Regular Session - January 15, 2002
73
NEW YORK STATE SENATE
THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
ALBANY, NEW YORK
January 15, 2002
11:06 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION
LT. GOVERNOR MARY O. DONOHUE, President
STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
74
P R O C E E D I N G S
THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
come to order.
I ask everyone present to please
rise and repeat with me the Pledge of
Allegiance.
(Whereupon, the assemblage recited
the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
THE PRESIDENT: In the absence of
clergy, may we bow our heads in a moment of
silence.
(Whereupon, the assemblage
respected a moment of silence.)
THE PRESIDENT: Reading of the
Journal.
THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
Monday, January 14, the Senate met pursuant to
adjournment. The Journal of Sunday,
January 13, was read and approved. On motion,
Senate adjourned.
THE PRESIDENT: Without
objection, the Journal stands approved as
read.
Senator Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President,
75
can we ask for an immediate meeting of the
Tourism Committee in the Majority Conference
Room.
THE PRESIDENT: There will be an
immediate meeting of the Tourism Committee in
the Majority Conference Room.
Presentation of petitions.
Messages from the Assembly.
Messages from the Governor.
Reports of standing committees.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Senator
Marcellino, from the Committee on
Environmental Conservation, reports:
Senate Print 806, by Senator
Marcellino, an act to amend the Environmental
Conservation Law;
1052, by Senator Stafford, an act
to amend the Environmental Conservation Law;
1053, by Senator Stafford, an act
to amend the Environmental Conservation Law;
1054, by Senator Stafford, an act
to amend the Environmental Conservation Law;
1841, by Senator Maltese, an act to
amend the Environmental Conservation Law;
76
And 2283A, by Senator Bonacic, an
act to amend the Environmental Conservation
Law.
All bills ordered direct to third
reading.
THE PRESIDENT: Without
objection, all bills reported direct to third
reading.
Reports of select committees.
Communications and reports from
state officers.
Motions and resolutions.
Senator Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President,
can we at this time adopt the Resolution
Calendar.
THE PRESIDENT: All those in
favor of adopting the Resolution Calendar by
motion please say aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
(No response.)
THE PRESIDENT: The motion is
carried and the calendar is adopted.
Senator Bruno.
77
SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President
and colleagues, I am rising to speak about one
of our most cherished and esteemed colleagues,
Senator Roy Goodman.
Now, some of you may wonder why we
don't have a resolution that we are addressing
and passing. And when I asked is there a
resolution commemorating this occasion, I was
told that resolutions are only proposed for
those that are with us only in spirit.
Roy, thankfully, is here not only
in spirit but physically, with all of his
charm, his personality, his intellect, his
wisdom, and joins us for what will be his last
day as a senator -- because we're making him
an honorary senator for today -- and in his
chair, after 34 years of truly distinguished
public service.
We can be proud that Roy has been a
colleague here in this chamber. He is joined
by his beautiful and charming wife, Barbara.
And, Barbara, we welcome you here
and we commend you and applaud you, because no
great man could be great without a great lady
such as yourself supporting him and, I know,
78
leading him and shoring him up when he needed
that.
(Applause.)
SENATOR BRUNO: Roy honestly, I
can say without any reservation, he has been a
real friend -- not to just the people in his
district, but the people in all of New York
State. Certainly a personal friend of mine
and of my family's.
And I also have a wife named
Barbara that I've spent most of the last 52
years with, and we share that in common.
Roy is -- I don't have to tell you,
because you have been with him here, you have
listened to him. He is gifted. He is
talented. And his constituency has been
fortunate to have most of 34 years of his
energetic life.
We in New York State have been
fortunate to share in all the good things that
Roy has been able to help accomplish in this
chamber, in the other chamber, and in New York
State.
So, Roy, when I say we are indebted
to you, all the people of this state are
79
indebted to you, I mean it as sincerely as
anything that I can say.
And the good news, Senator Volker,
is that Senator Goodman, your dearest and good
friend, along with Senator Padavan -- and I
could mention every single individual in this
chamber -- is with us and, when he leaves, he
is going on to global public service as
president of the United Nations Development
Corporation, managing millions and tens of
millions, doing and continuing his good work.
And again, at this young, energetic age, still
making a tremendous contribution to the people
of New York City and this state and throughout
this world.
Roy, thanks for your friendship,
thanks for all the good things that you have
done so far, and thanks for the next 34 years
of public service that you will be sharing
with all the people of New York State.
Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
Senator Bruno.
Senator Farley.
SENATOR FARLEY: Yeah, I rise to
80
salute, as I said, really one of the legends.
I've been here for a lot of years.
I have never heard anybody that could really
work the English language like you can, Roy.
I'll tell you, those remarks and speeches are
truly something we'll always remember.
I was a number of years ago
fortunate enough to be in a number of his
revues down there. And I think Frank Padavan,
as I recall, Senator Padavan was one of the
guest stars, in a dress, and a few other
things. They were really remarkable
opportunities to embarrass yourself. But it
was truly outstanding; they were remarkable in
their breadth.
Let me just say Roy, of course he
has been dubbed -- and it wasn't by himself
as the "Statesman of the Senate." We have a
new statesman of the Senate just assuming that
title. But that title was given to him by the
late Senator Javits, I knew that. And what a
remarkable career you have had.
And I'll tell you, he's had some
remarkable elections, none of which were more
memorable than the last one, which he pulled
81
out.
And, Roy, we're very, very proud of
you. I don't think this house will ever be
the same without you. You have really made
your mark here. And as Senator Bruno so aptly
said, you're going on to very, very exciting
things.
You're a very dear friend. I love
you, I wish you well, and God bless you and
your family.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you very
much, Madam President.
I too rise to really pay tribute to
a person that all of us in the State Senate,
both Republicans and Democrats, have a
tremendous amount of respect for -- for his
intellect, for his ability as a state senator,
working tirelessly for his district and for
the people of the state of New York, but also
because of the hand of friendship that on
numerous occasions I believe that he's
extended to each and every one of us within
this Senate chamber.
There's a saying we have about Roy,
82
and it is so true, that he is the statesman of
the Senate. He is a person that every single
one of us -- and again, I say Republicans and
Democrats -- look up to. We wish, Roy, we had
the command of the English language as you do.
John, we wish we had the command of
the Italian language as you do also.
But, Roy, you have been a dear
friend to both me and Gail, my wife, Gail, who
worked with you for probably 11 or 12 years
prior to moving to another situation. But
certainly she reflects on all the wonderful
days that she had with you, whether it's
working up here, working in the district, the
friendships that she made with your family,
with Barbara, your children -- in a way,
seeing them grow up also.
We are going to miss you. We truly
are going to miss you. And I think every
single one of us, as we see the day -- maybe
some a little further down the road, some a
little closer -- come where we have to say
farewell to this institution, I only hope that
I can go out with the respect and the strong
feelings that everybody has for you on this
83
day, Roy.
Congratulations and God bless you.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator
Stachowski.
SENATOR STACHOWSKI: I'd like to
also rise and add a few words about Senator
Goodman.
Senator, it's been a pleasure
watching you operate on the Senate floor.
It's been a great pleasure working with you on
cultural events and meetings and different
things that you've brought to life, including
your latest, the Whitney art exhibition that's
down in the museum currently. And I saw your
picture in the paper, and you looked overjoyed
again, as you always do at art things.
And I'm surprised that out of the
first couple of speakers nobody had a bunch of
graphs and charts to talk about, you know,
with different subject matter, and then go
through everything just in honor of all the
charts and graphs we saw over the years with
some of your presentations. Of course, now
they're not allowed because of the rules. But
I figured if the Majority Leader wanted to use
84
charts and graphs, nobody would oppose that,
in light of the situation.
But everybody talks about the floor
things and the cultural things, but I want to
tell two quick stories about Senator Goodman
which are some of the things that people
wouldn't expect and what makes Roy and his
family so friendly and such a warm part of
everybody's life who comes in contact with
him.
And one of them is who would ever
think that a kid from Buffalo would go on a
trip to Europe with Senator Goodman and some
others, and we would be traveling through
Austria and Senator Goodman would be trying to
find a hat. One of those Austrian hats, green
with the little feather, you know. And he
went in Salzburg, and he couldn't find it.
They didn't have his size.
So we were walking through a little
village in Germany, and I said, "Senator
Goodman, go in that hat shop, they're going to
have your size." And they did. And he got
his hat. And he was amazed: "How did you
know?"
85
And what it really was, there's a
lot more tourists in that little German
village from America, so that you know they
have larger head sizes, because Americans have
bigger heads than most Europeans. I don't
know why that is, but that's the way it is.
Not to say that Senator Goodman has a big
head, he just happens to have a larger hat
size than they had in the little Salzburg
shop.
And if you also went on those
trips, you would have been privy to some of
the wonderful exchanges and often
recollections of the party the night before
when the Goodhues and the Goodmans would go
out to dinner. And then Frank Goodhue and Roy
would go on and on, and their grasp of the
English language -- both of them were pretty
equal in that -- was fascinating. And then
you'd get a report at the end of the trip from
Senator Goodhue's husband, Frank, and it would
be a wonderful recollection of all these
different events.
And so you'd become closer to a
gentleman like Senator Goodman, going on those
86
trips, because he's so friendly and he helps
you out with all these different things, and
his wife was always so charming -- and, by the
way, more famous in Spain than he is. And I
took note of that because of a dinner where
people were toasting Mrs. Goodman's father as
part of the evening. So it was a fascinating
evening.
