Regular Session - March 26, 2002
1631
NEW YORK STATE SENATE
THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
ALBANY, NEW YORK
March 26, 2002
11:14 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION
SENATOR RAYMOND A. MEIER, Acting President
STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
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P R O C E E D I N G S
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Senate will come to order.
I ask members please to take their
places; members of the staff, take your
places.
I ask everyone please to join with
me in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the
Flag.
(Whereupon, the assemblage recited
the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
invocation will be given this morning by the
Reverend Terry Troia, of the New Utrecht
Reformed Church, in Bensonhurst.
REVEREND TROIA: I invite you to
a moment of silence, to bring yourselves to
the place within from which you draw your
strength.
(Whereupon, the assemblage
respected a moment of silence.)
REVEREND TROIA: Let us bring
before us this day the people of this state
who are served by this chamber -- the most
frail and marginalized, the hungry and
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homeless of our district. May our ears hear
the voice of the voiceless; may our eyes see
the colors and cultures that make us diverse
as a people and tolerant as a society.
May the poor whom God has placed in
our midst remind us that we are as strong as
the weakest among us and as rich as the
poorest beside us.
May we bring before us this day
especially those who at this moment dig with
hand and shovel for the remains of loved ones,
who sift through rubble at our landfill for a
personal sign, a shoe, a finger.
May we bring before us the families
among us who still await a word, a sign, a
symbol of closure, whose Passover tables will
hold empty chairs and whose Easter celebration
will not move beyond this Friday.
May all these lives to whom we are
accountable remain always before us, and may
the wisdom of the weakest among us shape the
debate and decisions made by this body.
Amen.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reading
of the Journal.
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THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
Monday, March 25, the Senate met pursuant to
adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, March 24,
was read and approved. On motion, Senate
adjourned.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, the Journal stands approved as
read.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
there will be an immediate meeting of the
Finance Committee in the Majority Conference
Room.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Immediate meeting of the Finance 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 Balboni,
from the Committee on Water Resources,
reports:
Senate Print 5249, by Senator
1635
Balboni, an act to enact the Environmental
Conservation Law -
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Just a
second.
Can we have some order in the
chamber, please, so the stenographer can hear
the Secretary.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Senate Print
6505, by Senator Balboni, an act to amend the
Public Health Law and the Education Law;
And Senate Print 6594, by Senator
Balboni, an act to amend the Public Health
Law.
Senator Padavan, from the Committee
on Cities, reports:
Senate Print 6341, by Senator
McGee, an act to amend the General City Law
and others;
Senate Print 6380, by Senator
Maltese, an act to amend the General Business
Law;
And Senate Print 6411, by Senator
Padavan, an act to amend Chapter 890 of the
Laws of 1982.
1636
All bills ordered direct to third
reading.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, all bills directly to third
reading.
Reports of select committees.
Communications and reports from
state officers.
Motions and resolutions.
Senator Libous.
SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
on behalf of Senator Volker, on page 7 I offer
the following amendments to Calendar Number
82, Senate Print 5653, 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 Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
are there any substitutions at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes,
there are.
1637
SENATOR SKELOS: If we could make
them at this time.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read the substitutions.
THE SECRETARY: On page 18,
Senator Morahan moves to discharge, from the
Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs,
Assembly Bill Number 1632 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 499,
Third Reading Calendar 334.
On page 28, Senator Balboni moves
to discharge, from the Committee on Education,
Assembly Bill Number 4089B and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 4854B,
Third Reading Calendar 437.
On page 29, Senator Marchi moves to
discharge, from the Committee on
Investigations, Taxation and Government
Operations, Assembly Bill Number 1394 and
substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
Number 3451, Third Reading Calendar 447.
And on page 30, Senator Volker
moves to discharge, from the Committee on
Investigations, Taxation and Government
Operations, Assembly Bill Number 7621 and
1638
substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
Number 6059, Third Reading Calendar 452.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitutions ordered.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
at this time if we could adopt the Resolution
Calendar, with the exception of Resolution
4616.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All
those in favor of adopting the Resolution
Calendar, with the exception of Resolution
4616, signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those
opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Resolution Calendar, with exception, is
adopted.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could take up Resolution 4616, by
Senator Breslin, have it read in its entirety,
and move for its immediate adoption.
1639
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: By Senator
Breslin, Legislative Resolution Number 4616,
congratulating the Saint Lucy/Saint
Bernadette, of Altamont, 8th grade Catholic
Youth Organization Basketball Team upon the
occasion of capturing the 2001-2002 Troy
League CYO Championship.
"WHEREAS, Excellence and success in
competitive sports can be achieved only
through strenuous practice, team play and team
spirit, nurtured by dedicated coaching and
strategic planning; and
"WHEREAS, Athletic competition
enhances the moral and physical development of
the young people of this state, preparing them
for the future by instilling in them the value
of teamwork, encouraging a standard of healthy
living, imparting a desire for success, and
developing a sense of fair play and
competition; and
"WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is
justly proud to congratulate the Saint
Lucy/Saint Bernadette 8th grade CYO Basketball
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Team, the "Saints," upon the occasion of
capturing their first League title and the
first CYO championship in the history of Saint
Lucy/Saint Bernadette's participation in
League play; and
"WHEREAS, Most of the players on
this year's championship squad have practiced
and persevered together as a team for six
years and, with the new season giving them a
fresh perspective, compiled a 13 and 2 record
with a stifling defense, yielding an average
of just 37 points per game and a potent
offense producing an average of 50 points per
game; and
"WHEREAS, The Saints completed a
victorious season by sweeping their opponents
in the playoffs to secure the Troy League
title; and
"WHEREAS, The team's overall record
is outstanding, and the team members were
loyally and enthusiastically supported by
family, fans, friends, fellow teammates and
the community at large; and
"WHEREAS, The hallmarks of the
Saint Lucy/Saint Bernadette's 8th grade CYO
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basketball team, from the opening game of the
season to participation in the championship,
were a brotherhood of athletic ability, of
good sportsmanship, of honor, and of
dedication, demonstrating that these team
players are second to none; and
"WHEREAS, Team members have proven
themselves to be an unbeatable combination of
talents reflecting favorably on their
community; and
"WHEREAS, The 13 individual
athletes on this outstanding team have clearly
made a contribution to the spirit of
excellence which is a tradition of their
community; now, therefore, be it
"RESOLVED, That this Legislative
Body pause in its deliberations to
congratulate the Saint Lucy/Saint Bernadette's
8th grade CYO basketball team and its
members -- Kyle Wassermann, Mike Camardo,
Jeremy Mann, Colin Brunk, Trevor O'Rourke,
Ian Campbell, Tony Casper, Mike Dean, Eric
Dornbush, Chris Gockley, Zack Haggerty,
Stephen Marciano, and Tony Martini-Robinson -
on their outstanding season, overall team
1642
record, and League Championship; and be it
further
"RESOLVED, That copies of this
resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
to the members of the Saints, the coaches, and
Saint Lucy/Saint Bernadette's Parish of
Altamont, New York."
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Breslin.
SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you, Mr.
President.
I rise to congratulate Saint
Lucy/Saint Bernadette's for such a wonderful
season. Saint Lucy/Saint Bernadette is a
small, suburban parish, and they moved from
Albany County, that parish, to that tough Troy
league -- in Senator Bruno's district -- and
competed against 40 teams. And they came out
number one, beating three other teams that
were number-one seeded.
And you know, they were led in
coaching by two fellows who resemble Rick
Pitino -- Bob Haggerty and Ed Wassermann, who
sits to my right.
But these young men, all 13 of
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them, took the challenge this year. They've
been playing together for six years. And they
went team by team by team, with a very strong
defense but an ability to get along with each
other.
And I commend each member of your
team, and your parents particularly, and your
two coaches. Congratulations.
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.
We would like the members of the
team, who are with us in the gallery over here
today, to please rise.
We want to welcome to you to the
Senate and extend to you the privileges of the
house and congratulate you on your
accomplishments.
(Applause.)
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ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Breslin, can they sit down now?
(Laughter.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
can we go to the noncontroversial calendar and
start with Calendar Number 130.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will go to the noncontroversial
reading of the calendar, commencing with
Calendar 130.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
130, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 3094, an
act to amend the Penal Law and the Highway
Law, in relation to violence committed on
school grounds.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
act shall take effect on the first day of
September.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
1645
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Bruno, to explain his vote.
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President and
my colleagues, this is a bill that we have
referred to as Suzanne's Law.
And on April 6th, Suzanne's
birthday, the Governor will proclaim Missing
Persons Day, for about the second or third
year in a row.
Suzanne Lyall, as you may recall,
four years ago disappeared from the Albany
campus at SUNY. She's never been heard from
since.
Now, this Suzanne's Law really is a
result of her disappearance and other young
people like her who disappear from the face of
the earth, never to be located or heard from.
So what that law does -- and this
is a result of Doug and Mary Lyall, Suzanne's
parents, who have roamed these halls in both
houses, gotten 25,000 petitions, names on
petitions, who have done everything and
anything to help other families whose children
are hurt or missing.
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So what this law does is make it a
felony for anyone that injures a student,
threatens a student on a college campus, high
school, nursing homes, daycare, young people.
You think about parents who send
their children, loved ones, send their
children to a school. There should be a
comfort level that those children are not
going to be hurt, kidnapped while they're away
from their homes.
The Assembly -- this is our fourth
year. The Assembly, for whatever reasons, has
not seen fit to pass this bill. I believe it
has passed with very little controversy in
this house, unanimously, for good reasons.
There are 47 out of 100,000
students in college that get injured in a
felonious way. 4.7 percent of high school
students report being injured by a weapon.
Now, just think about that: almost five out
of 100.
So we have to get this done. We
have to increase the penalties. And we have
to be in a position to punish those that will
injure young people while they're away from
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their homes, in school.
So thank you for your support. And
thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could return to the noncontroversial
calendar, regular order.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will return to the noncontroversial
reading of the calendar in regular order.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
124, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 388A, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
failure to report a sexual assault on a child.
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
1648
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
265, by Member of the Assembly Sanders,
Assembly Print Number 9916, an act to amend
Chapter 45 of the Laws of 1996.
