Regular Session - June 17, 2004
4050
NEW YORK STATE SENATE
THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
ALBANY, NEW YORK
June 17, 2004
11:16 a.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
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Senate will come to order.
I ask that everyone present please
rise and repeat with me the Pledge of
Allegiance.
(Whereupon, the assemblage recited
the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: In
the absence of clergy, would you please bow
your heads for a moment of silence.
(Whereupon, the assemblage
respected a moment of silence.)
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Reading of the Journal.
THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
Wednesday, June 16, the Senate met pursuant to
adjournment. The Journal of Tuesday, June 15,
was read and approved. On motion, Senate
adjourned.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
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 Bonacic.
SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, Mr.
President.
Amendments are offered to the
following Third Reading Calendar bills:
Senator Hoffmann, page 26, Calendar
Number 879, Senate Print 7150;
Senator Farley, page 38, Calendar
Number 1106, Senate Print 6796;
Senator Hannon, page 41, Calendar
1193, Senate Print 4148;
Senator Larkin, page 45, Calendar
Number 1281, Senate Print 5424A;
Senator Leibell, page 4, Calendar
Number 51, Senate Print 4330A;
Senator Leibell, page 42, Calendar
Number 1208, Senate Print 2359;
And last but not least, Senator
Leibell again, pretty active, page 26,
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Calendar Number 839, Senate Print 7077.
Mr. President, I now move that
these bills retain their place on the order of
third reading.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The amendments are received, and the bills
will retain their place on third reading.
SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Senator Meier.
SENATOR MEIER: Thank you, Mr.
President.
On behalf of Senator Bruno, I wish
to call up his bill, Senate Print Number 6206,
recalled from the Assembly, which is now at
the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
326, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 6206, an
act to amend the Tax Law.
SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President, I
now wish to reconsider the vote by which this
bill was passed.
4054
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will call the roll on
reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 40.
SENATOR MEIER: Mr. President, I
now offer the following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The amendments are received.
Senator McGee.
SENATOR McGEE: Mr. President, on
behalf of yourself, also known as Senator
DeFrancisco, I wish to call up your bill,
Print Number 6909, recalled from the Assembly,
which is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Thank you very much.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
838, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
6909, an act to amend the Public Authorities
Law.
SENATOR McGEE: Mr. President, I
now move to reconsider the vote by which this
bill was passed.
4055
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will call the roll on
reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 40.
SENATOR McGEE: Mr. President, I
now offer the following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The amendments are received.
SENATOR McGEE: Mr. President, on
behalf of Senator Spano, I wish to call up his
bill, Print Number 6760, recalled from the
Assembly, which is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
709, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 6760, an
act to amend Chapter 511 of the Laws of 1995.
SENATOR McGEE: Mr. President, I
now move to reconsider the vote by which this
bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will call the roll on
reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
4056
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 41.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: So
ordered.
SENATOR McGEE: Mr. President, on
behalf of Senator Mendez, I wish to call up
her bill, Print Number 6814, recalled from the
Assembly, which is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
972, by Senator Mendez, Senate Print 6814, an
act to amend the Labor Law.
SENATOR McGEE: Mr. President, I
now move to reconsider the vote by which this
bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will call the roll on
reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 41.
SENATOR McGEE: Thank you very
much, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Senator Spano.
SENATOR SPANO: Are there any
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substitutions at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Yes, there are.
SENATOR SPANO: We ask that they
be read.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: On page 7,
Senator Larkin moves to discharge, from the
Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number 9436B
and substitute it for the identical Senate
Bill Number 5864A, Third Reading Calendar 175.
On page 14, Senator Leibell moves
to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 11167 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 1332A,
Third Reading Calendar 427.
On page 24, Senator Libous moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 10237 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 4586,
Third Reading Calendar 800.
On page 31, Senator Spano moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 10004 and substitute it
4058
for the identical Senate Bill Number 6361,
Third Reading Calendar 998.
On page 34, Senator Marcellino
moves to discharge, from the Committee on
Rules, Assembly Bill Number 9890C and
substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
Number 6268C, Third Reading Calendar 1042.
On page 39, Senator Breslin moves
to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 8727A and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 5356A,
Third Reading Calendar 1157.
On page 45, Senator Robach moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 990C and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 4127B,
Third Reading Calendar 1277.
On page 45, Senator Golden moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 7188A and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 4180A,
Third Reading Calendar 1278.
On page 50, Senator Libous moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 8838A and substitute it
4059
for the identical Senate Bill Number 6830A,
Third Reading Calendar 1378.
And on page 51, Senator Leibell
moves to discharge, from the Committee on
Rules, Assembly Bill Number 10015A and
substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
Number 7114, Third Reading Calendar 1453.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Substitutions ordered.
Senator Spano.
SENATOR SPANO: Can we have the
noncontroversial reading of the calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will read the noncontroversial
calendar.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
173, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
Assembly Print Number 8586A, an act to amend
the Agriculture and Markets Law, in relation
to prohibiting.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
4060
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 43.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
175, substituted earlier today by Member of
the Assembly Magee, Assembly Print Number
9436B, an act to amend the Agriculture and
Markets Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the 180th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 43.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
267, by Senator Skelos --
SENATOR SPANO: Lay it aside
temporarily.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
4061
Lay the bill aside temporarily.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
415, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 6208, an
act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation to
determining.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 10. This
act shall take effect on the 180th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 43.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
433, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 2577A --
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it
aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Lay the bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
443, by Member of the Assembly Gromack,
Assembly Print Number 9661, an act to amend
the Transportation Law, in relation to
4062
exempting drivers.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 42. Nays,
1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
764, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 6265A,
an act in relation to authorizing the approval
of certain transportation contracts.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 43.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
4063
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
910, by Member of the Assembly Abbate,
Assembly Print Number 9798, an act to amend
the Retirement and Social Security Law and the
Administrative Code of the City of New York.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
There is a home-rule message at the desk.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 43.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
940, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 2063B,
an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law and
others, in relation to a separate assessment.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 17. This
act shall take effect immediately.
4064
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 43. Nays,
1. Senator Rath recorded in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
957, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 6540, an
act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
designating February 15th as Susan B. Anthony
Day.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Senator Krueger, why do you rise?
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
to explain my vote.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Please do so.
4065
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
Mr. President.
I'm so proud to be in the Senate
the day that we are honoring and creating a
day of commemoration for Susan B. Anthony.
She fought the fight for women's suffrage and
women's right to vote starting in the 1800s.
Women finally got the right to vote in
New York State in 1917, several years before
the federal amendment to the Constitution.
She was an activist, a radical in
her time. She was the proprietor of a
newspaper called "The Revolution."
She ended up being sued in court
for attempting to vote in New York State in
1872 and being found guilty of illegally
voting because she actually successfully went
and voted. She pled not guilty to the
charges. She was dragged through the courts
and found guilty. She was fined $100, which
in the 1800s was an enormous amount of money,
and she refused to pay.
Her efforts on behalf of women
throughout this country -- and men throughout
this country, because we all are served better
4066
by having a country where everyone has equal
rights to vote -- should never be forgotten,
certainly not in her home state of New York.
So while one might argue why didn't
we do this earlier, I'm very glad and I thank
Senator Alesi for moving through a bill to
ensure that future generations in New York
State will never forget the contributions that
Susan B. Anthony has made to all of us and to
democracy in New York.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Senator Alesi, to explain his vote.
SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, Mr.
President.
And I thank my colleague for her
comments extolling the virtues of our passing
this bill today.
And as someone who has lived and
grown up in Rochester, New York, I am
particularly proud that Susan B. Anthony spent
most of her time in residence there. And as
has been pointed out on numerous occasions,
she is viewed by many in this nation, and in
fact worldwide, as the moving force behind the
4067
women's suffrage movement.
In fact, the 19th Amendment most
likely would not have been passed were it not
for the efforts of Susan B. Anthony. That
amendment to the United States Constitution is
what gave women the right to vote.
But Susan B. Anthony was also
extremely active in efforts to end slavery,
and of course that was the 13th Amendment to
the Constitution of the United States.
Susan B. Anthony -- again, who
spent most of her time in Rochester, lived
there, and for whom the Susan B. Anthony House
has been established and is a museum now in
our community -- was also a publisher, with
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, of a newspaper called
"The Revolution." And that newspaper,
unpopular to some people, was very popular to
those people who were favoring labor rights,
civil rights, rights for women's property
ownership, and rights for women in fact to
have custody of their own children.
The University of Rochester, which
is a world-renowned educational center, did
not allow women into the university until
4068
1900, and that was only because of the efforts
of Susan B. Anthony and her willingness to put
her own financial security at stake to fund
women's entry into the University of
Rochester.
So I think it's fitting and proper,
and I know my colleagues from the Rochester
area join me, as well as all of my colleagues,
in recognizing the importance of Susan B.
Anthony's efforts on behalf of women's rights,
slavery abolition, labor rights, to recognize
her with this commemorative day. And I invite
all of my colleagues to join us in passing
this bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 48.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
Senator Spano, why do you rise?
SENATOR SPANO: Mr. President,
there will be an immediate Majority conference
in the Majority Conference Room. And we ask
that the Senate stand at ease.
Could you please recognize Senator
4069
Ada Smith.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Senator Smith.
SENATOR ADA SMITH: Thank you,
Mr. President.
There will be an immediate
conference of the Minority in the Minority
Conference Room.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: An
immediate meeting of the Majority in the
Majority Conference Room, and an immediate
meeting of the Minority in the Minority
Conference Room.
The Senate shall stand at ease.
(Whereupon, the Senate stood at
ease at 11:35 a.m.)
(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
at 12:37 p.m.)
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could return to motions and resolutions,
I believe there are several resolutions on the
floor.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
4070
Motions and resolutions.
Senator Wright.
SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you, Mr.
President. I wish to call up Calendar Number
858, Assembly Print Number 6506.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
858, by Member of the Assembly Grannis,
Assembly Print Number 6506, an act to amend
the Tax Law.
SENATOR WRIGHT: I now move to
reconsider the vote by which this Assembly
bill was substituted for Senator Flanagan's
bill, Print Number 4216, on June 7th.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
SENATOR WRIGHT: I now move that
Assembly Bill Number 6506 be recommitted to
the Committee on Rules and that Senator
Flanagan's bill be restored to the order of
Third Reading Calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: So
4071
ordered.
SENATOR WRIGHT: And now, Mr.
President, I now offer the following
amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The amendments are received.
SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President,
again on behalf of Senator Flanagan, I wish to
call up Calendar Number 1233, Assembly Print
Number 2645A.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1233, by Member of the Assembly McLaughlin,
Assembly Print Number 2645A, an act to amend
the Executive Law and others.
SENATOR WRIGHT: I now move to
reconsider the vote by which this Assembly
bill was substituted for Senate Print Number
7066 on May 20th.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
SENATOR WRIGHT: I now move that
4072
Assembly Bill Number 2645A be recommitted to
the Committee on Rules and the Senate bill be
restored to the order of Third Reading
Calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: So
ordered.
SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President, I
now offer the following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The amendments are received.
SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President,
on behalf of Senator Hoffmann, I wish to call
up Print Number 6349, recalled from the
Assembly, which is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
935, by Senator Hoffmann, Senate Print 6349,
an act to amend the Agriculture and Markets
Law.
SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President, I
now move to reconsider the vote by which this
bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll on reconsideration.
4073
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President, I
now offer the following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The amendments are received.
SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President,
amendments are offered to the following Third
Reading Calendar bills:
Senator Fuschillo, page number 25,
Calendar Number 832, Senate Print Number
6960A;
Senator Maziarz, page 26, Calendar
Number 869, Senate Print Number 6596;
Senator Spano, page number 27,
Calendar Number 907, Senate Print 6846;
Senator Spano, page 33, Calendar
Number 1025, Senate Print Number 5243C;
Senator Skelos, page 41, Calendar
1190, Senate Print 6610A;
Senator Marcellino, page 51,
Calendar 1441, Senate Print 4523A.
Mr. President, I now move that
these bills retain their place on the order of
third reading. Thank you.
4074
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The amendments are received, and the bills
will retain their place on the Third Reading
Calendar.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Are there any
substitutions at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Yes, there is a substitution. Or actually
two.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: On page 9,
Senator Skelos moves to discharge, from the
Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number 8636C
and substitute it for the identical Senate
Bill Number 5156C, Third Reading Calendar 267.
And on page 38, Senator Saland
moves to discharge, from the Committee on
Rules, Assembly Bill Number 9814A and
substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
Number 5937A, Third Reading Calendar 1105.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Substitutions ordered.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
4075
there will be an immediate meeting of the
Rules Committee in the Majority Conference
Room.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
the Majority Conference Room.
SENATOR SKELOS: And if we could
return to the noncontroversial reading of the
calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will read where we left off on
the noncontroversial calendar.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
998, substituted earlier today by Member of
the Assembly Brodsky, Assembly Print Number
10004, an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic
Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
There is a home-rule message at the desk.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
act shall take effect on the 30th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
4076
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
999, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 6426, an
act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
relation to authorizing.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
There is a home-rule message at the desk.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Senator Breslin.
SENATOR BRESLIN: Yes, Mr.
President, to explain my vote.
I'm delighted to vote in favor of
this parking permit bill, as I was a moment
ago for Senator Spano's bill and for parking
permit systems that have been approved by this
body in the past, including parts of
Rochester, the City of Rye, the Village of
4077
Pelham, the City of Auburn, the Village of
Tarrytown, the Village of Tuckahoe, the City
of Peekskill, and the Village of Cold Springs,
all that inure to the benefit of those local
citizens and enhance their quality of life to
be free of pollution from cars and, more
importantly, to be able to park in front of
their houses.
And I too have a bill dealing with
the City of Albany that I introduced, I
believe, in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000. And it's
a bill that is in effect this year as well,
that's passed the Assembly.
And I hope that when that bill gets
to this floor that I can count on the members
of this body to allow the citizens of Albany
to enjoy the same benefits as many of those
locations I have just mentioned.
But I vote in the affirmative.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Announce the vote.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
4078
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1002, by Member of the Assembly Galef,
Assembly Print Number 9705A, an act to amend
the Vehicle and Traffic Law and others.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1004, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 7164A,
an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
in relation to production.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
4079
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1021, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 7165A,
an act to authorize payment of building aid.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1039, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 6020A,
an act to amend the Environmental Conservation
Law, in relation to authorizing.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
4080
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1069, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 335B,
an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
in relation to increasing the minimum period.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
act shall take effect on the first of
November.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1075, by Senator McGee, Senate Print 5114, an
act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law, in
relation to including limited liability.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
4081
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1077, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 6152A,
an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
in relation to the installation.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1105, substituted earlier today by Member of
4082
the Assembly Brodsky, Assembly Print Number
9814A, an act to amend the Limited Liability
Company Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1122, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 4846, an
act to amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules,
in relation to authorizing.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
4083
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
Senator Spano.
SENATOR SPANO: Mr. President,
can we please go back to Calendar 267.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The Secretary will read Calendar Number 267.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
267, substituted earlier today by the Assembly
Committee on Rules, Assembly Print Number
8636C, an act to amend the Public Health Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the first of
November.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1157, substituted earlier today by the
Assembly Committee on Rules, Assembly Print
4084
Number 8727A, an act authorizing the Coeymans
Hollow Volunteer Fire Corporation.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1162, by Member of the Assembly Gunther --
SENATOR SPANO: Lay it aside for
the day, please.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Lay the bill aside for the day.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1169, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 7134B,
an act to authorize the assessor of the County
of Nassau.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4085
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. Nays,
1. Senator Bonacic recorded in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1247, by Member of the Assembly Gantt,
Assembly Print Number 613, an act to amend the
Vehicle and Traffic Law, in relation to the
use.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1259, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 5070A,
4086
an act to amend the Education Law, in relation
to the education of children.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 9. This
act shall take effect on the first of
September.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1265, by Member of the Assembly Abbate,
Assembly Print Number 3995A, an act to amend
the Retirement and Social Security Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
4087
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1269, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 2821, an
act to amend the Civil Service Law, in
relation to the maximum age requirement.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1274, by Member of the Assembly Abbate,
Assembly Print Number 4356, an act to amend
the Civil Service Law, in relation to
providing.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
4088
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1278, substituted earlier today by Member of
the Assembly Abbate, Assembly Print Number
7188A, an act to amend the Administrative Code
of the City of New York and the Education Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1294, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 6904, an
act to amend the Civil Service Law, in
relation to the resolution of disputes.
4089
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
act shall take effect one year after it shall
have become a law.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1362, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 7221, an
act to amend the Local Finance Law, in
relation to bonds and notes.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
There is a home-rule message at the desk.
Please read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
4090
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1381, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 302D,
an act to amend the Education Law, in relation
to the practice of public accountancy.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 13. This
act shall take effect on the 180th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1519, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 1928A,
an act to --
SENATOR SPANO: Lay it aside for
the day, please.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Lay the bill aside for the day.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1533, by Senator Hoffmann, Senate Print 7350,
an act to amend the General Municipal Law, in
4091
relation to the establishment.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
There is a home-rule message at the desk.
Please read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1542, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 7448,
an act to amend Chapter 256 of the Laws of
2003 amending the Election Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
4092
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1547, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 5953,
an act to amend the Education Law, in relation
to the qualifications.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1549, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print
6319A, an act to authorize the French Speaking
Baptist Church.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
4093
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. Nays,
1. Senator Bonacic recorded in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1550, by Senator Hoffmann, Senate Print 6531,
an act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
exempting milk crates.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
Call the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO:
The bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1561, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 7438,
an act to amend the Private Housing Finance
Law, in relation to affordable home ownership.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
4094
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 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
1562, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 7450,
an act to amend Chapter 193 of the Laws of
2001, relating to the establishment.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the first of January.
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
1596, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 7195C,
an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
4095
establishing the offense of unlawful sale.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the first of
November.
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
1602, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 7443 --
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it
aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1604, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 7449,
an act in relation to persons who may
temporarily practice.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4096
act shall take effect August 5, 2004.
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
1605, by Senator Volker --
SENATOR SPANO: Lay it aside for
the day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside for the day.
Senator Spano, that completes the
noncontroversial reading of the calendar.
SENATOR SPANO: Go to the
controversial calendar, please, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will go to the controversial reading
of the calendar.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
433, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 2577A, an
act authorizing the Commissioner of
Transportation.
SENATOR SPANO: Lay it aside
4097
temporarily.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside temporarily.
The Secretary will continue to read
in regular order.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1602, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 7443, an
act to amend the Penal Law and the Arts and
Cultural Affairs Law.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN:
Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Volker, Senator Schneiderman has requested an
explanation.
SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President, I
must say that in the -- I've been here 32
years, and I've never quite seen anything as
bizarre as the memo by the City of New York
against this bill. And the reason is that
this bill doesn't pertain to the City of
New York. Which makes me wonder what is going
on here.
The truth is, and those of us that
have been trying to deal with this for many
years realize there really is almost no law on
4098
fireworks in this state. We one time took a
look to find out how many arrests were made
under fireworks laws, and they were minuscule.
The one thing we did find out,
though, is that the City of New York Police
Department had a habit of coming in when there
were fireworks displays or whatever and just
picking up everything and walking away with it
and saying: They're all illegal, and we're
taking it.
So we kind of realized -- this was
under Giuliani, by the way, the mayor -- they
liked the situation they had, because no one
really objected. There were a few lawsuits.
The truth is, this bill tries to
put some sense in fireworks laws. Now, the
memo opposed to it says that certain things
that are now illegal are made legal. Even
though those things are in stores all over
Albany here, they claim that poppers are
illegal, and sparklers.
I'll tell you right now, if I went
into my store in Depew, I could pick out all
kinds of sparklers. They're not controlled at
all.
4099
They argue in the bill that some
CSPC person or somebody said they're very
dangerous. Well, they probably are somewhat
dangerous. But on the other hand, just about
everybody has them, and we're trying to put
some control under them.
And by the way, there is so little
control of explosive fireworks, we for the
first time really develop a process to deal
with the issue of explosive fireworks, which
is the -- I forget the name of them now, these
big rockets and all this stuff, which are very
tough to control even now. And as I say,
primarily what happens is that if someone gets
hurt, they go in and they grab it all.
