Regular Session - January 24, 2006
318
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 January 24, 2006
11 11:05 a.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 LT. GOVERNOR MARY O. DONOHUE, President
19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
20
21
22
23
24
25
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
3 please 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 THE PRESIDENT: In the absence of
10 clergy, may we bow our heads in a moment of
11 silence, please.
12 (Whereupon, the assemblage
13 respected a moment of silence.)
14 THE PRESIDENT: Reading of the
15 Journal.
16 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
17 Monday, January 23, the Senate met pursuant to
18 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday,
19 January 22, was read and approved. On motion,
20 Senate adjourned.
21 THE PRESIDENT: Without
22 objection, the Journal stands approved as
23 read.
24 Presentation of petitions.
25 Messages from the Assembly.
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1 Messages from the Governor.
2 Reports of standing committees.
3 The Secretary will read.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson,
5 from the Committee on Finance, reports the
6 following bills:
7 Senate Print 5763B, by Senator
8 Marcellino, an act to amend the Tax Law;
9 5846A, by Senator Wright, an act to
10 amend the Tax Law;
11 5965A, by Senator Spano, an act to
12 amend the Tax Law;
13 5968, by Senator Robach, an act to
14 amend the Tax Law;
15 5970A, by Senator Hannon, an act to
16 amend the Tax Law;
17 And Senate Print 6410, by Senator
18 Hannon, an act to amend the Public Health Law.
19 All bills ordered direct to third
20 reading.
21 THE PRESIDENT: All bills ordered
22 direct to third reading.
23 Reports of select committees.
24 Communications and reports from
25 state officers.
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1 Motions and resolutions.
2 Senator Farley.
3 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Madam
4 President.
5 THE PRESIDENT: You're welcome.
6 SENATOR FARLEY: On behalf of
7 Senator Volker, on page 10 I offer the
8 following amendments to Calendar Number 18,
9 Senate Print 6277, and I ask that that bill
10 retain its place on the Third Reading
11 Calendar.
12 THE PRESIDENT: The amendments
13 are received, and the bill will retain its
14 place on the Third Reading Calendar.
15 SENATOR FARLEY: Madam President,
16 on behalf of Senator Nozzolio, I move to
17 restore an amended Senate bill to its original
18 previous print. And I move to amend the
19 Senate Bill 1323C by striking out the
20 amendments made on January 23rd and restoring
21 it to its previous print number, 1323B.
22 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered.
23 Senator Skelos.
24 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
25 I believe there are substitutions at the desk.
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1 THE PRESIDENT: Yes, there are,
2 Senator.
3 The Secretary will read.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon,
5 from the Committee on Health, moves to
6 discharge Assembly Bill Number 9462 and
7 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
8 Number 6410, Third Reading Calendar 88.
9 THE PRESIDENT: Substitution
10 ordered.
11 Senator Skelos.
12 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could
13 adopt the Resolution Calendar at this time.
14 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of
15 adopting the Resolution Calendar please
16 signify by saying aye.
17 (Response of "Aye.")
18 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
19 (No response.)
20 THE PRESIDENT: The Resolution
21 Calendar is adopted.
22 Senator Skelos.
23 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
24 I believe there's a resolution at the desk by
25 Senator Meier. If we could have the title
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1 read and move for its immediate adoption.
2 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
3 will read.
4 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Meier,
5 Legislative Resolution Number 3306, honoring
6 Pearl "Pi" Gentile upon the occasion of her
7 retirement as Executive Director of Hospice &
8 Palliative Care, Inc., of Oneida, Herkimer and
9 Eastern Madison County.
10 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor
11 please signify by saying aye.
12 (Response of "Aye.")
13 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
14 (No response.)
15 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is
16 adopted.
17 Senator Farley.
18 SENATOR FARLEY: Madam President,
19 I'd like to offer Resolution 3298 to the rest
20 of the body. It's asking Governor Pataki to
21 proclaim February 5th as Inventors' Week.