One other place, and my last part
of my few comments, is who would expect that
the statesman of the Senate and the gentleman
from the Upper East Side of Manhattan would be
one of the most enthusiastic softball players
on the Senate softball team. But nobody had
more enthusiasm and nobody waited in greater
anticipation of the Senate and Assembly game
than Senator Goodman. And he would always
take the field at least for a couple of
innings every year and have a great time, and
always made you feel so special to be part of
that team because of the joy he showed in
playing in that game.
So those are just some of my
recollections. And I'd like to thank you for
the friendship, the many years that I got to
87
know you, and all the experiences that I've
shared with you.
Congratulations and good luck.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Stafford.
SENATOR STAFFORD: Thank you,
Madam President.
Roy, as always when I get up to
speak, everything has been said. But I do
have to say that the sesquipedalianism has
been really enjoyed. And for a definition of
that word, as Roy told me, that's
multisyllabic.
I remember in 1968 when Roy and
Barbara were standing at the pool and they
were at the Americana, at the 1968 convention.
And at that convention, well, first, everyone
was trying to get Roy to run. He had been
Lindsay's finance commissioner. And Mike
Seymour was standing there, and Roy finally
said, "Yes, I think I am interested in
running."
And that was the year, as he was
saying he was interested in running, John
Lindsay was jumping in the pool. Now, I don't
know if it's because he nominated Spiro Agnew
88
or not. But it's also the same year that Joe
Bruno wrote the speech for Perry Duryea to
second Nixon. So it wasn't -- it wasn't -- a
lot was going on down there.
But we're very, very fortunate to
have Roy and to have him say yes.
Now, Barbara, Radcliffe and
Harvard, you can't go wrong. You can't go
wrong. Barbara from Radcliffe and Roy from
Harvard.
I will say that one thing Roy has
taught me is when you're questioned, put it in
such a way that people can interpret it in any
way.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR STAFFORD: You know, and
do it very honestly and very straightforward,
with credibility.
Also, Roy knows how to disagree and
not be disagreeable.
We've all had great years. We're
very, very fortunate. And as Joe said, the
leader said, 34 more years in your new job I'm
sure will be most enjoyable. And we look
forward to all continuing to work together and
89
other activities together that we've had in
the past.
Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Velella.
SENATOR VELELLA: Thank you,
Madam President -- no, don't say "uh oh."
But I had the good fortune of
knowing Senator Goodman long before I was a
senator, when I was a young boy working in the
Republican politics in East Harlem, where I
grew up. And Roy was the one elected
Republican who most of us went down to help.
And let me say my first political
job came from Roy Goodman and Vince Albano at
that time, who were county chairmen, and I was
asked to serve as a law secretary to a supreme
court judge. And Roy called me and said, "I
think you'll be a great guy for that." That
was the first time I had a public position,
and it was Roy who called me and asked me for
that.
But that was when I was beginning.
Later on I became a New York State
assemblyman, and in the 1980s we faced
something that we're facing today called
90
reapportionment. And my distinguished
colleagues over in the Assembly -- at that
time the house was controlled, as it is now,
by the other party -- they decided to pick my
house, in the middle of the district, and cut
a piece of pie from there and eight Assembly
districts. I subsequently ran and lost.
But the first person who called me
and said, "Guy, what are you going to do with
your life? We can find a spot for you" -- and
in fact had arranged several interviews at the
time for me -- was Roy Goodman.
He was a friend to me in the very
beginning, a friend to me in my troubles, will
always be a friend of everyone in this house.
A great guy, not only a great senator, but a
great person.
Roy, thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Marchi.
SENATOR MARCHI: Madam President,
it was with some disappointment when I heard
that you had other plans.
But, Roy, I remember him, I
remember his predecessors, MacNeil Mitchell
and so many people that filled this chamber.
91
And we had five Republicans from Queens
before -- well, many years later. But we had
been reduced to Billy Conklin and myself. We
were the only New York City members in the
Senate majority -- but it was a slender
majority -- and trying to enlarge the voice of
New York City.
And I remember meeting Roy when he
would come up and furnish us with good
information. I'd meet him on the train or
riding along, and he was always a delight to
converse with because he had this
extraordinary experience preceded by academic
excellence at the Harvard School of Business,
where he received his master's with honors,
and in his service as commissioner of finance.
He was a very valuable assist to
this chamber ever -- long before he actually
arrived here. And he was a person who you
could discuss the arts, you could discuss a
wide variety of subjects. And he was just as
vital and informed and creative as has been my
happenstance to experience.
When I think of Roy, I think of
I don't know how many of you ever knew Clint
92
Dominick, who was a very close friend of mine,
and then he lost out. But these were
institutional losses. But they're not
they're losses in the sense that they go on
serving with great honor and distinction in
other settings.
And you're going to be doing that.
So that's a projection that we're proud of.
But we do miss their presence and
their absence. But it's part of the
traditions and feelings that we carry on that
have strengthened this body, and why we have
the feeling for each other that we experienced
when first we came here.
So I certainly wish Roy renewed
opportunities to embrace different
disciplines, disciplines that he has savored
over the years, and do it so well he will be
able to do this on a planetary or worldwide
experience.
So he's going to -- I'm sure the
creative impact that he's had on anything he's
ever dealt with will be enriched by his
presence when he goes down to the big city to
take on world responsibilities.
93
So I -- I'm very pleased that we
have this outpouring and that there's so much
feeling about it. And I want to wish Barbara
all the best. She's been a joy and a delight
every time we had the chance to meet and talk.
And I wish you both the best and
the satisfaction of knowing that every single
member in this chamber will regret that you
but only on the condition that you promise to
return and visit us on every occasion that's
available.
Thank you, Madam President.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Balboni.
SENATOR BALBONI: Madam
President, I was 8 years old when Senator
Goodman joined this chamber. And I am still
learning from him every day I walk into the
conference.
The thing that struck me about Roy
Goodman initially when I would hear about the
tales of Roy's exploits from Senator John
Dunne, as a counsel, was that he was never shy
about being unpopular. It's a very easy thing
to go along to get along, and it is very
difficult in our day and age to stand up for
94
something that perhaps nobody likes you to
say, or say it at an inconvenient time, or
take on an issue that might make other people
uncomfortable.
That has never been Roy Goodman's
plan. Roy has a passion for his district and
for his issues that transcends his personal
comfort zone. A lot of people can take a look
at Roy and say, Well, what does a successful
millionaire want to do with state government?
Why have you been around here so long? You've
been offered things all these years, and
you've chosen to continue to serve this people
and this system.
And it's because of his passion,
Madam President, a passion that all of us
would be well served to put in the back of our
heads and in our hearts.
You have been a tremendous asset.
You are part of the color and the vibrancy of
this conference. Thank you for your service.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Hoffmann.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Among all his
many wonderful attributes, one of the things
that Senator Goodman has demonstrated to all
95
of us is that education is a lifelong pursuit
and that we should all be more enriched by
those opportunities that abound to grow our
minds and to receive the influence of cultural
activities that are there for the taking if we
only keep our eyes open.
I've watched with amazement while
he discusses with a staff person or another
colleague the differences between a fine
painting. He will know immediately the
difference between a Monet and a Chagall, and
he can talk with intimate detail about the
latest nuances in some new play or a movie.
He enjoys the arts in a way that few of us
have ever really taken the time to understand
or appreciate.
But more than that, he brings back
that feeling of renewal and that enrichment to
all of us. And it's something that I think we
will probably have a very difficult time
replacing because we perhaps have taken it so
much for granted.
Everyone has made a reference to
his unbelievable vocabulary. But how many
times I have been so pleased that he was able
96
in a single word to capture the moment in a
way that nobody else did. And in fact, quite
frequently he's been right on target when he's
used the word "sophomoric" in reference to
some of the things that we've experienced.
And I only wish that we took to
heart some of his admonitions to rise above
that which might be mundane, sophomoric, or
less worthy of us than perhaps we should
consider ourselves to be.
The thing that has most endeared me
to Senator Goodman, however, is his compassion
and his willingness to look far beyond his own
station in life to the needs of other people.
His commitment to women and women's rights
through the years in many, many respects has
been unparalleled in this chamber, and I feel
a great, deep sense of personal loss that he's
leaving at a time when we still have work to
do for women, for other minorities, and for
many people whose needs have not been taken as
seriously as Senator Goodman has taken them.
It is a tremendous loss for this
chamber, for all of us personally, and for the
state of New York. We value your friendship,
97
and we're glad that you will remain in close
touch.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Volker.
SENATOR VOLKER: Madam
President -- and I will try to be brief. I
know that the Majority Leader is probably
getting a little bit nervous. But I will be
brief.
When I first came down here -- and
as I said previously, my father was one of the
few people that preceded John Marchi in the
Legislature, and he gave me a little bit of
advice. And he said, "You know, you're going
down there," he told me who I should talk to
and so forth. And he said, "The Senate now
has 32 Republicans and Roy Goodman."
(Laughter.)
SENATOR VOLKER: And I said 32
Republicans and -- and then when I got down
here, I realized what he was talking about.
Of course, if you look at his
district, it was the most amazing thing in the
history of the world that Roy has been able to
survive all these years. I mean, it is an
interesting conglomeration of groups,
98
people -- and mostly Democrats, in all
honesty. And Roy survived over those years.