I mean, the truth is that it does
make one a little suspicious of why there's so
much activity. It almost looks as if some
people would rather not have a law. Because
the laws are so old on fireworks.
What we're trying to do in this
bill, not legalize things, we're trying to
control them. We're trying to develop a
system for controlling fireworks.
Now, in all candor, as I usually
4100
am, what this will probably mean, after we had
discussed this with the Governor's people,
they thought it was good, is because the City
of New York is doing this memo, I assume it
means that poor Paul over in the Assembly
probably won't be able to do this bill.
And I have to tell you something.
I'm a little angry. They knew, the city knew
that we were working on this for two years.
And to do a memo in opposition to a bill that
doesn't even pertain to the City of New York,
a four-page memo, and use the same old
shibboleth that they've used in the past when
they obviously don't know much about
fireworks, is irritating to me. And by the
way, the lobbyist is going to hear it from me,
because I'd like to know where he got all this
information from.
So having said that, this is a bill
that for the first time in about 40 years
attempts to develop some control over the
fireworks industry. It is so difficult to do
any prosecutions now. When we looked it up,
there were extremely few unless you catch
somebody with a whole truckload of material,
4101
which of course obviously is illegal, and then
you can just grab it all. On an individual
basis, virtually no one is arrested in this
state on minor amounts of fireworks, even M80s
and all the rest of the things, because it's
virtually impossible to arrest them under the
archaic statutes that we have in this state,
some of which date back to the 1800s.
That's about all I can say. I
realize that that memo, which just came out
today, speaks to the same things. And to give
everybody their due, the previous
administration was Giuliani, and they did the
same thing. And now this is Bloomberg's
administration.
My suspicion is -- and you know I
usually support the police department -- that
there's a number of police in New York City
who would like to let the situation remain the
way it is. And I hate to say that, because --
and it's nice to not have any real laws; you
can just go in and scoop stuff up.
But in reality, my personal belief
is that when this becomes law outside the
city, ultimately, and people realize that it
4102
restricts fireworks, the city eventually will
come back and want to do this in the City of
New York.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Schneiderman.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
Mr. President. On the bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Schneiderman, on the bill.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I thank
the sponsor for his typically candid
explanation.
The position of the City of New
York on this bill I don't think is really that
complicated. I mean, this is a bill that
they've opposed before, or a prior version of
it.
In 2002, Governor Pataki vetoed
similar legislation which legalized the sale
and possession of many of the same devices.
In his veto message, he cited the danger that
fireworks present, particularly to children,
as evidenced by the Consumer Product Safety
Commission's 2000 Annual Fireworks Report,
which estimated that of the 11,000 people
4103
treated that year in hospital emergency rooms
for injuries associated with fireworks, more
than half of those killed, blinded, disfigured
or severely burned were children.
Now, this is a difficult area, and
I don't think anyone objects to an effort to
provide some regulation.
The objection of the city is that
this would make legal devices that are
currently illegal, it would make them legal
right across the border from the city and
almost set up a situation where you're
inviting the creation of an illegal fireworks
market in the city, where people could bring
them right in from Westchester and sell them.
In 1995, former Mayor Giuliani
initiated the Police Department/Fire
Department Joint Fireworks Task Force, and in
its seven-year history it's dramatically
reduced the sale of illegal fireworks in
New York City, and consequently
fireworks-related injuries.
The City of New York feels very
strongly that this bill would undermine that
effort.
4104
I think that the city's objections
are serious. I think they have technical
objections to the bill. I think they have an
objection to -- they sort of put us in this
position, to a certain extent, saying we don't
want this to regulate the city, but on the
other hand, if you make it legal in
Westchester, you're inviting an illegal
market. But they do have some serious
technical objections.
I mean, this is -- the bill defines
devices and makes distinctions based on their
chemical composition. Well, the police are
not equipped to assess that. I mean, we're
still going to be in a situation where things
are being scooped up and then assessed later.
I'm going to vote no on this bill
because of the objections of the city. I
think we have made a lot of progress in the
city. And, you know, I don't often rise to
give credit to Giuliani administration
initiatives, but this is one that clearly has
worked.
So for that reason, I'm going to
vote no and urge my colleagues to vote no.
4105
This is not something that will help us in the
city, and I do think that they have technical
objections that should be taken seriously.
I hope we can address the issue.
The current situation is, as the sponsor
notes, pretty bizarre, where we appear to be
unable to pass any legislation regulating
fireworks. I hope we will do so, but this
bill I don't think is the way to do it.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
act shall take effect on the first of
November.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
the negative on Calendar Number 1602 are
Senators Andrews, Dilán, Duane, González,
L. Krueger, LaValle, Morahan, Onorato, Parker,
Paterson, Sabini, Sampson, Schneiderman,
A. Smith, M. Smith. Ayes, 43. Nays, 15.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
4106
is passed.
Senator Stachowski.
SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr.
President, can I please have unanimous consent
to be recorded in the negative on Calendar
Number 1533. Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Stachowski will be recorded
in the negative on Calendar Number 1533.
Senator Duane.
SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Mr.
President.
If I could have unanimous consent
to be recorded in the negative on Calendar
Numbers 1122, 1533, 1550, and 1596.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Duane will be recorded in
the negative with regard to Calendar Numbers
1122, 1533, 1550, and 1596.
Senator Spano.
SENATOR SPANO: Mr. President,
can you return to Calendar 433.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read Calendar 433.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4107
433, by Senator Libous, Senate --
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER:
Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Libous, an explanation has been requested of
Calendar 433 by Senator Liz Krueger.
SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I
would be extremely honored to give Senator
Krueger an additional explanation on the bill
that we debated, I believe, on -- hmm. It
doesn't have the date here on the transcript,
but it was a couple of months ago.
When the bill was sent over to the
Assembly, the Assembly majority had requested
that before they would accept it from the
minority member who was carrying it, that they
would like a change in the bill. The
amendment clarifies the purpose of the
transfer by changing the words "public
purpose," which were in my original bill, to
the words "job creation and economic
development."
And that, Mr. President and Senator
Krueger, is the only change to the bill.
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
4108
Mr. President. On the bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Liz Krueger, on the bill.
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
I appreciate the sponsor's
explanation of the changes.
While I think it's an improvement
to clarify it's for job creation and economic
development, I still have the same concerns I
had in March, some date in March when we
debated this, that we're transferring land
that is currently owned by the state to an IDA
without an explanation of how that land will
be used, what the market rate for that land
is, the market rate value, how the money will
transfer back to the State of New York, what
the role of the local community governments
will be in having oversight or say in whether
they want this land to be used this way
outside of the specific members of the IDA
committee.
And that New York State shouldn't
be transferring our property to, frankly,
off-budget IDAs and other public corporations
without much more detail about what those
4109
lands will be used for, what the reimbursement
to the people of the State of New York will
be, and what the argument for, quote, unquote,
claiming it's now of economic development/job
creation value as opposed to simply public
purpose -- I do think that's an improvement,
but I still will have enough problems with
this bill that I will vote against it and feel
that the people of the York deserve better
detailed explanations of how we are selling
off their land and for what purpose.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Libous.
SENATOR LIBOUS: Just on the
bill, I just want to note an important fact
that the bill was debated on 3/24/04. That my
staff was efficient and did give me that date
and I just didn't see it. And I want to give
them full credit for their efficiency.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
4110
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. Nays,
1. Senator L. Krueger recorded in the
negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Spano, that completes the
controversial reading of the calendar.
SENATOR SPANO: Mr. President,
can we return to reports of standing
committees.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reports
of standing committees.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
from the Committee on Rules, reports the
following bills:
Senate Print 683B, by Senator
Seward, an act to amend the Insurance Law;
Senate Print 7434, by Senator
Seward, an act to amend the Penal Law;
And Senate Print 7485A, by the
Senate Committee on Rules, an act in relation
to enacting.
4111
All bills ordered direct to third
reading.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Spano.
SENATOR SPANO: Can you please
recognize Senator Smith.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator,
could we accept the report of the Rules
Committee first.
SENATOR SPANO: Excuse me,
please.
I move that we 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.
All bills to third reading.
Senator Ada Smith.
SENATOR ADA SMITH: Thank you,
4112
Mr. President. There will be an immediate
conference of the Minority in the Minority
Conference Room.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Immediate conference of the Minority in the
Minority Conference Room.
Senator Spano.
SENATOR SPANO: Mr. President,
can we stand at ease for approximately
15 minutes, awaiting the completion of the
Minority conference.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Senate will stand at ease.
(Whereupon, the Senate stood at
ease at 1:12 p.m.)
(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
at 1:58 p.m.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Robach.
SENATOR ROBACH: Can we please
take up the report of the Rules Committee.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1589, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 683B, an
4113
act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation to
the payment.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 13. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1612, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 7434, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
staging a motor vehicle accident.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the first of
November.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
4114
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1613, by the Senate Committee on Rules --
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it
aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is laid aside.
SENATOR ROBACH: Mr. President, I
ask that we return to Calendar Number 1589.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1589, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 683B, an
act to amend the Insurance Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is before the house.
4115
Senator Breslin.
SENATOR BRESLIN: Mr. President,
to speak on the bill.
And I commend the sponsor, as I've
commended him many times for bills on
insurance that Senator Seward has placed
before this house.
However, I also commend a bill that
was put forth by Senator Montgomery, which I
think would add and enhance the value of this
bill because it would include a consumer
advocate, so it would balance off the front
parts of the bill.
It would also provide a more
appropriate method of calculating excess
profits by the insurance companies.
Additionally, it would ensure that independent
medical examiners are really truly neutral
parties, by requiring that they be selected
from a random list maintained by the State
Insurance Department.
And finally, it would provide for a
discount on no-fault premiums if an insured
who used their own managed-care system were to
opt use an insurer's managed-care system.
4116
Having said that, I support this
bill and hope that we can deal with these four
additional elements before the end of this
session.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank
you, Senator Breslin.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 13. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
Senator Robach.
SENATOR ROBACH: Mr. President,
there will be an immediate meeting of the
Committee on Rules in the Majority Conference
Room, and we will stand at ease.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: There
will be an immediate meeting of the Rules
4117
Committee in the Majority Conference Room,
Room 332.
The Senate will stand at ease.
(Whereupon, the Senate stood at
ease at 2:01 p.m.)
(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
at 2:03 p.m.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
Mr. President.
Can we return to motions and
resolutions, please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Motions and resolutions.
Senator Bonacic.
SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, Mr.
President. On behalf of Senator Kuhl, on page
number 57 I offer the following amendments to
Calendar Number 119, Senate Print Number
3438A, and ask that said bill retain its place
on the Third Reading Calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
amendments are received, and the bill will
retain its place on the Third Reading
4118
Calendar.
SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, Mr.
President. We have another one.
On behalf of Senator Marcellino, on
page number 46 I offer the following
amendments to Calendar Number 1312, Senate
Print Number 885A, and ask that that bill
retain its place on the Third Reading
Calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
amendments are received, and the bill will
maintain its place on the Third Reading
Calendar.
SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: On page 18
Senator Rath moves to discharge, from the
Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number
10419B and substitute it for the identical
Senate Bill Number 6129B, Third Reading
Calendar 556.
And on page 44, Senator Kuhl moves
to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 10057A and substitute it
4119
for the identical Senate Bill Number 7267A,
Third Reading Calendar 1254.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Substitutions ordered.
The house will stand at ease.
(Whereupon, the Senate stood at
ease at 2:05 p.m.)
(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
at 2:16 p.m.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could take up the supplemental active
list at this time, noncontroversial.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
326, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 6206A, an
act to amend the Tax Law and the State Finance
Law.
SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a
message of necessity at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes,
there is, Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept,
4120
please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: All in
favor of accepting the message say aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Opposed, say nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
message is accepted.
The Secretary will read the last
section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
937, by Member of the Assembly Kaufman,
Assembly Print Number 1233, an act to amend
the Executive Law, in relation to fees and
4121
expenses.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the 90th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1109, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 555, an
act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
establishing the Class E felony.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the first of
November.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
4122
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. Nays,
1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1042, substituted earlier today by Member of
the Assembly Conte, Assembly Print Number
9890C, an act to authorize the Bethpage Fire
District to file an application.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1134, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 7141A,
4123
an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
establishing the crime of unlawful
dissemination of spyware.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the first of
November.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Schneiderman, on the bill.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: To explain
my vote, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Schneiderman.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you.
I'd like to say that I appreciate
not only has Senator Balboni introduced a good
bill, which we've just passed, but he has
also, because he is not present, spared us a
lengthy explanation and commentary. I would
like for thank him for both.
(Laughter.)
4124
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank
you, Senator Schneiderman.
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1209, by Member of the Assembly Lifton,
Assembly Print Number 6679A, an act to amend
the New York State Urban Development
Corporation Act.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read
the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1260, by Senator McGee, Senate Print 6563, an
4125
act in relation to adjusting certain state aid
payments.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: There
is a local fiscal impact note at the desk.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
the roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
bill is passed.
Senator Skelos, that completes the
noncontroversial reading of the supplemental
calendar.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
is the Rules report at the desk yet?
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes.
SENATOR SKELOS: Then if we could
return to reports of standing committees and
have the Rules report read.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
4126
Secretary will read. When he's ready.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: While we're
waiting for the reading of the Rules report,
please recognize Senator Krueger.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Krueger.
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
I thought I'd take this moment to ask for
unanimous consent to be recorded in the
negative on Calendar 1533 and 1550.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Without objection, Senator Krueger will be
recorded in the negative on Calendar Numbers
1533 and 1550.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
from the Committee on Rules, reports the
following bills:
Senate Print 1245, by Senator
Johnson, an act to amend the Education Law;
1793, by Senator LaValle, an act to
amend the Real Property Actions and
Proceedings Law;
1846, by Senator LaValle, an act to
4127
amend the Real Property Actions and
Proceedings Law;
1931A, by Senator Nozzolio, an act
to amend the Criminal Procedure Law;
2372A, by Senator Flanagan, an act
to amend the Public Authorities Law;
2766A, by Senator Robach, an act to
amend the General Obligations Law;
2778A, by Senator McGee, an act to
amend the Education Law;
3018A, by Senator Saland, an act to
amend the Education Law;
3523, by Senator Nozzolio, an act
to amend the Criminal Procedure Law and the
General Municipal Law;
3948, by Senator Robach, an act to
amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules;
4136, by Senator Wright, an act to
amend the State Technology Law;
4341, by Senator Leibell, an act to
amend the General Municipal Law;
4620A, by Senator Little, an act to
amend the County Law;
4773A, by Senator Flanagan, an act
to amend the State Administrative Procedure
4128
Act;
4777A, by Senator Flanagan, an act
to amend the Correction Law and the Public
Health Law;
4947, by Senator Kuhl, an act to
amend the Public Authorities Law;
4951A, by Senator Spano, an act to
amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
5048B, by Senator Balboni, an act
to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law;
5618D, by Senator Seward, an act to
amend the Insurance Law;
5990, by Senator Stachowski, an act
directing;
6084, by Senator Leibell, an act to
amend the Real Property Tax Law;
6233B, by Senator Wright, an act to
amend the Environmental Conservation Law;
6433A, by Senator Padavan, an act
to amend the Private Housing Finance Law;
6530, by Senator Hoffmann, an act
to amend the Tax Law;
6818, by Senator LaValle, an act to
amend the General Obligations Law;
6821A, by Senator Trunzo, an act to
4129
amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
6836, by Senator Robach, an act
authorizing;
And Senate Print 7018A, by Senator
Saland, an act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage
Control Law.
All bills ordered direct to third
reading.
SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept
the report of Rules Committee, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: All in
favor of accepting the Rules Committee report
say aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Rules report is accepted.
Senator Hassell-Thompson.
SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Yes,
thank you, Mr. President. I would like to
request unanimous consent to be recorded in
the negative on Calendar 1602.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
4130
Without objection, Senator Hassell-Thompson
will be recorded in the negative on Calendar
Number 1602.
Senator McGee.
SENATOR McGEE: Mr. President, on
behalf of Senator Kuhl, would you please
remove the sponsor's star from Calendar Number
119.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: So
ordered.
SENATOR McGEE: Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could stand at ease temporarily.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
house will stand at ease.
(Whereupon, the Senate stood at
ease at 2:25 p.m.)
(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
at 2:45 p.m.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
can we at this time return to Calendar 1613.
4131
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1613, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
Print Number 7485A, an act in relation to
enacting the Leading Educational Achievement
for Results Now Act.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, is
there a message from the Governor at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes,
there is.
SENATOR BRUNO: I would move that
we accept that message.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: All in
favor of accepting the message from the
Governor say aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Opposed, nay.
(Response of "Nay.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
message is accepted.
Senator Bruno.
4132
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
the bill that is here before us on the floor
really relates to the Senate's plan that we
are negotiating now with the Governor and with
the Assembly and that, if we hopefully get
together, will be submitted to the courts by
July 30th as a result of the court decision
pretty much mandating that the Legislature put
together a plan to provide a sound, basic
education for every pupil in the city. This
plan is more comprehensive than that. It
covers every pupil in New York State.
We feel that it meets all the
criteria necessary by itself, if it were to be
accepted by the Assembly and the Governor, to
meet the court mandate for a sound, basic
education. And this plan is very, very
comprehensive. It is a combination of state
funds, to the tune of about $4.7 billion,
federal funds -- this is over five years -- of
over a billion, and matching funds from the
city having to do with about $1.4 billion on a
capital part of $2.8 billion, and about
500-plus million from the city in matching
funds.
4133
Total everything up for education
over the next five years, and we have about a
$10 billion package. And in the first year,
about $762 million, part of which would go to
fund the high-needs districts in this state to
provide a sound, basic education. Of those
funds, about 87 percent.
Now, when you look at the total of
the way the dollars flow from the state, they
relate to the state shares, where the dollars
follow the pupils. This also has a tax relief
plan in it, because we all know that
especially people on fixed incomes, seniors,
middle- and lower-income people are having
problems meeting the tax payments on their
properties to pay for the school aid.
This has about 990 million in
relief for people as an enhancement to STAR.
And I believe the first year is something like
18 percent of the STAR payment kicks in, next
year 25 percent, the following year
36 percent. So that it is huge relief
amounting to almost a billion dollars that
creates an equity across this state.
And of all of the total, it
4134
increases educational funding by about
33 percent. And it takes present-year state
school funding up to about $15.2 billion.
So this is substantial relief in
terms of school districts, constituents out
there attempting to provide a proper, sound,
basic education for every student.
Now, I want to just recognize
before I sit that we're relating to a court
order as a result of a lawsuit by the Campaign
for Fiscal Equity, CFE. We already in this
state pay the highest cost per student on the
average in the whole United States. It's
about $11,500 on the average.
So apparently, with those kinds of
dollars going out, young people throughout
this state do not equally receive a sound,
basic education. So there's a recognition of
that as a result of this lawsuit, and we have
focused on that in this legislation.
Now, they're not specific
recommendations in terms of dollars, because
we haven't disposed of the Governor's budget
and there's some inhibition on our being able
to appropriate presently.
4135
But this is a bill, it is true
legislation, and we think it's critically
important that it be passed. Because there
are ongoing negotiations, and they'll go on
between now and July 30th, to see if we can
get together with the Assembly and the
Governor to submit one plan to the courts.
But if we can't, we're going to
submit this plan, the Assembly will submit
theirs, the Governor will submit his. And
there may be eight or ten other plans
submitted. And I will offer up that when the
courts receive these plans by July 30th, that
they may take months to review and then relate
which meets, according to their mandate, the
needs of the school districts to provide an
education.
So there are those that talk about
not doing a budget until this issue gets
resolved. So I would just share with you in
this chamber, and the constituency out there,
that you will in this state for a long, long
time without a budget, probably into
September, October, if we wait for the courts
to mandate.
4136
And I think it's unconscionable
that we would be held up in getting a budget
done for the people of this state as relates
to a lawsuit that talks about funding
education.
So, Mr. President, we have a
response, and we think it's a proper response
and it's an excellent response to the mandate
by the courts. But more important, we think
that this offers a true enhancement to every
young person in this state to receive a sound,
basic education so they can prepare themselves
for life.
And our chair in Education is
Senator Saland. And he has worked diligently
over months and has been providing the
leadership to get us where we are. And,
Steve, on behalf of the Senate -- and I know
that everybody appreciates and recognizes the
good work that you have done, on both sides of
the aisle -- I want to say thank you.
