Regular Session - January 18, 2006
222
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 January 18, 2006
11 11:02 a.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR CHARLES J. FUSCHILLO, JR., Acting
19 President
20 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
21
22
23
24
25
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: The
3 Senate will come to order.
4 I ask everyone present to please
5 rise and repeat with me the Pledge of
6 Allegiance.
7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: The
10 invocation today will be given by Pastor
11 Ernest Fink, City Harvest Church in Albany.
12 PASTOR FINK: Good morning,
13 Senators. Will you bow your head with me in
14 prayer.
15 Lord, we thank You for this
16 wonderful day. We thank You for the blessing
17 that is upon the great Empire State. And,
18 Lord, as we move through this Senate session,
19 we pray that You would cause wisdom and
20 understanding to be part and parcel of what
21 they do today.
22 We pray Your blessing upon our
23 families, upon the Governor, upon those who
24 are involved with the governing of this state.
25 And we ask this in Your name. Amen.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
2 Reading of the Journal.
3 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
4 Tuesday, January 17, the Senate met pursuant
5 to adjournment. The Journal of Sunday,
6 January 15, was read and approved. On motion,
7 Senate adjourned.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
9 Without objection, the Journal stands approved
10 as read.
11 Presentation of petitions.
12 Messages from the Assembly.
13 Messages from the Governor.
14 Reports of standing committees.
15 Reports of select committees.
16 Communications and reports from
17 state officers.
18 Motions and resolutions.
19 Senator Skelos.
20 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
21 there will be an immediate meeting of the
22 Rules Committee in the Majority Conference
23 Room.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
25 There will be an immediate meeting of the
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1 Rules Committee in the Majority Conference
2 Room.
3 Senator Wright.
4 SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President,
5 if we could adopt the Resolution Calendar at
6 this time, with the exception of Resolutions
7 Number 3161 and 3244.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: All
9 in favor of adopting the Resolution Calendar,
10 with the exception of Resolutions 3161 and
11 3244, signify by saying aye.
12 (Response of "Aye.")
13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
14 Opposed, nay.
15 (No response.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: The
17 Resolution Calendar is adopted.
18 Senator Wright.
19 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you, Mr.
20 President.
21 There's a resolution at the desk by
22 Senator Paterson. Could we read the title
23 only, please.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: The
25 Secretary will read.
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1 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
2 Paterson, Legislative Resolution Number 3253,
3 commemorating the 77th birthday of the
4 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and
5 paying tribute to his life and
6 accomplishments.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: The
8 question is on the resolution. All in favor
9 signify by saying aye.
10 (Response of "Aye.")
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
12 Opposed, nay.
13 (No response.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: The
15 resolution is adopted.
16 Senator Wright.
17 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you, Mr.
18 President.
19 Following the normal procedure of
20 the Senate, could we please open the
21 resolution and include all of the members of
22 the Senate, unless someone wants to have their
23 name removed at the desk.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: So
25 ordered.
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1 Senator Wright.
2 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you, Mr.
3 President.
4 If we could take up Resolution
5 Number 3161, by Senator Rath, and have the
6 title read, please.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: The
8 Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Rath,
10 Legislative Resolution Number 3161,
11 memorializing Governor George E. Pataki to
12 proclaim February 3, 2006, as Wear Red for
13 Women Day in the State of New York.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: The
15 question is on the resolution. All in favor
16 signify by saying aye.
17 (Response of "Aye.")
18 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO:
19 Opposed, nay.
20 (No response.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: The
22 resolution is adopted.
23 Senator Wright.
24 SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President,
25 could we please have all the members added to
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1 that resolution unless there are objections.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: So
3 ordered.
4 The resolution is open for
5 cosponsorship. If you do not want to be a
6 cosponsor, please notify the desk.
7 Senator Wright.
8 SENATOR WRIGHT: On the calendar,
9 if we could lay aside Calendar Number 31 for
10 the day, please.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: The
12 bill is laid aside for the day.
13 SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President,
14 we will temporarily stand at ease pending the
15 return of the Rules Committee.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: The
17 Senate will stand at ease.
18 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
19 ease at 11:06 a.m.)
20 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
21 at 11:18 a.m.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE:
23 Senator Skelos.
24 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
25 if we could return to reports of standing
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1 committees, there's a report of the Rules
2 Committee at the desk. I ask that it be read.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
4 you. The Secretary will read.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno,
6 from the Committee on Rules, reports the
7 following bill direct to third reading:
8 Senate Print 6409, by Senator Skelos, an act
9 to amend the Correction Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Senator
11 Skelos.
12 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept
13 the report of the Rules Committee.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: All in
15 favor of accepting the Rules report say aye.
16 (Response of "Aye.")
17 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE:
18 Opposed, nay.
19 (No response.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: The
21 report is accepted.
22 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
23 would you please take up the calendar at this
24 time, noncontroversial.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: The
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1 Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 36, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 6409, an
4 act to amend the Correction Law.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
6 is there a message at the desk?
7 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Yes,
8 Senator Skelos, there is a message of
9 necessity at the desk.
10 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: All in
12 favor of accepting the message of necessity
13 say aye.
14 (Response of "Aye.")
15 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE:
16 Opposed, nay.
17 (No response.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: The
19 message is accepted.
20 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
21 before we take up the bill, on today's
22 Resolution Calendar, 3134, by Senator Leibell,
23 memorializing Governor Pataki to proclaim
24 February 5 through 11 as Four Chaplains
25 Religious Emphasis Week in the State of
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1 New York, Senator Leibell would like to open
2 up the resolution for sponsorship.
3 If anybody wishes not to sponsor
4 the resolution, they should notify the desk.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
6 you. All the Senators will be on the
7 resolution. If you choose not to be on the
8 resolution, please notify the desk.
