Regular Session - June 6, 2001
8815
NEW YORK STATE SENATE
THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
ALBANY, NEW YORK
June 6, 2001
11:14 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION
SENATOR RAYMOND A. MEIER, Acting President
STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
8816
P R O C E E D I N G S
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Senate will come to order.
May I ask everyone present to
please rise and join me in repeating the
Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
(Whereupon, the assemblage recited
the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: In the
absence of clergy, may we now bow our heads in
a moment of silence.
(Whereupon, the assemblage
respected a moment of silence.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reading
of the Journal.
THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
Tuesday, June 5, the Senate met pursuant to
adjournment. The Journal of Monday, June 4,
was read and approved. On motion, Senate
adjourned.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, the Journal stands approved as
read.
Presentation of petitions.
Messages from the Assembly.
8817
Messages from the Governor.
Reports of standing committees.
Reports of select committees.
Communications and reports from
state officers.
Motions and resolutions.
Senator Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
Mr. President.
On behalf of Senator Bonacic, on
page number 44, I offer the following
amendments to Calendar Number 828, Senate
Print Number 5118, and ask that said bill
retain its place on the Third Reading
Calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted, and the
bill will retain its place on the Third
Reading Calendar.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you.
Mr. President, I wish to call up
Calendar Number 323, on behalf of Senator
Farley, Assembly Print Number 6570.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
8818
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
323, by Member of the Assembly Gantt, Assembly
Print Number 6570, an act to amend the Vehicle
and Traffic Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
President, I now move to reconsider the vote
by which this Assembly bill was substituted
for Senator Farley's bill, Senate Print Number
1992, on April 24.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 37.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
President, I now move that Assembly Bill
Number 6570 be committed to the Committee on
Rules and Senator Farley's Senate bill be
restored to the order of Third Reading
Calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: So
ordered.
8819
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
President, I now offer the following
amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you.
Mr. President, I wish to call up
Senator Wright's bill, Print Number 4109,
recalled from the Assembly, which is now at
the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
675, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 4109, an
act to amend the Environmental Conservation
Law.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
President, I now move to reconsider the vote
by which this bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 37.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
President, I now offer the following
8820
amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
are there any substitutions at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes, we
have some substitutions.
SENATOR SKELOS: I ask that they
be made at this time.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read the substitutions.
THE SECRETARY: On page 54,
Senator Velella moves to discharge, from the
Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
4952A, and substitute it for the identical
Senate Bill Number 2597A, Third Reading
Calendar 1032.
On page 54, Senator Velella moves
to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 4953 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 2598,
8821
Third Reading Calendar 1033.
And on page 55, Senator Saland
moves to discharge, from the Committee on
Rules, Assembly Bill Number 7751A and
substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
Number 5134, Third Reading Calendar 1043.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitutions ordered.
Senator Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
President, on behalf of Senator Saland, on
page number 56, I offer the following
amendments to Calendar Number 223, Senate
Print Number 3148, and ask that said bill
retain its place on the Third Reading
Calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted, and the
bill will retain its place on the Third
Reading Calendar.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
there are two privileged resolutions at the
8822
desk by Senator Seward. I ask that the titles
be read and move for their immediate adoption.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read the titles of the
privileged resolutions.
THE SECRETARY: By Senators
Seward and Meier, Legislative Resolution
Number 2309, honoring John W. Young, Director
of Emergency Services and Fire Coordinator for
Herkimer County, upon the occasion of his
retirement.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
question is on the resolution. All those in
favor signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Opposed,
nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
resolution is adopted.
The Secretary will continue to
read.
THE SECRETARY: By Senator
Seward, Legislative Resolution Number 2310,
honoring Gordon B. Roberts upon the occasion
8823
of his designation as recipient of the 2001
Outstanding Citizen Award by Hartwick College
on June 8, 2001.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
question is on the resolution. All those in
favor signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Opposed,
nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
resolution is adopted.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: May we please
take up Senator Bonacic's resolution, 2260,
which was adopted yesterday, and have it read
in its entirety.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read Resolution 2260.
THE SECRETARY: By Senator
Bonacic, Legislative Resolution Number 2260,
honoring the Valedictorians and Salutatorians
of the 40th Senate District, in recognition of
their outstanding academic accomplishments, at
a celebration to be held at the State Capitol
8824
on June 6, 2001.
"WHEREAS, It is the sense of this
Legislative Body to act, in accord with its
longstanding traditions, honoring the youth of
today -- the leaders of tomorrow -- whose
character and achievements best exemplify the
ideals and values cherished by this great
State and nation; and
"WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is
justly proud to recognize and commend the high
achievements of these dedicated students in
the 40th Senate District on the occasion of a
special celebratory visit to be held at the
State Capitol in Albany, New York, on
Wednesday, June 6, 2001. At this time the
Valedictorians and Salutatorians will receive
special recognition from the Senate in the
Senate Chamber; lunch will be served in the
office of their State Senator, followed by a
tour of the Capitol Building; and
"WHEREAS, These Valedictorians and
Salutatorians represent the best of developed
potential inherent in all our most precious
resources, our youth, and their achievements
have brought enduring honor to their families
8825
and communities, and should be recognized and
saluted; and
"WHEREAS, The Valedictorians who
are being honored today for their outstanding
performances and exemplary achievements
include: Dolores Conklin, Renee Minard, Julie
Stackhouse, Emily Leidner, Michael Cassaro,
Rebecca Roberts, Karla Jones, Mary Raum, Jayme
Ahmed, Nicole Longendyke, Beth Meyer,
Elizabeth Tunison, Emily Ulmer, Zachariah
Baker, Daniel Hui, Christina Hamalainen,
Elizabeth Carr, Danielle Austin, Olga
Romanova, Nicholas Illobre, Bethany Thorne,
Katie Spidle, Christina Oliveri, Nathaniel
Robbins, Laura Constantinides, Ashley Bowers,
Andrea Kreiger, Lauren Lecour-Johnson, David
Oropallo, Jill Barbuti, Elia Tait, Christopher
Brown, Christopher Christiana and Benjamin
Haldeman; and
"WHEREAS, The Salutatorians who are
being honored today for their outstanding
performances and exemplary achievements
include: Kristen Borstelmann, Michael Graham,
Samantha Triolo, Heidi Burger, Grace Rubin,
Anton Johnson, Jackie Ropke, Darren Andrade,
8826
Joel Indelicato, Megan Palmer, Stacey
Poloskey, Ryan Paolino, Raquel Steres, Raymond
Ross, Matthew Dwon, Sara Scheinman, Michael
Dickstein, Robert Zottarelli, Darren Rowen,
Joseph Roucken, Faith Critti, Nicole Norwick,
Aaron Powell, Stefanie Vesely, Christopher
Frank, Scott Denman, Rebekka Doolittle, Cory
Bene, Jason Hnatko, Justin Spielmann, Jessica
Radcliffe, Adrienne Caramore, Mohammad Majeed
and Mark Rood; and
"WHEREAS, These Valedictorians and
Salutatorians may now stand with pride as they
assess their achievements, experience the
satisfaction of their labors and the joy of
their accomplishments, eager to experience the
challenges of new experiences as they face a
challenging world with bright promise; now,
therefore, be it
"RESOLVED, That this Legislative
Body pause in its deliberations to honor the
Valedictorians and Salutatorians of the 40th
Senate District, in recognition of their
outstanding academic accomplishments, at a
celebration to be held at the State Capitol on
June 6, 2001, and be it further
8827
"RESOLVED, That copies of this
resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
to the aforementioned Valedictorians and
Salutatorians."
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Bonacic.
SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, Mr.
President.
This is a very happy and proud day
for me, because I get to show off the
valedictorians and salutatorians from our 37
school districts from the 40th Senate
District. We're here to congratulate them and
their parents for their academic achievement.
We suggest that they consider the
State of New York when they finish their
education, both for higher education and
perhaps they may begin a career here, because
we do believe there are many wonderful
opportunities that exist right here in our
backyard in this wonderful state.
We had an education forum this
morning for about an hour, and we had guest
speakers from various universities in the SUNY
system that shared their ideas and the
8828
opportunities that our school infrastructure
has in the State of New York.
In addition, we're going to have a
pizza party when we're done, at 12:00 o'clock,
on the third floor of the LOB. And I ask, on
behalf of the Senators here, and myself, we
stand to honor you today and to congratulate
you.
And the last thing I would ask is
that when you go through life, in whatever
occupation you choose, that you try to make
the world a little bit better than you found
it.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
resolution was previously adopted.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could go to the noncontroversial
calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read the noncontroversial
calendar.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
50, by Member of the Assembly Weisenberg,
8829
Assembly Print Number 5141, an act to amend
the Social Services Law, in relation to
visitor check-in.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
President, to explain my vote.
This bill requires that daycare
centers provide for a process of identifying
people who enter their premises. It has
already passed the Assembly. It's passing
here today. I'm very proud to be the sponsor
here.
This bill will provide for security
for our youngsters whose parents leave them in
the care of others. And everyone who does
that should have the feeling that when they
leave a child in a daycare center, that child
8830
is under the protection of that center and
that no one will gain entrance to that place
without having proper reason to be there.
So I vote aye on this bill, Mr.
President, proudly.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Marcellino will be recorded in the
affirmative.
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 41.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
363, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 392B,
an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
surreptitious video surveillance without
consent.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the first day of
November.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
8831
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Marcellino, to explain his vote.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes, Mr.
President. This bill is a worthy bill. It
creates the crime of surreptitious video
surveillance.
Right now there is no crime for
someone to secrete a camera in a place where
otherwise you would have every expectation to
be in complete privacy. They take
photographs -
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Marcellino, could I interrupt you a moment.
Can we have some order in the
chamber.
Senator Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: As I was
saying, you could take photographs and
disseminate them in many different ways. This
will create that crime.
This has happened in this state and
many other areas. We feel it's time for this
to be stopped and these perverts to be taken
to jail and put in prison where they belong
and this act stopped so that people will be
8832
protected.
I vote aye. And thank you very
much, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Marcellino will be recorded in the
affirmative.
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 45.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
374, by Member of the Assembly Morelle,
Assembly Print Number 4911A, an act to amend
the Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 45.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
8833
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
412, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 4230, an
act to amend the Domestic Relations Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the 90th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 45.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
493, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 3813, an
act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
voting members.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 45.
