Cobleskill.
17 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr.
18 President, once again I'm so pleased to rise
19 and once again compliment the nominee and the
20 Governor for the nomination, excellent, an
21 excellent nomination and I yield to Senator
22 Seward.
23 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you,
24 Senator Stafford and Mr. President.
25 I'm very pleased to rise to
5813
1 move the confirmation of Agatha Edel Groski to
2 be a member of the Workers' Compensation
3 Board.
4 Ms. Groski has many, many fine
5 talents and qualities, not the least of which
6 is patience this afternoon in terms of coming
7 to the chamber and being with us for such a
8 long time waiting for her confirmation to
9 occur, but our nominee began her life in
10 Zanzibar, East Africa and in coming to this
11 country received her education, her BS at
12 Marymount College, a Master's in Public
13 Administration from Russell Sage College and
14 her law degree from the Western New England
15 School of Law over in Springfield.
16 Ms. Groski has a very unique
17 background. She started her professional
18 career as a nurse and, in fact, served as a
19 director of nurses at the Eden Park Nursing
20 Home in Cobleskill and moved through the ranks
21 of administration to become administrator of
22 that facility for a ten-year period.
23 After completing law school,
24 she pursued a career in the law and most
25 recently has been with the state Labor
5814
1 Department as an administrative law judge at
2 the hearing level, hearing and deciding cases
3 on all unemployment issues.
4 Mr. President, our nominee is
5 uniquely qualified to become a member of the
6 Workers' Compensation Board. She has dealt
7 through her career in personnel matters, labor
8 issues as an administrator. She's a people
9 person. There's no question about that and,
10 in most recent years, has become very well
11 versed in the Labor Law.
12 So I rise, Mr. President, to
13 move the confirmation of Agatha Edel Groski.
14 I also rise to congratulate the Governor on
15 making such an outstanding selection and to
16 congratulate Agatha on this new venture for
17 her. I know it will be an opportunity for her
18 to continue her service and it's also an
19 opportunity for the people of this state who
20 will be very well served by our nominee.
21 Congratulations, Agatha.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
23 question is on the confirmation of Agatha Edel
24 Groski as a member of the Workers'
25 Compensation Board. All in favor signify by
5815
1 saying aye.
2 (Response of "Aye".)
3 Opposed, nay.
4 (There was no response.)
5 The ayes have it.
6 Agatha Edel Groski is hereby
7 confirmed as a member of the Workers'
8 Compensation Board.
9 I'm advised that Ms. Groski is
10 here and on behalf -- and on behalf of the
11 members of the Senate, I want to congratulate
12 you. I understand that you are mostly joined
13 by members of her family and I'm glad that
14 they were here to see this confirmation.
15 Congratulations.
16 (Applause)
17 The Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
19 the Housing Finance Agency: John B. Mannix,
20 of New York City.
21 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the
22 confirmation, please.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
24 question is on the confirmation of John B.
25 Mannix as a member of the Housing Finance
5816
1 Agency. All in favor signify by saying aye.
2 (Response of "Aye".)
3 Those opposed say nay.
4 (There was no response.)
5 John B. Mannix is confirmed as
6 a member of the Housing Finance Agency.
7 The Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: As a public
9 member of the state Banking Board: Santa
10 Albicocco, Esq., of Oyster Bay and Wesley
11 Chen, Esq., of New York City.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
13 question is on the -
14 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the
15 confirmation, please.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
17 Good. The question is on the confirmation of
18 Santa Albicocco as a public member of the
19 state Banking Board and also on the
20 reappointment of Wesley Chen as a member of
21 the state Banking Board. All in favor signify
22 by saying aye.
23 (Response of "Aye".)
24 All those opposed say nay.
25 (There was no response.)
5817
1 Santa Albicocco and Wesley Chen
2 are confirmed as members of the state Banking
3 Board.
4 The Secretary will read.
5 THE SECRETARY: As members of
6 the Administrative Review Board For
7 Professional Medical Conduct: Stanley L.
8 Grossman, M.D., of Newburgh and Theresa G.
9 Lynch, M.D., of Pittsford.
10 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the
11 confirmation.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
13 question is on the confirmation of Stanley L.
14 Grossman and Theresa G. Lynch as members of
15 the Administrative Review Board For
16 Professional Medical Conduct. All in favor
17 signify by saying aye.
18 (Response of "Aye".)
19 Opposed, nay.
20 (There was no response.)
21 Stanley L. Grossman and Theresa
22 G. Lynch are confirmed as members of the
23 Administrative Review Board For Professional
24 Medical Conduct.
25 The Secretary will read.
5818
1 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
2 the Central New York State Park, Recreation
3 and Historic Preservation Commission: Sandra
4 Murphy Mead, of Endicott.
5 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the
6 confirmation.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
8 question is on the confirmation of Sandra
9 Murphy Mead as a member of the Central New
10 York State Park, Recreation and Historic
11 Preservation Commission. All in favor signify
12 by saying aye.
13 (Response of "Aye".)
14 Opposed, nay.
15 (There was no response.)
16 Sandra Murphy Mead is confirmed
17 as a member of the Central New York State
18 Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation
19 Commission.
20 The Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
22 the Palisades Interstate Park Commission: Ann
23 O'Sullivan, of Stony Point.
24 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the
25 confirmation.
5819
1 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
2 question is on the confirmation of Ann
3 O'Sullivan as a member of the Palisades
4 Interstate Park Commission. All in favor
5 signify by saying aye.
6 (Response of "Aye".)
7 Those opposed say nay.
8 (There was no response.)
9 The nominee, Ann O'Sullivan, is
10 confirmed as a member of the Palisades
11 Interstate Park Commission.
12 The Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
14 the Taconic State Park, Recreation and
15 Historic Preservation Commission: Ralph
16 O'Dell, of Putnam Valley.
17 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the
18 confirmation. I'm sorry.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
20 question is on the confirmation of Ralph
21 O'Dell as a member of the Taconic State Park,
22 Recreation and Historic Preservation
23 Commission. All in favor signify by saying
24 aye.
25 (Response of "Aye".)
5820
1 Those opposed say nay.
2 (There was no response.)
3 Ralph O'Dell is confirmed as a
4 member of the Taconic State Park, Recreation
5 and Historic Preservation Commission.
6 The Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: As director of
8 the New York State Environmental Facilities
9 Corporation: Lelia M. Wood-Smith, of Rye.
10 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: I would
11 like to be heard, please.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
13 Senator Oppenheimer.
14 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: She
15 actually pronounces the name Lelia Wood-Smith
16 and she is a good friend of mine, which is not
17 a credential. Rather a credential is that she
18 is a brilliant environmental law lawyer, and
19 she has been the founder of various
20 environmental practices and land usage laws
21 which have served us very, very well in
22 Westchester County. She's been creative in
23 her litigation and has done many services for
24 both local, state and federal agencies.
25 The planning tools that she has
5821
1 developed, some of them have been amongst our
2 most creative concepts, including conservation
3 easements which help us protect sensitive
4 environmental areas while not costing us a big
5 bundle.
6 So I think this is the perfect
7 person for this job and I don't think you
8 could find a better person.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
10 question is on the confirmation of Lelia M.
11 Wood-Smith as director of the New York State
12 Environmental Facilities Corporation. All in
13 favor signify by saying aye.
14 (Response of "Aye".)
15 Those opposed say nay.
16 (There was no response.)
17 Lelia M. Wood-Smith is
18 confirmed as a director of the New York State
19 Environmental Facilities Corporation.
20 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
22 Senator Skelos.
23 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could
24 return to motions and resolutions, I believe
25 there's some housekeeping at the desk. Are
5822
1 there any substitutions to be made?
2 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
3 Return to motions and substitutions.
4 The Secretary will read the
5 substitutions.
6 THE SECRETARY: On page 10,
7 Senator Spano moves to discharge from the
8 Committee on Rules Assembly Bill Number 7984-C
9 and substitute it for the identical Third
10 Reading Calendar 350.
11 On page 18, Senator LaValle
12 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
13 Assembly Bill Number 10235 and substitute it
14 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 699.
15 On page 19, Senator Leibell
16 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
17 Assembly Bill Number 11133 and substitute it
18 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 713.
19 On page 22, Senator Stafford
20 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
21 Assembly Bill Number 10844-A and substitute it
22 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 867.
23 On page 27, Senator Present
24 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
25 Assembly Bill Number 11091-A and substitute it
5823
1 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 947.
2 On page 27, Senator Rath moves
3 to discharge from the Committee on Rules
4 Assembly Bill Number 10738-A and substitute it
5 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 949.
6 Senator Kuhl moves to discharge
7 from the Committee on Rules Assembly Bill
8 Number 2733-B and substitute it for the
9 identical Third Reading Calendar 400.
10 On page 3, Senator Spano moves
11 to discharge from the Committee on Rules
12 Assembly Bill Number 2986-A and substitute it
13 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 221.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
15 substitutions are ordered.
16 Senator Wright.
17 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you, Mr.
18 President.
19 I wish to call up my bill,
20 Print Number 7318-A, recalled from the
21 Assembly which is now at the desk.
22 SENATOR LEICHTER: Secretary
23 will read.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 737, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 7318-A,
5824
1 an act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
2 Law and others.
3 SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President,
4 I now move to reconsider the vote by which
5 this bill was passed.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
7 Call the roll on reconsideration.
8 (The Secretary called the roll
9 on reconsideration. )
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
11 SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President,
12 I now offer the following amendments.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
14 Amendments received.
15 SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President,
16 on behalf of Senator Spano, on page number 21,
17 I offer the following amendments to Calendar
18 Number 788, Senate Print Number 6796-B, and
19 ask that said bill retain its place on the
20 Third Reading Calendar.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
22 Amendments received, and the bill will retain
23 its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
24 SENATOR WRIGHT: We're working
25 well together, Mr. President. I have one more
5825
1 on behalf of Senator Volker.
2 I wish to call up bill, Print
3 Number 4346-B, recalled from the Assembly
4 which is now at the desk.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
6 Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 834, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 4346-B,
9 an act to amend the Penal Law and others.
10 SENATOR WRIGHT: I now move to
11 reconsider the vote by which this bill was
12 passed.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
14 Call the vote on reconsideration.
15 (The Secretary called the roll
16 on reconsideration. )
17 SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President,
18 I now move to amend Senate Bill Number 4346-B
19 by striking the amendments made on 4-29 and
20 restoring it to its previous Print Number
21 4346-A.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
23 Amendments received.
24 SENATOR WRIGHT: I now move to
25 to discharge from the Committee on Rules
5826
1 Assembly Print 6446-A and substitute it for my
2 identical bill. The Senate bill on first
3 passage was voted unanimously. I now move
4 that the substituted Assembly bill have its
5 third reading at this time.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
7 Secretary will read.
8 The Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 834 substituted earlier, by member of the
11 Assembly Hochberg, Assembly Print 6246-A, an
12 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
13 increasing the penalties.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
15 Read the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
17 This act shall take effect on the first day of
18 November.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
20 Call the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll. )
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr.
25 President.
5827
1 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
2 bill is passed.
3 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
4 on Supplemental Calendar Number 1, would you
5 please call up Calendar Number 947.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
7 Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 947, substituted earlier today, by the
10 Assembly Committee on Rules, Assembly Print
11 11091-A, an act to amend the State
12 Administrative Procedure Act, in relation to
13 notices.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
15 Read the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
17 This act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
19 Call the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the
21 roll. )
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
24 bill is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5828
1 788, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 6796-C, an
2 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
3 authorizing criminal history checks.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5 Read the last section.
6 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
7 is there a message of necessity at the desk?
8 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
9 Yes, there is.
10 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to
11 accept.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
13 Motion is to accept the message of necessity.
14 All in favor say aye.
15 (Response of "Aye.")
16 Those opposed say nay.
17 (There was no response. )
18 The message is carried. Read
19 the last -- read the last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
21 This act shall take effect -- Section 5. This
22 act shall take effect on the 90th day.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
24 Call the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the
5829
1 roll. )
2 SENATOR SPANO: Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
4 Senator Spano, to explain his vote.
5 SENATOR SPANO: Thank you, Mr.
6 President.
7 Just very quickly, I don't want
8 to see the passage of this bill go by without
9 just making an acknowledgement of a couple of
10 people who are up in the gallery who, while
11 this may be a long day for the members of the
12 Senate, today is just a part of a very long
13 journey that started some time ago when Peggy
14 and Dave Leahy and Pearl Dunn found that their
15 grandchild had been brutally murdered by their
16 care-giver, and this bill that has been called
17 Kyran's law is one that generated a great deal
18 of interest, one that will make sure that we
19 have on the books of this state proper
20 recognition that before people move forward to
21 hire care-givers for their children and
22 nannies for their children that they will, in
23 fact, be able to check on the criminal history
24 and background checks for those individuals,
25 and I just wanted to say that for Peggy and
5830
1 Dave Leahy and for Pearl Dunn and for Sistine
2 Amadeus, who is sitting in the gallery, I just
3 want to say thank you because what they did
4 was take a tragedy that occurred to their
5 family and went on a crusade across the state
6 that resulted in this day where this
7 legislation that they worked long and hard for
8 many, many hours to see passed finally will be
9 on the books of this state, so that what
10 happened to Kyran Dunn will not happen
11 needlessly to other children in this state.
12 So I vote in the affirmative,
13 Mr. President, and just say thank you to the
14 members of the family who are with us
15 tonight.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
17 Senator Spano will be recorded in the affirm
18 ative.
19 Senator Oppenheimer, to explain
20 her vote.
21 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: I also
22 want to acknowledge the work of the Leahy
23 family and the Dunn family and the mother and
24 father of the deceased child who have been in
25 constant contact with us from London almost on
5831
1 a daily basis, where they now reside, although
2 they will be coming back to Rye within the
3 next year, and I think without their efforts
4 we would not have this bill before us today,
5 but I wanted to also pay special thanks to
6 Senator Spano, because without him moving this
7 bill forward, this also would not have
8 happened and also to Tom DiNapoli, Assembly...
9 in the Assembly, for moving it forward and
10 also to the Governor for the Governor's
11 support on this bill.
12 I think it was a massive effort
13 of many people, and it is wonderful to know
14 that now, when someone comes into your house,
15 a total stranger comes into your house to be
16 the care-giver for your child, that you will
17 be able to verify the information that they
18 give to you in the -- when they come to their
19 employment.
20 So I am voting in the
21 affirmative, and it's been a long push, and
22 I'm happy at the just fine conclusion.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
24 Senator Oppenheimer will be recorded in the
25 affirmative.
5832
1 Senator Gold, to explain his
2 vote.
3 SENATOR GOLD: Yeah. Mr.
4 President, today has been a very unusual day
5 and a very healthy day, I believe, in regards
6 to the Senate. I remember when I first came
7 to the Senate, we had two dinners every year.
8 One was the Senate Club dinner and one was the
9 Senate dinner, and it was the sitting members
10 of the Senate who would go to dinner and we
11 weren't afraid to admit in public that we
12 liked each other. We weren't afraid to admit
13 that for one night at least this aisle was not
14 a separation, and what makes me think of it is
15 that I think that Senator Oppenheimer was
16 extraordinarily gracious in her remarks.
17 I congratulate Senator Spano,
18 but everyone here knows that, if it wasn't for
19 the work and the dedication of Senator
20 Oppenheimer pushing this issue and bringing it
21 to the floor, that we might not have this bill
22 here today, and in prior years when we had
23 dinner with each other and we admitted we
24 liked each other, we also handled legislation
25 in a little bit different way.
5833
1 So I'm delighted that one way
2 or another, we are passing this bill. I'm
3 going to vote for it, but as someone who may
4 not be invited to that dinner any more, I urge
5 upon all of you who are going to remain,
6 there's no shame in admitting that you like
7 each other and you ought to reinstate that
8 dinner.
9 I vote in the affirmative.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
11 Senator Gold will be recorded in the
12 affirmative.
13 Senator DeFrancisco.
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'd like
15 to be recorded in the affirmative, and since
16 Senator Gold was talking about a dinner, I
17 just want to let everyone know, this is the
18 last night of the session and the lemon ice is
19 being served.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
21 Senator DeFrancisco in the affirmative.
22 Results.
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
25 bill is passed.
5834
1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
2 would you please call up Calendar -- on the
3 main calendar, Calendar Number 921, by Senator
4 Marchi.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
6 Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 921, by Senator Marchi, Senate Print 5508-A,
9 an act to amend the Public Health Law, in
10 relation to the use by health care providers.
11 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
12 is there a message at the desk?
13 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
14 Yes.
15 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to
16 accept.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
18 Motion is to accept the -- the motion is to
19 accept the message of necessity. All those in
20 favor signify by saying aye.
21 (Response of "Aye.")
22 Those against, say nay.
23 (There was no response. )
24 The message is accepted.
25 Read the last section.
5835
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
2 This act shall take effect on the 180th day.
3 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
4 President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
6 Call the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll. )
9 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
10 Senator Dollinger, to explain his vote.
11 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
12 Mr. President.
13 I rise just briefly to commend
14 Senator Marchi for this bill which moves down
15 the road to getting some goals that I think
16 you and I share. I carry a bill which I think
17 I sent you a copy of which would have taken
18 your original bill which would prohibit the
19 use of all latex products and, instead of the
20 Health Department studying that issue, come
21 back to us with an issue -- with a report on
22 the latex allergy problem, a problem that you
23 detected and brought to this chamber, and I
24 think this bill is a way to deal with a
25 growing problem of the latex exposure, and
5836
1 very great problems with latex gloves and
2 other latex problems.
3 I think this is a step other
4 than a total ban and prohibition that we
5 instead give the Health Department the ability
6 to study the ramifications of this and come up
7 with a systemic approach for dealing with this
8 very important health problem.
9 I commend you for seeing this
10 problem, and then I think for the wisdom of
11 letting the Health Department explore this and
12 come up with a recommendation rather than an
13 outright ban. I believe this is what the
14 legislative process should be all about, and I
15 commend you for doing it.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
17 Senator Dollinger will be recorded in the
18 affirmative.
19 Senator Marchi.
20 SENATOR MARCHI: Mr. President,
21 I walked in and I heard the number called and
22 I wasn't quite sure of the bill and, in fact,
23 we are -- since there was some expectation of
24 a latex bill, and not only I want to I wanted
25 to, if I was going to address it, say my
5837
1 interest in it was started really and riveted
2 by the rather serious problem I had with my
3 daughter who is an R.N., and has had a very
4 serious time.
5 This can be a fatal ailment.
6 Well, you can't read a newspaper because all
7 newspapers have latex on them. She reads the
8 New York Times and -- on the Internet, and I
9 had this bill going for her, and I was going
10 to call the -- the Health Department, but I
11 received this gracious letter, and you're the
12 one that drove that point home with me,
13 Senator.
14 I asked them if they would put
15 some words together and what I added really,
16 to conduct the study which I think is the most
17 enlightened approach, one that will lead to
18 hopefully some recommendations that we can
19 address in a positive way. But I want to
20 thank, because this -- you were the -- you
21 planted the germ, and I -- I responded to that
22 because I felt you had struck the appropriate
23 note.
24 The only thing I added to it
25 and these words were exactly the words that
5838
1 were put together by the Health Department, it
2 gives them the wide latitude to go into the
3 research and categories and the effects and
4 the serious study and the only things I added
5 to it was that there's an obligation there in
6 the act to report back to the Legislature on
7 March 31st, 19... next year, 1999.
8 So again I -- I am obviously in
9 the affirmative, and again I want to thank
10 Senator Dollinger because he was very
11 helpful.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
13 Senator Marchi will be recorded in the
14 affirmative. Call -- announce the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: All
17 right. Senator Skelos. Oh, the bill is
18 passed.
19 Senator Skelos.
20 SENATOR SKELOS: On
21 Supplemental Calendar Number 2, would you
22 please call up Calendar Number 1568, by
23 Senator Stafford.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
25 Secretary will read.
5839
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1568, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 7772,
3 an act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
4 the pledge of sales tax.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
6 Read the last section.
7 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Mr.
8 President.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
10 Senator Oppenheimer.
11 SENATOR STAFFORD: This has
12 been a collegial day and carrying on that
13 collegiality people may be surprised to hear
14 me say this, but I'm closer to Senator
15 Oppenheimer's position concerning this issue
16 than many people would realize.
17 Also the memo in opposition, I
18 agree with it more than someone -- some people
19 would realize.
20 I would share with one and all
21 that the Department of Environmental Conserva
22 tion, and I think they meant well, but led
23 this locality into building this resource
24 recovery facility. As a matter of fact, it
25 was a professor from my alma mater who first
5840
1 started -- or he was one of the first to come
2 out and look at it in a less than positive
3 manner.
4 I will say this: Mistakes after
5 mistakes have been made by DEC, by local
6 government officials, by the principals and
7 I'm going to go, and I'm going to say
8 something probably a bit too extreme, but I
9 wish it to be on the record. Obviously any of
10 us, when we represent our area, we will do our
11 best to be provincial, and I use the word
12 advisedly.
13 This issue has been treated
14 with understanding and a great deal of
15 support. However, unless reason prevails by
16 those in the private sector who are involved
17 and those in the public sector, I think some
18 people are going to be very, very, shall we
19 say possibly not surprised but regret that
20 they did not approach this issue with reason.
21 Now, this bill is -- I know you
22 never should say the final step, but I would
23 suggest maybe we should use the word "final"
24 and this is going to make it possible for a
25 revenue stream which isn't unheard of, and
5841
1 it's going to make it possible to refinance so
2 that at least the localities, the two counties
3 and those who had invested will be able to sit
4 down and come to a reasonable solution.
5 When this bill was first
6 suggested to me, I said forget about it, and
7 if anyone doesn't believe that, ask the local
8 officials that came to see me. Therefore, we
9 are serving notice that although the DEC and
10 the officials, two commissioners who are no
11 longer there, many local officials who are no
12 longer serving, made major mistakes, unless
13 reason prevails, we're going to have a rather
14 serious situation.
15 I suggest that this bill
16 prevail and I will get these remarks and
17 they're going to be sent to the certain
18 individuals, both in the private sector and in
19 the public sector.
20 Thank you, Mr. President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
22 Senator Oppenheimer.
23 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: I really
24 empathize with the position that Senator
25 Stafford was in, and to say that there were
5842
1 mistakes made all around by Democrats,
2 Republicans, DEC, localities, is true.
3 This is really, and has always
4 been since it was begun, a mess. This was a
5 very, very large incinerator built for
6 Washington and Warren Counties, and it was
7 built with 200 percent cost overruns and it
8 was built three times larger than it should
9 have been built and so they don't have the
10 amount of trash to -- to keep it running sol
11 vently, and so now they're confronting double
12 digit -- double digit, pardon me, real
13 property tax increases to meet their
14 contractual obligations to make up for this
15 waste shortfall because it is so huge; and so
16 Washington County is trying to find a way to
17 help them out of this mess and some of Warren
18 County is also in it, but it's basically
19 Washington County, and as a matter of fact
20 they are -- they do have some pending federal
21 suits that would void the contract.