Because I know that you've been
there days and weekends and nights, and this
is an arduous task and the committee that
works with you and all of the others that are
4137
on staff have worked hard to get where we are
today. So thank you for your leadership and
for your efforts.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank
you, Senator Bruno.
Senator Padavan.
SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you, Mr.
President. A week or so ago, the Majority
Leader had a press conference in which he
presented the Senate's response to this issue.
I applauded him then, and I applaud him now,
as well as the chairman of our Education
Committee.
If you look in aggregate at this
entire plan and what it means to the City of
New York, you will find that 55 percent of the
total dollars added over the time frame
covered by this legislation inure to the
benefit of the City of New York, in operating
aid, in aid that responds directly to the
needs issue as outlined in the CFE decision,
and capital money.
It is an excellent response to a
very, very difficult issue and becomes the
4138
basis of hopefully some closure with the other
house and the Governor on this critical
matter.
Unfortunately, I have one little
problem. I want to share it with you. Also
included in this bill are eight more VLT
locations. Without going into that whole
issue again, that does prevent a problem in my
mind's eye. I don't think it originated here.
I know where it came from. But I'd suggest to
you that that's not the right thing to do.
But with regard to the basic thrust
of this legislation, laying that issue aside,
it is an excellent, positive response to a
very complex, difficult issue, particularly in
the City of New York, where obviously the
overwhelming majority of children in need
exist.
At the same time, it acknowledges
that elsewhere in the State of New York, in
other urban centers in particular, there are
needs that are not being addressed.
And keep in mind, if this decision
ends up being in the court's hands, there will
be no solution to those issues beyond the City
4139
of New York in terms of needs. We should keep
that in mind as we move forward on this
critical issue.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Schneiderman.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes, if
the sponsor or whoever Senator Bruno
designates would yield for a question.
SENATOR BRUNO: It depends on the
kind of question.
(Laughter.)
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: It depends
on who stands up.
(Laughter.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you yield for a question?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator yields.
SENATOR SALAND: Perhaps, if
Senator Schneiderman would like, I would try
and provide perhaps a little more background
on what's in the bill.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Further
4140
elucidation from the chairman is always
welcome.
SENATOR SALAND: If not, I'll
just yield to your question, whichever you
would prefer.
As Senator Bruno, in his opening
remarks, pointed out, this is an effort over
some five years to commit to what has been
required of us under the Court of Appeals
decision in June of last year in the CFE case.
And what the court in that case did
was to direct the Legislature and the Governor
to ascertain the actual cost of providing a
sound, basic education in the City of New York
by July 30th of this year, and to provide an
accountability mechanism by which we can
measure whether, in fact, whatever it is that
we determine to do does provide that
opportunity for that sound, basic education.
This bill proposes to spend some
$762 million in Year One. And, in the course
of doing that, what we do is we attempt to
backfill some areas that have been cut and
capped by the Governor, areas including
transportation, BOCES, public excess cost aid.
4141
We also provide some $355 million, in effect
as our initial down payment, to begin the
process by way of creating the new category of
sound, basic education aid.
This is not an appropriation bill.
It's a language bill. And constitutionally,
there are limits to what we can do in a
language bill. For instance, we can't provide
runs in a language bill. That would be
appropriately and constitutionally to be found
in the appropriation bill.
But what that bill says, in part,
is that we will provide, by the fifth year
following the enactment of this bill --
subject, of course, to an appropriation,
because we all know that we can't bind future
Legislatures -- the sum of $19.225 billion,
and an amount not less than $1.4 billion to
support sound basic education aid.
When you look historically at what
has occurred in this legislation and with this
Governor over the course of the past ten
years, we have seen increases in aid well
beyond anything that historically had been the
pattern for this body, these bodies and the
4142
Executive. And yet, were you to look back
over those past ten years, you would see aid
increases of some $450 million being the
average aid per year.
What we are proposing here is to
more than double the amount of that average.
We're proposing to provide some $950 million
as an average over the course of those five
years. And what we attempt to do we attempt
to do in a fashion that brings compliance to
the court's order.
We also provide an accountability
mechanism. We're familiar that since the
decision was rendered, and the decision was
rendered based on the 1996-1997 record, there
have been some accountability measures that
have taken place. For instance, No Child Left
Behind didn't exist previously; it exists now.
Our SURR school mechanism didn't exist
previously; it exists now.
The court, at great length, raised
its concerns about the quality of teaching in
the City of New York and the significant
number of uncertified teachers in the City of
New York. That, to a considerable extent, has
4143
been remedied as we stand here today, although
obviously there is more that remains to be
done.
The amounts of money, as Senator
Bruno pointed out, that would be spent in toto
over the course of this five-year package
would exceed $10 billion. And of those
$10 billion, a portion of it would come from
federal money.
And our proposal anticipates, based
upon data available to us, that "No Child Left
Behind," over the course of these next five
years, will provide at least a billion dollars
in additional funding. And of that, some
$515 million will be directed to the New York
City school system.
We call for a relatively modest
match on the part of the city, a match of some
a $554 million. Both the Assembly and the
Governor's proposal are significantly greater
than that. I believe the Assembly's is 1.2
and the Governor's is 1.5 billion.
And we also provide the city with
the additional bonding authority to bond
capital projects -- i.e., schools and school
4144
improvements -- to the tune of some
$2.8 billion. Probably it's safe to assume
that half of that would be recovered by way of
building aid that these projects and the city
would be eligible for, the city school system.
The net result is that when all is
said and done, from these various sources, the
sum total of monies that would be available to
the city would be somewhere in the area of 56
or 57 percent.
It's important to note that there's
an extensive accountability provision. And
there's also a school reform provision to try
and shine the light of sunlight on some of
the -- on the manner in which school boards
and school proposals are enacted and the
ability of taxpayers to get more and better
information.
And there is -- in addition to
that, we also provide for certain teacher or
education improvement programs which are
enumerated in the bill as well.
Thank you, Senator Schneiderman.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Schneiderman.
4145
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: If the
sponsor would yield for a few questions, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator yields.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you.
I gather that this legislation
really is a one-year language bill embodying
the first year of the five-year plan that has
been discussed. Is that correct?
SENATOR SALAND: Well, it would
be difficult to do anything more than a
one-year language bill. Again, understanding
that, as we all know, even if we were here to
proudly announce a three-way agreement, we
probably couldn't do any more than specify for
this year what we're doing in this year,
absent the willingness of the Governor,
perhaps, to give us his budget in its
entirety.
But the likelihood is that any
4146
product we would deliver at this time would
have immediacy in terms of one year and
commitments or attempted commitments -- and
I'll continue using the term "subject to an
appropriation" -- in the outyears.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Schneiderman.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I just
want to make sure that we're all clear that
the five-year plan that was announced on
May 25th by yourself and Senator Bruno which
you were making reference to in your earlier
comments is really embodied in the sense that
the first year of that plan is really what
you're putting forward in this language bill,
but the intention of the Senate Majority still
is to continue to adhere to the proposal
released on May 25th for your five-year plan,
which is where, I gather, we got the numbers
that were just being discussed.
SENATOR SALAND: And that you
would find on page 56 of the bill. And if you
look at paragraph 2, starting on line 13, that
4147
section is the one that contains the reference
to 19-plus billion dollars and the amount not
less than 1.4 billion for the SBEA.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you.
And with reference to the numbers that were
just discussed --
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Schneiderman, are you asking Senator
Saland to continue to yield?
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes.
Through you, Mr. President, if the sponsor
would continue to yield.
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator continues to yield.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: With
regard to the numbers that were just discussed
regarding the total aid to New York City over
the five-year plan, I just want to make sure I
understand correctly. The statistics that
were just given us for the amount of the new
appropriations that, under the plan, are
proposed to go to New York City, that includes
the money for capital, does it not?
4148
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, it does.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: And in
fact, this bill does not -- does this bill
change in any way the school funding formula?
SENATOR SALAND: This adds a new
funding formula, keeping in mind that the
court did not direct any change in formula.
The trial court may have preferred or directed
a change in formula, but that was specifically
rejected by the Court of Appeals.
The concern was delivering the
amount of money necessary to provide for a
sound -- the opportunity for a sound, basic
education.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
you, Mr. President, if the sponsor would
continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Do you
continue to yield, Senator?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: So if I
understand correctly, then, the funding
formula is kept the same but there's an
additional new category of aid added which
4149
you're referring to as sound, basic education
funds. Is that correct?
SENATOR SALAND: Correct.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: And
according --
SENATOR SALAND: And if I may, at
the expense of interrupting you --
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes.
SENATOR SALAND: -- equally
important in the eyes of the court, the
accountability mechanism is addressed also.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: And as I
read the --
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: I beg
you to come through the chair, both Senators,
as opposed to talking across the floor.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Excuse me,
Mr. President. If, through you, the sponsor
would yield for another question.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you yield for another
question from Senator Schneiderman?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
4150
you, Mr. President.
As I understand it, then, of the
total, all funds that are proposed under the
five-year plan advanced by the Majority, the
total of state funds is approximately
$4.7 billion, of which $3.3 billion would come
from the state's General Fund and $1.4 billion
would come from VLTs. Is that correct?
SENATOR SALAND: It is projected
that VLTs would be the source of the SBE money
under this bill.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: So the
existing funding formula would be sustained by
the state's General Fund, but in large part
the funds for the sound, basic education
portion of the budget would depend on the
revenues of the VLTs; is that correct?
SENATOR SALAND: Well, Senator
Schneiderman, to the extent that the language
4151
here provides for certain funding to comply
with a court order it would seem to me that,
were this to be what was accepted by the
court, it would be incumbent upon this body
and the Governor to ensure the delivery of
those funds.
So if, in fact, whatever is
currently proposed to be provided by way of
VLTs was inadequate, either there would have
to be alternative sources or, perish the
thought, greater reliance on VLTs, additional
VLTs.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
you, Mr. President, I'm not sure I quite
understood the response. According to --
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you continue to yield for
another question?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator continues to yield.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: According
to the documents that were issued today by the
Majority that accompanied the legislation, the
projection for the five-year plan -- and this
4152
is where we get to the large numbers that
Senator Bruno and yourself and the sponsor
just mentioned -- according to the five-year
plan that is being proposed today, because
this is just, as stated, the first year's
language bill reflecting a longer-term plan,
$4.7 billion in new state funds would be
committed over five years, of which it is
projected that $3.3 billion would come from
the General Fund and $1.4 billion from the
VLTs. Is that correct?
SENATOR SALAND: I'm sorry,
Senator?
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: That the
plan as announced today, the five-year plan,
states that $4.7 billion in new state funds
would be provided to schools, of which
$3.3 billion of the $4.7 billion would come
from the General Fund, and $1.4 billion from
VLTs.
SENATOR SALAND: Correct. In
fact, with the additional VLTs that are
provided for in Part K of the bill, beginning
at page 65, it's anticipated that the amounts
of money that those VLTs would generate would
4153
be somewhere in the area of $2 billion.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
you, Mr. President, if the sponsor would
continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator continues to yield.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: As far as
the City of New York is concerned, is it
correct that under the five-year plan proposed
by the Majority, the total state funds to the
city, new funds, would be $1.8 billion?
SENATOR SALAND: I'm sorry?
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Referring
to New York City now, that the funds, the new
state funding for New York City under the
Majority's plan over the next five years would
be $1.8 billion.
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, that would
be correct.
Other monies that would be provided
by the state would be -- you could reasonably
4154
anticipate somewhere in the area of an
additional $1.4 billion, which would help to
pay the bonds for the capital needs of the
city for construction or renovation.
That would be state-aidable. That
would be capital, not, you know, operating
expense. But it would still be state money
that would be flowing.
I would say, out of the total
amount that would be going to the city, when
you include the capital component, it would
probably be somewhere in the area of $3.1 to
$3.2 billion.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
you, Mr. President, if the sponsor would
continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator yields.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I may be
confused, but my understanding is that there
is no authorization for state financing of the
4155
capital expenditures and that in fact what's
being proposed -- and I'm using the materials
distributed by the Majority -- is the
authorization that New York could borrow
money.
SENATOR SALAND: You are correct.
But understand that once those
dollars are bonded and expended, they become
state-aidable. And like any building aid
proposal, once you build, you are entitled to
be reimbursed by the building aid formula.
The city generally would receive
50 percent.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I
understand.
And through you, Mr. President, if
the sponsor would continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator yields.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: And does
this proposed legislation, or the five-year
4156
plan that it embodies, change the disparity or
correct the disparity in the reimbursement of
building aid for the city?
SENATOR SALAND: I wasn't aware
of a disparity.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: You
can expand on the question.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: There are
differences in the reimbursement rate for
capital expenses around the state. Does this
change the current system for reimbursement?
SENATOR SALAND: No, the building
aid formula remains as it currently is.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you.
Can you tell us, in this particular
bill --
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you continue to yield for
another question?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator yields.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: In the
4157
bill before us today, how much money under
this bill would go to New York City for the
2004-2005 school year? Not counting capital.
Let's take out the capital portion and talk
about operating aid.
SENATOR SALAND: The amount would
be approximately 37 percent of $762 million.
I'm being counseled by one of much
higher authority than me that the number would
be $282 million. And I would never question
it, I might add.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I
appreciate that.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator continues to yield.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Under this
bill that we're voting on today, through you,
Mr. President, could the sponsor tell us how
much would be allocated under this language
bill to the city of Yonkers for the 2004-2005
school year?
4158
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you yield for that
question?
SENATOR SALAND: I don't think I
can provide you those numbers, because we
don't have runs.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
you, Mr. President, if the sponsor would
continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator yields.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yesterday
the Assembly passed a resolution which they
accompanied with a breakdown of school aid
that would be provided under their resolution.
They provided, the Assembly's plan would
provide, for Yonkers in the 2004-2005 school
year, $110,993,574.
Can you tell us whether or not this
bill that you're seeking to have us vote on
now would provide more or less money for the
4159
City of Yonkers than that proposed by the
Assembly?
SENATOR SALAND: I can't tell you
that.
I can only tell you that the reason
the Assembly resorted to the artifice of a
resolution was because they knew that they
couldn't constitutionally provide runs in a
language bill.
So the bottom line is that they
have a proposal which they are certainly
advancing which, according to them, is based
upon dollars available in the ordinary revenue
stream, no need to raise any additional taxes.
Something which, speaking for myself, I don't
believe is particularly realistic. But
nonetheless, that's what they've chosen to do.
And, you know, there's nothing I'm going to
say or do that's going to make that any
different.
I couldn't tell you what my own
school district would get under this proposal,
because, again, we can't include runs in a
language bill.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
4160
you, Mr. President, if the sponsor would
continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator yields.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: There's no
reason why -- there's been reference to the
constitutional requirements -- why we can't
draft and introduce an appropriation bill at
this time in the Senate, is there?
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: You're
asking the chair?
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I'm asking
the sponsor, through you, Mr. President.
I was directed not to talk to him.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland?
SENATOR SALAND: I would think
that it might be possible, and I'll defer that
to counsel, to have a bill draft. You
couldn't introduce it, and it certainly
couldn't be the subject of any discussion on
4161
this floor if it can't be introduced.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
you, Mr. President. But there's no reason --
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: There is
no reason why we couldn't have a draft of an
appropriation bill to accompany this language
bill; is that not correct?
SENATOR SALAND: Senator, it
would be a vain gesture. If it couldn't be
considered, why would it be before us?
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: The bill
that we are voting on today, though, does have
an aggregate amount of money that it provides
and that it directs the allocation of for the
State of New York for the 2004-2005 fiscal
4162
year, does it not?
It is a language bill that, the way
the budget process operates in this state, is
designed to accompany an appropriation bill.
But nonetheless, this bill provides the
numbers you've been referring to, the $762
million and the other numbers; correct?
SENATOR SALAND: But it clearly
states that it's subject to an appropriation.
And there is no appropriation bill. An
appropriation bill could not be introduced.
And that being said, it just could not even be
on the floor for discussion.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
you, Mr. President, if the sponsor would
continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator yields.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN:
Nonetheless, whatever the issues are relating
to the technicalities of the appropriation
4163
bill, there are numbers here that you've been
referring to. And there's some -- if there
are no calculations or runs, as they're
called, how do we know New York City's share?
How do we know the total number for the
2004-2005 fiscal year if there have been no
numbers run so that we know how much money is
in here?
SENATOR SALAND: In order to
comply with the court decision, we have
prepared what we believe to be a reasonable
estimate reflecting what will be required of
us.
I think it's safe to say that given
the fact that the Governor in his budget
proposed some $147 million, this is some
600-plus million dollars more than the
Governor's proposal, that no district will
fare certainly worse than they would have
under the Governor's proposal. And in fact, I
think it's safe to say that no district will
sustain any losses or diminution in their aid
under this proposal.
But more than that, at this point,
in the absence of runs, I can't provide you
4164
any specifics.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Through
you, Mr. President, if the sponsor would
continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator yields.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Can you
provide us with a reasonable estimate of the
amount of money under this bill that the City
of Poughkeepsie would receive?
SENATOR SALAND: No, I cannot.
As I mentioned earlier, I can't
even tell you what my own district will
receive.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: The
Assembly again, however vain the gestures may
be -- some might argue that a language bill
without an appropriation bill is a vain
gesture. But what they gave us was a
resolution, for whatever reason they chose to
proceed that way. They did provide an
4165
analysis of what their plan would produce.
And in their plan they gave the reasonable
estimate that the City of Yonkers would get
$110,993,574.
I gather that you are today unable
to give us the reasonable estimate that the
Senate's alternative plan would provide.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, do you yield to that question?
SENATOR SALAND: I'm not sure if
I --
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: I
assume it's a question.
SENATOR SALAND: We haven't been
asking the same question back and forth since
a number of occasions.
I can't -- I can't provide you with
a number. And I think, quite candidly, it's a
rather cruel hoax on the part of the Assembly
to throw out numbers that they know are not
sustainable, knowing full well that all it's
going to do is increase expectations for those
who may not understand what's happening here,
only to have them dashed later on when the
reality of what they're going to receive
4166
actually comes in whatever appropriation bill
we ultimately do.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
Mr. President. I appreciate the sponsor's
answers. On the bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Schneiderman, on the bill.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: We're
engaged in a bizarre legislative dance here.
I don't think -- I haven't been here that
long, but I don't think even old-timers have
seen anything quite like this before.
But what we do have, very clearly,
are several competing plans, as Senator Bruno
has stated. And the competing plans all
purport to be an effort to comply with the
Court of Appeals decision in the Campaign for
Fiscal Equity case.
I respectfully submit that the
five-year plan proposed by the Senate
Majority, and the first year of which is
embodied in the bill we are now being asked to
vote on, would not pass judicial scrutiny,
would not be approved by Justice Leland
DeGrasse, and would not be found to be in
4167
compliance with the CFE decision.
In fact, this legislation and the
five-year plan that it reflects provide
$4.7 billion in new state funds. That is less
than the amount required to meet existing
contractual obligations and to cover
inflation.
Further, the key reform touted here
is that there's now a sound, basic education
fund on top of the existing formula which is
being preserved. But the sound, basic
education fund is not taken care of by the
state's General Fund. It's dependent on VLT
revenue.
And while I appreciate the
sponsor's statement that he believes we might
have to comply in some other way if VLT
revenue went down, nonetheless we're being
asked to sign off on a five-year plan, the
first year of which is before us in the form
of a piece of legislation.
And the difficulty here is that the
regular funding formula, the State General
Fund would provide virtually all the money.
But as far as the sound, basic education fund
4168
goes, the bulk of it would be provided by VLT
revenue.
So we're in a situation where, if
Gamblers Anonymous has a good year and
gambling goes down, the high-needs school
districts would suffer.
Furthermore, and I think -- I don't
think that there -- I think everyone here is
sincere in their desire to get moving towards
a solution to this crisis. But we have a
piece of legislation on the floor before us
today, and the sponsor has candidly
acknowledged that he cannot give us even a
reasonable estimate of how much money is in it
for the school districts around the state.
At least when the Assembly asked
its members to vote on the resolution, they
provided numbers so the members could see what
the effect of the resolution would be.
The Senators here are being asked
to vote without knowing how much is in it for
the Syracuse district, the Yonkers district,
districts in Senator Johnson's district.