8834
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
504, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 2791A,
an act in relation to permitting.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Lay it aside,
please, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
526, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 2366, an
act to amend the Civil Service Law, in
relation to the payment.
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside,
please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
572, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 4372A, an
act to amend Chapter 630 of the Laws -
SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside for
the day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside for the day.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8835
574, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 4714, an
act authorizing certain housing authorities.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz, to explain his vote.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you, Mr.
President. Just to briefly explain my vote.
This legislation will allow the
Housing Authority in the City of North
Tonawanda, in Middletown, to sell those
housing projects to a private sector company.
Right now there are, of the 250
units in the City of North Tonawanda Housing
Authority, there are approximately one-third
that are vacant and beyond -- or in a severe
state of disrepair, Mr. President. This
legislation will allow these apartments to be
completely renovated and provide housing for
low-income residents of North Tonawanda and
8836
Niagara County.
Thank you, Mr. President. I vote
in the affirmative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz will be recorded in the affirmative.
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 46.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
599, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 4159, an
act to amend the General Municipal Law and the
State Finance Law, in relation to salary
deductions.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 46.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8837
601, by Senator McGee, Senate Print 4339 -
SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside for
the day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside for the day.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
606, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 5022, an
act to amend the Volunteer Firefighters
Benefit Law, in relation to death benefits.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 46.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
618, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 2124,
an act to amend the Judiciary Law, in relation
to establishing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
8838
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 46.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
619, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 2516, an
act to amend the Judiciary Law, in relation to
increasing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect January 1, 2002.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 47.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
620, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 3315, an
act to amend the Judiciary Law and others, in
8839
relation to providing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 47.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
624, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 5113, an
act to amend the Judiciary Law, in relation to
increasing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect January 1, 2002.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 47.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
8840
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
633, by Senator Hannon, Senate Print 4391, an
act to amend Chapter 884 of the Laws of 1990.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside,
please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
711, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 3017, an
act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
mandatory continuing education.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect January 1, 2002.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 48.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
720, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 4287, an
8841
act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
the inclusion.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside,
please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
750, by Member of the Assembly Pheffer,
Assembly Print Number 5227, an act to amend
the General Business Law, in relation to
reflective gear.
SENATOR HEVESI: Lay it aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
762, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 3024, an
act authorizing the assessor of the County of
Nassau.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Lay it aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
766, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print -
8842
SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside for
the day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside for the day.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
781, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 2382, an
act to amend the Family Court Act and the
Judiciary Law, in relation to providing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 48.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
783, by Member of the Assembly Weinstein,
Assembly Print Number 7925, an act to amend
the Court of Claims Act, in relation to
notices.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
8843
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 48.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
784, by Senator Lack, Senate Print 4784A, an
act to amend Chapter 231 of the Laws of 1998.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 48.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
792, by Member of the Assembly Kaufman,
Assembly Print Number 1644, an act to amend
the Public Health Law and the State Finance
8844
Law, in relation to statewide planning.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
815, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 2190A, an
act to amend the State Administrative
Procedure Act, in relation to adjudicatory
proceedings.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
act shall take effect on the 180th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
8845
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
821, by Senator Marchi, Senate Print 3832, an
act to amend the Not-for-Profit Corporation
Law, in relation to Supreme Court
applications.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
837, by Senator McGee, Senate Print -
SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside for
the day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside for the day.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
858, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 4669, an
act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
8846
relation to conforming.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
859, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 4673, an
act to amend the Highway Law and the Public
Authorities Law, in relation to
transportation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
8847
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
865, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 5126, an
act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in
relation to procurements.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
880, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 4154, an
act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
the provision.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 18. This
act shall take effect on the first day of
September.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
8848
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
885, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print 4992A,
an act to authorize payment of transportation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
898, by Member of the Assembly Tocci, Assembly
Print Number 2367B, an act to authorize the
State of New York, acting through the Office
of General Services, to transfer and convey.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
8849
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
915, by Senator Meier, Senate Print 4094A, an
act to amend the Social Services Law, in
relation to increasing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
act shall take effect December 31, 2001.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
931, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 1564A, an
act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
scholarships.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the first day of
8850
August.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
942, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
Assembly Print Number 8477, an act to amend
the Education Law, in relation to mandatory
continuing competency hours.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
985, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 85, an
act to amend the Civil Rights Law, in relation
8851
to requiring.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect in 60 days.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
996, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 5297, an
act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in
relation to the changing, fixing and
collecting.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
8852
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
997, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 5299A,
an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
in relation to the rights.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
act shall take effect on the first day of
January.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
998, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 5322, an
act to amend the Town Law, in relation to
abandoned cemeteries.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
8853
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger, to explain his vote.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
Mr. President, just briefly.
I'm going to vote in favor of this
bill from Senator LaValle that deals with the
transfer of abandoned cemeteries from towns to
villages.
But I think that we ought to take a
further look, Senator LaValle, at the whole
look of abandoned small cemeteries that are
dotted throughout upstate New York, oftentimes
in the hearts of cities, in the hearts of
suburban-urban communities that were founded
in the early part of the last century as
Western New York was developed.
They're now oftentimes located in
residential neighborhoods. They have
oftentimes been difficult to maintain because
they're relatively small. I have two of them
in my district, one on Congress Avenue in
Rochester, right in the heart of the city, and
one called the Brighton Cemetery, which is now
8854
right next to a major highway and located in
almost an entirely residential area.
All of these cemeteries -- in some
cases they're owned by small, not-for-profit
groups, in others they're maintained by cities
or towns -- but because they're spread out and
they're relatively small, they're very
difficult to maintain.
The people buried in them, the
treasure of our history in Western New York is
oftentimes buried with them. And it seems to
me that this is a good bill which calls
attention to those cemeteries.
And my hope is that we'll work on a
bigger bill that will work to allow the State
of New York, through funding or other
mechanisms, to provide for adequate
maintenance and operation of these small,
abandoned or small, still used, but
nonetheless well out of the -- perhaps located
in the wrong place as our urban communities
grew up.
So I'm going to vote in favor, and
I hope we'll do something more in this area in
the future.
8855
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger will be recorded in the affirmative.
The Secretary will announce the
results.
Oh, I'm sorry. Senator
Oppenheimer. I apologize.
SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Thank you.
This is a valuable bill, because we
have many small cemeteries in our villages,
and the villages want to take care of them,
but it's a town responsibility by the
Constitution. So now we will be able to take
care of these small cemeteries. The town was
large and did not pay attention to them, so it
will be helpful to us.
So I'm voting in favor.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Oppenheimer will be recorded in the
affirmative.
The Secretary will announce the
results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8856
999, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 53 -
SENATOR BALBONI: Lay it aside
for the day, please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside for the day.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1001, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 1534,
an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
criminal use of public records.
SENATOR HEVESI: Lay it aside,
please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1014, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 2197, an
act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
certificates.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51.
8857
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1021, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 801, an
act to amend the General Business Law, in
relation to recordkeeping.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
act shall take effect on the first day of
November.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1028, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 1452, an
act to amend the General Business Law, in
relation to the regulation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
8858
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1029, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 1636,
an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
in relation to prohibiting.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay that
aside, please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1031, by Senator Stachowski, Senate Print
2558, an act to amend the General Municipal
Law, in relation to notification.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the 120th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
8859
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1032, substituted earlier today by Member of
the Assembly Paulin, Assembly Print Number
4952A, an act to authorize the Village of
Pelham.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a home-rule message at the desk.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1033, substituted earlier today by Member of
the Assembly Paulin, Assembly Print Number
4953, an act to reopen the special retirement
plan available.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a home-rule message at the desk.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8860
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1034, by Senator Lack, Senate Print 3213, an
act to provide for the transfer of retirement
service credit.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a home-rule message at the desk.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1035, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 3768A,
an act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation
8861
to authorizing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1036, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 4028,
an act to amend the Education Law, in relation
to providing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
8862
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1037, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 4030, an
act to amend the General Municipal Law, in
relation to authorizing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect 180 days.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes -
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside,
please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1038, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 4597, an
act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
relation to period of validity.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
8863
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1039, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 4631, an
act to enact the Privacy of Financial
Information Act.
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside,
please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1040, by Senator Lack, Senate Print 4726B, an
act to authorize the Town of Huntington to
discontinue.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a home-rule message at the desk.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
8864
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 52.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1041, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print
4754, an act to amend the Navigation Law, in
relation to use of tow-chains.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the first day of
November.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 52.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1044, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 5161,
an act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in
relation to indemnification.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8865
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 52.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1046, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 5261, an
act to amend the Highway Law, in relation to
the limitation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a home-rule message at the desk.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 52.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Skelos, that completes the
reading of the noncontroversial calendar.
SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, Mr.
8866
President. If we could go to the
controversial calendar at this time.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read the controversial
calendar.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
504, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 2791A,
an act in relation to permitting.
SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Morahan, an explanation has been requested of
Calendar 504 by Senator Paterson.
SENATOR MORAHAN: Thank you, Mr.
President.
This is a small bill for a small
congregation in the County of Rockland who,
through no fault of their own, missed the
filing date because of the purchase date of
the property. And this would allow them to
file for the appropriate tax-exemption form
and allow that the Town of Ramapo accept that
form and that application.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, if the sponsor would yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
8867
Morahan, do you yield for a question?
SENATOR MORAHAN: Yes, I do.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Senator, do
you know when this property actually closed,
the date of the close?
SENATOR MORAHAN: No, I don't. I
don't think that's relevant. I think they
missed the date, and I think that's what's
important.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President. Isn't it true, Senator
Morahan, that they actually missed three
dates? Because this is a property tax
exemption that includes '99, 2000, and 2001.
SENATOR MORAHAN: That's correct.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: That's three
years they missed the date to file for a
property tax exemption.
SENATOR MORAHAN: That's correct.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, if Senator Morahan would
continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
8868
Morahan, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR MORAHAN: Yes, I do.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: As you know,
Senator, I've voted against these bills,
railed against them, and done all kinds of
things against them.
But I'm sort of intrigued. What
happened when they started getting property
tax bills on a property they thought they
didn't have to pay taxes on? They got one in
'99, they got one in 2000, they got one in
2001. What if anything did they do?
SENATOR MORAHAN: Well, I can't
really attest to what they did or did not do.
