Regular Session - May 3, 2004
2096
NEW YORK STATE SENATE
THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
ALBANY, NEW YORK
May 3, 2004
3:16 p.m.
REGULAR SESSION
LT. GOVERNOR MARY O. DONOHUE, President
STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
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P R O C E E D I N G S
THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
please come to order.
I ask everyone present to please
rise and repeat with me the Pledge of
Allegiance.
(Whereupon, the assemblage recited
the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
THE PRESIDENT: In the absence of
clergy, may we bow our heads in a moment of
silence, please.
(Whereupon, the assemblage
respected a moment of silence.)
THE PRESIDENT: Reading of the
Journal.
THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
Sunday, May 2nd, the Senate met pursuant to
adjournment. The Journal of Saturday,
May 1st, was read and approved. On motion,
Senate adjourned.
THE PRESIDENT: Without
objection, the Journal stands approved as
read.
Presentation of petitions.
Messages from the Assembly.
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Messages from the Governor.
Reports of standing committees.
Reports of select committees.
Communications and reports from
state officers.
Motions and resolutions.
Senator Fuschillo.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you,
Madam President.
On behalf of Senator Libous, I wish
to call up Senate Print Number 6528, recalled
from the Assembly, which is now at the desk.
THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
654, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 6528, an
act to authorize the Village of Endicott.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Madam
President, I now move to reconsider the vote
by which the bill was passed.
THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
will call the roll upon reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 47.
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SENATOR FUSCHILLO: I now offer
the following amendments.
THE PRESIDENT: The amendments
are received, Senator.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Madam
President, on behalf of Senator Nozzolio, I
wish to call up Senate Print Number 5926,
recalled from the Assembly, which is now at
the desk.
THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
756, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 5926,
an act to amend the Highway Law.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator
Fuschillo.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: I now move to
reconsider the vote by which the bill was
passed.
THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
will call the roll upon reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 47.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: I now offer
the following amendments.
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THE PRESIDENT: The amendments
are received.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Madam
President, amendments are offered to the
following Third Reading Calendar bills:
Sponsored by Senator Larkin, page
number 40, Calendar Number 645, Senate Print
Number 5867;
Also by Senator Larkin, page number
43, Calendar Number 680, Senate Print Number
5866;
By Senator Rath, page number 49,
Calendar Number 767, Senate Print Number
6742A;
By Senator Bonacic, page number 50,
Calendar Number 777, Senate Print Number 6645;
And by Senator Larkin, page number
22, Calendar Number 251, Senate Print Number
5863.
THE PRESIDENT: The amendments
are received, and the bills will retain their
place on the Third Reading Calendar.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
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I believe there are some substitutions at the
desk.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, there are.
SENATOR SKELOS: If we could make
them at this time.
THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
will read.
THE SECRETARY: On page 4,
Senator LaValle moves to discharge, from the
Committee on Higher Education, Assembly Bill
Number 7143 and substitute it for the
identical Senate Bill Number 289, First Report
Calendar 922.
On page 34, Senator Fuschillo moves
to discharge, from the Committee on Labor,
Assembly Bill Number 8164 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 1779,
Third Reading Calendar 478.
On page 41, Senator DeFrancisco
moves to discharge, from the Committee on
Judiciary, Assembly Bill Number 7881 and
substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
Number 2829, Third Reading Calendar 658.
And on page 52, Senator Robach
moves to discharge, from the Committee on
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Health, Assembly Bill Number 9878 and
substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
Number 6398, Third Reading Calendar 802.
THE PRESIDENT: Substitutions
ordered.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
if we could go to the noncontroversial reading
of the calendar.
THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
189, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 2479, an
act to amend the Highway Law, in relation to
limitations.
THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the first of January.
THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
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490, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 1441, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
sentences.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it
aside.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
if we could have the last section read for the
purposes of Senator Golden voting, and then
we'll withdraw the roll call and lay the bill
aside.
THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 18. This
act shall take effect immediately.
THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Golden.
SENATOR GOLDEN: I vote aye on
S1441.
THE PRESIDENT: You will be so
recorded as voting in the affirmative on this
bill.
SENATOR GOLDEN: Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Withdraw the roll
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call and lay the bill aside.
The Secretary will continue to
read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
551, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 5075, an
act to amend the Highway Law, in relation to
the use and recovery of fines.
THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
act shall take effect immediately.
THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
580, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 6144B, an
act to amend Chapter 208 of the Laws of 1983
relating to enabling.
THE PRESIDENT: There is a local
fiscal impact note at the desk.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
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THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
629, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 4989, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
aggravated vehicular assault and vehicular
murder.
THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the first of
November.
THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
665, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 4389, an
act to amend the Banking Law, in relation to
unauthorized entities.
THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
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section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
act shall take effect on the 30th day.
THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
674, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 4008, an
act to amend the Private Housing Finance Law,
in relation to the powers of the New York
State Housing Finance Agency.
THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
688, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 3953, an
act to amend the Local Finance Law, in
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relation to providing for a period of probable
usefulness.
THE PRESIDENT: There is a
home-rule message at the desk.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
701, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 5460, an
act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
Law and the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
relation to requiring.
THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the 120th day.
THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
2108
passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
709 --
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: I vote no on
that bill, please. Thank you.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 701, Senator Montgomery
recorded in the negative. Ayes, 51. Nays, 1.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
709, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 6760, an
act to amend Chapter 511 of the Laws of 1995,
relating to establishing.
THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 52.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
724, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 1319B,
2109
an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
requiring a mandatory life sentence.
THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
act shall take effect on the first of
November.
THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50. Nays,
2. Senators Duane and Montgomery recorded in
the negative.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
731, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 2580, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to the
provision of large quantities.
THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the first of
November.
THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
2110
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 52.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
765, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 6720, an
act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
the use of certain federal funds.
THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53.
THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
passed.
Senator Skelos, that completes the
reading of the noncontroversial calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
can we at this time return to motions and
resolutions.
And I believe, Mr. President, that
I have a privileged resolution at the desk. I
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would ask that it be read in its entirety and
move for its immediate adoption.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Motions
and resolutions.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: By Senator Bruno,
Legislative Resolution Number 4751, honoring
the nurses of New York State for the
significant role they play in the delivery of
quality health care, in recognition of
National Nurses Week, May 6 through 12, 2004.
"WHEREAS, The health and well-being
of the citizens of the State of New York is of
paramount import to this Legislative Body; and
"WHEREAS, It is the sense of this
Legislative Body that those women and men of
humanitarian commitment who dedicate
themselves to the professional, compassionate
care of others merit the recognition and
commendation of all the citizens of this great
Empire State; and
"WHEREAS, Attendant to such
concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative
Body is justly proud to honor the nurses of
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New York State for the significant role they
play in the delivery of quality health care,
during National Nurses Week, May 6 through 12,
2004, in conjunction with the anniversary of
the birth of Florence Nightingale, the founder
of the nursing profession; and
"WHEREAS, Nurses are the heart of
health care. In hundreds of settings across
New York State and around the world, nurses
are essential to the provision of quality
health care; and
"WHEREAS, Nurses throughout the
state are working on behalf of all New Yorkers
in a wide range of settings. Their dedicated
expertise can be seen in hospitals,
long-term-care facilities, the halls of
research institutions, colleges, schools,
homes, and businesses; and
"WHEREAS, Further apparent is the
significant contributions that nurses have
made while serving in the United States Armed
Forces, showing a unique combination of
empathy and compassion while providing vital
health care leadership; and
"WHEREAS, Nurses exemplify the
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proud tradition of caring, service, and
tradition to excellence. Their
professionalism and unequivocal dedication in
support of the health and dignity of their
fellow citizens contributes significantly to
the well-being of this great State of
New York; and
"WHEREAS, It is the custom of this
Legislative Body to publicly applaud nurses
from the State of New York for their valuable
contributions to health care, both as
caregivers and patient advocates; now,
therefore, be it
"RESOLVED, that this Legislative
Body pause in its deliberations to honor the
nurses of New York State for the significant
role they play in the delivery of quality
health care during National Nurses Week, May 6
through 12, 2004; and be it further
"RESOLVED, That a copy of this
resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
to New York State Nurses Association, an
affiliate of the New York State AFL-CIO."