Senator Breslin is being asked to vote without
knowing how much is in it for Albany.
4169
That's not the way to conduct the
legislation. There's no emergency today that
requires us to proceed forward without clearly
identifying how much money would be allocated
to each of the school districts in the state.
We can draft an appropriation bill.
We can even introduce an appropriation bill.
There's no bar to that. And we certainly can
provide runs.
And I strongly urge that if you're
telling us we should vote on a bill where we
can't even tell our constituents how much
money is in it for their districts -- we're
being asked to vote on a bill where the
Majority is now acknowledging we don't know
and cannot even give a reasonable estimate of
how much money this would provide to our
districts -- that that's not the proper way to
undertake legislation.
We have a moral obligation as well
as a legal obligation under the CFE opinion.
I would respectfully submit that this plan
does not address the needs of New York City.
We are told that the portion of aid to
New York City, and let's -- you know, we might
4170
as well get everything out on the table.
There's a plan that's been advanced by the
plaintiffs in the CFE case, $9.5 billion over
four years. The Regents came up with a plan,
$14.4 billion over seven years. The Senate
Minority, Senator Paterson issued a plan
showing how we could get $10 billion over five
years. And I would respectfully suggest that
Senator Paterson's plan is the only one that
has extremely explicit sources of the revenue
to fund that plan identified.
The Senate has proposed a plan for
$6.3 billion over five years; the Assembly,
$7.3 billion over five years.
All these plans are being submitted
in an effort to comply with the CFE decision.
There is a dramatic difference, however, in
the portion of the money that would go to the
City of New York and in the portion of the
money that would go to high-needs districts.
The five-year plan of the Senate is
not going to satisfy the court by providing
$840 million from VLTs for the City of
New York. I mean, it's just -- that's not
going to satisfy the court. That's not enough
4171
money to deal with the issues that were raised
in the CFE decision.
And I would also urge my colleagues
that while we're hearing a lot of rhetoric
about how we want to avoid judicial review,
that it has been -- the predictors of a long,
drawn-out legislative process really reside
here in this house on the other side of the
aisle.
And I have great respect for
Senator Saland, but he has repeatedly stated
that he expects this to be dragged out in
litigation for many, many years. Senator
Bruno has said similar things. There is no
way that we will avoid that litigation if we
adopted the plan presented today into law.
So I would urge my colleagues that
if you want to pass this bill today and you
want to adopt the Senate Majority's five-year
plan, you might as well hang a banner out on
the lawn of the Capitol saying "Welcome
Special Master," because the special master
will be here.
The Campaign for Fiscal Equity
decision, which I am prepared to read from at
4172
as much length as you would like -- I've done
it before here -- made extraordinarily
explicit findings of the needs of the
1.1 million children in the school system of
the City of New York. It spoke about
buildings in collapse, spoke about hundreds of
thousands of children graduating from high
school with an 8th-grade reading level.
This is not something that's going
to be addressed with the amount of money
that's offered here. This is the lowest
amount of money of any of the plans, even
lower than the Governor's.
And so I would suggest that this
bill before us today should not be voted on
because it's not going to avoid a special
master. It should not be voted on because it
doesn't provide the funding that, even if we
weren't under a court order, that our moral
obligation should require us to provide. It's
the lowest amount of money of any of the plans
now on the table.
And finally, it should not be voted
on because the members of this house are being
asked to vote on a plan when they can't even
4173
tell how much money is in it for their school
districts.
This is not the way to solve this
problem. This is another example of bad
Albany process. This is the reason that in a
recent poll -- and I must say we should all be
ashamed of this -- more people in the state of
New York think the courts should run the
school system than the State Legislature.
That's pretty disgraceful. That's pretty
disgraceful.
So I'm going to vote no on this.
And I urge that everyone vote no. And I hope
that we will return to negotiations in good
faith. But if the plan of the Majority is to
throw something out on the table and say, We
put out a plan, and just really with the
understanding that we're going to wait for a
special master and we're drag this out through
twenty years of litigation, then that is --
then let's get that out in the open. That, in
my view, is proceeding in bad faith.
Remember, remember, there has been
a lot of talk about the comparison between
Brown v. Board of Education and the Campaign
4174
for Fiscal Equity case. In his opinion,
Justice DeGrasse opened with a quote from
Brown v. Board of Education. And you all
remember the resistance to the implementation
of Brown.
I hope that the State of New York
will show more integrity in the implementation
of the mandate of the CFE decision than many
of the states in the United States showed in
the implementation of the Brown decision.
Let us not proceed by delay and
litigation in which the Governor of the State
of New York has opposed this every stage of
the way. You know, we're not required to go
in front of the special master with the
Governor opposing what the plaintiffs want.
But that's clearly the policy that he's
endorsed. And I respectfully suggest that by
his sending us a special message to get this
bill on the floor, he seems to be
collaborating in some respect with my
colleagues on the other side of the aisle.
The policy of this house and the
policy of the Governor should not be to fight
the CFE decision, fight the plaintiffs, fight
4175
those advocating for basic civil rights, for a
sound, basic education, every step of the way.
If we pass this bill today, we're back in
court, the special master is coming, and we
are, quite frankly, derelict in our
constitutional duty.
I urge everyone to vote no.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank
you, Senator Schneiderman.
Senator Robach.
SENATOR ROBACH: Yes, Mr.
President. I have to respectfully disagree
with my colleague. I think that you have to
look at this in a very global manner.
You know, a while back ago there
was a commercial on television, I can't
remember if it was the poultry industry or the
beef industry, it said "Real food for real
people."
I think we're at the point in these
budget negotiations and the CFE where we
really have to have a real plan for real
people, all the people, and avoid the court
case and not make sure this only affects the
pupils in New York City but also affects the
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students all across New York State that are in
high-needs districts, not just New York City.
My job is to try and make sure, at
least how I interpret it, that a budget is in
place, something is done to make sure it will
help other students in my district. While my
colleague has stated that he thinks this is
the guarantee that the courts will draw this,
it was the Senate, in fact, which came out
with the first plan of CFE, a real bill, not a
resolution. It was in fact the other house
who seems to be dragging their feet. And
their leader has said in print it might be the
best way to go is to let a master draw this.
And it is a very great concern to
me that we are not embracing any plan,
especially all my colleagues, regardless of
party, from upstate New York, but really the
whole state, to move anything forward that
will spur more dialogue and make us come to an
agreement on this that is not going allow the
courts to do it, which is really going to
allow the people who should do it, those of us
right in this room.
I cannot, in good conscience, say
4177
to my people in my district what I did was
wait to see what would happen, not advance any
measures. And I think our job is to act on
these things.
Now, I don't know the exact dollar
amount of what this will do. But I know if we
do nothing, there will be nothing in the court
case for upstate school districts, high
needs -- Rochester, the greatest concentration
of poverty in comparison to any school
district.
What I do know is this plan moves
getting something done and will certainly give
more money to the highest-needs school
district I represent, and that's the one in
the city of Rochester. I know it will have
the same effect on a lot of other cities in
upstate New York.
And I would encourage all my
colleagues to vote for this measure and
encourage everyone in the process to continue
the dialogue, using all these things, a
specific proposal, this one right here, as an
impetus to get real negotiation to try and get
this done prior to the date when a master
4178
would be brought in.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Bonacic.
SENATOR BONACIC: Mr. President,
would Senator Saland yield for a question.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, do you yield for a question?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
SENATOR BONACIC: Steve, did the
courts, in its decision, define what a "sound,
basic education" is?
SENATOR SALAND: No, it did not.
SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you.
Why are we in this mess? I have
watched this from the very beginning this
year, for five, six months. I'm frustrated.
I'm stained, like we all are, of a
dysfunctional legislature, a session that's
the worst ever. And I can tell you, I've been
here 15 years, this is a session that's the
worst ever. We have done nothing.
But I know every member in this
chamber works hard. They want to do
4179
something. I know that we have talent on both
sides of the aisle looking for a solution.
Why are we in this mess?
Now, first of all, I think that,
for the years that the courts reviewed on the
allocation of money, every state elected
official in the Assembly and the Senate in
budgets approved those votes and it became
adopted by the Governor. I think the courts
went a little too far in judicial activism.
That's where it started, the problem. We've
got to deal with it, because it's reality.
Why not talk about transportation
and analyze that for allocations downstate,
upstate? Why not health care? You open up a
Pandora's box that's very difficult to solve.
And when I became a Senator, I
said: I'm going to protect my district, but I
want to be reasonable, I want to be fair, I
want to represent everybody in the state of
New York and do it wisely and learn how to
compromise.
What's happened? Why are we in
this mess? We have political polarization.
That's number one. We have regions --
4180
New York City fighting upstate. That's number
two. I have never seen the intensity of that,
in 15 years, as I see now.
Now, we should have done a budget.
There's no reason why CFE has stymied health
care, transportation, economic development.
Is there one person in this chamber that
really believes we should tie CFE to the
budget? It makes no sense to me why that
happened. That was a political decision, to
drive up the price of money to New York City.
These are political decisions. These are not
leadership positions of why we came here to do
the right thing.
Now, how do we get off this dime?
I have no answer for CFE. I really don't.
Every one of us could put up a plan. But we
are in such an arena that we can't agree,
Democrats and Republicans, between the
Assembly and here, whether we should have a
round table or a rectangular table when we
negotiate. Now we're going to figure out
what's best in educating and money for the
children of the city of New York?
The other thing that I think we've
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made a terrible mistake, everything is
linkage. Everything. We don't do HAVA, we
don't do the Rockefeller Drug Laws, we don't
do Timothy's Laws and any other important
priorities that you have. All tied into CFE.
Because that's what this amounts to, how the
Assembly negotiated from the very beginning.
We probably need a change of
leadership to get back on track, so we can get
back to what's reasonable and not have
political warfare and polarization. There
shouldn't be one person that can be a wrecking
ball to have so much power to stymie the
process and stain us all. That's what's
happened this year.
So I say that all of us should be
clamoring for a budget, like we have argued on
this side of the aisle. On our CFE proposal,
is it perfect, is it the best one? I say
maybe there is better minds. Maybe it should
be compromise more.
But knowing how we have behaved,
the courts are going to decide this. And how
can you define numbers when no one has defined
what a "sound, basic education" is?
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Mr. Schneiderman?
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: If the
Senator would yield for a question.
SENATOR BONACIC: I'd like to
finish my remarks, and I'll gladly yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator will not suffer an interruption.
SENATOR BONACIC: I think we've
got to get back to basics. And the basics
are -- because I don't like being stained,
just like you don't like being stained. And I
don't like this institution being stained.
Let me just say, in conclusion, CFE
will probably wind up in the courts, because
the polarization, the regional differences --
it's a way to get more money to New York City.
And perhaps they do need more help down there.
But, you know, I'm a product of poor schools
with an excellent education, because we had
excellent teachers. It wasn't throwing money
at the problem.
And you know what blows my mind in
this analysis and that court decision? The
asterisk by the plaintiffs saying: We can't
guarantee that if you gave us $19 billion we
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would increase accountability in excellence
and education.
I -- for the life of me, I can't
understand that decision. You have to have
reforms. We have to have accountability. And
at some point, whether the courts do it or we
do it and we come up with billions of dollars
for the New York City children, you know what?
Let's make sure they come out smarter and we
do a better job down there. It's not just
about the money. It's got to be about reforms
and accountability.
This is a start, what we're trying
to do. It's not perfect. And then we get up
and we beat the report up, we send messages to
the court saying: Don't accept this plan,
because it's really not taking care of
New York City. And it goes on and on and on.
Reasonable people can be put in a
room, they can talk about compromise, giving
more money to the city, talk about
accountability, reforms, and how we're going
to help those kids. None of those discussions
have taken place. Not at all.
This is about political
4184
polarization. That's what we've become. It's
a sad day. It's a sad day for our institution
that we've reached this level. We can do much
better. We all should.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank
you, Senator.
Senator Stavisky.
SENATOR STAVISKY: Mr. President,
if somebody would answer a couple of -- I
don't know whom to address my question to.
If Senator Saland would yield to a
couple of questions.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, do you yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Senator
Stavisky.
SENATOR STAVISKY: Senator --
through you, Mr. President -- I heard you say
that the City of New York would receive
approximately 37 percent of the total dollar
amount.
SENATOR SALAND: I said of the
combination of what we're calling SBE, or
sound, basic education aid, and additional
4185
school aid that would be provided over the
next five years, the city would receive, of
that, approximately 37 percent. And I went on
to explain that with the capital component,
that would be beyond that.
And I would just like to point out
also, it's worth noting -- and I don't think
anybody who has read the case would dispute
this -- the court basically said they didn't
care where the money came from. The court
said: State, you didn't abide by your
constitutional obligation to provide a sound,
basic education. It has to be fixed. But we
don't care where the money comes from.
If you want to ask more of the
city, you can do that, because the city, in
effect, is a component of the state.
SENATOR STAVISKY: If the Senator
would continue to yield.
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Senator.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
Senator yields.
4186
SENATOR STAVISKY: That leads me
to the question that I'm asking. How much
will the City of New York be required to put
into the pot, so to speak?
SENATOR SALAND: Well, we --
under this proposal, the city would provide
about $554 million, which probably, over a
five-year period, amounts to maybe about
2 percent a year of an increase. The city's
probably putting up right now somewhere
between $5.5 billion to 6 billion.
So it's not a tremendous amount of
money to ask of the city in terms of
maintenance of effort or expanded beyond
maintenance of effort. As I mentioned in my
earlier remarks, the Assembly proposal calls
for $1.2 billion. The Governor is
$1.5 billion. And then there's also a capital
component.
And I know, as you know, Senator
Stavisky, the mayor has a five-year capital
plan for $13 billion. We're saying we'll give
you bonding authority for another $2.8 billion
above that, of which the state, by way of
building aid, would reimburse about half of
4187
that.
SENATOR STAVISKY: And if the
Senator would continue to yield.
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Mr.
President.
SENATOR STAVISKY: Through you,
Mr. President.
What would happen if the city does
not put in the approximately 500-and-some-odd
million dollars that they would be required to
put in under either this legislation or the
governance legislation that we passed in 2000?
SENATOR SALAND: The failure to
put your matching -- or the required amount of
money would result in the monies from the
state not flowing to the city.
SENATOR STAVISKY: And if the
Senator would continue to yield and elaborate
on that response.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Saland, will you continue to yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes.
SENATOR STAVISKY: Would you
elaborate on that?
SENATOR SALAND: I'm glad I
4188
checked with staff, because I might have told
you something that might not have been
completely correct.
The monies would be recouped from
general operating aid.
SENATOR STAVISKY: Dollar for
dollar?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes.
SENATOR STAVISKY: In other
words -- my last question, if the Senator
would continue to yield.
SENATOR SALAND: Yes.
SENATOR STAVISKY: In other
words, if the city does not put in its share,
then they would not be in compliance with the
CFE. To a greater extent, there would be less
money available for the sound, basic
education.
SENATOR SALAND: Correct.
And in all fairness, the court
didn't say the city must pay. What the court
said was, in effect, we don't care where it
comes from, and you can make the city pay. It
didn't say there should be a specific share
allocated to the city. They basically said
4189
the city could be part of the solution.
SENATOR STAVISKY: Thank you, Mr.
President.
Thank you, Senator Saland.
ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
Senator Larkin.
SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, Mr.
President. On the bill.
We've been debating this for seven,
eight, nine months now about how do we fix the
problem. And everybody looks at the
Legislature and says it's their fault.
But, you know, I went and done a
little research. I found out we have a State
Education Department, a holy empire made up of
people who don't even return your phone calls
because they don't work for you. We have a
Regents that nobody on this side of the aisle
has ever voted for any of them. We've never
had an opportunity to put forth one of our
candidates, because they don't meet the
criteria of somebody else.
Now, you're starting to say here
that, hey, wait a minute, there's a problem
here. We need the money. Can somebody tell
4190
me what the Regents or State Ed has been
doing? I remember two years ago the Regents
said, We need $9 billion. When I called my
Regent and said, "By the way, what's it for?"
"I'll get back to you." That was last
October.
How are we supposed to sit here and
listen to what a court says when a layman's
reading of the court decision says, What does
it cost to educate somebody in New York City?
As Senator Saland just said, very clearly,
that New York City can be asked to be part of
the solution, not part of the problem.
We keep looking around at one
another and everybody back in your districts
are saying, It's your fault, it's your fault.
Did you ever hear anybody talk about the
Regents?
I did a poll last weekend, 110
people. Not one of them knew who the Regent
was that represents Orange County. Not one.
He also has Westchester, a few others. He's
never set foot in our county.
So why are we having these kind of
individuals assigned a responsibility with no
4191
accountability to try to help us solve a
problem that they haven't even addressed
themself?
And when the court looks at it, you
have to understand -- or question the court,
did the court ever decide to ask somebody in
the State Education Department what happened,
how did this get so far out of hand?
And if you go back and check, since
Governor Pataki has been in office, New York
City has increased -- its aid has increased
every single year. Every year. Not once or
twice, but every year.
And the problem is it just doesn't
seem that anybody wants to solve it. It's
simple. Just give us more money. Where does
the accountability come in? Who's
responsible?
Many of us grew up -- you see the
white hair on the president up there, he was
in school a long time ago when there was
accountability, as I was, and many of you.
But you just can't throw money and solve a
problem. And that's what it seems that the
people who are looking at New York City think.
4192
Give them money, money.
Joel Klein, the chancellor, three
weeks ago had an article in the Post, and he
had a figure of $30 billion. Our total
package is $14.9 billion. And now we're
sitting here saying there has to be more
money.
When are we going to find out what
happened to the School Construction Authority?
How much did they have, how many projects were
done on time, and what do we see as an
advantage for our students? The excuse is, We
overran the budget, we did this, we did that.
Who's accountable? We never want to put the
finger and blame somebody. We blame the
Legislature. And we shouldn't be blamed.
We have a responsibility. But
shouldn't we be asking the Regents: Come over
here, tell us what you did, tell us what you
didn't do?
This is a mistake, a mistake,
because everybody is saying find the money.
Where's the money going to come from? I heard
someone say, We're not going to use VLTs.
I'll never vote for a tax increase. You don't
4193
want the VLTs, then you find the money.
And then I hear someone say, Oh,
well, this program won't work. What have you
contributed except holler We need more money,
we need more money?
I think it's about time that we
brought some people in that are supposed to be
accountable and make them accountable.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Hoffmann.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you,
Madam President. I'd like to ask if Senator
Saland would yield for a couple of questions,
please.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Saland,
will you yield for a question?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Madam
President.
THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed,
Senator Hoffmann.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Let me just
ask you a few very basic civics-lesson
questions, if you don't mind.
If I were to explain to a group of
high school students from Central New York how
this situation came to exist and where the
4194
balance of power is, I would like to follow a
little bit of the line of questioning that
Senator Larkin talked about.
In fact, Senator Larkin and I were
chatting a little while ago, and I asked some
questions just for my own edification, because
in this chamber we sometimes feel such weight
on our shoulders from other forces, and I
think it behooves us to take a minute and go
back to a very basic understanding of how the
state government operates and how the various
branches and agencies operate.
Now, State Education operates a
little differently and is configured a little
differently than other state agencies. In
this chamber, we regularly confirm
commissioners that are the nominees of the
Governor to head state agencies --
Agriculture, Insurance, Labor. But Education
is different. Please explain, if you wouldn't
mind, Senator Saland, why and how -- well,
just how Education is different. Why is not
really as relevant right this minute.
SENATOR SALAND: Well, the
education policy, pursuant to the
4195
Constitution, is primarily driven by the Board
of Regents. The Education Commissioner is
appointed by the action of the Board of
Regents. That does not mean that the
Legislature and the Governor have no say in
education policy; the Constitution clearly
provides that the Legislature has the ability
to engage in education policy.
The Regents basically propose
education policy, and they have the comfort of
doing something that none of us do; they can
make proposals which have, in effect, the
weight of law without having to worry about
the fiscal impact of those proposals. They
make the proposals, and we are responsible to
fund them, to the extent that we choose to
fund them.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you.
Senator Saland, would you yield for
an additional question?
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Saland,
do you yield for another question?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Madam
President.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you. I
4196
appreciate your indulgence.