I know what had -- what they did not do is
file the applications on time.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, if the sponsor will continue to
yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Morahan, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR MORAHAN: Yes, I do.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
8869
sponsor yields.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President. Do you have any explanation,
any justification why they didn't file on time
for three consecutive years?
SENATOR MORAHAN: I don't know
that it's my job to do the justification,
other than to respond to a need in my
district. I believe that the town is in
accord with this bill.
This bill came from the Assembly,
the Assembly sponsor has put this through.
And at his request, I'm going to put it
through the Senate.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, just on the bill.
I want to thank Senator Morahan for
his courtesy in answering my questions. But
we continue to do these bills as the major
assessing entity in New York State. We're now
a superassessing body. We've got the ability
to give -- to wipe out tax assessments. We're
doing it with greater and greater frequency.
It's a problem that somehow the contagion of
doing it has spread from Nassau County into
8870
Suffolk County into New York City. It's in
Rockland County. My guess is we will just -
might as well call the session to the end and
we'll just reconvene as the major assessment
board of review in New York State.
In this case, with all due respect
to Senator Morahan, we don't even know why a
not-for-profit organization that did not have
to pay real property taxes for three
consecutive years got a bill and did nothing,
and didn't bother to file for the property tax
exemption. They not only missed one year,
they missed the second year. And it appears,
based on the sponsor's memo, that they missed
the third year.
So what we've done is we've said to
these not-for-profit groups that are entitled
not to pay real property taxes, we have said
to them: It's okay, forget about it. Just
call your state legislator, and you'll get it
done. Don't worry about filing your papers
for a property tax exemption in your own home
community.
We're creating, gentlemen, a bigger
and bigger loophole. We are creating more and
8871
more work for ourselves, as we print these
bills, as we go through this process, because
we don't have a statewide bill that would
obviate this problem. And what we're doing
instead is encouraging everybody to come to us
rather than do the responsible thing, which is
file for their property tax exemption when
they're entitled to it.
Mr. President, I have a great deal
of sympathy for this congregation. They
shouldn't have to pay property taxes. But we
shouldn't have a system in which their only
appeal is to this body and the politics of
this body. The better thing to do is to pass
a statewide bill that allows all these local
communities to accept property tax exemptions
on a partial basis. Or if, as in this case,
Senator Morahan, they miss a couple of years,
let the Town of Ramapo grant them the
exemption without having to come to this body.
Pass a statewide bill that gives
local communities the ability to approve these
exemptions. That's the better way to do it.
I'm going to continue to vote
against them, whether they come from Rockland
8872
or Nassau or Suffolk or New York City, some
sponsored by my colleagues from this side of
the aisle. I'm going to vote against them
until we solve this problem with a statewide
bill. I vote no, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Well,
actually, we're not on a roll call. But we'll
let you vote later.
Senator Paterson.
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President,
obviously I sit here next to Senator Dollinger
and I hear his point of view on daily basis
about these bills. And as he continues to
vote against them, I continue to vote for
them.
And the reason I vote for them is
that I feel that there's a good-faith effort
that's being made. And obviously sometimes
these congregations don't have the skilled
professionals there that would know when the
deadlines were, and they miss the deadlines.
But this case, which I am going to
vote for, is quite disturbing because it
really is an example of what Senator Dollinger
has been saying for a long period of time. It
8873
almost appears that this congregation missed
deadlines, got bills passed, and then went
ahead and missed the deadlines again.
And in those situations, I think
the Town of Ramapo is better able to answer
the questions that frankly Senator Morahan
couldn't answer, which relates to why this is
actually happening or, when it does happen, is
the privilege now being taken for granted.
That's the real question: Is the
privilege that we grant these entities now
being taken for granted? You just call up
your local State Senator, they put it in, and
relying on good faith between colleagues, we
pass these bills.
I think that we can't really make
the right assessments. The town should make
those assessments. In those situations where
there's a ministerial problem, we should go
ahead and vote for the bills. But in this
situation -- and the only reason I'm voting
for the bill is I don't know what the
situation is, because there really was no
clarification.
But I don't know. I'm going to
8874
have to think it over. And it's taking a lot
of time. It's taking a lot of time because
every time the bills come up, Senator
Dollinger speaks on the bills.
But the issue is that it's a very
good point, and it's one I think we have to
start taking a look at. We are not the
supervening assessment board that we're
turning into.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Morahan.
SENATOR MORAHAN: On the bill,
Mr. President.
Let me just explain to my
colleagues that, yes, maybe there is statewide
legislation that would apply to all entities,
all assessors need it. But until that time,
this is the remedy now allowed to us.
I am not judgmental on why someone
did something, why they did not do something.
I do know that this is a small congregation.
It's in dire straits. I don't even know if
they paid the tax bill. They obviously did
not pay the tax bill. But that's why we have
a legislature that can review these situations
8875
and bring relief when we believe it's
appropriate.
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank
you, my colleagues.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Lachman.
SENATOR LACHMAN: Mr. President,
on the bill.
I'm going to vote in favor of the
bill, although I also believe there should be
statewide regulations that are adhered to.
But we should not penalize one congregation or
one church or one mosque in the state of
New York until we adopt these statewide
regulations.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
other Senator wish to be heard on the bill?
Hearing none, debate is closed.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
8876
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger, to explain his vote.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: My sentiments
on this bill are well-known. I'll be recorded
in the negative, Mr. President.
I'd just like to point out to
Senator Morahan that the clock that you talk
about, until we pass a statewide bill, I would
suggest, Senator, you and your 35 Republican
colleagues, you control the clock. You have
the ability to set the hands on that clock.
You can wind it up.
We could do a bill for the
statewide application -- I assume, with the
speed that the Majority is capable of doing
almost everything else in this house, that
bill could be done by, oh, probably 2:15 this
afternoon, like that (snapping fingers). I've
seen and you've seen, Senator Morahan, when
the Majority wants it in this house, it goes.
I would just suggest to you that
the clock of getting a statewide bill to allow
these communities to handle their own
delinquency problems such as this one, the way
to do it is to just get that little clock
8877
ticking on the other side of the aisle here,
and let's get that clock done. And who knows,
maybe by June 20th, a reasonable time from
now, we could do a statewide bill. All these
cases would be taken care of without our
intervention and wasting our time.
I understand why you did it,
Senator. I've said it to every Senator: This
is the right thing for you to do as an
advocate for your community. But the better
thing to do is pass a statewide bill and
obviate the need for our intervention in the
future.
I vote no.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger will be recorded in the negative.
The Secretary will announce the
results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53. Nays,
1. Senator Dollinger recorded in the
negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
526, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 2366, an
8878
act to amend the Civil Service Law, in
relation to the payment.
SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Leibell, an explanation has been requested by
Senator Paterson.
SENATOR LEIBELL: Mr. President,
this bill amends Section 130 of the Civil
Service Law, providing for payment of a
hazardous-duty differential for certain
employees of the Department of Transportation.
Specifically, the bill would allow
employees of the DOT who are working in
situations of unavoidable, clear and direct
risk to their safety and health to receive a
pay differential. The bill would authorize
such payments subject to approval of the
Division of Budget.
Presently, DOT employees are not
entitled to hazardous-duty differential,
despite the fact that they are routinely
working in very dangerous situations on highly
traveled bridges and roadways across
New York State.
The maintenance and operations
8879
functions that these employees perform are
vital to the state's infrastructure and
economy and essential to the safety of our
drivers and passengers throughout New York.
In the past, this bill has passed
both houses.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Paterson.
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President,
if Senator Leibell would yield for a question.
SENATOR LEIBELL: Yes, Senator.
SENATOR PATERSON: Senator, we
passed this bill in 1999 unanimously.
SENATOR LEIBELL: Yes, we did.
SENATOR PATERSON: The identical
bill died in committee in 2000. And I voted
for the bill. I agree completely.
In 1999, though, the Governor
vetoed the bill. And I just wanted to ask
you, has that issue been reconciled?
SENATOR LEIBELL: At the time of
the Governor's veto, his veto message pointed
out the issue of collective bargaining and
that this would be something that would be
more appropriate for collective bargaining.
8880
Those collective bargaining
negotiations were completed, and there are
none ongoing now.
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President,
on the bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Paterson, on the bill.
SENATOR PATERSON: In spite of
the fact that we may wind up with the same
problem with the Governor's office that we had
two years ago, I'm going to vote for the bill.
I think it's really, actually quite a good
idea. And I hope the Governor's office will
reconsider.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, if the sponsor will yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Leibell, do you yield?
SENATOR LEIBELL: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: This bill
8881
authorizes a hazardous-duty pay differential
if the Division of Budget, the director of the
Division of Budget authorizes it; is that
correct?
SENATOR LEIBELL: Authorizes the
payment.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, if the sponsor will continue to
yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Leibell, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR LEIBELL: Yes, I do.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Does the bill
set a restriction on what that hazardous-duty
pay level would be? This would be a premium
paid to those who are in high-risk occupations
such as working on a bridge?
SENATOR LEIBELL: That would be
established under other sections of the Civil
Service Law.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, if the sponsor will continue to
yield.
8882
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Leibell, do you continue to yield?
I believe he yields.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Would the
question of how much the hazardous-duty pay
differential is, would that determination be
subject to collective bargaining between the
employees and the Department of
Transportation?
SENATOR LEIBELL: I'm sorry, I
didn't hear, Senator. Could you repeat your
question?
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, I'm just trying to establish
how the differential is created. Is that
differential created by collective bargaining
between the state and its employees, or is
that set unilaterally by the Division of
Budget? Is there anything in this statute
that determines that?
SENATOR LEIBELL: The statute
would provide -- or it does provide, the law
does provide for that differential already.
The amount of.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
8883
Mr. President, if the sponsor will continue to
yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Leibell, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR LEIBELL: Yes.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Will this
provision in any way affect our contracts for
the reconstruction of those bridges and roads
in the sense that it would create a
hazardous-duty premium for those private
workers who are working on a construction
project right next to their DOT colleagues?
SENATOR LEIBELL: No, this is
only for state -- public employees of DOT.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Okay. Thank
you, Mr. President.
I'll vote in favor of this bill
again. I was just intrigued by the notion
that the director of the Division of Budget is
going to be controlling the terms under which
the pay differential is granted.
I think hazardous-duty pay is not
an unfair thing to grant to our employees.
And I'm just concerned that by leaving the
approval in the Division of Budget that it may
8884
be more difficult to actually get there.
