Regular Session - January 29, 2001
263
THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
ALBANY, NEW YORK
January 29, 2001
3:08 p.m.
REGULAR SESSION
SENATOR JOHN J. BONACIC, Acting President
STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
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P R O C E E D I N G S
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
Senate will come to order.
I ask everyone present to please
rise and repeat with me the Pledge of
Allegiance.
(Whereupon, the assemblage recited
the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: We
have no clergy today, so I would ask you to
bow your heads in a moment of silence and
think of your loved ones.
(Whereupon, the assemblage
respected a moment of silence.)
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Reading of the Journal.
THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
Friday, January 26th, the Senate met pursuant
to adjournment. The Journal of Thursday,
January 25, was read and approved. On motion,
Senate adjourned.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Without objection, the Journal stands approved
as read.
Presentation of petitions.
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Messages from the Assembly.
Messages from the Governor.
Reports of standing committees.
Reports of select committees.
Communications and reports from
state officers.
Motions and resolutions.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
may we please have the noncontroversial
reading of the calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 209, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
consecutive terms of imprisonment.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Lay it
aside.
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
bill is laid aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 403, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
266
sentencing of persistent violent felony
offenders.
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
bill is laid aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 435,
an act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in
relation to applications for recognizance or
bail.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the 30th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 42. Nays,
1. Senator Sampson recorded in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
31, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 685, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
concurrent and consecutive terms of
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imprisonment.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 46.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
42, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 806,
an act to amend the Environmental Conservation
Law, in relation to management of wildlife
resources.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
act shall take effect on the first day of
January.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 46.
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ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
43, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print -
SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside for
the day.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
bill is laid aside for the day.
Senator Skelos, that completes the
noncontroversial reading of the calendar.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
may we go to the controversial calendar,
please.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 209, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
consecutive terms of imprisonment.
SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Volker, an explanation, please.
SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
this is a bill that has passed this house in
the past that would allow for consecutive
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sentencing where a person committed an offense
that involved a series of charges that
resulted from a single act.
If I remember right, this bill was
initially Senator Joe Galiber's bill, the late
Senator Galiber who served in this chamber.
And it came about, if I'm correct, as a result
of the Happylands dance studio fire where
something like 80-some people died. And the
person that set the fire was only able to be
charged -- well, he was charged with a series
of crimes -- of murder, manslaughter, I
guess -- but could only be charged under the
statute concurrently.
And this bill would allow for
consecutive sentencing. It is not mandatory.
You could be charged under concurrent
sentencing as it is now, but this bill would
allow for consecutive sentencing.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Mr.
President, would -
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Montgomery, why do you stand?
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Would
Senator Volker answer a question, an inquiry.
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ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Volker, do you yield?
SENATOR VOLKER: Certainly.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: I would like
to ask Senator Volker to what extent the bill
applies broadly. I mean, are there any
limitations on the nature of offenses that
would be committed under this that would
require consecutive terms of imprisonment?
I'm just trying to find out to what
extent do we include or would be included
under this statute some of the minor
offenses -
SENATOR VOLKER: No.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: -- that may
occur together but that we may not want to
have consecutive terms.
SENATOR VOLKER: The only
offenses that -- I neglected to say this, is
that we're only talking about the violation of
the Penal Law Article 120, which is assault;
Article 125, which is homicide; and the
present section, which is ironic, which is
Section 27020, which is unlawfully wearing a
body vest. I have no idea where that law came
271
from.
That is the law now, that allows
for the consecutive sentencing if you violate
the law while unlawfully wearing a body vest.
That happened, I believe, prior to my -- maybe
not my being in the Senate, but it was
certainly prior to my being Chairman of Codes.
So those are the only three
instances where these multiple crimes would be
involved -- assault, homicide, while
unlawfully wearing a body vest.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. President, I
appreciate that explanation.
I have voted no on this bill, and
one of the reasons that I'm voting no and I'm
going to continue my vote is because I'm just
concerned about the way that we sort of
piecemeal our criminal code. And in many
instances, these have a disparate impact on
certain areas, certain communities, certain
groups in our state.
And I just want to be sure that
this is -- that we're not really sort of
making a decision in one area that -- where we
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have not really analyzed and can't necessarily
predict but may be exaggerating another part
of our criminal code as it relates to
consecutive sentencing.
So I'm going to vote no. I
understand Senator Volker's intent; I probably
don't object to it. But I would like to have
more time to look at just what the impact of
this kind of legislation would be.
Thank you. I'm voting no.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: Thank
you, Senator.
Senator Volker.
SENATOR VOLKER: I just want to
say quickly -- and I understand your
concern -- that I think initially when we
first did this bill, I think we had it
mandatory for consecutive sentencing. Keeping
in mind, thinking about that, we changed this
to what is in effect right now, the -- you can
only have concurrent sentencing.
What we're saying here is we're not
saying you have to have consecutive
sentencing. All we're saying is that
consecutive sentencing could be allowed in
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certain conditions, so that the option is
there to do it under these very serious
conditions.
And I tend to agree with you. In
fact, I wish we could make, you know, changes
in many cases as, well, we did in sexual
assault reform.
And, by the way, we're still
working on that. I think one of the things
that people really didn't realize is that in
that bill last year, the sexual assault
reform, we said -- near the end, there's a
clause in there that says we ran out of time.
