Regular Session - December 22, 2004
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NEW YORK STATE SENATE
THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
ALBANY, NEW YORK
December 22, 2004
2:18 p.m.
REGULAR SESSION
LT. GOVERNOR MARY O. DONOHUE, President
STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
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P R O C E E D I N G S
THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
please come to order.
I ask everyone present to please
rise and repeat with me the Pledge of
Allegiance.
(Whereupon, the assemblage recited
the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
THE PRESIDENT: In the absence of
clergy, may we bow our heads in a moment of
silence, please.
(Whereupon, the assemblage
respected a moment of silence.)
THE PRESIDENT: Reading of the
Journal.
THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
Tuesday, December 21, the Senate met pursuant
to adjournment. The Journal of Monday,
December 20, was read and approved. On
motion, Senate adjourned.
THE PRESIDENT: Without
objection, the Journal stands approved as
read.
Presentation of petitions.
Messages from the Assembly.
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Messages from the Governor.
Reports of standing committees.
Reports of select committees.
Communications and reports from
state officers.
Motions and resolutions.
Senator Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Please recognize
Senator Golden.
THE PRESIDENT: Senator Golden.
SENATOR GOLDEN: Thank you, Madam
Acting President.
Today there are three Boy Scouts
here from -- actually, from New York City,
that bring to us a light that is from
Bethlehem, a light of peace. And with us
today are the Boy Scouts Tom Colasanto,
Jonathan Fronteere, and Anthony Faga of
Troop 99 from St. Athanasius.
These boys will stand and put out
their peace light. We have a rule here, we
can't bring into the building any lit lights,
so they put the light out so that they could
present it to the State Senate here today.
And these fine young men bring us their
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message of goodwill with the peace light.
The Peace Light Project was
originally organized in 1990, in Austria, as
part of a large charitable relief mission,
"Light Into Darkness," for children in need in
Austria and abroad. The light has come into
the United States since 2001.
This year the peace light was
presented to a number of schools and churches
in New York City, some of them being,
obviously, St. Athanasius, where the boys are
from, the Visitation, Our Lady of Angels, and
others throughout the regions of Brooklyn and
Queens and New York City.
These Boy Scouts from around the
world take the light to their places of
worship, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and
places of public, cultural and political
importance. The aim of their campaign is to
include as many people as possible in the
peace message, to create peace in their
environment by being tolerant towards people
of different ethnic, cultural, political and
religious groups.
Again, we want to welcome these
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young boys. And they've brought to us their
instruction, and it says each year a child
from Austria fetches from a grotto in
Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, a light of
peace. This light then journeys across Europe
and is passed on to others who receive it, the
message of peace.
By accepting this light here at the
New York Senate, we in New York hope to remove
the barriers between people through personal
contact, peaceful living between different
races, faith traditions, cultures, and
political ideologies. By passing this peace
light from Bethlehem, we can overcome the
darkness that is caused by hate, materialism,
and racism. The peace light lantern is
brought to the presider. It is held high for
all to see.
This light from Bethlehem has
traveled far, reminding us of the light which
came into a dark and fearful world when Jesus
was born. It is our prayer that this light
and all those lit from it will be a sign of
hope and joy in the great state of New York.
Members of the Senate and all those
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present, this is a prayer that the boys have
brought: The holy child of Bethlehem was born
in a stable as a light to all people. Bless
all who carry this peace light and all who
will receive it, that peace may dwell in their
hearts and homes, fill them with their love
now and always. We ask this through His holy
name, amen.
I'd like to commend these boys and
their families for bringing that peace light
here to the Senate in New York so it can be
displayed so that the message can be carried
throughout the state of New York, throughout
this nation, and throughout this world.
Thank you, our Boy Scouts of
America. Thank you.
(Applause.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Skelos.
SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
there will be an immediate meeting of the
Rules Committee in the Majority Conference
Room.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
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the Majority Conference Room.
(Pause in proceedings.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
can we return to reports of standing
committees.
I believe there is a report from
the Rules Committee at the desk. I would ask
that it be read at this time.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reports
of standing committees.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
from the Committee on Rules, reports the
following bills:
Assembly Print 6619, by Member of
the Assembly Pheffer, an act to amend the
Surrogate's Court Procedure Act;
Senate Print 7268, by Senator Kuhl,
an act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law;
7547, by Senator Breslin, an act
validating;
7789, by Senator Flanagan, an act
to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
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And Senate Print 7806, by the
Senate Committee on Rules, an act to amend the
State Finance Law and others, in relation to
budget reform.
All bills ordered direct to third
reading.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: I would move to
accept the report of the Rules Committee.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All 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 Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
can we at this time return to the
noncontroversial reading of the calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will conduct the noncontroversial
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reading of the calendar.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1087, by Member of the Assembly Pheffer,
Assembly Print Number 6619, an act to amend
the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect on the 30th day.
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside,
please.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 1972, Senator Breslin moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 11635 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 7547,
Third Reading Calendar 1972.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitution ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1972, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
Assembly Print Number 11635, an act validating
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any action taken by the Green Island Union
Free School District.