22 It's been one that's been sponsored by the
23 chamber.
24 So if anybody would like to sponsor
25 it, would you please see the desk. Or
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1 everybody could be on it, unless there's an
2 objection.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
5 we'll open up the resolution. If anybody
6 wishes not to sponsor the resolution, they
7 should notify the desk.
8 Would you please recognize Senator
9 Connor.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Any member who
11 does not wish to cosponsor the resolution
12 referred to by Senator Farley, please notify
13 the desk.
14 Senator Connor.
15 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Madam
16 President.
17 Madam President, Resolution Number
18 3296 on today's calendar, sponsored by myself
19 and Senators Duane, Golden, Savino, and
20 Stavisky, commemorates the Asian-American
21 New Year, which this year is on our
22 January 29th. It ushers in the Year of the
23 Dog, 4704.
24 People born in the Year of the Dog
25 are responsible and compassionate. They're
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1 known for offering kind words, support and
2 advice to friends and family; attentive
3 listeners, they always make themselves
4 available to lend an ear or a shoulder to a
5 friend in need.
6 Those born under the sign of the
7 dog are reliable, generous, thoughtful of
8 others, work well with people, and like to
9 finish what they start. They are ethically
10 and morally strong, honest, and trustworthy.
11 This resolution is something we do
12 every year, and it really honors the many,
13 many Asian-Americans we are privileged to have
14 living in New York State and in New York City,
15 where there's a large community, obviously.
16 And we do offer this resolution to extend our
17 good wishes for a happy new year to the
18 Asian-Americans.
19 And, Madam President, if any other
20 member would like to cosponsor it, myself and
21 the cosponsors are certainly amenable to
22 opening it to such sponsorship. Thank you.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos,
24 do you have any objection to opening it for
25 cosponsorship?
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1 Then any member who does not wish
2 to cosponsor the resolution referred to by
3 Senator Connor, please notify the desk.
4 Senator Schneiderman.
5 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes, thank
6 you, Madam President.
7 I concur with Senator Connor's fine
8 words about the Year of the Dog. And it's
9 important for us to recognize, through our
10 resolutions, things like Chinese New Year --
11 Xin Nian, Guo Nian -- Guo Nian I think is the
12 way they talk about it in that part of his
13 district. But Guo Nian is always a good year
14 for progressives and reformers, traditionally,
15 so I look forward to celebrating that as well.
16 I would also like to note, Madam
17 President, on a less happy note, that while we
18 are doing some excellent resolutions today
19 commemorating people's achievements, achieving
20 ranks of Eagle Scouts, retirements, wedding
21 anniversaries, we did have a request today,
22 that Senator Krueger and I and 12 other
23 members put in, for a resolution commemorating
24 the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. I'm very
25 disappointed that we were unable to get that
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1 on the calendar.
2 This is the 33rd anniversary of one
3 of the most important decisions protecting the
4 freedom and rights of women in the history of
5 the U.S. Supreme Court, and it saddens me that
6 the New York State Senate, which led the way
7 before the federal government changed the law,
8 is not able to commemorate that critical
9 decision in support of women's lives and
10 women's freedom today.
11 Thank you, Madam President.
12 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
14 if we could go to the noncontroversial reading
15 of the calendar.
16 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
17 will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 1, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 480A, an
20 act to amend the Penal Law.
21 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it
22 aside.
23 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is laid
24 aside.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
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1 2, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 498, an act
2 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
4 section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect on the first of
7 November.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
11 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
12 passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 3, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 913A, an
15 act to amend the Penal Law and the Correction
16 Law.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
18 section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
20 act shall take effect on the first of
21 November.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
25 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
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1 passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 4, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 932, an
4 act to amend the Penal Law.
5 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
6 section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 12. This
8 act shall take effect on the first of
9 November.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
13 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
14 passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 5, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 1170, an
17 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
19 section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
21 act shall take effect immediately.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50.
25 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
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1 passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 6, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 1517, an act
4 to amend the Penal Law.