And we're going to finish up part of the
revision of the sexual assault reform section
we hope this year. And we're discussing it
right now. Because I happen to agree with you
entirely, that I think it's better to do these
whole areas when you can and put everything
together.
The reason for this is -- and this
was a specific reason, because of a horrendous
situation. And it pointed up that -- and I
think particularly this is true in homicide -
that you ought to have some alternative where
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there are multiple deaths and where a whole
batch of people were killed, as in the case of
Happylands, which is years ago. And that's
why this is here.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the first day of
November.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56. Nays,
1. Senator Montgomery recorded in the
negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
bill is passed.
Senator Duane, why do you rise?
SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Mr.
President. I was hoping that with unanimous
consent I could be recorded in the negative on
Number 685.
And I was out of the chamber when
it came up, and I did just want to say that
while I think that this is an excellent bill,
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I think that we shouldn't do sexual assault
issues on a piecemeal basis. I understand
SARA is going to be revisited, and I think
that we should look at revisions as a package
and not this individually.
But thank you for the opportunity
to vote no.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Without objection, Senator Duane will be voted
in the negative on Bill 685.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 403, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
sentencing of persistent violent felony
offenders.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Skelos, an explanation has been
requested.
SENATOR SKELOS: Yes, Mr.
President.
This legislation, which passed the
Senate in 1998, '99, and 2000, will eliminate
discretionary parole for violent felony
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offenders who have been convicted and
sentenced for three or more violent felonies
within a ten-year period.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Montgomery, why do you rise?
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Mr.
President, I'd just like to ask would the
sponsor yield to a question.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Skelos, do you yield?
SENATOR SKELOS: Yes.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Senator
Skelos, thanks.
I want to ask Senator Skelos, in a
similar vein to the question I asked Senator
Volker, what are the charges, the convictions
included in your bill?
SENATOR SKELOS: They're listed
in the Penal Law as class -- as violent felony
offenses. For example, aggravated sexual
abuse in the first degree, kidnapping in the
second degree. It goes on and on; I can give
you the section of the law. But it's how the
Penal Law defines them as violent felony
offenses.
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SENATOR MONTGOMERY: If you would
continue to yield.
The charges of robbery and
burglary, is that first and second degree or
just first degree or -
SENATOR SKELOS: Yeah, I believe
so. If they are defined in here as violent
felony offenses, then they would be covered.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: All right.
Mr. President, on the bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Montgomery, on the bill.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: The point
that I made to Senator Volker, similarly, in
this case, where I believe that Senator
Skelos's bill would cover anyone who has
committed these -- any of these felonies
within ten years.
So in other words, if you have
served your sentence, you've served a sentence
and you are now out, and within ten years you
make another mistake or you, you know, commit
another one of these issues here, what does
this mean in terms of the length of time?
I believe that Senator Skelos is
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proposing that there be -- that your time is
doubled, based on the last convictions that
you've had. Can I ask -- would Senator Skelos
yield to a question to answer that? I would
like to know.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: I think
basically if you commit any one of these
enumerated violent felony offenses, if you
commit it three times within a ten-year
period, then those would be the predicates of
getting life in prison without parole.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Montgomery, do you want to continue on
the bill?
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: I do want to
continue on the bill, just to say that this is
a three-strikes-and-you're-out legislation?
SENATOR SKELOS: (Nodding.)
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Okay. I
think that that explains it very well.
Thank you very much, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: Read
the last section.
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THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
act shall take effect on the first day of
November.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Montgomery, to explain your vote?
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Mr.
President, to explain my vote.
I would just like to remind my
colleagues that this legislation that Senator
Skelos has presented to us is exactly what has
happened in California. And one of the things
that people who supported this kind of program
to address crime in California have found is
that a person conceivably could spend life in
prison without parole for stealing a bicycle,
or some other kind of what would be considered
to be a violent felony under his bill, a
burglary or a robbery.
So I would like to just emphasize
that this is quite extreme, and I really don't
think that we in the State of New York are
prepared to pay for what it would cost for us
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to incarcerate people for life under this
legislation for such minor offenses.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Montgomery will be recorded in the
negative.
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
the negative on Calendar Number 23 are
Senators Duane, Espada, Mendez, Montgomery,
Santiago, Schneiderman, A. Smith, and M.
Smith. Ayes, 50; nays, 8. Also Senator
Sampson. Ayes, 49. Nays, 9.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
bill is passed.
Senator Skelos, that completes the
controversial reading of the calendar.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
is there any housekeeping at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: No,
there is not.
SENATOR SKELOS: If we could
return to motions and resolutions.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Motions and resolutions.
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Senator Paterson, for purposes of
handing up any resolutions to amend the rules.
Is there any?
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
on behalf of Senator Bruno, I hereby give
written notice, as required by Rule 11, that
he will move to amend the following Senate
rules.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
notice is received and will be recorded in the
Journal.
Thank you, Senator Skelos.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Dollinger, why do you rise?
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
President, pursuant to Rule 11, on behalf of
Senator Connor I also give notice of an
intention to amend the rules, consistent with
Rule 11.
I believe it's been handed up, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: The
282
notice is received and will be recorded in the
Journal.
Thank you, Senator.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC:
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
there being no further business, I move we
adjourn until Tuesday, January 30th, at
11:00 a.m.
ACTING PRESIDENT BONACIC: On
motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
Tuesday, January 30th, at 11:00 a.m.
(Whereupon, at 3:29 p.m., the
Senate adjourned.)