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Bruno.
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SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
thank you.
And colleagues, today, as you've
heard, we are recognizing and honoring nurses
all over the state, all over the country.
There are something like 303,000 nurses here
in this state. There's an organization, Gail
Myers provides leadership of an association
that goes back, I believe, to 1901 -- 34,000
nurses.
I don't have to share with my
colleagues here, or anyone, how important
nurses are in our lives. There isn't a member
here that hasn't in some way been touched or
affected by a nurse, personally or with your
families.
So this is very special. This is
Nurses Week. We recognize and we honor those
that help us in our daily lives in ways that
really represent kind of a labor of love and
of affection and of compassion. Because that
is a calling that you just don't do just
because; you do it because you want to and
because you care about people and because you
relate to people.
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Now, we are honoring especially
some nurses that are here with us who have
served in Desert Storm, Vietnam, Korean War,
Second World War, presently in Iraq. And I'm
proud to be able to recognize them
individually.
And I would just ask them --
they're here with us -- to just stand up,
starting with Major Paul Robertson, of Hudson,
who spent 120 days in Iraq and returned last
fall.
Lieutenant Colonel Lenore Boris, of
Saratoga, who serves in the U.S. Air Force
Nurse CORPS Reserve.
Major Elaine Tucci, of Delmar, who
served in Desert Storm.
Lieutenant Colonel Mary Lou
Clifford, of Rensselaer, who serves in the
U.S. Army Nurses CORPS Reserve.
Major Thomas Delong, of Troy, who
serves in the U.S. Army Nurse CORPS Reserve.
Major Robert Moore, of Cohoes, who
is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm.
Retired Major Helen Vartigan, of
Cohoes, who is a veteran of Vietnam.
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Norma Hudson, of Schenectady, who
is a World War Two veteran.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, these
people have served, as we just recognized, in
various places throughout the world, having
given of their time -- and some of them still
are.
So I just wanted to say a special
word of thanks to you, because you are
representative of all of the nurses throughout
the state and throughout the nation who do
whatever it takes, be wherever you are, to
help make people's lives better.
And I'm indebted for the
experiences I've had this last year, as I
spent a lot of hours in a hospital in
treatment, for the nurses that attend to you
on a personal basis and the way they do it.
And we know that you're proud of
what you do, and your families are proud and
your neighbors are proud. We want you to
know, as we recognize and appreciate you, how
proud we are of what you do.
(Standing ovation.)
SENATOR BRUNO: Is there another
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nurse that's here that we didn't recognize?
GALLERY MEMBER: You didn't
recognize me.
SENATOR BRUNO: Tell us your
name.
GALLERY MEMBER: Colonel Mary
Mogan, retired.
SENATOR BRUNO: And you served
in?
GALLERY MEMBER: WWII.
SENATOR BRUNO: And where's your
home now?
GALLERY MEMBER: Oh, Watervliet,
just up the road.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR BRUNO: Watervliet, we
are neighbors. Thank you. Thank you.
(Applause.)
SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you all.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maltese.
SENATOR MALTESE: Mr. President,
I was moved earlier by comments of the
Majority Leader that we were going to
recognize all nurses.
2118
And listening to the words about
the service of the nurses and the ranks that
our heroes have held, including those heroes
from WWII, brings to mind many of the contacts
that I have had over the years with nurses,
whether they were during my service during the
Korean War or, more recently, with visits to
the Veterans Hospital at St. Albans, the
Veterans Hospital in Manhattan, the New York
State Veterans Home in St. Albans, and others.
We know, it was said earlier, that
they are the heart of health care, and their
dedication is second to none, whether they
serve in the military or serve simply as
nurses.
Many years ago, nursing was a
profession that was not accorded the respect
that it is today. A few years ago, when the
AIDS epidemic began, we saw many people
shirking and turning away from nursing. And
indeed, nursing has become in some respects,
in many respects, even if it doesn't involve
service in the military, a hazardous
profession.
When we think of the exposure to
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blood as they courageously go about their
duties with accident victims and in operating
rooms or in hospitals, or in contact with
bodily fluids, or in contact with the many
needles that are constantly a part of the
their profession that may very well carry the
death-dealing hazard of AIDS, we have to
reflect on their courage and dedication, the
hours away from home, the hours away from
their loved ones as they help and minister to
our loved ones in hospitals. Their compassion
is essential in their positions as they deal
with children, dying children and others.
We in the Senate, under the
leadership of Senator Bruno, have recognized
the nurses today, and I think that we could
well recognize them every day of the year.
Mr. President, I second the resolution.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Hassell-Thompson.
SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
you, Mr. President. I wish to congratulate
Senator Bruno and this body for its
recognition of nurses.
As most of you know, I retired from
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nursing from a hospital, from a hospital
setting, but I continue to regard nursing as
the primary profession of my life. And I
continue to encourage women and men to become
a part of the nursing profession.
I have been asked, which I feel so
honored, at nursing schools and at graduations
to talk about this profession. And one of the
things that I would hope that we will continue
to do is if we believe that it is the
profession that it is and that we honor the
people who are in it, that as we look at the
legislation requests that nurses make for us
to look at the mandatory overtime and some of
the other issues before us, that we would do
that with concern for the fact that this is a
noble profession, but yet the working hours
and the time that is spent should be regarded
with the same level of respect that we do as
we celebrate this particular week.
So I thank you again for this
resolution. And I, as a nurse who reveres the
years that I have worked in patient care,
certainly know that we have a long way to go
before nursing is truly the profession that it
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ought to be recognized as, as we've done
today.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
question is on the resolution. All those in
favor signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: I'm
sorry. Senator Morahan.
SENATOR MORAHAN: Thank you, Mr.
President. I too rise in support of this most
thoughtful and timely resolution by Senator
Bruno.
The nursing profession, as has been
said so eloquently here by Serph Maltese and
Senator Hassell-Thompson and, of course,
Senator Bruno, speaks to the point that
there's legislation we need to do in the
coming months to create an environment that
will encourage more people to enter into what
Serph Maltese calls a hazardous profession.
It's hazardous, it's dangerous,
it's difficult for family life. And we have
to do what we can do here to ensure
appropriate staffing and eliminating mandatory
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overtime, which seems to be an impediment to
attracting new people men and women to this
most noble profession.
And indeed, there are other things
that we can do to help upgrade the profession
to make it truly professional -- by advancing
graduate courses, advancing the techniques
that they're able to use, enhancing their
ability to assist doctors and, in turn,
servicing the patient.
So I'm delighted to vote yes for
this resolution. Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Larkin.
SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, Mr.
President.