Senator Padavan and I, who have
been here a few years, we were just
speculating about the U.N., by the way. You
know how they have these people that if you
ask to speak, you know, at the U.N., they have
these people that interpret.
I think, Roy, what you should do is
if you're going to do that, you should submit
certain words. Because there's a lot of
things on this floor -- I don't know how many
times you have been speaking and you'll say
something and we'll look at each other and say
"What is that word? What does that mean?"
In fact, I remember Dick
Schermerhorn, who sat right here, one time
said that he was going to get a dictionary and
a thaurosis [sic], or whatever the hell it
was, just to figure out whatever it is
(Laughter.)
MULTIPLE SPEAKERS: Thesaurus.
SENATOR VOLKER: -- just to
figure out -- oh, excuse me, you know how I
am
99
(Laughter.)
SENATOR VOLKER: -- just to
figure out what Roy was saying.
Shows you what I know. I'm from
upstate New York. What can I tell you.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR VOLKER: At any rate,
I'll finish by saying, Roy -- and I was a
little concerned, Senator Bruno, when I heard
we were going to do a resolution, because I
did know the rule, and Roy looked really
healthy yesterday when I saw him.
And I'm glad in a way we didn't do
that, because it's good that we can tell him
how much we love him before he goes, I think,
to New York City, where -- I don't know what's
going to happen down there, Roy. We wish you
the best of luck. And by the way, frankly, I
think it's certainly their gain, and I mean
that sincerely, and our loss.
The final thing I want to say is
that I was here in 1975 when we had probably
the greatest crisis this state has ever seen.
And, I mean, we talk now about this crisis as
big, and it is a big crisis. Of course at
100
that time, New York City had an $18 billion
debt and a $14 billion budget. If you don't
think those were difficult times -- and the
state was teetering, literally; UDC was
teetering.
And each day our friend Roy would
of course come up, because he had the pipeline
all over the place, and he was -- in fact, he
was on the phone sometimes with two phones, as
we all know Roy does. But what he would do is
he would give us the bad news and then, as we
were sitting around there, you know, looking
at each other as if why did we get into this
business, he would then pop up and come up
with the damndest jokes that any of us have
ever heard and break the entire conference up.
And he has had an ability over the
years to come up with things -- and I write
them down, really, but I just cannot remember
them and I can't do them the way Roy does,
because he has such a great presence with
doing that sort of thing.
We're going to miss that, Roy.
We're going to miss a lot of things, but we're
really going to maybe miss the necessity
101
around here to be able to break up the tension
and to not only do good jokes but to give us
some wise advice.
Good luck to you, and good luck to
your wife, Barbara. And we'll hopefully see
you on a regular basis.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Morahan.
SENATOR MORAHAN: Thank you,
Madam President.
I rise also to pay tribute to Roy
Goodman, maybe from a different aspect. I
don't have the long, rich, fulfilling history
with Roy as many of you others have here in
the Senate. But when I first came here in May
of '99, just three short years ago, it was a
little bit intimidating. I was a new senator.
And I had known of Roy, although I
did not know him personally, for many, many
years -- of all his activities up here in the
state level, that he's been woven into the
history of the city of New York or of its
politics. Anything of any major consequence
that was going on in New York City, there was
always Roy Goodman's name in the paper.
And when I first met him, I felt
102
like I was meeting an icon then, someone who
is a hero to so many people. But what he did
for me as a newcomer which really impressed
me, this lion of the Senate, he took me under
his wing, so to speak, took me to dinner, I
think when I was only here a few days, gave me
some of his wisdom, made me feel so welcome
and so good to be part of this wonderful
institution. And.
It's something, Roy, that's going
to stay with me forever, however long that may
be.
And your sense of humor, as Senator
Volker pointed out, and others, is without
parallel. By far one of the greatest
repertoire of jokes that I have ever known any
human being to possess in one skull, that no
matter what a person would say, "That reminds
me" or "Did you hear of the one of this?"
And, Roy, it's been a wonder to
know you personally, a wonder to be with you,
and I will miss you. Good luck. You're the
statesman of the Senate, but you're a
statesman in life too.
Thank you, Roy.
103
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Maltese.
SENATOR MALTESE: I'm very, very
proud that I've known Roy for more than 30
years. And ideologically during those 30
years we've probably agreed even a few times
during those 30 years.
The one thing about Roy, whatever
side we were on, whether it was the same side
or adversaries, Roy was always a gentleman. I
remember specifically a year that we were
backing a newscaster from the south, Barry
Farber. And it was very -- the race itself
got at times very bitter. But I ran into Roy
at the Board of Elections, after a lawyers'
bout, and Roy was an absolute gentleman, I
think so -- not only polite, but much more
than that. Very cordial, very friendly, just
as he always is.
And added to his title of
"Statesman of the Senate" I think we can
certainly add "a gentleman of the Senate."
And, Dale, speaking as somebody who
has been labeled a dinosaur at times, I can
tell you that a theosaurus is a member of the
brontosaurus family.
104
(Laughter.)
SENATOR MALTESE: But, Roy,
certainly I want to, on behalf of my wife,
Constance, who was Queens chairman of the
Council for the Arts -- and so many other
people across the city and across the state
and indeed across the country -- convey a
great debt of gratitude. Certainly, again,
Roy can be termed the cultural giant not only
of the Senate but of the Legislature.
Roy's role on the national level
has been one that was preeminent. There isn't
anybody involved in running for office, for
statewide office in New York State, that has
not been indebted to Roy Goodman. Certainly
the breadth and length of his influence was
important to me when I first came, and since
then as a colleague and as a good friend.
I will miss him. I will miss him
in New York City, I will miss him in New York
State, I'll miss his presence, I'll miss his
friendship. I think we can add to his title
"Senator, New York City."
Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Rath.
105
SENATOR RATH: Thank you, Madam
President.
I too have not been here a terribly
long time, and Roy was one of the first people
who befriended me and brought some of the
nuances to me that I think everyone needs to
learn about this particular house.
The length and breadth of
everyone's interests have been talked about
some, and particularly Senator Goodman's, but
everyone's are particularly long and broad as
we bring them to our work here in the Senate.
And of course, as everyone has mentioned, the
arts and cultural community not only in
New York City but all across the state, as Roy
and I have talked about any number of times
what goes on in various places across the
state, and he's been encouraging and helpful
every chance he could be.
But some of the other things, Roy,
that you have brought to us -- your love of
the Big Sky Country, the wonderful photographs
that you've shared with us from you and your
family and your wife's time out in the Big Sky
Country.
106
Your photo gallery, as you would
come around and snap various of us as we were
thinking or talking or whatever we might have
been doing that you thought was particularly
interesting, and would show us the following
week and we'd say "Hmm, interesting, yes."
Your work with the Investigations
Committee is not to be left without comment,
because that has been a body of work that will
be here for years and years and people will
look to those reports and to those studies
that you have given us, Roy, as a backdrop for
some very serious, important information and
important work.
And so in a concluding comment,
Roy, you have woven a very, very rich tapestry
that all of us here are talking about and
viewing from a different perspective today,
but one we won't forget, one that the Senate
as a whole will not forget.
And thank you for setting such a
wonderful example, not only with your work but
with your life.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Malcolm
Smith.
107
SENATOR MALCOLM SMITH: Thank you
very much, Madam President.
I, like Senator Morahan, don't have
the long history of experiences or times with
Senator Goodman. But I can tell you one of
any individual's finer moments is when you can
be a part of a body or work with someone that
you have admired from afar.
I can remember when I was at
Fordham, Denzel Washington and I were
roommates, and he used to share with me how he
would look forward to working with particular
actors and what it would mean to him. I can
remember talking with Mark Jackson, who played
for various NBA teams, and he would also talk
about how it would be a fine moment for him to
play basketball with certain individuals who
he admired while he was growing up.
Well, I can tell you I used to from
time to time see Senator Goodman on
television. He used to have those bright red
ties with the wonderful handkerchief that
always matched, or it was a green tie. And
when he would begin to speak, it was clear
that this was an individual who mastered the
108
English language, in addition to mastering the
discipline of thoughts and ideas.
And I can tell you, it was, for me,
nothing better when I got elected to know that
Senator Goodman was here and was going to be
here. It was a very fine moment for me.
And I will tell you, Senator
Goodman, God willing, one of the greatest
honors for me will be, when I write my
memoirs, should that occur, that I will be
able to say that I served in a body that you
were a part of. And I thank you for that, and
God bless you.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bonacic.
SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you,
Madam President.
I also have not shared as many
years as my colleagues with Senator Goodman.
But a lot of the things that have been spoken
about today, Roy -- your intelligence level,
your oratory skills, your humor, your
generosity in being a teacher and sharing your
knowledge -- I saw all of that and was
impressed with all of that.
But I thought your best work, which
109
impressed me, was the way you handled yourself
in conference. You always adhere to your
convictions. In a time of power politics and
party-line votes, you stood for things that
might have been unpopular. You were a
visionary. Whether it's women's health, bias
crime, rent control, you were out there
speaking for your people.
I myself admire that independence,
that courage, that passion. Those kinds of
individuals and elected officials are becoming
more and more rare. So for that, Roy, you've
enriched my life. You've been a wonderful
example. You've been a great senator and a
tremendous humanitarian.