Because the Division of Budget, looking
closely at cost, is going to oftentimes, I
think, have a tendency to deny hazardous-duty
pay.
And the only other suggestion I
would make, Mr. President, if we someday get
this bill into law, is that for drafting, what
I would simply do is instead of starting a
sentence with the word "except," I would have
put a comma after the subdivision, drop to
lower case the "except," and have the sentence
all run into one, rather than start a sentence
that begins with the word "except." That's in
the second page of the bill.
I just think for drafting purposes
and inclusion in the statutes it would be
grammatically correct to do it that way.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Do any
other Senators wish to speak on the bill?
If not, read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Call
8885
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
bill is passed.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: There will
be an immediate meeting of the Rules Committee
in the Senate Majority Conference Room, 332.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: There
will be an immediate meeting of the Rules
Committee in the Majority Conference Room,
332.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
633, by Senator Hannon, Senate Print 4391, an
act to amend Chapter 884 of the Laws of 1990.
SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Hannon, an explanation is asked for, sir.
SENATOR HANNON: This bill would
continue the provisions in statute that we
8886
have that authorizes the payment of monies to
diagnostic and treatment centers and certified
home health agencies, such monies being the
bad debt and charity care payments which come
into play when these entities take care of
those who are not covered by insurance nor any
of the state programs for providing health
care.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
Mr. President. Will the sponsor yield to just
a couple of quick questions?
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Hannon, will you yield to Senator Dollinger?
SENATOR HANNON: I will be happy
to yield one question at a time, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
Senator will yield to one question at a time,
sir.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I shall
deliver them one question at a time, Mr.
President.
My first question, Senator, is
8887
we've done this extender I think every year
since 1990, simply for a year's period. Is
this something that is under consideration -
perhaps budget talks are premature at this
point -- but to extend this for a longer
period of time, since it looks as though we've
got a pretty good idea that this is working
and seems to be the right thing to do?
SENATOR HANNON: Yes and no. If
life had continued as it were since the
initial part of this, it might have been the
case.
But the whole spectrum of health
care has changed a great deal. We are now -
we've built a number of ambulatory centers.
We've built a number of diagnostic and
treatment centers. The President of the
United States has proposed putting
$135 million into the federally qualified
health care centers, which would expand
nationally by 1200, some of which I'm sure, of
course, would come here.
So we have a changing set of facts
and foundations upon which we're building. We
do have a finite system for collecting the
8888
monies that go into the bad debt and charity
care pool. This is something we wish we had
more monies available. But significantly,
it's a couple of billion dollars a year. So
monies in here for the diagnostic and
treatment centers take away from the
hospitals.
What we have to do is we have to
look at this and measure this every year. And
frankly, it's past due that we have a budget,
because it's this type of provision -- care
for the poor, care for the people who don't
have insurance -- that is in jeopardy. Just
like the fact that children's insurance is
sunsetting at the end of this month.
We are having real lives, real
concerns out there that ought to be addressed.
And that's why the budget is -- it's not
premature, Senator, you're wrong. It's past
due.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, if the sponsor will yield to a
question.
SENATOR HANNON: Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
8889
sponsor will continue to yield, Senator
Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: This is a
prospective question, Mr. Chairman.
The recent announcement of the
go-ahead from the federal government to
implement Family Health Plus, will that
eventually affect the amount that's paid out
under this plan? Is it your expectation that
the bad debt and charity care allowances to
the D&Ts and other organizations would be
reduced because of the beneficial impact or
what we hope, I think, will be the beneficial
impact of the Family Health Plus program?
SENATOR HANNON: Directly,
Senator, they have nothing to do with each
other. They're two entirely separate
programs.
Indirectly, to the extent that you
have revenue streams that support either, and
if we were to get into a big downturn or we
were to get into a heavy demand upon the
recipients, well, perhaps then the money that
goes into the hospital system through the HCRA
Reform Act or the money that comes from the
8890
tobacco monies or the money that comes from
the General Fund, well, that might all get
squeezed and we'd have to make a set of
priorities.
But that would be indirect. It
would be remote. As I said at the beginning,
it's two separate programs.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Okay.
Through you, Mr. President, I'm
going to vote in favor of the bill. I want to
thank the chairman of the Health Committee -
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Dollinger, are you speaking on the bill?
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I am, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Dollinger will speak on the bill.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I think the
chairman of the Health Committee is correct
when he talks about the fluidity of our
reimbursement system, the effects of changes
at the federal level, the implementation of
Family Health Plus, all of which are really
the harbingers of a different health care
environment. As we see the results of the
8891
HCRA changes as well, some of which are felt
right in my own community.
But I think this is the right thing
to do. And I agree -- actually, although I'm
not big on year-to-year extenders, I'll agree
with the chairman of the Committee on Health
that in this area we should keep a very close
eye on how we're handling these pools of funds
and how they're going out to the centers and
various other innovations in the health care
system that get us away from our traditional
hospital system.
So I think this is the right thing
to do, and I think we should do it just for a
year.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Any
other Senators wish to speak on the bill?
If not, read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
8892
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
720, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 4287, an
act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
inclusion.
SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
LaValle, an explanation is being asked for.
SENATOR LAVALLE: Thank you, Mr.
President.
This legislation would provide that
the State University, the City University, and
the Board of Regents would, upon the adoption
of any resolution, creation of any regulation
or the amendment of any regulation, would
provide, prior to passage, a fiscal note that
would be attached to the resolution or the
regulatory change that is being made; that the
fiscal note and the amount that is being
provided be also concurred by the Division of
the Budget that that amount is an accurate
figure.
All too many times we have seen, as
members, that the Board of Regents, the State
University or City University have executed
8893
policy and we in this body, in the Assembly,
and the Governor have been left with the bill.
It is not that in almost every instance that
this body as a matter of policy would differ
with any of those bodies. But we have many
times found it difficult to find the dollars
to implement that particular policy.
So I believe in the same way that
we here attach fiscal notes and understand the
fiscal implications to the policies that we
are proposing, the three important bodies that
are included in this bill -- State University,
City University, and the Board of Regents -
should also be responsible and at least go
through a process that the public and we in
the Legislature are fully aware of what the
fiscal implications would be in the policies
that are adopted.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Montgomery.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Mr.
President, if Senator LaValle would yield for
a question.
SENATOR LAVALLE: Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
8894
LaValle will yield, Senator.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you.
Senator LaValle -- through you, Mr.
President -- I know that the most recent set
of regulations that the Board of Regents has
changed were related to standards, academic
standards for high school graduation and for
all of the grades, for course content required
for students in all of the grades, in an
attempt to standardize the educational outcome
in schools and districts throughout the state.
Would that -- if your bill had been
in place at that time, would it have been
required for them to give us a fiscal analysis
of what it would cost to raise the standards
of education in the state?
SENATOR LAVALLE: Yes, Senator, I
think that is a very good example that we can
use to provide our colleagues with a glaring
example of a policy that was created, a bill
that was then handed to us and the local
school districts. In an amount that, at this
time, I as a legislator couldn't tell you what
the exact amount is, because it has an open
check that is being given to us and the
8895
taxpayers that have to pay the bill.
Now, here is a good example in a
policy that most everyone can agree is a good
one in terms of increasing the standards. But
I also think we need to know what are the
fiscal implications, fiscal implications for
the state and then the implications for the
local school districts.
The Board of Regents is not alone,
certainly, in adopting the policy where we
have no idea what the fiscal impact will be on
our own budget and future budgets and the
impacts locally. But it's a great example
that you have provided us with.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Montgomery.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Through you,
if I could ask another question.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
LaValle, will you continue to yield?
SENATOR LAVALLE: Yes, I will.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
Senator will continue to yield.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: In that
case, Senator LaValle, if your bill is enacted
8896
into law, what does it mean if and when we
receive a fiscal note of the implications?
What then do you think should happen as it
relates to our role vis-a-vis the budget?
Should we then reject those
regulations? Are we as a Legislature in a
position to do that if we decide that it costs
too much to raise the standards of education
in the state or other things?
SENATOR LAVALLE: Senator
Montgomery, that's another excellent,
excellent question.
What this legislation would do, it
is my hope -- and something that we have
talked about -- is to bring an interaction
between ourselves and the Board of Regents,
the State University, and City University, so
that a dialogue can happen.
Now, the Board of Regents has the
authority to promulgate those regulations.
But if you had an honest and open discussion,
we would be talking about the fiscal
implications and whether those implications
could be met within one budget year, two,
three, or four, or whether we would have to
8897
reprioritize some of our policies that begin
and are promulgated by we in the Legislature.
So what it really does is to
provide for everyone -- it quantifies, it
quantifies for the first time, before the
rules are promulgated or a resolution is
passed, what the dollar implications are.
And before that happens, we would
be in a position to have a discussion with the
Board of Regents, with the State University or
the City University to say, you know, We're
not sure that we can handle that in one budget
year, we might have to spread that out, but we
fully concur with your policy.
Now, take the opposite end. We
disagree. We say: You shouldn't do it. They
have the full authority to continue to
promulgate those resolutions and pass them.
So we can then say, later on, Well,
we warned the Regents, we warned the State
University, we warned the City University that
we could not provide the adequate dollars in
the budget to implement those policies.
That would be basically it,
Senator.
8898
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: All right.
Thank you.
Mr. President, briefly on this
bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Montgomery to speak on the bill.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes. I just
am a little -- I'm a lot concerned, not a
little, that we are attempting to bring a
political leverage into the decision-making of
State Education around policies that relate to
what we do for students in our state.
And once we have had discussions
with the Commissioner and the Board of Regents
during the budget hearings, which we do
annually -- at one point, in the good old
days, we also used to bring the Commissioner
into the committee meetings and they would
brief us on what their plans, what their needs
were, and ways in which we could work with
them to accomplish those. That hasn't
happened in a few years, unfortunately, but it
is available to us.
So I think there are a number of
opportunities for us to interact with State
8899
Education as legislators, to determine where
they think our system should be going, what
their needs are, what we as legislators need
to be doing in order to make it possible for
us to maintain the highest possible
educational system.
So I don't see this bill as being
necessary to engage and to have that process
continue. I do feel, however, that it gives
us a sense and it puts in law that the State
Ed must come to us almost hat in hand to say,
We think this needs to happen in higher
education, in elementary education, for high
school students, and we would like to do this,
it's going to cost X, whatever it might cost,
and would you please, Legislature, agree.