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, 55.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
294, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 3795C, an
act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation to
group health insurance.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
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THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
316, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 3325B, an
act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in
relation to providing a tax exemption.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the first day of
January.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Hevesi, why do you rise?
SENATOR HEVESI: Thank you, Mr.
President. Briefly to explain my vote.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Well,
let's start the roll call and then I'll
recognize you.
Call the roll.
1650
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Hevesi, to explain his vote.
SENATOR HEVESI: Thank you, Mr.
President.
This bill is almost identical to a
bill that we passed in this house yesterday
that was sponsored by Senator Leibell. I'm
sure that Senator Kuhl is doing a great
service to the volunteers, the heroic
volunteers of Steuben County, as Senator
Leibell was doing yesterday for the heroic
volunteers of Putnam County.
But it is indicative that we are
seeing another bill specific to a particular
county, the problem that I articulated
yesterday. And when I did a little research
on this, it turns out that there are 13
different bills introduced by members of this
house specific to their own counties.
But there is one bill, Mr.
President, that I supported, Senator Morahan's
bill, Senate 747, which would provide the
option to any locality in New York State if
they so chose to provide this property tax
1651
break for volunteers. And I support that
bill.
Until we see that bill, I'm going
to, unfortunately -- with no disrespect
intended to any volunteer anywhere in the
state -- I'm going to be voting no.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Hevesi will be recorded in the negative.
Senator Kuhl, to explain his vote.
SENATOR KUHL: Yes, Mr.
President. My name having been called, I rise
to explain my vote.
This bill was put forth at the
request of the local county legislature of the
County of Steuben. And I would like to just
put into the record an editorial that was done
which essentially explains the reasoning for
this bill. And it goes on as follows:
"Legislators took right step in
approving perks for Steuben volunteers.
"Those underappreciated, unheralded
rescue volunteers may finally be getting some
monetary rewards for their selfless dedication
to their communities in Steuben County.
1652
"The county legislature Monday
unanimously passed a series of perks for
qualified volunteers in an attempt to add to
the dwindling ranks of those who serve their
communities.
"The incentive package now requires
the approval of the State Legislature before
it becomes a local law. The compensation is
the first of its kind for volunteer
firefighters and ambulance personnel. If
approved in Albany, volunteers would get a
10 percent property tax reduction on their
primary residence.
"County legislators were driven to
act because the number of volunteer rescuers
had fallen off sharply over the years. It's a
national trend that threatens life and
property in rural areas, where volunteers are
most relied upon.
"To their credit, Steuben
legislators, many of whom have close
affiliations with volunteer fire departments,
recognized the problem and came up with a
possible solution.
"It's unlikely such an incentive
1653
package would replenish the ranks at the rate
that they're needed. As it stands, some local
fire companies are perilously close to
shutting down because manpower is so thin.
But it could be enough to stem the tide by
retaining those who serve now and offering a
sort of a carrot to those who are inclined to
join.
"Recruiting fire and rescue
personnel has been a problem for several
reasons. Most folks who live in rural areas
aren't available during the day because they
tend to work outside of town. Therefore,
getting four or five members together to
respond to a call during the day is difficult.
"Also, being a volunteer is
time-consuming. It not only involves
responding to calls at all hours of the day,
but freeing up enough time for training and
meetings.
"EMTs and firefighters have to go
through extensive training before answering a
call, and then periodic recertification or
retraining as mandated by state and federal
guidelines. We're talking scores of hours
1654
learning to help thy neighbor, often at the
expense of family and personal time.
"It takes a special kind of person
to do that, and it's about time they receive a
little reward."
My vote is in the affirmative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Kuhl will be recorded in the affirmative.
Senator Duane, to explain his vote.
SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Mr.
President, to explain my vote.
I agree wholeheartedly with the
editorial which the sponsor of this
legislation just read. My only regret is that
that's not a statewide periodical, because I
think that the same could be said statewide.
I remember last year we debated
this bill for quite a while and, as with
Senator Hevesi, it just made me more solid in
the opinion that this is something which every
county in the state should be able to take
advantage of.
I've objected before to this kind
of piecemeal plan for what we do with taxes
around the state. And if this is good for
1655
Steuben County, then it's good for
St. Lawrence County and it's good for every
county in the state of New York.
So I say why not leave it up to the
intelligence of our counties. This is the
kind of thing that we should leave as an
option for local control, and every county
should be provided with this opportunity.
I'm going to vote no on it in the
hope that we will get to see a bill which
would provide this option for every county in
the state of New York and reward people who go
into public service in this volunteer way as
they should be rewarded if a county in its
wisdom so decides.
I'll be voting no, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Duane will be recorded in the negative.
Senator Balboni, to explain his
vote.
SENATOR BALBONI: Yes, Mr.
President, I'd like to explain my vote on this
bill.
It does not affect my district, but
it affects people who I care very much about.
1656
We should get away from the mentality in this
chamber that one benefit to another diminishes
the others. It does not.
Let's try this program. Let's see
if this works in Steuben County. Let's
support those people to see if they can get
more people out there to protect property and
protect the lives of the people in that
county. It shouldn't diminish all of us. It
should be a pilot program that perhaps we can
learn from.
Congratulations, Steuben. I vote
in favor.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Balboni will be recorded in the affirmative.
Senator Dollinger, to explain his
vote.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Just briefly
to explain my vote.
As usual, Senator Balboni always
causes me to rise in my chair. I would
suggest that I agree with -
(Laughter.)
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I agree with
Senator Balboni. I think this is a good idea.
1657
I'm going to vote in favor of this bill.
I would just suggest, however,
Senator Balboni, that for some reason these
pilot projects occur in counties who have
Majority members and somehow don't seem to
exist in counties that have Minority senators
in them. I can't understand that.
I would hope that your fervor for
experimentation would suggest that when this
idea crops up with a Democrat as the sponsor,
your same fervor will cause you to vote yes
then as well as when you vote now.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger will be recorded in the affirmative.
The Secretary will announce the
results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55. Nays,
2. Senators Duane and Hevesi recorded in the
negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
don't rise because of Senator Dollinger, but I
do rise to call an immediate meeting of the
1658
Rules Committee.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: That's a
tremendous relief, Senator Skelos -
(Laughter.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: -- to
announce that there will be an immediate
meeting of the Rules Committee.
Senator Paterson, why do you rise?
SENATOR PATERSON: Actually, I
was just sitting down, Mr. President.
(Laughter.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will continue to read in regular
order.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
378, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 6372, an
act to amend the Highway Law, in relation to
the New York State Scenic Byways System.
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.)
1659
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
381, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 6168, an
act to amend Chapter 672 of the Laws of 1993
amending the Public Authorities Law.
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside,
please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
395, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 5309B, an
act to authorize -
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
396, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 5696A,
an act to amend Chapter 383 of the Laws of
1999.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
act shall take effect immediately.
1660
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
398, by Member of the Assembly Christensen,
Assembly Print Number 9546, an act to
authorize the County of Onondaga to lease
certain lands.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a home-rule message at the desk.
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, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
399, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 6405, an
act to amend the Village Law, in relation to
1661
permitting village justices.
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, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
417, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 386A, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
sexual assault against a child by a person in
a position of trust.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 5. 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, 59.
1662
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
456, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 6343, an
act to authorize the City of Ithaca to adopt a
local 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, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
The chair would like to advise
members that there is some work being done on
the security system in the building. There
will be a loud screech. It is not emanating
from any member as a part of debate, it is as
a result of the work being done on the
security system. So don't be alarmed or
startled.
Senator Hassell-Thompson.
1663
SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Yes,
Mr. President. The last bill, I don't seem to
have that.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson, that completes the noncontroversial
reading of the calendar.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Is there any
housekeeping at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes, we
have a motion, I think.
Senator Fuschillo.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you,
Mr. President.
On behalf of Senator Volker, on
page number 27 I offer the following
amendments to Calendar Number 425, Senate
Print Number 3794, and ask that said bill
retain its place on 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 Fuschillo.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
President, on behalf of Senator Marchi, I wish
1664
to call up Calendar Number 112, Assembly Print
Number 9264B.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
112, by Member of the Assembly E. Sullivan,
Assembly Print Number 9264B, an act to amend
the Public Authorities Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Fuschillo.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: I now move to
reconsider the vote by which the Assembly bill
was substituted for Senate Print Number 5160C,
on February 5th.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Fuschillo.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: I now move
that Assembly Bill Number 9264B be recommitted
to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities
and Commissions -
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: So
1665
ordered.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: -- and the
Senate bill be restored to the order of Third
Reading Calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
will be restored to the Third Reading
Calendar.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: I now offer
the following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
Senator Fuschillo.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
President, on behalf of Senator Volker, on
page number 28 I offer the following
amendments to Calendar Number 432, Senate
Print Number 5426, and ask that said bill
retain its place on 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 Johnson.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Can we now have
an immediate meeting of the Veterans Committee
1666
in the Majority Conference Room.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There
will be an immediate meeting of the Veterans
Committee in the Majority Conference Room.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Now if we can
proceed with the controversial reading of the
calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will now proceed to the
controversial reading of the calendar.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
381, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 6168, an
act to amend Chapter 672 of the Laws of 1993.
SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation,
please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Balboni, an explanation has been requested of
Calendar 381 by Senator Paterson.
SENATOR BALBONI: Thank you very
much, Mr. President.
This bill would amend Section 5 of
Chapter 672 of the Laws of 1993, to add to the
list of specific library districts the Great
Neck Public Library, so they could avail
themselves of the funding and financing
1667
mechanisms of the New York Dormitory
Authority.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Paterson.
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President,
eloquent as always, would Senator Balboni
yield for a question?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Balboni, do you yield for a question?
SENATOR BALBONI: Mr. President,
I yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President,
I am trying to decipher what the process is
for getting one of these libraries on the list
according to Section 672 of the Laws of 1993.
There are 13 such libraries that
have been enlisted, and this would be the
14th. And I'm just trying to figure out.
Because I have a couple of libraries in my
district that might be eligible, what I would
do to make them eligible or in what way would
those libraries or libraries and members who
haven't had that opportunity become such that
1668
they might be considered.