Nursing, a most honorable
profession. We were introduced to the men and
women of the nursing corps who served our
great country. I can't thank all the nurses
that have done such great things. I served on
active duty from 26 April, 1944, to 30 June,
1967. And I know that there are many men in
the South Pacific during World War II in our
units who wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't
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for the commitment of the nurses, who put
their personal sacrifice behind what was
necessary for the troops.
Many people who have talked about
Korea and about Vietnam have said that the
joint units of the nurses in their MASH
hospitals were the difference between life and
death. And I'm sure it's the same today in
Iraq.
The nursing profession has provided
us with another arm for the service in order
to ensure the best, the fastest, and the
quality care for our men and women who have
been wounded in combat.
Congratulations, and thank God for
you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Does any
other member wish to be heard on this bill?
Senator Marchi.
SENATOR MARCHI: I just -- I had
to muse about my own personal circumstances.
Back in 1945, I was serving my fourth year in
World War II, and I was dying of dengue fever
and dysentery. And I would say that the
supportive concern and affection that they
2124
demonstrated at that time saved my life. And
here I am; I'm still here.
But in any event, I have a daughter
who is an R.N. I'm very proud of the fact.
And I'm proud that we have a member over here
that is also a nurse in her own right.
So it's a felicitous circumstance
that I could not have anticipated, but I'm
delighted that at least we have this
opportunity, ably demonstrated by Senator
Bruno's initiative, to recognize the great
debt that as a society we all owe to them.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
other Senator wish to be heard on the
resolution?
The question is on the resolution.
All those in favor signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those
opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
resolution is unanimously adopted.
Senator Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: And, Mr.
2125
President, can we ask any member that would
like not to be on the resolution to let the
desk know, because we'd like to add all of the
members' names to this resolution.
And thank you, Mr. President, and
thank you, colleagues.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Members'
names will be added to the resolution. Please
inform the desk if you wish not to be listed.
SENATOR BRUNO: And, Mr.
President, we are going to have a Finance
Committee meeting in the Majority Conference
Room.
And I believe that since we have
some nominations to come to the floor to be
confirmed, and then we're going to be taking
up the Senator Volker bill after that, it
might be best serving the members here to
stand at ease while Finance meets. Because I
believe a number of the members would like to
be back in the chamber for the discussion on
the Senator Volker bill.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There
will be an immediate meeting of the Finance
2126
Committee. Pending the report of the Finance
Committee, the Senate will stand at ease.
(Whereupon, the Senate stood at
ease at 4:00 p.m.)
(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
at 4:55 p.m.)
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 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 SECRETARY: Senator Johnson,
from the Committee on Finance, reports the
following nominations:
As a member of the Dormitory
Authority, Brian Ruder, of Ausable Forks.
As a member of the State Board of
Real Property Services, John M. Bacheller,
Ph.D., of Latham.
2127
As a member of the Finger Lakes
State Parks, Recreation and Historic
Preservation Commission, James D. Howell, Jr.,
of Montour Falls.
As a member of the Fire Fighting
and Code Enforcement Personnel Standards and
Education Commission, Bruce E. Heberer, of
Johnstown.
As commissioners of the State
Insurance Fund, John F. Carpenter, of Elmira;
Donald T. DeCarlo, Esquire, of Douglaston; and
Terence L. Morris, of Burnt Hills.
As a member of the Medical Advisory
Committee, Brenda J. Trickler, of Waterloo.
As a member of the Board of
Directors of the New York Convention Center
Operating Corporation, Michael J. Stengel, of
New York City.
As directors of the Municipal
Assistance Corporation for the City of New
York, Kenneth Biaklin, of New York City, and
Darcy Bradbury, of New York City.
As a member of the Public Health
Council, Theodore J. Strange, M.D., of Staten
Island.
2128
As a member of the State Camp
Safety Advisory Council, Shirley A. Hansen, of
Lake Placid.
As Major General of the New York
Guard, Clarence B. Hartman, of Clifton Park.
As a member of the Board of
Visitors of the Helen Hayes Hospital, Jeffrey
Sweet, of Peekskill.
And as a member of the Board of
Visitor of the New York State Home for
Veterans and Their Dependents at Montrose,
Charlotte Craven, of Poughkeepsie.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the
nominations.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
question is on the confirmation of the
above-named nominees. All those in favor
signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those
opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
2129
nominees are confirmed.
The Secretary will continue to
read.
THE SECRETARY: As a member of
the State Board of Parole, Thomas P. Grant, of
Rensselaer.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the
nomination.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
question is on the confirmation of Thomas
Grant as a member of the State Board of
Parole. All those in favor signify by saying
aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Opposed,
nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
nominee is confirmed.
Mr. Grant has joined us today in
the gallery with his wife, Eileen, his son
John, and his son Thomas.
Mr. Grant, congratulations and good
2130
luck with your duties.
(Applause.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will continue to read.
THE SECRETARY: As a member of
the State Commission of Correction, Frances T.
Sullivan, of Fulton.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the
nomination.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Wright.
SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you, Mr.
President.
I want to commend the Governor on
his nomination of Frannie. We've had the
occasion to serve together as representatives
from Oswego County, Fran having served six
terms in the New York State Assembly.
In addition, she brings to this
nomination the experience of actually serving
as a probation officer, hands-on experience,
and prior to that having served as a
children's services case worker.
2131
So she brings the background and
the experience of the legislative chambers and
the legislative background and combines that
with the practical experience of work in the
field. That certainly is the attribute that
the Governor saw in his recommendation.
I know that her knowledge and
understanding of local government will
certainly be very beneficial to the task that
the commission has before them. So it's my
pleasure to join my colleague in nominating
and encouraging my colleagues in supporting
the confirmation of Fran Sullivan.
I'd also like to take the
opportunity to recognize several of my
constituents, those being her son and
daughter -- Gene, who is a deputy sheriff, and
Margaret, who is a nurse. So it's only
appropriate that we were recognizing
registered nurses earlier.
Frannie, good luck.
Thank you.
(Applause.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
question is on the confirmation of Fran
2132
Sullivan as a member of the Commission of
Correction. 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.
Congratulations, Fran.
And Fran is joined today, in
addition to Margaret and Gene, who Senator
Wright mentioned, by her daughter-in-law,
Jennie, granddaughter Janel, and grandson
Patrick.
Congratulations.
(Applause.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will continue to read.
THE SECRETARY: As a member of
the State Civil Service Commission, Daniel E.
Wall, Esquire, of Albany.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the
2133
nomination.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Balboni.
SENATOR BALBONI: Mr. President,
I've had the privilege of working with Dan
Wall in the private sector. He is somebody
who brings a unique combination of
temperament, wit, humor, experience and
intelligence. He's going to be an excellent,
excellent member.
And what I want everybody is
understand also is he's a guy who never takes
himself too seriously, but holds us in high
regard. So maybe sometimes his sense of the
world is a little off. But he's a
terrifically hard-working person as an
attorney and as a member of society. We can't
have picked a better person for this spot.
Congratulations, Danny.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Andrews.
SENATOR ANDREWS: Yes, Mr.
President. On the confirmation of Daniel
Wall, I just want to state that as the ranking
member of Civil Service and Pensions, I've had
2134
the opportunity to work with him under the
leadership of then Commissioner Sinnott and he
as the executive director.
And he has shown me to be a very
diligent and hard-working individual, and I
support this nomination wholeheartedly and
wish him much success in his continued
advancement in state government.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
question is on the confirmation of Daniel Wall
as a member of the Civil Service Commission.