I think that is not the way that we
want to see our educational system function.
There is a reason why we try to make it to
some extent possible for them to make
independent decisions absent the political
process, because it certainly might limit the
kinds of vision and the kinds of new
directions that the Education Department might
want to take. It might cost money, and if
8900
they think that it's going to be rejected
based on the financial aspect, they may not do
it.
And so I'm certainly going to vote
against this legislation. And I suggest that
my colleagues join me in rejecting this
notion, because I think it flies in the face
of the principle of an independent Department
of Education which is able to make decisions
based on the educational advantage and
advancement of students and not based on the
politics of this Legislature and/or the
Governor.
So I'm going to be voting no on
this, Mr. President. Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Are
there any other Senators who wish to speak on
the bill?
If not, read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53. Nays,
8901
2. Senators Hassell-Thompson and Montgomery
recorded in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
bill is passed.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
750, by Member of the Assembly Pheffer,
Assembly Print Number 5227, an act to amend
the General Business Law, in relation to
reflective gear.
SENATOR HEVESI: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: An
explanation is asked for, Senator Fuschillo.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you,
Mr. President.
This bill will offer technical
amendments to a law that we passed last year
that I sponsored relating to in-line skates.
More specifically, the Assembly
sponsor, Audrey Pheffer -- and this bill has
already passed the Assembly -- has been
working very closely with the International
In-Line Skating Association, and they have
been meeting with industry experts in an
attempt to prepare to meet the state
8902
guidelines.
More specifically, they have
requested an exemption of highly skilled or -
skates that are used by highly skilled or
expert skaters; more specifically, speed
skates and hockey skates, because such skates
are used, as they stated, in a more controlled
environment.
Also, in an effort to create
industry-wide standing with the reflective
material, they have requested a postponement
of the effective date, which this would put it
out for another year.
Furthermore, they have been working
with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles'
office in developing the standards for this.
And because of some regulatory requirements
from the Governor's office, it would take more
than the prescribed date last year for the
effectiveness.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Hevesi, why do you rise?
SENATOR HEVESI: Thank you, Mr.
President. Will the sponsor please yield?
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Will
8903
the sponsor yield?
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Hevesi, he will yield.
SENATOR HEVESI: Thank you.
Mr. President, I very much
appreciate and I believe I understand the
purpose of this bill. I just have a specific
question, and maybe Senator Fuschillo can
relieve my fears.
The section of law that this
amends -- and I'll just read it, beginning on
line 18: "Each pair of in-line skates which
is manufactured or assembled by a person,
firm, corporation or other legal entity for
special use by highly skilled or expert
skaters or for sale or distribution through
custom orders" -- and now the new language,
"such as in-line hockey skates and in-line
speed skates."
My question here is, implicit in
that is that anyone who uses in-line hockey
skates or in-line speed skates is an expert or
a highly skilled skater. And I don't believe
8904
that there's any preclusion on an individual
who is not an expert or highly skilled from
going and buying these skates and using them
wherever they like.
So I'm concerned that we have
reduced the protective mechanisms that this
law was intended to provide by exempting them,
even though there may be a logical argument to
having that exemption only when the
individuals partake in their activities in the
controlled environment that you cite.
So let me just open that up to you
for comment.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: That was one
of my concerns -- through you, Mr.
President -- Senator, when I received the
amendment from Assemblywoman Pheffer.
But I had spoken to the industry
experts, and specifically a counsel that
represents the International In-Line Skating
Association, asking about that specific
question. And he had stated to me that the
majority of this -- upwards of 90 percent who
purchase these skates are done in an
organization-sports-like fashion, where the
8905
environment is a much more controlled
environment, rather than on the streets
themselves.
SENATOR HEVESI: Mr. President,
would the sponsor continue to yield?
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Fuschillo, will you continue to yield?
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Yes, Mr.
President, I will.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Yes, he
will.
SENATOR HEVESI: Thanks.
Notwithstanding that, the kids who
buy them, even if they're provided through an
organized sports activity or a team and then
go take the skates and use them out on the
street -- and then they won't have the brakes
or the reflective gear, which we have already
said is a good idea for them. Isn't that a
little bit dangerous?
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Well, there
is a warning placed on the skates, Senator -
through you, Mr. President -- stating exactly
that. But the hockey skates and the speed
skates are not intended for the general
8906
purpose on the streets. They're not designed
for that, specifically through the wear and
tear on them. The normal-use in-line skates
are designed differently.
And the hockey skates -- again, Mr.
President, through you -- Senator Hevesi, are
designed specifically for a certain type of
platform that is used for roller hockey.
SENATOR HEVESI: Mr. President,
would the sponsor continue to yield?
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Fuschillo, will you continue to yield, sir?
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Yes, Mr.
President. I'd be delighted to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Hevesi, he will continue to yield for you.
SENATOR HEVESI: Thank you.
On the issue of extending the
implementation time, is there something that
happened in the past year that we were unaware
of when this chapter was originally passed
that now leads us to require another
extension, which obviously is going to delay
the implementation of the much-necessary
safety pressures provided for in your bill?
8907
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Well, it's
not -- through you, Mr. President, it's not
requiring another extension. This is the
first one.
Based on the counsel that I spoke
to, Senator, who represents the association
that I referenced, most of the companies do
adhere, have adhered to the law prior to its
existence.
In dealing with trying to come up
with uniformity throughout the industry, there
is a two-year testing process that they are
going to try to condense to conform with this,
and this extension would allow them.
There are other certain measures
through the Governor's Office of Regulatory
Evaluation that would necessitate this
extension because of time for posting
evaluation and comments from the general
public, government, and the industry as well.
SENATOR HEVESI: Okay, thank you.
Mr. President, one final question,
if the sponsor would yield, please.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Will
you yield for another question?
8908
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR HEVESI: Thank you.
Just on the initial point that we
had been discussing, is there anything in law
that would prevent a child from taking the
in-line hockey skates or speed skates which
don't -- which will not have the reflective
gear or the brakes and using them outside of
the controlled environment that we were
talking about?
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: No.
SENATOR HEVESI: There's not.
Okay, thank you.
Mr. President, on the bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: On the
bill.
SENATOR HEVESI: Thank you.
I very much appreciate what Senator
Fuschillo and Assemblywoman Pheffer are trying
to do. I'm actually going to vote against
this bill.
I'm just concerned that there are
8909
going to be kids out there who now will take
the skates that we just prevented from having
brakes and reflective gear -- even if you can
make the argument that it's okay in the
controlled and limited circumstances of a
supervised hockey game or some course for
speed skating with in-line skates, even if
that's okay to do without brakes or reflective
gear, there's nothing that prevents the kids
from taking those skates, even if they were
purchased -- as Senator Fuschillo pointed out,
90 percent of them were purchased through some
organized sporting venue or activity -
nothing prevents them from taking it out on
the streets.
And it seems to me that if this was
good enough to put in the law for everybody
else, for children to use in any circumstance
with in-line skates, that kids who go and use
the hockey skates and the speed skates outside
of the controlled environment we may now place
in a little bit of jeopardy. And that's
certainly not something that I want to do.
Nor do I believe that anybody who
buys or uses in-line speed skates or in-line
8910
hockey skates is by any means highly skilled
or an expert. That's a big jump. I don't
necessarily agree with that.
So I'm going to be voting against
this legislation, and I would hope the
sponsors would take another look at this.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Any
other Senator wish to speak on the bill?
Go ahead, read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54. Nays,
1. Senator Hevesi recorded in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
762, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 3024, an
act authorizing the assessor of the County of
Nassau.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Explanation,
Mr. President.
8911
ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY:
Explanation, Senator Balboni.
SENATOR BALBONI: Thank you, Mr.
President.
This bill would allow the New Hyde
Park Fire District to obtain a real property
tax exemption refund in the amount of $33,000,
approximately, for a piece of property that
they purchased in May of 1997.
ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
Mr. President. Will the sponsor yield to a
question?
ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Will
the sponsor yield, Senator Balboni?
SENATOR BALBONI: Yes, Mr.
President, I yield.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Senator
Balboni, is it your understanding that the
New Hyde Park Fire District has continued to
get property tax bills from the County of
Nassau or other taxing entities from 1997 to
2000 and not either paid them or figured out
that they could simply file for a property tax
8912
exemption on the proper date and be absolved
of the need to pay those taxes?
SENATOR BALBONI: Mr. President,
this particular fire district handles a number
of calls. They have probably a
higher-than-usual response rate when it comes
to motor vehicle accidents, due to some very
heavily trafficked intersections.
The reason why I mention that in
the context of an answer to the gentleman's
question is that many times the work that is
done by the fire department is so encompassing
that I would hate to say that it was pure
malfeasance on behalf of the fire district not
to respond in this particular manner.
There are many requirements that
fire districts who do not have full-time
staff, are voluntary in nature, must respond
to. And what we're attempting to do here is
support their application for a justifiable
tax exemption.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, if Senator Balboni would
continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
8913
Balboni, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR BALBONI: Yes, I do, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Yes, he
does.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Is this fire
district run by a board of commissioners? Is
this an independent fire district, or is it a
fire district administered by a town board
or -
SENATOR BALBONI: This is an
independent fire commission.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: And through
you, Mr. President, if Senator Balboni will
continue to yield.
SENATOR BALBONI: Yes, I yield,
Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Yes, he
will.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Do you know
what the fire commissioners did when they got
a bill from the County of Nassau for -- this
is over several years, so I assume the bill is
$10,000, $11,000 a year for the last three
years. Do you know what they did when they
8914
got that bill?
SENATOR BALBONI: No, I do not.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, just on the bill briefly.
ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: On the
bill, Senator Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I appreciate
Senator Balboni's continuing patience. But
since he seems to be the grand czar of
property tax exemptions for Nassau County, I
always have to sit back and ask him the kinds
of questions that the town would ask if they
were presented with the power and authority by
this Legislature to resolve the question of
whether they're entitled to a tax exemption.
There's no question, Senator
Balboni, that but for their failure to file
for the tax exemption on time, they're
entitled to a tax exemption. But what I can't
understand is this entity got a bill that they
knew they shouldn't have to pay, three years
in a row, and apparently did nothing, nothing
about it.
Nobody apparently called the County
of Nassau and said, You're sending us a bill,
8915
we're tax-exempt, take the bill back. They
didn't do that, apparently didn't do that.