SENATOR BALBONI: Mr. President,
through you, Senator Paterson, would you be
referring to the Abyssinian Cultural Building
Corporation specifically?
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President,
that's not a library. But I was thinking of
the Countee Cullen Library, the Schomburg
Library, just some of the libraries in my
particular district.
SENATOR BALBONI: Have any of
them applied for Dormitory Authority inclusion
or bonding authority?
SENATOR PATERSON: I'll have it
on your desk at 3 o'clock, Senator.
SENATOR BALBONI: Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Balboni.
SENATOR BALBONI: I'm sure that
the distinguished member from New York City
would not want to forestall any benefit that
might be associated with the extension of a
different financing mechanism to a public
library, no matter whose district it is.
As far as the rationale associated
1669
with individual or I should say specified
public libraries being included in the
statute, I do not know the original intent. I
wasn't here in 1993 when the original chapter
was done. It seems to me to be perhaps not a
wise utilization of the legislative process,
however.
You might not, also, have the
ability from the Dormitory Authority's
perspective to grant a broad-based program to
these libraries. And perhaps this is a
come-as-may approach to the financing of these
particular projects.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Paterson.
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President,
on the bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Paterson, on the bill.
SENATOR PATERSON: I'm going to
vote for the bill.
I wasn't sure if Senator Balboni
thought that I would hold up what would be
needed construction of a public library in
1670
Great Neck because of this concern.
But I have to raise the concern,
because though Senator Balboni was not here in
1993, he was here in 2001 when we voted five
additions to what was at the time eight,
making it a total of 13, and now we're on 14.
But he is quite forthright and
candid when he says that this might not be the
best utilization of the legislative process.
Now, from his point of view I certainly
understand that if there is a process that he
wanted to be included in it, and I affirm that
and will vote for the bill.
But that was the point I was really
getting at, that I don't understand how these
libraries are getting funded -
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Paterson, pardon me.
Can we have some order in the
chamber.
You have the floor, Senator
Paterson.
SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, Mr.
President. It's starting to sound like a
library in here.
1671
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Wait a
minute. Shhhhhh.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR PATERSON: So in
conclusion, Mr. President, it's just that I
just have a concern, because there are a
number of libraries around the district that
might have some of the similar needs that the
one in Great Neck would have. And what I
think I will do is follow Senator Balboni's
admonition and apply.
And I'll come back here next year
and inform you of the results, Mr. President.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Does any
other member wish to be heard?
Senator Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
President, just very briefly.
I'm going to embrace Senator
Balboni's explanation and vote for this bill,
only with one caveat. And that is for some
reason when these local bills come up in
Democratic districts, we do these bills in the
heat of the summer. You know, late at night,
1672
when they have Democratic names on them. And
we end up begging the Majority to do these
kinds of local bills.
I can look at faces of people that
I know, I've sat with for the last several
years as Democrats beg for local bills to be
done. And we have an explanation that's just
as justified as both the one that Senator Kuhl
gave and the one that Senator Balboni gave.
There's some reason why these bills
that have Republicans' names on them get done
in March and that the Democratic bills end up
being backpiled and taken care of at the very
last second, if at all. Or, in the case of
some of us who have asked for local bills, are
told we just can't do that bill.
I would suggest that the
even-handed nature of this chamber might
suggest that the library bill that Senator
Balboni seeks, the volunteer fire department
benefits that Senator Kuhl seeks -- there are
a number of people on this side of the aisle
that have very similar bills. Let's do them
when we're still wearing coats and when the
daffodils are blooming, as they will be in the
1673
next couple of weeks, and not wait until the
heat of summer to do them, if we do them at
all.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Balboni.
SENATOR BALBONI: Mr. President,
the Minority in this house protests too much
in this particular issue.
Sometimes you do raise some good
points of conscience. But if you were to take
a look right now at the current list of bills
in the Corporations, Authorities and
Commissions Committee, you would see that the
only bill that currently requests that a
public library be afforded the financing
alternatives of the Dormitory Authority is my
bill.
So it's not about it being a
Republican bill, it's not about it being a
Democratic bill. Currently in the committee
there are no other bills that ask for this
kind of relief. So your argument in this
particular situation is not valid.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
1674
Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
President, I'll rise for the second time.
Methinks Senator Balboni doth
protest a bit too much. He has missed my
point. And that is, I believe -- and someone
can correct me if I'm wrong -- but not one
bill has passed this house with a prime
sponsor as a Democrat since January 1st. That
was the point I was making, Mr. President.
And I would expect that not a lot
of bills with Democratic sponsors are going to
pass between now and -- oh, pick a date.
June 20th, July 5th, August 5th. Pick a date.
Go as late in the calendar as you want.
That was the point, Senator
Balboni, is that the difficulty here is that
these bills that have obvious merit, which
your bill does, that happen to have Democratic
names on them don't get a hearing until the
dead days of summer -- the dog days of summer.
That was my point, Mr. President.
I'll still vote in favor of Senator
Balboni's bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
1675
other member wish to be heard?
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.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
395, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 5309B, an
act to authorize.
SENATOR OPPENHEIMER:
Explanation, please.
SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside
temporarily.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside temporarily.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
there will be an immediate meeting of the
Energy Committee in the Majority Conference
Room.
1676
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Immediate meeting of the Energy Committee in
the Majority Conference Room.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could return to reports of standing
committees, I believe there's a report of the
Finance Committee at the desk. I ask that it
be read at this time.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reports
of standing committees.
The Secretary will read the report
of the Finance Committee.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford,
from the Committee on Finance, reports the
following nominations.
As a member of the Tax Appeals
Tribunal, Carroll R. Jenkins, of Schenectady.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Move the
nomination.
And please recognize Senator
Farley.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
1677
Farley.
SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you,
Senator Skelos, Mr. President.
It is with enthusiasm and pride
that I nominate Carroll Jenkins of Schenectady
as commissioner of the Tax Appeals Tribunal.
Let me just tell you a little bit
about Mr. Jenkins. A distinguished lawyer, he
actually came from the Legislature, a member
of our New York State Assembly legal staff
number of years ago.
He's been with the Division of
Equalization Assessment. He's been a senior
attorney with the Department of Taxation and
Finance. He's been a tax law judge with the
New York State Division of Tax Appeals, and
also a senior attorney with the New York State
Department of Taxation and Finance in 1996,
and the New York State Tax Appeals Tribunal.
Mr. Jenkins has served our state
very well. He's respected in his community.
And it is with enthusiasm and pride that I
nominate this man to continue on as a
reappointment as commissioner of Tax Appeals
Tribunal.
1678
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
question is on the nomination of Carroll R.
Jenkins as a member of the Tax Appeals
Tribunal. All those in favor signify by
saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those
opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
nominee is confirmed.
Mr. Jenkins is with us today in the
gallery.
Mr. Jenkins, congratulations on
your confirmation and good luck with your
duties.
(Applause.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will continue to read.
THE SECRETARY: As a member of
the Waterfront and Airport Commission of
New York and New Jersey, Michael C. Axelrod,
Esquire, of Roslyn.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Stafford.
1679
SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr. President,
we have two fine nominees for reappointment
before us today. And for the second, we turn
to Senator Balboni.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Balboni.
SENATOR BALBONI: Thank you very
much, Chairman Stafford. I'd like to thank
you for putting this nomination on the floor,
Ron.
The gentleman before us today is
Michael Axelrod. And this is one of the
uniquely suited nominations that we have
before us.
Mr. Axelrod brings a wealth of
experience, knowledge, intelligence, and feel
for this position. The Waterfront Commission
plays a vital role in the Port Authority of
the City of New York, one of the most
important ports in the world. He has
experience dealing with labor unions,
particularly police unions. He brings that
information and talent and skill to this job.
He deeply cares about this
position. This is not just a part-time
1680
position for him; he puts a tremendous amount
of work and experience in this. And he's
uniquely well-qualified for this particular
position.
I would urge a yes on this vote.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
join my colleague, Senator Balboni, in
supporting the nomination of Mike Axelrod as a
member of the Waterfront and Airport
Commission of New York.
I've had the pleasure and privilege
of knowing Mike for many years more than
probably either one of us want to admit to.
But he is a tremendous lawyer. He is a
dedicated public servant. And I congratulate
the Governor on his reappointment.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
other member wish to be heard on the
nomination?
The question is on the confirmation
of Michael C. Axelrod as a member of the
1681
Waterfront and Airport Commission of New York.
All those in favor signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those
opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
nominee is confirmed.
Mr. Axelrod is with us in the
gallery today.
Mr. Axelrod, congratulations and
good luck with your duties.
Senator Fuschillo.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr.
President, I was outside the chamber, but if I
was here, I would tell everybody what a great
guy Mike Axelrod is and compliment the
Governor on this nomination.
Michael, I wish you continued
success in your position.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will continue to read.
THE SECRETARY: As a member of
the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority,
Connie Grandy Augsbury, of Ogdensburg.
1682
As a member of the Board of
Trustees of the State University of New York
College of Environmental Science and Forestry,
Curtis H. Bauer, of Jamestown.
And as a member of the Board of
Trustees of the New York State Higher
Education Services Corporation, Anne Marie
Lisuzzo, of Albany.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Stafford.
SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the
nominations, please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
question is on the confirmation of the
nominees. All those in favor signify by
saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those
opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
nominees are confirmed.
The Secretary will continue to read
the report of the Finance Committee.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford,
1683
from the Committee on Finance, reports the
following bills:
Assembly Print Number 10485A,
Assembly Budget Bill, an act to amend Chapter
50 of the Laws of 2001;
Senate Print 6251B, Senate Budget
Bill, an act making appropriations for the
legal requirements;
6617, by Senator Fuschillo, an act
authorizing the removal;
6674, by the Senate Committee on
Rules, an act making appropriations for the
support of government;
And Senate Print 6675, by the
Senate Committee on Rules, an act to amend
Chapter 405 of the Laws of 1999.