To you, your wife, and your family,
good health, peace, and success in your next
endeavor. Thank you, Roy.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Lachman.
SENATOR LACHMAN: Very briefly, I
think it was just about six years ago when I
walked into this chamber for the first time,
and I witnessed a debate between Senator
Goodman and Senator Franz Leichter. It was
fierce, it was substantive, it was articulate.
110
It was the Upper East Side and the Upper West
Side. And I thought of the debates in the old
U.S. Senate between Henry Clay and John C.
Calhoun and what they might have sounded like.
It was sad when Senator Leichter
left these chambers. It's going to be sad to
miss Senator Goodman as well. Like an era is
changing; it's passing.
But we always will remember Senator
Goodman in New York City for something else.
In New York we have these advertisements on
television, ABC Eyewitness News. And people
from out of town would come into the city and
they would open up their TV and they would see
three or four or five or six trucks and buses
which said "ABC Eyewitness News" in all
sections of Manhattan.
I remember a number of years ago I
was in Manhattan with my son -- and I think it
was the Upper West Side rather than the Upper
East Side, Roy -- and my son said to me, "Oh,
there goes that truck again." And I thought
he meant ABC Eyewitness News, but it wasn't.
It said "The Statesman of the Senate, Roy
Goodman." And this bus would go all over the
111
City of New York. In fact, I think there were
advertisements on many, many buses throughout
the city.
Roy, you have become in this
chamber an articulate speaker, a passionate
speaker for the convictions that you hold
dear, especially in culture and the humanities
and what I hold most dear, in education.
We're going to miss that and miss it greatly.
But you're going into a new world,
literally, a world of the United Nations, as
president of the U.N. Development Corporation.
I know, based upon your past experiences,
based upon your knowledge of the world and
national scene as well as the state and local
scene, I know you will do an outstanding job.
And I wish you Godspeed.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Paterson.
SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you,
Madam President -- did you say Padavan or
Paterson?
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Paterson.
Well, you're close.
SENATOR PADAVAN: We often get
confused.
112
(Laughter.)
SENATOR PATERSON: Madam
President, it's interesting the times that
Senator Padavan answers to my name.
On behalf of Senator Connor, and I
hope I speak for all the members of the
minority, we traditionally don't always get
our way around here. And when that's the
case, when we feel we're right on the issues,
we pound on the issues. When we feel we're
right on the facts, we pound on the facts.
And sometimes when we just feel we're right,
we just pound on the table.
But after that tertiary reaction,
we always had a fourth option, and that was to
seek counsel from Senator Goodman.
Senator Goodman is an individual,
he holds his principles above all other
objects and all things. And many times he has
been someone for which we could talk to about
some of the issues that Senator Bonacic was
talking about -- bias crime, women's right to
choose, campaign finance. And always there
was a great deal of wisdom and quite often
there was a great deal of advocacy by Senator
113
Goodman, who at the same time I think was
thought to be very loyal and very much in
favor of his colleagues on the other side of
the aisle.
How rare is it that you ever meet
an individual who is so manifestly brilliant
and yet everybody loves them. There's so many
people who have been blessed with great
intellect or great talent and couldn't help
but flaunt it in front of other people in a
kind of a pompous and arrogant fashion. And
yet Senator Goodman has some of the great
virtues of caring and concern. And obviously
his ability to command the language, his
dynamic, articulate, and perceptive style
rightly make him the statesman of the Senate.
And in spite of my concern and
remorse that he's leaving the Senate, I'll be
looking forward to hearing some of the
enlightened remarks of the new statesman of
the Senate, Senator Guy Velella.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR PATERSON: So what I
would want to point out is that one of the
first days that I was here, in January of
114
1986, we had a resolution on trying to halt
some of the actions of businesses that engaged
in trade with South Africa. And although the
resolution failed, it was Senator Goodman, who
was coming from the funeral of the late
Senator Jacob Javits that day, who got up and
admonished us that we might not pass this
resolution but that we as New Yorkers were
also citizens of the world and had to
understand the apartheid conditions in South
Africa and how we had to join the fight to try
to eliminate them.
I think it's only appropriate that
Senator Goodman, who himself is a citizen of
the world, will go to the United Nations
Development Corporation and serve them with
the great dignity and distinction that he has
served here. This is what he brought to his
mayoral campaign in 1977, this is what he
brought to the Charter Revision Commission of
New York, which he served so admirably on in
1975.
And I was one who watched him as
just a citizen at that time and then was given
the opportunity to serve with him as his
115
colleague. He was always very fair and very
nice to me. He helped with some of the arts
facilities in our district. He was always
someone that was very kind and very able to
reach out to his colleagues and show
friendship.
And I would just say that
Shakespeare wrote about people like Senator
Goodman when he wrote that "They rightly do
inherit heaven's graces/and husband nature's
riches from expense/they are the lords and
owners of their faces/others but stewards of
their excellence."
And I think that probably the most
fitting commentary I ever read that would
befit Senator Goodman is that he can walk
among kings and retain the common touch.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Padavan.
SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you,
Madam President.
First let me say, Barbara, you are
a remarkable lady. To put up with him for all
these years is truly a great accomplishment.
In the interests of time, let me
say I subscribe to all the wonderful words
116
that have been spoken here about our colleague
Roy Goodman. But I'd like to share with you
some personal observations and remembrances.
The first time I met Roy was in
1968. We were asked to join together with a
group of people who still were of a mind to
support a candidate for mayor, John Lindsay,
who had decided to become a Democrat. The
spokesman for that rather eclectic group was
Senator Goodman.
As we stood there and as I
listened, two thoughts came to mind. The
first one was why was I there. The second one
was who was this person talking. He went on
and on -- eloquently, of course, as we would
expect, but he never took a breath.
The second time I met him was as an
official in the Buildings Department, and Roy
was about to convene a hearing about a
perennial issue dealing with corruption in the
Buildings Department. And my boss, the
commissioner, said, "You're a Republican.
Would you go see this guy? We're in the
middle of all of these very sensitive
investigations, and the last thing we need is
117
to have a public airing of what we're in the
middle of doing."
So I went over there, and he was
very generous and very kind, and we talked at
great length. And he did withdraw, at least
for that period of time, from his public
hearings about corruption in the Buildings
Department.
The third time I met him was when I
was running for office, and I appeared on the
front page of the New York Times in a rather
unflattering way. And the person they said
you must go and see about the New York Times
and anything else is Roy Goodman.
And I did go and see him. And he
was very, very solicitous -- calmed me down,
gave me some good advice, advice that I think
we could all benefit by, and we have over the
years. And ever since then, we've been good
friends.
Roy is famous for many things, as
you've all talked about. And some of his
Royisms, Harvardian comments -- the one I
remember the most is "pusillanimous
pipsqueakery." You've all heard that, right?
118
When I first heard it I hadn't the slightest
idea what he was saying, so I went to the
thesaurus -- where is Dale? -- and I looked it
up.
Pipsqueakery: Anything or anyone
regarded as small or insignificant.
Pusillanimous: Timid, cowardly, lacking
courage. So what he was in effect telling us
all was that we were insignificant cowards,
and we didn't know it.
As a good friend, I did many things
that I'd rather not do because Roy asked me to
do them. And the one I remember the most is
when he would put on an annual theatrical
fund-raiser, usually a musical-type event, and
I was asked to be his secretary. And I have
the proof right here: I was Francine.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR PADAVAN: The only one
who could get me in drag. I didn't mind it so
much that night, but the next day when I
picked up the New York Post and there it
was -- it took a lot of years to live that one
down.
But certainly we will miss Roy for
119
so many reasons. His good humor, his ability
to focus on an issue with precision, get to
the crux of the matter, bring us to where we
should be in understanding it, whether we
agreed with his position or not, is something
we will all miss.
He will continue, of course, as
we've all been saying here, to serve the city
and now on a more global basis. God help the
United Nations and all the people therein.
But I know that he will enjoy that, they will
enjoy having him there, and we will continue
to be good friends.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President
and colleagues, I am told that almost everyone
that hasn't been on their feet wanted to have
something to say about Senator Goodman.
Senator Goodman understands our
life as well or better than all of us. And
our life dictates that we take a break and
that we recess until about 2:00 o'clock. But
before we do that, we have several thousand
people up visiting with us that are on the
Capitol steps now, waiting to visit with many
120
of you and with me, and I'm supposed to be
speaking to them now.
But I would ask that anyone that
still wants to speak, we'll return at 2:00 and
we will continue to say whatever people feel
is appropriate at that time.
But before we do that, Madam
President and colleagues, I would like to ask
that we give unanimous consent to allow
Senator Roy Goodman to express his few remarks
for a few minutes here, while we're all
together and it's now high noon.
So with your indulgence, we would
like to ask Senator Goodman to get to his
feet.
THE PRESIDENT: Without
objection, the esteemed Senator Roy Goodman
has the floor.
SENATOR GOODMAN: Madam President
and my beloved colleagues, it's very hard
indeed to find words to say thank you for the
wonderful things you've said, which must be
treated like fine cologne: They should be
sniffed but not swallowed.
(Laughter.)
121
SENATOR GOODMAN: I confess to
you I feel a little like a body at an Irish
wake: You're indispensable to the occasion,
but you're not asked to say very much.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR GOODMAN: In fact, I'm
called to mind the statement that the Leaning
Tower of Pisa said to Big Ben, the clock in
London. It said: "If you've got the time,
I've got the inclination."