9 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
10 if we could go back to motions and
11 resolutions, there's a Resolution 3244 by
12 Senator DeFrancisco. I ask that it be read in
13 its entirety.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE:
15 Calendar Number 36 will be laid aside.
16 We return to the order of motions
17 and resolutions.
18 The Secretary will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
20 DeFrancisco, Legislative Resolution Number
21 3244, congratulating the Marcellus Central
22 High School Mustangs Boys Soccer Team and
23 Coach Jennifer Griffin upon the occasion of
24 capturing the 2005 New York State Class B
25 Championship.
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1 "WHEREAS, Excellence and success in
2 competitive sports can be achieved only
3 through strenuous practice, team play and team
4 spirit, nurtured by dedicated coaching and
5 strategic planning; and
6 "WHEREAS, Athletic competition
7 enhances the moral and physical development of
8 the young people of this state, preparing them
9 for the future by instilling in them the value
10 of teamwork, encouraging a standard of healthy
11 living, imparting a desire for success and
12 developing a sense of fair play and
13 competition; and
14 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this
15 Legislative Body to recognize and pay tribute
16 to those young people within the State of
17 New York who, achieving outstanding success in
18 athletic competition, have inspired and
19 brought pride to their school; and
20 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is
21 justly proud to congratulate the Marcellus
22 Central High School Mustangs Boys Soccer Team
23 and Coach Jennifer Griffin upon the occasion
24 of earning the 2005 New York State Public High
25 School Athletic Association Class B
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1 Championship; and
2 "WHEREAS, This team enjoyed an
3 outstanding season, earning 12 wins, five
4 losses and one tie in regular season play.
5 Their record of accomplishment is especially
6 notable due to the fact that their schedule
7 called for contests with many state-ranked
8 teams in both the Class A and Class B
9 divisions; and
10 "WHEREAS, Following their
11 successful regular season, it was on to
12 post-season sectional play. In their quarter
13 final game, the Mustangs were on the road and
14 defeated South Jefferson on their home field
15 by a score of 2-1; and
16 "WHEREAS, It was then on to Rome,
17 where the Mustangs took on number one seed
18 Sherburne-Earlville in the sectional Class B
19 semifinal. Marcellus emerged with a 4-1
20 victory that was notable for a hat trick and
21 therefore three goals scored by Scott
22 Campbell; and
23 "WHEREAS, Marcellus, having
24 qualified for the Section III final, was
25 matched with Clinton, who sported a record of
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1 18 wins, no losses and one tie, and was
2 considered by many the state's best Class B
3 team. Marcellus took to the field at SUNY
4 Cortland where they fought for an early lead
5 which they never lost. The final score was
6 Marcellus 4, Clinton 2. Marcellus was crowned
7 Section III Class B Champion and thereby
8 earned the right to appear in state regional
9 competition; and
10 "WHEREAS, In regional play,
11 Marcellus was first matched with Section II
12 Champion Chatham. The Mustangs will long
13 remember this game not only for its outcome
14 but for the conditions in which it was played;
15 massive rain and thunderstorms in and around
16 Albany had made for poor field conditions.
17 Just the same, Marcellus was able to shut out
18 Chatham 4-0; and
19 "WHEREAS, It was then on to the
20 regional final in Potsdam against a strong
21 team from Canton. While the Mustangs outshot
22 Canton 19-4, neither team was able to score in
23 regulation time. A dramatic finish followed,
24 with Marcellus scoring a sudden victory goal
25 in the first overtime period and sealing a 1-0
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1 victory and thereby earning the right to
2 appear in the State Class B finals; and
3 "WHEREAS, The Marcellus Boys Soccer
4 Team advanced to the State Championships,
5 which were held at the National Soccer Hall of
6 Fame in Oneonta. In the semifinal round, the
7 Mustangs were matched with an aggressive team
8 from Cold Spring Harbor who scored a quick
9 goal just 30 seconds into the game, forcing
10 the Mustangs to play from behind until less
11 than a minute remained in the first half when
12 Marcellus scored its first goal. Cold Spring
13 Harbor was next to score in the second half,
14 but Marcellus was able to answer twice and
15 take the semifinal by a score of 3-2; and
16 "WHEREAS, Having earned the
17 distinction of winning every post-season game
18 to date, the Mustangs took on Spackenkill in
19 the State Class B final; this accomplished
20 Hudson Valley-area team had assembled a 22 and
21 1 record; and
22 "WHEREAS, The two teams played
23 without a score until just two minutes
24 remained on the clock in the first half.
25 Marcellus took the lead and in the second half
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1 added to their lead when they made three more
2 goals while holding Spackenkill scoreless.
3 The game ended with a score of 4-0. The
4 Marcellus Boys Soccer Team was named Class B
5 State Champion and returned to Marcellus
6 carrying the school's first ever state
7 championship for a boys team; and
8 "WHEREAS, Additional honors were
9 bestowed upon the Marcellus Mustangs Boys
10 Soccer Team when they were chosen to receive
11 the Sportsmanship Award, which recognized
12 exemplary behavior and sportsmanship
13 demonstrated by players, coaches and fans
14 during the State Championship weekend; and
15 "WHEREAS, No team, no matter how
16 gifted one or even a handful of individuals
17 may be, can accomplish all that has been
18 achieved by the Marcellus Boys Mustang Soccer
19 Team without exceptional skills teamwide. The
20 2005 New York State Class B Champions had
21 talented team members throughout its player
22 roster that included Ian Behm, Kyle Blackmer,
23 Chris Borncamp, Scott Campbell, Joe Carelli,
24 Brian Corcoran, Brendan Crowley, Adam Dagget,
25 Pat Delaney, Kevin Dooley, Kyle Duck, Tom
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1 Forte, Chris Grosso, John Henry Jackson, John