22 But right now, what this bill
23 deals with is, I think, a very dangerous
24 precedent which is something we've not done
25 before.
5843
1 This would obligate the sales
2 taxes, the entire sales tax of Washington
3 County to help pay off this -- this mess, and
4 other sales tax by-passes are usually
5 extraordinary measures, and they're meant to
6 support municipal debt when there's a city
7 that's in financial trouble or a county.
8 In this case, the bonds here in
9 question would be issued by the Warren
10 Washington IDA, but the obligation -- I'm
11 trying to figure out what I wrote, but the
12 taxpayers would not be the ones who would
13 benefit from the payment of this. When the
14 debt service is retired by contract, this
15 plant is going to revert entirely into private
16 ownership. This is totally different from the
17 experience that we have had in the past where
18 sales taxes have gone to bail out our
19 municipalities or our counties.
20 There are very serious
21 questions involved here and this bill, which
22 allows the counties to turn their sales taxes
23 over one hundred percent to this IDA, and you
24 can just imagine what services that are
25 normally provided with the sales tax money are
5844
1 not going to be provided, so it's really very
2 dubious fiscal policy, to say the least, for a
3 very unsound solid waste decision that was
4 made years ago.
5 This project is disastrous
6 project, I think everyone agrees with that,
7 and I think the fiscal policy is really so
8 questionable that I think we should not be
9 supporting this.
10 In addition, I should mention
11 that the Environmental Advocates do have two
12 smokestacks, which means they feel this would
13 be a substantial detriment to the
14 environment.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
16 Senator Dollinger.
17 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Sponsor
18 yield to a question, Mr. President?
19 Through you, Mr. President, I
20 see the EPL memo, and I guess all of our
21 antennas kind of crop up. But let me make
22 sure I understand it. This is currently a
23 working incinerator that was privately funded
24 that has an agreement with these two counties
25 to deliver their trash and they'd pay them for
5845
1 the trash, but now the question of the
2 viability of this private organization is in
3 question. They want to dedicate their income
4 stream to lower the bonding costs for this
5 private entity.
6 Through you, Mr. President.
7 SENATOR STAFFORD: I'll answer
8 the question.
9 SENATOR DOLLINGER: What
10 happens if it goes bankrupt; they have to
11 build a new trash facility?
12 SENATOR STAFFORD: I'll answer
13 the question.
14 First, I would answer the
15 question by saying, and I certainly respect,
16 and as I said when I stood up, my concern, but
17 I would say and again keeping -- no, it isn't
18 my sense of humor, but keeping our
19 understanding here, I stood here and listened
20 and had Judge Rifkin come up here and I had
21 Felix Rohatyn come up here and had a lot of
22 people come up here, and I live on the border
23 of Canada, and I voted for every single bill
24 to support New York City.
25 This is the same type of
5846
1 problem because it will result in two counties
2 being in the same type of situation. I
3 realize there's some other questions, and what
4 will happen if reason does not prevail and
5 this is why I appreciate your question, if
6 reason does not prevail, it will happen just
7 what you said the word, some investors are
8 going to have the situation that you've just
9 suggested, and the county will get by but it
10 will be very, very serious.
11 But I would say to you that I
12 think this is a step in at least keeping the
13 situation viable and, hopefully, we can have
14 some reason here, and I would like to think
15 that and hope that things will move in the
16 direction of really what all of us are hoping
17 for.
18 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Just one
19 other question, Mr. President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
21 Senator Dollinger.
22 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Senator
23 Stafford, does the current operating
24 incinerator meet the current DEC requirements
25 and is it fully licensed?
5847
1 SENATOR STAFFORD: Oh, well, as
2 far as that goes, it's state of the art.
3 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Well, that
4 answers my question.
5 Then, on the bill briefly, Mr.
6 President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
8 Senator Dollinger.
9 SENATOR DOLLINGER: This is one
10 of the few EPL memos that I don't quite
11 understand because what it says is, if there
12 was a bad decision made in the past to build
13 incinerators -- EPL doesn't like incinerators,
14 I don't like incinerators, but these two
15 counties made a huge investment in one and
16 they're stuck with it. If the incinerator
17 shuts down, they're either going to take it
18 over and run it themselves or it will cease to
19 operate and they will take it as part of the
20 failure and they're going to have to build a
21 landfill and try to find something else to do,
22 which is an enormously expensive project.
23 We had it in the 1980s when the
24 DEC said either build a landfill or an
25 incinerator, it's one or the other. What we
5848
1 found in Monroe County, it's one or the
2 other. We rebuild, it's -- it will probably
3 last for 150 years, at least we don't have to
4 go through the cost of binding one.
5 But these are questions of two
6 counties of building an incinerator that does
7 meet the DEC criteria and if it doesn't get
8 the revenue stream, it will go bankrupt and
9 create a further problem for them, and,
10 frankly, I support protecting the environment
11 but it doesn't seem to me a revenue stream to
12 keep it environmentally acceptable, doesn't
13 seem to be the greatest, but it's acceptable.
14 Seems to me the EPL's comment doesn't address
15 the environmental issue and, if it's necessary
16 to keep the thing going to keep the income
17 stream alive and to keep this option between
18 the two counties, I don't think it's a bad
19 idea.
20 I'll vote in favor of the bill,
21 Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
23 Read the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
25 This act shall take effect immediately.
5849
1 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
2 Call the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll. )
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
6 Senator Oppenheimer, to explain her vote.
7 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: I can
8 appreciate what Senator Dollinger is -- is
9 saying about the need to keep plants that are
10 completely in compliance alive and well.
11 However, the debt service when this is -- when
12 it is retired is going to -- the plant that
13 we're talking about is going to be entirely in
14 private ownership. That is a considerable
15 difference from when we have in the past
16 dedicated our tax money or sales tax or
17 whatever tax to a municipal problem or a
18 county or state problem, and it's vastly
19 different, as I see it, Senator Dollinger.
20 I'll be voting in the
21 negative.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
23 O.K. Senator Oppenheimer recorded in the
24 negative.
25 Call the roll. Announce the
5850
1 results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded
3 in the negative on Calendar Number -
4 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5 Results.
6 THE SECRETARY: -- Calendar
7 Number 1568 are Senators Abate, Connor, Gold,
8 Goodman, LaValle, Leibell, Leichter,
9 Marcellino, Markowitz, Montgomery, Nanula,
10 Onorato, Paterson, Sampson, Santiago,
11 Seabrook, Smith, Stachowski, Stavisky, Waldon,
12 also Senator Mendez. Ayes 40, nays 21.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
14 bill is passed.
15 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: I'm
17 sorry, Senator.
18 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
19 President.
20 SENATOR GOLD: Would you
21 recognize Senator Paterson please.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
23 Senator Paterson.
24 SENATOR PATERSON: We lost? Big
25 help you've been; all you did was get up there
5851
1 and now we lost.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
3 Senator Holland.
4 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
5 President, can we return to the first page of
6 Supplemental Calendar Number 2 and do
7 Calendar 1542, and then take the next two in
8 order, please.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
10 Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar 1542,
12 Senator Hannon moves to discharge from the
13 Committee on Rules Assembly Bill Number 9371-A
14 and substitute it for the identical Third
15 Reading Calendar 1542.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
17 Substitution ordered. Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1542, by member of the Assembly Gottfried,
20 Assembly Print 9371-A, an act to amend the
21 Public Health Law, in relation to modifying.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
23 Read the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 19.
25 This act shall take effect November 1.
5852
1 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
2 Call the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll. )
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1546, substituted earlier today, by member of
10 the Assembly Vitaliano, Assembly Print 9798,
11 an act to amend the Retirement and Social
12 Security Law, in relation to performance.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
14 Read the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
16 This act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
18 Call the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll. )
21 SENATOR ONORATO: Explain my
22 vote.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
24 Senator Onorato.
25 SENATOR ONORATO: May I have
5853
1 unanimous consent to vote you in the negative
2 on this bill?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: You
4 may. Thank you.
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60. Nays
6 one, Senator Leichter recorded in the
7 negative.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
9 bill is passed.
10 Senator Breslin.
11 SENATOR BRESLIN: Yes, Mr.
12 President. I request to be recorded in the
13 negative on 7772, unanimous consent.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
15 Senator Breslin will be recorded in the
16 negative on Calendar 7772. Oh, 7772.
17 Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1554, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 7381, an
20 act to amend the County Law, in relation to
21 authorizing.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
23 Home rule message at the desk. Read the last
24 section.
25 SENATOR PATERSON: Wait,
5854
1 explanation.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: Oh,
3 why don't you get somebody up here who knows
4 what they're doing? Where is Randy Kuhl?
5 Senator Alesi, an explanation
6 has been asked for.
7 SENATOR ALESI: I think I would
8 have to agree, you are a big help. Actually,
9 I'd like to withdraw all my bills while you're
10 in the Chair right now with all this racket.
11 This would allow the county of
12 Monroe to accept or entertain requests for
13 proposals rather than go through the
14 traditional bidding process for a specific
15 project in Monroe County, which is the Monroe
16 County Jail.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
18 Senator Abate.
19 SENATOR ABATE: Yes. Would
20 Senator Alesi yield for a few questions?
21 SENATOR ALESI: Yes, I will.
22 SENATOR ABATE: It's my
23 understanding of this bill -- maybe you can
24 clarify it -- this includes not only
25 construction, capital construction but also
5855
1 covers services, performances within
2 contracting out and performances within the
3 physical plant of that jail; is that right?
4 SENATOR ALESI: Well, it's very
5 important that you asked that question because
6 we have to address that.
7 For the record, the Corrections
8 Law prohibits that from happening because the
9 Corrections Law specifically states that only
10 unionized help can be used in the operation of
11 the jail itself. The language may appear to
12 be ambiguous. It uses the word "maintain",
13 but that is a -- that is directed toward the
14 construction and design/build process, not
15 toward the operation of the jail itself.
16 Furthermore, we have clearances
17 from the County Executive in writing that that
18 was not the intent of the administration and,
19 if need be, when -- we can always do a chapter
20 amendment to make sure that that ambiguity is
21 cleared up. However, let me stress again
22 that, as I understand, the Corrections Law
23 prohibits us from using anything other than
24 unionized labor in the operation of a jail.
25 Furthermore, it is really the
5856
1 intent of this bill, with the backing of all
2 of the labor and trade unions in the Monroe
3 County area, to make sure that local unionized
4 -- local, I should say local labor is used in
5 this effort to protect and grow local jobs
6 there. We will also be using the prevailing
7 wage as well as the modified elements of the
8 Wicks Law to make sure that this project is
9 done in accordance with that effort.
10 SENATOR ABATE: Mr. President,
11 would Senator Alesi continue to yield?
12 SENATOR ALESI: Yes, I will.
13 SENATOR ABATE: Senator, are
14 you aware that I've sponsored a bill calling
15 for the non-privatization of security
16 functions of a jail system, and I've done that
17 because it's my understanding that the law is
18 not clear, that right now a local correctional
19 facility or a state correctional facility can
20 contract out to a private firm to provide the
21 security functions within that jail in the
22 prison system. For instance, a correction
23 officer who is now doing the job could be
24 replaced by someone who is hired by a private
25 firm. Are you aware of that?
5857
1 SENATOR ALESI: I'm aware of
2 Senator Nozzolio's efforts, ongoing efforts,
3 with the support of this Conference last year
4 and onto this year to make absolutely certain
5 that under no circumstances would we, in our
6 correctional facilities, use anything other
7 than unionized labor, and I'm fully supportive
8 of Senator Nozzolio's efforts and the efforts
9 of this Conference, and I applaud your
10 approach on that as well.
11 SENATOR ABATE: Senator
12 Nozzolio, could you tell me where in the law
13 it is clear that once this facility is
14 constructed in Monroe County, that the
15 correction officers could not legally be
16 replaced through contracting out with other
17 workers? I'm not aware of any law that exists
18 today. Maybe you can cite where that law
19 exists.
20 SENATOR ALESI: I'm not Senator
21 Nozzolio, but I'll answer the question any
22 way.
23 SENATOR ABATE: And I'm not
24 trying to put you on the spot. It's because
25 of a lack of clarification and the ambiguity
5858
1 in the law that I have some question about
2 this particular bill.
3 SENATOR ALESI: Sure.
4 SENATOR ABATE: If you could
5 clarify it for me, I'd be more comfortable.
6 SENATOR ALESI: We don't have
7 that available, Senator, but in our research
8 and discussion of this very important effort
9 to create jobs for worthy families in Monroe
10 County, it is our understanding in ongoing
11 discussions with counsel earlier that the Cor
12 rections Law would preclude using non-union -
13 non-unionized labor, but also in discussions
14 with the county administration, and in
15 informal discussions with unionized trades
16 back in Monroe County, that we would be
17 precluded from doing anything other than using
18 unionized labor for the management and
19 operation of the jail.
20 SENATOR ABATE: Would you
21 consider, Senator Alesi, amending the bill to
22 clarify, because I think it's important that
23 we create jobs and the rest of the bill seems
24 very benign and helpful. Would you agree to
25 amend the bill so we're all clear that none of
5859
1 the security functions can be contracted out?
2 SENATOR ALESI: I'm glad you
3 raised that issue because, in my earlier
4 comments I indicated that even though the
5 ambiguity could exist by using the word
6 "maintain", that we would be very willing to
7 do a chapter amendment to either eliminate the
8 word "maintain" or clarify even more the fact
9 that the Monroe County Jail, the administra
10 tion thereof would be done only with unionized
11 help which again, I say is part of the ongoing
12 effort of this Conference to make sure that
13 those people who would be in our prisons
14 working in our prisons and in our jails are
15 unionized.
16 SENATOR ABATE: So, Senator
17 Alesi, let me get some clarification. So
18 you're willing to amend this bill so that the
19 contracts are limited to the building and
20 design of the facilities, not the
21 maintenance.
22 SENATOR ALESI: That, Senator,
23 is the intent of the bill and as stated twice
24 now and for the third time we will do a
25 chapter amendment to make sure that, if there
5860
1 is an ambiguity in the use of the word
2 "maintain" that we will change that ambiguity
3 by eliminating the word "maintain".
4 SENATOR ABATE: Thank you.
5 SENATOR ALESI: Or to be sure
6 just eliminating any language that would imply
7 that the operation of the jail would be
8 anything other than unionized. But let me say
9 this further. The language in this bill
10 should be interpreted to be specific to the
11 design and building of this jail in Monroe
12 County, and I'm stating that for the record,
13 so I couldn't be any more clear on that.
14 I'll reiterate again the
15 position of the county administration who have
16 in writing indicated that that is their
17 position. It is a position that is embraced
18 not only by myself and my co-sponsors, Senator
19 Nozzolio and Senator Maziarz. It is also a
20 position that is embraced by the local trade
21 unions, unionized trade unions, as well as the
22 local business community who definitely would
23 like to see this design/build procedure
24 followed so that we can save millions of
25 dollars on the project, save time and, most
5861
1 importantly, make sure that the labor and the
2 professional work that goes into the building
3 and design of this $50 million project is
4 centered around local working families. That
5 was the short answer.
6 SENATOR ABATE: O.K. So let me
7 just restate it, that it is the legislative
8 intent, and a chapter amendment would
9 absolutely clarify, that none of the contracts
10 would include the security functions within
11 that jail system. That's another way of
12 stating what you just said, am I correct?
13 SENATOR ALESI: For the fourth
14 time, using my own words, we will do a chapter
15 amendment that will clarify that the language
16 in this bill is directly aimed at the process
17 of designing and building a jail and not in
18 any way, shape or form design -- or I
19 shouldn't use that word. Not in any way,
20 shape or form aimed at the operation of the
21 jail.
22 SENATOR ABATE: Thank you very
23 much, Senator.
24 SENATOR ALESI: You're very
25 welcome.
5862
1 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr.
2 President, on the bill.
3 Mr. President, my colleagues,
4 Senator Alesi has put forth this measure to
5 expedite a situation that is in dire need of
6 protection in Monroe County, to construct a
7 facility that's absolutely necessary for the
8 safety and security of the fine people of
9 Monroe County; that the policy discussion
10 which just took place between Senator Alesi
11 and Senator Abate regarding the security
12 function of the correctional facility is
13 extremely well taken.
14 I wish to only emphasize that
15 the security function of the maintenance of
16 this facility is not to be privatized. To do
17 so would be contrary to current state law. An
18 opinion by Attorney General Dennis Vacco has
19 clearly stated that to privatize the security
20 function of any correctional facility in this
21 state, whether it be a state facility or a
22 local facility, is against public policy and
23 the laws of this state, that the county
24 executive of Monroe certainly understands
25 that. He himself, a former judge, has no
5863
1 intention of developing any facility which is
2 contrary to law and the policy of this state.
3 Senator Alesi's commitment to
4 enact a chapter amendment striking the
5 language providing maintenance, I think, is
6 certainly an excellent suggestion. I'm glad
7 Senator Alesi has made that suggestion, that
8 we certainly support him in that effort to
9 ensure that there is never a question that
10 this Legislature intends to put a crack in the
11 law and the policy of this state which for
12 bids the privatization of the security
13 function of our jail.
14 We've proven time and time
15 again in debates in this chamber that
16 privatizing that security function is
17 inappropriate. Governor Pataki has clearly
18 stated that he has no intention of allowing
19 privatization of state or local jails within
20 this state and that certainly we support and
21 applaud that effort.
22 I certainly will support the
23 chapter amendment that -- that Senator Alesi,
24 I thank you for bringing this issue to our
25 attention so that the county of Monroe can
5864
1 expedite its needs to protect the citizens of
2 that great county.
3 Thank you, Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5 Senator Dollinger. Senator Dollinger?
6 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
7 President, excuse me. I'll yield the floor to
8 Senator Stachowski.
9 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr.
10 President, would Senator Nozzolio yield to a
11 couple questions?
12 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
13 President. Excuse me, there will be an
14 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
15 Room 332.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
17 Immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
18 Room 332.
19 Senator Nozzolio, will you
20 yield to Senator Stachowski?
21 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes.
22 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: If you
23 don't mind, two quick questions, and then I
24 got to run to Rules.
25 The first one is, if this is so
5865
1 sure why is Council 82 so concerned about this
2 bill, even as late as this afternoon?
3 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: I think, Mr.
4 President, that Council 82's concerns are that
5 the word "maintain", that the intention was as
6 I understand it -- I wasn't part of the
7 drafting of this legislation -- but as I
8 understand that word, it was used to discuss
9 another operation or the maintenance of a
10 construction project, not the maintenance of
11 the operation of the jail itself, and that
12 their concern, Council 82's concerns, are that
13 any erosion which takes place in allowing the
14 security function of prisons is an erosion
15 that's against public policy.
16 I, for one, certainly agree
17 with Council 82 that they -- there should be
18 no erosion and that that's why I'm very
19 pleased that Senator Alesi has agreed to a
20 chapter amendment in the very near future to
21 ensure that there's no misunderstanding.
22 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr.
23 President, I think this other question would
24 be better for Senator Alesi.
25 Thank you, Senator.
5866
1 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
2 Senator Alesi, would you yield?
3 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: I also
4 agree with what Senator Nozzolio says, and I
5 think our side does, and that's why we're
6 questioning the fact about the maintenance in
7 the bill, because we're concerned about any
8 privatization, but one other question that's
9 just for my own clarification. Couldn't we
10 accomplish the same end if we did a project -
11 a later agreement on this project rather than
12 going through a law that says accepting one
13 bid, wouldn't it be the same thing?
14 SENATOR ALESI: I think under
15 the circumstances this approach was being used
16 because it was being used at the federal level
17 and probably half of the states in this nation
18 right now, and has proven to be very effective
19 in saving time and saving costs and there was
20 an approach that was agreed upon by the unions
21 that would be providing the trade work as well
22 as county administration.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
24 Senator Dollinger.
25 SENATOR DOLLINGER: I want to
5867
1 thank Senator Alesi for his courtesy in
2 discussing the bill before us, and I'm going
3 to vote against the bill and let me tell you
4 why.
5 I haven't seen the estimate of
6 where the $5 million in savings is going to
7 come from, but I'm not so sure that a design/
8 build concept as proposed in this bill will
9 produce all that big a savings. I'm not sure
10 I see where the substantial savings will occur
11 and how we're going to arrive at it. Given
12 that fact, I don't see why we should have a
13 variation from the state's public bidding laws
14 which have been in place for a hundred years
15 which are designed to ensure fairness and lack
16 of bias in our awarding of public contracts.
17 This is the public's money. It
18 isn't the county's money. It isn't owned by
19 any organization. It's the public's money. It
20 seems to me that we have a public bidding law
21 in this state because we decided it as public
22 policy, in which the government should get the
23 best, lowest bid that it can; and what I'm
24 concerned about is this bill -- is that this
25 bill substitutes a point system, a best value
5868
1 system, which will be determined by a weighted
2 criteria process. A weighted criteria process,
3 not by the lowest possible price but by a
4 weighted criteria process, a term nowhere
5 defined in this proposal, and then it says in
6 which a point grade will be established for
7 qualitative factors.
8 What are the qualitative
9 factors? Qualitative quality? I assume that
10 when you are making a judgment and evaluating
11 public bids, you take the lowest responsible
12 bidder. You assume that the quality is going
13 to be the same. This assumes that there's
14 going to be some qualitative factor that will
15 be put into this point rating system and there
16 will be a high quality contractor, a low
17 quality contractor, a middle level quality
18 contractor. That notion is nowhere in our
19 public bidding law.
20 We assume that, if there's the
21 lowest responsible bidder, they'll produce
22 quality for the lowest possible price. We can
23 insist on that for our lowest responsible
24 bidders. There's no definition of what the
25 qualitative factors will be. There's no
5869
1 definition of what this weighted criteria
2 process will be, and yet this is the
3 discretion we're now vesting a government
4 entity in as a departure from the notion of
5 the lowest responsible bidder.
6 I would suggest to all of my
7 colleagues that this is no standard to use in
8 a design/build arrangement, that this is no
9 way to deviate from the public bidding law
10 which we have a hundred years worth of
11 experience and which has been demonstrated to
12 arrive at the quality that we need at the
13 lowest possible price.
14 This contract says that, even
15 if you're the lowest possible bidder and even
16 if you can guarantee, as you will in the
17 contract, that you will provide the best
18 quality for the lowest price, you won't get
19 this bid, because there's going to be a
20 weighted criteria process and there are going
21 to be qualitative factors as well as price
22 that may be even more important than price.