All bills ordered direct to third
reading.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, all bills directly to the order of
third reading.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could take up Calendar 460 at this time.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
1684
Secretary will read Calendar 460.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 460, Senator Stafford moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Finance,
Assembly Bill Number 9751B and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 6251B,
Third Reading Calendar 460.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitution ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
460, Assembly Budget Bill, Senate Print Number
9751B, an act making appropriations for the
legal requirements.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
is there a message of necessity at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a message at the desk.
SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All
those in favor of accepting the message of
necessity signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
1685
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those
opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
message is accepted.
The bill is before the house.
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, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could call up Calendar Number 462.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read Calendar 462.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
462, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
Print Number 6674, an act making
appropriations for the support of government.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
1686
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a
message of necessity and appropriation at the
desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a message at the desk.
SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All
those in favor of accepting the message of
necessity and appropriation signify by saying
aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those
opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
message is accepted.
The bill is before the house.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 46. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
1687
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
would you please call up Calendar Number 463.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read Calendar 463.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
463, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
Print Number 6675, an act to amend Chapter 405
of the Laws of 1999.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a
message of necessity at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a message at the desk.
SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept.
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.
(No response.)
1688
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
message is accepted.
The bill is before the house.
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, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
would you please call up Calendar Number 464.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read Calendar 464.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
464, Assembly Budget Bill, Assembly Print
Number 10485A, an act to amend Chapter 50 of
the Laws of 2001.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
1689
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
will you please call up Calendar Number 461.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read Calendar 461.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
461, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print 6617,
an act authorizing the removal of the Board of
Education of the Roosevelt Union Free School
District.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 11. This
act shall take effect immediately.
SENATOR GENTILE: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Fuschillo, an explanation has been requested
of Calendar 461 by Senator Gentile.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you,
1690
Mr. President.
This house has visited this issue
for the third time on the floor today. What's
different is we have an agreement with the
Assembly on this bill. The bill will provide
greater financial aid and governance from the
state to the Roosevelt School District.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
other Senator wish to be heard?
Debate is closed.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 11. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
the negative on Calendar Number 461 are
Senators Connor, Duane, Hassell-Thompson,
L. Krueger, and Senator A. Smith.
Ayes, 54. Nays, 5.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
1691
Senator Duane, why do you rise?
SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Mr.
President. I was out of the chamber in a
committee meeting, which is a problem in and
of itself.
But I was hoping to have unanimous
consent to be recorded in the negative on
Calendar Numbers 460, 462, and 463, as a
protest to the way that we've been doing the
budget.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Duane will be recorded in
the negative on calendars 460, 462, and 463.
SENATOR DUANE: And also, Mr.
President, if you would indulge me with
unanimous consent to be recorded in the
negative on 464 as well.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Duane will be recorded in
the negative on Calendar 464.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could return to reports of standing
committees, I believe there's a report of the
Rules Committee at the desk. I ask that it be
1692
read.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reports
of standing committees.
The Secretary will read the report
of the Rules Committee.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
from the Committee on Rules, reports the
following bill direct to third reading:
Senate Print 6625, by Senator
Saland, an act to amend the Social Services
Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: 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: Those
opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
report of the Rules Committee is accepted.
Senator Skelos.
1693
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could please take up Calendar Number
459.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read Calendar 459.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
459, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 6625, an
act to amend the Social Services Law, in
relation to the duty to report child abuse.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
Just a second. Can we have some
order in the chamber, please.
Read the last section.
SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Explanation
right here.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Well,
just -- I'm having a little trouble hearing.
And if we're going to get through the
calendar, it would help if you take your
conversations outside. I can't hear when
members are asking for recognition. We'd like
some cooperation so we can go home today.
An explanation has been requested,
Senator Saland.
1694
SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Mr.
President.
Mr. President, this is a bill which
is intended to deal with a situation that
certainly over the course of the past month to
month and a half has been the subject of
considerable public focus, media attention.
The bill attempts to deal with the issue of
abuse of children, particularly in those
instances where that abuse is attributable to
or at the hands of a member of the clergy.
There's been very little time over
the course of these past several weeks when
some media account, whether it be print,
radio, or television, has not labored long and
hard. Many of us have received calls in our
districts, district offices or here in our
Capitol, letters saying what are we going to
do about this.
Well, what we are proposing to do
with this legislation is to fill what I
believe has been a very tragic loophole in our
law by requiring reporting in those instances
in which there is involvement by a member of
the clergy in an incident of abuse with
1695
respect to a child.
Certainly we have attempted in the
past to deal with abuse and neglect under our
Social Services Law. And in our efforts
there, we've confined ourselves to dealing
with incidents of abuse and neglect as they
occur within a family situation -- involving a
child, involving a parent.
And what we have done through these
many years that we have had this system,
referred to as a central registry of abuse and
maltreatment -- sometimes commonly referred to
as the hotline -- what we have done is to
create a system that has a number of mandatory
reporters, probably somewhere in the area of
25 to 30 mandatory reporters: primarily
health providers, also school officials, EMTs
and the like.
And where they have reason to
believe that there has been an incident of
abuse that has occurred, they are required by
law, under penalty of a misdemeanor should
they fail to report, to make that report to
the central registry.
That central registry has provision
1696
and has had provision in the law since 1987
for those instances in which a report comes in
that is not limited to a family situation but
involves what I will term a third party. They
are required by statute, something that this
body has enacted long ago, to report to an
appropriate law enforcement agency.
The last data that I have seen was
for the year 2001, and nearly 2,000 of such
reports were referred to law enforcement
agencies.
What we are proposing to do is to
take that same construct and expand it, expand
it to provide that we will now require
reporting by a member of the clergy who
receives such a report, and also to provide
that those reports will be required where this
abuse occurs at the hands not only of a family
member but at the hands of any third party.
And the failure, again, to report would be a
misdemeanor.
We provide that all of those
mandated reporters that are currently listed
in the existing social service section will be
expanded to include members of the clergy,
1697
which is defined by statute in the Religious
Corporation Law. And we would reasonably
expect that this would do away with any
distinctions and impose upon reporters the
obligation to report.
They should not make distinctions
where a child has been abused between whether
that abuse was at the hands of a family
member, at the hands of a neighbor, at the
hands perhaps of somebody employed in or in
close proximity to the household of the abused
child.
We believe that we respond to the
immediate problem that has been so dwelled
upon, and appropriately so, at great length
recently. And we also believe that we
anticipate, by expanding the role to other
mandated reporters, problems that could occur
in other disciplines as well.
We provide, as part and parcel of
this bill, for a five-year look-back to enable
us to deal with those types of activities that
rise to the level of the definitions of abuse
as contained in this bill and, in effect, the
ability to deal with things retrospectively
1698
and not merely prospectively.
We believe that this bill takes
advantage of the current construct, builds
upon the construct. We believe that in
negotiations with the Executive and with the
Division of the Budget there will be some need
perhaps to ramp up our commitment to the
functioning of the central registry, and we
are certainly prepared to make that commitment
to make that happen.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Will Senator
Saland yield for a question, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Saland, do you yield for a question?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: You stated a
minute ago, Senator Saland, that the most
recent data you had seen from the hotline
showed that approximately 2,000 cases were
referred after they had been -- after the
1699
hotline had been contacted, they had been
referred to other agencies for other actions.
Could you tell me -
SENATOR SALAND: Law enforcement.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: To law
enforcement, for -
SENATOR SALAND: About 146,000
cases were part of the intake by the central
registry. Those were cases involving family
members. Those were cases that were part of
the intake process, and to one extent or
another investigated. Some 18-plus-thousand
of them were abuse-related.
And there were some additional
2,000 cases that didn't fall within the
parameters of what their responsibilities were
in terms of their investigation. Those were
what I have termed third-party reports. They
referred those to law enforcement.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, if Senator Saland will continue
to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Saland, will you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
1700
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Do you know,
Senator Saland, how many of these 2,000
reports actually resulted in the prosecution
of someone for child abuse?
SENATOR SALAND: Senator
Dollinger, I do not. I -- the department does
not keep those types of records. And I would
assume there would be the ability to follow
up -- it might be a bit time-consuming, but
follow up and find out what subsequently
occurred.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Okay.
Through you, Mr. President, if Senator Saland
will continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Saland, do you yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Senator, do
you know whether in 2001 there was anyone who
1701
was prosecuted under the provisions of this
statute for failure to report as required?
SENATOR SALAND: I'm sorry, I
didn't hear the beginning of your question. I
heard the end of it.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, do you know whether there was
anyone who was prosecuted under this statute,
under the misdemeanor penalty that you've
described, for failure to report?
SENATOR SALAND: I have no
firsthand knowledge of any prosecutions. I do
know that the issue of liability with respect
to mandated reporters has occurred, as to
whether or not they were required to report in
specific instances. And I believe, in fact,
one such case occurred in Monroe County.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, if Senator Saland will continue
to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Saland, do you yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
1702
sponsor yields.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: That was my
next question, Senator Saland. Because this
statute sets up a criminal penalty for failure
to report, which is the inducement for those
who are obligated to report to fulfill their
statutory obligation, because otherwise they
could be charged with a crime.
It also sets, as I'm sure you
understand, a standard of care. Because it's
a statute that is punitive or criminal in
nature, it sets a standard of care for
reporters to fulfill their obligation. If
they fail to do that, they can be subjected to
civil liability.
My question is, other than the case
in Monroe County, do you know whether there
are any other instances in which civil
liability has attached to mandated reporters
who failed to perform their statutory duty?
SENATOR SALAND: I'm not aware of
those cases. That's not to say that they're
not out there.
I am aware of the Monroe County
case. It's something my staff and I had
1703
discussed earlier today during the
deliberations of putting this bill together.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President, if Senator Saland will continue
to yield to a question.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Saland, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I read these
bills, and I always have. And you and I have
discussed this a number of times before, in
the ten years that I've been here, where I
read through these bills and I say "Does this
really do what we want it to do?"
Let me call your attention to
page 2 and the language from line 19 through
line 27 or 28. What that language primarily
focuses on is what happens when a child
appears before the reporter or when the
reporter becomes aware of the abuse of a
child.
My question is, Senator Saland, if
1704
you read that language, does it apply in an
instance where the person who comes before the
mandatory reporter or a clergyman is no longer
a child?