2 Kermes, Kevin Merriman, Pat Richardson, Alex
3 Rouse, Joe Sullivan, Tom Szpak, Dan Walsh,
4 John Walsh, Brian Walter, Justin White, and
5 Zack Zbikowski; and
6 "WHEREAS, The success of the
7 Marcellus Mustangs can also be attributed to
8 the attitude and effort displayed by the
9 players who followed the technical, tactical
10 and teamwork philosophy offered by Coach
11 Jennifer Griffin and Assistant Coach T.J.
12 Jackson. Further, the team enjoyed the
13 support of the faithful families, school staff
14 and community members who proudly encouraged
15 this team to achieve; and
16 "WHEREAS, The 2005 Marcellus
17 Mustangs shared noteworthy attributes off the
18 field as well as in competition, individually
19 and collectively. They constantly exhibited
20 good sportsmanship and scholarship, thereby
21 demonstrating to themselves and to others that
22 they have a powerful combination of talent and
23 character which reflects positively on their
24 school and their community; now, therefore, be
25 it
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1 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
2 Body pause in its deliberations to
3 congratulate the Marcellus Central High School
4 Boys Soccer Team and Coach Jennifer Griffin on
5 their successful season, culminating with the
6 New York State Class B Championship title; and
7 be it further
8 "RESOLVED, That copies of this
9 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
10 to the members of the Marcellus High School
11 Boys Soccer Team and Coach Jennifer Griffin."
12 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Senator
13 DeFrancisco.
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Madam
15 President, thank you.
16 We keep bringing champions from my
17 district into these chambers, just to make you
18 realize that Central New York is the place of
19 champions.
20 But despite all these
21 accomplishments that you just read, probably
22 their biggest accomplishment was getting here,
23 in view of a long bus ride and getting stuck
24 in the elevator here in the Capitol. So they
25 were able to overcome all of those obstacles,
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1 not only a game where they were inundated with
2 rain and thunderstorms, they had an overtime
3 game that they won 1-0, and basically beat
4 teams that had better records going into the
5 game than they did.
6 And it just seems to me that that
7 shows not only that they're champions, but
8 they are people that have great character and
9 fortitude to overcome odds that maybe aren't
10 as good as they could be.
11 Also, if you listened carefully --
12 I'm sure everyone listened carefully to the
13 resolution -- that this boys soccer team
14 happens to have a coach by the name of
15 Jennifer. And Jennifer Griffin is the coach
16 of a male soccer team, which is quite unusual,
17 I think, in this state. But it's not going to
18 be as unusual in the future, in view of the
19 fact that the success she's been able to
20 accomplish with these young men is going to be
21 known throughout the state now that they're
22 here to be recognized.
23 So congratulations. You're going
24 to enjoy this the rest of your life. Sporting
25 activities that you're involved with and great
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1 teams that you're involved with, you're going
2 to be talking about this till you're an old
3 man like I am.
4 So enjoy it and enjoy the
5 friendships that you've earned and enjoy being
6 called champions.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: The
8 question is on Resolution 3244. All in favor
9 signify by saying aye.
10 (Response of "Aye.")
11 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE:
12 Opposed, nay.
13 (No response.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: The
15 resolution is adopted.
16 Congratulations.
17 (Applause.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Senator
19 Skelos.
20 SENATOR SKELOS: Would you call
21 up Calendar Number 36, noncontroversial, at
22 this time.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: The
24 Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
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1 36, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 6409, an
2 act to amend the Correction Law.
3 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Explanation.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: Senator
5 Montgomery, you asked for an explanation?
6 Madam President, this bill will
7 increase the duration of registration for
8 Level 1 sex offenders from 10 years to
9 20 years. All Level 2 and 3 sex offenders
10 will be required to register for life. After
11 30 years of registration, Level 2 sex
12 offenders may make application to the court to
13 be relieved of their duty to register.
14 The action that we're taking today
15 is based upon the work of a joint conference
16 committee. And I want to thank Assemblyman
17 Jeff Aubry for the good work that he did,
18 working through the weekend to see that this
19 compromise and agreement is before the floor
20 today, before the members today to vote on.
21 If we do not act today, on Saturday
22 information about 168 convicted sex offenders
23 will be automatically removed from the sex
24 offender registry, by the end of the month 226
25 sex offenders would escape Megan's Law, and by
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1 the end of the year 3,579 convicted sex
2 offenders will be unknown.
3 So that is the reason why we're
4 acting today. And I certainly thank all my
5 colleagues who served on the joint conference
6 committee for their good work. And it truly
7 is an indication that if we work together,
8 much can be accomplished.
9 Today we are dealing strictly with
10 registration. And if we continue to work in a
11 nonpartisan way and the Assembly agrees to
12 future conference committees, we will deal
13 with issues such as eliminating the statute of
14 limitations for rape and other sexual offenses
15 which has passed this house; civil commitment,
16 which passed yesterday in this house;
17 mandatory community notification, which has
18 passed this house on numerous occasions; email
19 notification, which has passed this house on
20 numerous occasions; GPS tracking and other
21 important legislations that will protect
22 children and families from dangerous sex
23 offenders.
24 I point out that none of these
25 other pieces of legislation that I've
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1 discussed were part of the joint conference
2 committee's action. As Assemblyman Aubry
3 mentioned when questioned by Senator Klein,
4 those issues were not before the joint
5 conference committee and certainly the only
6 issues we could deal with was registration and
7 the limit or the term of registration.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
9 you.
10 Senator Montgomery.
11 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Madam
12 President.
13 Thank you, Senator Skelos, for that
14 explanation.
15 I'm looking at the legislation,
16 Madam President, and I just would like to make
17 a couple of observations and express --
18 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Senator
19 Montgomery, on the bill.
20 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: On the bill.