23 I suggest that this isn't a
24 good idea, Senator Alesi, and the county
25 administration, of trying to create jobs.
5870
1 They're going to build a jail. I would
2 suggest that they use the public bidding law,
3 get the lowest responsible bidder, that we not
4 use this off-line approach, that we don't
5 deviate from what we've used time and time
6 again in Monroe County, which has, the best I
7 can tell, has served us well there.
8 Senator Alesi and I sat there
9 and approved contracts; sometimes we voted
10 with each other, sometimes we voted against
11 each other approving contracts to the lowest
12 responsible bidder. It's tried and true. It
13 will work. We'll create the jobs. I have a
14 real big question as to whether or not this
15 would save the money that it's intended to,
16 and remember we're -- we have the public
17 bidding laws and the Wicks Law and the theory
18 is we want to take the politics out of public
19 contracting.
20 I am fearful that this bill,
21 given the wide, wide scope of discretion that
22 it gives to this public entity will have the
23 temptation of interjecting that politics back
24 into the process to the detriment of the
25 people of the county I represent.
5871
1 I'll be voting in the negative,
2 Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
4 Senator Waldon was next.
5 SENATOR WALDON: Mr. President,
6 would the gentleman yield to a question,
7 please?
8 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
9 Senator will yield.
10 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you, Mr.
11 President.
12 Senator Alesi, I see in this
13 proposal at line 26, it reads "best value will
14 be determined by a weighted criteria process
15 in which a point rating will be established
16 for qualitative factors as well as price."
17 Can you tell us what that means in layman's
18 terms?
19 SENATOR ALESI: I think the
20 language of the bill in all respects, Senator
21 Waldon -
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
23 Excuse me just a second. Could we have a
24 little order, please.
25 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, Mr.
5872
1 President.
2 With all respect, Senator, I
3 think the language of the bill is fairly
4 straightforward. Practice will be established
5 by the county administration and, if you read
6 the opening sentences of the bill, through the
7 county legislature itself in cooperation with
8 the construction and design firm to establish
9 that procedure.
10 Mr. President, it's very diffi
11 cult for me to hear.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
13 Could we have order, please. If we could take
14 the conversations out of the chamber.
15 SENATOR ALESI: I think that, if
16 you compare the design/build process that
17 Senator Dollinger seems to be reluctant to
18 embrace, it's very similar to the very
19 beginning of this whole process, very similar
20 to what we see on almost every building
21 process where the -- where the bidding
22 procedure is used, similar to selecting a
23 consulting engineering firm, done on a
24 subjective basis.
25 The initial parts of this whole
5873
1 process would be done similar to that, on a
2 subjective basis with a system that is
3 established by the county administration
4 working through its legislature; but I think
5 the important thing to -- for this body here
6 to understand is that bidding is not being
7 circumvented in any way, shape or form. In
8 fact, it's very clear in the legislation that
9 the design/builder will have to require a bid
10 process for all of the trades involved in
11 this, just as they would under Wicks, with the
12 exception, interestingly enough, that the
13 threshold will be $20,000 rather than the
14 $50,000 that we have with the Wicks process;
15 so the bidding process has not only been
16 preserved here, it's actually lowered to make
17 sure that the lowest possible bid is used, and
18 that's required in the legislation.
19 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you,
20 Senator. Thank you, Mr. President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
22 Anybody else want to be heard on this bill?
23 Last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
5874
1 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
6 Senator Abate.
7 SENATOR ABATE: Yes, I'd like to
8 explain my vote.
9 On the commitment by the good
10 Senator Alesi that there will be a chapter
11 amendment to clarify the intention of this
12 bill to only include building and design
13 functions, not the security functions at the
14 jail, I vote yes on this bill.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
16 Senator Abate will be recorded in the
17 negative. Announce the results. I'm sorry, in
18 the affirmative.
19 Get somebody up here knows what
20 they're doing.
21 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr.
22 President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
24 Senator Nozzolio, to explain his vote.
25 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: I ask
5875
1 unanimous consent to explain my vote as we're
2 taking the roll call, not to belabor this but
3 I just, too, as chairman of the Senate
4 Committee on Crime and Corrections, I wish to
5 also state that there is no intention by this
6 body in passing this bill to in any way alter
7 the steadfast opposition that we have to
8 privatizing the security function of prisons.
9 As such, I vote in the aye, knowing that there
10 will be a chapter amendment to rectify any
11 ambiguity which now exists in the measure.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
13 Thank you. Results.
14 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded
15 in the negative on Calendar Number 1554 are
16 Senators Breslin, Dollinger, Gentile,
17 Leichter, Onorato, Seabrook and Stavisky.
18 Excuse me, Senator Seabrook recorded in the
19 affirmative. Ayes 55, nays 6.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
21 bill is passed. Senator Skelos.
22 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
23 on the main calendar, would you please call up
24 Calendar Number 268, by Senator Farley.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5876
1 Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 268, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 1689-A,
4 an act to amend the Workers' Compensation Law
5 and the Public Officers Law.
6 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
7 is there a message at the desk?
8 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: Yes,
9 there is.
10 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
12 Motion is to accept the message of necessity.
13 All those in favor, say Aye.
14 (Response of "Aye.")
15 Those opposed, say nay.
16 (There was no response.)
17 The motion is carried. Read the
18 last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
20 act shall take effect on the first day of
21 January.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: Call
23 the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the
25 roll.)
5877
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
3 bill is passed.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
5 on the main calendar, would you please call up
6 Calendar Number 1333, by Senator Alesi.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
8 Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1333, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 7035-B,
11 an act to amend the Public Authorities Law and
12 the Executive Law, in relation to the
13 establishment.
14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
15 is there a message at the desk?
16 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
17 Yes, there is.
18 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept
19 the message.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
21 Motion is to accept the message of necessity.
22 All those in favor say aye.
23 (Response of "Aye.")
24 Those opposed, say nay.
25 (There was no response. )
5878
1 Message is accepted.
2 Read the last section. Oh,
3 there's also a home rule message at the desk.
4 Read the last section.
5 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
7 Explanation is asked for.
8 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, Mr.
9 President.
10 In the event that we don't
11 build a jail, I thought maybe we'd do
12 something with a sports authority.
13 This will give the county of
14 Monroe the opportunity to create a sports
15 authority to take advantage of future
16 opportunities to expand, enlarge, manage or
17 own sporting activities in the county of
18 Monroe.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
20 Senator Paterson.
21 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 If Senator Alesi would yield
24 for a question.
25 SENATOR ALESI: Yes.
5879
1 SENATOR PATERSON: Senator, do
2 you think that there's somewhat of a danger in
3 selected areas of the state of granting a
4 limited immunity which actually creates an
5 action in law that prohibits any kind of
6 recovery as is set forth in this bill that it,
7 in a sense, creates kind of a different
8 standard at different points and, in addition,
9 somewhat impinges upon the right of an
10 individual to bring a legal action?
11 SENATOR ALESI: I'm not certain
12 that there is, Senator. I think that the use
13 of an authority for whatever purpose has been
14 established to be beneficial for its intended
15 purpose, and I think that under the
16 circumstances that the county of Monroe is
17 trying to establish that it would be
18 beneficial for the county and the surrounding
19 regions.
20 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you.
21 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
22 President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
24 Senator Dollinger.
25 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Will
5880
1 Senator Alesi yield just to a couple quick
2 questions, just to make sure I understand it?
3 SENATOR ALESI: I'd be happy
4 to.
5 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again I
6 appreciate it. We've had lots of discussions
7 about this bill as well.
8 Through you, Mr. President, the
9 current authorization in this bill is 50
10 million, or is it more than that? Will the
11 authority have the power to borrow more than
12 $50 million?
13 SENATOR ALESI: $50 million,
14 Senator, with the provision that if, at any
15 time, it was the desire of the authority to
16 retire some outstanding debts that they could
17 simultaneously sell some bonds simultaneously,
18 but the threshold is $50 million.
19 SENATOR DOLLINGER: O.K. I
20 apologize, Mr. President. I didn't quite hear
21 that. Will they be able to borrow more than
22 50- at any time?
23 SENATOR ALESI: No, the limit
24 is $50 million.
25 SENATOR DOLLINGER: And that
5881
1 would be -- again through you, Mr. President,
2 that would be rolling 50-, so if they retired
3 some, they could borrow some new.
4 SENATOR ALESI: That was my
5 point, yes, sir.
6 SENATOR DOLLINGER: The bill
7 also references an agreement between UDC and
8 the Empire State -- now known as the Empire
9 State Development Corporation, and says that,
10 despite that agreement that the authority can
11 acquire certain properties which may be held
12 by the county.
13 Are you familiar with that
14 agreement and can you tell me what the
15 agreement says that now prohibits that
16 transfer?
17 SENATOR ALESI: The agreement,
18 I'm sure, references what you and I are both
19 familiar with, the Frontier Field which is
20 owned by the County of Monroe. I'm sorry,
21 Frontier Field.
22 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Right, and
23 again so what -
24 SENATOR ALESI: Period.
25 SENATOR DOLLINGER: So what
5882
1 does that agreement say about the not -- does
2 that agreement say that Frontier Field can't
3 be transferred? Is that why we need the
4 language in there to say, that in essence -
5 SENATOR ALESI: The language of
6 the existing bill -- the existing bill that is
7 before us will allow for that transfer.
8 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Right.
9 SENATOR ALESI: And the
10 language of the bill says notwithstanding any
11 agreement with Urban Development or the Empire
12 State Development Corporation.
13 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again
14 through you, Mr. President, my question is the
15 agreement between the county and the Urban
16 Development Corporation, does that currently
17 prohibit the transfer of any portion of
18 Frontier Field?
19 SENATOR ALESI: The -- Senator,
20 as you know, because we were both involved
21 with this as it occurred over very lengthy and
22 tenuous agreement, that the language says that
23 it cannot be transferred to a third party, and
24 it's obvious that the language that's in the
25 bill addresses that by saying now that it can
5883
1 be.
2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: O.K. And
3 just one final question through you, Mr.
4 President, if the Senator will yield.
5 SENATOR ALESI: I'd be happy
6 to.
7 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again, I
8 think this is simply a clarification. My
9 understanding is that the authority will have
10 condemnation power and will not need the
11 approval of any locality in which the
12 condemnation occurs, and there is discussion
13 about a chapter amendment with respect to the
14 city of Rochester; is that correct?
15 SENATOR ALESI: That is true,
16 Senator. We also have written correspondence
17 from the County Executive. As I understand,
18 it has gone to our friends in the Assembly who
19 are in possession of that, clearly stating
20 that it is not the intent of the county to
21 condemn any property that might be owned by
22 the city. I think without identifying the
23 number of properties they were aimed at the
24 Rochester War Memorial, as you know, and that
25 as we approach the next session that we will
5884
1 make sure that the intent of the county and
2 presumably the intent of the authority once it
3 is established, will be limited by a chapter
4 amendment that we will put in, in the up
5 coming session to clarify any uncertainties
6 about the condemnation process.
7 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 On the bill, and again I
10 appreciate, Senator Alesi and I have talked
11 about this bill on a number of occasions, and
12 he's been very helpful. On this bill,
13 however, I have just a disagreement with this
14 whole concept.
15 This is a step down the road to
16 doing exactly what the state of New York has
17 been severely criticized for by this Governor,
18 by the members of this house, and that is
19 authorizing an enormous new back-door
20 borrowing program in Monroe County.
21 We're about to go in and create
22 a new level of government unaccountable,
23 unelected, appointed by the County Executive
24 for a term that could last decades -- decades,
25 and they will have the authority to borrow $50
5885
1 million. If they don't pay off the bonds they
2 have under the bill, the ability to go into
3 the county treasury and get money to fund off
4 to pay off debt.
5 They will have unlimited
6 condemnation power. They will have the
7 ability to go anywhere in Monroe County and
8 condemn any piece of property other than, and
9 Senator Alesi properly points out, they won't
10 be able to condemn the Rochester War Memorial
11 owned by the city of Rochester, but they will
12 be able to go in and take any tax-paying
13 property in any community and condemn it for a
14 sports facility, no matter what the tax
15 consequence of that is to the local
16 community.
17 They won't have to make
18 payments in lieu of taxes. They won't have to
19 be able to pay sales tax. They won't have to
20 pay mortgage taxes and they can go anywhere.
21 They can go to the town of Brighton, which I
22 represent. They can go to the town of Greece,
23 which I also represent. They can go to
24 Irondequoit, Perinton, any place, condemn the
25 land, not have to abide by zoning laws and not
5886
1 have to seek the approval of the local
2 authority, the local community.
3 We're now going to create an
4 entity that's going to be building sports
5 facilities for which there is no limitation on
6 their power. They can borrow up to $50
7 million. They can take property any way they
8 want it. They can take that property without
9 the approval of the local authority, and I
10 appreciate the Senator's description of the
11 restrictions on the transfer of Frontier
12 Field, but my understanding of that agreement,
13 what happened is the state of New York loaned
14 the county of Monroe money to build the
15 Frontier Field, actually gave them money and
16 then through UDC also financed a portion of
17 it, and the deal that was struck at that time
18 was, we want the county to be on the hook for
19 the ownership of this facility.
20 We are now passing a bill that,
21 in essence, changes that agreement. That was
22 an agreement struck at arm's length between
23 the state protecting our interests and the
24 state taxpayers' money and the county
25 protecting county taxpayers. We're now going
5887
1 to void that agreement with respect to
2 transfer. We're going to transfer it into
3 this appointed, unelected, mysterious
4 government with $50 million worth of bonding
5 authority, and they're going to continue to
6 back-door borrow.
7 From my point of view, this is
8 the equivalent of the Attica experiment,
9 widely criticized by people in this house, the
10 wrong thing for government to be doing. This
11 is the equivalent of selling the Attica
12 Prison. We're now going to sell Frontier
13 Field to an authority. We're going to get
14 cash back. It's the same kind of back-door
15 borrowing that's been justifiably criticized
16 by everybody in this house. It's criticized
17 and should be criticized when we do it as bad
18 public policy. It should be criticized as bad
19 public policy when it's done by Monroe County,
20 the county that I reside in as well.
21 This is a bad idea. It takes a
22 concept of sports improvement and does it the
23 wrong way. I would simply encourage all of my
24 colleagues to vote in the negative.
25 SENATOR SKELOS: Last section.
5888
1 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
2 Read the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
4 act shall take effect in 30 days.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
6 Call the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll. )
9 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded
10 in the negative on Calendar Number 1333 are
11 Senators Abate, Breslin, Dollinger, Gold,
12 Leichter, Onorato, Oppenheimer, Paterson,
13 Santiago, Smith and Waldon. Ayes 50, nays
14 11.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
16 bill is passed.
17 Senator Stachowski.
18 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr.
19 President, I'd like to get unanimous consent
20 to be recorded in the negative on Calendar
21 Number 1554, please.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
23 Senator Stachowski, without objection, will be
24 recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
25 1554.
5889
1 SENATOR ONORATO: Mr.
2 President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
4 Senator Onorato.
5 SENATOR ONORATO: Mr.
6 President, I would like unanimous consent to
7 be recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
8 1545.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
10 Without objection, Senator Onorato will be
11 recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
12 1545.
13 Senator Skelos.
14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
15 on the main calendar, would you please call up
16 Calendar Number 257, by Senator Johnson.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
18 Secretary will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 257, substituted earlier today, by member of
21 the Assembly Vitaliano, Assembly Print 4467-C,
22 an act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation
23 to authorizing.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
25 Read the last section.
5890
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
2 This act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
4 Call the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the
6 roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
9 bill is passed.
10 Senator Skelos.
11 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
12 on the main calendar, would you please call up
13 Calendar Number 715.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
15 Secretary will read.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 715, by member of the Assembly DiNapoli,
18 Assembly Print 4675-A, an act to amend the
19 Retirement and Social Security Law, in
20 relation to authorizing.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
22 Read the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
24 This act shall take effect January 1.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5891
1 Announce the results. Call the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll. )
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
6 bill is passed.
7 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
8 would you please call up Calendar Number 1392
9 on the main calendar.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
11 Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1392, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 6201, an
14 act to amend the Domestic Relations Law and
15 the Penal Law, in relation to the suspension
16 and revocation.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
18 Last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
20 This act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
22 Call the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll. )
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5892
1 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
2 bill is passed.
3 Senator Skelos.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
5 would you please call up Calendar Number 337.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
7 Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 337, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 4422-B,
10 an act to amend the Public Health Law, in
11 relation to Human Immunodeficiency Virus
12 Infection.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
14 is there a message at the desk?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
16 Yes, there is.
17 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to
18 accept.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
20 Motion is to accept the message of necessity.
21 All those in favor, say aye.
22 (Response of "Aye.")
23 All those against, say nay.
24 (There was no response.)
25 The message is accepted.
5893
1 Read the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 7.
3 This act shall take effect on the 180th day.
4 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Hold on.
5 Wait.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
7 Hold on just a minute. Senator Santiago.
8 SENATOR SANTIAGO: Mr.
9 President, on the bill.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
11 Senator Santiago, on the bill.
12 SENATOR SANTIAGO: I would like
13 to explain my vote.
14 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Could we
15 lay that aside, Mr. President?
16 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
17 Could we have some order, please.
18 SENATOR SKELOS: We have a roll
19 call and some individuals want to explain
20 their vote.
21 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
22 President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
24 Secretary will call the roll.
25 Senator Santiago, to explain
5894
1 her vote.
2 THE SECRETARY: I got to read
3 the last section. Section 7. This act shall
4 take effect -
5 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: He's
6 trying to lay it aside.
7 SENATOR SANTIAGO: I am
8 confused.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: O.K.
10 SENATOR SKELOS: Senator
11 Leichter, you're doing a great job.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
13 Call the roll.
14 Where is Randy Kuhl when we
15 need him?
16 O.K. Call the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the
18 roll. )
19 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
20 Senator Santiago, to explain her vote.
21 SENATOR SANTIAGO: O.K.
22 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Go ahead;
23 your light's on.
24 SENATOR SANTIAGO: My light's
25 on.
5895
1 SENATOR WALDON: I don't even
2 see it on the calendar. Mr. President. Mr.
3 President, a point of personal privilege.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5 Senator Waldon.
6 SENATOR WALDON: Mr. President,
7 a point of personal privilege.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
9 State your point of personal privilege.
10 SENATOR WALDON: I have no
11 awareness of what this bill is about. How can
12 we have an explanation of the bill?
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
14 what we're going to do we're going to
15 reconsider -- we're going to withdraw the roll
16 call, and then we'll be on the debate
17 calendar.
18 SENATOR WALDON: Thanks very
19 much, Senator Skelos.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
21 Withdraw the roll.
22 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
23 President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
25 Senator Paterson.
5896
1 SENATOR PATERSON: There's no
2 God. I think that we've asked for an
3 explanation, Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5 O.K. Explanation, Senator Velella.
6 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes, this is
7 the bill we passed the other day, which was
8 the department notification bill, and the
9 Assembly has seen fit to make some changes to
10 this bill that they, in their wisdom, thought
11 would improve it, and this merely is a bill
12 that's come back with those changes with the
13 amendments.
14 Some of the amendments are, we
15 changed the term "investigation" to "contact
16 tracing". The wording of the bill no longer
17 says "investigation".
18 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
19 Excuse me, Senator Velella. Senator Velella,
20 will you excuse me just for a moment, please.
21 We need order. This is a very important bill.
22 Senator Velella.
23 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes, the
24 Assembly suggested, and we have concurred,
25 that rather than use the word "investigation"
5897
1 they wish us to use the word "contact
2 tracing". It has eliminated some general
3 language intended to give local health
4 officials some flexibility which I felt was
5 necessary but which they felt was a little bit
6 too restrictive and might be interpreted to
7 allow quarantine which was not the intent of
8 the bill.
9 Some powers -- a new section
10 3127 has been added, which requires the
11 Department of Health in consultation with the
12 Office of the Prevention of Domestic Violence
13 to operate under the procedures which have
14 been set for domestic violence. The Assembly
15 felt that we needed to put those provisions in
16 so that in the event a Health Department
17 person had contacted a spouse, and I assume it
18 would be either spouse, but for purposes of
19 the illustration would assume that the
20 Department of Health contacted the female,
21 that if the husband would find out, he might
22 -- that she had been exposed to the HIV
23 virus, that he might tend to get violent and
24 be abusive to his female wife, and that we
25 ought to have the provisions of the Office of
5898
1 Prevention of Domestic Violence be put into
2 this bill, and so we did that.
3 Those basically are the
4 amendments that the Assembly requested and
5 that's the purpose of having the bill back.
6 The Assembly has concurred with us that these
7 amendments will achieve the purpose that they
8 desire.
9 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
10 President, just to raise a point of order.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
12 Senator Dollinger.
13 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Is the bill
14 on our desk?
15 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes.
16 SENATOR SMITH: Yes.
17 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Where? The
18 bill that was just handed to us? The bill
19 that was just handed to us is a bill sponsored
20 by Senator Wright.
21 SENATOR VELELLA: I have the
22 bill that was sponsored by Senator Velella and
23 co-sponsored by several members. Perhaps on
24 your desk you mixed up some of the papers.
25 You might want to shuffle through the mess on
5899
1 there, and you might find the right one.
2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
3 President, with all due respect, I don't
4 believe the bill is on our desks.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
6 Senator Paterson.
7 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
8 President, we appreciate that Senator Velella
9 has the bill. He wrote the bill, but the
10 issue is that we honestly don't think that the
11 bill appears on any of the desks of the
12 members, and if we could just either pass
13 the -
14 SENATOR SKELOS: We're going to
15 lay the bill aside temporarily.
16 SENATOR PATERSON: O.K.
17 SENATOR SKELOS: Please go to
18 reports of standing committees. I believe
19 there's a report -
20 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: All
21 right. Lay the bill aside.
22 SENATOR SKELOS: There is a
23 report of the Rules Committee at the desk. I
24 ask it be read.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
5900
1 O.K. Read the report of the Rules Committee.
2 Secretary will read.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
4 from the Committee on Rules, offers up the
5 following bills directly for third reading:
6 Senate Bills 2880-B, by Senator
7 Holland, an act to amend the Administrative
8 Code of the city of New York;
9 3457-A, by Senator Velella, an
10 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
11 6643, by Senator Leibell, an
12 act to amend the Public Authorities Law;
13 6835-B, by Senator Skelos and
14 others, an act to amend the Education Law;
15 7383, by Senator Saland, an act
16 to authorize the city school districts of the
17 city of Poughkeepsie;
18 7416, by Senator Larkin, an act
19 to amend the Retirement and Social Security
20 Law;
21 7452-A, by Senator Gold, an act
22 to amend the Tax Law;
23 7490, by Senator Rath, an act
24 to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
25 7541, by Senator Seabrook, an
5901
1 act authorizing the city of New York to
2 reconvey;
3 7662, by Senator Kuhl, an act
4 in relation to the application;
5 7702, by Senator Lack, an act
6 to amend the General Business Law;
7 7710-A, by Senator Marcellino,
8 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation
9 Law;
10 7779, by Senator Present, an
11 act to authorize the city of Salamanca;
12 7805, by the Committee on
13 Rules, an act to amend the Tax Law;
14 7812, by Senator Stafford,
15 concurrent resolution of the Senate and
16 Assembly; and
17 Assembly Bill 10978, by the
18 Committee on Rules, an act to amend the
19 Highway Law.
20 All bills directly to third
21 reading.