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, 57.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 1973, Senator Flanagan moves
to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
Assembly Bill Number 11490 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 7789,
Third Reading Calendar 1973.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitution ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1973, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
Assembly Print Number 11490, an act to amend
the Real Property Tax Law.
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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, 57.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: In relation to
Calendar Number 1974, Senator Kuhl moves to
discharge, from the Committee on Codes,
Assembly Bill Number 11158 and substitute it
for the identical Senate Bill Number 7268,
Third Reading Calendar 1974.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER:
Substitution ordered.
The Secretary will read.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1974, by the Assembly Committee on Rules,
Assembly Print Number 11158, an act to amend
the Criminal Procedure Law.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
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THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1975, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
Print Number 7806, an act to amend the State
Finance Law and others, in relation to budget
reform.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the
bill aside.
Senator Bruno, that completes the
noncontroversial reading of the calendar.
SENATOR BRUNO: Can we at this
time, Mr. President, return to the
controversial calendar.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will conduct the controversial
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reading of the calendar.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1087, by Member of the Assembly Pheffer,
Assembly Print Number 6619, an act to amend
the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act.
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.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Secretary will announce the results.
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
is passed.
THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1975, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
Print Number 7806, an act to amend the State
Finance Law and others, in relation to budget
reform.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN:
Explanation.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
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Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President and
colleagues, we have on the floor a bill that
would be best described as a budget reform
bill.
All of us have been focused on the
dysfunctional process in the budget here in
New York State, twenty years of late budgets.
Senate 1 for ten years has been a budget
reform bill. We had a bill that we had
agreement on, passed the Legislature, went to
the Governor. It really takes second passage.
After the Governor vetoed it, it came back to
us.
That particular bill takes second
passage of a constitutional resolution next
year, then goes to a referendum of the people
in November and then would implement budget
reform in '06.
We have -- we're not taking action
at all on the Governor's veto because it truly
takes us into second passage, a November
referendum, and we have next year to deal with
the dynamics of implementation if and when it
gets approved.
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So the bill that's before us really
recognizes, especially with this recent court
decision that transferred powers that the
legislative branch had, we thought, in the
budget process completely to the Executive.
So what we are proposing now is
that the Comptroller has told us that there
isn't enough time in '05 to move the budget
implementation for a contingency to May 1st.
So this bill deals with '05. Contingency
would go into place April 1st, giving the
Governor until the 15th to respond and make
whatever corrections.
The caveats that were in the
original bill, most of them are in this bill.
The major difference is this would be
implemented in '05, '05. And it has a
two-year school aid requirement that the
Governor would submit. It has the independent
budget commission that would talk about a
balanced budget, similar to the other bill
that was vetoed.
So major differences are this would
be effective '05, not '06, does not go to a
referendum but would become law if the
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Assembly would pass it. The Governor has
indicated, and I believe I just saw a press
release, that he will sign this if it gets to
his desk.
Yesterday the Executive wasn't
prepared to make that statement. But if the
Assembly acts now or in early January on this
reform, we would have reform effective in '05.
And you'd have the contingency in place, all
the caveats, all the reserves, everything
that's in the other bill, but it's '05.
So we think this is critically
important to provide the leadership for
direction here in the Senate. It has been
Senate 1, both sides of the aisle being
supportive. So we appreciate the negotiation,
the deliberation, the support that we've had.
And we would encourage everyone here to be
supportive so that we can get a budget done in
'05.
And this gives us the best
opportunity to get a budget done in '05, and
then we will deal with the implementation of
'06 when we do second passage in the language
next year.
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Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the
last section.
Senator Paterson.
SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President,
an independent financial review board, a
budget proposal that connects the Health Care
Reform Act to the budget process -- which will
save the Comptroller and many others a lot of
problems -- and the fact that this budget
would affect our immediate negotiations for
the 2005-2006 budget compel me to support this
bill.
There was a belief that our being
here today represented just one-house justice.
Clearly there are indications that there is
interest in other houses and also in the
Executive branch at seeing some reform take
place immediately.
There are some specific core of
issues of this bill that may compel some of us
not to support it, but it must be said that
the Senate has taken a step forward, has
stepped immediately into the whole issue of
budget reform. There has been long
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negotiation without result, which is the
problem with the budget process in the first
place.
So the idea of putting a house's
stand on the table I think is quite
meritorious. I want to congratulate Senator
Bruno for being willing to do that. And it is
in that respect that I support the bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Schneiderman.
SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
Mr. President. On the bill.
I also will be supporting this
legislation. I think that both of our leaders
here, Senator Bruno and Senator Paterson, if
anything have been somewhat polite, I believe,
about the crisis that we're facing in this
state. We can't go on with years like this,
ladies and gentlemen. We cannot have sessions
with nothing but frustration and futility to
show. We cannot continue to pass late
budgets.
The decision by the Court of
Appeals in Silver v. Pataki and Pataki v.
Assembly is nothing short of a disaster for
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anyone who believes in a balance of powers and
a system of legislative checks on the
Executive.