21 I note that I believe under the
22 current statute that is expiring vis-a-vis
23 this legislation, or that is being changed,
24 extended, the Level 1 offenders, who are,
25 according to the definition here, the people
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1 who are -- who have not been designated a
2 sexual predator or a sexually violent offender
3 or a predicate sex offender -- those Level 1s
4 would be going off of the requirement for
5 registration. But under this bill, they will
6 remain for 20 years.
7 The original bill said that they
8 were there for 10 years. So we're extending
9 it for 10 more years with the option of any
10 further extensions in 10 years. Probably we
11 won't be here, but there will be another
12 group, I'm sure.
13 So that we're now including Level 1
14 offenders. And based on the definition here,
15 people who are not likely to offend again,
16 people who are really minimally charged for
17 the least offense are now going to be required
18 to register for 20 years.
19 I want to register the same concern
20 that I have had. The crimes for which an
21 individual may be required to register as a
22 Level 1 sex offender are oftentimes very
23 minimal offenses. And I think that's very
24 clear as it's defined in the legislation
25 itself. So we did not intend for Level 1
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1 offenders to be treated the same as Level 2
2 offenders, who are apparently extremely
3 violent and we all want to see put away --
4 and, as people voted in the chamber yesterday,
5 for life.
6 We're calling for these incredibly
7 strict policies which could ruin a young
8 person's life because they may have had a
9 youthful indiscretion by forcing them,
10 requiring them to be a part of this registry
11 for 20 years.
12 And so I think that that is an
13 extreme measure. Even though they may be
14 charged and sentenced for a shorter period,
15 they could essentially still be or would be
16 required to remain in the registry.
17 I have concerns about what happens
18 to these young people for the next 20 years in
19 terms of the kinds of jobs they can get. They
20 can't be a teacher, they can't be a youth
21 counselor, they can't be a social worker.
22 There are any number of areas where, if you're
23 part of a sex offense registry, you are not
24 going to be eligible to be hired and to work.
25 So that there are many issues and
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1 questions around that, whether or not we
2 should have them in. Certainly I don't think
3 so. I think, for me personally, I've had
4 personal experiences where people were part of
5 the child abuse registry even though it was
6 unfounded. This person was working at a
7 daycare center, and she lost her job. Why?
8 Because she was in the registry, could not
9 have her name removed.
10 So there are clearly issues related
11 to having a person who has a youthful
12 indiscretion in particular or who has the most
13 minor offense charged and still having to
14 remain in the registry. I'm only talking
15 about Level 1s, where we have specifically
16 defined in the legislation that these are the
17 least-likely repeat offenders.
18 And so I am going to continue to
19 vote no on this legislation, not because I do
20 not want to see predator sex offenders treated
21 as we all believe they should be treated,
22 severely, but I think that for Level 1
23 offenders, we should have another way of
24 approaching this issue. They should not be
25 required to spend another 20 years. In this
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1 case, some of them who would be going off,
2 they will spend another 10 years on and
3 possibly even longer.
4 So, Madam President, I continue to
5 object and vote no on this legislation.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
7 you, Senator Montgomery.
8 Senator DeFrancisco.
9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You know,
10 I'd like to talk very briefly on the merits
11 but mostly on the procedure.
12 First of all, on the merits, it's
13 important that we got this bill done before
14 many sex offenders would be taken off the
15 registry. The best way we can help parents
16 and the best way we can help the community
17 protect against sex offenders is to make sure
18 we know where they are and who is at risk.
19 And I think it's important, it's extremely
20 important that we got this done.
21 As important is the fact that this,
22 in my memory, is the earliest we've ever had a
23 conference committee on a substantial piece of
24 legislation that resulted in a bill acceptable
25 to both houses. And that's very significant,
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1 because it shows that if people are willing to
2 engage on the issue and be willing to talk
3 publicly about the issue and honestly about
4 their positions, differences can be resolved
5 relatively quickly.
6 And I'd like to echo what Senator
7 Skelos said, and that is we should definitely
8 get together with the Assembly after the
9 Assembly passes their legislation -- hopefully
10 sooner than later -- on civil commitment and
11 many other issues dealing with sexual
12 predators and people that would make our
13 community at risk. It works. We just need
14 good faith on both sides for each side to
15 stake out their positions in legislation and
16 compromise can take place.
17 So I want to congratulate Senator
18 Skelos and actually both houses for
19 participating in these joint conference
20 committees so quickly and getting something
21 done so important to our community.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
23 you, Senator DeFrancisco.
24 Senator Nozzolio.
25 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you,
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1 Madam President. On the bill.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Senator
3 Nozzolio, on the bill.
4 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Madam
5 President, I wish to echo the comments of my
6 colleagues Senator Skelos and Senator
7 DeFrancisco in acknowledging how expeditious
8 this review has crystallized in the early
9 weeks of the legislative session. Through the
10 vehicle of the joint conference committee, we
11 have been able to resolve differences which
12 existed with our version of legislation and
13 the Assembly's version.
14 But let me take a moment to go back
15 to chronicle some of the Senate's efforts on
16 this important issue.
17 The Senate Crime Victims, Crime and
18 Corrections Committee, in consultation with
19 Senator Bruno and Deputy Majority Leader
20 Skelos, decided last year that this was a very
21 high priority issue for the Senate conference.
22 We looked at how, on the tenth anniversary of
23 Megan's Law, we could update the law,
24 modernize it, expand its provisions and, as a
25 result, protect more children.
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1 That review led to our conference
2 and the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and
3 Corrections Committee to take a total review
4 of the issue in public hearings. We invited
5 advocates in many areas to review this
6 proposal, to review the current Megan's Law
7 and to see how we could make it a better law
8 and protect more children.
9 The review was extensive. We
10 invited law enforcement officials, educators,
11 community advocates. And I want to thank
12 particularly those premier advocates who
13 helped us so much in the redraft of Megan's
14 Law. And we're going to be seeing more of the
15 results of their input occur in additional
16 legislation as it develops this year.