5 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
6 section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect on the first of
9 November.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 49. Nays,
13 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
14 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
15 passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 7, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 1531, an
18 act to amend the Penal Law.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
20 section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect on the first of
23 November.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
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1 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
2 the negative on Calendar Number 7 are Senators
3 Duane and Montgomery. Ayes, 51. Nays, 2.
4 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
5 passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 8, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 1619, an
8 act to amend the Penal Law.
9 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
10 section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect on the first of
13 November.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53.
17 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
18 passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 9, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 2452, an
21 act to amend the Penal Law.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
23 section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect on the first of
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1 November.
2 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51. Nays,
5 2. Senators Duane and Montgomery recorded in
6 the negative.
7 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
8 passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 10, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 2724, an
11 act to amend the Penal Law.
12 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
13 section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
15 act shall take effect on the first of
16 November.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 52. Nays,
20 1. Senator Montgomery recorded in the
21 negative.
22 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
23 passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 12, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 3230, an
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1 act to amend the Penal Law and the Correction
2 Law.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
4 section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53.
10 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
11 passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 13, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 3509, an
14 act to amend the Penal Law.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
16 section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 16. This
18 act shall take effect on the first of
19 November.
20 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54.
23 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
24 passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
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1 14, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 3841, an
2 act to amend the Penal Law.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
4 section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
6 act shall take effect on the first of
7 November.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 52. Nays,
11 1. Senator Montgomery recorded in the
12 negative.
13 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
14 passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 15, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 4032, an
17 act to amend the Penal Law.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
19 section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
21 act shall take effect on the first of
22 September.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54.
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1 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
2 passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 17, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 5355A, an
5 act to amend the Penal Law.
6 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
7 section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 33. This
9 act shall take effect on the first of
10 November.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
14 the negative on Calendar Number 17 are
15 Senators Duane, Gonzalez, Montgomery and
16 Parker. Ayes, 50. Nays, 4.
17 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
18 passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 19, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 204A, an
21 act to amend the Correction Law.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
23 section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect on the first of
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1 November.
2 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54.
5 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
6 passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 20, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 481, an
9 act to amend the Correction Law.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
11 section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53. Nays,
17 1. Senator Montgomery recorded in the
18 negative.
19 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
20 passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 21, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 483A, an
23 act to amend the Correction Law.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
25 section.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect on the 30th day.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53. Nays,
6 1. Senator Montgomery recorded in the
7 negative.
8 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
9 passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 22, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 496B, an
12 act to amend the Correction Law.
13 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
14 section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
16 act shall take effect on the 180th day.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53. Nays,
20 1. Senator Montgomery recorded in the
21 negative.
22 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
23 passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 23, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 1169A, an
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1 act to amend the Correction Law.
2 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
3 section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
5 act shall take effect immediately.
6 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53. Nays,
9 1. Senator Montgomery recorded in the
10 negative.
11 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
12 passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 24, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 1323B,
15 an act to amend the Correction Law.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
17 section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
19 act shall take effect on the 90th day.
20 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54.
23 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
24 passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
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1 25, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 4025A, an
2 act to amend the Correction Law.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
4 section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect on the first of
7 November.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54.
11 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
12 passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
14 Calendar Number 25: Ayes, 52. Nays, 2.
15 Senators Duane and Montgomery recorded in the
16 negative.
17 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
18 passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 26, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 4656B, an
21 act to amend the Correction Law.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
23 section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
25 act shall take effect on the 120th day.
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1 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54.
4 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
5 passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 27, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 4793C, an
8 act to amend the Correction Law.
9 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
10 section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 27. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 52. Nays,
16 2. Senators Duane and Montgomery recorded in
17 the negative.
18 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
19 passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 28, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print --
22 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside for
23 amendments, please.
24 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is laid
25 aside for amendments.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 35, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 6378, an
3 act to amend the Election Law.