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. Wall is with us today in the
gallery. He is joined by his parents, Robert
and Gloria Wall; by his wife, Suzanne. He's
also joined by Nicole and Lindsay Wall, his
daughters, by his brother, Richard Wall, and
his niece, Taylor.
Mr. Wall, congratulations.
2135
(Applause.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will continue to read.
THE SECRETARY: As a member of
the State Council on the Arts, Richard J.
Schwartz, of New York City.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the
nomination.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maltese.
SENATOR MALTESE: Mr. President,
as I indicated earlier at the meeting of the
Finance Committee, Dick Schwartz came to the
State Council on the Arts well prepared, with
an extensive background in business and in the
arts and culture.
In the almost 15 years that he has
served with the State Council on the Art as
vice chairman and as chairman, he has brought
a great deal of dedication to the position.
He has not forgotten that New York State has
62 counties. He makes it his business to go
to many, many events, no matter what distance
2136
is involved, takes a great deal of time from
his family and personal life to perform as a
very diligent and efficient and competent
chairman of the State Council on the Arts.
Certainly, as a resident of Queens
County, I know that many times my colleagues
comment on the fact that there are so-called
outer boroughs, there are counties in addition
to Manhattan. Mr. Schwartz has taken note of
that and has taken a great many remedial steps
to ensure that all the groups in the entire
state get an appropriate amount of attention
and funding from the State Council on the
Arts.
He's done an exemplary job, and I
am proud to second the nomination of
Mr. Schwartz as a member of the State Council
on the Arts.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Oppenheimer.
SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Thank you.
Well, I'm delighted that Richard
Schwartz is going to do this again. He's been
doing a fabulous job. I've known him for a
number of years because he has been totally
2137
committed to the arts, preservation of
history, just a lot of very good deeds he's
been doing throughout his life.
And the work that he did on the
Westchester Council on the Arts we are still
benefiting from, even though he moved away
from Westchester. And the work that he does
at Lincoln Center I'm very familiar with.
So we are very lucky to have a man
of this caliber willing to accept
renomination.
Congratulations, Richard.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
question is on the confirmation of Richard
Schwartz as a member of the State Council on
the Arts. 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. Schwartz is with us today in
the gallery, and we wish you congratulations
2138
and good luck, sir.
(Applause.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will continue to read.
THE SECRETARY: As a member of
the Metropolitan Transportation Authority,
John H. Banks, III, of Brooklyn.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the
nomination.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Ada Smith.
SENATOR ADA SMITH: Thank you,
Mr. President.
I would like to second the
nomination of John Banks, whom I've the
pleasure of working with for many years. John
is the consummate professional and has always
proven to be a master at whatever task he's
been given.
I would like to congratulate the
Governor and thank him for putting forth
John's name. And I know that he will do a
good job for all of the people of the State of
2139
New York.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Duane.
SENATOR DUANE: Thank you very
much, Mr. President. I also want to speak in
favor of this nominee.
John Banks is really a terrific,
terrific choice. I had the pleasure of
working with him. He's really smart, really
easy to work with, and just a terrific guy.
So I'm very, very happy to be voting in favor
of him today.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Sabini.
SENATOR SABINI: Mr. President, I
also want to rise in support of the nomination
of John Banks.
Like Senator Duane, I had the
pleasure of working with John in his staff
roles in the City Council, both as the finance
director and also as the chief of staff for
the speaker.
And he is a smart, even-tempered
person who I hope can bring some common sense
2140
to the MTA board and hopefully make things
better for the ridership as well as the folks
who have to suffer through what sometimes is
not a very pleasant commute. And I also
appreciate the fact that he is a mass transit
user.
So I want to support the
nomination, support the Mayor's nomination,
and say that I'm sure he'll do as good a job
at the MTA board as he has in his other roles.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Hassell-Thompson.
SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
you, Mr. President.
I rise to add my congratulations to
the appointment of John Banks. Mr. Banks is
someone that I've come to know in the last
four years who has provided tremendous
leadership.
And as someone who's on the
Transportation Committee and who has lots of
concerns about what is going to be what
happening with the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority, it gives me great pleasure to know
2141
someone with Mr. Banks' talent and skill will
be there to help us to resolve some of those
issues.
So I want to congratulate the Mayor
and of course our Governor for this particular
appointment.
Congratulations to you, John Banks.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Montgomery.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, thank
you, Mr. President.
It is a pleasure to be able to rise
and second the nomination of a person who not
only has an excellent resume and history and
whom I look forward to working with, but he is
also a constituent and therefore a
particularly important person. In that it is
in my district, he probably doesn't vote for
me, but that's neither here nor there. I
certainly understand that.
But I think the Governor has really
chosen an excellent nominee for the MTA. And
since my district is heavily impacted by MTA
business and operations, I really look forward
to having someone that I can reach out to, not
2142
only as an official representing the MTA, but
also as a constituent who probably has some of
the same concerns that I do and that residents
in my district have.
So congratulations, Mr. Banks. I
certainly look forward to working with you.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
other Senator wish to be heard on the
nomination?
Senator Diaz.
SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you,
Mr. Chairman. This Puerto Rican Senator takes
the position to praise the Mayor and the
Governor for appointing John Banks to the
position.
I met Mr. Banks when I became a
City Council member. He used to be the chief
of staff. And that time was a critical time
for the City of New York due to the new term
limits. And the new speaker, with few
experience, and the new council members that
got on board at that time, that was kind of
chaos.
And, ladies and gentlemen, the
2143
knowledge, the leadership, the dedication of
Mr. Banks to the city of New York and to the
City Council was so great and so magnificent
that he made an impact in my life. He also
was instrumental in appointing me as the
chairman of the Aging Committee on the City
Council.
And this man is one of the
brightest persons that I ever met. This man
is one of those leaders that even though they
hold no elected offices, he is one that's
shown to be concerned, to be dedicated, and to
care for the community.
I'm so proud -- I'm so proud that I
could hold this position and that I could give
my vote in the approval of this, of Mr. Banks'
nomination.
Mr. Banks, you deserve this and
more.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Liz Krueger.
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
Everyone has said so many things
about John Banks that I also just wanted to
2144
rise to say that he's been playing an
important role in New York City with so many
issues. And I look forward to his
participation on the MTA because, as we know,
we have many issues facing us in the future
with the MTA and we need the new energy and
the blood.
So congratulations, John. Thank
you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Andrews.
SENATOR ANDREWS: Yes,
Mr. Chairman. I'd like just to ditto all the
kind remarks said about the nominee,
Mr. Banks.
And for the record, even though
he's in Senator Montgomery's district, he's
right next door to my district, and I claim
him as a constituent too.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Wright. I didn't know that you had trains in
your district.
SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you,
Mr. Chairman.
2145
It's only appropriate that I join
my colleagues from the city. While the MTA
has yet to find its way to Watertown, John
Banks has proven to be a good friend the last
several years. We've worked together on the
energy issues. And I want to join my
colleagues commending John and congratulating
him on the nomination.
I move the confirmation,
Mr. Chairman.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
question is on the confirmation of John Banks
as a member of the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority. 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. Banks has been
patiently standing there in the gallery, and
we congratulate you, sir.
(Applause.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
2146
Secretary will continue to read.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson,
from the Committee on Finance, reports the
following bills:
Senate Print 7225, by the Senate
Committee on Rules, an act making
appropriations for the support of government.
And Senate Print 7226, by the
Senate Committee on Rules, an act to amend the
Executive Law.
Both bills ordered direct that
third reading.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
would you please call up Calendar Number 928.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, directly to third reading.