(Laughter.)
SENATOR GOODMAN: I'd just like
to share with you one or two quick thoughts
and take you on a quick trip down memory lane,
if I might, because rarely have I had the
opportunity to speak in this vein in this
wonderful house of dear -- dear and close
pals.
May I say to you that as my mind
goes back to my very first days in the Senate,
I think my first debate was when I sat on the
shelf in the position that Senator Padavan
finds himself, and the minority leader, who
was then Senator Joseph Zaretzki, a formidable
Columbia wrestler -- who stood about 4 feet
122
11 inches off the ground, but he was a very
muscular, rambunctious fellow. And I was
asked to introduce a bill to outlaw cane
swords in New York. A cane sword is a thing
that looks like a cane but when you pull it
apart, it actually has a sword in it.
Zaretzki got up when the bill was
called and said, "This is the most absurd
piece of legislation that's ever been before
this house, and I see no reason for us to
waste our time on it."
We had three police officers who
had come to Albany carrying cane swords. I
withdrew one of them and waved it over his
head for a few moments, and he said, "At this
point I suggest we give this bill unanimous
passage."
(Laughter.)
SENATOR GOODMAN: Then too I do
recall very vividly many occasions on which
there have been unique happenings in this
house, one of which involved another potential
use of a sword, when one of our senators
challenged another to a duel. Senator Sidney
von Luther was given to nutrition involving
123
peanuts that were not yet shelled, and he sat
next to Senator Al Lewis, who was inclined to
wear blue suits. And the peanut shells found
their way on to Senator Lewis's lapels and the
rest of his garb.
And then we got into a very bitter
budget debate, and I remember Senator Lewis
walking around the chamber carrying a sign
which said "Lions, three; Christians,
nothing"
(Laughter.)
SENATOR GOODMAN: -- at which
point what was happening was we were making
some ferocious cuts in the budget.
I did make a couple of notes so
that I wouldn't forget a few of these piquant
events.
We've had a group of distinguished
leaders of the state who formed a thing called
the Mickey Mouse Club that used to involve
Governor Rockefeller, Governor Malcolm Wilson,
and the various key players in their
administrations. We'd have a once-a-year
gathering down at Jack's, on the second or
third floor, out of public view.
124
At a certain moment when the clock
struck 9:00, up we jumped, we opened our
shirts to reveal Mickey Mouse T-shirts, donned
our Mickey Mouse ears, and sang M-I-C-K-E-Y,
M-O-U-S-E.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR GOODMAN: And from there
on, the evening blended well into the
martinis, which were amply served at that
moment.
Then there were times when -- you
know, the lobbyists play a remarkable role in
this general process of ours. There was even
an amazing lobbyist named Nick Kisberg who
once revealed that he had the key to every
leader's office, to which he could admit
himself upon his own desire.
That lasted about one day. When it
hit the newspapers, Nick was quickly retired
and lobbying returned to a more conventional
pattern.
We've had some remarkable
individuals. I think I should say also the
Senate Club is a great group. After you've
been here for a few years, you're able to join
125
the Senate Club. And it's customary for the
returning senators to give a report on what
they've been doing for the past year.
On one occasion, one of our
colleagues got up. He'd unfortunately been
incarcerated at Sing Sing. And he got up and
he said, "Actually, gentlemen, I've been"
let's see what exactly -- I'm trying to look
through the -- "Oh, yes," he said, "I've had a
federal appointment." That was his
(Laughter.)
SENATOR GOODMAN: And so it goes.
The great folklore of the Senate is richly
peppered with all sorts of anecdotary which
would take us to midnight to even scratch the
surface of.
But suffice it to say the one
transcending thing I recall about the house,
apart from the goodwill which you've so richly
manifested in your overly generous remarks
about me today, is the wonderful humor which
pervades our work even at its most serious
moments.
Let me say to you that my feelings
for individuals are very strong indeed, and
126
I'd like just for a moment to tick off a few
men that will forever live in my memory. One
is, of course, Nelson Rockefeller; the
governors of the state Malcolm Wilson, Hugh
Carey, Mario Cuomo, and of course George
Pataki, who in my book is a remarkably
talented and wonderful individual with a true
heart. And since it's election time, I won't
impose upon you the given election panegyric,
but I think he's a great man.
There are the leaders of the
Senate. There are people such as -- well,
I'll just go back for a moment or two to speak
of the majority leaders. Earl Brydges was the
first one I knew here. He slumped into his
seat in tears at the conclusion of the
abortion debate because, even though he
opposed the bill with all his heart, he felt
that the consciences of the Senate should have
a chance to be expressed in a vote. And it
went against him, and he was deeply and in a
sense tragically impacted by it, but
nevertheless he let the will of the Senate
prevail, which to my mind was a sign of
greatness.
127
There are of course the wonderful
additional names which I could summon to mind,
just for a moment or two. There was Warren
Anderson, a man of remarkable leadership skill
who always ended up every session with a loud
jacket to signal the end of the session.
I thought for a moment of getting
out my loudest summer sport jacket to come in
today to signal the end of my own session, but
I thought maybe that might not be appropriate.
Then, of course, from there we had
Ralph Marino. And today we are very much
very fortunate, in my opinion, to have the
leadership of my good friend Joe Bruno.
I remember the first time I ever
saw Joe was around the same swimming pool
which was referred to earlier, at the
convention of the Republican party in Miami
Beach. Onto the swimming pool area came a
very dapper-looking gentleman who was so
strikingly, frankly good-looking that everyone
sort of stopped and stared and thought it
might be a movie celebrity coming on. It was
Joe, and bearing the custom of the presidency
of the Young Republican Club, if I remember
128
correctly.
And I said to myself, that guy may
have some potential.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR GOODMAN: One of the next
times I saw him I was jogging one very early
morning around the reservoir in Central Park,
and who should come puffing up but -- but not
puffing; I was puffing, he was gliding
along -- was Joe Bruno, looking very athletic,
as is his wont.
More recently, he climbs nine
flights of stairs every day to get to his
office, and that explains the fact that he is
not in need of any support mechanism to keep
his trim figure.
But more importantly, if I may say
on a serious note, I think he has a stature
and a charismatic capacity which exceeds any
that I've ever experienced in this house.
And, Joe, I just want to say your
leadership has been a true inspiration to me.
You're an extraordinarily natural leader with
a great capacity for grasping complex issues
and presenting them with great lucidity, and I
129
salute you most warmly, my colleague.
May I also comment on some of the
minority leaders briefly. There have been
such names as Zaretzki, Ohrenstein, Connor
all men of great, substantial intellectual and
good capacities in many ways, all very worthy
of salute at this moment.
And then of course on the Assembly
side we had Walter Mahoney, Joe Carlino, Perry
Duryea, Stanley Steingut, Stanley Fink, Saul
Weprin, and Sheldon Silver.
One vivid memory with Saul Weprin
was the time when the rent control law was
about to expire. We did a hundred-yard dash
from here to the Assembly chamber in order to
put in a last-minute appeal to Saul Weprin,
who relented on a particular point, and we
were able to keep the emergency tenant control
bill in effect for another six years.
That was assumed by the public to
be as a result of my persuasiveness. Little
did they know that Saul Weprin was a distant
cousin of mine who had certain family ties and
commitments which made it possible to be more
than adequately persuasive at that moment.
130
(Laughter.)
SENATOR GOODMAN: Let it be said
that there are also certain things that claim
one's memory, such things as the wonderful
people behind the desk up there. And I refer
specifically to Joe Cornell, Bill Greere, and
Tom Testo and his team, all of whom are
wonderful.
And there are the lieutenant
governors. And at the moment we have a
lieutenant governor who has greater grace and
I think charm and capacity than any I've
known, including Malcolm Wilson, who was an
absolute winner in every way.
Malcolm used to control legislation
with a push of a button or two from that
platform. He could make a bill disappear
quicker than anyone you've ever known except
Phil Bischetti [ph], the clerk in the
Assembly.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR GOODMAN: And then, of
course, there are the wonderful counsels that
keep us in good shape. I think of Jack
Haggerty, John Phalen, Ken Riddett, all very
131
skilled in their craft and wonderfully
cooperative and helpful. They are friends.
And then of course I'd like to say
each of us is privileged to have a personal
staff of great merit. Forgive me if I just
name a few of those who have been so
wonderfully generous in their support of me:
Bob Herz, Dave Lewis, Shelly Daly, John
Turoski, Pat Donnelly, Sandy Calhoun, Peter
Komarnicki, Joelle Zullo, Kristina Miller,
Susan Cooper, Mimi Greenspan, Edna Taska, Amy
Barone, Richard Spolzino, Justin Handman, and
Bobbie Recco, all wonderfully devoted and
loyal friends.
Finally, my dear friends, as we get
to the end of my little trip with you down
memory lane, I'd just like to say a word about
the spirit and content of some of the things
we've tried to do here.
This is in every sense a
pressure-cooker. That was more than evident
one day when a 7-foot giant managed to break
through the sergeants-at-arms and banged on
the Senate door during a bit of budget debate.
Earl Brydges went to the door, opened it, and
132
said, "What can I do for you?" and he looked
up at this chap. And the chap said, "We
insist upon expressing our voices here."
And Earl said: "Of course, there
are ways for you to do this rather than to
disrupt the Senate chamber," and he repelled
this particular attempt to undermine the
orderliness of the house.