For example, as you well know,
given the spate of information that's been
available in the public, many of the people
who have come forward with respect to abuse
have said that "This happened to me when I was
a child. I'm now an adult."
This statute, this language talks
about instances and focuses on when they are
children. Does this apply in instances where
someone comes forward and they are no longer a
child, no longer under the age of 18? And if
so, could you point me to the language that
says that?
SENATOR SALAND: Under Section
414, anybody can make a report. And if you
look, it's not in this section, in the bill as
amended, but 414 permits anybody to make a
report.
So that a child who might have
exceeded the age of 18 would have the ability
to self-report in this situation, in the
1705
situation that you described.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again through
you, Mr. President, if Senator Saland will
continue to yield.
SENATOR SALAND: I would also add
the statute of limitations, as you know, would
provide additional time beyond the age of 18
within which to make that report.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Correct.
Through you, Mr. President, if
Senator Saland will continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Saland, do you yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: My point in
asking that question, Senator, is that what
this new bill is going to do is add members of
the clergy to the list of those who are
required to report.
And it seems to me the question is
what happens if there is an individual who is
no longer a child but yet a member of the
1706
clergy knows that when they were a child, they
were subjected to abuse.
Is there an obligation to report -
under the actual wording of this statute as
it's currently drafted, is there an obligation
for them to report? Because they're no longer
a child.
SENATOR SALAND: The language
you've referred to has additional language
thereafter. It says "when they have
reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an
abused or maltreated child, where any other
person comes before them in their professional
or official capacity and states," and so on
and so forth.
That "any other person" I believe
would be broad enough to include the
circumstances that you describe.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you,
Mr. President -- I'm going to yield to Senator
Connor in just a second.
But Senator Saland, I would just
call your attention to the continuation of
that language in the bill which says -- and
you properly read the section. But it says
1707
"any other person who comes before them in
their professional capacity and states from
personal knowledge has facts and circumstances
which, if correct, would render the child an
abused or maltreated child."
It presumes that the individual who
is the subject of the complaint is still a
child.
And I would suggest, Senator
Saland -- and I know this bill comes quickly
and is part of a debate and a discussion
perhaps with our colleagues in the Assembly.
But I would just suggest that one of the
problems that's emerged in the last month is
that the victims are no longer children, they
would no longer qualify as abused children,
they happened to be abused when they were
children, but they are now adults. Even
though in many cases, as I think the stories
in the press have pointed out, the stains and
the tremendous trauma and indignity of this
crime continues to live with them long after
their childhood is over.
So I would just suggest -- and
maybe after consultation with counsel you've
1708
got an answer for that, so I'll -
SENATOR SALAND: I would call
your attention to page 3, starting at line 12.
Basically what is dispositive there
is not the age but the fact that the event
occurred. "The provisions of this paragraph
shall not be deemed to exempt a member of the
clergy from any other requirements of law to
prevent the perpetrator from committing
additional acts of abuse." It then goes on
into a five-year look-back.
So the period of time which would
be applicable here would be certainly in
excess of the 18th birthday and would not
exonerate the clergy in any way, shape, or
form if in fact they had reason to believe
that this event had occurred. There would
still be an obligation to report under that
section.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Senator, just
briefly on the bill, and then I'll yield to
Senator Connor. But I -
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger, on the bill.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Senator
1709
Saland, I appreciate -- I throw you a curve
ball, because I've read the statute for the
first time, in asking a question about how it
details the specific problem that has been
pointed out in the public.
But I would just suggest as much as
the section that you cited may cover this
issue, I would suggest, if we get to a second
draft or a B or a C print of this bill, that
we specifically put in the reporting
requirement that says if an individual becomes
aware that an individual who was at the time a
child was a victim of abuse, they have a
continuing obligation to report even if the
subject of the abuse is no longer a child.
And I just think that would clarify
that language and specify that specifically.
Specify specifically? It would specify it.
And with that, Mr. President, I'd
yield to Senator Connor, who I believe has a
question or a -
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Connor.
SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Mr.
President.
1710
May I call up my amendment
previously served and filed with the desk, ask
that its reading be waived, and have the floor
for the purpose of explaining the amendment.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendment is at the desk. The reading is
waived. And you're recognized now for the
purpose of explaining your amendment.
SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Mr.
President.
Mr. President, I appreciate, first
of all, Senator Saland's efforts at bringing
this bill to the floor and appreciate his
concern.
The amendment, first of all,
contains a change from the bill. Senator
Saland's bill would require those who are the
subject of mandatory reporting to report to
the child abuse hotline. My amendment would
require that when there's a reported child sex
abuse allegation that it be reported to the
district attorney in the county where the
offense occurred.
My reason for this, Mr. President,
is simple. The child abuse hotline receives
1711
reports of a variety of situations, many of
them egregious, where children have been
abused or neglected or grossly neglected.
They refer it to Child Protective Services,
which investigates.
Very often investigates, first of
all, with a view -- because let's be candid,
Mr. President, in many cases what we're
talking about are dysfunctional families -
from the social worker viewpoint: Go in, see
is there a problem, if the problem is
egregious, remove the child from the home.
That's what they very often do. When in
doubt, remove the child from the home. See
what else can be done.
Sometimes there's a mediating or
negotiating aspect to it to improve the
conditions in the home for the child. There's
a view toward corrective action to perhaps
allow children to be placed back in the home.
But this bill, the thrust of this
bill, what we're talking about is child sex
abuse. That's never negligence. That's never
something that a social worker is going to
work out. It's always a crime, Mr. President.
1712
It's always a crime. And law enforcement and
district attorneys prosecute -- investigate
and prosecute crimes.
And I don't believe we ought to mix
it up in our ordinary Child Protective
Services, which are really geared toward
incidents in the home, which are really geared
toward abuse of children in their home
setting.
That's not what we're talking about
here. We're talking about sex abuse very
often outside the home or at least outside the
family circle. And I think that's a law
enforcement -- we ought to report that to law
enforcement, let the DAs -- the larger DAs'
offices certainly have the expertise to
investigate sex crimes, crimes against minors.
The smaller DAs' offices may lack some of the
expertise, but certainly we ought to give the
State Police in those counties, they would
have the expertise to investigate a sex crime.
So we really -- when a child has
been sexually abused by an adult outside of
their family circle, you call the cops. You
don't call the social workers, Mr. President.
1713
And I think that with all due
respect -- and I know there's more amendments
and negotiating with the other house -- I
respectfully urge, and that's why I offer this
as an amendment, that Senator Saland consider
why this is a little different than the other
things that get referred or many of the other
things that are referred to the hotline and to
Child Protective Services.
Mr. President, the other thing, the
other thing that the amendment does is it
extends the statute of limitations, both for
civil actions and criminal actions.
Mr. President, my colleagues who
are lawyers understand a statute of
limitations is always regarded in the law as a
procedural device, not affecting substantive
rights. As a practical matter it does,
because if you can't litigate, you can't
vindicate your rights.
But there is no constitutional or
legal bar or legal doctrine in the common law
that precludes extending the statute of
limitations for prosecuting or for pursuing a
civil lawsuit related to an event that's
1714
already occurred.
Indeed, indeed, we have done that.
Many years -- a few years back, we did it for
victims of DES. We've done it for victims of
other torts where we have extended the statute
of limitations many years forward so that
people who had been injured in the past could
still vindicate their rights.
This may shock my colleagues, but
in 19 -- I think it was '79, my first full
session here as a member of the minority
party, I passed a bill -- no, not reconveying
a house, I passed a bill changing the statute
of limitations for statutory rape. Which had
been five years from the incident, and I
changed -- I sponsored a bill, and got it
through this house and the other house and
signed into law, to make the statute of
limitations for that crime five years from the
age of majority.
That's just the way this
Legislature operated in those days,
Mr. President. Good ideas could pass whether
or not the sponsoring Senator was in the
Majority or the Minority.
1715
What my amendment would do is
provide for a civil statute of limitations of
ten years for all actions based on childhood
sex abuse or exploitation to be tolled until
the victim reaches age 21. In other words,
the civil statute of limitations would be ten
years from age of 21.
Mr. President, the fact is in many,
many cases where children have been abused
sexually by persons they trust, by adults they
trust, it is such a traumatic experience that
the child's self-preservation instincts result
in heavy denial, dissociative behavior. It's
many, many years later, usually when, frankly,
the person's life has been very dysfunctional
in a variety of ways -- perhaps in their own
interpersonal relationships, in their
inability to succeed in school or at a job,
sometimes other problems, alcoholism or other
problems surface.
And after therapy and only after
therapy, in many cases, do these victims even
recall the abuse that took place in their
childhood, because they've kept it so
suppressed from their conscious memory.
1716
So that a statute of limitations on
a civil suit that goes ten years from the age
of 21 is certainly reasonable. Very often the
person, it's not till their late twenties -
unfortunately, sometimes it's even much later
in life -- does the person even become
consciously aware of having been abused and
suddenly realizes that it's the trauma of
that, the emotional, psychological trauma of
that that has caused them many other problems
in their lives.
Current law, current law provides a
one-year statute of limitations from the date
of a criminal conviction for intentional
torts, a three-year statute of limitations for
personal injury, and a three-year toll for
infancy.
In other words, the current
statute, at its max, would give someone three
years from age 18, that's just three years
from age 18 to bring a lawsuit in a case where
I'm sure by age 21 the person doesn't quite
know why they are so dysfunctional and has no
recollection of it.
So I would again -- not that I
1717
think this house will adopt an amendment, but
I would urge, I would urge Senator Saland, as
this bill evolves in negotiations, to consider
the necessity of having that kind of statute
of limitations.
And by the way, Mr. President, that
would put -- my amendment, my suggestion would
frankly put us in line with most other
statutes. Very few states have such a short
civil statute of limitations, three years from
the age of 18 in these cases.
Indeed, you're not reading a lot,
if you think about it, about New York cases in
the press. You're reading about Connecticut
and Florida and other states where people are
coming forward and suing. They're not doing
in it in New York because they're barred. By
age 21, someone who has been abused when they
were 9 or 10 years old by age 21 is barred
from pursuing any remedy.
Similarly, I would extend, in this
amendment, the criminal statute of limitations
from five to ten years. Basically, ten years.