4 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it
5 aside.
6 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is laid
7 aside.
8 The Secretary will continue to
9 read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 88, substituted earlier today by Member of the
12 Assembly Gottfried, Assembly Print Number
13 9462, an act to amend the Public Health Law.
14 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside
15 temporarily.
16 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is laid
17 aside temporarily.
18 Senator Skelos, that now completes
19 the reading of the noncontroversial calendar.
20 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, Madam
21 President. If we could go to the
22 controversial reading of the calendar.
23 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
24 will read.
25 Senator Skelos.
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1 SENATOR SKELOS: Please ring the
2 bells.
3 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
4 will ring the bell, and the members should
5 return to their seats so we can proceed with
6 the controversial calendar.
7 The Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 480A, an
10 act to amend the Penal Law.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Duane.
12 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Madam
13 President. If the sponsor would yield for a
14 question.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos,
16 do you yield for a question?
17 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes, Madam
18 President.
19 THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed,
20 Senator Duane.
21 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you.
22 Would a member of the clergy be
23 included as a person in a position of trust?
24 SENATOR SKELOS: The whole issue
25 is whether the person is in a position of
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1 trust.
2 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Madam
3 President.
4 On the bill.
5 THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed
6 on the bill, Senator.
7 SENATOR DUANE: For the record, I
8 think this is an excellent bill, and I am
9 going to be supporting it.
10 And though while we seem to be
11 doing a lot, both at the end of last session
12 and the beginning of this session, on sex
13 crimes bills, I can't help but notice that
14 there is a glaring omission, and that is
15 regarding the specific issue of clergy sexual
16 abuse.
17 Really, nothing has been done to
18 really address this issue in this chamber
19 since 2002, when the issue burst on to the
20 national scene with reports of clergy abuse
21 and victims coming forward.
22 As many of you know, I held
23 hearings on the issue, and I heard testimony
24 from countless survivors of clergy sex abuse,
25 and also I've heard from countless survivors
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1 outside of that hearing, and I really hear
2 from them on a weekly and sometimes daily
3 basis.
4 And from my point of view, there
5 are four things that I think we need to do.
6 One is the mandatory reporting of clergy
7 abuse. And, you know, I think it's pretty
8 inexcusable that the two chambers can't get
9 their acts together and pass a bill. There
10 has been a bill languishing in both houses
11 since 2002. And I think it's just time for
12 both sides of the aisle and both chambers to
13 sort of lay aside the politics and get a bill
14 passed.
15 As you know, I have a bill which
16 would require mandatory clergy reporting
17 dating back 50 years, and there would be stiff
18 felony penalties for repeat failures to
19 report.
20 And I also think that we have to
21 end the loophole of allowing charity
22 organizations to get out if they're engaging
23 in closed or gagged settlement agreements.
24 There are examples of bishops using Catholic
25 charity money in sex abuse cases under a gag
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1 settlement agreement, and that's wrong. It's
2 just wrong for any charity to use charitable
3 dollars in secret. And again, I have a bill
4 that would fix that loophole.
5 We also have to eliminate the
6 statute of limitations for child sex abuse.
7 Remember, it often takes years and year for a
8 child in any kind of sex abuse situation or
9 trauma to come to terms with his or her abuse.
10 We also need to open a one-to-three-year
11 window on the civil statute of limitations for
12 childhood sex abuse claims in state courts.
13 You know, I hope that my colleagues
14 noticed that the New York Times recently
15 endorsed this exact position. And California
16 and Illinois have done this.
17 And, you know, some people think it
18 would be a terrible thing if there were
19 lawsuits on this issue and that there might be
20 a torrent of lawsuits. But if we look at the
21 experience of what happened in California,
22 that's not what's happened.
23 You know, it's almost impossible
24 for a sexually abused child to talk about what
25 happened to them at the time that the abuses
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1 happened. And more often than not, the
2 statute of limitations will run out and the
3 perpetrator will escape justice.