Shortly thereafter, we installed
bulletproof glass around the visitors'
galleries, as you may remember. Not a joke,
because there were many threats of bombings
and other violent matters. And someone
commented when these were up that we looked
like psychiatrists' mice in a glass-enclosed
case which would permit people to observe us
more accurately.
But I think that's not quite a
reflection of what we are. We are a house of
goodwill, basically, of people who are deeply
committed to the public, the public weal, to
the useful service of elected officials. And
I think there isn't a person within the sound
of my voice who does not take seriously this
commitment.
133
I salute you most warmly, my
colleagues, because I know each and every one
of you I think reasonably well after we've
been together under many pressured occasions.
I thank you for the decorum and courtesy
you've always extended to me. And I can only
say that working across the aisle has been one
of the pleasures of this work that I've done
as a senator.
That indubitably it seems to me
that those who sling mud lose ground, and
those who are willing to speak carefully and
well and listen most especially to the
comments of various and sundry members of this
chamber who represent different constituencies
and different points of view are the ones who
probably over time have the greatest success
and who inspire the greatest public
confidence.
On this note, I'd like to wrap up
by recalling that when General Douglas
MacArthur was in the chamber before the House
of Representatives and the Senate in joint
session in Washington, I think his comment
was: "Old soldiers fade away. They never
134
die, they just fade away."
And I'd like to say old senators
never die, they just landslide away.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR GOODMAN: Thank you very
much.
(Standing ovation.)
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President,
can we at this time return to reports of
standing committees.
I ask that the Tourism report be
read.
THE PRESIDENT: Reports of
standing committees.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Senator
DeFrancisco, from the Committee on Tourism,
Recreation and Sports Development, reports:
Senate Print 75, by Senator Skelos,
an act to amend the Navigation Law;
439, by Senator DeFrancisco, an act
to amend Chapter 912 of the Laws of 1920;
And Senate Print 4919, by Senator
DeFrancisco, an act to amend the Economic
135
Development Law.
All bills ordered direct to third
reading.
THE PRESIDENT: Without
objection, all bills directed to third
reading.
Senator Fuschillo.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you,
Madam President.
On behalf of Senator Seward, on
page number 5 I offer the following amendments
to Calendar Number 18, Senate Print Number
5584, and ask that said bill retain its place
on Third Reading Calendar.
THE PRESIDENT: Amendments
received, Senator Fuschillo.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
if the Senate could now stand at ease until
2:15.
THE PRESIDENT: The Senate stands
at ease until 2:15.
Senator Paterson.
SENATOR PATERSON: Madam
136
President, there will be an immediate meeting
of the minority in the Minority Conference
Room.
And since it's the beginning of the
year, I might point out, for those that
forgot, that it's in Room 314 in the Capitol.
THE PRESIDENT: There will be an
immediate meeting of the minority in the
Minority Conference Room, Room 314 of the
Capitol.
The Senate stands at ease until
2:00 p.m.
(Whereupon, the Senate stood at
ease at 12:15 p.m.)
(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
at 3:27 p.m.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Velella.
SENATOR VELELLA: Would you
recognize Senator Hassell-Thompson, to
continue on the speeches concerning Senator
Goodman.
And I'd urge all the members who
want to speak to quickly return to the
chamber, as we are about to begin.
137
Senator Thompson.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Hassell-Thompson.
SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
you, Mr. President.
When I came up to the chambers, I
certainly did not have the benefit of some of
the advice and whatever that many of the
senators had coming here. But I did have a
couple of people, including Senator Paterson,
who tried to put me on the straight and
narrow, and a couple of people who reminded me
that state government was going to be very
different than local government, that it was
much more partisan up here than I thought it
was going to be.
But one of the real tips that they
gave me about Senator Goodman was -- I made a
couple of mistakes on some bills that I
sponsored, in my enthusiasm to be a part of
the team. And in talking to some of the staff
to the Minority Leader, they said to me: "If
you ever want to know whether a bill is a good
bill or not for you to support, be sure you
check to see if Senator Goodman's name is on
138
it." And I've never forgotten that.
And I am just -- it is unfortunate
for me and some of the others of us who are
just coming to the chambers that you would be
leaving at this very critical time in our
learning curve. But I want to thank you for
the leadership that you have provided and the
dignity that you bring and have brought to the
chamber.
And I hope that if I can be
infinitesimally as good as you in any way, I
will be very gratified for the people that I
serve.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
McGee.
SENATOR McGEE: Thank you.
I hesitated in speaking, Senator
Goodman, because I haven't had the opportunity
to know you that well.
But I do need to say, and I want to
say this very sincerely, that I remember
coming into the chambers when I was serving in
the New York State Assembly, and I was
listening to Senator Goodman and his ability
139
to debate on the floor. And I thought what a
wonderful, wonderful, wonderful control of the
English language and the ability to use the
English language, and the intellect that you
showed and the statesmanship that you showed.
And I thought -- on the many
occasions, I thought, Gee, he uses so many big
words, I really don't understand what he's
saying on many occasions.
And now I've been to the Senate,
I'm in the Senate, and I listen to you speak,
and I think, Gosh, what a wonderful person.
And I still don't understand some of the
things you're saying. But they're just
wonderful.
And what I do remember and what I
will always remember is your ability to bring
order to any issue, your ability to bring
statesmanship to any issue, and your ability
to be the fine, wonderful person that you are.
And this chamber certainly will miss you in
times to come.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Saland.
140
SENATOR SALAND: Roy, you've had
a certainly lengthy list of your colleagues
who have had the opportunity to stand up and
extol your virtues. I sincerely believe that
it is not only deserved but represents a
sincere reflection of the esteem in which you
are held with virtual unanimity in this
chamber.
Certainly, of all the people I have
served with -- and I've served in this chamber
for some 12 years and some 10 years in the
Assembly chamber -- I know of no member in the
either house who is possessed either of
when I say "possessed," not that you're
possessed -- but certainly evidenced your keen
wit, your intellect, the extraordinary zeal
that you felt for those issues that were of
critical importance to you at times -- not
necessarily as important to many of the
members of our conference as they were to you,
or at times perhaps contrary to some of the
positions that those in our conference were
taking. And yet you never hesitated for a
moment to advance those issues.
On several of those issues
141
ultimately, notwithstanding the arduous path
that you had to travel to get there, you
prevailed. You prevailed not only on behalf
of the people who you represented, but on
behalf of the people of the state of New York.
When it comes to mastery of the
language, there is nobody who I've seen, in
legislative life or private life, who does it
better. It's a pleasure to watch you, has
been a pleasure to watch you on the floor.
I have enjoyed much the debates and
dialogues that have occurred between and among
us at different times, and the fellowship that
you've offered on more than one occasion, as
we've had the opportunity to spend some time
together here in Albany, are all things which
I will long remember, always value and always
cherish.
I certainly know that all that
you've brought to your position here in the
Senate will similarly be brought with you when
you go to work back in the city on behalf of
the U.N. and the city and state of New York.
And I'm sure that you will do at least as
capable of a job as you have performed in that
142
new venue for you. And we all wish you
nothing but the best.
And, most of all, good health and
continued fine work on behalf of your entire
constituency. And God bless you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Velella.
SENATOR VELELLA: Mr. President,
if we can recess for about two minutes, there
is an appropriately decorated cake out in the
vestibule here.
And we would invite all of the
members to come out to the vestibule and join
with us while Senator Goodman cuts the cake.
And when you see the cake, you'll know why
it's appropriately decorated.
And then we will resume, come back
in. There are bills that will be acted on.
So please, the members within the sound of my
voice, please get to the chamber, because we
will be voting on two bills when we return.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Senate will stand at ease so we can all loosen
up in the lounge.
(Whereupon, the Senate stood at
143
ease at 3:34 p.m.)
(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
at 3:46 p.m.)
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: The
Senate will come to order.
Senator Velella.
SENATOR VELELLA: Mr. President,
can we move now to a reading of the
noncontroversial calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: The
Secretary will read the noncontroversial
calendar.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 6058, an
act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation to
extending.
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: Last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 9. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57.
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: The bill
144
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 6027, an
act to amend Chapter 569 of the Laws of 1981.
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: Last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57.
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
31, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 6040, an
act to amend the Tax Law, in relation
SENATOR VELELLA: Lay that bill
aside for the day, please.
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: The bill
is laid aside.
Senator Farley, one moment.
We will return to the order of
motions and resolutions.
Senator Farley.
145
SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Mr.
President.
On behalf of Senator Maltese,
Mr. President, I move that the following bill
be discharged from its respective committee
and be recommitted with instructions to strike
the enacting clause: Senate Number 450.
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: So
ordered, and the enacting clause is struck.
Senator Farley.
SENATOR FARLEY: On behalf of
Senator Libous, Mr. President, I move that the
following bills be discharged from their
respective committees and be recommitted with
instructions to strike the enacting clause:
2532 and 2900.
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: Both
bills and acting clauses are struck.
Senator Farley.
SENATOR FARLEY: On behalf of
Senator Balboni, Mr. President, on page 4 I
offer the following amendments to Calendar
Number 6, Senate Print 852, and I ask that
that bill retain its place on the Third
Reading Calendar.
146
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: The
amendments are received, and the bill will
retain its place on the Third Reading
Calendar.
Senator Velella.
SENATOR VELELLA: Can we stand at
ease for a few moments.