22 SENATOR VELELLA: Move to
23 accept the Rules report, Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
25 motion is to accept the Rules report. All
5902
1 those in favor signify by saying aye.
2 (Response of "Aye.")
3 Opposed nay.
4 (There was no response.)
5 The Rules report is accepted.
6 Senator Smith, why do you rise?
7 SENATOR SMITH: Mr. President,
8 I request unanimous consent to be recorded in
9 the negative on Calendar Number 1554.
10 SENATOR KUHL: 1554?
11 SENATOR SMITH: That's
12 correct.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without
14 objection, hearing no objection, Senator Smith
15 will be recorded in the negative on Calendar
16 Number 1554.
17 Senator Nanula, why do you
18 rise?
19 SENATOR NANULA: I too would
20 like unanimous consent to be recorded in the
21 negative on Calendar Number 1554.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without
23 objection, hearing no objection, Senator
24 Nanula will be recorded in the negative on
25 Calendar Number 1554.
5903
1 SENATOR NANULA: Thank you.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
3 Paterson, why do you rise?
4 SENATOR PATERSON: I just rose
5 to welcome you back, Mr. President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Nice to
7 be back, Senator Paterson.
8 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you.
9 This place was starting to look like a West
10 Side Club, Mr. President.
11 SENATOR GOLD: Does this mean
12 we're going to have a change of luck now?
13 Leichter didn't help us.
14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr.
15 President. Mr. President, I believe Calendar
16 Number 337 has now been distributed.
17 SENATOR WALDON: Explanation,
18 please.
19 SENATOR SKELOS: I ask that you
20 call up Calendar Number 337, by Senator
21 Velella.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Before
23 we do that, before we do that, may we have a
24 little order in the chamber, please. A lot of
25 conversations going on. If we're going to
5904
1 conclude this session by 5:00 o'clock, we've
2 got to have some quiet.
3 Senator Seabrook, why do you
4 rise?
5 SENATOR SEABROOK: Yes, Mr.
6 President. I'd like unanimous consent to be
7 recorded in the negative on 1554.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without
9 objection, Senator Seabrook will be recorded
10 in the negative on Calendar 1554.
11 Secretary will read Calendar
12 Number 337.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 337, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 4422-B,
15 an act to amend the Public Health Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Does
17 some member wish an explanation?
18 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Yes.
19 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Yes.
20 SENATOR WALDON: Yes.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
22 Velella, an explanation has been requested by
23 three members I see raising their hands,
24 Senator Markowitz, Senator Dollinger and
25 Senator Waldon.
5905
1 SENATOR VELELLA: First, Mr.
2 President, I want to apologize to Senator
3 Dollinger. He was correct we did not
4 distribute the correct bill. So I apologize
5 for that.
6 Again, I would just make,
7 briefly, an outline of the amendments which
8 the Assembly has requested. The following
9 changes have been made: Section 2133, Senator
10 Dollinger, has been changed by deleting the
11 last two sentences which advocates claim
12 will -
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
14 Velella, Senator Velella, excuse me just a
15 minute. Really, there is a lot -- I don't
16 know how Senator Santiago could hear the
17 explanation. There are members who are
18 talking and having conversations and walking
19 around the chamber. We're going to have some
20 order in the chamber for the balance of this
21 session.
22 Thank you for the
23 interruption.
24 SENATOR WALDON: Mr.
25 President.
5906
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
2 Waldon, why do you rise?
3 SENATOR WALDON: Would it be
4 possible to ask Senator Velella to speak more
5 directly into the mike and slow the pace down
6 a little bit?
7 SENATOR VELELLA: Would be nice
8 if they'd turn on my mike.
9 The following are the changes
10 that the Assembly has requested, and we've
11 concurred with.
12 Section 2133 has been changed
13 by deleting the last two sentences which
14 advocates claim would have permitted overly
15 broad investigative powers of public health
16 workers. There is, therefore, absolutely no
17 basis any longer for believing or claiming
18 that quarantines would be allowed under this
19 bill. No one will be able to be quarantined
20 under this bill, which was never that intent.
21 There has also been a request that the change
22 by adding language requiring notifications to
23 be done in accordance with domestic violence
24 protocols developed pursuant to a new Section
25 2137. The new Section 2137 has been added
5907
1 which requires Department of Health in
2 consultation with the Office of Prevention of
3 Domestic Violence statewide, and community
4 organizations, to develop a protocol for the
5 identification of domestic violence against
6 individuals who may either be in contact or
7 protected individuals.
8 Again, as I said before, this
9 was at the request of advocates who said that
10 perhaps a female might be notified by a Health
11 Department officer that she had been exposed
12 to the HIV virus and they were fearful that
13 her spouse might turn violent over that
14 notification if he found out about it, so that
15 we would now put those added protections in.
16 Paragraph (c) of subdivision 3
17 of Section 2783 of the Public Health Law has
18 been restored so as to maintain the require
19 ment that physicians who disclose confidential
20 information must act in good faith and without
21 malice in order to avoid criminal or civil
22 sanctions.
23 Those are basically the changes
24 that the Assembly requested. Assemblywoman
25 Nettie Mayersohn, who is the sponsor over in
5908
1 that house, agreed to these changes and asked
2 that the Senate concur, and we amended our
3 bill. Those are the changes. I'd like to
4 move the bill.
5 I believe the vote on the
6 original bill was only three negatives against
7 it, and the balance of the house in support.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
9 Santiago.
10 SENATOR SANTIAGO: Mr.
11 President, on the bill.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
13 Santiago, on the bill.
14 SENATOR SANTIAGO: It would be
15 easier for me to support name reporting if I
16 knew that there was protection from
17 discrimination for people with HIV. If we're
18 going to have the state collect names of
19 people who test positive for HIV, we should be
20 sure that they're protected from losing their
21 jobs, that they're protected from losing their
22 homes, that they're protected from losing
23 health care.
24 Presently, if names fall into
25 the wrong hands, this may be the consequence.
5909
1 It has happened to countless people since the
2 AIDS epidemic began. The people who have been
3 affected by this bill, this procedure, have
4 come to my office in great numbers. What we
5 need is a civil rights bill. This would go a
6 long way to solving the problem. However,
7 presently there is no such protection from HIV
8 discrimination.
9 At the urging of the people in
10 my district, and many other people in the
11 districts that you live in, I urge you not to
12 support this legislation, and I have to vote
13 in the negative.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
15 Waldon.
16 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you, Mr.
17 President.
18 Would the gentleman yield for a
19 question or two.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
21 Velella, do you yield for a question from
22 Senator Waldon?
23 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes, Senator.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
25 yields.
5910
1 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you very
2 much, Mr. President.
3 Senator, I apologize for not
4 being more thoroughly aware of what this
5 proposal contains. As you know, Paul Revere
6 just ran around and dropped it on each of our
7 desks just a few minutes ago. But to be very
8 serious, is there anything in this proviso
9 which will create sanctions against someone
10 who improperly distributes the names of those
11 who are identified in this process as HIV
12 positive?
13 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes. The
14 same protections that we have in the law,
15 Senator, that would punish a doctor or person
16 who disclosed the names of a person who is
17 exposed to any of the venereal diseases,
18 whether it be syphilis or any of the other
19 diseases that are sexually transmitted, those
20 same protections that we have for the other
21 contagious diseases would also apply to this
22 if some doctor or someone disclosed them, a
23 health official, those same punishments would
24 continued to be there.
25 SENATOR WALDON: Would the
5911
1 gentleman continue to yield, Mr. President?
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
3 Velella, do you continue to yield?
4 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes.
5 SENATOR WALDON: Senator
6 Velella, only you know the dialogue, if any at
7 all, which occurred between yourself and
8 Assemblywoman Mayersohn, for whom I also have
9 great respect as I do for you. In that
10 colloquy, if there was one, was there any
11 discussion as to the desire of the community
12 most affected by this proposal not to have
13 this information to be made so publicly free?
14 SENATOR VELELLA: Absolutely,
15 and I think there are adequate protections
16 here. In addition, we have provisions in this
17 bill, as I explained on the main -- on the
18 bill when we passed it the last time, this is
19 not a mandatory bill. If, for example, an
20 individual has the disease and the Health
21 Department person says, We want to know the
22 names of the contacts that you have had either
23 sexually or by trans... by sharing needles or
24 any of the other means that might transmit
25 this disease, and that person that's been
5912
1 identified says, Mind your business, I don't
2 want to tell you and leave me alone, that's
3 it. There's nothing else that the health
4 official can do.
5 There are other bills in this
6 house that would confuse and that's why some
7 of the legislators got those erroneous
8 letters. There are other bills that prescribe
9 that if you fail to reveal the name of a
10 contact, that you be criminally responsible.
11 This bill does not, is not intended and will
12 never, under this law or the amendments to the
13 original bill or the present amendments,
14 require somebody. What it does is, it
15 encourages the Health Department to solicit
16 from the individual the names of people that
17 might have been exposed and those people will
18 be contacted personally, directly and in a
19 confidential way by a Health Department
20 individual who will tell them that we have
21 reason to believe you have been exposed to the
22 virus. They will not reveal the name of the
23 person who is the infected person that
24 originally had the virus that gave them the
25 name. They will just notify them, We believe
5913
1 you've been exposed to the HIV virus. You
2 ought to go to your own doctor and immediately
3 be tested. That's it.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
5 Waldon.
6 SENATOR WALDON: Yes, Mr.
7 President. Through you, perhaps just one or
8 two more questions.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
10 Velella, you continue to yield?
11 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes, sir.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
13 continues to yield.
14 SENATOR WALDON: Senator
15 Velella, please excuse my ignorance. I'm
16 reading on page 4, 1(a) 1(2), quote: "The
17 physician believes disclosure is medically
18 appropriate and there is a significant risk of
19 infection to the contact." What does that
20 mean?
21 SENATOR VELELLA: What -
22 SENATOR WALDON: Let me read it
23 again. Page 4, line 6, number 2, quote: "The
24 physician believes disclosure is medically
25 appropriate and there is a significant risk of
5914
1 infection to the contact." Close quote.
2 SENATOR VELELLA: What's your
3 question? That's what it says. Now, what is
4 your question?
5 SENATOR WALDON: What does that
6 really mean?
7 SENATOR VELELLA: Well, it
8 means where the physician believes that it's
9 proper under the medical conditions, what it
10 says, that if this is to say someone else, if
11 it is something that will help to stop the
12 spread, then those disclosures would be
13 medically appropriate.
14 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you very
15 much, Senator Velella. Thank you very much,
16 Mr. President.
17 On the bill, if I may.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
19 Waldon, on the bill.
20 SENATOR WALDON: I think we're
21 going along the same route that we traveled
22 last time on this issue with a similar
23 proposal and I think that Senator Santiago was
24 on the money. I think what will happen is that
25 a certain class of people will be
5915
1 discriminated against in many forms of their
2 life, and that they will be segregated and
3 separated out to be treated disparately.
4 I have been in contact through
5 my office with many, many people from this
6 community and the thing that they ask me to
7 support most of all is to let the awareness of
8 their condition be made voluntarily between
9 themselves and those people that they are
10 interacting with. I respect that and I will
11 honor that, in terms of the commitment that
12 I've made to them. So I cannot support this.
13 I think that we're a little way away from
14 doing the right thing by our -- those in our
15 community who are HIV-positive or are subject
16 to becoming HIV-positive, so I will support
17 Senator Santiago.
18 I will vote no on this
19 proposal.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
21 Markowitz.
22 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Thank you
23 very much.
24 First off, I want to say,
25 Senator Velella and members of the Senate,
5916
1 Republican and Democrat, and the members of
2 the Assembly that we all have, most of us have
3 a common purpose in seeing in the next few
4 years an eradication of HIV/AIDS forever more
5 to ensure that all human beings in our state
6 conduct themselves in a way that will not in
7 any way cause this terrible disease to
8 continue. We all agree on that.
9 We also know that HIV/AIDS
10 impacts the gay and lesbian community and it
11 impacts the heterosexual community. We agree
12 on that as well, and yet on this bill, you can
13 understand the concerns and passions,
14 especially those of the gay and lesbian
15 community in our state, and who cannot
16 understand. For years, Senator Connor,
17 Senator Paterson and most of us have tried to
18 pass a bias-related bill in this house, a
19 strong bias-related bill.
20 What has held up the enact
21 ment of that legislation? Not bias-related
22 towards Latinos or African-Americans or other
23 ethnics but because of the inclusion of gay
24 and lesbians in that legislation. Is it any
25 wonder that that community has little trust
5917
1 for this house?
2 I agree with them, because that
3 trust has to be earned. They and anyone else
4 in this society that are impacted by this
5 dreaded disease have a right to know that
6 confidentiality will be respected because
7 there is ongoing discrimination against many
8 different types of people whose beliefs you
9 may not share and whose sexual orientation you
10 may not understand or want to understand.
11 Here we're talking about a bill
12 that the names of contacts will be released to
13 three different health agencies, state, local
14 and county, without any training or standards
15 for those government employees. Could you
16 imagine that a physician is required to give
17 the government the names of contacts even if
18 the physician tells the state that he or she
19 will be responsible for notification and
20 certifies that fact to the state to those
21 contacts, that the law would appear in
22 communicable diseases section of the code
23 which still has sweeping powers and that HIV
24 is not a communicable disease.
25 The bill provides no funding,
5918
1 no new funding to carry out this massive
2 program. It's an unfunded mandate on local
3 government and, from what I hear, we are
4 trying to minimize unfunded local mandates
5 that require funding and lastly, contacts'
6 names are never destroyed, never destroyed;
7 and so my suggestion to the men and women of
8 our Legislature, let us reason together.
9 Before we ever pass this legislation, we are
10 all on the same path. We all want the same
11 goal, no matter where we say we want the same
12 goal. Let's be in inclusive and sit down
13 early in the legislative session in January
14 and bring in the communities that are
15 passionate and that are involved in this and
16 that are impacted in a major way, and let's
17 resolve this, come up with a piece of
18 legislation that meets the objective and the
19 approval of all of those concerned, and that
20 is the reason why, Senator Velella, I still
21 can't support this legislation.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
23 Breslin. Senator Breslin, did you wish to
24 speak?
25 SENATOR BRESLIN: Yes, Mr.
5919
1 President, through you.
2 Senator Velella, there's a new
3 Section 2137, and it talks about the
4 prevention of domestic violence and it talks
5 about a particular domestic violence
6 commission. Could you tell us what that is?
7 SENATOR VELELLA: The Office of
8 Prevention of Domestic Violence.
9 Senator, we use that in 2137
10 that you're talking about?
11 SENATOR BRESLIN: Yes.
12 SENATOR VELELLA: That requires
13 the council to involve the Office of Domestic
14 Violence statewide and community organization
15 to develop a protocol for the identification
16 of domestic violence against individuals who
17 may either be a contact or protected
18 individual.
19 The language was provided by
20 the New York State Coalition against Domestic
21 Violence, and it was at their request that
22 this language be inserted in here and at the
23 request of the Assembly, and we agreed to put
24 it in.
25 SENATOR BRESLIN: Through you,
5920
1 Mr. President, is there an existing office -
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
3 Velella, do you continue to yield?
4 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes.
5 SENATOR BRESLIN: Is there an
6 existing Office for the Prevention of Domestic
7 Violence?
8 SENATOR VELELLA: You've really
9 got me. I mean I assume that there is because
10 we refer to it; everybody's asked for it to be
11 there, but do I personally, no. They've never
12 contacted me as a perpetrator of domestic
13 violence, so I don't know if they're there or
14 not, but I assume that we do have and, if you
15 want, I will check and find out. There must be
16 an Office of Domestic Violence.
17 Your side has informed me;
18 perhaps they're more familiar with the Office
19 of Domestic Violence. They have informed me
20 that there is such an office.
21 SENATOR BRESLIN: Through you,
22 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue
23 to yield.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
25 Velella, do you continue to yield?
5921
1 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes.
2 SENATOR BRESLIN: Could you ask
3 my side where that office is located.
4 VOICE: It's in the Bronx.
5 SENATOR BRESLIN: No, in what
6 agency?
7 SENATOR VELELLA: Now, I'm a
8 little embarrassed. It's part of the
9 Executive Chamber. Carol Johnston is the head
10 of the Office.
11 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
13 Secretary will read the last section.
14 Senator Dollinger, why do you
15 rise?
16 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Just for a
17 question of the sponsor, if I could.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
19 Velella, do you yield to a question from
20 Senator Dollinger?
21 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes,
22 Senator.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
24 yields.
25 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Senator,
5922
1 when this bill came up the first time, I voted
2 in favor of it, but I did so, and I just want
3 to make sure I understand this.
4 Is it my understanding that a
5 physician will always be involved in the
6 discussion with the person who is diagnosed as
7 being HIV-positive?
8 SENATOR VELELLA: I could
9 conceive of a possibility where a physician
10 might not be involved.
11 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Where would
12 that occur, again through you, Mr. President.
13 SENATOR VELELLA: The only
14 thing I might think of if a person went into a
15 clinic and was tested and the person giving
16 them the result in that clinic would not be a
17 doctor or a physician but might be some kind
18 of a health -- a nurse or a -- or a technician
19 that was giving them the results of their
20 blood test that they had voluntarily taken.
21 We also do have in New York
22 State, and this bill does not touch, the
23 possibility that someone can go in and be
24 anonymously tested for the HIV virus if they
25 desire, but the person it is conceivable to me
5923
1 that might give you the bad news could be
2 other than a physician, a physician's
3 assistant or a nurse.
4 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again
5 through you, Mr. President. Under this bill,
6 the information could be passed to the state
7 of New York without the person who's diagnosed
8 even knowing; is that correct?
9 SENATOR VELELLA: I don't know
10 in your hypothetical. I would think not. I
11 would think it's when the person is notified
12 that the doctor also notifies the Commissioner
13 of Health, who then notifies the local health
14 officer, whether it be in a county, a county
15 health officer or, as in my case, the city of
16 New York, the City health officer would be
17 notified and would then contact any person
18 that was so diagnosed and say, We'd like to
19 know the people you had contact with. Will
20 you tell us so that we can notify them that
21 they have been exposed.
22 SENATOR DOLLINGER: But again -
23 SENATOR VELELLA: And if you
24 say no, it's no; if you tell them the name
25 they're contacted confidentially.
5924
1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again
2 through you, Mr. President, but doesn't your
3 bill provide that the diagnostic testing lab
4 would notify the state even though they hadn't
5 notified the individual?
6 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes.
7 SENATOR DOLLINGER: So your
8 name could be, under your bill, or under this
9 bill, your name could be given to the state
10 Health Commissioner as testing positive even
11 though you didn't even know it; is that
12 possible?
13 SENATOR VELELLA: If you gave
14 your name and you asked for the HIV test and
15 it came back positive, the health -- the
16 agency that did the testing would notify the
17 state that they had an positive hit on this
18 name, and if you didn't ask what the results
19 of my test was, I guess it's conceivable that
20 you wouldn't know, but the Health Department
21 would know. I think it's a little bit strange
22 though, that you would go to get the tests.
23 There would be a result and then you would
24 never go back to get the result, but that, I
25 guess, could conceivably happen.
5925
1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again
2 through you, Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
4 Velella, do you continue to yield?
5 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes.
6 SENATOR DOLLINGER: What
7 happens if there's a false positive?
8 SENATOR VELELLA: If there's a
9 false positive, then you would be given a
10 false result.
11 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again
12 through you, Mr. President, but what happens
13 if there's a false positive and the
14 information is transferred to the Health
15 Department, as it would be right from the
16 lab?
17 SENATOR VELELLA: Absolutely.
18 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Your bill
19 says immediately the lab has to send this
20 information forward and the individual doesn't
21 even know it, and the process goes on and it
22 turns out the test was false.
23 SENATOR VELELLA: The
24 individual would know in a relatively short
25 time because if there was a false positive and
5926
1 in fact that testing agency notified the state
2 Health Department and that state Health
3 Department notified the local Health
4 Department and that local Health Department
5 official came over to visit the person and
6 said, By the way, you know that test you took,
7 it was positive. Then that person would find
8 out. It would be a little bit of a delay, but
9 they would find out all the same.
10 SENATOR DOLLINGER: And just
11 one final question through you, Mr. President,
12 to Senator Velella.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
14 continues to yields.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Who's going
16 to -
17 SENATOR VELELLA: And I might
18 add, Senator, it was just pointed out to me if
19 there is a false positive, the person would
20 notify the Health Department and the Health
21 Department would take them off the list.
22 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Is there a
23 provision for that in here?
24 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes.
25 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Could you
5927
1 tell me where?
2 SENATOR VELELLA: It's existing
3 procedures.
4 SENATOR DOLLINGER: And again
5 through you, Mr. President, the procedure that
6 you described in which the testing lab would
7 notify the state Health Commissioner without
8 the persons's physician first notifying the
9 diagnosed person, is that the current
10 procedure used for other STDs?
11 SENATOR VELELLA: I honestly
12 don't know. I honestly don't know if that's
13 the current procedure. It is the procedure to
14 be developed under this bill. Whether it's
15 the current procedure, I honestly don't know.
16 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 I'm not sure what -
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
20 Secretary will read the last section.
21 Senator Abate, you want to
22 explain your vote?
23 SENATOR ABATE: No, I would
24 like to ask some questions.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
5928
1 Velella, do you yield to a question from
2 Senator Abate? Senator yields.
3 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes, Senator.
4 SENATOR ABATE: Yes, Mr.
5 President, if Senator Velella will yield to
6 some questions.
7 SENATOR VELELLA: Sure.
8 SENATOR ABATE: I just am
9 reading the bill for the first time, so I have
10 a number of questions.
11 It's my understanding
12 understanding of the current law, Senator
13 Velella.
14 SENATOR VELELLA: Go ahead.
15 SENATOR ABATE: O.K. Under the
16 current law, doctors may now notify health
17 authorities if they feel that they have a
18 patient in fact, who is not being responsible
19 and they can actually notify the partners
20 themselves; is that right?