I mean, I've been accused of being
partisan. I am partisan. But this is not a
partisan issue. This is an institutional
issue. And I hope that on both sides of the
aisle in this house, and in the other house,
people recognize what we're in for if we do
not take action to respond to the Court of
Appeals.
The Court of Appeals has set up a
situation where an Executive -- and I do
believe soon we will probably have a
Democratic Executive, so this is something
that should -- I'm talking about limitations
on the Executive whatever the party -- the
Executive can submit an extremely difficult
budget with inadequate funding for programs we
deem to be important and control the process
that way.
The Executive can then submit
emergency spending bills that we have no
ability to control. We could be in a
situation where the budgetary powers of the
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Legislature are essentially eliminated.
We have to do something. I agree
with -- of course, with my leader, Senator
Paterson, that there are -- I have some issues
with some things in this particular bill. I
would like to see a bill that requires
conference committees. I'd like to see a
bill -- I'm not sure that moving the date for
consensus revenue forecast to March 1st is the
way to do it. But at least we're doing
something.
And I assure you that if in the
other house and on the Second Floor people do
not recognize that we have to do something,
we're in for a lot more trouble than we've
even had in this year of -- the 20th year of
late budgets and a year of unparalleled
frustration and futility in the Legislature.
We have to take action. This is a
step forward. And I assure everyone here that
if we don't deal with this now, we're going to
be dealing with it in January. We've got to
restore a reasonable balance of powers in the
government of the State of New York. And
that's going to require unity and creativity.
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And I'm proud to be in support of both of our
leaders here in this effort.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Bonacic.
SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, Mr.
President.
It may be the Christmas spirit, but
I rise to agree with Senator Schneiderman.
This court decision by the Court of
Appeals is just simply devastating to the
Legislature. It makes the Legislature
subservient to the Executive office in terms
of being a partner in the budget process.
And I, for one, have been here a
while to see the Legislature fight with
Democratic governors, I've seen the
Legislature fight with Republican governors
when it comes to the judgment of the budget
process to do what's right for the needs of
the people of the state of New York.
So my only message today is that we
have to keep focused on this issue and do
whatever legislation is necessary, united in a
bipartisan way -- if not this bill, other
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legislation next year that restores
legislative power, if we're really going to
take care of the needs of our constituency in
the state of New York.
And my final thought is: To all,
happy holidays, peace and good health to you
and your families.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
DeFrancisco.
SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You know,
my thought in coming here today is that we
were going to override a veto.
But the problem with a veto
override, as we've discussed amongst
ourselves, is that the budget process is more
than simply a piece of paper. And if we've
got a bill here that the Governor says he will
sign and that he will go along with and agree
with the process, and if the Assembly is
willing to put the bill in, which we have some
indications that they will, an agreement is
far better than a battle over a process.
With an override, we would have had
a budget process that at least one member of
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that process would not be happy with. And to
implement it would have been a nightmare.
So it would have been the easy
thing to do to override a veto and say we've
done something, but in this case, after a lot
of reflection, if the Governor is on board and
certainly the Assembly has the same incentive
that we do to get this bill or very close to
this bill passed because of that court
decision, we're doing much better for the
public and we're doing it much sooner, by next
year, by budget year 2005.
So with that in mind, I'm going to
support this bill.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Marcellino.
SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
Mr. President.
I would like to thank and commend
Majority Leader Bruno for his leadership on
this piece of legislation and his negotiations
with the Second Floor and in the Assembly.
It's a masterful piece of negotiations. I'm
glad to hear that the Governor has indicated
that he will sign the bill if it reaches his
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desk. And I call upon the Assembly, as we all
do, to do their share and come up and step up
and pass this piece of legislation.
It is imperative that we go into
the 2005 negotiations on the budget, with all
that is before us, as a solid -- with a solid
mechanism in place to make sure that the
negotiations are done in a timely fashion and
an appropriate fashion that is amongst equal
partners. Amongst equal partners. It cannot
be a lopsided arrangement with one segment of
government dominating all the others and
having the major say. We must be partners in
this process; the people's work requires it.
And it is an imperative that we
move forward in this direction. Again, I
commend Senator Bruno. And I urge the
Assembly to come to the floor and come back as
soon as possible and pass this piece of
legislation so we can move ahead.
And I second Senator Bonacic's
comments. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah,
and may everybody come back safe and sound
after the New Year.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
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Breslin.
SENATOR BRESLIN: On the bill,
Mr. President.
It appears as though everyone is
holding hands and coming together. And I do
commend Senator Bruno and my leader, Senator
Paterson, and Senator Bonacic and Senator
DeFrancisco and Senator Marcellino in talking
about the terms that are being used --
negotiation, participation, uniting.
Yet when you look at the process on
how this bill got to the floor, the Democrats
in the Senate weren't united and didn't
negotiate and didn't participate. This bill
came up on the Internet on Sunday night or
early Monday morning. There's been no
hearings on this bill. There's been no
participation by this side on this bill.
And it begs the question on we
should be going forward not only with budget
reform, budget participation, but the process
reform, the involvement of all members of the
Legislature and all members of the Senate.