4 The New York State Court of Appeals
5 recently heard arguments on this very issue,
6 and Judge Kaye stated during that oral
7 argument that the Legislature should take
8 action.
9 So in conclusion, we need to pass
10 bills this session on this issue. The
11 Assembly passed Assembly Member Markey's bill
12 last June, which is a very good bill. And
13 there's no reason why we can't do that or
14 something similar and bring both houses and
15 both parties together to really address this
16 terrible issue.
17 Thank you, Madam President.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
19 Hassell-Thompson.
20 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
21 you, Madam President. On the bill.
22 Senator Duane talked about the fact
23 that he has a bill, and I think that we have
24 witnessed in this house several attempts on
25 the part of other legislators to pass a child
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1 sexual assault bill that would cover a variety
2 of ills --
3 THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me,
4 Senator. I want to get some order.
5 You may proceed, Senator.
6 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
7 you, Madam President.
8 For the last three years I have
9 been working very closely in this Senate with
10 several members of the Senate on both sides of
11 the aisle. And one of the things that's
12 glaringly missing, each of the bills that we
13 have been at least successful in passing in
14 this house have all been without the provision
15 of elimination of the statute of limitations.
16 Some of us want it to be eliminated
17 altogether.
18 I know that in the three years that
19 I have been attempting to get a bill at least
20 presented and introduced in this house, I have
21 been talking with DAs, and one of the things
22 that they've said is that part of the physical
23 evidence and some of the kinds of testimony
24 that we would expect to get that would create
25 accuracy perhaps would be lost if we were to
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1 have an indeterminate period. And so that we
2 have adjusted the bill to talk about at least
3 back 30 years.
4 It is interesting to me how,
5 whenever many of my colleagues have presented
6 bills on this floor, they have talked about
7 those states that have passed this bill and
8 they think that New York ought to keep up with
9 the times. And yet here we have sexual
10 assault bills on children that have been
11 passed in other states and in states
12 contiguous to our state who have looked at
13 this issue for as long if not longer than we
14 have, and we cannot seem to do a comprehensive
15 bill that meets these kinds of requirements.
16 I would like to hope that the next
17 bill that comes before us does at least
18 attempt to address this issue of the statute
19 of limitations and that we close all the
20 loops.
21 And if we're really concerned about
22 sexual assault, and not just those that make
23 big headlines, but those that happen to our
24 children every day, those that are abuses of
25 incest, those that are abuses by people that
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1 our children know -- we teach our children to
2 not speak to strangers, we teach our children
3 that those who are strange to them they should
4 avoid.
5 But we have bills in this house
6 that address the issue, and we tiptoe around
7 the fact that these are people of trust. And
8 those people of trust include teachers. Those
9 people of trust include our clergy. And if
10 we're afraid to deal with these issues, we do
11 a great disservice to our children, because
12 they count on us to be their voice. They
13 count on us to have some integrity about how
14 we stand up and really support them.
15 And it is strange to me that those
16 issues that make sensational headlines are the
17 ones that we come and we browbeat each other
18 with and we talk about, Oh, we must do
19 something. And those that want to be
20 hesitant, those that want to be cautious are
21 accused of being in the pockets of the
22 perpetrators.
23 But rather, that same caution -- I
24 always advocate that we use caution. But
25 there's a difference between being cautious
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1 and -- you know, I use the analogy for people
2 that you don't stand still at a stop sign.
3 It's not a rest stop, it's a stop sign. We
4 pause for caution.
5 But we have to move forward. And
6 we have to act in this Legislature as though
7 we really do understand the depth and breadth
8 of the nature of the kinds of crimes that are
9 being perpetrated against our children.
10 Thank you, Madam President.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
12 Schneiderman.
13 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
14 Madam President. On the bill.
15 THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed.
16 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I commend
17 my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for
18 moving ahead on this important package of
19 legislation measures to protect our most
20 vulnerable populations, bills on sexual
21 assault and abuse.