The Secretary will read Calendar
928.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 928, Senator Johnson moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Finance,
Assembly Bill Number 11066 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 7225,
2147
Third Reading Calendar 928.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
believe there's a substitution to be made
first.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitution ordered.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
928, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
Assembly Print Number 11066, an act making
appropriations for the support of government.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a
message of necessity and appropriation at the
desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There
is.
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.")
2148
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those
opposed, nay.
(Response of "Nay.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
message is accepted.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 26. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Schneiderman, to explain his vote.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
Mr. President.
I have voted no on extenders
before. The two bills that we're doing today,
in addition to the fact that they are
providing cover for the ongoing
dysfunctionality of our government, have a
further flaw which compels me to rise and
speak. And I will address the same issue -- I
could address the same issue with regard to
the second bill, which actually contains the
language I'm talking about.
2149
When we did the budget last year,
we promised our constituents that the sales
tax on clothing worth less than $110 would not
last, that it would sunset, that this was a
temporary emergency measure. And with this
bill, slipped in among all the other
provisions, and with the two bills we pass
today, there's a 30-day extender on this
extraordinarily regressive, counterproductive,
antibusiness and anti-working family tax.
The poorest 20 percent of
New Yorkers pay almost 10 percent of their
income in sales taxes. This is something I
hear about from merchants in my district.
This is not the way we should be balancing the
state's budget. And I strongly object to a
30-day extension of this regressive tax being
slipped into a one-week extender bill so we
can keep the state in operation.
I vote no. I urge everyone to vote
no on both of these budget bills.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Schneiderman will be recorded in the negative.
Senator Liz Krueger, to explain her
vote.
2150
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
Mr. President.
I too have voted against the
previous extenders and will vote against these
extenders. But I want to highlight again,
following up on what Senator Schneiderman
says, it's not just that we are sliding in a
continuation of the sales tax for low-income
New Yorkers, a population who already pay
nearly 10 percent of their income in sales tax
in the state, compared to 1 percent to
1.2 percent of their income on sales tax for
our wealthiest New Yorkers. It's not just
that we still have not come to a budget
agreement. It is not just that we have failed
to address the adequate revenue streams for
the State of New York and so instead we play
these games with sales taxes.
It's the fact that we refuse to
even evaluate the inordinately regressive tax
structure that we've established in this
state, continuing to put more and more of the
burden of the costs of the State of New York
on our lowest-income New Yorkers and our
working New Yorkers, and we continue to fail
2151
to make a fair budget that addresses the
concept of progressivity in our tax structure
and, rather, instead continue to have this
kind of regressive taxation on our people.
We also fail yet again, as I raise
every week now, that we did a handshake deal
on reforming the budget process, which at
least gave our constituents some hope that we
would perhaps finally change our rules in such
a way that we didn't revisit this exercise of
late budgets without any discussion, without
any transparency, without any open information
made available to the public. At least with
our reform package we would be able to say
this was our last year to be embarrassed about
this kind of process.
But we still have not seen any
bills coming out to institutionalize and to
establish that handshake deal into potential
legislation that we could take back to our
constituents and say we didn't do just a press
conference, we made a commitment to change the
rules of how we run the state and how we go
forward with a budget process each year from
2005, hopefully, forward.
2152
So again I stand up here and say
shame on us, have we made any progress since
last week or the week before or the week
before that. Even if we don't have a budget,
we should have --
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Krueger, the time in --
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: --
legislation on budget reform --
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Krueger, please don't interrupt me.
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Excuse me.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The time
in which to explain your vote has expired.
How do you vote?
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I will vote
no.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Liz Krueger will be recorded in the negative.
Senator Sabini, to explain his
vote.
SENATOR SABINI: Mr. President, I
too rise out of concern that what we're doing
here today, as I have said in the past when
2153
I've voted against extenders, is that our
inaction comes with a cost. There is a cost
to this.
And today the cost is obvious.
It's going to cost New Yorkers when they go to
buy clothing, when they go to buy footwear.
I'm wondering if there are going to be any
major press events with chief executives of
the state or the city going out to buy
clothing in the next couple of weeks as the
tax stays up instead of going down. I think
not.
The sad truth of it is that with
our budget deadline April 1st, we got to
April 19th having had two session days. Two,
out of those 19 days. We're now over a month
late, and we've been in session eight days in
over a month.
Senator Krueger has a reform bill
in that would require us to stay here until a
budget is done when the deadline comes.
That's the way it's done in other places;
that's the way it's done in labor
negotiations; that's the way it's done in
New York City and in other states. We should
2154
do that.
So I will continue to vote no on
these extenders until I see a desire on the
part of both houses to show some real concern
for a deadline and to admit that there's a
cost. There's also a cost to our school
districts, who will now start to budget their
year and they don't know what lines to fill in
from state aid.
So the system does not work, it
continues not to work. We had a nice show of
a conference committee report that has
resulted in no legislation, but we had an
April 1st press conference. I see no
difference now than I saw before April 1st.
And I will be voting no on this and hopefully
won't have to do this again.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Sabini will be recorded in the negative.
Senator Parker.
SENATOR PARKER: Mr. President, I
rise to vote no on this bill but to support
the people in my community who sent not only
me here but the folks all over the state who
sent all 62 of us here to the State
2155
Legislature to do one thing, which is to pass
the budget. And we have woefully not only
missed our deadline but obfuscated our
responsibility.
We need to have a budget now. Some
of you who -- I don't have children. Some of
you who have children, if you have a child who
is a sophomore in college, somebody who
interns as a junior or a sophomore, some of
them in their lifetime haven't seen an on-time
budget in the State of New York. In their
lifetime. And that really is shameful.
And although we've had talks about,
you know, reforming the system and we've put
up bills and have nice press conferences, we
haven't done a good job at that.
I'm voting no on this bill in part
because not only are we extending the extender
budgets without passing a real budget, but
we're spending our time now also continuing to
hurt the people of the State of New York, and
particularly the folks in my district who are
going to get hurt severely by this regressive
tax structure.
We are acting in bad faith here,
2156
slipping this into the middle of an extender
budget. You know, if people are serious about
doing it, let's have a real debate about this
in a full session and a real bill. But this
is -- this is horrible. I ask my colleagues
to change their votes to no and don't go on
with this sham and let's continue to try to
not only pass a budget om time but make sure
that we have a tax structure that's
progressive and not only does not hurt people
but also doesn't hurt our businesses as they
go into the busy summer season and try to make
a profit.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Ada Smith, to explain her vote.
SENATOR ADA SMITH: Thank you,
Mr. President.
I readily admit that there is not
much that I can do as a Minority State Senator
to move the budget process. That is totally
controlled by those three men in a room. But
we made a promise and a commitment to the
people of the State of New York that we would
eliminate the regressive tax and there would
be a deadline.
2157
And if I can do nothing else, I
will keep my promise to the people of the
State of New York and vote no.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Smith will be recorded in the
negative.
Senator Stavisky, to explain her
vote?
SENATOR STAVISKY: No, I'm voting
no.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Secretary will announce the results.
Senator Onorato, you wish to
explain your vote?
SENATOR ONORATO: I wish to vote
in the negative.
THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
the negative on Calendar Number 928 are
Senators Andrews, Diaz, Duane, L. Krueger,
Onorato, Parker, Sabini, Schneiderman, A.