SENATOR SALAND: And I should add
that I think that New York may be the only one
of the 50 states -- maybe the only one; I'm
not sure if South Carolina has something
similar -- but I can safely say certainly no
more than two, but maybe the only one that has
a system like that.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: With a system
in which the Regents have the ability to --
SENATOR SALAND: Where the
Regents and Education Commissioner are
independent of the Legislature and the
Governor.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Are able to
create policy which is then funded by the
Legislature and the Executive branch.
Senator Saland, the Regents, as we
know, are selected by a majority of the
Legislature. Which in this state means the
Assembly, with the largest number of votes,
has the authority to pick most of the Regents.
Is that correct?
SENATOR SALAND: Well, that's
correct, because of the disproportionate
4197
membership of the Assembly. I believe
currently there's in excess of a hundred
members of the Democratic conference in the
Assembly, and less than 50 in the Republican
conference. And the numbers here are 37 on
the Republican side, 24 on the Democratic
side.
The combination of the two
basically, when you combine both houses,
basically says that there is
disproportionately the ability by those,
should they choose, who are members of the
Democratic Party to pick the Regents.
And as a practical matter, that's
what has been happening certainly for some
period of time.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: It's been
happening for some period of time, but,
Senator Saland, would you say historically
it's always been a political decision, from
your knowledge of education policy in this
state?
SENATOR SALAND: I would assume.
It would be hard for me -- I can't say that
I'm a student of what has occurred decades ago
4198
in the appointment process. But I have to
assume that there's probably always been some
element of politics involved in the selection
of the Regents.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you.
Senator Saland, if you would yield
for an additional question.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Saland,
will you yield?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Madam
President.
THE PRESIDENT: He does continue
to yield.
You may proceed.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Again, for a
high school civics lesson, the selection of
the Commissioner -- now, we appoint -- the
Governor appoints the commissioners subject to
confirmation by the Senate. All other state
agencies are thus created, are thus led by
their commissioners.
What happens with the Department of
Education?
SENATOR SALAND: Neither the --
the Governor has no role. The commissioner
4199
really is a creature of the Regents.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Okay. Is
selected by the Regents, not subject to any
confirmation by the Legislature.
SENATOR SALAND: Correct.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: For an
additional question, Senator Saland -- a final
question, I think -- was there a purpose
stated any place that you know of? I mean, in
your role as chair of Education, I'm sure
you're asked this from time to time.
Why is it considered --
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Point of
order. Point of order, Madam President.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator
Montgomery, why do you rise?
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: I would
like -- point of order. I would like a ruling
on the germaneness of this discussion between
Senator Saland and Senator Hoffmann.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Madam
President, if --
THE PRESIDENT: I find that the
discussion is germane, Senator Montgomery.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: This is
4200
germane to our --
THE PRESIDENT: This is germane.
You may proceed, Senator Hoffmann.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you,
Madam President.
Is there a rationale within the
Constitution or within recent education policy
that explains why this department is
configured differently than other state
agencies?
SENATOR SALAND: I believe the
intention was just to establish it as an
independent policy entity.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Okay. All
right. Thank you very much, Senator Saland.
I appreciate your indulgence in going through
this line of questioning.
And rather than simply injecting my
own thoughts and philosophical ponderings to
this issue right now, as I think many people
are very interested in doing, I just wanted to
go through a few of the facts.
As I said earlier, Senator Larkin
and I talked somewhat earlier about this. And
I had said to Senator Larkin I am -- I'm very
4201
troubled by the fact that as a legislator I
have to go back home and explain to people how
this situation has come to exist.
And while it's easy to point the
finger of blame at the judicial branch and a
judge in particular who has issued a ruling
that has shackled us all to this CFE situation
and compelled us all to come up with some
means of satisfying the court, I think we
really do need to stop and look at the
situation that we have in our state. Which,
as Senator Saland just pointed out, is
different from every other state.
Our state education system is
clearly not operating with the best interests
of the children of this state at hand. It's
also, I think, fairly clear now to many of us
that the State Education Department does not
really take into consideration the way funding
for education can and should be configured.
Various parts of the state pay a
tremendous amount to fund education. And as
Senator Bruno said earlier today, we pay more
per pupil, on average, through all sources,
than every other state in the nation. We are
4202
funding our student education at a very high
level, more than $30,000 per student. Is that
correct? $11,000. Oh, excuse me. My
per-person figure is based upon another state
agency that is also ridiculously high, but
that's the Department of Corrections.
At $11,000 per pupil, we are
funding more than any other state in the
nation for an education that has now been
determined by the courts to be inadequate for
students in New York City.
Now, this Legislature, and
certainly this house, does not have within it
the ability, nor should it, the ability to
micromanage education. But yet we are saddled
with the obligation to come up with a formula
for people who, as Senator Larkin said, often
don't return our phone calls at the State
Education Department, and yet we don't have
any idea how much money will be enough money
to satisfy the courts.
And the courts, by the way,
required that the funding be adequate for a
sound, basic education for every student in
New York State, yet the same court did not
4203
define what a sound, basic education actually
is. I mean, talk about being in an Orwellian
world where we are being asked to do
something, not given the tools to do it, not
told exactly what we are expected to have for
an outcome. I mean, I cannot imagine how we
could be more entangled in red tape and in
unreasonable admonitions and expectations than
we are today.
I think Senator Bonacic, who just
vented a little bit and showed a level of
emotional frustration, is a very apt
spokesperson for most of the members of this
house.
And the public needs to know that
many of us are trying to do the jobs to which
we are elected, are trying address other
pressing responsibilities in this state. But
we are thwarted from doing that because (a) of
a lawsuit, (b) the court ruling about that
lawsuit and, now, (c) the determination by the
other house in this Legislature, the Assembly
leader in particular, who has said that there
will be no state budget until this CFE lawsuit
is settled. How utterly unreasonable is that?
4204
I know in my part of the state
there are some people who are trying to send a
message that we are spending too much on
education.
Last year we made a bold move when
we in this chamber and the other chamber
partnered to write a budget. Because we
didn't think that the Governor had put enough
money into education, we had done something
that was going to greatly expand education.
The Governor vetoed it. And then, in an even
bolder move, we overrode that veto, because we
wanted to send as much money as we could to
the school districts all over the state to
educate our students.
I stand here as an example of a
legislator being targeted for doing that very
thing. There are people out there who are
reacting most critically of us for spending
too much for education. And yet we have a
court ruling that says we must spend more,
more, more. How much is enough? Nobody
knows. What constitutes "sound, basic
education"? We don't know. And yet we can't
put a budget together until somehow we find
4205
the answers to these questions.
I feel very much like Alice in
Wonderland right now. This is not an
acceptable way for government to operate. And
the people of this state are very, very angry.
Perhaps we need to start looking at something
like initiative and referendum and let the
people themselves make the decisions if we are
going to have a hogtied legislature that can't
do its job.
I think that the proposal before
us, everything that I've heard from Senator
Saland and Senator Bruno makes me feel
confident that this is a reasonable, a very
reasonable attempt to try to meet the needs as
explained by the court. Even though all the
information is not presented from the court
about filling in the blanks, I think that this
document, this bill that we're voting on I
think is very reasonable.
Is it totally fair to all parts of
the state? Gosh, I don't know. I have a
district that includes rural poor, urban poor,
wealthy suburban areas, struggling
middle-class districts. All of them are ably
4206
represented by local members of their own
school boards. All of them have hardworking
teachers. And yet all of them are frustrated
by regulations imposed upon them by the same
Board of Regents that we talked about just a
little while ago.
Is this a be-all, end-all? I don't
know. But I am proud of the fact that this
chamber is at least willing to present a
document, a fairly detailed document to the
courts to say here is our attempt to answer
the questions that you have asked us to
answer.
I'm also proud of the fact that it
attempts to provide a framework that is fair
to the whole state. It does not simply
address New York City, but it does not want to
penalize -- here in this chamber, we do not
want to penalize any other part of the state
for the problems in the New York City schools.
We want to be as fair as we can in funding the
New York City schools as ordered by the
courts. But we can't do it while breaking the
bank for the rest of the state or shifting too
much of a burden on property taxpayers in
4207
other parts of the state.
I think that this is a responsible
step. I hope, I really hope that the court
will look favorably upon this. And I also
hope that the court will consider how hard it
is for an entire branch of government to be
hogtied to a court ruling and to a legislative
chair in the other chamber who is unwilling to
do -- as Senator Bruno said, unconscionably
unwilling to address the needs of the state to
allow a budget to be passed until this is
addressed first. It is, as Senator Bruno
said, unconscionable on the part of the
Speaker.
Thank you, Madam President.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Lachman.
SENATOR LACHMAN: Certain things
were mentioned this afternoon that I will not
go into because I'm limiting myself to five
minutes.
When I was president of the New
York City Board of Education 25 years ago,
New York City was being shortchanged. Today,
New York City continues to be shortchanged, as
do other parts of the state.
4208
Now, though the Campaign for Fiscal
Equity concentrated on New York City, the
court gave us the possibility of going beyond
that, to other parts of the state, to rectify
wrongs that have long been in existence.
I think this is outrageous and
unconscionable that these wrongs are still in
existence and this bill does not meet these
wrongs head-on and attempt to correct it in a
major way and in a major situation.
Now, previously one of the speakers
spoke about the Legislature's being supreme in
the area of education and that powers are
being taken away from this Legislature by the
courts. The only reason the courts have
entered the situation is because it is so
egregious in New York State that they enter
the situation.
The only reason the U.S. Supreme
Court entered the situation four years ago in
Bush versus Gore was because it was getting
out of hand and the Legislature and the courts
could not handle it.
The only reason that the U.S.
Supreme Court was involved in Marbury versus
4209
Madison was to show that though we have three
branches of government, the courts are the
first among these three equal branches of
government.
These are important things to
realize. The courts would not have been
involved -- and we're saying they should spell
out sound, basic education. That means
they're taking everything away from the State
Legislature. We have to spell out what is
sound, basic education.
It was said that there is no
accountability for education. What in the
world are we talking about? Two and a half
years ago I stood here with my Republican and
Democratic colleagues and voted to
recentralize education. The mayor of the City
of New York is totally responsible for
education. No place in the United States is
there a mayor who has such absolute
centralized power over education.
Ladies and gentlemen, the simple
thing is the precise thing is the accurate
thing. This bill does not face up to the
egregious discrimination in the area of
4210
education to New York City and other areas in
New York State, and therefore I cannot vote
for it.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Krueger.
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
Madam President. If the sponsor -- or Senator
Saland, in this case -- would please yield.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Saland,
will you yield for a question?
SENATOR SALAND: Yes, Madam
President.
THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed,
Senator Krueger.
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
Senator Saland, we had quite a bit
of discussion about numbers earlier and what
couldn't be found and what could be found.
What's the breakout of what percentage of the
STAR tax cut rebates would impact New York
City versus the rest of the state? Because
there is a formula for that in your bill.
SENATOR SALAND: Probably
somewhere in the mid-90 percent of the
benefit, the rebate, would go to areas outside
of the City of New York.
4211
I would say out of 990 million,
which I believe is the gross amount over the
five-year period, less than 50 -- I'm going to
say somewhere between 45 and 50 would benefit
New York City real property taxpayers. And
the balance would go to areas outside of the
city.
And that reflects the existing STAR
formulas, which certainly reflect the fact
that the real property tax effort in the City
of New York is dramatically lower than
anywhere else in the state.
And also, if you may recall -- no,
it actually predates you, I think, STAR --
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: It does.
SENATOR SALAND: -- there was at
that time requested, as part of the agreement
to do STAR, some personal income tax benefits
that went to City of New York residents as
part and parcel of that agreement.
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
Madam President, on the bill.
THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed
on the bill, Senator.
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
4212
So much has already been said
today, and I don't want to repeat my
colleagues on either side of the aisle. I did
want to ask that question about the STAR
refund, because there was a discussion about
what percentage, 37 percent, might go to
New York City over some period of time if we
were actually doing a budget that projected
out for real years, but we're really only
doing one year.
So what we know is what the cost
will be to New York City if they want matching
funds, not necessarily what they would get in
the future. We have really no commitments
long term about the amount of money, new money
available to high-needs districts, because
again it isn't a budget appropriation bill.
Therefore, we can only do projections here.
We know we're not doing new funding
formulas here. It specifically says that
we're not addressing that.
And yet we also now know that we're
going to have tax cuts in here from the STAR
program, of which it sounds like about
$900 million of the $990 million won't apply
4213
to New York City. I didn't ask the details
about the other high-needs urban districts
that also have renters versus homeowners.
So we know that there's going to be
a tax cut applying primarily outside the
high-needs districts, because it applies
primarily to homeowners, not renters, which
ends up being an urban versus suburban/rural
argument.
We don't know what the real money
will be here going into the high-needs
districts over a five-year period. That seems
a little unjust to me if we're trying to
evaluate this bill.
We also heard a great deal about
the frustration and the embarrassment of
having the courts order us, the Legislature,
to get something done. And I think Senator
Lachman did a very good presentation of some
history.
But I'll make the argument to us,
shame on us in the year 2004 that we so failed
to address unfair funding formulas in school
aid in this state for so many decades that
others had no choice but to go to the courts
4214
and get the courts to force us to do something
that we in fact should have done certainly
10 years ago, and some people would argue 20
or 25 years ago.
So we may be mad that the courts
have ordered us to act, but I actually think
we should be, for those of us who might have
been here 25 years ago, madder at ourselves
and, for those of us who are more recent
additions to the Legislature, reflective of
the fact that we are in this position today
not because of people bringing a lawsuit, not
because we're actually having a current fight
over whether CFE fair funding formula
decisions should be attached, coupled with or
decoupled from the current annual late budget
fight, but over the fact that we got here
through a very long history of failed action
and inaction.
And that it is a shame that the
people of New York had to go to the courts to
get resolution for something that we, as a
legislature, should have done decade after
decade.
So I think the shame is that we
4215
lived with and accepted unfair funding
formulas for decades, that we forced the
people to go to another wing of government,
the courts, to get resolution on their claims.
That we -- Senator Bonacic talked
about before about politics and leadership.
That whether it was the failure of leadership
or the failure of our political partisan
structure, we didn't get the job done. And
now the courts have ruled and the public is
begging us to get the job done. They are
begging us to come up with fair funding
formulas.
And in fact, a previous senator
claimed that no one has come up with a
definition of what is both a fair funding
formula and a reasonable standard of a quality
education. But in fact, there are a series of
reports out there, we all have them -- the
Zarb report, the Regents report, the CFE
report. I'm sure there are others. There are
reports for us to work off of, but we don't in
the Senate proposal before us today.
There are alternative options for
us to consider, but we don't in the bill
4216
today. Senator Bruno started out by making
the argument that we spend an average of
$11,000 per student in the State of New York
and that it's the highest amount nationally.
Well, the trick in math about an average is
somebody is above and somebody is below. And
in New York State, what's so important to
highlight is the true inequity behind that
$11,000 number. Because we have children
where we're not spending more than $6,000 a
year per student in some districts, rural
upstate districts, and we have some districts
that are spending over $16,000 per student.
So one can't work off of an average
for the State of New York, which is what the
courts also said in their decision.
And Senator Bonacic argued we can't
let the courts decide this because then maybe
they should be deciding transportation aid or
health care aid. Well, since those two
formulas are also incredibly inequitable --
New York City gets a dramatically lower share
of public transportation aid than its suburban
counterparts in relationship to the number of
people -- I would be the last person to argue
4217
that you have to go to court to get good
legislation and a fair budget in the state of
New York, but maybe people should explore
going to the courts for transportation aid and
for health care and for any number of issues.
It's all an indictment of our failure to do
the right thing.
So I urge us to do the right
thing -- not to pass this bill today, but not
to leave town without sitting down and
negotiating a real answer to this problem
starting now, before June 30th [sic]. Don't
let it get thrown back into the courts.
That's the embarrassment for ourselves if we
don't address this, if we don't address this
correctly. And now we are months and months
and months too late; we have to keep going
forward now.
And Senator Bonacic argued that
perhaps it was a failure of leadership. I am
sure he did not mean the leadership of this
chamber when he said that. But I do believe
we need to ensure, on behalf of all of us,
that we can go home to our districts and say
to our constituents that we did work as
4218
legislators to resolve such a serious issue
that the courts of New York had to speak and
order us to do it, but that we recognized our
obligation and we in fact did the job.
So I urge us to vote no on this
bill today and, frankly, to not leave town
until we get this resolved and not let it fall
back into the courts on June 30th, because
that does harm to all of the children of the
state of New York, and it certainly does
further harm to our reputations as the elected
representatives of our districts.
Thank you, Madam President.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Sabini.
SENATOR SABINI: Thank you, Madam
President. On the bill.
THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed
on the bill, Senator.
SENATOR SABINI: You know, I've
been amazed at the evolution of the arguments
today.
Because over the last few decades,
we've heard in New York City about waste at
the Board of Education. We heard about the
wild man from Miami, Joe Fernandez, who had no
4219
accountability. We heard about Ramon
Cortines, who our former mayor used to make
pejorative comments about, about not having a
spine. We heard about Chancellor Crew, who
was very nice to have around Mayor Giuliani
when he was sitting around reading books to
children in 1997. When '98 came and the
election was over, out. Those were guys who
were unaccountable.
Now I've learned that it was, all
along, the State Department of Education that
was unaccountable. News to me. I always
thought it was the City Board of Education. I
always thought -- in fact, I learned in this
chamber when we voted on it that we gave the
mayor of the City of New York accountability
for education. And his commissioner, who's
not an educator, not an educrat, but someone
who is business, who knows how to manage a
buck, we gave him responsibility.
I think that's where the
responsibility lies. You did it.
Now, I happen to think the mayor
and the chancellor -- or the commissioner of
education, as some now call him -- are doing a
4220
pretty good job in trying to make sure that
the city is getting the best bang for the
limited bucks we give them. But if you think
that those are the guys, the mayor and the
commissioner of education, Joel Klein, are not
doing a good job, well, when the members on
the other side of the aisle are spending their
money at the Republican convention in New York
City, why don't you ask them where the money
is? Because they are appointees of the mayor.
I happen to think they're doing a
good job. But if you think there's an
accountability problem, ask them.
Because, you know, I heard one of
my colleagues say, well, it's not about the
money. Well, there's a famous philosopher on
the radio every morning who says: When you
say it's not about the money, it's about the
money. It's about the money. You want to
make sure that we don't get what is our fair
share.
Now, I heard a big long
dissertation about the court system and about
interventionist judges. Well, I'll tell you
what. I'll stop talking -- if you stop
4221
talking about interventionist jurors, I'll
stop talking about President Bush. Because
that works both ways. We have a president who
was elected by the Supreme Court.
So if you think there was some
cabal between parents looking out for the
needs of their children and a bunch of judges
across the street here, because it was upheld
by the State Court of Appeals, then I guess
that things are a lot darker in this state
than I thought, that there's a lot more of a
conspiratorial attitude that they're all
together to sort of flush money away down the
toilet. I don't think so. I think they were
looking out for their children and the needs
of the children of the City of New York.
This plan, for example, does things
like cuts education to people for whom English
is not their primary language. Well, that
happens to be 80 percent of the children in my
district. I don't think that's particularly
fair to me.
I happen to think, having been up
here a while, that the members of this body
are pretty smart people on both sides of the
4222
aisle. But yet the devil is often lost in the
details.
Let's take a look at the back end
of this bill. A minor point, but it's an
important one. Last year the Legislature
enabled the harness tracks to have VLTs to
save the harness industry. That was going to
be a good by-product of that. And we asked
people to invest millions of dollars into
those tracks, into Saratoga, into Buffalo, now
Yonkers, Aqueduct.
And what this bill does is
basically tell them it was money wasted,
because we're going to put eight more around
the state. And yeah, there's a 15-mile
buffer. But as I've learned, 15 miles in a
lot of parts of the state is a milk run.
That's not a very long piece of territory at
all to cover in just a few minutes.
And there is a limited amount of
gaming revenue in this state. You're going to
cannibalize what's there now and frankly hurt
the people that we told, Trust us and invest
millions of dollars in your facility.
So it's sort of like with -- one of
4223
the reasons that there's an unlimited supply
of golf magazines is that golf magazines will
tell you one month here's how to correct your
slice, and then the next month they tell you
here's how to correct the hook that came about
correcting your slice.