21 SENATOR VELELLA: I guess
22 technically you're correct, but it would be
23 very difficult for someone to notify a partner
24 of a person if, in fact, they didn't know the
25 name of that person, which is very possible
5929
1 under existing law, or the individual didn't
2 let them know who their partners would be.
3 You know, if I don't tell you
4 who my partner is I shared a needle with,
5 you're never going to know how to contact them
6 if I'm a person that shares needles with
7 people and if I chose to be tested anonymously
8 as the law now provides, you wouldn't know who
9 I was anyway to notify anybody else, so -
10 SENATOR ABATE: Well, let's
11 make the assumption. Under the current law the
12 doctor knew who the partner was, and the
13 patient refused to notify his partner. The
14 doctor today could make that notification.
15 SENATOR VELELLA: Conceivably,
16 yes.
17 SENATOR ABATE: Could directly
18 tell the partner.
19 SENATOR VELELLA: Yeah, I
20 believe so, yes.
21 SENATOR ABATE: Yes, under the
22 law as it exists.
23 SENATOR VELELLA: Under
24 existing law, yes.
25 SENATOR ABATE: Under existing
5930
1 law. Under this law how does it change that
2 practice?
3 SENATOR VELELLA: I don't
4 believe it does, Senator, unless you see
5 something in the bill that changes it.
6 SENATOR ABATE: So you're
7 saying now a doctor now who has a patient can
8 still notify?
9 SENATOR VELELLA: Can still
10 notify?
11 SENATOR ABATE: Can still
12 notify the partner.
13 SENATOR VELELLA: I'm saying we
14 do not change existing law for that procedure.
15 If the doctor knows and the doctor feels it's
16 medical necessity, they can under existing
17 law.
18 SENATOR ABATE: Right.
19 SENATOR VELELLA: And this law
20 does not change that.
21 SENATOR ABATE: All right.
22 Senator Velella, you raised a critical issue
23 that even under the existing law the doctor's
24 hands are handicapped because if the patient
25 doesn't tell them of the existing names of
5931
1 partners, the doctor can't do anything; is
2 that right?
3 SENATOR VELELLA: Correct.
4 SENATOR ABATE: Now, what's
5 different under this proposed law? Let's say
6 that -
7 SENATOR VELELLA: I'm glad -
8 I'm glad you asked that question.
9 SENATOR ABATE: Yes, but I need
10 to understand. Let's say an individual is
11 tested, and that individual is asked, Do you
12 have any partners, and the individual let's
13 say, doesn't want to give that information, so
14 how are we at a better place under this law
15 than under the current law?
16 SENATOR VELELLA: Well,
17 Senator, I'm glad you asked that question
18 because now what we are going to do is we are
19 going to give the Health Department of your
20 local government, in our case the city of New
21 York, the power, the right and the impetus to
22 speak to that person who has been diagnosed as
23 affected by this disease and try to counsel
24 them and bring them about to tell us who else
25 might be exposed.
5932
1 Now, we might not be
2 successful, but certainly I've heard you talk
3 about bills here dealing with HIV where you
4 have said that counseling is an important part
5 and you've been very strongly supportive of
6 that, and I have been too, because this is a
7 traumatic disease, it's a terrible disease and
8 we are going to try to get these people
9 counseled to reveal the names voluntarily. If
10 they tell us, mind your own business and get
11 out of here, there's not very much we can do
12 and this law will not force anybody to tell
13 but we are going to encourage the local health
14 departments to go for this goal. The best
15 possible way to control this disease is to
16 find out who the other people are that have
17 been affected and to discuss with them the
18 possibility for going for tests and to
19 convince them that they ought to find out if,
20 in fact, they are carrying the virus.
21 SENATOR ABATE: You're
22 absolutely right, Senator Velella. I have
23 been outspoken and I'd say absolutely
24 committed to mandatory counseling because I
25 believe when people are informed, most people
5933
1 will be responsible about themselves and their
2 loved ones and their partners.
3 My question is, let's assume
4 counseling is beneficial. The more people
5 understand their responsibilities they'll
6 carry it out, but don't you think people would
7 react better to their individual doctor than
8 to a strange Health Department official who
9 calls them up on the phone? How are we going
10 to be in a better position so that we know
11 about more partners and more people come
12 forward so we can get more people in treatment
13 and they understand what their status is?
14 SENATOR VELELLA: Well, the
15 average -- your local doctor would not
16 normally have the time, probably the
17 inclination, to contact people. Let's assume
18 that, and not to attribute any moral
19 promiscuity amongst people. Let's assume
20 somebody is an IV user and has shared needles
21 with maybe 15 people. Well, if you told your
22 doctor these are the 15 people I shared -
23 these are the 15 people I shared needles with,
24 I don't know how many dedicated doctors would
25 have the time or the inclination to go out and
5934
1 contact those 15 people. So the Health
2 Department officials who are trained, who are
3 sensitized to the problems of this disease
4 would have the time to go out and be employed
5 and do the contacts like they do with other
6 socially transmitted diseases; so that's one
7 of the benefits I think, that we would get,
8 that doctors, your family doctor might not
9 have the time, the inclination or the ability
10 to contact people.
11 For example, if you shared
12 needles with someone in Manhattan, and also up
13 in Albany while you're in Albany, would your
14 doctor travel to Albany to tell that person
15 personally that they might have been exposed
16 to the HIV virus because somebody shared a
17 needle with somebody who has been identified
18 as having the HIV virus so the Health
19 Department can make those transmissions and
20 those contacts, I think, more effectively,
21 more confidentially, and probably a little bit
22 more sensitively about making them.
23 SENATOR ABATE: Could you
24 clarify this issue? If I am contacted, I've
25 been tested, I test positive and I'm contacted
5935
1 by the health care official, and I tell them I
2 don't have any partner, but I'm not believed
3 by the public health official. What can that
4 individual do?
5 SENATOR VELELLA: Nothing, and
6 this bill allows them to do nothing more than
7 ask you and possibly try to convince you.
8 Would you think about it again, please; would
9 you try to think; would you tell us if, in
10 fact, you have -- you say, Leave me alone; I
11 don't want you to bother me. I don't have any
12 contacts, and they can't do anything else.
13 SENATOR ABATE: And what will
14 the protocol be if, after I say no, and I say
15 to this health care official, Leave me alone,
16 what will the protocol; will there be a second
17 or third step by the official, or will the
18 file be closed.
19 SENATOR VELELLA: According to
20 this bill, if you read what's here, there will
21 be nothing to be done except to ask the person
22 who's been identified as HIV-positive to
23 reveal the names of possible contacts. After
24 that, the file is closed.
25 SENATOR ABATE: Is there
5936
1 anything in this bill that provides for
2 explaining of the health care officials around
3 confidentiality, sensitivity, understanding of
4 the nature of this law? What is built into
5 there that there's enough money invested to
6 make sure the health care provider can carry
7 out this law in an appropriate and sensitive
8 and non-discriminatory way?
9 SENATOR VELELLA: There is
10 nothing in this bill that would add any
11 requirements because there is a system in
12 place already for socially sexually
13 transmitted diseases that the Health
14 Department has in place now. That same system
15 and those same criteria would be used in
16 contacting HIV-positive people and those
17 contacts that they have. In addition, the
18 Assembly, in these amendments that bring the
19 bill back to us, mandate something above and
20 beyond and that is that the Office of Domestic
21 Violence also be contacted, so that in the
22 event a spouse or a partner might be violent
23 over this if they hear about it, there will be
24 the properly trained people to respond to that
25 family need in giving that unfortunate in
5937
1 formation to the family.
2 SENATOR ABATE: If I -- Mr.
3 President, would Senator Velella continue to
4 yield?
5 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes.
6 SENATOR ABATE: Thank you,
7 Senator.
8 What sanctions are available -
9 I'm not aware of what the sanctions are,
10 Senator, if I'm a health care provider, and I
11 raise after the individual I've contacted, I
12 think that individual is irresponsible, and I
13 disclose the health status of that individual?
14 What's the -- what is the sanction against me
15 as a health care provider?
16 SENATOR VELELLA: Well, you
17 would no longer be licensed as a health care
18 professional because you had violated a
19 professional -- a professional
20 confidentiality. I don't know that there is a
21 misdemeanor charge in the law, but it would be
22 whatever the same punishment would be for
23 revealing that you might have been exposed to
24 a venereal disease, or that you might have
25 smallpox or that you might have hepatitis, or
5938
1 any other medical person who is licensed who
2 would reveal any of your medical information.
3 We don't raise this to a higher
4 level, but we don't bring it to a lower
5 level.
6 SENATOR ABATE: Would you
7 consider, Senator, putting forward a bill that
8 if someone does disclose this information
9 which is inconsistent with the law and in
10 violation of the law, that they would face
11 criminal charges because I submit that this is
12 very different from the other communicable
13 diseases. This is a transmissible disease. We
14 do not have a civil rights bill that protects
15 against discrimination against people who are
16 gay. Some of the very individuals that would
17 be affected by this could be gay men, and so I
18 would say that the chances of discrimination
19 are even greater.
20 Would you consider submitting a
21 bill that would outline sanctions that would
22 be tantamount to criminal charges?
23 SENATOR VELELLA: Well,
24 Senator, first of all, I want to correct
25 something you said. This is not a gay
5939
1 disease.
2 SENATOR ABATE: It is not a gay
3 disease.
4 SENATOR VELELLA: Certainly
5 not.
6 SENATOR ABATe: I'm not
7 suggesting that.
8 SENATOR VELELLA: It's a
9 heterosexual disease, and it's transmitted in
10 many ways, so isolating and stigmatizing the
11 gay community, I think, is wrong, so we
12 shouldn't use that as an example.
13 SENATOR ABATE: I'm so glad
14 that you feel that we should end
15 discrimination against gays.
16 SENATOR VELELLA: We show a lot
17 of common sensitivity.
18 SENATOR ABATE: And we should
19 work vigorously in this chamber to pass that
20 law because, if we truly want to end
21 discrimination, but my suggestion is that
22 there is discrimination and that we may have
23 to take much more stringent approaches to
24 prevent the disclosure and why we don't do it
25 with sexually transmitted diseases or other
5940
1 kinds of -
2 SENATOR VELELLA: On the bill,
3 talk on the bill. If you want to ask me a
4 question, ask me a question.
5 SENATOR ABATE: Yes. I just
6 asked will you be willing to sponsor a piece
7 of legislation with stronger sanctions if an
8 individual discloses confidential information?
9 SENATOR VELELLA: Certainly,
10 and we have a provision in here, line 22, page
11 3, which talks about some penalties for people
12 who no criminal or civil liability shall
13 attach to any protected individual -
14 SENATOR ABATE: I can't
15 understand you.
16 SENATOR VELELLA: -- solely due
17 to our failure -- failure.
18 SENATOR ABATE: Where are you
19 reading?
20 SENATOR VELELLA: -- to report
21 -- page 3, line 22 to 25, so we're not
22 forcing the people to disclose anything. If
23 someone does disclose confidential information
24 that's come their way, sure, we have
25 professional punishments for them. I'd be
5941
1 happy to consider a bill if you were going to
2 put one in -- well, I don't know if you're
3 going to be here to do it.
4 SENATOR ABATE: Maybe in
5 another capacity, I'll be able to do it.
6 SENATOR VELELLA: Who?
7 SENATOR ABATE: Maybe in another
8 capacity I'll be able to do it.
9 SENATOR VELELLA: Oh, I doubt
10 that; I doubt that, Senator; I seriously doubt
11 that.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
13 Abate we're not here for what you're
14 discussing.
15 SENATOR VELELLA: I seriously
16 doubt that.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Do you
18 have another question of Senator Velella?
19 SENATOR ABATE: Senator Velella,
20 would you continue to yield?
21 SENATOR VELELLA: Well, I would
22 refuse to think about that, and I would say
23 there are many, many protections for
24 discrimination against HIV-infected people in
25 the existing law.
5942
1 One of the things we talked
2 about when I did the "baby AIDS" bill which we
3 debated, was the fact that there's something
4 like 15 pages of protections in the state
5 statutes for people who are HIV-positive or
6 have full-blown AIDS that are no protections
7 for any other known disease. I think some of
8 the other diseases may have a paragraph or two
9 for protection. We have bent over backwards
10 to make the laws and the provisions for
11 protecting people from discrimination who have
12 AIDS, in housing, if you look at some of the
13 forms.
14 All of the protections that we
15 could possibly do are there. Could we improve
16 on them? Probably. And would I be willing to
17 work with you on improving the protections?
18 Sure, but I think we also have to keep a
19 message in mind and that is that people ought
20 to know if they were exposed to this disease.
21 We're not stigmatizing people. We're not
22 categorizing them. We're simply saying, if
23 you've been exposed to this disease, you ought
24 to know. I think you would want to know. I
25 would want to know.
5943
1 Think of the Magic Johnson
2 case. Years after he had had some sexual
3 contacts while he was in college he finds out
4 that he was was diagnosed with this HIV
5 virus. What about people he may have had
6 contacts with between then that had been
7 exposed to this? Wouldn't they want to know?
8 SENATOR ABATE: Senator, I just
9 have a couple -
10 SENATOR VELELLA: That's all
11 we're trying to do; we're not trying to hurt
12 anybody. We're trying to give someone a
13 private notification that you know what,
14 there's a chance you might have been exposed.
15 You better go to your doctor.
16 SENATOR ABATE: And I'm just
17 trying to understand the implications of this
18 bill.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
20 Abate.
21 SENATOR ABATE: And again I'm
22 seeing it for the first time.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
24 Abate.
25 SENATOR ABATE: Yes. Can I
5944
1 continue?
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Well,
3 if you ask the Chair to -- whether the Senator
4 yields or not, certainly we'll see.
5 SENATOR ABATE: Thank you.
6 Senator, are you asking Senator Velella to
7 yield?
8 SENATOR ABATE: Yes, I am.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
10 Velella, do you yield?
11 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
13 yields.
14 SENATOR ABATE: Thank you.
15 Right now, there are contact tracing programs,
16 federal projects. I'm really trying to under
17 stand this bill.
18 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes.
19 SENATOR ABATE: Will those
20 voluntary contact tracing programs continue to
21 be funded, and these are the programs where
22 individuals say, I want on my own to notify my
23 partners?
24 SENATOR VELELLA: Senator, I
25 couldn't answer that with any degree of
5945
1 certainty. If the money has been put into the
2 budget, if the funding process that was
3 previously in existence is still there, yes
4 there will continue to be funding. This bill,
5 I can tell you, will not affect it negatively
6 or positively. It has nothing to do with the
7 funding sources of people who voluntarily
8 participate in another program. It simply
9 tells -- it simply creates the law that says
10 the Health Department should reach out to
11 people, try to get them to reveal their
12 contacts and notify those people who have been
13 their contacts in a confidential manner.
14 That's it.
15 Whatever was funded was
16 funded.
17 SENATOR ABATE: But don't you
18 agree that we want to -
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
20 Abate, are you asking the Senator to yield?
21 SENATOR ABATE: Yes.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
23 Velella, do you yield?
24 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
5946
1 yields.
2 SENATOR ABATE: Senator, don't
3 we want to encourage people to take responsi
4 bility for themselves and encourage them to
5 voluntarily reach out to their partners and to
6 talk with their partners and disclose this
7 information?
8 SENATOR VELELLA: Absolutely,
9 and that's why you should vote for this bill
10 because this encourages that.
11 SENATOR ABATE: Well, this -
12 but I understand this will put people -
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
14 Abate. Senator Abate, are you asking Senator
15 Velella to yield?
16 SENATOR ABATE: Yes. Do you want
17 me, after every question, to ask you?
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: That is
19 the normal procedure. I've kind of let you go,
20 Senator Abate, because you weren't here the
21 other day when this bill was debated, and I
22 thought we could short-cut the debate, but
23 that doesn't appear to be happening, and the
24 sun is setting as you may know.
25 SENATOR ABATE: O.K.
5947
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: 5:00
2 o'clock is fastly coming; so, Senator Velella,
3 do you continue to yield?
4 SENATOR VELELLA: Mr.
5 President, I would caution the questioner and
6 the Senator that I will yield to two more
7 questions and then I will cease yielding.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
9 will yield to two more questions if you'll run
10 them through the Chair.
11 SENATOR VELELLA: So put them
12 carefully, Senator.
13 SENATOR ABATE: They'll be very
14 carefully chosen, Senator.
15 SENATOR VELELLA: Thank you.
16 SENATOR ABATE: Where in this
17 bill, if an individual says I want to be
18 responsible and talk to my partner, where can
19 they notify someone, the Health Commissioner,
20 and say I want to opt out of this mandatory
21 program? I want to do the notifying, not a
22 stranger from the Health Department? Where in
23 this bill allows me to take responsibility for
24 my actions?
25 SENATOR VELELLA: Senator, you
5948
1 were born with that right to have
2 responsibility for your own actions. This
3 bill does not stop you from having that
4 right. It doesn't create a new right. It
5 just says you can be contacted, and that's
6 it. Hang up the phone, tell the person to get
7 out. You can be responsible for yourself.
8 We're going to only try to encourage those
9 people who are not responsible for
10 themselves. You were born with that right. I
11 would never take it away from you.
12 SENATOR ABATE: And my last
13 question.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
15 Velella, do you continue to yield for one more
16 question?
17 SENATOR VELELLA: That's it,
18 the last one, Mr. President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
20 yields to one more question.
21 SENATOR ABATE: And my concern,
22 and you stated it very aptly, that we need to
23 make sure that the laws are enforced. There is
24 an Executive Law, a state Human Rights Law
25 that says people with disabilities cannot be
5949
1 discriminated against, but we also have a
2 state Division of Human Rights that has no
3 funding and very little ability to prosecute
4 these cases to make sure that the law, whether
5 it's confidentiality or the human rights law,
6 is enforced.
7 What kind of assurance can you
8 give to me that we will diligently enforce the
9 law and protect people with disabilities
10 against discrimination?
11 SENATOR VELELLA: Senator, you
12 know, I wish we would try to confine ourselves
13 to the facts of this bill. This bill does
14 nothing to deal with the Human Rights
15 Commission. It doesn't propose to do that. It
16 doesn't stop any right anybody has. If you're
17 unhappy with the funding that's been provided
18 for one state agency or another, you have
19 never been shy to offer an amendment to the
20 budget. You've never been shy to offer any
21 proposals to this house. Do them, but let's
22 talk about what's on this bill and is printed
23 here. It in no way affects any of the funding
24 either negatively or positively to any other
25 state agency.
5950
1 Let's stick to this bill. It
2 says, if you've been diagnosed with HIV and
3 you're HIV-positive a certified Health
4 Department professional will contact you, ask
5 you to reveal the names of the people you may
6 have infected and then when they are told you
7 will notify those people discreetly and not
8 even reveal your name that you are the person
9 that may have infected them. Just notify them
10 that they have may have been infected by
11 someone, there is reason to believe they may
12 have been exposed to this virus; they ought to
13 go get tested. Simple, clean, pure, not
14 hurting anybody, not violating anybody's
15 constitutional rights, and just a plain old
16 common sense solution to a very, very
17 difficult problem.
18 I refuse to yield any further,
19 Mr. President.
20 SENATOR ABATE: And -
21 SENATOR VELELLA: Read the last
22 section.
23 SENATOR ABATE: And, Senator
24 Velella, I have no further questions. Thank
25 you very much.
5951
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
2 Secretary will read the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 7.
4 This bill shall take effect on the 180th day.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll. )
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Record
10 the negatives.
11 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded
12 in the negative on Calendar Number 337 are
13 Senators Markowitz, Montgomery, Sampson,
14 Santiago, Seabrook, Smith -- correction,
15 Senator Smith in the affirmative -- and
16 Senator Waldon. Ayes 55, nays 6.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 bill is passed.
19 Senator Velella.
20 SENATOR VELELLA: Mr.
21 President, there will be an immediate meeting
22 of the Rules Committee in the Senate
23 Conference Room.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
25 will be an immediate meeting of the Rules
5952
1 Committee in the Majority Conference Room,
2 Room 332. Immediate meeting of the Rules
3 Committee in the Majority Conference Room,
4 Room 332.
5 Senator Velella.
6 SENATOR VELELLA: Could we
7 proceed to Calendar Number 53C, and take it up
8 in the regular order.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
10 members -- we have a little order in the
11 chamber, a little order in the chamber,
12 please. The members take their places, staff
13 take their places. If you have to have a
14 conversation, take it out of the chamber.
15 We'll do a controversial reading on Calendar
16 53C, starting with Calendar Number 1525, by
17 Senator Holland.
18 Secretary will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1525, in relation to Calendar Number 1525
21 Senator Holland moves to discharge from the
22 Committee on Rules Assembly Number 8264-C and
23 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
24 2880-B.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
5953
1 Substitution is ordered. Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1525, by the Assembly Committee on Rules
4 Assembly Print 8264-C, an act to amend the
5 Administrative Code of the city of New York.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
7 is a home rule message at the desk. Secretary
8 will read the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
10 This act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the
14 roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
17 bill is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1571, in relation to Calendar Number 1571,
20 Senator Velella moves to discharge from the
21 Committee on Rules Assembly 668-A and
22 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
23 3457-A.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
25 Substitution is ordered. Secretary will read.
5954
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1571, by member of the Assembly Seminerio,
3 Assembly Print 668-A, an act to amend the
4 Vehicle and Traffic Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
6 Secretary will read the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
8 This act shall take effect in 30 days.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the
12 roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1572, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 6643,
18 an act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in
19 relation to the powers of the state of New
20 York Mortgage Agency.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
22 Secretary will read the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
24 This act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
5955
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 bill is passed.
7 Senator Volker, why do you
8 rise?
9 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
10 would you read next Calendar Number 1585,
11 please.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
13 Secretary will read Calendar Number 1585.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1585, by the Assembly Committee on rules,
16 Assembly Print 10978, an act to amend the
17 Highway Law, in relation to the state highway
18 system.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
20 Secretary will read the last section.
21 Senator Connor, why do you
22 rise?
23 SENATOR CONNOR: Briefly to
24 comment on the bill.
25 This bill comes to us as an
5956
1 orphan. It's a handdown from the Assembly,
2 Assembly Rules Committee, and, you know, in
3 the Senate here we uphold good family values.
4 We think that bills like this ought to come
5 with two parents, one in the Senate and one in
6 the Assembly, even a bill that's as weighty as
7 allowing the Commissioner to assume
8 jurisdiction of the section in East Chestnut
9 Street, et cetera, et cetera, in the city of
10 Rome.
11 Rome has a very, very fine
12 Senator. She does a wonderful job in
13 representing the citizens of Rome as well as
14 the other parts of her district, and it's
15 curious that a bill like this would come to us
16 in this fashion, and ordinarily a bill like
17 this without the appropriate sponsorship would
18 merit a lengthy debate by our colleagues on
19 this side of the aisle, and I would gladly
20 lead that debate, and something tells me that
21 at five minutes to ten on this evening, it
22 could be a fatal debate, fatal to the
23 prospects of the bill.