Smith, Stavisky, and Dilán. Also Senator
Hassell-Thompson. Ayes, 47. Nays, 12.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
2158
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Please call up
Calendar Number 929.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 929, Senator Johnson moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Finance,
Assembly Bill Number 11067 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 7226,
Third Reading Calendar 929.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
substitution is ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
929, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
Assembly Print Number 11067, an act to amend
the Executive Law, in relation to Medicare
drug discount card agreements.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a
message of necessity at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes,
2159
there is.
SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: All in
favor of accepting the message.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
message is accepted.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Mr.
President, I'm seeking to be heard on the
bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Schneiderman, on the bill.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you.
This is the language provision
implementing the tax change that we spoke
about earlier. And to the extent that there
2160
is anyone in doubt about the merits of the
last bill, which admittedly at least was
necessary for keeping the operations of state
government going, there is no excuse for a yes
vote on this bill. This is something that is
economically regressive, politically
irresponsible, and, in terms of the commitment
that we made to our constituents when we did
the budget last year, absolutely dishonest.
I think that there is no -- if
there's any tax we should not be extending, it
is the sales tax on clothing under $110. Once
again, I urge everyone to vote no.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Any
other Senator wishing to be heard?
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
the negative on Calendar Number 929 are
Senators Andrews, Diaz, Dilán, Duane,
Hassell-Thompson, L. Krueger, Montgomery,
2161
Onorato, Oppenheimer, Parker, Paterson,
Sabini, Schneiderman, A. Smith, and Stavisky.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 44. Nays,
15.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could go to the controversial reading of
the calendar now.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
490, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 1441, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
sentences.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
could we have the last section read for the
purposes of Senator Wright voting.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 18. This
act shall take effect immediately.
2162
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
SENATOR WRIGHT: Aye.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Oppenheimer.
SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: No.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Oppenheimer, in the negative.
Senator Wright, in the affirmative.
Senator Bonacic.
SENATOR BONACIC: Affirmative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Bonacic, in the affirmative.
Senator Hoffmann.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Affirmative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Hoffmann, in the affirmative.
Senator Farley, in the affirmative?
SENATOR FARLEY: Senator Farley,
in the affirmative.
SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Affirmative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Fuschillo, in the affirmative.
SENATOR SKELOS: Please withdraw
2163
the roll call.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Could
the Senators announce their votes again,
please. Senator Wright is in the affirmative,
Senator Fuschillo in the affirmative, Senator
Hoffmann in the affirmative, Senator Bonacic
in the affirmative, Senator Oppenheimer in the
negative.
SENATOR FARLEY: Senator Farley,
affirmative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Farley, in the affirmative.
SENATOR BALBONI: I vote yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Balboni, in the affirmative.
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Paterson, we're still on the roll
call.
SENATOR PATERSON: We're on the
roll call?
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: We're
going to withdraw it in a moment.
SENATOR PATERSON: On the bill.
See, Mr. President, I wanted to stay here with
2164
you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes.
(Laughter.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
roll call is withdrawn. The bill is before
the house.
Senator Paterson.
SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you.
Mr. President, I would like very
much to extend to Majority Leader Senator
Bruno and to the members of the Majority our
appreciation that Senator Bruno took the lead
last week and asked for a conference committee
on this legislation.
There has been a concerted effort
and a bipartisan effort over the last few
years to create some reforms to the
legislation passed nearly 30 years ago,
commonly and heretofore regarded as the
Rockefeller Drug Laws. This was a great step
in helping negotiation, in helping people to
get back to the table, and we deeply
appreciate that Senator Bruno will do that.
It is such an important issue, in
my opinion, that for the Minority I've
2165
appointed myself to the position on the
conference committee. And I've also accepted
the appointment.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President,
these laws have been in effect for over thirty
years. Shortly before their passage in 1972,
our population in our state penitentiaries in
this state was about 12,385. In 1998, that
number sextupled. "Sextupled" is not a
prurient reference to the impeachment
hearings; it means six times. We had nearly
80,000 prisoners in this state.
Many of them are for offenses that
involve drug possession; many of them were
nonviolent drug possessions. Some of them
were, and are probably addressed in the bill
that Senator Volker brings before us today.
It will affect hundreds if not a few thousand
people, but they relate to the most severe
penalties, the As and the A-IIs.
And, most respectfully, I don't
think that's what the Rockefeller drug reform
message was all about. We think it related
more to the lower-level crimes, the ones that
2166
we are compelled to address. And it is very
disturbing that when all surveys show that
there really is not based on ethnicity any
greater or lesser use of illegal substances,
the fact is that 92 percent of those
individuals incarcerated on these drug
violations are minorities, African-Americans
and Hispanics, for the most part.
And it is our strong desire to make
sure that we are not impeding the progress of
another generation. People who are for the
most part -- not all of them, but many of
them -- nonviolent offenders, there is a
belief that most of these individuals, if you
go through their past arrest records, were
arrested for violent charges. I'm afraid that
I remember people I knew, people who wound up
incarcerated who were not violent offenders.
This is an issue that is obviously
very personal to me as the Senate Minority
Leader and very personal to me as a leader in
the communities of color greatly affected by
this legislation.
I certainly commend Senator Volker
for his work. Senator Volker is one of the
2167
most reasonable people I've ever talked to.
This is one area that even when we differed
over the issue of the death penalty, I found
his position to be very reasonable. And
particularly after September 11th, I find his
position to be more reasonable.
The fact is that when it comes to
the incarceration of people over the types of
statutes that we have, our drug laws, I
couldn't disagree more. This is an issue in
which the actual original incarceration
creates a culture of criminality in
communities where I don't think the people
really who live there were originally guilty
of anything more than perhaps some poor
judgment, for which all of us in our younger
years -- and even in some of our older
years -- are guilty.
It is alarming and in many respects
disturbing that so many people have seen their
lives frittered away out of one reckless act
and spent years of incarceration for it.
We did a study here in the Senate
Minority, and we found that in 32 states of
this country, there is probation for first
2168
offenses. There are 12 other states where
there's probation with conditions after the
first offense.
Of the six states that have
mandatory minimums, only Ohio comes close to
New York and their original penalties are
70 percent of what we have, 4½-year minimums
at least for any type of drug offense.
There's an argument that
prosecutors around this state have started to
address this issue. In some places, they
have. But we want a uniform law. If
prosecutors have started to address it, it's
because they understand the severity of the
previous legislation.
I'd like to add that Governor
Rockefeller really thought, when he introduced
the legislation -- and he introduced the
concept in the 1970 election -- that it would
be a deterrent. It wasn't.
And if it wasn't a deterrent, at
least now we can create some ideas that would
even perhaps touch the issues of mandatory
sentencing in these areas, but with an eye
toward reentry for those and getting the judge
2169
to be a player in the entire script, where we
try to get people who need help the help that
they actually deserve.
And a Supreme Court case in the
state, the State versus Sirro, showed that we
don't really rehabilitate people in prison, we
only incarcerate them. And this is probably
the worst example of it.
And so what I'm advocating for,
what members of the Minority conference are
advocating is that we go back and take a look,
as many who were part of the original
legislation have, and recognize that whether
we're Republicans or Democrats or whatever
part of the state in which we live, that we
owe particularly our younger generation I
think a greater opportunity than what they
have had to realize through the existing
legislation.
And so, Mr. President, that is what
we're going to be advocating for in the
conference committee, that's what we're going
to be advocating for in the rest of this
session. And hopefully we'll be able to
screen our differences to a degree that we can
2170
find something that will be recognizable as
reform but at the same time be understandable
to all parties here in Albany.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank
you, Senator.