17 But Maureen Kanka, Megan Kanka's
18 mother, the mother of the young girl for who
19 this law is named, Maureen Kanka was our
20 witness in Albany and led the review. We took
21 input from her, we thanked her for her help
22 10 years ago in pushing New York into
23 developing this law in the first place.
24 But we want to thank Maureen Kanka
25 for her steadfast support, her steadfast
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1 leadership, and her commitment to this very
2 important issue.
3 In New York City we heard from Mark
4 Lunsford. I've mentioned Mark's participation
5 to you on a number of occasions, but I think
6 it bears repeating. Mark Lunsford is a truck
7 driver. Mark Lunsford is not
8 college-educated. Mark Lunsford is a
9 blue-collar, salt of the earth kind of guy who
10 was thrust upon this forum because of his
11 significant and deep grief at the loss of his
12 daughter by a sex predator.
13 I daresay the testimony from Mark
14 Lunsford was the most compelling I have ever
15 heard. He, by far, showed us the way that we
16 needed to pursue Megan's Law reform, we needed
17 to ensure that those sex predators do not fall
18 off the review of Megan's Law and the Megan's
19 Law notification process, and that we continue
20 to press for additional laws to protect
21 children.
22 If those laws had existed in the
23 state of Florida, Mark Lunsford firmly
24 believes that his daughter would still be
25 alive. That's why the State of Florida
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1 changed their laws almost overnight in
2 reaction to the great advocacy that he's given
3 because of the horrific tragedy he had to
4 experience.
5 To Mark Lunsford I say thank you,
6 and we need to build upon what we've done here
7 today to ensure that the victims and victims'
8 families do not have to go through what they
9 had to go through as the result of sex
10 predators.
11 Lastly, we need to thank the
12 victims themselves who testified at our Long
13 Island hearing. We had a very dramatic
14 hearing occur where there were young people
15 who, with their counselors, in closed session,
16 discussed the particular victimization that
17 occurred to them.
18 To those young people we say thank
19 you for your courage and thank you for helping
20 us understand that protection of children and
21 prevention of victims from occurring in the
22 first place should be the primary motive of
23 this Legislature each and every day.
24 Getting it done is what this action
25 was all about. It shows that the conference
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1 committee process does work. It shows when
2 there's a commitment, as we have commitments
3 to make to protect victims, that the result
4 can occur.
5 And, Madam President, I want to
6 thank my colleagues who participated in our
7 hearings. I want to thank our leader, Dean
8 Skelos, for not only his participation in our
9 hearings but his leadership on the conference
10 committee that brought this result to us
11 today.
12 Thank you very much.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
14 you, Senator Nozzolio.
15 Senator Farley.
16 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Madam
17 President.
18 I rise in support of this bill. I
19 don't think there's anything that we'll do
20 this year that has a greater support and
21 concern among the general public. It's a
22 national concern.
23 And, you know, a few years ago we
24 were wrongfully accused of being a
25 dysfunctional legislature. I think this is a
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1 good example of how this Legislature functions
2 with dispatch when they have to.
3 And I want to say that the
4 conference committee really deserves to be
5 applauded, because it's very recent and it is
6 mostly the people in this body right now that
7 have established these conference committees.
8 I served on the very first one that took
9 place -- not for anything that greatly
10 significant, but it was the first, on the
11 55-mile-an-hour speed limit on the Thruway,
12 which everybody was glad to see raised.
13 But anyway, this is a great piece
14 of legislation. Senator Skelos, I applaud you
15 for making this happen. Seldom have I seen,
16 in all the years that I've been here,
17 something that has worked so well and so
18 rapidly and has really been appreciated by the
19 general public out there.
20 You know, it is said that some of
21 these predators, they have victimized children
22 a hundred times before they have been caught.
23 And it is really necessary that we know who
24 they are, where they are. And this is a great
25 piece of legislation, and I applaud my
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1 colleagues for supporting it and getting it
2 done early in our session. And I think it's a
3 credit to this house and to the Assembly. And
4 I'm sure that the Governor is going to be
5 signing this with dispatch also.
6 Thank you.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
8 you, Senator Farley.
9 Senator Marcellino.
10 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
11 Madam President.
12 I would like to also extend my
13 thanks to my colleague Senator Skelos. It's
14 been a long overdue job for him, but he's
15 worked very hard at this legislation and he
16 deserves a lot of credit for keeping it on the
17 front burner and making it actually work. And
18 as the chair of the conference committee, it's
19 a great thing to see it go ahead.
20 I like to boil these things down to
21 something very, very local: What would the
22 impact be in my Senate district if this bill
23 did not pass and if this extension didn't
24 pass? Senator, that would be 241 sex
25 predators would disappear from our view, 241
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1 in my Senate district alone.
2 I urge each and every one of you,
3 go back, look at the statistics and look at
4 the numbers in your Senate districts. Look at
5 the numbers. Break them down and then see
6 what you've protected your citizenry and your
7 constituents against.
8 Two hundred forty-one people would
9 have disappeared. We wouldn't know where they
10 are, we wouldn't know where they were going,
11 we wouldn't know where they're moving, we
12 wouldn't know the kind of employment,
13 employers would not know who they were and
14 what their backgrounds were when they did
15 checks.
16 This bill protects everybody. It
17 protects everybody. And I tell you, as a
18 soon-to-be grandparent, I will rest a lot
19 easier that we have this bill in law and this
20 extension in law to protect my grandchild.
21 And I want to protect all of your children and
22 grandchildren so that we make sure that in the
23 future there is no problem, we don't have any
24 more Megan Kankas out there that we cannot
25 solve and we cannot deal with.
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1 This is a must. This piece of
2 legislation should pass this house
3 unanimously. It should pass unanimously.