24 Be that as it may, Senator
25 Hoffmann has come to me and asked me to put
5957
1 aside my understandable concern as the leader
2 of the Minority here that bills do have proper
3 sponsorship when they come over here and has
4 asked that, on behalf of the citizens of Rome,
5 she's asked I might add rather unselfishly
6 from a sponsorship standpoint and indeed her
7 service these many years to the citizens these
8 many years has been unselfish and in their
9 best interests, even when confronted with some
10 political peculiarities like the absence of
11 sponsorship on this bill.
12 So in deference to Senator
13 Hoffmann, and only because she has asked, I
14 will cease debating this bill with another
15 hour and 53 minutes of my time remaining and
16 ask that the last section be read.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
18 Secretary will read the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
20 This act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll. )
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5958
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
2 bill is passed.
3 Senator Volker.
4 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
5 if you will go back to 1573 on the regular
6 order.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
8 Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
10 Calendar Number 1573, Senator Skelos moves to
11 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
12 Bill 10311-B and substitute it for the
13 identical Senate Bill 6835.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
15 substitution is ordered.
16 The Secretary will read.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1573, by member of the Assembly Glick,
19 Assembly Bill 10311-B, an act to amend the
20 Education Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
22 Secretary will read the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
24 This act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
5959
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1574, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 7383, an
9 act to authorize the city school districts of
10 the city of Poughkeepsie.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
12 Secretary will read the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
14 This act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the
18 roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1575, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 7416, an
24 act to amend the Retirement and Social
25 Security Law and the Administrative Code of
5960
1 the city of New York.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
3 Secretary will read the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 8.
5 This act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
12 bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1576, by Senator Gold, Senate Print 7452-A, an
15 act to amend the Tax Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
17 Secretary will read the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
19 This act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the
23 roll.)
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5961
1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1577, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 7490, an
4 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 Secretary will read the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
8 This act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the
12 roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1578, by Senator Seabrook, Senate Print 7541,
18 an act authorizing the city of New York to
19 reconvey.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
21 is a home rule message at the desk. The
22 Secretary will read the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
24 This act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
5962
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1579, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 7662, an
9 act in relation to the application.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
11 Secretary will read the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
13 This act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
15 the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the
17 roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
20 bill is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
22 Calendar Number 1580, Senator Lack moves to
23 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
24 Print 4775 and substitute it for the identical
25 Senate Bill 7702.
5963
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
2 substitution is ordered. The Secretary will
3 read.
4 SENATOR VOLKER: Lay that aside
5 temporarily.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the
7 bill aside temporarily.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1581, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print
10 7710-A, an act to amend the Environmental
11 Conservation Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
13 Secretary will read the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
15 This act shall take effect on the first day of
16 November.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
18 the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the
20 roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 1582, by Senator Present, Senate Print 7779,
5964
1 an act to authorize the city of Salamanca.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
3 Volker.
4 SENATOR VOLKER: Is there a
5 message at the desk?
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
7 is.
8 SENATOR VOLKER: Move to accept
9 the message.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
11 motion is to accept the message of necessity
12 on Calendar Number 1582. All those in favor
13 signify by saying aye.
14 (Response of "Aye".)
15 Opposed, nay.
16 (There was no response.)
17 The message is accepted.
18 The bill is before the house.
19 There is a home rule message at
20 the desk.
21 The Secretary will read the
22 last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
24 This act shall take effect on the same date as
25 the city of Salamanca.
5965
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
7 bill is passed.
8 SENATOR VOLKER: Is there a
9 message at the desk on 1583, please?
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1583, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
12 Print 7805, an act to amend the Tax Law.
13 SENATOR VOLKER: Move to accept
14 the message.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
16 is. The motion is to accept the message of
17 necessity on Calendar Number 1583. All those
18 in favor signify by saying aye.
19 (Response of "Aye".)
20 Opposed, nay.
21 (There was no response.)
22 The message is accepted.
23 The bill is before the house.
24 The Secretary will read the
25 last section.
5966
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
2 This act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the
6 roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
9 bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1584, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 7812,
12 concurrent resolution of the Senate and
13 Assembly, proposing an amendment to Section 25
14 of Article VI.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
16 question is on the resolution. The Sec...
17 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Lay it
18 aside for an explanation.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: We're
20 on debate.
21 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Can I have
22 an explanation?
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Who do
24 you wish to handle the debate? Do you have an
25 explanation request, Senator Dollinger?
5967
1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Yes, I do,
2 Mr. President. I just have never seen this
3 bill before. I would just like to know -- it
4 deals with something with retirement for
5 judges. Brief explanation to just tell me
6 what it does. What does it do?
7 Mr. President, does this extend
8 the certification program for Supreme Court
9 judges to the Court of Claims?
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: That's
11 correct.
12 SENATOR DOLLINGER: No
13 objection.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
15 Explanation satisfactory. The Secretary will
16 call the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the
18 roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
21 resolution is adopted.
22 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
23 Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
25 Volker, that completes the controversial
5968
1 reading, with the exception of 1580, on
2 Supplemental Calendar Number 53-C.
3 SENATOR VOLKER: Would you call
4 up Calendar Number 737, please.
5 SENATOR GENTILE: Mr.
6 President.
7 SENATOR VOLKER: The bill was
8 previously passed, recalled, and I think
9 restored.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
11 Secretary will read the title to Calendar
12 Number 737.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 737, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 7318-B,
15 an act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
16 Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
18 Volker.
19 SENATOR VOLKER: Is there a
20 message at the desk, please?
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
22 is.
23 SENATOR VOLKER: The motion is
24 to accept the message.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5969
1 motion is to accept the message of necessity
2 on Calendar Number 737. All those in favor
3 signify by saying aye.
4 (Response of "Aye".)
5 Opposed, nay.
6 (There was no response.)
7 The message is accepted.
8 The bill is before the house.
9 Senator Dollinger.
10 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
11 President, rather than try to leap through the
12 piles on my desk, can I ask Senator Wright
13 what previous bill this is and what it does in
14 two seconds.
15 We already voted on this one
16 today, Mr. President?
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
18 Correct.
19 SENATOR WRIGHT: 7318-B, it's
20 on your desk. The only change is made to line
21 number -- page 4, line 40, where we define the
22 scanning device. It's the scanning device
23 used to ID for sale of alcohol and tobacco to
24 minors. It's a Governor's bill. We've
25 redefined the device being utilized to
5970
1 include -
2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Explanation
3 satisfactory. Thank you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5 Secretary will read the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
7 This act shall take effect on September 1st.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
14 bill is passed.
15 Senator Volker.
16 SENATOR VOLKER: Motions and
17 resolutions, housekeeping.
18 SENATOR GENTILE: Mr.
19 President. Mr. President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
21 Gentile.
22 SENATOR GENTILE: I would just
23 like unanimous consent to be recorded in the
24 negative on Calendar Number 1568.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without
5971
1 objection, hearing no objection, Senator
2 Gentile will be recorded in the negative on
3 Calendar Number 1568.
4 Senator Meier.
5 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
6 on behalf of Senator Larkin, I wish to call up
7 his bill, Print Number 6781-B, recalled from
8 the Assembly, which is now at the desk.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
10 Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
12 Larkin, Senate Bill 6781-C, an act to amend
13 the Penal Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
15 Meier.
16 SENATOR MEIER: I now move to
17 reconsider the vote by which this bill was
18 passed.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER: The
20 motion is to reconsider the vote by which the
21 bill passed the house.
22 The Secretary will call the
23 roll on reconsideration.
24 (The Secretary called the roll
25 on reconsideration.)
5972
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
3 Meier.
4 SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President,
5 I now offer the following amendments.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
7 amendments are received.
8 Senator Volker.
9 SENATOR VOLKER: Is there
10 another Rules report at the desk?
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
12 is.
13 SENATOR VOLKER: Will you have
14 it read at this time, please.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: We'll
16 return to the order of reports of standing
17 committees. There is a report of the Rules
18 Committee at the desk. I'll ask the Secretary
19 to read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
21 from the Committee on Rules, offers up the
22 following bills directly for third reading:
23 Senate Bill 7784, by the
24 Committee on Rules, an act to amend Chapter 54
25 of the Laws of 1998;
5973
1 7786, by the Senate Committee
2 on Rules, an act making an appropriation to
3 the Office of Children and Family;
4 7787, by the Committee on
5 Rules, an act to amend Chapter 54 of the Laws
6 of 1998;
7 7788, by the Committee on
8 Rules, an act to amend Chapter 54 of the Laws
9 of 1998.
10 All bills directly for third
11 reading.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
13 Volker.
14 SENATOR VOLKER: Move to accept
15 the Rules report.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
17 motion is to accept the report of the Rules
18 Committee. All those in favor signify by
19 saying aye.
20 (Response of "Aye".)
21 Opposed, nay.
22 (There was no response.)
23 The report of the Rules
24 Committee is accepted.
25 SENATOR VOLKER: Could we take
5974
1 up Supplemental Calendar 53-D now.
2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
3 President, I don't have it. That's all.
4 SENATOR VOLKER: Yeah. They're
5 just handing them out.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: For the
7 benefit of the members, we will be taking up
8 Supplemental Calendar Number 53-D, which is
9 being distributed right now, along with the
10 bills. As soon as those are distributed, we
11 will proceed. There are, I believe, the sum
12 of four bills on this calendar.
13 I believe the Calendars are
14 distributed, the bills are distributed. Any
15 member who does not have them?
16 (There was no response.)
17 I'll ask the Secretary to read
18 again controversial calendar reading number
19 53-D beginning with Calendar Number 1586,
20 Senate Print 7784.
21 The Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1586, by the Committee on Rules, Senate Print
24 7784, an act to amend Chapter 54 of the Laws
25 of 1998.
5975
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
2 Secretary will read the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
4 This act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes -
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
11 Dollinger, to explain his vote.
12 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
13 Mr. President.
14 I'll be brief and I'll address
15 the other three bills that are on this Rules
16 Committee report.
17 I want to commend my colleagues
18 on the other side of the aisle for standing up
19 for the cost of living adjustment for probably
20 the workers who do the most work for the least
21 pay in this state. These are the people who
22 provide our direct services for those in the
23 alcoholism and substance abuse service field,
24 the family and children services, the mental
25 health field and the developmental
5976
1 disabilities.
2 Frankly, Mr. President, I
3 regard this as the one veto which is -- I know
4 this is not an override, Mr. President, but
5 this is a veto that I believe was so wrong
6 headed. It just took away a two and a half
7 percent pay raise for some of the people who
8 do our most difficult work and do something
9 that is enormously difficult for any of us to
10 do.
11 I don't know what the second
12 floor was thinking when they did this. I am
13 glad that my colleagues on the other side of
14 the aisle, my colleagues in the Assembly
15 obviously convinced the man who sits on the
16 second floor who wielded his veto pen to put
17 that pen back in his pocket and let these
18 bills pass.
19 This is something that I never
20 understood. I don't understand to this day.
21 I'm happy to vote for it, Mr. President. I
22 salute my colleagues for making this happen.
23 This is simple justice and fairness for these
24 workers.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
5977
1 Dollinger will be recorded in the
2 affirmative. Announce the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5 bill is passed.
6 The Secretary will continue to
7 read.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1587, by the Committee on Rules, Senate Print
10 7786, an act making an appropriation to the
11 Office of Children and Family Services.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
13 Secretary will read the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
15 This act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the
19 roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
22 bill is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1588, by the Committee on Rules, Senate Print
25 7787, an act to amend Chapter 54 of the Laws
5978
1 of 1998.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
3 Secretary will read the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
5 This act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
12 bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1589, by the Committee on Rules, Senate Print
15 7788, an act to amend Chapter 54 of the Laws
16 of 1998.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 Secretary will read the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
20 This act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5979
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
2 bill is passed.
3 Senator Volker, that completes
4 the controversial reading of Calendar Number
5 53-D.
6 SENATOR VOLKER: Stand at ease
7 momentarily. We're waiting for the next Rules
8 report that should be here post haste.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
10 Senate will stand at ease for a brief moment.
11 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
12 ease from 10:10 p.m. until 10:13 p.m.)
13 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
14 would you return to reports of standing
15 committees.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
17 Senate will come to order. Ask the members to
18 take their chairs, the staff to take their
19 places. Return to the order of reports of
20 standing committees.
21 Senator Volker.
22 SENATOR VOLKER: Read the
23 report of the Rules Committee at the desk,
24 please.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
5980
1 is a report of the Rules Committee at the
2 desk.
3 I'll ask the Secretary to read.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
5 from the Committee on Rules, offers up the
6 following bills directly for third reading:
7 Senate Bill 3302, by Senator
8 Johnson, an act to amend the Banking Law and
9 the Tax Law;
10 5384-A, by Senator Leibell, an
11 act to redistribute 1997 bond volume
12 allocations;
13 5584-A, by Senator Oppenheimer,
14 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
15 6066, by Senator Stachowski and
16 others, an act to amend the Education Law;
17 6498-B, by Senator Larkin, an
18 act to authorize the city of Newburgh;
19 6555-B, by Senator Farley, an
20 act to amend the Banking Law;
21 7258, by Senator Rath, an act
22 to amend the Education Law;
23 7379, by Senator Alesi, an act
24 to amend the Tax Law;
25 7585, by Senator Spano, an act
5981
1 to amend Chapter 640 of the Laws of 1997;
2 7597-A, by Senator Alesi, an
3 act to authorize the city of Rochester;
4 7640, by Senator Marcellino, an
5 act to amend the Tax Law;
6 7649, by Senator Skelos, an act
7 to amend the Public Health Law;
8 7688, by Senator Leibell, an
9 act to amend the Public Authorities Law;
10 7747, by the Committee on
11 Rules, an act to amend the Retirement and
12 Social Security Law;
13 7749, by Senator Cook, an act
14 to allow certain police officers;
15 7754, by Senator Saland and
16 others, an act to amend the Education Law;
17 7759, by Senator Cook, an act
18 to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
19 7760, by Senator Larkin, an act
20 to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
21 7767, by the Committee on
22 Rules, an act to amend the Real Property Tax
23 Law;
24 7775, by Senator Velella, an
25 act to amend the Insurance Law;
5982
1 7817, by Senator Bruno and
2 others, an act to amend the Labor Law;
3 7828, by the Committee on
4 Rules, an act to amend a chapter of the laws
5 of 1998.
6 All bills directly for third
7 reading.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
9 Volker.
10 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
11 on everybody's desk is Senate Supplemental
12 Calendar 53-E and the bills are there also.
13 We'll start with the first bill and do the
14 non-controversial.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: On
16 motion by Senator Volker to accept the report
17 of the Rules Committee, all those in favor
18 signify by saying aye.
19 (Response of "Aye".)
20 Opposed, nay.
21 (There was no response.)
22 The Rules report is accepted.
23 Non-controversial reading of
24 Calendar Number 53-E.
25 The Secretary will read
5983
1 beginning with Calendar Number 1590 by Senator
2 Johnson.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar Number 1590, Senator Johnson moves to
5 discharge -
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Can we
7 please have a little order, a little order in
8 the chamber. The members please take their
9 seats, the staff please take their positions.
10 Take the conversations, if there are any, out
11 of the chamber.
12 The Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
14 Calendar Number 1590, Senator Johnson moves to
15 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
16 Print 5924 and substitute it for the identical
17 Senate Bill 3302.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
19 substitution is ordered.
20 The Secretary will read the
21 title.
22 SENATOR VOLKER: Lay it aside
23 temporarily, please.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the
25 bill aside temporarily.
5984
1 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
2 Calendar Number 1592, Senator Oppenheimer
3 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules
4 Assembly Bill 6517-A and substitute it for the
5 identical Senate Bill 5584-A.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
7 substitution is ordered.
8 The Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1592, by member of the Assembly Matusow,
11 Assembly Print 6517-A, an act to amend the
12 Vehicle and Traffic Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
14 Secretary will read the last section -- there
15 is a home rule message at the desk. The
16 Secretary will read the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
18 This act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
25 bill is passed.
5985
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1593, by Senator Stachowski, Senate Print
3 6066, an act to amend the Education Law, in
4 relation to authorizing.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 Secretary will read the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
8 This act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the
12 roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1594, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 6498-B,
18 an act to authorize the city of Newburgh.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
20 is a home rule message at the desk. The
21 Secretary will read the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
23 This act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
25 the roll.
5986
1 (The Secretary called the
2 roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar Number 1595, Senator Farley moves to
8 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
9 Print 11220 and substitute it for the
10 identical Senate Bill 6555-B.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
12 substitution is ordered.
13 The Secretary will read.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1595, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
16 Assembly Print 11220, an act to amend the
17 Banking Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
19 Secretary will read the last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
21 This act shall take effect immediately.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
23 the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the
25 roll.)
5987
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
3 bill is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
5 Calendar Number 1596, Senator Rath moves to
6 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
7 Bill 10205 and substitute it for the identical
8 Senate Bill 7258.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
10 substitution is ordered.
11 The Secretary will read the
12 title.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1596, by member of the Assembly Ortiz,
15 Assembly Print 10205, an act to amend the
16 Education Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 Secretary will read the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
20 This act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Record
5988
1 the negative. Announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60, nays
3 one, Senator Breslin recorded in the negative.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1597, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 7379, an
8 act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
9 facilitating.
10 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it
11 aside.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the
13 bill aside.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1598, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 7585, an
16 act to amend Chapter 640 of the Laws of 1997.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 Secretary will read the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
20 This act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5989
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar Number 1599, Senator Alesi moves to
5 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
6 Bill 11183-A and substitute it for the
7 identical Senate Bill 7597-A.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
9 substitution is ordered. Read the title.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 1599, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
12 Assembly Print 11183-A, an act to authorize
13 the city of Rochester.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
15 is a home rule message at the desk. The
16 Secretary will read the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
18 This act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
25 bill is passed.
5990
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1600, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print
3 7640, an act to amend the Tax Law, in relation
4 to the establishment.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 Secretary will read the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
8 This act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the
12 roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1601, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 7649, an
18 act to amend the Public Health Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
20 Secretary will read the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
22 This act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the
5991
1 roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
4 bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 1602, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 7688,
7 an act to amend the Public Authorities Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
9 Secretary will read the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
11 This act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the
15 roll.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
20 Calendar Number 1603, Senator Bruno moves to
21 discharge from the Committee on Rules Assembly
22 Bill 10889-A and substitute it for the
23 identical Senate Bill 7747.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
25 substitution is ordered.
5992
1 Secretary will read the title.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 1603, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
4 Assembly Print 10889-A, an act to amend the
5 Retirement and Social Security Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Read
7 the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
9 This act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the
13 roll.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
16 bill is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1604, by Senator Cook, Senate Print 7749, an
19 act to allow certain police officers of the
20 town of Woodstock.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
22 is a home rule message at the desk. The
23 Secretary will read the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
25 This act shall take effect immediately.
5993
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1605, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 7754, an
10 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
11 the protection.
12 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it
13 aside.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the
15 bill aside.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1608, by the Committee on Rules, Senate Print
18 7767, an act to amend the Real Property Tax
19 Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
21 Secretary will read the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
23 This act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
25 the roll.
5994
1 (The Secretary called the
2 roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1609, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 7775,
8 an act to amend the Insurance Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
10 Secretary will read the last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
12 This act shall take effect in 30 days.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
14 the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the
16 roll.)
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
19 bill is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1610, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 7817, an
22 act to amend the Labor Law, in relation to the
23 Unemployment Insurance Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
25 Volker.
5995
1 SENATOR VOLKER: Is there a
2 message at the desk?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
4 is.
5 SENATOR VOLKER: Move to accept
6 the message.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
8 motion is to accept the message of necessity
9 on Calendar Number 1610. All those in favor
10 signify by saying aye.
11 (Response of "Aye".)
12 Opposed, nay.
13 (There was no response.)
14 The message is accepted.
15 The bill is before the house.
16 Senator Dollinger? Lay the
17 bill aside.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1611, by the Committee on Rules, Senate Print
20 7828, an act to amend a chapter of the Laws of
21 1998.
22 SENATOR VOLKER: Is there a
23 message at the desk?
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
25 is. The motion is to accept the message on
5996
1 Calendar Number 1611. All those in favor
2 signify by saying aye.
3 (Response of "Aye".)
4 Opposed, nay.
5 (There was no response.)
6 The message is accepted.
7 The bill is before the house.
8 The Secretary will read the
9 last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
11 This act shall take effect on the same date as
12 a chapter.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
14 the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the
16 roll.)
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
19 bill is passed.
20 Senator Volker, that completes
21 the reading of the non-controversial Calendar
22 Number 53-E.
23 Senator Libous, why do you
24 rise?
25 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, Mr.
5997
1 President.
2 I would like unanimous consent
3 to be recorded in the negative on Calendar
4 Number 1596.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without
6 objection, hearing no objection, Senator
7 Libous will be recorded in the negative on
8 Calendar Number 1596.
9 Senator Volker, we do have a
10 little housekeeping at the desk. If we might
11 return to the order of motions and
12 resolutions.
13 The Chair recognizes Senator
14 Libous for a motion.
15 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, Mr.
16 President.
17 On behalf of Senator Goodman,
18 on page -- there's no page.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: On no
20 page, Senate Print -
21 SENATOR LIBOUS: On no page, I
22 offer the following amendments to Calendar
23 Number 1504, Senate Print Number 7776, and ask
24 that said bill retain its place on the Third
25 Reading Calendar.
5998
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
2 amendments to Calendar Number 1504 will be
3 received and adopted. The bill will retain
4 its place on the Third Reading Calendar on no
5 page.
6 Senator Volker.
7 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
8 can we start non-controversial with Calendar
9 Number 1597, please -- controversial.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
11 Secretary will read the controversial reading
12 of Supplemental Calendar Number 53-E,
13 beginning with Calendar Number 1597, by
14 Senator Alesi.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
16 Calendar Number 1597, by Senator Alesi, Senate
17 Print 7379, an act to amend the Tax Law.
18 SENATOR GOLD: Explanation,
19 please.
20 SENATOR ALESI: Lay it aside
21 for the day, Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the
23 bill aside for the day.
24 SENATOR GOLD: Then I don't
25 want an explanation.
5999
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1605, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 7754, an
3 act to amend the Education Law.
4 SENATOR GOLD: Explanation.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
6 Saland, an explanation has been requested by
7 Senator Gold.
8 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Mr.