And this bill has wonderful things
in it. But as Senator Schneiderman so aptly
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pointed out, it doesn't include conference
committees. It didn't include other items
that possibly hearings in November and
December might have taken up and participation
by the full Senate might have taken up, to
come up with not only the good parts of this
bill but so many more things that should be
included.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Connor.
SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Mr.
President.
I intend to vote for this bill.
But I think I would urge all my colleagues to
pause and reflect about a larger issue.
You know, we keep saying and the
public believes the budget process is broken
in Albany, the budget process is broken. And
you read the decision of the Court of Appeals,
and you say -- and colleagues here have said
it -- that, Oh, the Governor now has all this
power with respect to the budget and the
Legislature has lost its budget powers.
That concerns me less than the fact
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that when I read that decision, I realize we
are losing our legislative powers, our powers
to set policy, to set programs, to articulate
how programs ought to be conducted, for whom
they should be beneficiaries and so on.
And it didn't just happen
overnight. And it's not just because the
budget has been late the past 10 or 20 years.
The first year I sat here, over
there, right where Senator Sabini is, I was
there all of four or five weeks when we did
the budget. We had a conference. In those
days -- and those who were here will
remember -- the budget consisted of 18, 20, 22
different bills, all different bills.
There was one bill, a very minor
bill that would change the way the money taken
in by the Comptroller's office under the
Abandoned Property Law would be -- whether it
would go into the General Fund or they'd be
self-funded and so on.
I stood up in conference to comment
on it, and Senator Ohrenstein, who was then
our leader, said: "Well, Marty, Marty, this
is very complicated stuff, this abandoned
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property, take my word for it."
And I said, "Excuse me, four weeks
ago I was the deputy counsel to the
Comptroller for abandoned property. I know a
little bit about this." Of course, Fred was
like, Whoa. And I told why I thought that was
bad.
And then we got shuffled, go, we're
going to go out here -- because the budget
would pass over a three-or-four-day period.
We'd do eight bills one day, ten bills the
other. And I spoke against that bill from
that seat here in the Minority, and my
colleagues all listened. And you know what?
This Senate voted that bill down.
And it was of course withdrawn and
laid aside, and we came back the next day and
we did seven or eight other budget bills. And
the next day we did some more. And they
brought that one up again, Senator Anderson
brought it up -- actually, it was Bill Conklin
sitting there, acting as the majority leader.
And I talked against it again, and it was
voted down.
So we got all the other budget
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bills done, and that was still sitting there
on the calendar because it had been voted down
and laid -- you know, withdrawn and laid
aside. And Senator Ohrenstein called me in
and said, "I just got off the phone with Bob
Morgado. Okay, we're changing the fiscal
plan, and we're taking that out of the
budget."
That's about legislating. That was
in the context of a budget. But it's about
legislating, about all of our colleagues
setting policy. See, the bill had a price tag
on it, that's why it was part of the budget,
but the bill articulated -- and it was a very
minor thing -- what I convinced my colleagues
was bad policy. And we had the power to do
that then.
Then what happened? A number of
years later we had -- we were presented with
the Big Ugly. That was a big budget bill.
We're all: Oh, look at that big one. And
why? I forget why. I think there was
something there having to do with gambling,
and it never would have passed this house
because our dear colleague Senator Padavan
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would have led the charge, and many of us
would have agreed with him, and it wouldn't
have passed.
So they wrapped that up with a bill
with something else, and they threw some taxes
in, which the majority in this house at that
time wasn't about to vote for, but they put
some other goodies in there. And they
learned -- and by doing that under the guise
of the budget, they contravened something I
was taught when I first got here, that we
don't do riders here. We're not like
Congress; we don't do riders, a rider being a
piece of legislation tacked on to an unrelated
bill.
Why don't we do it? Because if you
read the State Constitution -- and I recommend
it to all of you -- it says each bill shall
deal with a separate subject. So we don't do
riders. And generally, when we do our
calendars and our bills, we don't have bills
with riders attached to them, the bill doesn't
deal with two disparate things. Except when
we do the budget.
So we went from that Big Ugly, and
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then we only had about 15 bills, to where we
got to what we have now, the Teddy and this
and that. We have about four bills, and
they're like this (indicating), and there's
all sorts of unrelated stuff in them. Not to
totally fault this Governor; his budget
offices have perfected it. But it was a thing
that grew. And it certainly grew under
Governor Cuomo, and it began a little bit
under Governor Carey, where you throw
everything but the kitchen sink in under the
guise of a budget, because it has a fiscal
impact.
Well, Mr. President, every single
policy choice this Legislature makes or any
other legislature makes has some budget
implications. It either costs money or it
doesn't cost money. That has budget
implications. So it's one of these things
coming and going you can always say it has a
budget implication. Because it doesn't cost
anything; well, it saves money. Well, it
costs something.
So what do we do? In 1995, the
first year I was minority leader here, we got
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these four big ugly bills, or whatever you
called them then, Teddy and this one and that
one. Well, we've changed the whole sentencing
structure in the criminal justice system, in a
budget bill. And what was our choice here?