22 But I would urge my colleagues
23 that, as we discussed in debates last week, if
24 we pass bills that don't pass both houses and
25 become laws, we're actually doing nothing.
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1 I would urge that we have an
2 unusual opportunity here to move forward this
3 year in this area. Last week we went
4 downstairs for the Governor's signing of the
5 Megan's Law extender which Senator Skelos and
6 others had fought so hard for, and several of
7 my colleagues voiced their hope that the
8 Assembly would agree to conference committees
9 on the bills in this important area.
10 Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am
11 pleased to report that Speaker Sheldon Silver
12 yesterday, in announcing that the Assembly
13 would move forward on civil confinement,
14 stated that his goal was to move forward with
15 conference committees on all legislation that
16 passes both houses where differences exist.
17 And we should include in these
18 conference committees Senator Duane's
19 proposals on clergy sex abuse, the issue of
20 the statute of limitations as raised by
21 Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson, as raised by
22 Senator Klein.
23 This is an opportunity we have to
24 seize. It is important to make statements
25 when we can only make statements. But when we
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1 can actually move forward through conference
2 committees to pass legislation, we must take
3 action. Let's get all these issues into a
4 conference committee, let's resolve it that
5 way, and then let's move on to the next
6 critical set of issues facing us in the
7 Senate, to funding high-needs school
8 districts, to dealing with all of the
9 difficult issues that are before us.
10 But on the issue of the Senate
11 package that we passed today with overwhelming
12 support on most of these pieces of
13 legislation, let's get to a conference
14 committee. The Assembly has taken the offer
15 extended by my colleagues on the other side of
16 the aisle last week. Let's do this the right
17 way. Let's deal with this. Let's put this
18 together with issues related to DNA, statute
19 of limitations, clergy sex abuse in the
20 conference committees, and let's pass actual
21 legislation this year.
22 Thank you, Madam President. I will
23 support this bill, as I have supported others,
24 but I urge that this is a critical time for us
25 to take the Speaker up on his offer and move
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1 ahead.
2 Thank you.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
5 if I could comment, this house and certainly
6 this Majority is not just making a statement,
7 we're taking action by passing this
8 legislation.
9 In order to go to joint conference
10 committee, as Senator Schneiderman knows, we
11 need similar legislation passed by the other
12 house. So I anxiously await the Assembly in
13 an expeditious way, hopefully next week, that
14 they pass their legislation so that we then
15 can go to conference committee.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Does any other
17 member wish to be heard?
18 Senator Diaz.
19 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you. Thank
20 you, Madam President.
21 Standing here on the bill, on the
22 bill, to congratulate Senator Skelos, this
23 time, for two things. First, for this bill,
24 which creates a new crime of sexual assault
25 against a child by the person in a position of
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1 trust. So I congratulate him for that. And
2 also for the fantastic way, the magnificent
3 way, the sophisticated way in which he turns
4 the table, always, on us.
5 But talking about the bill, I heard
6 some of my colleagues asking if this bill
7 includes clergy. And I am a clergy, and I am
8 the president of the New York Hispanic Clergy
9 Organization, an organization that represents
10 150 Hispanic clergy in the City of New York.
11 And yes, yes, that is true that in
12 the latest years, clergies have been abusing
13 children. And we have to take whoever it is
14 and prosecute, clergies or no clergy.
15 But you know what makes me wonder,
16 what makes me wonder is that for years we know
17 of an organization named NAMBLA, an
18 organization that publicly promotes and push
19 and do everything possible to promote sex
20 between an adult and children. And members
21 here that I hear being so happy because clergy
22 now are included, they all have been
23 supporting NAMBLA. So this is known now, that
24 children have been abused? Our children have
25 been abused for years.
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1 But, ladies and gentlemen, you
2 cannot have your cake and eat it too. If you
3 really are going to protect children, you have
4 to denounce NAMBLA. And you have to denounce
5 an organization and anybody that promotes sex
6 between an adult and children.