We're trying to get a time schedule
for tonight so we can advise the members what
time we'll be coming back to pass the bills
that will be coming from the printer. We're
just trying to get some time schedule now. So
can we stand at ease for a few moments.
ACTING PRESIDENT LACK: The
Senate will stand at ease, awaiting
instructions from the Acting Majority Leader.
(Whereupon, the Senate stood at
ease at 3:50 p.m.)
(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
at 4:04 p.m.)
ACTING PRESIDENT McGEE: Senator
Velella.
SENATOR VELELLA: Madam
President, can we have the Senate stand in
recess.
147
And there will be a Republican
conference at 7:30 in the Senate Conference
Room, the Republican Senate Conference Room.
ACTING PRESIDENT McGEE: The
Senate will stand in recess.
There will be a Majority conference
in the Republican Conference Room at 7:30.
Senator Paterson.
SENATOR PATERSON: Madam
President, corresponding and accompanying that
Republican conference at 7:30 will be an
alternative conference in the Democratic
Conference Room, which is located in Room 314.
That's 314.
ACTING PRESIDENT McGEE: There
will be an alternative conference located in
Room 314 at 7:30 this evening.
The Senate stands in recess until
7:30.
SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you,
Madam President.
(Whereupon, the Senate stood at
ease at 4:05 p.m.)
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
148
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: There will be an
immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
the Majority Conference Room.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
the Majority Conference Room.
(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
at 11:40 p.m.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
can we return to reports of standing
committees.
I believe there is a report of the
Rules Committee at the desk. I'd ask that it
be read at this time.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reports
of standing committees.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
from the Committee on Rules, reports the
following bill direct to third reading:
Senate Print 6084, by the Senate
Committee on Rules, an act to amend the Public
149
Health Law, the Social Services Law, and the
Tax Law, in relation to the Health Care Reform
Act of 2000.
SENATOR BRUNO: Move to accept
the report of the Rules Committee.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All
those in favor of accepting the report of
Rules Committee signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those
opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
report of the Rules Committee is accepted.
SENATOR BRUNO: Can we take up
Calendar 49 at this time, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
49, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
Print 6084, an act to amend the Public Health
Law, the Social Services Law, and the Tax Law,
in relation to the Health Care Reform Act of
2000.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Explanation.
150
SENATOR BRUNO: Is there a
message of necessity at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a message at the desk.
SENATOR BRUNO: I would 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: Those
opposed, nay.
(Response of "Nay.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
message is accepted.
The bill is before the house.
Senator Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
someone asked for an explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes,
Senator Dollinger did.
SENATOR BRUNO: Senator Dollinger
and my colleagues, we have a bill before us
that is a multi-billion-dollar, three-year
plan to address the critical shortages in the
151
health-care work force, strengthen hospitals,
nursing homes, other health-care providers and
facilities.
It will expand important public
health programs and ensure that New Yorkers
have access to the best health care in the
nation. It will provide assistance to some of
the lowest-paid health-care workers in this
state.
The plan allows hospitals, nursing
homes, and home care agencies to attract,
train, retain workers. As you all know,
there's a critical shortage in those areas.
These are the same people who provide health
care for our loved ones, our neighbors,
friends, anyone who needs special attention.
The workforce assistance -- and I'm
going to read as quickly as I can go down
through this -- the workforce assistance is
broken down as follows. Hospitals,
696 million over three years. Nursing homes,
475 million over three years. Personal care,
597 million over four years. And freestanding
health clinics, 39 million over three years.
The bill also provides 8 million in
152
additional Medicaid coverage for low-income
women diagnosed with breast or cervical
cancer, 30 million in new financial assistance
to nursing homes, 136 million for excess
medical malpractice insurance. And it enables
low-income persons with disabilities to join
or rejoin the work force while maintaining
their Medicaid coverage. It will ensure that
seniors continue to have affordable access to
prescription drugs through the EPIC program.
Revenue for the bill, how this all
gets paid for, will come from the following
sources. Proceeds from the conversion to
for-profit status of Empire Blue Cross,
$1 billion. An increase in the federal
Medicaid match to 53 percent, 1.8 billion. A
39-cent-per-pack increase in the state
cigarette tax, 789.3 million. And further
maximization of federal Medicaid revenue,
319 million.
That's what we have before us.
It's a rather comprehensive bill, has a lot of
language in it. Those are the main
highlights. I'm sure that there are questions
that relate. There are positives, there are
153
negatives. And we're going to accentuate the
positives because, as I've just indicated,
there are literally millions of people
throughout New York State who will benefit
from the quality of health care that will be
afforded, and the people who deliver the
health-care system will be benefitted in ways
that are totally appropriate.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
President, I'm going to vote against this
bill, and let me tell you why.
It's that time of year that we all
go to the movies. And one of the most popular
movies in town involves a little boy named
Harry Potter. Well, it looks like Harry
Potter is now the governor of the state of
New York, because he's conjuring up revenues
that are going to be a shortfall in the
long-term future. He's looked into his
crystal ball and decided that he's going to
spend money that he may not have in the
future.
154
If you look at the financing of
this package, and if you discount the
one-shots -- those gimmicks that a week ago,
15 minutes from now a week ago he promised us
there would be no gimmicks -- well, he's going
to use a billion-dollar, one-shot gimmick as
the keystone of this entire approach when he
turns Empire Blue Cross from a not-for-profit
corporation into a for-profit corporation. A
one-time, one-shot gimmick.
I can remember sitting in this
chamber when he sat right over there, George
Pataki did, and said, "That Mario Cuomo, he
doesn't deserve the support of the people in
this state because he's one-shot cowboy." I
think that's exactly what he said.
Lo and behold, eight years later,
the transformation is now complete. The
one-shot cowboy is still on the second floor.
In addition to the $1 billion
one-shot, there's the $1.8 billion that he
expects from the federal government. You
remember that federal government, the one that
built up the trillion-dollar surplus under
President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and has
155
watched it all disappear in a year under a
president named George Bush.
We're going to look to that
government, which has seen the surplus
completely disintegrate, to come up with a
billion-eight for the state of New York in the
next three years. We have no promise of that
money. We have no guarantee of that money.
But we're going to start to spend it this
year. Lord knows when it will come.
I hope that in the Congressional
elections this year, we're depending on who
controls the Congress a year from now, they'll
find a billion-eight for New York, because
that's all what they call in Rochester,
New York, "if-come money." If it comes, we'll
have it. But there's no guarantee it will be
there.
When you take that and add to it
the $121 million from the upper payment limit,
which will involve a maximization of payments
generated from the increase in the payments
we're going to make to hospitals, you in
essence have a billion-one in one-shots and
you've got a billion-eight in if-comes, and
156
we're spending 4.5 billion. Two-thirds of
this money is either a one-shot or a
nonrecurring revenue.
Those are gimmicks, ladies and
gentlemen, don't make any mistake about it.
Those are the gimmicks we were promised a week
ago, subtracting 12 minutes ago, that we
weren't going to do this year. We haven't
even gotten to the budget yet, and we're
already doing it.
I would suggest any reasonable
fiscal conservative -- anyone -- would say
this is not the way to do this all-important
thing that we're trying to do. If we really
believe this is the right thing to do, let's
have the courage to create recurring revenues
that will pay for it so we don't end up in the
position of my favorite cartoon character.
You know, that guy J. Wellington Wimpy who
always promised that he'd gladly pay you
Tuesday for a hamburger today.
Well, today the people of the state
of New York, we're offering them hamburger,
but we're not going to pay for it until
Tuesday, and that Tuesday may never come.
157
I would suggest, ladies and
gentlemen and my colleagues, there are many,
many good things in this bill. And I regret
having to vote against it, because I think
I've sat here for the last nine years and
argued that we should pay our health-care
workers more for the important work that they
do. But if we're going to pay them more,
let's promise we're going to pay them with
real dollars. Let's promise we're going to
pay them with recurring revenues that we can
put in place today and know that three years
from now the bill will not come due and we
won't have the money to pay for it and we'll
be in a bigger deficit and we'll eat away our
tobacco funds and we'll eat away the funds
that stored in other places.
Because as everybody should know,
this bill contains new transfer power for the
governor to shift money around in all the
pots, to borrow from Peter to pay the bill for
Paul. And someday we may find that not only
is there no money left in Peter, but the money
we anticipated coming in the first place never
arrived.
158
I would suggest, ladies and
gentlemen, this is a good bill which has lots
of good things in it, Senator Bruno. I agree
that it does. Lots of things that we're
overdue and doing that we should have done a
long time ago when we had a surplus, when we
decided that it wasn't high enough up the
priority list to do.
This year, because of what clearly
is an election year, it suddenly jumps to the
top of the priority list. And instead of
being honest with New Yorkers and paying for
this with recurring revenues that we know will
be there in the future, we're instead using
the very fiscal gimmicks that George Pataki
sat in here eight years ago and criticized.
We're using the exact same approach.
Mr. President, I regret the fact
that I will not vote in favor of this bill
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Bruno.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: -- but I
would suggest to everyone in the house that
without a revenue basis we
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Just a
159
second, Senator Dollinger. Senator Bruno
SENATOR BRUNO: I'm sorry, I
thought you were finished.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I will be
done.
SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Without a
recurring revenue base, Mr. President, this is
really a look into the world of Harry Potter
and is conjuring up revenues that we may never
see.
I'll vote no.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, Mr.
President.