Senator Duane.
SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Mr.
President.
The problem with Senate Bill 1441
is that it doesn't really make for real drug
reform. Unfortunately, it will only affect
those individuals who have been convicted of
Class A-I or Class A-II felonies, and that's a
very, very small percentage of the current
prison population.
In fact, if you look at the more
than 17,000 court-ordered incarcerations to
Department of Correction facilities in 2002,
which is the last year that I have the numbers
for, only 608 of them, only 608 out of more
than 17,000 cases, were for Class A drug
felonies. That's, I don't know, maybe -- it's
certainly less than 10 percent; it may be as
low as 8 percent. That's not real reform.
There's no way you could consider that to be
2171
real reform.
If we are really concerned about
drug reform here in New York State, then we
have to deal with the Class B drug felony
arrests. Just, you know, a figure on that,
there were 6,644 drug offenders sentenced to
Department of Correctional facilities in the
state in 2002, and 30 percent of them were
Class B felony drug offenses.
These are nonviolent offenders.
They were either selling or in many cases they
just possessed any amount, any amount, any
amount -- tiny amounts -- of any kind of
illegal narcotic substance.
So that means that a 19-year-old
who was caught selling a rock of crack could
be faced with a 4½-year mandatory sentence,
4½ years for a 19-year-old who bought a vial
of crack. Completely and totally out of what
normal criminal justice laws across the nation
would call for, but that's what that drug
offender would get in New York State. It's
completely and totally, utterly out of the
mainstream.
And well-intentioned though Senator
2172
Volker's bill may be, it doesn't address that
problem of sentencing a young person to a
minimum 4½ years in prison. I mean, wouldn't
it be cheaper to allow for that person to get
treatment on the outside? Wouldn't that be
more helpful than incarcerating them?
Wouldn't it be more reasonably priced? I
think so. And that's what we're doing across
the nation. What we're doing here is just out
of the mainstream of what happens across the
nation.
You know, district attorneys will
say: Oh, you know, we're putting people into
programs like the DTAP program -- which is a
good program, and we support that program.
But the truth is that district attorneys are
not putting people into the DTAP program or
similar programs in the state. I mean, if you
look at what happens across the state -- and
I'll do a sort of decreasing to increasing
percentage of what happens -- Erie County
sends 30 percent of the offenders that I just
talked about to prison; Monroe, 32 percent;
Broome, 45 percent; Saratoga, 45 percent;
Rensselaer, 69 percent to prison; Albany
2173
County, 73 percent to prison; and Schenectady
sends 96 percent of these low-level drug
offenders to prison. That's unbelievable --
96 percent of low-level drug offenders are
sent to State Department of Correction
facilities.
What a waste of life. What a waste
of money. It's absolutely unacceptable. And
again, well-intentioned though Senator
Volker's bill is, it would not address this
really terrible problem in New York State.
You know, we have to -- and this is
one of the things that we in the Senate
Minority have been talking about -- we have to
address the issue of the B felonies. We've
had hearings on it, we're going to continue to
have hearings on it. But that has to be on
the agenda for real, meaningful drug law
reform in our state.
And just, finally, you know -- and
I've visited many of our correctional
facilities, and I know many of our colleagues
have. But, you know, 80 percent of those who
are incarcerated in our state facilities are
black and Hispanic. So what does that mean?
2174
That 80 percent of the bad people or the
drug-addicted people are black and Hispanic?
I don't think that's true. I don't think
that's true. I think that is absurd. And yet
that's what our state prison facilities
reflect.
So let's, you know, stop letting
low-level drug offenders, nonviolent drug
offenders -- let's stop them, you know, from
rotting in prison. Let's, you know, really do
a drug policy in this state that's in the
mainstream of what happens in our nation. Not
doing it is really the shame of New York, and
really it's -- it's our shame.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank
you, Senator.
Senator Diaz.
SENATOR DIAZ: I just want to
vote in the negative, please. Can I?
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: We're
not on a roll call.
SENATOR DIAZ: Ah, come on.
(Laughter.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Does
2175
any other member wish to be heard on this
bill?
Senator Schneiderman.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Just to
follow up, I appreciate Senator Volker's
forbearance. I know this is an issue he's
work on for a very long time.
I think that -- and I hope everyone
here understands that Senator Paterson's
objection to this bill is that we really want
real reform this year. We're joined by
Assemblyman Aubry and by Dick McDonald, who
does good work in the Assembly on this issue.
They've been working for many years to see
real reform.
It has to go beyond the As. It has
to include a broader range of prisoners. And
it has to be free of the sorts of poison pills
that have killed these efforts in the past.
This conference committee should be about
reducing disproportionate sentences for
nonviolent offenders. That's what we're here
to talk about.
And I hope, as we go forward,
Senator Volker and Senator Paterson and the
2176
others on the committee in this house,
Assemblyman Aubry and the others from the
Assembly, will bear that in mind. We're here
to reform the drug laws, not for a few people,
but for thousands and thousands of people.
Let's get that job done this year.
I will be voting no on this bill
because it does not go far enough. But all of
us in our conference are proud of the work
that Senator Paterson and his staff did to
revive this issue, and we're very hopeful that
this year we will finally see some results.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank
you, Senator.
Senator Hassell-Thompson.
SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
you, Mr. President.
Just a couple of points that I
would like to add to the discussion. As we
look at the public safety issue, I'd like to
hope that in our deliberations that we will be
expanding the use of drug courts in New York
State to divert the nonviolent drug offenders.
Currently, these courts can be used
2177
to adjudicate offenders who have no prior
felony convictions. And rather than read all
this, I can just tell you one of the things I
think I'm most proud of is in the City of Mt.
Vernon, as part of my participation with our
city government, we created one of the first
and best drug courts, and it is a model for
many of the drug courts in the state.
And as I have attended the
graduations of each of these drug courts,
there have been, out of 60 graduates, one
offender who refused to go through the program
and was not successful.
And as we look at these
graduations, as we look at what is happening,
it becomes incumbent upon us to understand
that this is a way to deal with our nonviolent
felony convictions.
And additionally, the question
needs to be asked as to why the nonviolent
felony offense of drug possession carries an
average of 34 months when the average minimum
sentence for certain violent felonies is much
lower. Shouldn't we as a public safety
measure be more concerned about locking up the
2178
people we're afraid of rather than those
individuals who are suffering from a drug
addiction?
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank
you, Senator.
Senator Lachman.
SENATOR LACHMAN: This is
probably the first time that I've risen in the
Senate and say that I look upon this as a
ethical and moral issue.
We are basically permitting
murderers to go on parole in order to open up
our prisons to minor drug offenders. I think
this is unethical, and I think it's immoral.
When you know that a man such as
Chambers, the preppy murderer, went on parole
after 10 years when he killed a young lady in
Central Park, and when you realize that a man
called Steinberg beat his girlfriend to a pulp
and killed his child and will shortly be on
parole, then you know something is wrong.
We should admit that this is a law
that failed. Whatever the Rockefeller laws
were supposed to do, it has failed. And this
2179
bill does not address that failure.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank
you, Senator.
Senator Ada Smith.
SENATOR ADA SMITH: Slow roll
call.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 18. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Five
members are standing for a slow roll call.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: If we could have
the bells rung at this time. And I would ask
all the members who are within listening
distance to come over to the chamber so they
can vote on the slow roll call.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank
you, Senator.
Ring the bells.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Alesi.
SENATOR ALESI: Yes.
2180
THE SECRETARY: Senator Andrews.