Did we have a debate over criminal justice?
Did we -- look, forget about it, no hearings
or anything like that. We didn't even have a
debate here over it because, oh, no, the
budget was late, you know. You know, you got
to vote for the budget. You know? Got a lot
of other good things in there our constituents
need.
So we gave up our legislative
powers to make policy choices. Forget the
budget choices, forget -- we always have the
power to take 100 million and cut it to
50 million or try and add 25 million. It's
the policy choices we lose.
This bill takes a giant step, I
believe, toward getting our budgets on time
and whatever, but it doesn't address the
central issue that we as a legislature ought
to be insisting on, particularly since the
Court of Appeals has now given a blessing to
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it, and that is how do we preserve not only
our power, how do we exercise our
responsibility to our constituents that we
make the policy choices for how the
government -- you know, the Governor executes
those choices. The Governor carries out the
laws. We're supposed to make those choices.
I got calls after that '95 budget
from judges, law professors, other people
concerned with criminal justice issues saying:
You've changed the sentencing laws? When were
the hearings? How come we didn't get notice
of this? The Bar Association gave us a call:
Well, we never got notice of this.
Because, my colleagues, that's how
this Legislature used to operate before that.
We never would have done an overhaul of the
sentencing laws without Senator Volker having
hearings all throughout the state and
eliciting expert testimony. I mean, that's
one example.
We over and over and over again,
under the guise of a budget, we have been
forced to swallow policy choices made by the
Executive. In effect, we have been forced --
6391
the Executive has been making legislative
decisions, and we have been forced to go along
under the hammer of there's no budget. And
the additional hammer we gave ourselves of no
paychecks, for those of us who sit in this
Legislature. Which we all laughed at at first
and said we can survive. And, you know, when
it gets to be August, it gets a little -- you
know, anybody can get through April and May,
probably.
So we have given up -- it's not
just budget power, it's the legislative power.
And the Legislature is the voice of the
people. And we have to work toward
reestablishing that.
I would humbly suggest that somehow
or other we try and get back to where the
budget is broken up. And I know -- look, it
was very clever when they came up with the Big
Ugly. The leaders then -- not the present
leaders, but the leaders then thought, How are
we going to sell this poison pill? Let's wrap
it up -- let's wrap it up and let's
chocolate-coat it, you know. And that way
people like, you know, Connor there, who won't
6392
vote for a gambling thing, will vote for it
because he's very strongly for funding for
displaced homemakers or something. They were
the kind of issues then that were important.
I suggest we go back to the old
way, make the policy choices. Hey, sometimes
something won't go through. That's what it's
all about. But it's not -- my colleagues, it
is not just about the budget process, it's
about legislative power.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Little.
SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you, Mr.
President.
I am certain that the number-one
issue in my district and most likely in most
of your districts has been getting an on-time
budget. And when I first came to the Senate
two years ago, after seven years in the
Assembly, I was excited to be voting on Senate
Bill Number 1, which was budget reform. The
Senate has been the leader in reforming the
budget process and getting a bill on time.
And I commend Senator Bruno for
6393
getting this bill and for negotiating it. I
commend Senator Paterson, in the Minority
conference here, for supporting this bill.
This is a negotiated bill. There
are parts it that none of us like. But that's
part of negotiation. You put together the
best that you can that you can all agree on to
make a difference.
We have the Governor on board on
this bill, willing to sign this bill, so we
have a two-way agreement. I look forward to
there being a three-way agreement. And I'm
pleased to support this bill.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Farley.
SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Mr.
President. I rise to support this.
You know, those of us in the
Capital District have had our brains beaten
out for twenty years on the late budget, and
now it's resonating all over the state about a
late budget.
At least this bill that we have
here moves the process. And I commend my
6394
colleagues and Senator Bruno for being here on
Christmas Eve, practically, to try to move
this process to get something done,
particularly in 2005, to try to get a budget
passed on time.
I couldn't agree more with so many
that have spoken about the devastation of this
court decision. I mentioned this in
conference, and it's something that I think
that really denigrates and destroys the
institution of the Legislature. And it's
something I think that we have to address some
way down the road.
But today we are passing a piece of
legislation that at least gets the process
moving. That's what we're trying to do, and
this house has been in the forefront of not
only trying to move the process forward of
getting an on-time budget.
And I applaud my colleagues for
joining in the support of this legislation.
It's not critical that it be the final piece
of legislation passed. But it does move the
process, it gets us going for an on-time
budget, and I support it.
6395
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Robach.
SENATOR ROBACH: Yes, Mr.
President. On the bill.
I rise because this is a good day.
I believe that budget reform is certainly
something everyone knows is critically,
critically important.
I applaud my colleagues, though it
won't get in the media -- and I mean all my
colleagues -- for being here a couple of days
before Christmas to try and move an agenda, a
bill that will be good for the state. It is
in direct response to what our constituents
want, whether upstate, downstate, urban,
suburban. One thing I haven't had anyone say
to me, "Thank goodness for a late budget."
People would like this to be more on time, and
this bill will accomplish this.