So one day we say, here's a bill
that's going to save the harness industry, and
next year, here's a bill that's going to
destroy the harness industry. Now, the bill
is not really about the harness industry, but
I'm just pointing out how government doesn't
work for people up here.
I believe members of the Majority
are smart people. You wouldn't be voting for
a bill that you thought was going to hurt your
districts. That's why I don't really believe,
in my heart of hearts, that you don't know
what the outcome of this bill is going to be.
Unless they're serving Kool-Aid in the
conference and I'm not aware of it.
I think that you know, in your
heart of hearts, that you're going to be
protected and that ultimately the court will
have to decide and you'll be off the hook.
4224
That's not what we're sent here for.
And I've got to tell you that the
level of rhetoric and placing the blame
around -- to the courts, to Commissioner
Mills -- it's just misplaced. Let's deal with
the facts of our children, everyone's
children, including in the high-needs
districts all over the state, deserve the best
education they can get and the dollars to get
them that best education.
I'm all for accountability, I'm all
for educational reform. But let's stop
fighting over who's to blame and who the bad
guys are here, and let's get to the level of
passing something that we can put our finger
on and say, This works for us, this works for
everyone.
Until such time, I can't support
this. I'm going to be recorded in the
negative.
Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Brown.
SENATOR BROWN: Thank you, Madam
President.
You know, colleagues, I have to
4225
tell you I am really very frustrated with this
process. I want to vote for a budget. I want
to vote for a school aid formula. And this
bill that we have before us today, we all
know, if we're honest, this doesn't do it. We
all know this is a one-house bill. We know
that there isn't a companion bill in the
Assembly. And without the Senate, the
Assembly, and the Governor all coming
together, we have nothing.
So what we've done for hours in
this room today is essentially going to be
meaningless.
Now, I know that all of us in this
room are frustrated because we want to do
something. And I know that those who have
advanced this legislation have advanced it
because you want to see this process move
forward. And I certainly respect that.
But the thing that troubles me, and
I think the thing that does us all a
disservice is we will be voting on this bill
today without knowing, without knowing what's
going to go to our school districts all across
the state.
4226
Now, you know, there was some
reference to the Assembly resolution. But at
least the Assembly resolution has a formula,
has dollar amounts for every school district
in the state.
I represent Buffalo, Niagara Falls,
Grand Island, and the City of Tonawanda.
Buffalo, under the Assembly plan, would get
$58 million. I'm for Buffalo getting
$58 million in additional aid. Niagara Falls,
under the Assembly plan, would get
$3.1 million. I'm for Niagara Falls School
District getting an additional $3.1 million.
Grand Island would get close to a million
dollars under the Assembly plan. The City of
Tonawanda would get $318,000 under the
Assembly plan. In this plan, I know what my
school districts are receiving.
I think it's unfair, it's improper,
and it's unrealistic to put us in a situation
where we have to vote on something as
important as this and we don't know what our
districts will be receiving.
If I vote on this today, and I get
home tonight and the next-door neighbor asks
4227
me, "Senator Brown, what is our school
district going to be receiving from this vote
that you made earlier in the day?", I won't be
able to give that person an answer. Is that
reasonable? Is that the way this Legislature
should be doing business? I don't think so.
Let me also say that, as Senator
Sabini just indicated, the Legislature didn't
make this problem. The Legislature did not
make this. We all know we did not create this
problem. But there are children in
communities all across this state that are not
getting the education that they deserve.
There are children all across the state that
are failing, and it's not just in New York
City.
There are 517 school districts all
across this state that are not spending at
adequate levels. That's not just New York
City, 517 school districts. Our children
deserve better.
And we all know that if we don't
take action by July 30th, children outside of
New York City, all across this state, will
lose. Because the court will appoint a
4228
special master who will make the decision, and
that special master will make a decision based
on what that court has ruled on, and that
ruling is only based on the needs of New York
City. And that's because only the parents and
educational advocates in New York City brought
this court case.
So, I mean, let's not pit ourselves
against each other, upstate versus downstate.
In New York City, parents that saw their
children failing, they did something about it.
They filed a lawsuit, and they won that
lawsuit. And that's why we have this
situation.
But those same parents and those
same advocates realized that they were not the
only community with this problem. And because
of that, they retained the best educational
experts to look at this. And they did a
Campaign for Fiscal Equity Adequacy Report.
And in that report, it gave a formula for the
funding that should go to every school
district across the state.
That provides us with a guideline.
We can't say that we don't know what that
4229
report holds. We can't say that there aren't
numbers out there that we can look at as a
framework for doing the right thing in this
State Legislature.
You know, I want to do something.
And I am frustrated, very frustrated that
we're not doing more. Because the reason I
ran for this office was to make a difference
in the lives of people that live in my
community. But we're not doing that. It
saddens me this bill doesn't do that. And
because this bill doesn't do that, I can't in
good conscience vote for it.
Thank you, Madam President.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Padavan.
SENATOR PADAVAN: Point of
information. When did the debate on this bill
begin?
THE PRESIDENT: Ten minutes of
3:00.
SENATOR PADAVAN: Ten minutes of
3:00. So there are roughly 12 minutes left,
right?
Thank you, Madam President.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Malcolm
4230
Smith.
SENATOR MALCOLM SMITH: Thank you
very much, Madam President. And I'm so happy
that the note of time still gave me enough
time, Senator Padavan, to make my comments.
But I think it's important that as
many of my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle get up and speak to this particular
issue. Because everyone knows that this
particular issue is probably the most
significant matter that we will handle during
this session, outside of coming up to and
finalizing a budget.
There are just two things that I
think become a superpriority for us throughout
this entire state. One is public safety, and
we've been debating and talking about that
ever since 9/11, how our lives have changed
and it's so important in terms of maintaining
safety for everyone. And obviously the next
thing is education.
There is no doubt in my mind, and
no doubt in anybody's mind here, that what
happened in terms of the court decision with
Judge Leland DeGrasse is something that will
4231
go down in history. Whether it was Brown
versus Board of Education, whether it was the
Civil Rights Act, whether it was the Voting
Rights Act, this is one of those particular
decisions that one will never forget and it
will have a profound effect on this entire
state.
The interesting thing, though, I do
want to point out from some of my colleagues,
Senator Larkin talked about just throwing
money at a particular problem and that is not
the solution. And while I can agree that
obviously you need some accountability, the
bottom line to Senator Larkin is the fact that
it's a court order and every lawyer that is in
here understands, when you're under a court
order and you do not follow such, the results
and the consequences of that is pretty dire.
The second thing is Senator
Bonacic -- and he's correct. Senator Bonacic
rightfully said there was a lot of talent
around this room. The sad part about that is
the talent wasn't used.
Unfortunately, we became aware of
this particular bill last night, early this
4232
morning. And, quite frankly, had the other
side of the aisle taken the time to involve
some of the intellectual capital on this side
of the room, we might have come up with
something that we could be sitting down
talking about and agreeing to.
That didn't happen. I agree with
Senator Bonacic, we've got a lot of talent in
this room. We should use it, there's no
question about it.
Senator Robach made a profound
statement. He talked about looking at this
from a global standpoint. And he's right. If
you take the time to look about what is
happening in this state, and probably in this
world, we are currently in a fierce
intellectual global competition. The problem
is because we are not educating the children
of this state, which is also turning into this
country, we are falling behind other countries
around the world.
And when you start talking about
outsourcing and why things are being
outsourced, it's not just being outsourced
because of labor costs, it's being outsourced
4233
because the intellect that they can purchase
far exceeds the intellect that they can
purchase from this state.
We have a challenge before us that
we need to take a look at from a global
perspective. It's not just about New York
City. It's not about just upstate New York.
It's about what our children will be able to
do in terms of competing on a global
perspective with all the children in this
world. And we are failing at that in a
dramatic sense.
In this state, we basically do
three things. We incarcerate, we medicate,
and we educate. That's all we do. No matter
how much else goes on throughout this chamber,
we do those three basic things.
We are looking to change what we do
around incarceration. I believe we are.
Where'd Senator Volker go? He left. No, he's
over there. I believe we are looking to do
some things around medicating, which is why I
know my leader, Senator Paterson, was on that
task force. And hopefully that will happen.
But when it comes to education, that is where
4234
we seem to have a problem.
My colleague Senator Schneiderman
rightfully pointed out all of the numbers, the
disparity in the numbers, where they make no
sense. And I think it's just a -- it's just
pretty sad, just like my good friend, my mayor
from Buffalo, Senator Brown, stated. We
should just do the right thing.
We have several choices before we
end this session. One of them is to come up
with a plan that is sound, one that will
educate all of our children so they can take
their natural place in the cycle of life, they
can compete around the world, and we will no
longer be in a position where we're not
considered the premier state.
I like the fact and I like to boast
about the fact that New York State leads the
rest of the country, leads the rest of the
world not only in how we do our business but
in our intellectual abilities. Right now we
have a problem with that, because we can't say
so.
I would like to continue to be
proud about being a citizen of this state. I
4235
would like to be proud to be around this
country and to be around the world saying we
can offer the intellect, you can come purchase
the intellect from our state because we have
it.
If in fact we don't enact this
bill, and in fact if we don't enact the right
bill, we won't be able to do so.
Unfortunately, because this bill
falls far short of the need -- $1.2 billion,
$282 million is not the number. We need to
use the talent that we have around this room.
Involve Senator Schneiderman. Involve Senator
Paterson. Senator Toby Stavisky has a wealth
of intellect. Senator Lachman has a wealth of
intellect. Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson has
a wealth of intellect. They all have a wealth
of intellect.
Take the time. Put your basic
petty concerns to the side. Use the
intellectual capital that's on this side of
the room, and let's come up with a real bill
that we can leave on the 22nd and be proud to
go home and tell our children that they're
going to be able to be competitive in the rest
4236
of world.
Thank you very much.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Breslin.
SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you,
Madam President.
There has been some talk
circulating around this chamber that we should
have a Campaign for Fiscal Equity II, a case
that would teach the Assembly and the Senate
and the Executive branch about a sound
legislative agenda, that would allow us to
have on-time budgets and would allow us to
address educational issues.
The Court of Appeals acted on
June 26, 2003. A commission was appointed by
the Governor. Yet the Zarb report came in
just before April 1st, just before our budget
deadline. Yesterday a resolution passed the
New York State Assembly; nothing binding.
The only real proposal that came in
was back in March, when the Senate Minority
issued a report with a five-year plan that was
balanced, effective, efficient, that would
provide an education to all people in the
State of New York.
4237
And now we are faced with a bill
today where none of us know what will happen
to our particular school districts. And I'm
asked to vote -- having 12 school districts in
my district, I'm asked to vote in the blind,
to say this is good for them or bad for them.
It's impossible to tell. And as Senator Brown
so aptly said, it's a one-house bill. It's
going nowhere.
It's time for the three leaders,
for both houses to really come together, to
really make a difference. Because many of us
have said for a long period of time, even
though there's posturing to the contrary, the
three proposals are not that far apart. And
if we think about that Court of Appeals
decision, which went through the courts for
years, was almost a year ago -- and to
paraphrase a great legal saying: CFE delayed,
students denied.
I will vote in the negative.
THE PRESIDENT: Does any other
member wish to be heard?
Senator Montgomery.
Senator Connor, excuse me.
4238
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Oh, I'm
sorry. Go ahead.
SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Madam
President.
And I believe I was on the list. I
signaled much earlier and got a nod back from
someone there.
THE PRESIDENT: We were unaware
of that, Senator. I recognize that. And you
have the floor.
SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you.
You know, the question that no one
is really addressing is how did we get here.
Why are we here? We know why it's a problem
for the Majority in this house, the Majority
in the other house to see eye to eye on this
issue and resolve it. How did we get here?
And sitting here and listening to
everyone speak, it occurred to me there's a
root cause here, and there's only one way out
of this. Everyone, naturally, has the
question "how is my district going to do?"
But that's how we got here, because of pure,
single-member district -- we didn't create
this system -- democracy that says your job is
4239
to get for your district.
And in past crises a hundred years
ago when reformers like Teddy Roosevelt and
then Al Smith on the labor issues, he became a
reformer on that, addressed major problems and
conflicts and needs in this state, the concept
of civic virtue carried them. It wasn't
because their constituents demanded it. It
wasn't because the people that elected them,
who would vote for them again and again, said:
You've got to take care of these poor people
down on the Lower East Side even though you
represent a rich part of town.
That's not why they did what they
did. They did it because they had a concept
of community, of civic virtue, that the whole
civic body, the whole state, would be better
off, better off if these problems were cured,
better off if there were decent working
conditions, better off if kids were educated.
Not just their kids. The other kids were the
problem, and they cared about the other
people's kids because of the circumstances
that were involved.
We got here because -- and Senator
4240
Hoffmann is not here. The State Education
Department sets curriculum. They don't run
schools in New York. They don't run schools.
They don't spend all this money we're
appropriating. They really don't. They don't
manage them. They may try sometimes, but
they're not supposed to be managing them.
Education was always a local
charge. How did the state get in the
business. What was the impetus for that?
Quite frankly, the impetus were members of
this Legislature, mostly the postwar boom,
where people poured into the suburbs and
tremendous, tremendous pressure was being put
on suburban areas around this state to build
new schools. There were lots and lots of kids
and lots and lots of people moving into towns
that certainly didn't have schools to support
that.
And the legislators of the day who
represented those areas did what good
legislators should do: they came up here to
get a fair share or a needed share of the pie
for their districts to meet some of these
problems.
4241
But it's that very constituency
thing. They had the power, let's face it.
The political affiliations of most of those
suburban legislators were in favor at the time
in Albany, 50 or 60 years ago, in both houses.
So they were able to get what they needed for
their districts.
And you know what? The other side
didn't fight that hard. The people, frankly,
in those days that represented New York City
didn't fight that hard about this because,
hey, New York City was doing great, booming.
Yeah, a lot of people seemed to be moving
away, but we didn't seem to have any room for
them anyway. Forget about the drain on the
tax, the ultimate drain on the taxable
population.
But, you know, middle-class people
were moving out to the suburbs. That's fine,
took the pressure off. You know, apartments
weren't that plentiful after World War II
anyway. You know, nowhere for the kids to
stay here when they got married. Let them go
to the 'burbs.
So the city didn't really fight
4242
that hard in those old days, as this little
effort -- and it started as so many of the
things we've all done as members for our
districts, it starts a little bit and it grows
and grows.
Then we end up, over decades, with
this huge state contribution to education, but
it never rectified or adjusted to the new
reality, the new needs of places like New York
City and our upstate cities that were losing
the manufacturing tax base and the ability to
sustain school systems and meet the needs,
coupled with, of course, immigrants with
special needs.
We never adjusted. Because we
stayed in that mode of where's the school
runs, how much is my district getting, that's
what I care about. How many of you ever said,
when you got the school runs, I want to see
what they're getting over here, not in my
district? And I don't mean looking to see if
they're getting more than you. I mean looking
to see if they're getting enough somewhere
else.
We don't look, we've never looked
4243
at that as our job to look at those runs for
somebody else's area and see, gee, are we
meeting our collective civic obligation to
educate those kids. It's not the nature of
the beast. It doesn't get you reelected.
Well, it wasn't the nature of the
beast a century ago for Teddy Roosevelt or Al
Smith or whatever to take care of those other
people that they didn't represent. But it was
better for our state. And we have to get back
to that mindset.
And, look, it's not just this
Legislature. It's the same mentality that
drives the single-member-district elected U.S.
Congress to decide they need homeland security
money in Montana at a huge per-capita amount,
much greater than they're giving to New York
State or New York City, which we unfortunately
know is the prime target and has borne the
brunt of prior attacks. But it's more like
we've got to treat that like pork too.
And, you know, I don't know how we
get out of that mindset. But that's why we're
here on this CFE problem. When I was first
elected 26 years ago, I had people saying to
4244
me: You have to do something about that
school aid formula. New York City has
37 percent of the state's school population
and it only gets, at the time, 34.5 percent of
the school aid.
I was up here a while and I learned
something. There's no school aid formula.
You all know there's never been a school aid
formula. It's all made up afterwards to drive
the numbers. Once everybody is happy with the
numbers their district is getting, the techies
go make up a formula. That's why it's so
obtuse and convoluted and whatever, because it
has to drive the dollars that have already
been decided upon.
So this isn't about, oh, we have a
faulty formula, let's change it. We have a
faulty mindset about how we cut up the state's
fiscal resources. We don't necessarily say
let's apply it where it's needed most. We
totally succumb and -- look, it's a
representative democracy. There's always that
element of you have to take care of the people
who elected you, you have to look out for your
own local parochial concerns in your district.
4245
But, you know, when is the last
time we all said, gee, you know, is somewhere
else getting enough? Why do you care? Well,
if all you care is about is your next
reelection, you don't care. If you care about
where the State of New York is going to be
five or 10 or 20 years from now, then you
ought to care. It's our responsibility.
This proposal, in my mind, doesn't
address the problem. It doesn't address it in
the right spirit. It doesn't address it with
enough resources. I'm not sure any other
proposal I've seen doesn't do anything more.
Maybe better for my constituents, some of
other proposals. Certainly better for my
city.
But I don't know if any of them are
out there in the proper spirit of let's
address the needs for the future of the state,
not just for bragging rights in your district.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Montgomery.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, thank
you, Mr. President. I will try to stay within
the time limit.
4246
I want to just identify myself,
first and foremost, with Senator Bonacic and
his words. I think that he is absolutely
correct. And as he throws up his hands in
frustration, I join him. This is quite a
frustrating time, to see a legislature so
completely broken.
However, I understand that he
probably wasn't -- didn't intend to refer to
this house, but I will take his words and use
them for our house. I know he was trying to
say the other house, but I'm going to say it's
broken in our house here as well.
And I hear all of this -- these
conversations. I know that Senator Hoffmann,
she throws up her hands, she's frustrated with
the Board of Regents. I see that this is
blame the victim. So it's the fault of the
children, the fault of the communities, the
fault of the judges, the fault of everyone
that we hear today, and not our own fault.
So I really -- I can't imagine how
we've come to this point in history in our
state. However, we have to deal with what we
have.
4247
Now, I've been trying to look
through the legislation, and I thought that a
major part of the mandate, the requirement
from the judge, was that we should create a
new and equitable formula for funding public
education. That's what I thought. But as I
look through here, I can't find that formula.
So I must be overlooking something. I haven't
had time to scrutinize this legislation
carefully and page by page, but I've been
trying desperately to, and I don't see.
Now, I know that there have been a
number of issues raised over the years. What
have we done about the issue of save harmless?
Where is that? Do we address that in this
legislation? What is -- what have we done,
what does this legislation do about the
problem that we have in New York City, in
particular, about the accountability of funds
directed to education? We have, over the
years, given more money to New York City. And
we can never know what happened to the money,
because they all seem to say they never
received it. So somewhere along the away, the
money is displaced, or whatever happens to it,
4248
but we can't track it. It's not a transparent
process. There is no accountability for it.
Where is that? Is that in this
legislation? Because I thought for sure if
we're giving this much more money, we should
have some more accountability. I haven't been
able to find it. Where's the flexibility?
People at the local level have asked for some
flexibility. They would like to be able to
make decisions about the funding for various
programs, the design, the approach to programs
and issues at the local level. Is that in
this bill? I don't see any of that.
I see some new things in here that
I never heard of, I never heard anybody
particularly ask for. We have a "Teacher of
the Year" award somewhere in here. And we
have this new thing we call some sort of
national board of certification grant. And
some new little bits and pieces. Then we have
a creation of this thing called the Office of
Educational Accountability, where we're now
harassing the State Ed Commissioner one more
time.
So I don't see what we have been
4249
instructed to do by the judge. But I see a
whole lot of other things in here that I don't
know of anyone making any request about or
anybody saying there was a problem with it.
So I think that, yes, I would like
to have a discussion with Senator Saland, who
is the author of this, or Mr. Rules or
somebody about this. I would like to be able
to share my thoughts and my concerns.
And most of all, I think that we do
a tremendous disservice when we don't work
together to try to come up, at least in some
instances -- and this is one of them. There
should be some level where we say we will not
go beyond this. There should be some standard
of requirement where we have to work together
for the good of the whole. And then we can go
back to having our press conferences.