And the crime we're talking about is one we
defined a few years ago as a course of sexual
1718
conduct. We would extend the period in this
amendment for the prosecution of sex offenses
against children under 18, currently tolled
when the victim reaches 18, by tolling it till
the victim reaches 21. So again, we have ten
years from age 21.
The other thing the amendment would
do is Senator Saland's bill proposes a
five-year retroactive reporting requirement.
I know the Assembly bill is talking about a
twenty-year reporting requirement. My
suggestion here, no act of genius, is that we
take a ten-year retroactive reporting
requirement.
So that's the sum of the amendment,
Mr. President. I urge its consideration.
Namely, extend the civil statute of
limitations ten years from age 21; criminal
statute ten years from age 21 or ten years
from the time of occurrence, whichever is
later; and take the retroactive reporting
requirement back ten years instead of five and
make the reporting to law enforcement, not
simply to the child abuse hotline.
Thank you, Mr. President.
1719
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Saland.
SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Mr.
President.
If I might, with regard to the
reporting to district attorneys, we have been
certainly involved, over the course of the
past several weeks, in drafting legislation.
And as part and parcel of that process, we did
contact a variety of district attorneys
offices. We do not have any word from the
District Attorneys Association.
But among the offices we contacted
were a couple of the larger offices in the
city of New York. And they in fact were not
only comfortable with but actually expressed a
preference for use of the central registry.
And I'm assuming that that reflects
the fact that those couple of thousand cases
that I had mentioned before had come to one or
another DA's office, ultimately, through
either NYSPIN, if you're outside of the city
of New York, going to the State Police and
referring out, or the equivalent of NYSPIN in
the city of New York, and I don't know what
1720
the acronym would be for that in the city of
New York.
So we believe that the system that
we've crafted insofar as the reporting is one
which the law enforcement community has a
considerable comfort level with.
With regard to the statute of
limitations, I would be more than happy to
defer to either Senator Skelos or Senator
Volker, both of whom have labored long and
hard to expand the statute of limitations,
particularly in criminal cases with respect to
acts of sex offenses. And I can go on at some
length but would certainly defer to Senator
Skelos if that's what he would like to
address.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you,
Senator Saland.
If I could, Mr. President, I think
there is a clear history in this house of
passing legislation to eliminate the statute
of limitations on the prosecution of certain
violent Class B felonies. I've sponsored
1721
legislation, Senator Maziarz has sponsored
legislation.
Senate 417A, which would eliminate
the statute of limitations completely on these
felonies, passed the Senate last year, died in
the Assembly.
This year on March 4th we passed
Senate 5640 that would eliminate the statute
of limitations for Class B violent felons.
This exemption would include crimes such as
first-degree attempted murder, first-degree
rape and sodomy, first-degree assault,
second-degree kidnapping, first-degree
aggravated sexual abuse, and course of sexual
contact against a child in the first degree.
The Assembly once again has been
silent on this legislation. They have not
even considered bringing it up for a vote.
So I'm afraid that the amendment
that Senator Connor is proposing to Senator
Saland's legislation is nothing more than a
poison pill to this legislation, because the
Assembly Majority has had absolutely no
interest in passing statute of limitations -
eliminating statute of limitations on the
1722
Class B violent felonies as I enumerated.
I wish to point out that it's been
the Senate's position, the Senate Majority's
position that these statute of limitations
should be eliminated because, whether it's a
child or whether it's a woman that has been
raped, there is absolutely no statute of
limitations to their pain and suffering.
So our history is very clear in
this house. I would urge you to ask the
Assembly to pass my bill, 5640, which has been
sitting in the Assembly now for a period of
time, too long a period of time.
And I would just remind, before
there's a canvass of agreement, that on that
statute of limitations bill, that I believe
Senators Andrews, Montgomery, Duane, and
perhaps one other individual voted against -
and Hassell-Thompson, Senator
Hassell-Thompson, voted against the
elimination of the statute of limitations.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Connor.
SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Mr.
President.
1723
You know, I appreciate Senator
Skelos's position on his bill. My humble
suggestion with this amendment is perhaps this
is the way to get a foot in the door and make
the Assembly move, at least in this particular
instance, to extending the statute of
limitations.
While I appreciate that Senator
Skelos's bill would include this crime, it
also includes other crimes, in many of which
the victim would be an adult.
In this unique situation, child sex
abuse, the victim is always a child. And we
have seen, because of the psychological and
emotional havoc this crime wreaks upon the
victim, that when a child, they're not often
in a position to report or pursue any remedy,
whether it's civil or criminal. And it takes
some time after adulthood, if ever, for the
victim to become aware of the injury suffered
and pursue it either through a criminal
prosecution and/or a civil lawsuit.
So while I appreciate what Senator
Skelos said about the position the Assembly
has taken, I just humbly suggest that perhaps
1724
if we push it just in this one bill, Senator
Saland's bill we may get -- you know, the dawn
always starts with a little pencil-point of
light -- we may get a little bit of movement
there that could lead to an opening up of the
Assembly's position with respect to other
crimes.
So I would urge, Mr. President,
that my amendment be adopted because, again, I
just think it improves the bill. Again, I
congratulate Senator Saland for his concern
and for bringing this bill forward. But I do
suggest that these few things would improve
the bill, in my opinion.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
other member wish to be heard on the
amendment?
Debate is closed, then.
Will those members, then, who agree
with the motion to amend Senate 6625 please
raise your hands.
The Secretary will announce the
results of the canvass.
THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
agreement are Senators Andrews, Breslin,
1725
Brown, Connor, Dollinger, Duane, Gonzalez,
Hassell-Thompson, Hevesi, L. Krueger,
Montgomery, Onorato, Oppenheimer, Paterson,
Sampson, Schneiderman, A. Smith, M. Smith,
Stachowski, and Senator Stavisky.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
motion to amend is defeated.
Senator Dollinger, why do you rise?
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Just briefly
on the bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Dollinger, on the bill.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: I asked
Senator Saland a series of questions earlier,
and I appreciate his, as always, candid
answers.
I'm going to vote in favor of the
bill, Mr. President, because I agree with both
Senator Saland and Senator Connor, it's time
to start a discussion with the Assembly about
dealing with this specific problem.
But I would just urge Senator
Saland again to take a look at the language
about reporting, instances in which the person
who is obligated to report finds out about
1726
abuse that occurred when the victim was a
child but now the victim is emancipated,
they're an adult.
I think you could make it clearer
in this bill and tell those who are obligated
to report that if they become aware of
information, even when the individual is an
adult, that they were abused as a child, they
still have an obligation to report, for all
the reasons that Senator Connor outlined.
This should eventually find its way
into the criminal process, and people who
commit these crimes against children should
never take any solace from the fact they
committed them upon a child who didn't have
reason or judgment to be able to report them
at the time it occurred. That is the great
outrage behind all of this.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Duane.
SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Mr.
President. On the bill.
I know that as a Legislature we are
under tremendous pressure to address a problem
which is in the newspapers every day, with
1727
more and more terrible stories. And I realize
that we need to take action. It is my hope,
though, that this doesn't become a political
matter in the way that so much, unfortunately,
that we do is a political matter.
Also, I get frustrated when the
Assembly's business is raised over and over
again here. We're the Senate, we're the upper
house. There's a certain amount of discussion
that should go on in this house among
colleagues which is not expected, frankly, in
the Assembly. I think that the discourse here
needs to be less politicized and more on the
issues.
I think that that's why our
foremothers and fathers created a state
Senate, so that we could deliberate in a
different way than the Assembly does. And
it's my hope, since this bill is not a
negotiated bill at this point, that in this
house we will be able to work together to
craft the best possible bill.
I just also, since the issue of
5640 has been raised, I do want to repeat
again why I vote against it. I know, and I've
1728
spoken with the sponsor of that legislation
about his bill and that I believe his
intentions are very good. My disagreement
with it lies with the fact that it does not
include DNA evidence.
Again, there's a reason that we
have statute of limitations. It's because
evidence gets stale, memories fade, witnesses
disappear. So when statute of limitations
were created, they were needed. And to this
day they're needed except in those cases where
DNA evidence would be able to solve a crime
and convict the offender.
And the bill unfortunately does not
take advantage of the advances that we've had
in DNA evidence. If the bill included DNA
evidence, I would vote for it. And I think
that it could easily be amended to include DNA
evidence.
So I don't want anyone in this
chamber or elsewhere to be under the
misimpression that I -- and I don't want to
speak for my other colleagues, but that I'm
voting against a bill which has very good
intentions, but I believe it could be
1729
improved. And I have respectfully spoken with
the sponsor about that legislation because I
do believe that the intentions are very good.
There are a couple of points that I
want to make, though, as it applies to this
legislation. And as occasionally happens in
this house, I find myself in a way thinking
out loud and undecided about how I'm going to
vote on it.
I have been concerned that the
Catholic Church's response in part to the
issue of pedophilia in the church has been to
say that we are not going to let gay people be
priests. Well, there is -- gay people are not
pedophiliacs. Pedophiliacs are pedophiliacs,
and the vast majority of them are
heterosexual, usually married, with children
or stepchildren.
So to tie those two issues
together, which is what the church sadly has
been doing in part, is really a terrible
thing. And through the ages, quite frankly,
they have tied these two things together.
But pedophilia is a disease and an
offensive act in and of itself, regardless of
1730
sexual orientation. And I would also say that
it probably happens with gay people about the
same percentage that they exist in society,
which we could debate whether it's 4 percent
or 10 percent or someplace in between.
So that is always uppermost in my
mind, because there's always the problem of
making false accusations against someone
because you don't like their sexual
orientation, as opposed to whether or not
they're offenders or not.
Now, I absolutely believe that
child abuse is a horrible, horrible, terrible
offense which needs to be punished. And also
treated, so that we can stop the cycle. Very
often, very often pedophilia is just part of a
cycle of abuse. And today we know that
pedophilia, as well as being an offensive
behavior, is also a disease which in some
cases can be treated.
So we need to look at both things.
Absolutely, pedophilia needs to be punished
and child abuse needs to be punished.
Absolutely. And there's a possibility of
rehabilitation and in some cases redemption.