I came here prepared, at the call
of my leader and with my colleagues, to do
whatever we could to push this very, very
important issue right here for my constituents
time and time again. This bill has a benefit
that it does give us the opportunity to move
6396
up the budget timeliness or have a more timely
budget in 2005 rather than 2006. But that is
also incumbent on the other participants in
this triangle for participating.
We have word from the Governor.
Senator Breslin had talked about not liking
some parts of the bill, or participation, but
there's clearly a part for all of us to
participate in. And certainly we can talk to
our colleagues in the other house to make sure
the Assembly is equally engaged.
And if this bill does pass -- and
it's my hope that it will -- in three houses,
we will be doing something good for every
constituent in New York and taking a very
complicated budget process, jamming it into a
more timely process that will benefit
everyone. And I think that will be a good
day.
But I end with this, of saying this
is incumbent on all of us continuing to work
to make sure the other house and the Executive
follow up on this. It's what we've promised
the people of New York, it's what we should
give the people of New York: a better
6397
process.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Lachman.
SENATOR LACHMAN: Yeah, I rise --
and I'm just going to speak very briefly.
First of all, as one of my
colleagues on the other side, I wish everyone
a very blessed holiday season and a very
fruitful creative session starting in two
weeks.
I also want to commend Senator
Bruno and my leader, Senator Paterson, for
having the imagination of starting this. This
is a beginning.
As others have said, prior to my
standing and speaking, there are two problems
here. One is basically a constitutional
problem, a division of powers between
executive, judiciary and legislative.
The Legislature must not give up
the powers it has. It must enhance the powers
it has. And enhancing the powers it has means
that every legislator should be involved in
the process.
6398
I must tell you I was surprised
that one of my Republican colleagues said that
he thought he was coming to Albany yesterday
to vote on an override and not this bill. And
I think that it shows that the process has not
been opened far enough.
Now, I remember when I was a
college student, which goes back to the
McKinley administration in the 19th century, I
once went to a movie. And at the end of the
movie, it said "The Beginning." It didn't say
"The End," it said "The Beginning."
And I think each and every one of
us have to realize, as we're voting for this
bill -- which has imperfections, but it's a
necessary beginning -- that we have to strive
to make certain and sure that next year, in
the next session, this was not called a bill
that is just window dressing, that will not go
to the basic problem of involving every
legislator in the process of legislation in
regard to the budget and every other major and
minor bill taken up by this institution.
And that's all I have to say.
Thank you kindly.
6399
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Johnson.
SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr. President,
last spring when I was called upon to lead a
budget conference committee, along with Denny
Farrell in the Assembly, I didn't think the
prospects were that we would ever achieve
reform, but we were going to make a try.
We did achieve the reform, we did
create the bill and the constitutional
amendment, as you're all aware. You all voted
for it, it was passed in both houses. I
thought we were really on our way to get an
on-time budget.
Apparently the override is not
taking place and that bill will not become
law. But the new bill we have before us is
essentially that law. For the most part, all
those ingredients are in there, especially an
on-time budget. Because the contingency
budget will go in effect on April 1st if we
don't have a budget, which means we'll have an
on-time budget from now on.
So congratulate yourselves. That's
a good first step. And we're going to keep
6400
working.
And I want to congratulate Senator
Bruno, by the way, for creating this bill and
getting the agreement of the Governor and so
forth to put this into effect.
Thank you.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Saland.
SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Mr.
President.
Mr. President, I rise, as all of my
colleagues have, to express my support for
this bill. And I rise particularly to commend
Senator Bruno for his unfailing efforts to try
and deal with the issue of budget reform. And
hopefully this, given the spirit of the
season, that this may initiate some genuine
goodwill with all of the other elements
necessary to actually make this a matter of
law.
But I also rise particularly
because there's been mention of this court
decision. And the court decision troubles me.
It troubles me because what I see is a rather
cavalier attitude of the court, if not just
6401
outright self-righteous hypocrisy.
On the one hand, the court decries
gridlock. On the other hand, it basically
says that that is the only alternative -- no,
let me rephrase that -- that is the principal
alternative left to this Legislature.
And I would call your attention --
I have the slip opinion. I don't have the
formal opinion. And if you look on that slip
opinion at pages 8 and 9, the language just
reaches out and says how can you possibly
embrace gridlock as an institutional form of
responding to the excessive powers that you
have affirmed in the Governor in some tortuous
fashion, particularly with respect to the case
involving the language portion of the
argument.
And I'm going to read just a few
lines. And this is in the plurality opinion
by Judge Smith. "Perhaps most important, the
Legislature can, and almost invariably does,
refuse to act on the budget pending
negotiations with the Governor. All budgets
within recent memory have been largely a
product of such negotiations, often extremely
6402
protracted ones. The inefficiencies of
New York's budgeting system are well known
today and much deplored. The word 'gridlock'
is often used. No one familiar with the
process can believe that this is one in which
the Governor is omnipotent and that the
Legislature is helpless."
So the court effectively says
gridlock is your path, you have that path.