They didn't sit down and say, Wait a second,
why are we getting this bill? Maybe we should
file for a property tax exemption, because
we're entitled to one. They didn't do that.
Instead, after three years of
letting these bills accumulate, they come to
their State Senator and say: Oh, by the way,
we now understand that these bills can go
through the Senate and that you in essence
wipe out our account with the County of
Nassau.
This is a continuing example of how
our intervention is breeding poor practices on
the part of things like independent fire
districts. When you get a tax bill and you're
not required to pay taxes, don't wait until
your State Senator can alleviate it for you,
go and apply for your property tax exemption.
You're entitled to it.
And, number two, Mr. President,
let's do a statewide bill, please, if for no
other reason than to perhaps get silence in
the chamber from this Senator.
8916
I'll vote in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Any
other Senators wish to speak on the bill?
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Balboni, to explain his vote.
SENATOR BALBONI: At the risk of
adding more noise in the chamber, as Senator
Dollinger has discussed, I would just like to
point out the fact that Senator Dollinger has
been up on his feet on all of these bills the
entire session long, with one notable
exception. He has the political courage not
to argue against the tax exemption bill for
Senator Connor. He sat mute during that
particular debate.
And I'd just like to say perhaps we
should adopt a political correctness standard
as well as a standard for applying for tax
exemptions in this chamber.
8917
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS:
Results.
Oh, Senator Paterson wishes to
explain his vote.
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President,
I'm shocked. I would like to point out that
in this chamber yesterday that Senator
Dollinger, a man of courage -- in fact, Gary
Cooper is the actor I would have used to play
Dollinger in "The Dollinger Story" -- got up,
and he said on the record -- he's dead? Oh,
I'm sorry to hear that -- that he voted
against Senator Connor's bill right here last
Wednesday. And I thought that was an act of
courage.
Incidentally, if any of you would
like to provide some office space to Senator
Dollinger, he's looking right now.
(Laughter.)
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS:
Results.
Senator Dollinger to -
(Groaning.)
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I have to
8918
respond to Senator Balboni.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Dollinger, did you explain your vote once
already?
SENATOR DOLLINGER: No, I believe
I spoke on the bill.
SENATOR PATERSON: The leader is
on the phone.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Dollinger, to explain his vote.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Senator
Balboni is wrong again.
(Laughter.)
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS:
Results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54. Nays,
1. Senator Dollinger recorded in the
negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
bill is passed.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
898, by Member of the Assembly Tocci, Assembly
Print Number 2367B, an act to authorize the
State of New York.
8919
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
bill is passed.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1001, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 1534,
an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
criminal use.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect -
SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Excuse
me. Could we have a little order in the
house? There's a little bit of noise out
there.
Senator Paterson, did you ask for
8920
an explanation?
SENATOR PATERSON: I certainly
did, Mr. President.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Lay the bill
aside temporarily.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: We'll
lay the bill aside temporarily on Senator
Johnson's bill.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1028, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 1452, an
act to amend the General Business Law, in
relation to the regulation.
SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: An
explanation, Senator Rath, is asked for.
SENATOR RATH: Thank you, Mr.
President.
This bill has come to be known in
some quarters as the "Spam Bill." It is
characterized as unsolicited commercial
electronic mail, e-mail, unsolicited
commercial electronic mail that is not wanted
by the person who is receiving it.
And what we're trying to do here is
to require the termination of the
8921
transmissions upon the request of the
recipient. And there are civil remedies
provided for in the noncompliance to the law.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Stachowski.
SENATOR STACHOWSKI: If Senator
Rath would yield for a question.
SENATOR RATH: Certainly.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Rath, will you yield?
SENATOR RATH: Surely.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: She
will yield, Senator.
SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Now, on this
spam bill, I have a situation that happened to
me on my computer. I want to ask you if it
would be covered by this.
A while back, I signed up for the
"Do Not Call" program for New York State. And
then about a month ago, this was just a couple
of months afterwards, I got an e-mail from
Bell South -- unsolicited, never asked for
it -- and it was a letter from Governor Pataki
telling me, Congratulations, you signed up for
"Do Not Call."
8922
Would that be considered spam?
They dropped a cookie on me. Somebody had to
do something like that, in that nature,
because we signed up on the Internet, didn't
ask for any response, already had a letter
from him saying that, you know, you are now
registered.
And then I got this e-mail from
Bell South that turned out to be another
message from the Governor. Kind of like
those -- you know, if you're trying to hear
why the sign is flashing on the Thruway and
you've got to listen to six commercials before
you get to what the traffic problem is.
Is this a -- would this be
considered spam?
SENATOR RATH: No, Senator
Stachowski. I know the item you're speaking
about, and there was some question about it.
But this bill is pointing to
fraudulent misrepresentation from the sender.
SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Excuse me?
SENATOR RATH: Fraudulent
misrepresentation of who the person is that's
sending the e-mail.
8923
Thank you, that was a very good
question.
SENATOR STACHOWSKI: One other
question. So then -
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Will
you continue to yield, Senator Rath?
SENATOR RATH: Surely.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Stachowski, she'll continue to yield.
SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Through you,
Mr. President. So then if it -- as long as
it's a legitimate e-mail coming from somebody,
requested or otherwise, coming because of a
cookie that may have been dropped on you
because you had some site that had nothing to
do with where this other e-mail came from,
that's not a violation unless it's somebody
who is falsifying their identity to try to
take advantage of some kind of maybe fiduciary
situation?
SENATOR RATH: That's right,
Senator.
SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Dollinger, why do you rise?
8924
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Will the
sponsor yield to a question?
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Rath, will you yield to Senator Dollinger?
SENATOR RATH: Certainly.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Yes,
she will, Senator.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President. This bill doesn't actually
prohibit spam; is that correct?
SENATOR RATH: No, it does not
prohibit. But it has the civil penalties for
people who fraudulently misrepresent who they
are and why they're sending it.
There's also, if you have -- no,
I'm confusing this now with the "Do Not Call"
registry. Let's just leave that one there.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Okay.
Through you, Mr. President, if the sponsor
will continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Rath, will you continue to yield?
SENATOR RATH: Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: She
will continue to yield, Senator.
8925
SENATOR DOLLINGER: This bill
says you can still spam someone, you can send
them unsolicited material, it simply says that
you can't fraudulently misrepresent where it's
coming from, is that a -
SENATOR RATH: That's correct.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: So when this
is called the "spam bill," this bill doesn't
really prohibit spamming, it simply says that
you can't spam if you fail to disclose the
proper origin of where the spam comes from.
In other words -- Mr. President,
through you -- if it comes from Hormel, it's
okay; is that correct?
SENATOR RATH: Pardon me? The
last part, I'm sorry, as counsel was -
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Well, if it
comes from Hormel, it's okay; isn't that
correct?
SENATOR RATH: I'm going to ask
you a question, Senator Dollinger, before I
answer your question.
Do you know why it's called "spam"?
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Which? The
original -
8926
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Dollinger, Senator Rath is asking you a
question.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Well, I'd be
glad to respond, but I can only respond with
another question.
Which Spam, the original or the
electronic form?
SENATOR RATH: Why is the
electronic spam called "spam"?
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I'm not sure,
Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Rath, would you enlighten us?
SENATOR RATH: Of course. I
thought you'd never ask.
My understanding is that the phrase
came from a Monty Python skit where they were
ordering something in a restaurant and
everything that they ordered, it was "and
spam." And you want ham and eggs? And spam.
And you want a chocolate soda? And spam. And
it went on and on.
Apparently it was very funny. I
never saw it. But sometimes that's how people
8927
feel about unsolicited electronic mail, is
that you don't want it but it keeps coming
anyway.
And that's what this is pointing
at, and that's why the name "spamming" became
the use that is intended here.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Thank
you, Senator Rath.
Senator Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Will the
Senator please yield to another question?
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Rath, would you continue to yield to Senator
Dollinger?
SENATOR RATH: Surely.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Yes,
she will.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: But despite
your characterization of this as "spam," this
bill does not prohibit spamming. You can
still send unsolicited electronic messages as
a form of advertisement or, as Senator
Stachowski pointed out in his little note from
the Governor thanking him for being on the "Do
Not Call" registry, that can still be done so
8928
long as you don't disguise where it comes
from; is that correct?
SENATOR RATH: If there's a
falsification or a forging of e-mail
transmissions, this is really where we are.
It's not like -- don't confuse it
with the "Do Not Call" registry that we've all
been through the last several months that has
been extremely popular. This has to do with
fraudulent activity.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Correct.
Through you, Mr. President, does
this bill contain a private right of action
from a consumer who has been spammed
unnecessarily or for whom there has been
fraudulent spamming circulated on their
computer?
SENATOR RATH: No, it does not as
such. But it provides for protection of
common-law actions. Counsel advises me of
that point.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Okay.
Through you, Mr. President, just
briefly on the bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
8929
Dollinger shall speak on the bill.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I voted in
favor of this bill last year. I'm not going
to vote in favor of it this year, because I
don't really think it does anything.
If spamming is a problem -- that
is, unsolicited mail -- we ought to address
that specifically and do something comparable
to what we've done with the "Do Not Call"
registry, which is allow a computer user to
put their Internet address into a central
depository and tell them that nobody can spam.
There would be no spamming, just like there
would be no calling.
Secondly, since it doesn't end that
practice, what it really does is it insulates
Internet service providers, ISPs, from the
consequences of fraud. And I don't think
that's particularly appropriate either. I
think those who are in the business should
take responsibility. If their transmissions
are used for fraudulent purposes, they should
have some liability.
And lastly, and most importantly,
Mr. President, it seems to me that without a
8930
private right of action, without the right of
every consumer to sue for fraudulent spamming,
then all we're going to have is what this bill
has, which is the Public Service Commission
can bring an action.
Well, that's almost never going to
happen, because it will take hundreds of
thousands of people's rights will have to be
violated before the very busy Public Service
Commission gets around to trying to seek
injunctive relief through the Supreme Court.
That's just not the way to do it.
If we're going to empower people to
control what comes on their computer screens,
we ought to set up a "do not spam" registry in
our computer system, number one. We should
prohibit any transmissions, number two. And
if it occurs, we should either hold the ISP
responsible and certainly allow the individual
to have direct access to the Supreme Court to
protect their own privacy on their own
machine. That's just a better way to do it.