4 This is a no-brainer on the issue, and we
5 should be looking forward to the future on
6 this and get this bill into law so we can keep
7 protecting our children and our grandchildren.
8 This is a must.
9 And again, thank you, Senator
10 Skelos, for taking leadership on this. You
11 deserve a lot of credit for it. And for
12 everyone who paid any attention and helped out
13 in this process to bring it to the fore and to
14 make it work, I give you kudos and a lot of
15 congratulations.
16 I look forward, as Senator Skelos
17 said, to going to other issues that we've
18 talked about and other concerns that are
19 currently being held up. And I'd like to see
20 them come to fruition as well. If conference
21 committees are the way to go, let's do it and
22 let's do it soon.
23 Thank you, and I will be voting
24 aye.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
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1 you, Senator Marcellino.
2 Senator Maziarz.
3 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very
4 much, Madam President.
5 This is a great victory here today.
6 It's a victory for the children, for parents
7 in New York.
8 And I too want to offer my
9 congratulations to Senator Skelos, Senator
10 Nozzolio, Senator Volker, my colleague from
11 Western New York who worked very hard on
12 getting this final agreement.
13 Madam President, this is a day of
14 togetherness. And this conference committee
15 system worked, and Senator DeFrancisco pointed
16 out how early it was. And that's really what
17 we should be concentrating on today.
18 But I think that the advocates and
19 the news media are very well aware of what
20 goes on here in Albany today, as they should
21 be, and hold us accountable for that. It's
22 painfully obvious, looking at this piece of
23 legislation and looking at the original Senate
24 bill and the original Assembly bill, which
25 house moved over to the other house's
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1 position. This bill contains probably 90,
2 95 percent of what the original Senate bill
3 had in it.
4 And the reason that happened, the
5 reason for the movement in the other house was
6 because of the public pressure from advocates
7 like Maureen Kanka and Mark Lunsford and some
8 of the other individuals that Senator Skelos
9 brought up here to appear and to keep that
10 pressure on.
11 But we should also remember that
12 this is only one step, one very important
13 first step. There are two other major steps
14 that we have yet to take, and that's civil
15 commitment and 24-hour monitoring. Little
16 Jessica Lunsford may be alive today if the
17 State of Florida had had 24-hour monitoring,
18 which can be done relatively inexpensively and
19 unobtrusively to those individuals who would
20 require it.
21 So we still have two more steps to
22 take. And the same movement, the same public
23 pressure that brought us to this moment here
24 today is going to accomplish those other two
25 steps of civil commitment and 24-hour
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1 monitoring. That's coming. Let's hope, for
2 the sake of the children of the state of
3 New York, that it happens tomorrow.
4 Thank you, Madam President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
6 you, Senator Maziarz.
7 Senator Klein.
8 SENATOR KLEIN: On the bill,
9 Madam President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
11 you. Senator Klein, on the bill.
12 SENATOR KLEIN: I want to thank
13 Senator Skelos for his hard work over the
14 years in bringing this bill to the floor
15 today.
16 But I sort of have mixed feelings.
17 I sort of understand the importance of not
18 letting this important law sunset, and I think
19 what we're doing here today is important, but
20 I clearly do not believe that we should be
21 resting on our laurels. There's a lot to be
22 done.
23 I said yesterday when we discussed
24 civil confinement that that really is the way
25 to go. If we want to do something to make
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1 sure that our families are safe from dangerous
2 sexual predators, I think civil confinement is
3 what we need to do.
4 I really believe, in looking at
5 Megan's Law over the last ten years, that it's
6 merely a Band-Aid approach, that it's not
7 working as well as it should, according to a
8 study that my office did. We looked at over
9 250 zip codes which make up New York City and
10 Westchester County, and we found, on average,
11 there's seven Level 3 sexual predators living
12 in each of those zip codes. Seven. And I'm
13 not talking about certain areas in the city,
14 I'm talking about spread throughout New York
15 City, in very upper-income neighborhoods,
16 low-income neighborhoods. It really runs the
17 gamut.
18 And what I'm finding time and time
19 again, that we need a mandatory requirement as
20 far as notification is concerned. We're
21 finding, especially in the City of New York,
22 local precincts are not notifying the
23 community when a dangerous Level 3 sexual
24 predator moves into their community. That's a
25 problem.
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1 I have many cases within my own
2 Senate district where sometimes we have
3 Level 3 sexual predators, two, three moving
4 into one neighborhood in a week -- near a
5 school, near a daycare center, really in an
6 area that is very much frequented by children.
7 And I think what's happened here
8 is, and I think we're able to look at this
9 over the last ten years, we've given far too
10 much authority to local law enforcement. It's
11 very clear when you read the law that local
12 law enforcement may notify the community. I
13 think we need to make it mandatory.
14 And something that I've been
15 pushing for a couple of months now is
16 something that I think will go a long way
17 towards making sure our communities know who's
18 living next door to them, and I think that's
19 email notification. I really believe that
20 that's the way to go. I think people need to
21 know instantly when a Level 3 sexual predator
22 moves into their community.
23 And I think -- and I'm glad Senator
24 Skelos said this -- I'm looking forward for
25 more meetings of the conference committee.
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1 Because as I said, our work here is not done.
2 There's very much that we need to do.
3 And I think it becomes even sort of
4 a catch-22. I think we need a stronger
5 Megan's Law now before we actually pass civil
6 confinement. And if we pass civil confinement
7 before Megan's Law, I guess it's not as
8 important. So I think unfortunately our work
9 is not done here today. There's very much
10 more to do.
11 I vote yes on this legislation, but
12 I look forward to working and reconvening the
13 conference committee, shedding more light on
14 this issue. And I think the result will make
15 our families in the state of New York much
16 safer.
17 Thank you, Madam President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
19 you, Senator Klein.