I have press conferences too,
ladies and gentlemen, when I have nothing to
say but I wish to make sure my constituents
know I'm still here. So I say something. I
have a press conference. We all can do that.
We all have access to the press.
But on this issue, where the future
4250
of our state and the future of our nation and
the young people that we're going to send to
West Point and to Annapolis and to the
universities around the country and throughout
the world, and we're going to go to fight our
wars and we're going to try to send them to
make peace in the world, we should not allow
ourselves to fall into the trap and the habit
of having a press conference on nothingness
before we are willing to sit down and honestly
negotiate for the benefit of the whole.
So, Mr. President, I'm voting no on
this legislation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Schneiderman, to close for the Minority.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
Mr. President. Very, very briefly.
I appreciate all of the emotion
that's been reflected in the comments here,
but I'd like to try and bring this back to the
decision of the Court of Appeals. Because
after today, when we walk out of here having
passed this one-house bill that I respectfully
submit will not survive scrutiny if it were to
become the law and were submitted to the
4251
court, we still have to deal with the fact
that we're under a court order.
And there have been a lot of
disparaging comments made about the decision
in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity. And I
respectfully request that my colleagues take a
closer look at that decision, because this is
a carefully reasoned decision that documents a
crisis. We're not here because people are
greedy. We're here because the trial court
and the Court of Appeals found that New York
City schools are in a state of crisis and
failing hundreds of thousands of children.
It is not true that the Court of
Appeals did not give us guidance as to what
constitutes a sound, basic education. I'm
reading from the opinion. It was first set
forth in the 1995 Campaign for Fiscal Equity
opinion, in which the court made it clear that
the Court of Appeals is responsible for
adjudicating the nature of the duty to provide
a sound, basic education.
And the court said, and this is --
I'm just trying to bring us down to earth
here -- "A sound, basic education is equated
4252
with the basic literacy, calculating, and
verbal skills necessary to enable children to
eventually function productively as civic
participants capable of voting and serving on
a jury."
We are not talking about a fancy
education. The Court of Appeals has said
you've got to give our children the minimum,
the minimum skills they require for basic
literacy, calculating and verbal skills. Is
that too much to ask?
We are here today because the State
of New York has failed and whether you look
like it or not, the Constitution of the State
of New York says it's the duty of the
Legislature to provide for the system of
common schools.
So the court has given us guidance.
The court has documented a crisis, a crisis in
which 17 percent of the New York City teachers
are uncertified, versus a much small portion
nationwide; where there is this unbelievable
failure of the physical plant. Out of 350
buildings, only 41 ranked in good to fair
condition or better. Everything else was --
4253
and in some cases, they had water pouring
down, they had children being taught in
bathrooms and in closets. The testimony is
all there.
So we're here because of a crisis.
We're here to solve a crisis. I hope this is
just the first step. I realize everyone here
knows it's a one-house bill. We have to get
back and negotiate.
But let's not pretend we're here
because of the greed of the people of the City
of New York. And I would urge my upstate
colleagues and my colleagues from outside of
the city, we need to tone down the rhetoric,
the us-versus-them rhetoric, because it's not
going to help us solve the problem.
A lot of the references to the City
of New York, I remind my colleagues that in
the last year for which we have data, 2003,
the taxpayers of the City of New York sent
$3.5 billion more to the state than we
received back in funds and services.
The people of the City of New York
have the greatest concentration of wealth in
the state but also the greatest concentration
4254
of poverty. Of the 2.5 million New Yorkers
living below the poverty line, 1.7 million are
in New York City.
So we're not greedy. We're
subsidizing the rest of the state. The Court
of Appeals has found that our school system is
in crisis. And under the constitution of this
state, the Legislature has to fix it.
So let's not pretend that if we
swap one-house bills with the Assembly and
walk away we are complying with our
constitutional duty. We have a constitutional
duty; we also have a moral duty to get this
resolved so that we don't fail another
generation of schoolchildren.
I'm voting no on this bill. I
don't know where we go from here. I hope that
the chairman of the Education Committee
perhaps can give us some guidance. But I
certainly hope that we are not contemplating
adjourning without more efforts to resolve
this problem, to come up with an actual
two-house bill that can become a law. If we
do that, I think that, as Senator Bruno said
some time ago, we ought to be embarrassed, we
4255
ought to be ashamed.
And I really question, question our
ability to go to our constituents and ask for
their support this fall if we walk out of
Albany without addressing this issue.
I urge everyone to vote no, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Saland, to close for the Majority.
SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Mr.
President.
Mr. President, we certainly have,
for more than one quarter, more than one
member of this body, heard discussion of
frustration. I think it's safe to say there
can't be anybody in this house who is not
frustrated. Speaking for myself, I'm
certainly frustrated with a system that has
been openly and notoriously, with total
abandon, hostaged. The Speaker made no bones
about it. He basically said no CFE, no
budget. And he's been true to his word. No
CFE, no budget.
And I suspect -- in fact, I'm
somewhat surprised more than being
4256
suspicious -- I suspect that many of us either
have very short memories or have conveniently
suffered memory lapse. A couple of weeks ago,
there was nothing on the horizon for CFE. And
Senator Bruno decided that enough was enough,
he was going to advance a proposal, that this
conference, this Senate Majority conference
was going to advance a proposal.
And we did that. The fact of the
matter is there would still be nothing out
there and we would just be chalking the days
off the calendar getting closer to July 30th
if this conference didn't decide we had to
make a good-faith effort to try and bring
closure to this issue.
Now, I take no joy when the media
contacts me and says: Much of what you said
back in September certainly seems prophetic
now, in September of 2003. And I said, I
don't want to be a prophet. I take no joy in
being a prophet. And I hope that I'm not a
prophet.
What I said I said not to be an
ogre, not to incite people. I said it because
I simply understood the dynamics, I understood
4257
the political process, and I understood that,
without attempting to condemn the court, we
have a court that made an activist decision.
That could be a good thing, that could be a
bad thing. It all depends upon your
perspective from where you sit.
But the bottom line is that the
court has effectively set itself up as the
final determinant of what shall constitute a
sound, basic education.
Because the fact of the matter is
that while, as Senator Schneiderman made
reference to Judge Ciparick's 1995 decision in
which she wrote for the majority, the simple
fact is an adequacy standard is certainly not
what CFE is maintaining. And I tend to think
they'd be rather distressed by Senator
Schneiderman's comments that that's all that
should be done.
Because what CFE is saying, using
their professional judgment model, as was
alluded to earlier by Senator Brown, is that
there's some 517 districts that are being
inadequately funded.
Now, they're being inadequately
4258
funded because in this professional judgment
model, which is really a somewhat ivory tower
approach to dealing with an issue, they've
decided that, among other things, there should
be class sizes of 14 to 16, a standard not
found anywhere in the world unless you happen
to live in an extraordinarily small class --
district with small classes, and this would be
for purposes of elementary school. They've
decided that prekindergarten should start with
3-year-olds.
These may be wonderful concepts,
but somebody's got to foot the bill. The
bottom line is, when they gave us their
proposal, notwithstanding the passion and the
zeal and the strength of conviction that they
had, it was alluded to a bit earlier by
Senator Bonacic, there was a little obscure
footnote.
And what that footnote said -- and
if you want to look at their initial report,
it's on page 2, it's Footnote 5. It says: It
must be recognized that the success of schools
also depends on other individuals and
institutions to provide the help, intellectual
4259
stimulus, and family support upon which public
school systems can build. Schools cannot and
do not perform their role in a vacuum. And
this is an important qualification of
conclusions reached in any study of adequacy
in education.
Now, nothing would be more
dangerous for any of you who were talking
about the Assembly and their numbers than to
go home and say, This is the number that the
Assembly provides, this is what we'll get.
Because there can't be anybody in this chamber
who truly believes, who truly believes that
any one of your districts are going to receive
the money in that press release piece.
You know it's not going to happen,
I know it's not going to happen, and you know
why it's out there.
Now, the same 517 school districts
out of the approximate 680 that reference has
been made to have also been, in effect,
evaluated by the very Regents that we've been
talking about. They say that some 330 of them
are what they term successful school
districts.
4260
So on the one hand you have CFE
saying 75 percent of the districts are
unsuccessful, and the Regents saying nearly
50 percent of them are successful. An
interesting conflict. I don't know how it
resolves, but certainly you take it from
whence it comes.
With respect to the amount of
money, the Zarb Commission identified a
resource gap statewide of $2.5 billion for
high-needs school districts. They said
$1.9 billion of that was in the City of
New York. This bill provides operating aid to
the City of New York of $2.83 billion. It
certainly meets the resource gap.
I submit to you, not because I
derive any pleasure from it, that even if we
came up with an agreement -- let's assume that
we can. And certainly we would like to.
Nobody should want to go to court. Period,
the end. I will only cite the experience in
New Jersey. They've been in court for 33
years. The courts have effectively taken over
their education system. Nobody will dispute
that.
4261
The fact of the matter is, is that
we can think that we have created whatever it
is that constitutes a sound, basic education,
but you know what? Until somebody gets back
to the Court of Appeals and they put their
imprimatur on it, we don't know that we're
there.
It's much like Justice Potter
Stewart, when asked to define pornography,
said: "I can't define it, but I know it when
I see it." And that's what's going to happen
here if we go back to court.
And even if we come to an
agreement, let's assume for the moment both
houses and the Governor come to an agreement
and CFE says, No, not good enough. We're the
plaintiff, we want to continue in court, we'll
take our chance in court.
Only the Court of Appeals, not
Judge DeGrasse -- and I'll tell you quite
candidly, there's nothing that CFE will ask
for that Judge DeGrasse won't give them. He
gave them far more than the Court of Appeals
gave them.
I mean, it's all about the
4262
appellate process, and that takes time. And
keep in mind, the City of Utica is talking
about suing, the City of Syracuse is talking
about suing. I can identify at least probably
five or six lawsuits that will spring up
around the state, minimally.
Those five or six lawsuits will go
to different venues, different appellate
divisions, work their way back to the Court of
Appeals. There will be multiple decisions
until this is resolved, over, again, Lord only
knows how long of a time period.
I would just like to point out a
couple of other things. I mean, it's pretty
well basic math, if we are providing
$4.7 billion more over what's currently about
$14.5 billion over a five-year period, that's
33 percent, an increase of 33 percent. That
is well in excess of the rate of inflation,
averaging about 6.6 percent per year.
Inflation has been hovering in the
2-plus-percent range for Lord only knows how
long.
As I mentioned in my earlier
remarks, average $450 million or so over the
4263
course of the past 10 years. We're proposing
to provide here $950 million. There's no
district that will fail to get at least what
they received, and in all likelihood more,
under this proposal.
The bottom line is, this is a
balanced proposal. It meets the requirements
of the court's decision. The court did not
require any particular formula. The court did
not say you've got to adopt the Regents'
standards. In fact, it specifically rejected
the Regents' standards. There's a host of
things that the court did or didn't say.
But there's nobody who can say with
any degree of authority that this does not
provide by way of meeting the resource gap, by
way of providing for a sound, basic education,
by way of providing some 5-plus billion
dollars, closer to $6 billion over that
five-year period to the City of New York, that
we haven't endeavored to adequately fund what
the court has required of us.
I would respectfully submit to you
that this conference should take great pride
in bringing this before this body. We should
4264
similarly feel equally proud in the fact that
did we not take this action, we would still be
dealing with an obstructionist in the Assembly
who in effect would not merely hostage this,
but use this, in effect, to extort anything
and everything else that they could get their
hands on.
The bottom line is, please let's
not go to court. I fear, however, that's
where we're going to wind up.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll call.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Party vote
in the negative.
SENATOR LARKIN: Party vote in
the affirmative, with exception.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
A. Smith, to explain her vote.
SENATOR ADA SMITH: Thank you,
Mr. President.
4265
I have listened closely to the
debate. And I am even more perplexed than I
was when we started. Because I know fully now
that the acronym LEARN does not mean anything
that is good for the children of the City of
New York. LEARN, in this case, should mean
Let's Erase All Reasonable Needs, rather than
something that is positive.
If this should go into effect, the
children of the City of New York will be back
where they started from. It is not time to
return to our archaic system. The CFE
decision was the right decision for our
children, and we need to dig in our heels and
fulfill the obligations that the courts have
put upon us.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Ada Smith was recorded in the negative.
Senator Hassell-Thompson, to
explain her vote.
SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
you, Mr. President.
I am voting no, which will sound
strange back in the district, because I have
been one who has been pushing for us to come
4266
up with a budgetary response to CFE. But I'm
voting no because this is not the answer.
When I have spoken in my district
and people have said to me, Why haven't you
passed the budget, and what is wrong with the
vote and what's going on up there, my answer
has been: I have encouraged us to pass a
budget limited to whatever influence I have in
these chambers. But I won't push for us to
pass a budget that is not going to be in the
best interests of all children in the State of
New York.
And so we are going to wait until
we have a CFE response. Many people said,
Well, why did you vote -- from Westchester,
why did you sign on to the CFE? And I said,
Because 84 percent of my district is in the
Bronx. And the children in New York City, and
if you have been through my district -- and I
would encourage and invite anyone who would
like to come to the school districts. I'd
like you to see the inadequacy of the
classrooms. I'd like you to see the size of
rooms that were storerooms that have been
taken over to become classrooms.
4267
I would like you to see three
different schools functioning within a school,
in an attempt to create small schools. I'd
like you to see one school on the first floor,
one on the second floor, one on the third
floor, none of which are responding to smaller
classrooms.
And so when we talk about leaving
no child behind, we are leaving scores of
children behind. We cannot talk about a
global concept and then deny our children an
opportunity to be educated properly.
We have failed them. Brown versus
the Board of Education, we commemorated it,
but we could not celebrate it because we have
still denied the children of this country the
right to be educated properly.
And while we may not see this as
our obligation and our responsibility, we
would be very angry if the courts had told us
how to do our job. And our job is to work
with and create a plan that is in the best
interests of all of the children in the state
of New York.
And it's going to be difficult
4268
because we have different regional needs, we
have different cultural needs, we have
different educational needs. But difficult is
not impossible. We are being asked to do the
impossible, but we have the skill and the
ability to do that.
And until we do that, I will
continue to vote no. I thank you, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Hassell-Thompson is recorded in the negative.
Senator Parker, to explain his
vote.
SENATOR PARKER: Thank you, Mr.
President.
I'm unfortunately having to vote no
on this bill because this CFE decision is
exactly about what we've talked the least
about today, which is about the children. The
children not just of the city of New York,
although the 1.1 million school kids that go
for public school in the city are at the heart
of this.
And I'm actually just, I guess,
again, for the second day in a row,
4269
disappointed in what's happened. Because the,
I guess, insincere and disingenuous attempts
to deal with this issue and bring the budget
to a resolution is very worrisome as to me.
Budgets are about priorities. And
either the children of the state of New York
are a priority and their education is a
priority or it's not. And this is about
children. This is not about placing blame
with other agencies or with the Regents or
anyone else.
It's important that we understand
that we have to provide the money. We have no
choice. The courts have determined it. And
it's interesting to me that after hearing so
much debate on this floor about the letter of
the law, about obeying, you know, laws and
about how we have to penalize when they don't
obey laws, that people here actually are
disturbed by the fact that the courts have
mandated something and we are now, you know,
faced to do it and there's a real reluctance
to get this done.
I'm voting no. We have to get this
settled sometime shortly. And I'm hoping that
4270
our next attempt is a more sincere one.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Parker is recorded in the negative.
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 34. Nays,
25. Party vote with exception.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Malcolm Smith, why do you
rise?
SENATOR MALCOLM SMITH: Yes, Mr.
President, I request unanimous consent to be
recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
1134.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection Senator Malcolm Smith will be
recorded in the negative on Calendar 1134.
Senator Paterson.
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President,
without objection, I'd like to similarly be
recorded in the negative on Calendar Number
1134.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Paterson will be recorded
in the negative on Calendar 1134.
4271
Senator Montgomery.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Mr.
President, I would like unanimous consent to
be recorded in the negative on Calendar 1134.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Montgomery will be recorded
in the negative on Calendar 1134.
Senator Liz Krueger, why do you
rise?
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I'm
following a trend. I would also like to ask
for unanimous consent to be recorded in the
negative on 1134. Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Liz Krueger will be
recorded in the negative on Calendar 1134.
Senator Ada Smith.
SENATOR ADA SMITH: I'm usually a
trendsetter, but today I'm a follower. I also
would ask for unanimous consent to be recorded
in the negative on Calendar Number 1134.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without
objection, Senator Ada Smith will be recorded
in the negative on Calendar 1134.
Senator Larkin.
4272
SENATOR LARKIN: Mr. President,
there will be an immediate meeting of the
Rules Committee in Room 332.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
Room 332, the Majority Conference Room.
SENATOR LARKIN: Let's now return
to motions and resolutions.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Motions
and resolutions.
Senator Seward.
SENATOR SEWARD: Yes, Mr.
President. Amendments are offered to the
following Third Reading Calendar bills:
By Senator Little, on page 18,
Calendar Number 568, Senate Print Number 5533;
By Senator Hannon, on page 21,
Calendar Number 713, Senate Print Number
1091 --
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Just a
second, Senator.
We're still conducting business,
members.
Senator Seward.
SENATOR SEWARD: Yes.
4273
By Senator Rath, on page 40,
Calendar Number 1174, Senate Print Number
4505A;
One of my bills, on page 40,
Calendar Number 1179, Senate Print Number
6679A;
Another one of my bills, page 40,
Calendar Number 1180, Senate Print Number
6708;
By Senator Rath, on page 49,
Calendar Number 1358, Senate Print Number
7013B;
By Senator Marcellino, on page 52,
Calendar Number 1497, Senate Print Number
7331;
By Senator Bonacic, on page 20,
Calendar Number 675, Senate Print Number 6391;
By Senator Kuhl, on page 47,
Calendar Number 1321, Senate Print Number
6878A;
And finally, by Senator Hannon, on
page 8, Calendar Number 266, Senate Print
Number 4016A.
I move that these bills retain
their place on the order of third reading.
4274
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted, and the
bills will retain their place on the Third
Reading Calendar.
Senator Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very
much, Mr. President.
I wish to call up my bill, Print
Number 7171, recalled from the Assembly, which
is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1361, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 7171,
an act to authorize the County of Rockland.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I now move to reconsider the vote by which
this bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
4275
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I now offer the following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
Senator Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
on page number 57, I offer the following
amendments to Calendar Number 677, Senate
Print Number 6777, and ask that said bill
retain its place on Third Reading Calendar,
and remove the sponsor's star.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted. The bill
will retain its place on the Third Reading
Calendar. The sponsor's star will be removed.
Senator Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very
much, Mr. President.
I wish to call up my bill, Senate
Print Number 7424, recalled from the Assembly,
which is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4276
1600, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
Assembly Print Number 11354, an act to amend
the Tax Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I now move to reconsider the vote by which
this bill was passed and ask that the bill be
restored to the order of third reading.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is restored to the order of third reading.
Senator Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I now move to discharge, from the Committee on
Rules, Assembly Print Number 11354 and
substitute it for my identical bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitution ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1600, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
4277
Assembly Print Number 11354, an act to amend
the Tax 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.
Senator Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you, Mr.
President.
I wish to call up Calendar Number
1393, Assembly Print Number 10968.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1393, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
Assembly Print Number 10968, an act to amend
the Education Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz.
4278
SENATOR MAZIARZ: I now move to
reconsider the vote by which this Assembly
bill was substituted for my bill, Senate Print
Number 6899, on May 25. Which happened to be
my birthday, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: A
belated happy birthday.
And the Secretary will call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: I now move that
Assembly Bill Number 10968 be recommitted to
the Committee on Rules and my Senate bill be
restored to the order of Third Reading
Calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: So
ordered.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I now offer the following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
Senator Maziarz.
4279
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you, Mr.
President.
I wish to call up my bill, Print
Number 2978A, recalled from the Assembly,
which is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1271, by Senator Maltese, Senate Print 2978A,
an act to amend the General Municipal Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I now move to reconsider the vote by which
this bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: I now offer the
following amendments, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
4280
Senator Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you, Mr.
President.
I wish to call up my bill, Print
Number 4230, recalled from the Assembly, which
is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
120, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 4230, an
act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I now move to reconsider the vote by which
this bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I now offer the following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
4281
amendments are received and adopted.