This bill, at least as I see it,
doesn't get to any one of those four goals and
therefore I don't think is worthy of a vote.
8931
I'll vote in the negative, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Are
there any other Senators who wish to speak on
the bill?
Seeing none, read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the first day of
January.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
Secretary will call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54. Nays,
1. Senator Dollinger recorded in the
negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
bill is passed.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1029, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 1636,
an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
in relation to prohibiting.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Padavan, an explanation is asked for, sir.
SENATOR PADAVAN: Yes, Mr.
8932
President.
Currently only Department of Motor
Vehicles, DMV regulations indicate -- prohibit
the practice of people practicing their
driving skills in an area where the test is
going to be given, people with a learner's
permit. Signs are posted; then a violation
can be issued for failure to obey a sign.
Now, what we have found out, at
least in our communities that I represent, is
that since this prohibition is not in the
vehicle and traffic laws, local law
enforcement agencies, local police are
handicapped in their enforcement of this
prohibition.
The result is in residential
communities and elsewhere where the testing
takes place, great numbers of individuals with
learner's permits descend upon those areas,
practicing prior to taking their test.
And this will help diminish that
activity.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Dollinger, why do you rise?
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
8933
Mr. President, if the sponsor will yield just
to one question.
SENATOR PADAVAN: Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Yes,
the sponsor shall yield.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Senator
Padavan, I have sympathy for the community
that you describe in the city of New York.
Are you convinced that this problem of
excessive learners driving in the testing
areas exists throughout the rest of the state
as a problem?
SENATOR PADAVAN: No, I'm not,
Senator.
But again, I repeat, currently DMV
regulations prohibit it. So it's not that we
are adding a prohibition, we're just giving
the authority to a local law enforcement
agency to deal with it where appropriate.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Just on the
bill briefly, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Dollinger shall speak on the bill.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I think I
debated this bill with Senator Padavan last
8934
year. I won't add much to it. I just
disagree.
I think that these are public
highways. I think that the notion of people
trying to learn how to drive -- let's face it,
most of us do most of our driving in
relatively small areas. I think there's an
old study that shows about 80 percent of the
driving that you do occurs within two miles of
your house. So it seems to me that these are
familiar areas. Getting familiarity with a
territory is all part of the education
process.
And I'm going to vote against this
bill again, not just because I disagree with
Senator Padavan's bill, but I actually
disagree with the Superintendent's policy with
respect to the regulatory control as well. I
think these are public highways. People ought
to be able to try and learn how to drive
wherever. If it's on the road test area,
well, so be it. That's where they're going to
do most of their driving, is around their
house anyway, and they'll know those roads as
well.
8935
I just -- I disagree with both the
bill and the regulatory policy, and I'll vote
in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Are
there any other Senators who wish to speak on
the legislation?
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the 90th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54. Nays,
1. Senator Dollinger recorded in the
negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
bill is passed.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1037, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 4030, an
act to amend the General Municipal Law, in
relation to authorizing fees for police
services.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
8936
Wright, an explanation is asked for.
SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you, Mr.
President.
The bill amends the General
Municipal Law to extend to municipalities a
local option of imposing a fee for police
services for special events, exhibits, or
contests.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Dollinger, why do you rise?
SENATOR DOLLINGER: A question,
Mr. President. I believe in the discussion
last year there was a question raised about -
through you, if Senator Wright will yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Wright, will you yield?
SENATOR WRIGHT: I will, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: He
will, Senator Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: There was a
question asked about the cost of paying for
police services and whether this would have
the impact of chilling people in the exercise
of their rights to either protest or engage in
8937
parades or similar types of activity if they
knew they had to pay the cost of the police
services.
Is there anything in that debate or
in the ensuing year since we had that debate
that suggests that that position is no longer
valid?
SENATOR WRIGHT: First of all, I
didn't concur with that assumption.
Secondly, it's predicated on
individuals who are charging fees and
incurring revenues from the activities that
they're generating.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
President, just briefly on the bill, if I
could.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Dollinger will speak on the bill.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I voted in
favor of this bill. I'm going to vote in
favor of this bill again.
It seems to me that the proposal
from Senator Wright to require the payment of
police services or authorizing communities to
charge for police services in certain
8938
instances is a fair and reasonable exercise of
the police power and the governing power of a
state or municipality when they are providing
police protections for either a demonstration,
a parade, or something of that nature. I
think that's a reasonable thing to do.
I would just point out that last
year, three of the members of our side -
Senator Mendez, Senator Markowitz, and Senator
Duane -- voted against this bill, and I think
in large measure because the feeling was that
for certain groups to have to pay as part of
the permit process, the anticipated police
fees would make it prohibitive to engage in
any kind of public demonstration.
I would certainly hope that if we
pass this bill and if Senator Wright's bill
becomes law, that we will, at some time in the
future, if what Senator Markowitz and the
others had forecasted comes to pass, that we
will look at releasing the restrictions for
certain groups that may not have the financial
ability to pay for police services.
Because at least as I read it and
as it's been consistently interpreted, the
8939
Constitution provides that we have certain
rights and that communities have certain
rights and associations have certain rights
and that those should not be unreasonably
restricted.
And if the payment of the police
services does that, my guess is the courts
will strike it down as applied. But even if
they don't, we might look at this bill again
if there's evidence that payment of the police
services dampens people's exercise of their
legitimate First Amendment rights.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Are
there any other Senators who wish to speak on
the bill?
Senator Hassell-Thompson, why do
you rise?
SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
you, Mr. President. Just to speak on the
bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: To
speak on the bill.
SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: As
someone who has very recently come from local
government, I am very much in support of this
8940
legislation, if in fact -- as long as the bill
does not disallow the discretion of local
municipalities.
One of the most difficult things
that tends to happen is when we need
additional police and fire department
protection for certain activities, it really
eats deeply into our overtime costs.
And one of the things that happens
for small municipalities, and I consider -
even though the city of Mount Vernon is 70,000
people, it's within 4.2 square miles -- it
puts an undue pressure on the police
department to have as many events each year
that we do, without having some support from
the agency and organization itself.
And one of the things that I would
hope would happen is that where discretion can
be given for those not-for-profits who would
have difficulty responding to this, that there
are ways in which they can work through
municipal agencies, such as recreation
departments and others, so that the costs will
in fact be less prohibitive.
But it is certainly a bill that
8941
lends itself to adjusting the burden that many
small municipalities experience when they have
to provide additional police and fire and
emergency services for not-for-profits and
other groups when they have activities within
communities.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Hevesi.
SENATOR HEVESI: Thank you, Mr.
President. Would the sponsor please yield?
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: Senator
Wright, do you yield for a question?
SENATOR WRIGHT: I will, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT LIBOUS: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR HEVESI: Thank you.
Mr. President, I love this bill.
This bill is a fantastic bill. I just have
one brief question for the sponsor.
Is there anything right now that
prevents a municipality in New York State from
enacting, on its own accord, restrictions
which would require additional payment by
8942
for-profit event promoters, either in
compensation for additional police overtime or
any other municipal services that might be
necessary in light of the special event?
SENATOR WRIGHT: I'm not aware of
any specific statutory prohibition.
However, there has been an opinion
by the State Comptroller that indicated -
that concluded that a municipality cannot
charge for providing police protection.
SENATOR HEVESI: Okay. Thank
you, Mr. President. On the bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Hevesi, on the bill.
SENATOR HEVESI: Last year when
this legislation came before us, I spoke on it
at some length, citing a particular
circumstance that had happened in my Senate
district.
Not only do I think that this is a
good bill, I think it should go further.
Although it might not be necessary, because I
don't know of any restriction that would
prevent the locality from adopting an
ordinance that, for example, would say in
8943
addition to additional money that would have
to be provided to the municipality in
consideration of police overtime, but that
sanitation overtime, or the additional
resources that would have to be provided for
any municipal service that will protect the
individuals who are attending a particular
venue, that that should be borne, those costs
should be borne by the individuals who are
profiting from whatever venue is being held in
that municipality.
And just again, briefly, I had in
my district -- and we've solved this problem
now, though it was a tremendous effort -- an
open-air tennis stadium that had 20,000 seats
in it. And concert promoters were so blinded
by their zeal for the almighty dollar that
they absolutely ignored the concerns of the
community and held, time after time,
all-day-long concert festivals where beer was
sold all day long -- tremendous police
problem. Loitering, urination on lawns, you
know. The sanitation department was, you
know, working on overtime shifts. It was a
horrible problem.
8944
And to compound it, they thumbed
their noses at us. And we got them. We wound
up putting them out of business by getting
them -- they were so unscrupulous that they
were breaking the law in a number of areas.
And they wound up with $60,000 in noise
violations and some other things. So they're
out of business.
But it was particularly galling for
me to not be able to, by law, restrict their
activities. The City of New York could have
adopted it. They didn't choose to at the time
for some other reasons. But they were
particularly concerned with the legality of
what exactly we were talking about, requiring
additional payments for those services.
So even if we didn't do it here at
the state level, it should certainly be done
at the local level. Because individuals who
are profiting should be responsible and
accountable to the taxpayers and those who are
representing those taxpayers.
So I commend Senator Wright on
bringing this bill. This is fair and just.
And at the very least, if individuals are
8945
going to be making money, the government
should be compensated and have some say in
what goes on in these venues.
So I commend Senator Wright, and I
very much hope the Assembly passes this bill.
This is good for all the people of New York.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
other Senator wish to be heard?
Debate is closed.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect 180 days.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55. Nays,
1. Senator Markowitz recorded in the
negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1039, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 4631, an
act to enact the Privacy of Financial
Information Act.
8946
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Farley, an explanation has been requested of
this bill by Senator Dollinger.
SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Mr.
President. Thank you, Senator Dollinger.
This bill enacts a state law on
certain protections and requirements regarding
privacy of financial information similar to
the provisions in the federal law.
The bill supplements the federal
law by ensuring that New Yorkers are afforded
similar protections through state law. As a
result, New York State residents will be able
to address any issue, problem, or concern
through state regulators and through our
courts.
As the primary regulators of
New York's insurance companies and many of its
banking and financial service companies, the
Insurance Department, the Banking Department
are provided with the express statutory
authority to develop regulations and enforce
these provisions and impose civil penalties
for any violators. A state law will also
8947
allow the state regulators to tailor the
privacy measures to respond to or address
specific needs or concerns raised within the
state.