1731
So really what our mandate is for the future
is not just punishment, I believe, but also to
stop the cycle in the future.
Now, the reason that I voted for
the amendment is because I like the idea of
getting the DA involved. I think that's very
important. And I also think that extending
the statute of limitations is a very, very
good idea. And as I say, this is not an
agreed-upon bill, and I think we need to look
at those issues.
I think what would be a good idea
is to require the government to have DCJS
promulgate regulations so that DAs and child
protection agencies are mandated to work
together when reports are made and in fact
reports, in addition to being made to an 800
number, could be made to the DA and could be
made to a child welfare agency, providing more
options, and have a coordinated response in
every county.
There are models for that. That
happens now in at least one and probably more
boroughs in New York City. And I think that
the Governor, with his leadership and his
1732
criminal justice people, could work towards
that.
We have discussed internally and I
have discussed with my colleagues that it's
not always a great idea to have police
officers and DAs show up at someone's door,
that sometimes it's better to have a
caseworker go and investigate.
So this is a very, very complicated
issue. And I know that we are under great
pressure to get something done to address the
issue. But it would also be my wish, since
this is not an agreed-upon bill, to actually
have a hearing and get testimony from DAs and
child welfare advocates and lawyers to try to
address this problem.
I'm also very interested to see if
the Governor's DCJS people would be open to
working with us to craft legislation which
would more fully solve the problem.
As I say, I also think Senator
Saland's initial bill drafting is very well
intentioned, but I think that more needs to be
done. I think the amendment provides a very
helpful part of that discussion, but I do
1733
think that more needs to be done. And as I
say, I think that here in the Senate, we could
really do things to solve this terrible,
terrible problem.
I've really pretty much said most
of the things I wanted to say about it, and
I'm torn between voting no because the bill is
not good enough or voting yes because it's a
good start. And I know you're all waiting
with bated breath on what I'm going to do.
But really I have a very hard time with this,
because as I say I'm very, very concerned
about the issue of child abuse. I'm very
concerned about what's been happening in the
newspapers, and I want to be part of doing the
right thing.
So now in a spirit of hoping that
we can all work together in a collegial manner
on this legislation and really be a Senate in
the way I think our state leaders intended us
to be, I'm going to vote yes, with a plea that
we work together and that we craft a bill
which we can be proud of.
I'll be voting yes, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
1734
Hevesi.
SENATOR HEVESI: Thank you, Mr.
President. On the bill.
Mr. President, I supported the
amendment that was put forth by Senator
Connor. I think it was a better way to go
about this. But I recognize that there is one
substantive difference between Senator Connor
and Senator Saland, and that's on where the
mandatory report would go. I agree with
Senator Connor, I think it should go to the
district attorney. Senator Saland has a
difference of agreement on it.
But on the issue of eliminating or
extending the statute of limitations for civil
and criminal offenses, I don't think there
actually is agreement between Senator Connor
and Senator Saland. And I commend Senator
Saland for his bill and Senator Skelos for, in
two successive sessions, having brought
legislation that I supported and spoke out in
favor of to completely eliminate the statute
of limitations for Class B violent felonies.
And I think it's unfortunate that
the Assembly hasn't done anything on this and
1735
that we find ourselves in the situation now
where I suspect -- I don't want to speak for
him, but I suspect that if Senator Saland
believed that the Assembly would have found an
extension or elimination of the statute of
limitations on these things palatable, he
would have included them in his bill. And it
would have been a better bill as a result of
that.
Having said that, I support the
bill before us and I support the bill before
us, even though I don't think it's a perfect
bill, for primarily one reason. And I don't
want to single out the Catholic Church,
because this bill applies to all members of
the clergy. But that's the issue that's
really brought this whole issue to the
forefront.
And here's why we need this bill.
This is the position of the Catholic Church as
espoused by Cardinal Egan in a recent letter:
"Should the Archdiocese of New York be
approached with an allegation, we will make
the appropriate report to the proper
authorities, if there is reasonable cause to
1736
suspect abuse and the victim does not oppose
the reporting."
That's the position of the
Archdiocese of New York. I believe that is
almost the exact same position as Bishop Daily
in the Archdiocese of Brooklyn.
Now, that position is wrong, in my
opinion. It's wrong. Members of the clergy
are not experts. They are not trained to
assess the veracity of allegations. And they
don't have a track record of successfully
doing what they suggest that they would do
here.
Secondly, to put in the additional
requirement that a child who has been
victimized has to consent before they will
turn over or report evidence to civil
authorities is completely unreasonable. It is
just flat-out wrong to have an expectation
that a child who has been sexually abused is
going to be willing to come forward. If
anything, the presumption automatically is
that child is going to be terrified to come
forward and most likely will not.
And the result of having this dual
1737
requirement that the church will ascertain
whether they believe there is reasonable
evidence to move forward and report it and
that the child will have to consent to it, the
effect is the following: my child or the
children of my constituents may be in a
position where they may be abused by some
member of the clergy because the allegations
that came forward didn't meet these criteria.
And that's wrong. And that is why
we need Senator Saland's legislation here
today.
And I hope that whatever the
differences are between the Senate and the
Assembly on this -- and we disagree all the
time. But I would implore everyone who is
negotiating on this particular issue, be
reasonable. Compromise. Because we can't get
everything we want on this, but there must be
this mandatory reporting requirement, even if
we have to sacrifice what we'd want on the
statute of limitations or some other
provision.
This is absolutely essential.
We're talking about protecting children.
1738
And I'm not here to attack anybody,
but there has been a track record of conduct
which has permitted sexual abuse of children.
We're talking about child rapists here. I
don't care whether they're politicians or
teachers or members of the clergy, they're
criminals. They're criminals. Pedophiles are
criminals. They belong prosecuted and in
jail, and they belong out of an environment
where they can further victimize children.
And most of the pedophiles that
I've read about don't just do it once, they do
it again and again and again. And if we
aren't extremely vigilant to make sure that
these individuals are taken out of the
environment where they can abuse children,
then we have failed and we are going to see
another generation of kids growing up being
victimized.
And I suggest to you also that the
cases that we're now hearing about -- and I've
gotten emails into my Senate email on this
from 30-year-olds who are only now coming
forward because the press has made it
acceptable for people to come forward in their
1739
shame about what happened and talk about
this -- that the numbers are far greater than
what any of us really here can realize.
This legislation is essential, even
if it's not perfect. I urge everybody to
support it.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Schneiderman.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
Mr. President.
I will be voting for this
legislation. I know Senator Saland has taken
a very good stab at addressing a very, very
difficult issue, and we should not downplay
the complexity of it.
I do think that the system of
reporting as proposed in this legislation is
just unworkable. I think the variations
across the state are tremendous and the lack
of consistency in enforcement is exactly the
kind of thing we cannot have with this type of
crime. We need to ensure -- and that may mean
providing additional guidelines and
resources -- that if a crime like this is
1740
reported, that everyone in the state, all of
our constituents have confidence that it will
be dealt with in the appropriate way.
The one thing I do want to urge,
and I hope that this is not -- I hope this is
a problem that will not work to the
disadvantage of our constituents, it would be
a great shame if we finished this legislative
session without actually passing a law. And I
realize that sometimes we pass a bill, the
Assembly passes a bill, we don't agree on
something, we go home saying "We passed a
bill, what do you want from us?"
This is a situation where I think
there is a willingness on both sides -
certainly, from what I gather from my
colleagues in the Assembly, there is a
willingness there, or so they express it, to
negotiate out a bill, to resolve some of these
differences. And I hope that that willingness
is going to be present from our side as well.
I do think this is something we can
address. I think it is something that we have
the political support to address this year. I
would hate to see that opportunity wasted. My
1741
constituents don't want me going back saying,
"Hey, we passed a bill, but we couldn't agree
with the Assembly." They want to see a law,
they want to see us take action.
I do think with regard to the
statute of limitations the Assembly has
clearly opened the door to dealing with that
issue in the context of this legislation.
So we're all behind Senator Saland
and his team as they try and negotiate this
out. I just hope that we don't end up in a
situation where legislative gridlock prevents
us from addressing a critical issue at the
moment when we have the political support to
resolve it.
I will be voting yes, with the hope
that we are going to be moving forward on this
to pass a law this year.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
other member wish to be heard on the bill?
Then the debate is closed.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
act shall take effect on the 30th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
1742
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Saland, to explain his vote.
SENATOR SALAND: I'd like to take
this opportunity to merely bring up one point
that I did not in the course of the debate,
nor was it raised by anybody. It's something
that has been discussed and I think all of the
members are aware of it.
This proposal, this bill does
recognize the privilege that is associated
with CPLR 4505 dealing with statements made to
clergy by way of something in the nature of a
confession. And the language pretty well
tracks that. So I would want everybody to
have that comfort level and understand that,
because it's something that certainly has been
of concern to some of the members. And I just
wanted it to be on the record and have
everybody be aware of it.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Saland will be recorded in the affirmative.
SENATOR SALAND: In the
1743
affirmative, thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: I
thought so.
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Padavan.
SENATOR PADAVAN: Mr. President,
with unanimous consent, I'd like to be
recorded in the negative on Calendar 463,
Senate Rules Bill 6675.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Padavan will be recorded in
the negative on Calendar 463.
Senator Stachowski.
SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr.
President, I'd like to request unanimous
consent to be recorded in the negative on
Calendar 461.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Stachowski will be recorded
in the negative on Calendar 461.
Senator Dollinger.
SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr.
1744
President, can I have unanimous consent to be
recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
460, 461, 462, 463, and 464. I was in the
Energy Committee meeting when we did those
bills.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Dollinger will be recorded
in the negative with regard to Calendars 460,
461, 462, 463, and 464.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
would you please call up Calendar Number 395.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read Calendar 395.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
395, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 5309B, an
act to authorize the Town of Henrietta, in
Monroe County.
SENATOR CONNOR: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Alesi, Senator Dollinger has requested an
explanation.
SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, Mr.
President.
1745
This legislation, through the
request of the Town of Henrietta, would
authorize the town to sell acreage currently
used for recreation purposes so that they can
use the funds for purchase of additional
recreational property.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a home-rule message at the desk.