20 Senator Golden.
21 SENATOR GOLDEN: Thank you, Madam
22 President.
23 I congratulate both the Assembly,
24 the Senate, and the Governor for coming
25 together today on Megan's Law. Megan's Law is
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1 an important aspect, I believe, here in this
2 state that will help save children and give
3 families confidence that the State of New York
4 is doing the right thing.
5 I come from Kings County, Brooklyn.
6 I have the largest number of offenders, 1619
7 living in Brooklyn alone, 3500 in the city,
8 and somewhere in the category of 22,000 across
9 the state. Those are pretty big numbers.
10 And we believe this is the right
11 thing to do. And I applaud Senator Skelos and
12 his leadership on this issue and the Assembly.
13 And I vote aye.
14 Thank you.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
16 you, Senator Golden.
17 Senator Alesi.
18 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, Madam
19 President.
20 I was just talking with Senator
21 Skelos and asked him how long ago it was that
22 I first met him and when I first came to the
23 Senate. I knew him from before, because when
24 I was in the Assembly I recognized him as the
25 person who sponsored this bill when I was in
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1 the Assembly, and I remember the day that he
2 came over to the Assembly floor waiting for
3 action on the Assembly and then Assemblyman
4 Dan Feldman passed this bill.
5 And we all owe both of those
6 gentlemen a great deal of credit, especially
7 today, knowing that Senator Skelos has been
8 the driving force in bringing this to a
9 conference committee because the Assembly was
10 so reluctant to do the legislation that we see
11 before us.
12 It does a couple of other things,
13 though. It speaks to the value of conference
14 committees and debating and working out issues
15 in open public. But far more important than
16 that, it extends protection. By extending
17 Megan's Law and strengthening Megan's Law, it
18 extends protection to our families and our
19 children.
20 And we may never know the
21 quantitative value of that as far as
22 prevention is concerned. But for me and for
23 all of us here, we will know that Senator
24 Skelos was the prime force in offering that
25 protection for decades and decades to come for
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1 our children and our families.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
3 you, Senator Alesi.
4 Is there any other Senator wishing
5 to be heard?
6 The debate is closed.
7 The Secretary will ring the bell.
8 Read the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Senator
15 Montgomery, to explain her vote.
16 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Madam
17 President, to explain my vote.
18 This is really a very sad moment
19 for me, because I see, once again, it's
20 overkill. It's how we deal with every issue.
21 Every time there is an incident and it becomes
22 part of the media hype, it's blown up
23 altogether, and we just use that as an
24 opportunity, as a platform to go after every
25 single possible person.
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1 And we can't seem to come to grips
2 with the fact that in this state it is very,
3 very important to consider all of the
4 aspects -- the geography, the social
5 conditions, the environment, everything that
6 is important to how people are able to
7 function and how they behave and what happens.
8 And let's try to look beyond
9 punishment for once. I beg you, I beg my
10 colleagues, let's use some other ways of
11 addressing some of the issues that come before
12 us.
13 So I'm voting no on this because I
14 think it is extreme, Madam President, and
15 there is nothing here that attempts to address
16 the problem, especially in an
17 early-intervention way. Sending Level 1s into
18 purgatory, in my opinion, is not an answer to
19 the problem or the issue. And we're going to
20 punish a lot of especially young people who we
21 know are going to be caught in this situation.
22 So I'm voting no, and I'm
23 absolutely very, very disappointed that we've
24 come to an agreement which really does not
25 necessarily address the issue but will
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1 penalize. And I am disappointed in my
2 colleagues in the other house, the Democrats
3 over there, I'm disappointed in the one who
4 led this, because it should not include Level
5 1 young people.
6 So I'm voting no.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
8 you. Senator Montgomery will be recorded in
9 the negative.
10 Senator Volker, to explain his
11 vote.
12 SENATOR VOLKER: Madam President,
13 very quickly.
14 Senator Montgomery, you know I have
15 great respect for you. But all I can say is
16 you are totally wrong.
17 I'm going to vote yes, but I have
18 to tell you this. There's an argument --
19 there was an argument ten years ago that maybe
20 this wasn't a good idea. That is one of the
21 reasons why I was a little reluctant. But
22 I'll tell you something. Yeah, we can worry
23 about young people and we can worry about
24 young offenders, but it seems to me we should
25 worry more about young victims.
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1 The problem here is -- yeah, this
2 isn't the answer. Senator Skelos will tell
3 you this is not the answer. But it's a major
4 step. What has occurred in this country, we
5 are now recognizing how serious this problem
6 is. And to the credit of the Assembly, they
7 recognize it too.
8 And although there are political
9 people in New York City and in Buffalo and so
10 forth who still want to put their head in the
11 sand on the issue of sexual abuse, Senator
12 Skelos and a lot of other people realize we
13 can't do that.
14 This is a move in the right
15 direction. It's a move forward. If there
16 should be some abuses, we'll deal with those.
17 But this is important, along with civil
18 commitment and along with other things -- and
19 I'll predict to you civil commitment will pass
20 this year, a version. And we'll have it
21 ready.
22 But I want to congratulate Senator
23 Skelos for this day because it's been a time
24 coming. But as I've said to many people, I
25 knew the Assembly in the end would do the
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1 right thing, and they have.
2 I vote aye.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
4 you. Senator Volker will be recorded in the
5 affirmative.
6 Senator Skelos.
7 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
8 to explain my vote.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: To
10 explain your vote.
11 SENATOR SKELOS: Senator
12 Montgomery, some of the issues that you've
13 raised, quite frankly the federal government
14 at some point was probably going to dictate to
15 the state what we should be doing.
16 On the bill that is presently
17 moving through the House of Representatives,
18 there would be lifetime registration for
19 Number 3, Level 3, 30 years for Number 2, and
20 20 years for Number 1. So it's my belief --
21 although I think even without the federal
22 government we should be doing it -- Level 1s
23 would have to register for 20 years.