The fact that we have struggled for 20 years
to get away from gridlock, the fact that this
house has initiated Senate 1 for ten
consecutive years, the fact that we here
today, we have spoken here today in broad
bipartisan fashion of the need to right this
imbalance that has now been certainly taken to
another level by this court, all bespeaks a
tone of bipartisanship and a tone by which we
seek to strike an institution balance between
the Legislature and the Executive.
And yet this court, in its infinite
wisdom, has said: You've got the right to
gridlock. That's your remedy. And if you ask
me, again, it's insufferable, it's appalling,
and it's the kind of hypocrisy that seems
6403
somehow or other to be written into virtually
every major decision that involves this
Legislature by this Court of Appeals.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Balboni.
SENATOR BALBONI: Mr. President,
before the election, reform was in the air.
People put out all sorts of proposals, and
they were met with cynicism. Why? Well,
because there is this little thing called an
election.
And we've come back now after the
election on many, many different occasions.
And so for the folks who are wondering what
happened here today, what happened here today,
what's happened here the last couple of weeks
is that this house in particular has come back
and has said: We've heard you, the people of
this state. We are willing to work as hard as
it takes at any time of the year to try and
move the agenda forward. But we're not going
to rush into it recklessly, we're going to try
to get a result.
Not for us. Because at the end of
the day, it's not about us. It's about the
6404
people we represent. And right now, here in
this chamber, we have just signified that we
have a little bill that is live that has been
passed by this house -- unanimously,
bipartisan, Democrats and Republicans
together -- that the chief executive of this
state says he will sign.
There is no greater invitation to
the party to the Speaker of the State
Assembly. He doesn't need a hundred votes to
enact this, he needs a simple majority. He
can do this next week; we move forward on this
issue this year, now.
Lest anybody think that a result of
not doing the overrides today we have weakened
our position, I say the opposite. We have
strengthened it, because we did what we were
supposed to do. We deliberated. We thought
it through, and we discussed it. Which is
what everybody said the reformers were
supposed to be doing. We did it, Christmas
week here in the Capitol.
So I make one pitch to the press,
in this spirit of giving, helping, being a
little charitable and giving us credit, this
6405
house, for being ready to work anytime,
anywhere for the betterment of the people.
Merry Christmas.
(Laughter; applause.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Balboni, the chair would observe it's the
season of miracles, but don't count on it.
(Laughter.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Hassell-Thompson.
SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Mr.
President, on the bill.
I'm a little bit sorry that I got
to speak before Senator Krueger but, ooh,
following Senator Balboni.
We call this a reform. But I think
it should be relabeled. I think it's a "so
the budget will come on time" bill. Because
in this bill we have not changed the process
by which we get to what we're supposed to do.
You talked about all this
deliberation. But it's not an inclusive
deliberation. When people across this state
held forums, they said that the State of
New York is broken. And I'm not sure who
6406
dubbed us, but we got dubbed the 50th of all
the 50 states, as being the worst state
legislature.
Now, those of us who went back into
our districts and campaigned around that
issue, it didn't make us feel really good to
be a part of this Legislature.
But I am sorry, I don't feel as bad
as everybody else did about a late budget.
What I feel about bad about is not the fact
that the budget is late, because a late budget
for me said that there were dialogue and
conversation until we got to a number that
everybody could agree upon that is in the best
interests of the state.
And we have allowed the media and
everybody else to be the tail that wags this
dog. They don't sit here and make these
decisions; we do. And Marty is absolutely
right. We lose the legislative process, we
give it away, we give it away every time we do
what we continue to do with these bills.
I will vote for this bill, and we
probably will have a unanimous vote for this
bill, because I too believe in reform. I
6407
didn't campaign on reform. My local newspaper
thought I should have been more of a reformer,
because that's what I've been known to do.
But I don't participate in the process, so I
can't reform something if I don't participate.
Many of us have said, Call on us,
we will come, we will be a part of any
subcommittees that we hold to discuss how we
get to this process. And for us to feel any
honesty about that, how can we go back and say
that we are responsible for this budget being
late on time or any other thing? Because
we're not. We take the weight for it, but we
don't get the credit for it.
If we're going to reform the way in
which we do budgets in this state, there needs
to be a list of -- of a new way in which we
process. And reforms should include process.
There's no process here. It just tells us
we're going to be a little later on the date
that we're going to do this and a little later
on the date that we're going to do that, and
therefore we're going to end up at a point
that everybody is going to be satisfied that
we met the deadline.
6408
But I don't feel that there is
legislative reform participating in this bill.
Is it better than what we did before?
Absolutely, one step better. What I will hope
is that we will continue to be one step better
and one step better every time we look at this
legislation. But this is not the way to get
there.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Hoffmann.
SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, Mr.
President.
This whole discussion about budget
reform really will go down in history by the
constitutional scholars as one of the greatest
challenges for balance of power in any
government anywhere. And to have had the
Court of Appeals weigh in as they have just
done, further eroding the very limited power
of this body, is a sad day for New York State.