Actually, I know as a good lawyer,
as you are, we're in favor of uniform laws.
And they have taken, the federal -- Congress
has taken the opt-out provision and made that
the law of the land. It's brand-new. We
don't know what the ramifications are of that.
The banks and so forth, and the insurance
industry, are spending millions of dollars to
try to comply with this.
I think there's a concern of a lot
of people -- and I'm sure that you might have
that feeling, because I certainly could agree
with you on that -- that opt-in might be the
way to go. But Congress decided not to do
that.
I think it's important that we
don't put our financial institutions and all
of our insurance groups and so forth at a
disadvantage. Literally, no state has done
the opt-in that I'm aware of. And I think it
would be placing us at a disadvantage and also
8948
maybe dry up credit, to be very honest with
you, until we see how this works.
I suspect that you're going to see
Congress revisit this issue, at least to tune
it up and so forth, or maybe tighten it up.
And that's about where we are on this one.
This allows us to implement and to enforce the
privacy provisions which are the law of the
land right now.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
Mr. President. I'll waive my usual questions
with Senator Farley. He and I had a long
discussion about this bill last year.
But unfortunately, I think the two
issues that I brought up last year are still
present in the bill that really prompt me to
vote against it, Senator Farley.
The first one is I think that the
opt-in versus the opt-out provision affects
the consumer transaction. I'll explain how it
works, Senator Farley. If you have an opt-out
provision, what happens is you get a notice
from your credit card company that they're
8949
soliciting you for another credit card, or you
get it from the bank.
As I think I explained last year,
when I bought a house, I had to give them
three years of tax returns. The bank knows
more about me than my mother does. And my
point then was that they can use that
financial information to figure out whether
they give me, you know, the credit card with
the $200 limit or the $20,000 limit. All of
which means they direct their marketing toward
me based on the information that they have.
But, Senator Farley, from my point
of view, if you had an opt-in provision, it
would work just the opposite. In other words,
the bank would have to write me a letter and
say: Senator Dollinger, we really want your
business. We're going to give you an
incentive to give us access to that financial
information. We're going to give you the
chance for the great lottery, or tickets to
whatever.
You in essence empower the
consumer. At the time they consider this
question of whether they want their financial
8950
information divulged, they've got the power.
They've got the information. And it seems to
me that forces the marketing of financial
services and other services to come to the
consumer.
In this case in this bill, and in
what Congress did, they flipped that on its
head. They said: No, no, no, we're going to
market until they tell us to stop.
And it just seems to me that
empowers the insurance companies and the banks
and the financial service houses, and it
dethrones the power that the consumer has. It
in essence tilts the economic transactions
between consumer and their providers decidedly
in favor of big institutions.
Given that fact that we're in
essence disenfranchising -- not completely,
Senator Farley, but we're tilting the
transaction against the consumer and in favor
of all these institutions that already have
massive marketing staffs at their disposal, it
just seems to me that that's a calculation
that doesn't work.
I guess I would much rather be in
8951
the position, Senator Farley, instead of
getting a solicitation and being told, Oh, by
the way, you can opt out -- what I'd rather be
is one of those consumers where they say:
We'll give you a two-night stay at our hotel
if you'll opt in. They've got to give me the
incentive to go in. It empowers me and takes
the power away from them.
I disagree with what Congress did,
I disagree with this bill, because we
shouldn't be tilting those transactions in
favor of institutions that already have
enormous marketing power.
And the second thing, Senator
Farley, I'll briefly mention it again, the
bill has no private right of action. If we
really believe we want to empower the
consumers, give them the private right of
action. They shouldn't have to wait until the
Banking Department and the Insurance
Department have thousands of complaints before
they act.
If they violate my rights, I should
be able to go into the courtroom and say, You
took my private information. I don't want to
8952
wait for the Commissioner of Insurance, I
don't want to wait for the Commissioner of the
Banking Department, I'm going to sue them
myself because it's that important to me.
Those are my flaws. I saw them
last year; I continue to see them again. I
would hope that we could resolve those in
discussions between the two houses if we get
to that point. But I'll vote no until then.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Lachman.
SENATOR LACHMAN: Mr. President,
first of all, I want to thank Senator Farley
for introducing this bill. It's a step in the
right direction.
But I think we need two steps in
the right direction. This puts the onus on
the consumer. And I don't think many
consumers completely understand what is
involved between opt-in and opt-out.
In order to protect the consumer, I
would have to agree with my colleague Senator
Dollinger and vote against this bill. I don't
think it will have any impact upon our
financial institutions. I think it will have
8953
a major impact upon protecting the consumers
of this state.
And we should not be fearful of a
state taking a position that might lead the
federal government to take the same position.
In the early twentieth century, there were
people like La Follette and Hiram Johnson,
progressives who were Democrats and
Republicans, whose bills were enacted in
Wisconsin and California and eventually became
federal law.
So I regret that I will have to
vote against this bill because it is not
strong enough or conservative enough for the
people it's supposed to protect.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
other Senator wish to be heard on the bill?
Debate is closed.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
act shall take effect in 120 days.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
8954
THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
the negative on Calendar Number 1039 are
Senators Dollinger, Gentile, Hassell-Thompson,
Lachman, Markowitz, Morahan, Onorato,
Paterson, Sampson, Schneiderman, and Stavisky.
Ayes, 45. Nays, 11.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
President, can we lay aside Calendar 1001 for
the day, please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: We will
lay aside Calendar 1001 for the day.
Senator Marcellino, that then would
complete the controversial calendar.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
Mr. President. At this time may we return to
the report of the Rules Committee -- I believe
there is one at the desk -- and have it read.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reports
of standing committees.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
from the Committee on Rules, reports the
8955
following bills:
Senate Print 1055, by Senator
Velella, an act to authorize the City of
New York.
1078B, by Senator Fuschillo, an act
to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
1251, by Senator Stachowski, an act
to amend the Public Authorities Law.
1361, by Senator Velella, an act
authorizing the City of New York.
1971, by Senator Marcellino, an act
to amend the Public Health Law.
2851, by Senator Velella, an act
authorizing the City of New York.
3183A, by Senator McGee, an act to
amend the Uniform Justice Court Act.
3376, by Senator Alesi, an act to
amend the Insurance Law.
3717, by Senator Morahan, an act in
relation to persons.
3771, by Senator Velella, an act to
amend the General Municipal Law.
3938, by Senator Farley, an act to
amend the Public Authorities Law and the
Social Services Law.
8956
4522, by Senator Nozzolio, an act
to amend the General Business Law and the
Executive Law.
4654, by Senator Skelos, an act to
establish.
4655, by Senator Skelos, an act to
establish.
4766, by Senator Kuhl, concurrent
resolution of the Senate and Assembly.
4930, by Senator Gentile, an act to
authorize the Brooklyn Cultural Center.
5300A, by Senator Spano, an act to
amend the Labor Law and the Public Officers
Law.
5355, by Senator Spano, an act to
amend the Labor Law.
5369, by Senator Bonacic, an act to
amend the Workers' Compensation Law.
5389, by Senator Morahan, an act to
amend Chapter 552 of the Laws of 1995.
And Senate Print 5434, by Senator
Skelos, an act to amend the Arts and Cultural
Affairs Law.
All bills ordered direct to third
reading.
8957
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
President, I move to accept the report of the
Rules Committee.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All
those in favor of accepting the report of the
Rules Committee signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Opposed,
nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
report of the Rules Committee is accepted.
All bills directly to third
reading.
Senator Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes,
Mr. President, at this time may we take up
Calendar 1051.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1051, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 5434, an
act to amend the Arts and Cultural Affairs
Law, in relation to illegal resale of tickets.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
8958
Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
President, is there a message of necessity at
the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a message at the desk.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Move to
accept the message.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All
those in favor of accepting the message of
necessity signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Opposed,
nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
message is accepted. The bill is before the
house.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation.
8959
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos, an explanation has been requested of
Calendar 1051 by Senator Paterson.
SENATOR SKELOS: Senator
Paterson, you wanted an explanation?
SENATOR PATERSON: Yes.
SENATOR SKELOS: Okay. What this
legislation does, it amends what is referred
to as the "Ticket Scalping Law" in the State
of New York to make it a crime if you either
pay or receive a bribe from an individual who
is looking for tickets.
Also, it expands the buffer zone
that exists presently from 1,000 feet to
1500 feet. It also increases the amount above
the face value of the ticket that a person
could receive to 20 percent from 10 percent.
And the legislation sunsets in two
years rather than one year, which has been the
practice for the last several years.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
8960
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr.
President, is there any housekeeping at the
desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes, we
have some motions, Senator.
Senator Farley.
SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you very
much, Mr. President.
On behalf of Senator Bonacic, I
wish to call up his bill, Senate Print 5119,
which was recalled from the Assembly, which is
now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
829, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 5119, an
act to amend Chapter 915 of the Laws of 1982.
SENATOR FARLEY: Mr. President, I
now move to reconsider the vote by which this
8961
bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56.
SENATOR FARLEY: Mr. President, I
now offer the following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
SENATOR FARLEY: Mr. President,
on behalf of Senator Marcellino, I wish to
call up his bill, 5269, which was recalled
from the Assembly, which is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
969, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 5269,
an act to amend the Environmental Conservation
Law.
SENATOR FARLEY: Mr. President, I
now move to reconsider the vote by which this
bill passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
8962
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56.
SENATOR FARLEY: I now offer the
following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
SENATOR FARLEY: On behalf of
Senator Skelos, Mr. President, I move to
recommit Senate Print Number 398, Calendar
Number 867, which is on the order of the third
reading, to the Committee on Children and
Families, with instructions to strike the
enacting clause.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: So
ordered.
SENATOR FARLEY: On behalf of
Senator Skelos, Mr. President, on page 19, I
offer the following amendments to Calendar
Number 442, Senate Print 420, and I ask that
that bill retain its place on the Third
Reading Calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted, and the
bill will retain its place on the Third
Reading Calendar.
Senator Marcellino.
8963
SENATOR MARCELLINO: I assume the
house is clean, sir?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes,
that concludes the housekeeping, Senator.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: There being
no further business, I move we adjourn until
Monday, June 11th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening
days to be legislative days.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: On
motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
Monday, June 11th, at 3:00 p.m. Intervening
days will be legislative days.
(Whereupon, at 1:17 p.m., the
Senate adjourned.)