More, Senator Maziarz?
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Several more,
Mr. President.
Mr. President, I wish to call up my
bill, Print Number 1465, recalled from the
Assembly, which is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
49, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 1465, an
act to amend the Not-for-Profit Corporation
Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I now move to reconsider the vote by which
this bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Maziarz.
4282
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I now offer the following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
Senator Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I wish to call up my bill, Senate Print Number
6831A, recalled from the Assembly, which is
now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1320, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 6831A,
an act to amend Chapter 412 of the Laws of
1990.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I now move to reconsider the vote by which
this bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
4283
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: I now offer the
following amendments, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
Senator Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you, Mr.
President.
I wish to call up my bill, Print
Number 2611A, recalled from the Assembly,
which is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
97, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 2611A, an
act to authorize payment.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,
I now move to reconsider the vote by which
this bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
4284
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Maziarz.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: I now offer the
following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very
much, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Thank
you, Senator Maziarz. You must be exhausted.
You can sit down now.
Senator Larkin.
SENATOR LARKIN: Mr. President,
we'll now move to Supplemental Calendar 57A,
noncontroversial.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Larkin, could I interrupt?
We have two substitutions. Could
we get those out of the way quickly.
SENATOR LARKIN: Yes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read the substitutions.
THE SECRETARY: On page 40,
Senator Robach moves to discharge, from the
Committee on Rules, Assembly Bill Number 10224
4285
and substitute it for the identical Senate
Bill Number 6660, Third Reading Calendar 1164.
And on page 43, Senator Farley
moves to discharge, from the Committee on
Rules, Assembly Bill Number 10808A and
substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
Number 6661A, Third Reading Calendar 1228.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitutions ordered.
Senator Trunzo.
SENATOR TRUNZO: Mr. President,
on page 40 I offer the following amendments to
Calendar Number 1177, Senate Print Number
5220B.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
SENATOR TRUNZO: And also on page
55, I offer the following amendments to
Calendar Number 1605, Senate Print Number
7454, 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 third reading.
Senator Larkin.
4286
SENATOR LARKIN: Mr. President,
we'd like to turn now to Supplemental Calendar
57A, for the noncontroversial reading.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read noncontroversial reading
of Supplemental Calendar 57A.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1614, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print --
SENATOR STAVISKY: Lay it aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1615, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 1793,
an act to amend the Real Property Actions and
Proceedings Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the 30th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
4287
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1616, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 1846,
an act to amend the Real Property Actions and
Proceedings Law, in relation to payment.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the 30th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 1617, Senator Nozzolio moves
to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 3980A and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 1931A,
Third Reading Calendar 1617.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitution ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1617, by Member of the Assembly Oaks, Assembly
4288
Print Number 3980A, an act to amend the
Criminal Procedure 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, 58. Nays,
1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1618, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 2372A,
an act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in
relation to financing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
4289
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 1619, Senator Robach moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Judiciary,
Assembly Bill Number 10961 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 2766A,
Third Reading Calendar 1619.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitution ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1619, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
Assembly Print Number 10961, an act to amend
the General Obligations 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.
4290
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1620, by Senator McGee, Senate Print 2778A, an
act to amend the Education Law, in relation to
authorizing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the first of July.
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
1622, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 3523,
an act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law and
the General Municipal Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the 120th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
4291
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 1623, Senator Robach moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Codes,
Assembly Bill Number 5983 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 3948,
Third Reading Calendar 1623.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitution ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1623, by Member of the Assembly Abbate,
Assembly Print Number 5983, an act to amend
the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
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, 58. Nays,
1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
4292
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 1624, Senator Wright moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 8747 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Print Number 4136,
Third Reading Calendar 1624.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitution ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1624, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
Assembly Print Number 8747, an act to amend
the State Technology Law and others, in
relation to the Office for Technology.
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
4293
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1625, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 4341,
an act to amend the General Municipal Law, in
relation to authorizing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the first of January.
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
1626, by Senator Little, Senate Print 4620A,
an act to amend the County Law, in relation to
authorizing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
4294
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1627, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 4773A,
an act to amend the State Administrative
Procedure Act, in relation to guidance
documents.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the 90th day.
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
1628, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 4777A,
an act to amend the Correction Law and the
Public Health Law, in relation to regulation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
4295
THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
act shall take effect on the 60th day.
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
1629, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 4947, an
act to amend the Public Authorities Law,
relation to conforming.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
act shall take effect on the 90th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. Nays,
1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1630, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 4951A, an
4296
act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
relation to authorizing.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
a home-rule message at the desk.
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1631, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 5048B,
an act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
Law, in relation to the issuance.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the 45th day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. Nays,
4297
2. Senators Duane and L. Krueger recorded in
the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1633, by Senator Stachowski, Senate Print
5990, an act directing the fireboat E.M.
Cotter to be listed as historical property.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 1634, Senator Leibell moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 9657 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 6084,
Third Reading Calendar 1634.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
4298
Substitution ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1634, by Member of the Assembly Bradley,
Assembly Print Number 9657, an act to amend
the Real Property Tax 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 SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1635, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 6233B,
an act to amend the Environmental Conservation
Law, in relation to the placement.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
4299
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 1636, Senator Padavan moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 10186A and substitute it
for the identical Senate Print Number 6433,
Third Reading Calendar 1636.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitution ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1636, by Member of the Assembly Robinson,
Assembly Print Number 10186A, an act to amend
the Private Housing Finance 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.)
4300
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1637, by Senator Hoffmann, Senate Print 6530,
an act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to
exempting.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect July 1.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. Nays,
1. Senator Krueger recorded in the negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1638, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 6818,
an act to amend the General Obligations Law,
in relation to the authority of caregivers.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4301
act shall take effect on the 90th day.
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
1639, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 6821A,
an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law,
in relation to aggressive driving.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
act shall take effect on the 180th day.
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
1640, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 6836, an
act authorizing Richard D. Sanow to receive
retirement credit.
4302
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
1641, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 7018A,
an act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
Law, in relation to reducing.
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.
Senator Larkin, that completes the
4303
noncontroversial reading of Supplemental
Calendar 57A.
SENATOR LARKIN: Mr. President,
can we now have the controversial reading of
the calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will conduct the controversial
reading of the calendar.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1614, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 1245,
an act to amend the Education Law.
SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson, Senator Paterson has requested an
explanation of Calendar 1614.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr. President,
this bill has been drawn up to meet the
requirements of a Supreme Court decision of
the year 2000 which said you cannot have a
referendum -- well, this first calls for the
present referendum on mandatory or voluntary
student activity fees.
But the way we're doing in it in
New York State, we also have a separate vote
on the activity fee money diverted to NYPIRG.
4304
The court decision said that's illegal, you
can't do it, it's unconstitutional.
So all this says is we have one
vote for all the student activity fees, and
the student council or student body will
devise how much money goes to each different
agency. That's all it does.
And it also has a vote every two
years. Now, the State University, for
example, has a vote every four years, so some
students never get a chance to vote even once
on this activity fee, whether they want it
mandatory or voluntary.
So this way, every two years, you
figure everyone at least has an opportunity to
vote one time or maybe twice during their
college career on whether or not to continue
this mandatory activity fee.
That's about it.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Stavisky.
SENATOR STAVISKY: Mr. President,
if the sponsor would yield to a question.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson, do you yield for a question?
4305
SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR STAVISKY: There are lots
of fees that students pay. And in fact, the
activity fee at SUNY I believe is $100. And
yet there are other fees that are in the
neighborhood of, average, $800 per student.
Why doesn't this legislation
pertain to those fees, the laboratory fees,
parking fees, fees for the artistic programs
and so on?
SENATOR JOHNSON: There is
another bill that deals with those fees.
SENATOR STAVISKY: I'm sorry, I
can't hear you.
SENATOR JOHNSON: There's another
bill, by Senator LaValle, which deals with
those fees.
SENATOR STAVISKY: Oh, okay.
SENATOR JOHNSON: This also
covers SUNY and CUNY and community colleges.
I should add that as well.
SENATOR STAVISKY: If the Senator
4306
will continue to yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson, do you continue to yield?
SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes, Mr.
President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Senator yields.
SENATOR STAVISKY: Why is SUNY
included in this legislation when they gave
notice last month that they intend to require
the two-year renewal fee?
SENATOR JOHNSON: Well, they
didn't tell me. So I didn't know about it.
SENATOR STAVISKY: Well, it was
posted in the New York State Register on May
19th.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Well, we're
making laws, we're not making regulations.
SENATOR STAVISKY: If the Senator
would -- I have two more questions, if the
Senator would yield.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson, do you yield?
SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes, Mr.
President.
4307
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
sponsor yields.
SENATOR STAVISKY: You mentioned
the constitution. And yet it's my
understanding that that court case, the United
States Supreme Court case involving University
of Wisconsin versus Southworth, the Supreme
Court did not hold that referenda are
unconstitutional, it said that they had to be
neutral in their presentations.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Well, of course
you can't -- what they really said, you cannot
have a separate referendum for one
organization. You have to decide among all
the organizations on a neutral, objective
manner in order to comply with the First
Amendment.
SENATOR STAVISKY: My last
question before I very briefly speak on the
bill, there are memoranda in opposition from
the City University of New York, the State
University of New York, the SUNY Student
Assembly, NYPIRG.
Who has requested this -- at whose
request is the bill being introduced?
4308
SENATOR JOHNSON: At whose
request are you reading several-year-old
memoranda?
SENATOR STAVISKY: How old?
SENATOR JOHNSON: Several years
old.
SENATOR STAVISKY: Several years
old?
SENATOR JOHNSON: Well, NYPIRG is
referring to a previous bill I had. And
they're probably all referring to a previous
bill that I had.
SENATOR STAVISKY: All right. On
the bill, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Stavisky, on the bill.
SENATOR STAVISKY: For the
record, the City University memorandum is
dated June 15, 2004, the SUNY one is dated
June 15, 2004, and so on. These were done on
the Assembly versions of the bills.
Very briefly, I think that this is
a mistake. This is an intrusion on the
student activity -- the students' referenda in
terms of activities. To impose a two-year
4309
requirement instead of the four-year is a
burden which will simply make it more
difficult.
And it refers to the previous
year's funding, not the current year funding,
so that they're voting on history, not the
future.
There is a question involving the
court case. There are other problems with
this bill.
The SUNY Board of Trustees has
established guidelines, and the fees are
subject to administrative regulations by a
wide, wide cross-section of administrative
oversight by the campus presidents.
So I urge a no vote on this bill.
And hopefully this will remain in this house.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Ada Smith.
SENATOR ADA SMITH: Thank you,
Mr. President. On the bill.
As a product of the City University
of New York and also a member of the
University Student Senate, I take exception to
4310
this bill because it would do away with the
rights of students and it would put an onerous
burden on them.
And I concur with the trustees of
the City University and SUNY that this is bad
law, and therefore I will be voting in the
negative.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Liz Krueger.
SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
Mr. President. On the bill.
I wanted to clarify I believe that
NYPIRG does still oppose it, because I ran
into them in the hallway when I went out, and
they were still on record as in opposition to
the bill, in addition to the City University
and State University and, as was mentioned,
the Student Assembly of SUNY.
I want us to think this one
through, though, a little bit more. The
imposition that we'd be putting on our
universities to have to, with every tuition
bill, conceivably, list every student activity
would be a nightmare for our universities to
re-set up their billing, tuition and reporting
4311
system.
And while I understand, I believe,
the argument of the sponsor that you want to
make sure that students know where their fees
are going and have some say in it, the truth
is it's the year 2004 and college students in
particular are a subuniverse of young people
who are exceptionally good at using the
computer.
And it's my understanding that at
SUNY and CUNY campuses, all student-activity-
funded student groups are actually provided --
information is provided on the Internet. So
any student can actually choose to get this
information at any time they wish, which is a
much less expensive and more effective way of
providing the information than having the
expectation that you would send this out with
quarterly -- or I guess it's not quarterly,
it's semester tuition bills.
It is a level of minutiae for this
Legislature to walk into the policy of our
State University system and our City
University system to mandate this kind of
requirement. I don't see an argument for why
4312
we need to do this. I have not certainly been
hearing complaints, at least in the city of
New York, from students about this.
And to some degree I'd argue if
it's not broke, don't try to fix it. So I
will be respectfully be voting no.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr. President,
I'm quite shocked to think that SUNY, CUNY and
whatever other agencies, community colleges,
would defy the First Amendment and say we
don't care what the Constitution says, we
still want to have separate votes for separate
organizations.
Even though this district court
order issued as a result of the Supreme Court
decision said: It is further ordered that
judgment be entered in favor of the plaintiffs
and against the defendants. The segregated
university fee utilized at the University of
Wisconsin is in violation of the First
Amendment because it fails to conform to the
principle of viewpoint neutrality in
4313
allocating fees compelled from plaintiffs,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
So if you say the state doesn't
want to do it, they want to break the law. If
you say it's an imposition to have a two-year
vote because it's too many votes for the poor
college, you're just saying that what SUNY
just did, you don't agree with. They just
made it a two-year vote, as I've been informed
by Senator Stavisky.
So it's no imposition at all on
anybody. All it says is maybe a person who
goes to college might have the opportunity to
vote once or maybe even twice during his
college career on it. Some people will never
be able to vote. If it's a four-year vote,
they'll probably graduate before it comes up
and they'll never have the chance to vote on
it.
I think every student and every
parent who is involved in paying this fee
should have some opportunity to express their
view whether this should be a mandatory fee or
not. Simple as that.
Allocation of the money will be
4314
simply done by the student government, and
that's perfectly democratic and it's the way
it ought to be.
And this is a darn good bill. You
ought to rethink your opposition and go for
it.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Montgomery.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Mr.
President. On the bill.
I tried to compare the attempt in
the bill to reconcile the practices at the
university and the ruling in the court case.
And it seems to be doing that, except I was
just curious as to why we added into that
legislation -- which seemed to be otherwise
neutral in its attempt to just simply make a
correction there -- but we add that the
election that every two years the student body
has the opportunity to vote on the student
fee, the student activity fee, whether it
should be mandatory or voluntary.
And I just -- I'm concerned that
having this kind of potentially very, very --
if you know students and how campuses operate
4315
and how they are very politicized, and there's
every two years there's, you know, this round
of people trucking through the campuses to
make speeches, and they politicize them.
And I'm just afraid that we're
going to jeopardize a very important aspect of
university life for students by making it
every two years having to vote on it.
And while some of the things that
activity fee may fund we may not necessarily
agree with, but one major part of that
activity fee is the health services and mental
health services for the students on those
campuses. And I think that is extremely
important.
So I just -- I was a little
concerned, Mr. President, that we were adding
this one piece to what otherwise seemed to be
a good bill, in fact. It brings us in line
with the court decision except for that piece.
So I'm still waiting to make my
decision, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
4316
act shall take effect on the first of August.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Stavisky, to explain her vote.
SENATOR STAVISKY: Yeah, very
briefly.
We just gave the students a
tremendous increase in their tuition, both at
SUNY and CUNY. And it seems to me that by --
what SUNY, particularly SUNY has done is
increased all of these other fees, whether
they be lab fees or parking fees or whatever.
It averages approximately $800 or $900 per
student. I think we are socking the students
with additional problems when many students
cannot finish their education within four
years, they have to work. And particularly
with the proposals to cut TAP, it makes it
very difficult for a student.
And this is just one more burden,
and I vote no.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Stavisky will be recorded in the negative.
4317
Announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
the negative on Calendar Number 1614 are
Senators Breslin, Brown, Duane,
Hassell-Thompson, Montgomery, Paterson,
Sabini, A. Smith, M. Smith, Stachowski,
Stavisky. Also Senator Andrews. Also Senator
Parker.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Could I
remind members that it's difficult for the
Secretary to record no votes if you're
scattered around the chamber. You know, it's
better if you're going to be in your seat.
The Secretary will announce the
results.
THE SECRETARY: Also Senator L.
Krueger.
Ayes, 45. Nays, 14.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
The Secretary will continue to
read.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 1621, Senator Saland moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
4318
Assembly Bill Number 11317 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 3018A,
Third Reading Calendar 1621.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitution ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1621, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
Assembly Print Number 11317, an act to amend
the Education Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 17. This
act shall take effect on the first of
September.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
Senator Larkin, that completes the
controversial reading of Supplemental Calendar
57A.
SENATOR LARKIN: Can we now, Mr.
4319
President, return to reports of standing
committees.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reports
of standing committees.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
from the Committee on Rules, reports the
following bills:
Senate Print 6408A, by Senator
Oppenheimer, an act authorizing the City of
New Rochelle;
7070, by Senator Spano, an act to
amend the Public Health Law;
7123, by Senator Farley, an act to
amend the Penal Law;
7133, by Senator Balboni, an act
requiring;
7145, by Senator Hoffmann, an act
to amend the Agriculture and Markets Law;
7185A, by Senator Padavan, an act
to amend the Real Property Law;
7311, by Senator Marcellino, an act
to amend the Criminal Procedure Law;
7314A, by Senator Spano, an act to
amend the Tax Law;
4320
7362A, by Senator Balboni, an act
to allow;
7372, by Senator Golden, an act to
amend the Real Property Tax Law;
7389, by Senator Kuhl, an act to
amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law;
7398, by Senator Larkin, an act to
amend the Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and
Breeding Law;
7403, by Senator Fuschillo, an act
to amend the Labor Law;
7404A, by Senator Padavan, an act
to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
7405, by Senator Farley, an act
authorizing.
7461, by the Senate Committee on
Rules, an act authorizing the City of
New York;
7480, by Senator Volker, an act to
allow;
7481, by Senator McGee, an act
authorizing;
7491, by Senator Balboni, an act to
amend the Real Property Tax Law;
7499A, by Senator Spano, an act to
4321
amend the Public Authorities Law;
7505, by Senator Larkin, an act to
amend the Penal Law;
And Senate Print 7507, by Senator
Marcellino, an act to amend the Environmental
Conservation Law.
All bills ordered direct to third
reading.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Larkin.
SENATOR LARKIN: 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 Larkin.
SENATOR LARKIN: Mr. President,
can we stand at ease for a few minutes.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
4322
Senate will stand at ease.
(Whereupon, the Senate stood at
ease at 6:08 p.m.)
(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
at 6:12 p.m.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
if we could return to motions and resolutions.
On behalf of Senator Hannon, on
page number 41, I offer the following
amendments to Calendar Number 1197, Senate
Print 6656, 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: Mr. President,
on behalf of myself, on page number 41 I offer
the following amendments to Calendar Number
1190, Senate Print Number 6610B, and ask that
said bill retain its place on the Third
Reading Calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
4323
amendments are received and adopted, and the
bill will retain its place on third reading.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
on behalf of Senator Volker, I wish to call up
his bill, Print Number 5452B, recalled from
the Assembly, which is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
299, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 5452B, an
act to amend Chapter 824 of the Laws of 1933.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
now move to reconsider the vote by which the
bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
now move to recommit the bill to the Committee
4324
on Rules.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: So
ordered.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
wish to call up my bill, Print Number 7195C,
recalled from the Assembly, which is now at
the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1596, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 7195C,
an act to amend the Penal Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
now move to reconsider the vote by which this
bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll on reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
4325
now move to recommit the bill to the Committee
on Rules.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: So
ordered.
SENATOR SKELOS: I believe we'll
be having one more motion.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Little.
SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you, Mr.
President.
I wish to call up my bill, Print
Number 5869A, recalled from the Assembly,
which is now at the desk.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
456, by Senator Little, Senate Print 5869A, an
act to authorize the County of Washington.
SENATOR LITTLE: Mr. President, I
now move to reconsider the vote by which this
bill was passed.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will call the roll on
reconsideration.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
4326
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Little.
SENATOR LITTLE: Mr. President, I
now offer the following amendments.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
amendments are received and adopted.
SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you very
much.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Thank
you, Senator Little.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
is there any other housekeeping at the desk?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
none.
SENATOR SKELOS: There being no
further business to come before the Senate, I
move we stand adjourned until Monday, June
21st, at 3:00 p.m., intervening days being
legislative days.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: On
motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
Monday, June 21st, at 3:00 p.m., intervening
days being legislative days.
4327
(Whereupon, at 6:20 p.m., the
Senate adjourned.)