9 President.
10 Mr. President, this is a -- a
11 bill which attempts to deal with the subject
12 of abuse that occurs in a school setting. You
13 may recall earlier this week we dealt with a
14 bill, a bill which similarly attempted to deal
15 with this particularly troublesome and vexing
16 problem and in the ensuing days we've
17 attempted to try and negotiate some kind of an
18 agreement with the Assembly and unfortunately
19 as I stand here today, I can't in all candor
20 tell you that we have accomplished that, but
21 let me tell you what this bill does and why
22 this bill has been not only supported by the
23 School Boards Association but you may recall
24 that the bill which we previously dealt with
25 was opposed by the -- by NYSUT.
6000
1 This particular bill, while it
2 doesn't bear a memo in support by NYSUT, the
3 objections that had previously been at the
4 heart of their concerns have been removed and
5 that primarily was the access to the central
6 registry for purposes of attempting part of
7 the screening process.
8 This bill does basically three
9 things: The first thing that it does is it
10 establishes that prospective employees of
11 school systems -- and when I say "school
12 systems", I exclude the city of New York
13 because currently the city of New York has a
14 fingerprinting mechanism. All employees in
15 the city of New York are screened.
16 This bill says elsewhere in the
17 state of New York, whether it be Long Island,
18 whether it be in the Mid-Hudson, whether it be
19 any area of upstate New York, if you are a
20 school employee, when you seek a position in
21 that school, you are going to be fingerprinted
22 and screened by DCJS to determine if you have
23 a criminal record.
24 Why would we do that? Well,
25 the reason we would do that is because, based
6001
1 on the experience in New York City, based on
2 the experience that has occurred in other
3 states, we find that a significant number of
4 people with criminal records are screened out
5 by way of this fingerprinting criminal check.
6 In New York City, the last year
7 for which those complete records are
8 available, that is, from 25,000 screens, some
9 1200 of them came back with criminal records,
10 including homicides, including sex offenses.
11 We feel that by eliminating those people, we
12 are enhancing the likelihood of our children
13 being in a safer school environment.
14 Secondly, what we attempt to do
15 is to require reporting. When an incident
16 occurs, if a child has been abused physically
17 or sexually in a school setting, we don't want
18 that swept under the carpet. We don't want
19 that to go away. We don't want school
20 officials to investigate it and try to hush
21 it. What we want is we want it to be
22 reported, reported immediately, reported to
23 law enforcement and we want law enforcement to
24 investigate, and as part and parcel of this
25 same bill -
6002
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
2 Saland, excuse me just a minute.
3 Senator Gold, why do you rise?
4 SENATOR GOLD: Well, I have one
5 question, but I figured he's almost finished
6 with the explanation, so I don't want to
7 interrupt the last part of his explanation.
8 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you very
9 much, Senator Gold.
10 As part and parcel of this same
11 bill, we also in effect criminalize so-called
12 "silent resignation". If there is an effort
13 by a school superintendent to avoid the
14 reporting process and that reporting process
15 -- incidentally, the failure to report would
16 be a misdemeanor -- if there's an effort to
17 avoid that reporting process, to look away and
18 accept the silent resignation, we criminalize
19 that act by making it a felony as well.
20 Keep in mind that there's over
21 two million students every day that are
22 attending our schools here in New York State.
23 Most parents, as I have said before, believe
24 when their children leave for school, they are
25 leaving to not only go to attend school for
6003
1 purposes of obtaining a quality education but
2 they're going to be safe and they're not going
3 to have to contend with people who are sexual
4 abusers, who are predators.
5 This bill is an effort to, in
6 effect, level the playing field, to say that
7 people, children particularly, throughout New
8 York State are going to have that playing
9 field leveled.
10 New York City alone is not
11 going to have this fingerprinting mechanism.
12 We're going to do it throughout, from the tip
13 of Long Island to the Adirondacks to Western
14 New York. It's critical, absolutely critical,
15 and I would suggest to you, and I say this
16 with a very, very heavy heart, that over in
17 the Assembly I fear that what they are doing
18 is just waiting for an accumulation of numbers
19 and I would ask our friends in the Majority in
20 the Assembly, how many incidents is it going
21 to take? Are you waiting for 300? Are you
22 waiting for 200? Are you waiting for 100?
23 How many incidents before the Assembly is
24 concerned? How many children must be abused?
25 How many predators must escape? Are they
6004
1 waiting for fatalities? What is it that
2 they're waiting for? They have chosen
3 specifically to turn their back on this
4 problem.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
6 Gold.
7 SENATOR GOLD: Will Senator
8 Saland yield to one question?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
10 Saland, do you yield to a question from
11 Senator Gold?
12 SENATOR SALAND: Certainly.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
14 Senator yields.
15 SENATOR GOLD: Senator Paterson
16 and I are confused only on one issue. We are
17 getting some information that NYSUT is opposed
18 to this. You have said that there's no memo
19 in support.
20 SENATOR SALAND: No, no, no. I
21 did not say they had a memo in support. No,
22 no, no.
23 SENATOR GOLD: You said there
24 was no memo in support.
25 SENATOR SALAND: Correct. Nor
6005
1 is there a memo in opposition, whereas they
2 had opposed the version that we debated
3 earlier this week.
4 SENATOR GOLD: Yes.
5 SENATOR SALAND: Now, one of
6 the provisions of this bill provides that if
7 there is a conviction of a child abuse crime,
8 that instead of going through a separate
9 procedure to have a license removed in the
10 case of a teacher -- and remember we're not
11 talking merely teachers here. We're talking
12 all school employees, whether they be
13 maintenance personnel, whether they be
14 clerical personnel, whether they be any school
15 employee, but what this says is in the case of
16 a teacher, that, if, in fact, you are
17 convicted of a sexual-related crime, child
18 abuse-related crime, that you would,
19 therefore, run the risk of having not -- let
20 me rephrase that. You would not have a second
21 hearing, a Part 83 hearing, which is a hearing
22 which deals with the subject of whether you
23 are of proper moral character to be a
24 teacher. By reason of the higher standard of
25 evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, being in
6006
1 effect, excused or denied the second hearing.
2 Now, there is some concerns -
3 and let me address this in response to your
4 question, Senator Gold. There are some
5 concerns that that standard should be limited
6 to felonies, that, in fact, that should only
7 occur where a felony has occurred, and I am
8 prepared inasmuch and would have been prepared
9 in negotiations with the Assembly to
10 specifically address that issue and limit its
11 application to felonies and would be prepared
12 to do that were we to have an agreement by way
13 of a chapter amendment.
14 SENATOR GOLD: Will the Senator
15 yield to one last question?
16 SENATOR SALAND: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 Senator yields.
19 SENATOR GOLD: Senator, I -- I
20 have not been involved in this negotiation and
21 I was just talking to a reporter for a great
22 metropolitan newspaper who is asking whether
23 or not we've had changes in procedures,
24 healthy changes going back the way it used to
25 be, healthier, and it seems to me I've seen
6007
1 some things going on today where I've seen
2 members negotiating and to me I think that's
3 great. I would always rather see a member
4 negotiate rather than a counsel, with all due
5 respect to counsels who I love but, Senator, I
6 think the record indicates that you have been
7 here most of the day. Are you saying that
8 there is no willingness to negotiate? I mean,
9 this is a situation where apparently we've had
10 changes in the prints. Apparently NYSUT has
11 changed their position so that what they were
12 concerned about has now apparently been
13 softened and are you telling us now that there
14 is no negotiation available on this issue?
15 SENATOR SALAND: These
16 negotiations have been effectively terminated
17 by the Assembly. The Assembly, in all candor,
18 has said they don't want to deal with the
19 issue of the reporting process and just
20 basically have walked away from attempting to
21 resolve this issue.
22 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
24 Paterson, why do you rise?
25 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
6008
1 President, on the bill.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
3 Paterson, on the bill.
4 SENATOR PATERSON: I debated
5 Senator Saland in this chamber and it was just
6 a couple days ago and for the benefit of
7 anyone who is coming over here asking what
8 time the session is ending, we have a number
9 of these bills that are renegotiated and
10 they're coming back and I am incredulous as to
11 why we're redebating them for an hour as we
12 have done several times this evening and then
13 there's a concern about what time the session
14 is going to end, but I would just like to say
15 that it appears that Senator Saland has
16 addressed a number of the issues that were
17 raised in that debate the other day and to the
18 extent that the only issue that I have heard
19 that's somewhat outstanding and no one has
20 written it down but there seems to be a
21 distinction between a felony and a misdemeanor
22 conviction where it would apply to the
23 revocation of a license, and I would just like
24 to say that when it comes to children, I think
25 if anything, our best interests have to be in
6009
1 favor of the child and that if we err, we must
2 err in the direction of child safety because
3 in these particular situations, you aren't
4 dealing with individuals who have all the
5 options that adults would and because of
6 coercion and intimidation, these crimes are
7 often not reported.
8 So I would have to say that
9 after the work that Senator Saland has done to
10 try to accommodate on this particular issue,
11 where I voted against the bill the other day,
12 I'm going to vote in favor of it, Mr.
13 President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
15 Secretary will read the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 10.
17 This act shall take effect on the first day of
18 January.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator
24 LaValle, to explain his vote.
25 SENATOR LAVALLE: Thank you,
6010
1 Mr. President.
2 I rise to compliment Senator
3 Saland who has worked tirelessly for four,
4 five years on this legislation.
5 I had been a member of the
6 Senator's committee, had the opportunity to
7 attend hearings on this matter, and I must
8 tell you that we heard probably some of the
9 most riveting testimony about the need for
10 this kind of legislation to protect the
11 children of our state.
12 Senator Saland has reached out
13 time and time again, session after session to
14 bring closure to this issue. He has worked
15 again this session and to hear at this late
16 hour on the last day that there may be some
17 minor amendments that could again set aside
18 this important legislation, I think is
19 unconscionable, it really is.
20 We cannot continue to read that
21 our children are abused in our state even if
22 there's one more, and Senator Saland's talking
23 about numbers in the hundreds. It's
24 ridiculous and Senator Paterson's right. If
25 this body errs, it errs on the side of
6011
1 children.
2 I vote yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
4 LaValle will be recorded in the affirmative.
5 Announce the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
8 bill is passed.
9 The Chair recognizes Senator
10 Hoffmann.
11 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Yes, Mr.
12 President. I was out of the chamber at the
13 time Calendar 1554 was called up and passed
14 and had I been in the chamber, I would like to
15 be -- had I been in the chamber, I would have
16 been recorded in the negative. I request
17 unanimous consent to be recorded in the
18 negative at this time.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without
20 objection.
21 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Hearing
23 no objection, Senator Hoffmann will be
24 recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
25 1554.
6012
1 Senator Marcellino, why do you
2 rise?
3 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
4 President, can I have unanimous consent to be
5 recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
6 1596.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without
8 objection, hearing no objection, Senator
9 Marcellino will be recorded in the negative on
10 Calendar Number 1596.
11 The Secretary will continue to
12 call the controversial calendar.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 1610, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 7817, an
15 act to amend the Labor Law, in relation to the
16 Unemployment Insurance Law.
17 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Just a
18 brief explanation, Mr. President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
20 Spano, Senator Dollinger has requested a brief
21 explanation.
22 SENATOR SPANO: Mr. President,
23 this bill provides comprehensive reform on the
24 unemployment insurance system. It's designed
25 to do a number of things: Increase the
6013
1 maximum weekly unemployment insurance benefit,
2 further help jobless workers return to the
3 work force. It streamlines the payment of
4 benefits and it ensures that employers who
5 continuously place workers into the UI system
6 pay a more proportionate share into that
7 system.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
9 Dollinger.
10 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Yes, Mr.
11 President. Will the sponsor yield to just one
12 question?
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Will
14 Senator Spano yield to a question?
15 SENATOR SPANO: Yes.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
17 Senator yields.
18 SENATOR DOLLINGER: One of the
19 concerns I have heard expressed in my district
20 is you have long-term stable employers who
21 employ people for a long period of time,
22 several years. They leave the employment of
23 employer A. They go to work for employer B
24 for a short period of time and they are then
25 laid off or for some reason their employment
6014
1 is discontinued. They apply for unemployment
2 insurance benefits and the way our system is
3 currently structured, the previous employer
4 with whom they had a long-term stable
5 employment, ends up paying a significant
6 portion of the unemployment insurance cost and
7 is back-charged a significant portion of that
8 cost even though their experience -- their
9 experience is very strong.
10 Does this bill deal with that
11 problem?
12 SENATOR SPANO: Yes, it does,
13 Senator, and on page 8 of the bill, the bottom
14 of the page, what we do is try to create an
15 incentive for the separating employer to keep
16 that worker employed and the way we do that is
17 that we would -- the last employer would be
18 charged seven times the benefit rate and that
19 would be a particularly appropriate incentive
20 for that separating employer to keep the
21 employees working for them.
22 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again
23 through you, Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
25 Spano, do you continue to yield?
6015
1 SENATOR SPANO: Yes.
2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: It's my
3 understanding that there's a significant
4 penalty for a significant surcharge on the -
5 I don't quite know how to phrase this; it's
6 late -- but you could say the less stable
7 employer than there would be on the more
8 stable long-term employer who's still included
9 in the surcharge, still included in the
10 premium rate purposes?
11 SENATOR SPANO: It's not
12 necessarily a penalty but it just applies a
13 higher rate which would really just be a
14 disincentive.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: A final
16 question, through you, Mr. President.
17 In all the discussions that you
18 have been involved in, Senator, what is, in
19 your judgment, the effect of the premiums and
20 the unemployment insurance rates for most
21 employers who fit that category of large
22 stable employers in which -- in the
23 manufacturing base in Rochester we have a hold
24 number. What can we reasonably anticipate in
25 terms of reduction in rates, if any?
6016
1 SENATOR SPANO: It's
2 difficult. A number two corporation -- it all
3 depends on the size of the corporation, the
4 corporation and it would change the
5 corporation, but it would certainly be a
6 reduction in the rate on corporations across
7 the state, but it's very difficult for me,
8 Senator, to give you a more specific answer to
9 that.
10 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again
11 through you, Mr. President. I apologize to
12 the Senator.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
14 Spano yields.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: But
16 obviously there's some general average
17 anticipated premium reduction that would occur
18 to most employers across the state. It's the
19 kind of thing, Geez, Senator Spano, how much
20 are we going to reduce rates by this bill?
21 What would the answer be?
22 SENATOR SPANO: The obvious
23 answer is that the employers don't have a more
24 stable work force and will pay less and then
25 the others will have a continuously changing
6017
1 work force.
2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: But -
3 again through you, Mr. President. Can we
4 anticipate a five, ten percent? Is there a
5 number attached to this in the discussions?
6 SENATOR SPANO: I would purely
7 be guessing if I tried to put a number on it,
8 Senator. It's a difficult number to come up
9 with.
10 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again
11 through you, Mr. President. One final
12 question.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
14 Spano yields to one question.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: There's no
16 question in your mind for the kind of stable
17 employers we're talking about, the rates go
18 down.
19 SENATOR SPANO: Absolutely.
20 SENATOR DOLLINGER: No further
21 questions.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
23 Secretary will read the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 40.
25 This act shall take effect immediately.
6018
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the
4 roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
7 Volker.
8 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
9 we're going back to the regular calendar on
10 page 53, Senate -- Calendar Number 137 -
11 Calendar 137.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
13 Fuschillo, why do you rise?
14 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
15 President, I request unanimous consent to be
16 recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
17 1568.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without
19 objection, hearing no objection, Senator
20 Fuschillo will be recorded in the negative on
21 Calendar Number 1568.
22 We'll return to the regular
23 calendar, first calendar of the day, 53.
24 The Secretary will read
25 Calendar Number 137.
6019
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 137, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
3 Assembly Print 11258, an act to amend the
4 Penal Law, in relation to establishing.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 Secretary will read the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
8 This act shall take effect November 1st, 1998.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
10 the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the
12 roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
15 bill is passed.
16 SENATOR VOLKER: Is there any
17 housekeeping at the desk?
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Yes,
19 Senator Volker. Hang on just a minute.
20 SENATOR VOLKER: Sure.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
22 Volker.
23 SENATOR VOLKER: Can we return
24 to motions and resolutions. I understand
25 there's a couple privileged resolutions at the
6020
1 desk.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
3 are. We'll return to the order of motions and
4 resolutions. There are two privileged
5 resolutions at the desk.
6 I'll ask the Secretary to read
7 the titles, and we'll adopt them as one.
8 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
9 Farley, Legislative Resolution honoring the
10 109th Airlift Wing upon the occasion of its
11 50th Anniversary; also by Senator Farley,
12 Legislative Resolution honoring the town of
13 Princetown upon the occasion of its
14 Bicentennial.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
16 questions are on the resolutions. All those
17 in favor signify by saying aye.
18 (Response of "Aye".)
19 Opposed, nay.
20 (There was no response.)
21 The resolutions are adopted.
22 Senator Volker.
23 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
24 there's nothing -- stand at ease just for a
25 second. I understand there's a list coming
6021
1 shortly, so we can wait just a couple
2 minutes. Stand at ease.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
4 Senate will stand at ease briefly.
5 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
6 ease from 10:48 p.m. until 10:53 p.m.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
8 Senate will come to order.
9 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Members
11 please take their places, the staff take their
12 places. Can we have a little order in the
13 chamber, please, so we may proceed.
14 Senator Volker.
15 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
16 on the original calendar of the day, Calendar
17 Number 477, would you please call up Calendar
18 Number 477.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
20 Secretary -- on the original calendar,
21 Calendar Number 53, first calendar of the day,
22 the Secretary will read Calendar Number 477.
23 THE SECRETARY: On page 12,
24 Calendar Number 477, by member of the Assembly
25 Eve, Assembly Print 9322, an act to amend the
6022
1 Local Finance Law, in relation to the sale of
2 municipal obligations.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
4 is a home rule message at the desk. The
5 Secretary will read the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
7 This act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
14 bill is passed.
15 Senator Volker.
16 SENATOR VOLKER: Next would you
17 please call up Calendar Number 718.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
19 Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 718, by member of the Assembly Vitaliano,
22 Assembly Print 6947-C, an act to amend the
23 General Municipal Law and the Retirement and
24 Social Security Law, in relation to benefits.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
6023
1 is a home rule message at the desk. The
2 Secretary will read the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
4 This act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
11 bill is passed.
12 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
13 next would you please call up Calendar Number
14 722.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
16 Secretary will read.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 722, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
19 Assembly Print 7673-A, an act to amend the
20 Retirement and Social Security Law, in
21 relation to providing Suffolk County park
22 rangers.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
24 is a home rule message at the desk. The
25 Secretary will read the last section.
6024
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
2 This act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the
6 roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
9 bill is passed.
10 Senator Volker.
11 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
12 next would you please call up Calendar Number
13 731.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
15 Secretary will read.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 731, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
18 Assembly Print 10683, an act to amend the
19 Retirement and Social Security Law, in
20 relation to providing.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
22 Secretary will read the last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
24 This act shall take effect immediately.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
6025
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 bill is passed.
7 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
8 next would you please call up Calendar Number
9 1413 on page -
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
11 Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1413, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
14 Assembly Print 10751, an act to amend the
15 Local Finance Law, in relation to the private
16 sale.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
18 is a home rule message at the desk. The
19 Secretary will read the last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
21 This act shall take effect immediately.
22 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
23 President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
25 Dollinger.
6026
1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Can I ask
2 where that is, on which calendar?
3 SENATOR VOLKER: All these
4 bills we're doing now are on the original
5 calendar.
6 SENATOR DOLLINGER: 1413.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Page
8 37, Senator Dollinger.
9 SENATOR VOLKER: The Senator
10 behind you, it's his bill.
11 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
12 President, thank you for the direction on the
13 calendar.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: It's
15 the right arm, Tony, the right arm.
16 Call the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the
18 roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
21 bill is passed.
22 SENATOR VOLKER: Next please do
23 -- call up Calendar Number 1469.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
25 Secretary will read.
6027
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1469, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 7753, an
3 act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in
4 relation to the construction of certain
5 facilities.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
7 Secretary will read the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
9 This act shall -
10 SENATOR LEICHTER: Explanation.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
12 Larkin, an explanation of Calendar Number 1469
13 has been requested by Senator Leichter.
14 SENATOR VOLKER: Would you hold
15 that one second, Franz?
16 SENATOR LARKIN: Mr. President,
17 Senator Leichter, this is a request that we
18 had from the Department of Army at the
19 University Military Academy. They wanted to
20 try to start doing more business with New York
21 State under major constructions. So they
22 approached the Dormitory Authority. In order
23 for them to do it with the Dormitory
24 Authority, we needed legislation.
25 We're hopeful that this will be
6028
1 a first event for us. Heretofore it was
2 always done by the Army Corps of Engineers who
3 could bring in any contractors from anywhere
4 they wanted. We're hopeful that with this
5 joint venture we will have more of these
6 projects at the Military Academy done by the
7 labor force within the state of New York.
8 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
9 President, if Senator Larkin would just yield
10 for one question.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
12 Larkin, do you yield to a question? The
13 Senator yields.
14 SENATOR LARKIN: Yes, Mr.
15 President.
16 SENATOR LEICHTER: I'm sorry.
17 I forgot to ask you beforehand but with all
18 the hecticness, I didn't have a chance. What
19 I didn't understand in this, are we paying for
20 facilities of the United States military?
21 SENATOR LARKIN: No, no. Our
22 only part of this will be the construction
23 management.
24 SENATOR LEICHTER: In other
25 words -
6029
1 SENATOR LARKIN: The federal
2 government will be doing all the footing of
3 all the bills.
4 SENATOR LEICHTER: Okay. And
5 they will use the Dormitory Authority to do
6 the construction.
7 SENATOR LARKIN: And the
8 management.
9 SENATOR LEICHTER: And the
10 management and they will enter into a contract
11 with the Dormitory Authority to repay the
12 Dormitory Authority, so there will be no cost
13 to the taxpayers of New York State.
14 SENATOR LARKIN: No cost to the
15 taxpayers of New York State.
16 SENATOR LEICHTER: Thank you.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 Secretary will -- excuse me, Senator
19 Dollinger.
20 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Will the
21 sponsor yield to one question?
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
23 Larkin, do you yield to Senator Dollinger?
24 SENATOR LARKIN: Yes, Mr.
25 President.
6030
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
2 Senator yields.
3 SENATOR DOLLINGER: What is the
4 financial benefit to the United States
5 Military Academy having the Dormitory
6 Authority? The federal government would seem
7 to have tremendous resources.
8 SENATOR LARKIN: Well, I think
9 if you think about it, not being associated
10 with the military like Franz and I were, you
11 will recognize the fact that this enables us
12 in the state of New York to be the partner
13 with them. Other than that, West Point has to
14 ship out everything it does through the Army
15 Corps of Engineers and they're on a delay.
16 They're on a pattern. This way here the
17 project will come up on the board. The
18 federal government will be funding it and they
19 will contract with the Dormitory Authority for
20 the project. No cost to us. The benefit
21 could be jobs in New York.