SENATOR ANDREWS: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Balboni
voting in the affirmative earlier today.
Senator Bonacic voting in the
affirmative earlier today.
Senator Breslin.
SENATOR BRESLIN: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Brown.
SENATOR BROWN: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno.
(Senator Bruno was indicated as
voting in the affirmative.)
THE SECRETARY: Senator Connor,
excused.
Senator DeFrancisco.
(No response.)
THE SECRETARY: Senator Diaz.
SENATOR DIAZ: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Dilán.
SENATOR DILAN: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Duane.
SENATOR DUANE: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Farley
voting in the affirmative earlier today.
2181
Senator Flanagan.
(No response.)
THE SECRETARY: Senator Fuschillo
voting in the affirmative earlier today.
Senator Golden voting in the
affirmative earlier today.
Senator Gonzalez.
SENATOR GONZALEZ: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon.
SENATOR HANNON: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator
Hassell-Thompson.
SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Hoffmann
voting in the affirmative earlier today.
Senator Johnson.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator L.
Krueger.
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator C.
Kruger.
SENATOR KRUGER: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Kuhl.
SENATOR KUHL: Aye.
2182
THE SECRETARY: Senator Lachman.
SENATOR LACHMAN: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin.
SENATOR LARKIN: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator LaValle.
SENATOR LAVALLE: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Leibell.
SENATOR LEIBELL: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Libous.
SENATOR LIBOUS: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Little.
SENATOR LITTLE: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Maltese.
SENATOR MALTESE: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator
Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Marchi.
SENATOR MARCHI: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator McGee.
SENATOR McGEE: Yes.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Meier.
SENATOR MEIER: Yes.
2183
THE SECRETARY: Senator Mendez,
excused.
Senator Montgomery.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Morahan.
SENATOR MORAHAN: Yes.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Nozzolio.
SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Onorato.
SENATOR ONORATO: To explain my
vote, Mr. Chairman.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Onorato, to explain his vote.
SENATOR ONORATO: I want to
commend Senator Volker for taking the first
step. But in all fair conscience, I think he
didn't take the step far enough.
While he's making recommendations
here to reduce the sentences of the most
serious of all the drug felons that are in
prison, those that are of a lesser caliber
should also be getting the same equal break as
the worst offenders should.
So when you expand this bill to
include all of them -- you know, we're still
2184
all part of the same country and the same
state. And we should treat all of our
citizens, whether they're in prison or out of
prison, equally. So until we treat them
equally, I am going to vote no.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Onorato will be recorded in the
negative.
THE SECRETARY: Senator
Oppenheimer voting in the negative earlier
today.
Senator Padavan.
SENATOR PADAVAN: Yes.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Parker.
SENATOR PARKER: Nay.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Paterson.
(Senator Paterson was indicated as
voting in the negative.)
THE SECRETARY: Senator Rath.
SENATOR RATH: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Robach.
SENATOR ROBACH: Yes.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Sabini.
SENATOR SABINI: Nay.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Saland.
2185
SENATOR SALAND: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Sampson.
SENATOR SAMPSON: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator
Schneiderman.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Seward.
SENATOR SEWARD: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Yes.
THE SECRETARY: Senator A. Smith.
SENATOR ADA SMITH: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator M. Smith,
excused.
Senator Spano.
SENATOR SPANO: Aye.
THE SECRETARY: Senator
Stachowski.
SENATOR STACHOWSKI: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Stavisky.
SENATOR STAVISKY: No.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Trunzo.
SENATOR TRUNZO: Yes.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Velella.
SENATOR VELELLA: Aye.
2186
THE SECRETARY: Senator Volker.
SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
may I explain my vote.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Volker, to explain his vote.
SENATOR VOLKER: Well, I vowed to
be a good boy today, as I said. And to try to
be brief, I don't agree with a lot of what has
been said here today, only from the
standpoint -- and I'll say it again, I was
there for the Rockefeller Drug Laws. I
opposed them initially. We made the Governor
change his drug laws. They've been changed
time after time after time.
What we have in this bill really is
the last of the Rockefeller Drug Laws to be
amended. However -- and Eric Senator
Schneiderman and I talked about this last
year -- you're still arguing about changes
that were changed many years ago in B
felonies.
I guess part of my problem is that
we have already made enormous changes, and
people -- probably more people per capita are
getting treatment in this state than virtually
2187
any other state in the union. You know, the
shock incarceration program is down so much
because we can't find enough nonviolent drug
people to get into the program.
What this bill basically does is
say that we change indeterminate sentences to
determinate sentences. We change the 15
minimum to 25 to life to 10 minimum to 20 --
in effect, eliminate the life term -- and give
an option to do something which is really
already being done, but on a more broad basis,
to have people looked at, have their sentences
looked at who are A-I and in certain cases
A-II felons.
By the way, I think a hundred and
some people have been let out because of the
law we passed last year as part of the budget.
It got almost no press because everybody was
zeroing in on the lesser number people.
Let me remind you of something. No
one goes to jail as a first-time felony
offender, because usually they've been
arrested about 10 or 15 times before they ever
go to jail, even in New York City or upstate.
I mean, it's a little bit disingenuous to
2188
think that DAs are going to prosecute people
and send them to long sentences away.
Now, that doesn't mean, by the way,
that we shouldn't look at the laws. And I've
said that all the way along. I think we
should take a look at it. But let's not say
that this state hasn't done anything. We're
the only state in the union with a declining
inmate population, rather decided declining.
And everyone knows that our level of violence
in our prisons may be the highest in the
nation. It's close to 75 percent.
California -- this chamber is
talking about California. No question,
california has a heck of a problem of
warehousing, 170,000 people. They're letting
people out. We're down to about 63,000. Just
a few years ago, we were even with California.
So anyways, I understand the nature
of this issue. And I appreciate, by the way,
that we can deal with -- the reason we're
dealing with this, by the way, right now is
because this is the basis of the conference
committee for this house. And I'm not saying
this -- I've never said this is all we're
2189
going to do.
I did feel, however, last year that
this was the way to deal with the last of the
major Rockefeller Drug Law issues. I never
said that we weren't going to deal with drug
law potential reform. But I would like to
point that out. It's a little bit of a
something for me, because of the Rockefeller
Drug Laws and because of my involvement in it,
I ended up here in the Senate. Because Nelson
Rockefeller came after me, and several people
got indicted and all sorts of stuff. He was
one tough dude, that's all I can say to you.
But it's a fact -- and therefore,
this is a personal issue for me. Not to
defend the Rockefeller Drug Laws, but the
issue of how this occurred and what's left and
so forth.
So we are going to have a
conference committee. And I can assure
everybody here, I'm going to do what I can to
try to come to a reasonable compromise with
the Assembly, avoiding a jail break, but to
attempt to find a better way to deal with drug
arrests.
2190
So having said that, I vote yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank
you.
Senator Volker will be recorded in
the affirmative.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Wright
recorded in the affirmative earlier today.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Secretary will call the absentees.
THE SECRETARY: Senator
DeFrancisco.
SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Flanagan.
SENATOR FLANAGAN: Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 37. Nays,
22.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Is there any
housekeeping at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: There
is no housekeeping at the desk, Senator.
2191
SENATOR SKELOS: There being no
further business to come before the Senate, I
move we stand adjourned until Tuesday,
May 4th, at 3:00 p.m.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: On
motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
Tuesday, May 4th, at 3:00 p.m.
(Whereupon, at 6:00 p.m., the
Senate adjourned.)