7 So let's be fair; let's be honest.
8 Yes, Senator Skelos, thank you for including
9 clergy. I support that. I'm a clergy too.
10 But people here have to understand that NAMBLA
11 has been there for many years and there are
12 people out there promoting sex between
13 children and adults that here have been
14 applauded by people.
15 So let's be honest with us, and
16 let's be fair. Thank you for including
17 clergies --
18 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: It
19 didn't include clergy.
20 SENATOR DIAZ: Yes. Yes, he says
21 people of trust. People of trust include
22 clergy; right?
23 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: No
24 clergy.
25 SENATOR DIAZ: No clergy.
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1 But we should include clergy too.
2 We should include clergy. Why not? Clergy
3 also have been committing sexual abuses with
4 children, so clergy should be included too.
5 And anybody, anybody that promotes
6 sex between children and adults should be
7 included in this bill and should be punished
8 for the fullest extent of the law.
9 But I support the bill. Thank you,
10 Madam President.
11 THE PRESIDENT: The debate is
12 closed.
13 The Secretary will ring the bell.
14 Read the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
16 act shall take effect on the first of
17 November.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
21 will announce the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
23 Calendar Number 1, those absent pursuant to
24 Rule 9 are Senators Breslin, Johnson and
25 Montgomery.
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1 Ayes, 56.
2 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
3 passed.
4 The Secretary will continue to
5 read.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 35, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 6378, an
8 act to amend the Election Law.
9 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Sabini.
10 SENATOR SABINI: Madam President,
11 I believe there's an amendment at the desk.
12 I'd like to waive the reading and ask to be
13 considered and to speak on it.
14 THE PRESIDENT: The reading is
15 waived, and you may be heard on the amendment.
16 SENATOR SABINI: Thank you, Madam
17 President.
18 My amendment, which would tack onto
19 Senator Flanagan's bill my bill, which would
20 solve us a lot more debate and tsuris and
21 problems and angst, my bill, S5625, very
22 simply takes the voting machine selection
23 process and settles it in something that I
24 think virtually every member here understands,
25 agrees with, and we could have in place by
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1 September -- and that's optical scanning.
2 Optical scanning is so well known
3 to New Yorkers now that anyone that has taken
4 a test as a student past 1964 knows how to do
5 it, anyone who's filled out a New York State
6 lottery ticket knows how to do it. It
7 guarantees a paper trail, it's verifiable,
8 it's accurate, it's cheap, and it's technology
9 we know now and in fact have in place in some
10 places in this state either for voting or for
11 our absentee ballots.
12 Senator Flanagan's bill expands
13 this committee on -- the modernization
14 advisory committee and adds some people on,
15 and that may be all well and good. But if you
16 see today's New York Times, there's an
17 editorial in there that says what is it that
18 New York State is doing wrong that we still
19 haven't come to a conclusion, we are last in
20 the country in implementing HAVA.
21 Now, I don't want to contradict
22 myself, and a couple of months ago I said, you
23 know, maybe we actually lurched uncontrollably
24 into something good by being last. We didn't
25 buy voting machines that don't work. We
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1 didn't make the mistakes that other states
2 made. Maybe we can learn from some of the
3 mistakes that other states have made.
4 And I think my amendment does that
5 by implementing optical scanning, which would
6 make virtually every interest group that has
7 expressed a desire on elections happy, would
8 provide the voters a simple way of voting,
9 would settle it once and for all, and we'd
10 have a verifiable paper trail that people
11 would feel comfortable with.
12 So that's why I'm happy to offer
13 this amendment. It's not, in an adjectival
14 sense, a hostile amendment; rather, a friendly
15 way for us to settle this once and for all and
16 push the Assembly into a situation where I
17 think that individually, if you got us
18 individually in a room, every member of this
19 body would probably feel very comfortable with
20 an optical scanning voting system, I think the
21 voters would, I think the Boards of Elections
22 would, and that's why I offer the amendment.