22 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Okay.
23 Again through you, Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
25 Dollinger.
6031
1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Will the
2 Dormitory, when it builds these buildings for
3 the Department of the Army, for the Department
4 of Defense -
5 SENATOR LARKIN: I can't hear
6 you, Senator.
7 SENATOR DOLLINGER: When the
8 Dormitory Authority manages the construction
9 -- I understand there's a going to be a
10 construction management relationship. When
11 they manage these projects for the Department
12 of Army, will they pay the prevailing federal
13 wage rate?
14 SENATOR LARKIN: They have to.
15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: They have
16 to. They'll be governed -
17 SENATOR LARKIN: It's done on a
18 military installation.
19 SENATOR DOLLINGER: That's my
20 question. They'll be -
21 SENATOR LARKIN: They will have
22 to comply with the Davis-Bacon and the
23 affirmative action and everything else.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
25 Secretary will read the last section.
6032
1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: No
2 objection, Mr. President.
3 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
5 This act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
7 the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the
9 roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
12 bill is passed.
13 Senator Volker.
14 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
15 can we go to Supplemental Calendar Number 53-E
16 -- 53-E and we want to -- it's Calendar
17 Number 1591.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
19 Secretary will read Calendar Number 1591 on
20 the last calendar of the day so far, 53-E.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 1591, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 5384-A,
23 an act to redistribute 1997 bond volume
24 allocations.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
6033
1 Volker.
2 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
3 is there a message at the desk?
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
5 is.
6 SENATOR VOLKER: Would you move
7 to accept the message.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
9 motion is to accept the message of necessity
10 on Calendar Number 1591. All those in favor
11 signify by saying aye.
12 (Response of "Aye".)
13 Opposed, nay.
14 (There was no response.)
15 The message is accepted.
16 The bill is before the house.
17 The Secretary will read the
18 last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section -
20 SENATOR LEICHTER: Can we have
21 a brief explanation.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
23 Leibell, an explanation of Calendar Number
24 1591 has been requested by Senator Leichter.
25 SENATOR LEIBELL: This bill,
6034
1 Mr. President, would add a new section of the
2 unconsolidated laws to provide an allocation
3 mechanism for the private activity bond
4 ceiling established pursuant to the Federal
5 Tax Reform Act of 1986. Specifically this
6 bill would set aside one-third of the state's
7 IDB cap for the local Industrial Development
8 Agencies on a per capita basis and provides
9 for overlapping jurisdictions and
10 reallocations by municipalities.
11 This bond allocation will be
12 distributed one-third to state agencies,
13 one-third to be administered by the budget
14 director and one-third in a statewide bond
15 reserve to be used by the state or local
16 issuers when their initial allocations have
17 been exhausted. This allocation is based upon
18 the system established by New York State in
19 the early 1980s pursuant to the Federal Tax
20 Reform Act.
21 Basically this bill would give
22 the state more flexibility in allocation of
23 taxes and bonds for large scale multi-year new
24 construction development projects throughout
25 the state that require expenditures in excess
6035
1 of $20 million.
2 This bill would accelerate and
3 promote the construction of affordable
4 housing, facilitate financial investments in
5 New York State and create new housing and
6 construction jobs.
7 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr.
8 President, if Senator Leibell will yield.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
10 Leibell, do you yield to a question? The
11 Senator yields.
12 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator, I
13 think the state seems to have been pretty well
14 served and I think we have all been satisfied
15 with a one-third, one-third, one-third
16 allocation. Who now is going to make the
17 decision as to the modifications as to the
18 reallocation of some of the portion from one
19 of the thirds to the other third? How is that
20 going to be done?
21 SENATOR LEIBELL: There is no
22 reallocation of those thirds.
23 SENATOR LEICHTER: Okay. Then
24 I may have misunderstood you. Presently am I
25 correct in understanding it's one-third,
6036
1 one-third, one-third?
2 SENATOR LEIBELL: That's
3 unchanged.
4 SENATOR LEICHTER: And did I
5 not hear you say this will give greater
6 flexibility, meaning there was some new
7 process whereby we were not going to be
8 following the one-third, one-third,
9 one-third?
10 SENATOR LEIBELL: It gives
11 greater flexibility for projects that will be
12 constructed over a different time span, over
13 two or three years.
14 SENATOR LEICHTER: But can that
15 flexibility reach the one-third, one-third,
16 one-third?
17 SENATOR LEIBELL: No. That's
18 the same.
19 SENATOR LEICHTER: That remains
20 the same.
21 SENATOR LEIBELL: Yes,
22 Senator.
23 SENATOR LEICHTER: So what are
24 you changing then?
25 SENATOR LEIBELL: We're
6037
1 changing the way it would flow over a period
2 of years.
3 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, if you
4 would be so good as to continue to yield. The
5 flow -- presently without this bill, the flow
6 over a number of years will be within the
7 one-third, one-third, one-third, is that
8 correct?
9 SENATOR LEIBELL: Yes.
10 SENATOR LEICHTER: Now if I
11 understood you correctly, the flow over the
12 number of years may now -- may no longer be
13 one-third, one-third, one-third.
14 SENATOR LEIBELL: The same.
15 SENATOR LEICHTER: You're
16 saying it's not going to change?
17 SENATOR LEIBELL: You will be
18 able to commit for multi-year projects in that
19 first year.
20 SENATOR LEICHTER: So by
21 committing to multi-year projects, does that
22 mean that the allocation may end up no longer
23 being one-third, one-third, one-third?
24 SENATOR LEIBELL: No. It does
25 not mean that.
6038
1 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, I -
2 then how -- if I may ask again and I guess
3 it's the lateness of the hour, and so on, but
4 I'm having difficulty understanding. On the
5 one hand you're saying, well, we're changing
6 it and then whenever I ask, how is it being
7 changed, you say, oh, well, we're not changing
8 anything, but it certainly seems to me that
9 the effect of, if you authorize somebody to
10 enter into a multi-year agreement, make the
11 allocation without possibly knowing how much
12 money you're going to have available in future
13 years, that could conceivably end up that
14 you're not going to be within one-third,
15 one-third, one-third.
16 SENATOR LEIBELL: You can make
17 the allocation, Senator, in the first year but
18 you're drawing the funds out over the
19 three-year period, over the multi-year period.
20 SENATOR LEICHTER: And if I
21 understand you correctly, Senator, over that
22 three-year period or whatever year period,
23 there still has to be an effort made to
24 maintain that one-third, one-third, one-third
25 allocation.
6039
1 SENATOR LEIBELL: That's
2 correct.
3 SENATOR LEICHTER: Thank you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
5 Secretary will read the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 17.
7 This act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
14 bill is passed.
15 Senator Holland.
16 SENATOR HOLLAND: Senator
17 Stachowski wants to know if it's 5:00 o'clock
18 yet. Can we return to Supplemental Calendar
19 Number 2 and take up Calendar Number 1243,
20 please.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: On the
22 regular calendar, regular calendar, first
23 calendar of the day, Calendar Number 1243.
24 The Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6040
1 1243, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 6238-B,
2 an act authorizing the city of Watertown.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
4 is a home rule message at the desk. The
5 Secretary will read the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
7 This act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
14 bill is passed.
15 Senator Holland.
16 SENATOR HOLLAND: Stand at ease
17 for a minute, Mr. President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
19 Senate will stand at ease for a moment.
20 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
21 ease from 11:08 p.m. until 11:19 p.m.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: I'll
23 ask the Senate to come to order, please.
24 Senator Holland.
25 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
6041
1 President, can we return to Senate
2 Supplemental Calendar 53-C and do Calendar
3 Number 1580, by Senator Lack.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: On
5 Calendar 53-C -- 53-C, the Secretary will read
6 Calendar Number 1580, by Senator Lack.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1580, substituted earlier today, by member of
9 the Assembly Brodsky, Assembly Print 4775, an
10 act to amend the General Business Law, in
11 relation to defining actionable effects.
12 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
13 President, just a brief explanation.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
15 Lack, an explanation -- a brief explanation
16 has been asked for by Senator Dollinger.
17 SENATOR LACK: Mr. President,
18 this bill amends the Donnelly Act. If you
19 don't mind, considering the lateness of the
20 night, I'll just address Senator Dollinger
21 personally.
22 Senator, this bill amends the
23 Donnelly Act in light of a 1977 Supreme Court
24 decision with respect to the Sherman Antitrust
25 Act on indirect purchasers and their ability
6042
1 to be involved in derivative actions pursuant
2 to the Sherman Act.
3 Ten years later in California
4 v. Arc in 1987, the Supreme Court held that
5 state little Sherman Acts can be interpreted
6 with respect to allowing for indirect
7 purchasers to be part of actions commenced
8 with respect to the Sherman Act. There has
9 been New York case law which I disagree with
10 and I believe that this body disagrees with
11 with respect to the influence of the Donnelly
12 Act upon those decisions.
13 This, in effect, would reverse
14 Justice Glassman's latest decision which held
15 that our Donnelly Act is in conformance with
16 the Sherman Act and, therefore, not a vehicle
17 by which indirect purchasers could participate
18 in such actions. This corrects that.
19 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through
20 you, Mr. President. This gives indirect
21 purchasers the ability to bring those actions
22 when there's been restraint of trade or
23 monopoly?
24 SENATOR LACK: Mr. President,
25 the answer is technically yes. However, as
6043
1 you well know, Senator, 99.9 percent of those
2 actions are brought by direct purchasers. So
3 while you're technically correct, the
4 practical answer is it gives indirect
5 purchasers in this state the right to
6 participate in such federal class action suits
7 and seek a recovery based upon our state
8 Donnelly Act.
9 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Explanation
10 satisfactory.
11 Thank you.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
13 Secretary will read the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
15 This act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the
19 roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
22 bill is passed.
23 Senator Holland.
24 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
25 President, there will be an immediate meeting
6044
1 of the Rules Committee in Room 332, please.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
3 Immediate meeting of the Rules Committee,
4 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
5 the Majority Conference Room, Room 332.
6 Senator Rath, why do you rise?
7 SENATOR RATH: Mr. President, I
8 request unanimous consent to be recorded in
9 the negative on Calendar 1608.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without
11 objection, hearing no objection, Senator Rath
12 will be recorded in the negative on Calendar
13 Number 1608. The Senate will stand at ease.
14 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
15 ease from 11:22 p.m. until 11:57 p.m.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
17 Senate will come to order. Ask the members to
18 find their places, the staff to find their
19 places.
20 Senator Holland.
21 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
22 President, can we go to the first active list
23 of the day and do Calendar Number 1 by Senator
24 Libous.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: On the
6045
1 regular calendar, first calendar of the day,
2 Calendar 53, the Secretary will read Calendar
3 Number 1.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 1122-B, an
6 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
7 relation to parking spaces.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
9 Holland.
10 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
11 President, is there a message of necessity at
12 the desk?
13 ACTING PRESIDENT LEICHTER:
14 There is.
15 SENATOR HOLLAND: I move we
16 accept the message.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
18 motion is accept the message of necessity on
19 Calendar Number 1. All those in favor signify
20 by saying aye.
21 (Response of "Aye".)
22 Opposed, nay.
23 (There was no response.)
24 The message is accepted.
25 The bill is before the house.
6046
1 The Secretary will read the
2 last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 4.
4 This act shall take effect January 1.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the
8 roll.)
9 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Do you
11 want to explain your vote?
12 SENATOR GOLD: Yes.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
14 Gold, to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President,
16 I've got to say, 28 years I have never seen
17 such tenacity in my life. My congratulations
18 to Senator Libous, the first bill reported out
19 this year and he stuck with it all the way
20 through 'til 12:00 o'clock on the last day and
21 we're passing it and God bless him. I think
22 that's terrific.
23 I'm going to vote for it.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
25 Gold votes for tenacity in the affirmative.
6047
1 Announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
4 bill is passed -- excuse me. Senator Meier in
5 the negative.
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 60, nays
7 1, Senator Meier recorded in the negative.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
9 bill is passed.
10 Senator Holland.
11 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
12 President, on the same calendar, Calendar
13 Number 1446, please.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
15 Secretary will read Calendar Number 1446.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1446, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 6781-C,
18 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
19 misrepresentation.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
21 Secretary will read the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
23 This act shall take effect on the first day of
24 November.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
6048
1 the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the
3 roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 bill is passed.
7 Senator Holland.
8 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
9 President, on the same calendar, Calendar
10 Number 867, please.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
12 Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 867, substituted earlier today, by the
15 Assembly Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill
16 Number 10844-A, an act to amend the Public
17 Authorities Law, in relation to the powers of
18 the Educational Housing Services,
19 Incorporated.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
21 Secretary will read the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
23 This act shall take effect -
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
25 Secretary will call the roll.
6049
1 (The Secretary called the
2 roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
5 bill is passed.
6 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
7 President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
9 Holland.
10 SENATOR HOLLAND: May we return
11 to reports of standing committees and read the
12 Rules report, please.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Return
14 to reports of standing committees. There is a
15 report of the Rules Committee at the desk.
16 I'll ask the Secretary to read.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
18 from the Committee on Rules, reports the
19 following bills directly for third reading:
20 Senate Bill 2671, by Senator
21 Leibell, an act to amend the Real Property Tax
22 Law;
23 4536-D, by Senator LaValle, an
24 act to amend the Education Law;
25 5663-A, by Senator Skelos, an
6050
1 act to amend the General Business Law;
2 6008-A, by Senator Seward, an
3 act in relation to authorizing;
4 6434, by Senator Breslin, an
5 act in relation to authorizing;
6 6750-A, by Senator Seward, an
7 act to amend the Tax Law;
8 7289-A, by Senator Leibell, an
9 act to amend the Volunteer Firemen's Benefit
10 Law;
11 7393, by Senator Skelos, an act
12 to amend the Retirement and Social Security
13 Law;
14 7488-A, by Senator Velella, an
15 act to amend the Insurance Law;
16 7502, by Senator Johnson, an
17 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
18 7504, by Senator Skelos, an act
19 to amend the Penal Law;
20 7610, by Senator Connor, an act
21 to require preparation;
22 7708-B, by Senator Johnson, an
23 act to amend the Transportation Law;
24 7741, by the Committee on
25 Rules, an act to amend the Education Law;
6051
1 7777, by Senator Goodman, an
2 act to amend the Tax Law;
3 7778, by Senator Hannon, an act
4 to amend the Public Authorities Law;
5 7799-A, by Senator Velella, an
6 act to amend the Insurance Law;
7 7813-A, by the Committee on
8 Rules, an act to amend the Insurance Law;
9 7829, by the Committee on
10 Rules, an act to amend the Real Property Tax
11 Law;
12 7835, by the Committee on
13 Rules, an act to amend the Insurance Law;
14 7838, by Senator Stafford, an
15 act to amend the Public Health Law;
16 7843, by Senator Hannon, an act
17 to amend the Public Health Law;
18 Assembly Bill 8534-B, by the
19 Assembly Committee on Rules, an act to amend
20 the Public Authorities Law; and
21 Assembly Bill 10061-C, by
22 Assemblyman Brennan, an act to amend the
23 Public Authorities Law.
24 All bills directly for third
25 reading.
6052
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
2 Holland.
3 SENATOR HOLLAND: Move we
4 accept the report of the Rules Committee.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Motion
6 is to accept the report of the Rules
7 Committee. All in favor signify by saying
8 aye.
9 (Response of "Aye.")
10 Opposed, nay.
11 (There was no response.)
12 The report of the Rules
13 Committee is accepted.
14 Senator Holland.
15 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
16 President, can we recall or call up again
17 1446.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: We'll
19 call up Calendar Number 1446 which was
20 previously adopted but without a message. So
21 the Secretary will read the title to Calendar
22 Number 1446.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1446, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 6781-C,
25 an act to amend the Penal Law.
6053
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
2 Holland.
3 SENATOR HOLLAND: Is there a
4 message of necessity at the desk?
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
6 is.
7 SENATOR HOLLAND: Move we
8 accept the message.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Motion
10 is to accept the message of necessity. All
11 those in favor signify by saying aye.
12 (Response of "Aye.")
13 Opposed nay.
14 (There was no response.)
15 The message is adopted. The
16 bill is before the house. Secretary will read
17 the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
19 This act shall take effect on the first day of
20 November.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
22 the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the
24 roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
6054
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
2 bill is passed.
3 Senator Holland.
4 SENATOR HOLLAND: Could you go
5 to Calendar 53F and call up Calendar 1625,
6 please.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: We'll
8 go to the calendar which was just placed on
9 the members' desks, Calendar 53F, Calendar
10 Number 1625. Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 1625, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 7708-B,
13 an act to amend the Transportation Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
15 Holland.
16 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
17 President, is there a message of necessity at
18 the desk.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
20 is.
21 SENATOR HOLLAND: Move we
22 accept the message.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Motion
24 is to accept the message of necessity on
25 Calendar Number 1625. All those in favor
6055
1 signify by saying aye.
2 (Response of "Aye.")
3 Opposed nay.
4 (There was no response.)
5 Message is accepted. Bill is
6 before the house. Secretary will read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2.
9 This act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the
13 roll. )
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
16 bill is passed.
17 Senator Holland.
18 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
19 President, same calendar, Calendar Number
20 1620, please.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: O.K.
22 Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1620, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 7488-A,
25 an act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation
6056
1 to authorizing.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
3 Holland.
4 SENATOR HOLLAND: Is there a
5 message of necessity at the desk?
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
7 is.
8 SENATOR HOLLAND: Move we
9 accept the message.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Motion
11 is to accept the message of necessity on
12 Calendar Number 1620. All those in favor
13 signify by saying aye.
14 (Response of "Aye.")
15 Opposed nay.
16 (There was no response.)
17 Message is accepted. Bill is
18 before the house. Secretary will read the
19 last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 11.
21 This act shall take effect January 1st, 1999.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
23 the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the
25 roll.)
6057
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
3 bill is passed.
4 Senator Holland.
5 SENATOR HOLLAND: Calendar
6 1629, please.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
8 Secretary will read Calendar Number 1629.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 1629, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 7799-A,
11 an act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation
12 to Holocaust victims.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
14 Holland.
15 SENATOR HOLLAND: Is there a
16 message of necessity at the desk?
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
18 is.
19 SENATOR HOLLAND: Move we
20 accept the message, please.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Motion
22 is to accept the message of necessity on
23 Calendar Number 1629. All those in favor
24 signify by saying aye.
25 (Response of "Aye.")
6058
1 Opposed nay.
2 (There was no response.)
3 Message is accepted. Bill is
4 before the house. Secretary will read the
5 last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 5.
7 This act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the
11 roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
14 bill is passed.
15 Senator Holland.
16 SENATOR HOLLAND: 1631, please,
17 Mr. President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
19 Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1631, by the Committee on Rules, Senate Print
22 7829, an act to amend the Real Property Tax
23 Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
25 Holland.
6059
1 SENATOR HOLLAND: Is there a
2 message of necessity at the desk?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
4 is.
5 SENATOR HOLLAND: Move we accept
6 the message.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Motion
8 is to accept the message of necessity on
9 Calendar Number 1631. All those in favor
10 signify by saying aye.
11 (Response of "Aye.")
12 Opposed nay.
13 (There was no response.)
14 The message is accepted. The
15 bill is before the house. Secretary will read
16 the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 3.
18 This act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the
22 roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
25 bill is passed.
6060
1 Senator Holland.
2 SENATOR HOLLAND: 1632,
3 please.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
5 Secretary will read.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1632, by the Committee on rules, Senate Print
8 7835, an act to amend the Insurance Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
10 Holland.
11 SENATOR HOLLAND: Is there a
12 message of necessity at the desk?
13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
14 is.
15 SENATOR HOLLAND: Move we accept
16 the message, please.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Motion
18 is to accept the message of necessity on
19 Calendar Number 1632. All those in favor
20 signify by saying aye.
21 (Response of "Aye.")
22 Opposed nay.
23 (There was no response.)
24 Message is accepted. Bill is
25 before the house. Secretary will read the
6061
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 6.
3 This act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
5 the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the
7 roll.)
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
10 bill is passed.
11 Senator Holland.
12 SENATOR HOLLAND: 1633,
13 please.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
15 Secretary will read.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1633, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 7838,
18 an act to amend the Public Health Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
20 Holland.
21 SENATOR HOLLAND: Is there a
22 message of necessity at the desk?
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
24 is.
25 SENATOR HOLLAND: Move we
6062
1 accept the message.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Motion
3 is to accept the message of necessity on
4 Calendar Number 1633. All in favor signify by
5 saying aye.
6 (Response of "Aye.")
7 Opposed nay.
8 (There was no response.)
9 The message is accepted. Bill
10 is before the house. Secretary will read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 45.
13 This act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
15 the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the
17 roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
20 bill is passed.
21 Senator Holland.
22 SENATOR HOLLAND: 1634,
23 please.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL:
25 Secretary will read.
6063
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 1634, by Senator Hannon, Senate Print 7843, an
3 act to amend the Public Health Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
5 Holland.
6 SENATOR HOLLAND: Is there a
7 message at the desk?
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There
9 is.
10 SENATOR HOLLAND: Move we
11 accept the message of necessity.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Motion
13 is to accept the message of necessity on
14 Calendar Number 1634. All in favor signify by
15 saying aye.
16 (Response of "Aye.")
17 Opposed nay.
18 (There was no response.)
19 The message is accepted. Bill
20 is before the house. Secretary will read the
21 last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 47.
23 This act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call
25 the roll.
6064
1 (The Secretary called the
2 roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
4 Hannon, to explain his vote.
5 SENATOR HANNON: Mr. President,
6 to explain my vote.
7 I just wanted to note that this
8 is the successful conclusion of a lot of
9 process and consultation expanding the state's
10 Child Health Plus health insurance program,
11 that there has been a considerable amount of
12 effort by all parties involved, and I think
13 this is a very successful conclusion, that all
14 of the parties involved ought to be
15 congratulated, including this house.
16 Thank you.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
18 Hannon will be recorded in the affirmative.
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
22 bill is passed.
23 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr.
24 President, is there any housekeeping at the
25 desk?
6065
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: No, the
2 desk is clean, Senator Holland.
3 SENATOR HOLLAND: There being
4 no further business, we adjourn until Friday,
5 June 19th, at 10:00 a.m.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without
7 objection, the Senate stands adjourned until
8 tomorrow on the legislative calendar, June
9 19th, at -
10 SENATOR HOLLAND: 10:00 a.m.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: -
12 10:00 a.m.
13 (Whereupon at 12:17 a.m., the
14 Senate adjourned.)
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