Senator Schneiderman.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: If the
sponsor would yield for one brief question.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Alesi, do you yield for a question?
SENATOR ALESI: One brief
question, yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you.
Through you, Mr. President. It has
come to my attention -- I can't pretend to be
an expert on this part of the state, but it
has come to my attention through the Sierra
Club that in fact in Henrietta, according to
them -- and again, I submit it for your
commentary as much more familiar with this
1746
area than I am -- that there is in fact
opposition to the sale of this land in
Henrietta, that it has now essentially
reverted to a natural state over the last
couple of decades, and that the area of Big
Ben Park would be threatened by the sale.
And I just would ask the sponsor,
are you aware of any local opposition? Have
any of the environmental groups been in touch
with you?
Because as the Governor has stated
so eloquently, the one thing we can't create
in this state is more wilderness. And where
we have it, it should be preserved wherever
possible.
SENATOR ALESI: Yes, Mr.
President, through you, I am aware of some
local opposition.
However, I am also aware of the
very strong support of the Town of Henrietta's
sitting board, which has made this request
through its home rule.
And with respect to the notes from
the Sierra Club, I have not seen them but I
would argue very strongly with their assertion
1747
that some of the land has reverted to nonuse.
And under the circumstances, I
would ask my colleague for support on this
legislation that comes with a home-rule
message.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank
the sponsor.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
other member wish to be heard on the bill?
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: Those recorded in
the negative on Calendar Number 395 are
Senators Dollinger and Oppenheimer.
Ayes, 58. Nays, 2.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Montgomery.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Mr.
President. I would like unanimous consent to
1748
be recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
130 and Calendar Number 461.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Montgomery will be recorded
in the negative on Calendars 130 and 461.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: If we could
return to reports of standing committees, I
believe there's a report to be read at this
time.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reports
of standing committees.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Wright,
from the Committee on Energy and
Telecommunications, reports:
Senate Print 1087A, by Senator
Wright, an act to direct the Department of
Public Service;
And Senate Print 2127, by Senator
Seward, an act to amend the Public Service
Law.
Senator Morahan, from the Committee
1749
on Veterans and Military Affairs, reports:
Senate Print 830, by Senator
Morahan, an act to amend the Tax Law;
1109A, by Senator Morahan, an act
to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
1665, by Senator Larkin, an act to
amend the Real Property Tax Law;
2122, by Senator Kuhl, an act to
amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
And Senate Print 2133, by Senator
Seward, an act to amend the Executive Law.
Senator Velella, from the Committee
on Labor, reports:
Senate Print 6154, by Senator
Meier, an act to amend the Labor Law;
6398, by Senator Velella, an act to
amend the Labor Law;
6426, by Senator Velella, an act to
amend the Labor Law;
And Senate Print 6595, by Senator
Espada, an act to amend the Labor Law.
All bills ordered direct to third
reading.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, all bills directly to third
1750
reading.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
is there any housekeeping at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: No,
there is not.
SENATOR SKELOS: Would you please
recognize Senator Connor, please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Connor.
SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Mr.
President.
Mr. President, I now call up my
motion to petition a bill from committee,
waive its reading, and take my time to explain
the bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Okay.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Senate Print
2643, by Senator Connor, an act to amend the
Election Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Connor.
SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Mr.
President.
1751
Mr. President, this bill is one
that I've attempted to bring to the floor in
the past, and it deals with campaign finance
reform.
Mr. President, obviously we know
just last week, in an amazing breakthrough on
the federal level, the campaign finance reform
bill passed both houses. The President has
either signed it or said he will sign it. And
on the federal level, that effort has gone a
long way toward restoring people's perception
of a level playing field and of eliminating
the undue influence of large and unregulated
soft money contributions and the extraordinary
at least appearance of influence-buying to
which both major parties were vulnerable
because of the competitive world we live in,
Mr. President.
We all know that whatever the rules
are, if you're going to play the game, we all
have to play by the rules. And so when
there's unlimited contributions allowed to a
certain account or another, everybody is going
to pursue them. Whether they think it's the
right thing or seemly or should be or
1752
shouldn't be, if the rules permit it, you're
going to do it.
This bill, Mr. President, would do
a number of things. It would eliminate
transfers among committees by deeming all
transfers to be contributions and therefore
subject to contribution limits.
It also limits contributions to
candidates' committees to a thousand dollars
per individual. Which, by the way, is now
stringent -- when drafted, was the federal
law, and now it's more stringent than the
newly reformed federal rule.
It also limits contributions to
party committees to $20,000. The current
limit now is, I think, $77,600 per individual.
It would abolish all soft money
housekeeping account donations. We know now,
for party committees with housekeeping
accounts, there is absolutely no limit on the
amount an individual or corporation or any
other entity can contribute. It's unlimited.
This would abolish housekeeping account
donations.
It would require the itemization of
1753
all expenditures to vendors in excess of a
thousand dollars. The Board of Elections has
attempted to do this by regulation in past
years. The idea behind this, Mr. President,
is so that you don't look at somebody's report
and see this huge check going to, in effect, a
general contractor, a consultant that then
turns around and pays printers and any other
variety of campaign vendors without disclosing
who they are.
It would restrict a candidate to
one authorized committee. There are those who
have multiple authorized committees and move
money back and forth between them in a way
that tracking the money, for the press and
public or even the opposition, becomes near
impossible.
And furthermore, it would prohibit
the use of campaign funds for anything
unrelated to a political campaign.
Finally, it would require
additional information from contributors which
are similar to what the FEC requires for
federal contributors. Namely, employment
information and so on, so that you can, you
1754
know, get a sense of the real source of money.
The measure is intended to restore
confidence in our political system. There
have simply been too many instances of the
appearance of undue influence created by
excessively large contributions taking
advantage of a variety of loopholes, from the
housekeeping account to the party committees.
Frankly, now someone can give
$77,600 to any one of the party committees in
62 different counties, plus the legislative
leaders' committees, plus the state
committees. And it's just an excessive amount
of money in the system.
The idea here is to make the system
transparent, to make it have credibility with
the public, and to disclose as fully as
possible where the money is coming from and
where it's going.
Mr. President, candidates, if this
becomes law, will still raise money. They'll
have to work a little harder at it. In my
opinion, that's a good thing. They'll have to
meet more people, they'll have to solicit
contributions from a far wider cross-section
1755
of the population in order to get the kind of
funds it takes to run for office.
This is a good thing. I believe
citizens should participate in our electoral
process not just by voting, but by
volunteering, and by writing a check for an
appropriate amount. I think that's a good
thing.
You know, the experiment -- I'm put
to mind of our former colleague here who was
up here a couple of weeks ago, Marty
Markowitz. Under the New York City system,
everybody said Marty couldn't raise money,
couldn't raise money. Never, when a Senator,
much to my often disappointment, he could
never raise any campaign money. Concert
money, yeah. Campaign money, no.
He went in that borough president's
race, and I said to him and other people said,
"Look, you've got to go raise the money."
And he literally raised -- I think
he ended up with 3400 or 3500 contributors,
only a handful of whom gave him as much as a
thousand dollars. His average contribution
was $200. With the program in effect there,
1756
it multiplied to the point where he had
$1.2 million to spend in his election race,
which was the maximum allowed to spend.
But it took a whole series of house
parties and ordinary folks who frankly, under
our current system, under pressure to raise
the money, you know, when somebody says "I'll
give you a house party and invite a whole
bunch of my friends who can write $50 or $100
checks," you sometimes think: Jeez, that's
not worth a couple of hours of my time. I've
got to go somewhere where I can meet, you
know, 25 people who can write a $1,000 check
if I'm going to get to whatever my fundraising
goal is.
Let's restore the purse strings to
the public as well as the vote. Let's have a
system where candidates and candidates'
representatives have to go to those little
house parties, have to meet with ordinary
people. Let's encourage the citizens to know
how valuable they are when they write a $100
check or a $200 check.
People don't participate in the
financial level because they think, well,
1757
those big contributors control the system.
The more money that gets raised for
politics and political campaigns and the more
money that's been spent in the last 25 or 30
years on political campaigns has resulted in
an ever-decreasing turnout among voters. And
I suggest, Mr. President, that that inverse
ratio may be our fault for not correcting a
system that cries out for correction.
Let's correct the perception. The
perception of what we do, the perception of
what political candidates do is very, very
important. That perception is the only thing
most of the public has any idea about the
system.
So, Mr. President, I would urge
that this bill be brought to the floor and the
petition be supported to bring this bill to
the floor so that we can act on it when we
come back and take our step in New York State
toward campaign finance reform.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those
Senators who agree to petition Senate Bill
2643 out of committee please raise your hands.
Announce the results.
1758
THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
agreement are Senators Andrews, Breslin,
Brown, Connor, Dollinger, Duane, Gentile,
Hassell-Thompson, Hevesi, L. Krueger,
Montgomery, Onorato, Oppenheimer, Paterson,
Sampson, Schneiderman, A. Smith, M. Smith,
Stachowski, and Stavisky.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
petition is not agreed to.
Senator Schneiderman.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
Mr. President. I thought we had that one.
But I would like to ask unanimous
consent to be recorded in the negative on
Calendar 395, Senate 5309B.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: You have
that one, Senator Schneiderman. Without
objection, you'll be recorded in the negative
on Calendar Number 395.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Andrews.
SENATOR ANDREWS: Mr. President,
I request unanimous consent to be recorded in
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the negative on Calendar 461, Bill 6617.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Andrews will be recorded in
the negative on Calendar 461.
Senator Paterson.
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President,
with unanimous consent I'd like to be recorded
in the negative on Calendar Number 461.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Paterson will be recorded
in the negative on Calendar 461.
Senator Montgomery.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Mr.
President, I want to be sure that I'm in -
thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: You're
already recorded as being in the negative on
461, Senator.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
there being no further business, I move we
adjourn until Monday, April 8th, at 3:00 p.m.,
intervening days being legislative days.
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And we wish everybody good health.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: On
motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
Monday, April 8th, at 3:00 p.m. Intervening
days will be legislative days.
(Whereupon, at 1:23 p.m., the
Senate adjourned.)