While Senator Dollinger has been
going to the movies and reading the comic
strips, Governor Pataki, Speaker Silver, and I
and a lot of other people in this chamber and
that chamber have been diligently addressing
the health-care needs of the people of this
state, and that's what you're seeing before
160
us.
And it's awfully nice to say that I
have been trying to increase the wages, the
benefits to health-care workers. Nice to say.
Nowhere in this bill, Senator, does it say
that if any of the revenue streams aren't
there that any single benefit will be denied
anyone that receives a benefit. Now, you show
me where it will deny one single benefit to
any individual that receives the health-care
benefits in this bill.
So we can grandstand, we can
pretend that we want to be helpful, we can
make news. Or we can take decisive action to
do something about a serious problem in this
state, and that is to provide and improve the
health-care delivery system in this state.
That's what this is all about.
So we should be here applauding the
Governor for his leadership, applauding your
colleague, the Speaker, for his leadership,
and applauding everyone in this chamber that
is going to rise to the occasion, not make
excuses, face the tough decisions that they
have to face and act positively in improving
161
the quality of health care for the people of
this state and, yes, improving the very people
that risk their own lives to help provide that
health-care system.
Thank you, Mr. President, for being
so attentive in listening to me.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
other member wish to be heard on the bill?
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.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Breslin, to explain his vote.
SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you, Mr.
President.
I applaud the leaders for trying to
come together to make changes in our
health-care system. But to have a 120-page
bill be placed on our desks less than half an
hour before we're to vote on it, and to look
down at $1 billion coming from a
not-for-profit, which hopefully might have
162
been used for the uninsured, and an additional
1.8 billion which we believe will be given to
us by the federal government -- that same
federal government that hasn't come through
with the monies we had expected from the World
Trade Center -- and there are many good things
in this bill.
But it should be done the proper
way, through a budget process, and not through
a political process. A process that will make
sure that we pay our health-care workers, our
nursing home workers, but it will also make
sure that we take care of our home health
workers. It will also make sure we reduce the
3 million uninsured.
And for those reasons and some
others, I will be voting no on this bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Breslin will be recorded in the negative.
Senator Dollinger, to explain his
vote.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you,
Mr. President.
I just want to respond to one thing
quickly in this time allotted to explain my
163
vote.
Senator Bruno, I couldn't agree
with you more about your commitment to this.
I don't dispute that for a second. And I hope
my remarks weren't interpreted in that way.
What I'm suggesting, Senator Bruno,
is that when you say all these things and you
say you're acting decisively, but you don't
have the revenue in the long run to pay for
it, the danger is that it becomes evasive of
the responsibility for the consequences of
those actions.
Instead of being decisive, which is
to say we're embarking on a $4.7 billion
program that we know we can pay for because
we've got the revenue to pay for it and we're
setting aside the revenue to pay for it.
That's being decisive.
When you say we're going to spend
$4.7 billion and right now we don't have the
revenue, and it may be in question, and it's
composed of one-shot, it becomes evasive
rather than decisive.
Senator Breslin is absolutely
correct. I was once told that we wouldn't do
164
business and enact $4.7 billion programs in
the dead of the night. I thought that meant
June. It now means January, and I'm dismayed.
I vote no.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger will be recorded in the negative.
Senator Seward, to explain his
vote.
SENATOR SEWARD: Yes. Thank you,
Mr. President.
I have for the last couple of years
sponsored the Empire conversion legislation in
this house. And I did so for the purposes of
helping to, through a conversion, to
strengthen this company, which has 4.8 million
policyholders, through a conversion to a stock
company that will help to financially
strengthen this company for the benefit of
those 4.8 million policyholders and help get
the company in a position to service these
policyholders in this new world of health care
that we find ourselves in today.
I am absolutely delighted that we
have come to this point this evening, because
of the fact that we through this conversion
165
will be pumping $1 billion into the
health-care delivery system of our state to
deal with the workforce issues that are so
critical in our health-care delivery system,
also to deal with some access issues, making
health care available to more people in our
statute.
There's a whole multitude of
positives in this legislation through the use
of not only the conversion funds but the other
sources of revenue.
I'm also pleased we're doing it
prior to getting into the budget season. I
don't think we need to apologize for that,
because by doing it at this point in the
session we are making sure that these funds
are dedicated to health care and not diverted
to any other purposes.
So, Mr. President, I rise in
support of the bill. I commend the Governor,
I commend the leader of this house, the leader
in the other house, the staffs, all those who
have worked so hard to bring this bill to the
floor tonight.
Mr. President, I vote aye.
166
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Seward will be recorded in the affirmative.
Senator Duane, to explain his vote.
SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Mr.
President.
I don't usually stand up to speak
when there's any bit of criticism when I'm
going to vote for something. But I am going
to say something now in light of some of the
previous comments.
I think that this is a very worthy
bill. I think what we're doing is very
important. However, I also agree with some of
the criticisms voiced by my colleagues on this
side of the aisle.
I consider myself to be a pretty
hard worker, but I guess I must have missed
that meeting earlier today when this was all
discussed. Or maybe I didn't get that
invitation.
I consider Senator Dollinger to be
a hard worker also, and I don't in any way
think it's appropriate to impugn his motives
in commenting on this legislation or the way
he voted on the legislation.
167
I think it's very important that we
pay people a decent wage for the hard work
they do and make sure that they get benefits.
In fact, I've staked my career on trying to
make that happen. And I also have staked my
career on making sure that people that don't
have health insurance -- that is, the
uninsured in our state -- get health care.
And though I only gave this
legislation some cursory reading, I don't
really see anywhere in here where uninsured
New Yorkers are going to get any more than
5 percent of what we're talking about in the
revenue that we're deploying in today's -- in
the legislation before us. Not today,
actually; tonight or, any second, tomorrow.
Also, you know, I don't understand
why it is that we have to set aside
$950 million over three years to be divvied up
by a five-person board. We have a Legislature
that has an awful lot of people -- 61 people
here, 150 in the other chamber. I think that
all of our voices are worthy to be heard. I
think it's very bad government to create these
boards that oversee allocations of tremendous
168
amounts of money.
I also think that the 5 percent of
the $50 million balance of the Blue Cross
conversion funds, which are going to be used
for the development health-care programs for
the uninsured, it's really a drop in the
bucket. And again, it's being overseen by a
five-member board. I don't see how that
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Duane, you've consumed the two minutes
allotted to explain your vote.
How do you vote, Senator?
SENATOR DUANE: I'm going to vote
yes on it unless -- I'm going to vote yes on
it.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Duane will be recorded in the affirmative.
Any other senator wish to explain
his vote?
Senator Hannon.
SENATOR HANNON: Yes, thank you,
Mr. President.
This is the third HCRA that I've
had the chance to work with Joe Bruno on, ever
since we deregulated the health-care system.
169
We've also been able to do such major things
as bring new, innovative insurance programs to
this state.
Each time we've done those HCRAs,
there have been revenue sources that have been
unique or new. The covered lives of the very
first HCRA was a unique way of our capturing
money from out-of-state insurance companies
running health care. Everybody said, "Well,
that's going to be very questionable." It was
upheld.
What we've been able to do is
improve the health-care system without raising
the taxes in this state. And I think the
sources we have here have at least as much
reliability and assurance of going forward in
the future as the ones we've done in the past.
And in fact, people talk about the
Empire conversion as one-shots. It's not.
It's going to become a for-profit corporation.
It's going to be paying corporation taxes in
ways not done before. It's going to be
increasing its endeavors in the state,
increasing the base of taxation.
So I think there is -- we have to
170
look at the aims, overdue needs. From Buffalo
to Southampton, we were told last year "We
don't have enough money for workforce
retention, recruitment. We have to do better
for hospitals, nursing homes, home health care
workers." We have met those challenges.
And I don't think it's worthy of
using soundbites and press releases to
denigrate, because there are major things we
have done for all the citizens of this state.
And I think this is a worthy bill that ought
to be supported.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Hannon will be recorded in the affirmative.
Senator Brown.
SENATOR BROWN: To explain my
vote, Mr. President.
I'm really agonizing over this
because there are a lot of good things in this
bill. And we truly do need to reform the
health-care system in this state. But this
process is simply not a good process.
We got an opportunity to conference
on this bill at 10:15 p.m. I didn't actually
see the bill until 11:40 p.m. As a member of
171
this body, I feel I should have the
opportunity to thoroughly read important
pieces of legislation like this that I'm going
to vote on.
This is a $4.7 billion piece of
legislation, and we are really only getting
the opportunity to see this
hundred-and-some-odd-page document thirty
minutes ago. This is a poor process. This is
the Empire State, but this is not a process
befitting the Empire State.
I grudgingly am going to have to
vote in the negative. Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Brown will be recorded in the negative.
The Secretary will announce the
results.
THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
the negative on Calendar Number 49 are
Senators Breslin, Brown, Dollinger, and
Stachowski. Ayes, 53. Nays, 4.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, is
172
there any housekeeping at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: No,
there is not.
SENATOR BRUNO: Then there being
no further business to come before the Senate,
I would move that we stand adjourned until
Tuesday, January 22nd, at 3:00 p.m.,
intervening days to be legislative days.
Thank you all.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: On
motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
Tuesday, January 22nd, at 3:00 p.m.
Intervening days will be legislative days.
(Whereupon, at 12:10 a.m., the
Senate adjourned.)