24 Senator Klein mentioned how Megan's
25 Law has not work as well as it should when we
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1 enacted it 10 years ago. I would point out to
2 Senator Klein that when he served in the
3 majority in the Assembly that we've probably
4 sent over there 70, 80, 90 bills improving
5 Megan's Law, to make it even more responsive,
6 and yet no action was taken by the Assembly
7 majority at that time.
8 Much to be done. We are going to
9 continue our conference. I hope you join us
10 to press the Assembly majority to take up
11 bills such as GPS tracking, email
12 notification, mandatory community
13 notification, all sex offenders on the
14 Internet, and many other bills. Last year
15 there were probably 30 bills that passed this
16 house, most of them on one day, that the
17 Assembly Democrat majority refused to bring
18 up.
19 And again, I'd hate to number them
20 if I go back 10 years -- and part of that time
21 when Senator Klein was in the Assembly
22 majority -- how many bills we sent and sent
23 over there that were totally ignored by the
24 Assembly majority.
25 So we will continue to press them.
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1 And I believe we are going have a very, very
2 productive year in reforming Megan's Law and
3 making sex offenders accountable for their
4 acts and accountable to the public. And our
5 priority will always be protecting our
6 children and law-abiding citizens.
7 I'm going to vote yes on the bill.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Senator
9 Skelos will be recorded in the affirmative.
10 Senator Schneiderman.
11 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
12 Madam President. Very briefly.
13 I am also going to support this
14 bill, and I commend everyone for trying to
15 work on this extremely difficult problem.
16 I do urge my colleagues that the
17 way for us to get the business of the people
18 of the state done, the way for us to actually
19 prevent sexual abuse in the future and prevent
20 victimization is not to drop back into the
21 ordinary Albany mode of finger-pointing.
22 What we have to do is find areas
23 where we can agree. I agree with all my
24 colleagues on both sides of the aisle that
25 this is a good example of the use of the
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1 conference committee system. We should have
2 mandatory conference committees. That's
3 something that we've been calling for.
4 But I would also suggest that
5 having sex offenders on a registry without
6 requirements of notification, without
7 provisions for treatment, provides in a
8 certain sense a false hope. This is a small
9 step, and I realize it's very significant
10 because of how difficult it has been to
11 achieve for those who have been fighting for
12 it. But there is much more we can do.
13 And Senator Montgomery and others
14 who argue for other modalities and other
15 approaches are as serious about preventing sex
16 abuse and victimization as anyone here, and I
17 hope that their views will be respected.
18 Look, in other states -- Texas has
19 mandatory outpatient civil commitment. If
20 Texas can be more aggressive with treatment,
21 which has been proven to work for sex
22 offenders, why are we lagging behind -- and I
23 think this was actually -- I hate to say
24 something nice about him, this was instituted
25 when the president was the governor.
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1 But we should all be open-minded to
2 look wherever it is to solve this problem.
3 Notification by email, as Senator Klein has
4 been pushing, sex abuse hotlines, required
5 training for professionals, more researches
6 for parents -- these are all part of the
7 picture. Let's focus on what works to protect
8 our children and our families and our
9 constituents, and let's continue with
10 successes like this and not, you know --
11 whosever idea it was first, it only works for
12 all the citizens of the state when we all
13 agree. Let's keep doing the conference
14 committees and let's respect each other's
15 point of view.
16 I vote yes, and I hope that Senator
17 Skelos is right, that we will have a
18 productive year on these issues. And
19 certainly there's enough credit to go around
20 for everyone involved, and I know this is an
21 important issue to him and it's been for a
22 long time.
23 Thank you, Madam President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
25 you. Senator Schneiderman will be recorded in
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1 the affirmative.
2 Senator Diaz.
3 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, Madam
4 President. To explain my vote.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: To
6 explain your vote, Senator Diaz.
7 SENATOR DIAZ: I heard my
8 colleague Senator Montgomery explaining her
9 worries. And this morning I saw a program on
10 TV, and I saw Senator Skelos painting us
11 Democrats as in the pocket of pedophiles and
12 in the pocket of child molesters.
13 And I want people to know that
14 Senator Montgomery's feelings are not to be
15 taken in the wrong way. I'm voting yes for
16 this bill, but we have to take into
17 consideration what it is Senator Montgomery is
18 trying to say.
19 But the other side, the Republicans
20 always take those feelings or those comments
21 to paint us Democrats as against whatever --
22 against the community or for being in favor of
23 child molesters or being in favor of
24 pedophiles.
25 So even though I'm voting yes on
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1 this bill, and the bill has its merits, we
2 still -- I'm still saying that the feelings
3 and the worries that Senator Montgomery is
4 expressing are not to be taken lightly and not
5 to be confused by him trying to say that us
6 Democrats are in favor of pedophiles and
7 against the protection and the safety of our
8 children.
9 So with that, Madam President, I'm
10 voting yes on this bill.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Senator
12 Diaz will be recorded in the affirmative.
13 The Secretary will announce the
14 results.
15 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
16 the negative on Calendar Number 36: Senator
17 Montgomery.
18 Those Senators absent from voting:
19 Senators Johnson and Trunzo.
20 Ayes, 57. Nays, 1.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: The
22 bill is passed.
23 Senator Skelos, that completes the
24 reading of the controversial calendar.
25 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there any
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1 other business at the desk at this time?
2 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: No,
3 there is not.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: There being no
5 further business, I move we stand adjourned
6 until Monday, January 23rd, at 3:00 p.m.,
7 intervening days being legislative days.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Thank
9 you. On motion, the Senate stands adjourned
10 until Monday, January 23rd, at 3:00 p.m.,
11 intervening days being legislative days.
12 (Whereupon, at 12:13 p.m., the
13 Senate adjourned.)
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