But as Senator Bruno likes to say,
we are what we are. This is what we have been
dealt. And given the circumstances of another
chamber that has refused to come to the table
and give an assurance at this point, and a
6409
Governor who enjoys the absolute power of the
budget that has been handed him, I think it is
a magic achievement to have a commitment from
the Governor and a very strong likelihood that
the Speaker will convene the Assembly and this
measure will pass both houses.
I'm troubled by the long history
that we've had of late budgets, not just
because of the failures of the Legislature and
the Executive to come to an agreement, but
because of the creation of a very unusual
practice. Having been here twenty years --
and just by way of quick reference, I
understand that in my district almost
everybody who has watched any television over
the last few months assumes that it is my
fault exclusively that we have a late budget,
the 20 years that I've served here being the
same period of time that we've had late
budgets. So I'm also happy to congratulate
the taxpayers of New York State. By removing
myself from the problem, I'm confident that
there will be no more late budgets at all.
Good luck. Good luck, everyone.
But the fact remains that several
6410
years I experienced a late budget by only a
couple of days. And it was a somewhat
different situation, because we did not have
the practice of something called continuing
resolutions.
And I can remember when the state
employees were issued something called scrip
instead of a paycheck. They were told that
their check was going to be delayed by a
couple of days. And it was considered to be a
minor inconvenience. But the message was
quite clear, that state government would stop
unless that scrip could be cashed. And
therefore, there was an earnest negotiation
that took place by the Executive and by the
leaders of both chambers.
I think it was 1987 when that
practice changed, and no longer was scrip
issued, people just got paid as they always
had. State agencies continued doing their
work through these continuing resolutions.
And the Legislature, both houses, voted on the
messages of necessity to advance everybody's
pay, keep all of state government operating
with continuing resolutions.
6411
Now the Court of Appeals has so
thoroughly emasculated the Legislature's
limited budget powers, the only recourse, if
this measure is not enacted, will be the
draconian measure we have seen in Washington
under Newt Gingrich. The Legislature does in
fact have the power to exacerbate gridlock by
refusing to pass continuing resolutions and
forcing government to come grinding to a halt.
I don't think that the taxpayers of
this state, in any part of this state, want to
see that happen. And I think if they
understand the imbalance of power as it has
been determined by the Court of Appeals most
recently, they too will howl in outrage that
the duly elected members of the Senate and the
Assembly have thus been limited in their
already limited powers.
I would like to compliment one
member of the Court of Appeals on her dissent.
The Honorable Judith Kaye, the presiding
judge, I think wrote a very, very strong
dissenting opinion. And I would hope that
should the issue or any comparable issue -- I
can't imagine one with such weighty
6412
significance, but a comparable issue coming
before the Court of Appeals again, I would
hope that it would be the wisdom of Judge Kaye
that would determine the final outcome and not
the majority opinion that we have seen in this
case.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator
Leibell.
SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you, Mr.
President.
Our congratulations to you, Senator
Bruno, our Majority Leader.
This has certainly been a difficult
issue for this legislative body. And it's
been difficult for our constituents. We've
been confronted by late budgets for so many
years now, it's become something that
everybody seems to have accepted -- up until
very recently. This last year we've seen a
tremendous amount of turmoil as a result of
these late budgets.
I think with this legislation
today, and with the support of all of our
members here, or certainly almost all of our
members here, and hopefully now with the
6413
Assembly coming on board and with the Governor
apparently on board, we've taken a great
stride in reconciling these problems.
So I think we can look forward to
the future now. Certainly the job is not
done. Our constituents, for the most part, do
not understand clearly how difficult an issue
this has been in terms of the State
Constitution.
Hopefully now we'll be able to go
forward, despite the Court of Appeals'
decision, we'll be able to reconcile this
hopefully in the next few months, and New York
State and its budget process will see a
brighter day.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any
other Senator wishing to speak on the bill?
Read the last section.
THE SECRETARY: Section 32. This
act shall take effect immediately.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the
roll.
(The Secretary called the roll.)
THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill
6414
is passed.
Senator Bruno, that completes the
controversial reading of the calendar.
SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
can we at this time return to motions and
resolutions.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Motions
and resolutions.
SENATOR BRUNO: And may we adopt
the Resolution Calendar in its entirety.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All
those in favor of adopting the Resolution
Calendar signify by saying aye.
(Response of "Aye.")
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those
opposed, nay.
(No response.)
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The
Resolution Calendar is adopted.
SENATOR BRUNO: Is there any
further business, Mr. President, to come
before the house?
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is
no further business, Senator Bruno.
SENATOR BRUNO: There being no
6415
further business, and while I want to share
with my colleagues how much I've enjoyed the
quality time that we have spent together most
recently, I look forward to adjourning,
subject to the call of the Majority Leader.
And I so move, and intervening days to be
legislative days.
And I would hope and expect that
everyone here will have a happy holiday, a
peaceful, tranquil holiday, and that I would
look forward to seeing you all safely and in
good health in the new year.
Thank you, Mr. President.
ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: On
motion, the Senate stands adjourned until the
call of the Majority Leader, intervening days
being legislative days.
(Whereupon, at 3:31 p.m., the
Senate adjourned.)