23 Thank you, Madam President.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
25 Schneiderman.
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1 Senator Krueger, you're being
2 acknowledged.
3 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you very
4 much. Thank you, Senator Schneiderman.
5 I rise in support of Senator
6 Sabini's amendment. We are a few months away
7 from a mandate to have new voting machines up
8 in every voting precinct in the State of
9 New York. And regardless of how we got, to
10 this point in time, this close to a mandate,
11 it is so clear that the only possible
12 technology we can go forward with at this
13 point in time, that we can assure the voters
14 of New York State that their votes will be
15 counted, that the audits will be available,
16 that there will be transparency and
17 reliability, are precinct-based optical
18 scanners.
19 So I hope that we will revisit this
20 question today, not in dispute with Senator
21 Flanagan's bill, but in recognition, I think,
22 of the same thing he knows, that New York
23 State is in serious trouble right now when it
24 comes to assuring the integrity of our next
25 set of elections into the future.
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1 And if we were to move this
2 amendment of Senator Sabini's, which is also a
3 freestanding bill, which is also a bill that
4 has been introduced in the Assembly, we could
5 assure the voters of New York State that we
6 could meet our obligations not just under
7 federal law but to protect the integrity of
8 their vote through a technology that has been
9 used for decades throughout the State of New
10 York, which is reliable, which is affordable,
11 and we believe is available.
12 So I urge everyone to consider a
13 vote for this amendment.
14 Thank you, Madam President.
15 THE PRESIDENT: All those
16 Senators in favor of the amendment please
17 signify by raising your hand.
18 The Secretary will announce the
19 results.
20 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
21 agreement are Senators Andrews, Diaz, Duane,
22 Gonzalez, Hassell-Thompson, Klein, L. Krueger,
23 C. Kruger, Onorato, Oppenheimer, Parker,
24 Paterson, Sabini, Savino, Schneiderman,
25 Serrano, A. Smith, M. Smith, Stachowski,
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1 Stavisky, and Valesky.
2 THE PRESIDENT: The amendment is
3 not agreed to.
4 Does any other member wish to be
5 heard on the bill?
6 Then the debate is closed.
7 The Secretary will ring the bell.
8 Read the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Flanagan,
14 to explain your vote.
15 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank you,
16 Madam President. Just briefly to explain my
17 vote.
18 This bill is relatively simple. It
19 extends the modernization advisory committee
20 for three months. We add two new members; one
21 is the League of Women Voters, and one is the
22 Disabled Veterans. That's it. It gives more
23 time to deal with the issues relative to
24 machine certification.
25 I wouldn't want anyone to leave
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1 here thinking that we did not complete this
2 process in terms of HAVA and the
3 implementation of HAVA. Conference committees
4 went on ad infinitum long before I ever became
5 chair of the committee, and there was a
6 consensus reached last year, on a bipartisan
7 basis, that was overwhelmingly supported by
8 both houses.
9 Let's be clear on a few things. We
10 do have a voter-verifiable paper trail. We
11 mandated that. We have the most stringent
12 accessibility and disability requirements of
13 any state in the country, and that's something
14 that we should be lauding and be positive
15 about. And that's part of the certification
16 process.
17 How do we as the State of New
18 York -- we add a sip-and-puff requirement.
19 We've made it tougher for the machine
20 manufacturers. That's a good thing. That
21 will provide greater access for more people to
22 vote. So the things that people are concerned
23 about, we have already addressed.
24 I would hasten to add that the
25 State Board of Elections has an obligation,
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1 just the way we do, to get on it, stay
2 involved, and get it done. That's what really
3 matters. We still have time to do it the
4 right way. They should be working 24/7 until
5 everything is dealt with in a proper fashion.
6 THE PRESIDENT: You will be
7 recorded as voting in the affirmative on your
8 bill, Senator Flanagan.
9 The Secretary will announce the
10 results.
11 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
12 Calendar Number 35, those absent pursuant to
13 Rule 9 are Senators Breslin, Johnson and
14 Montgomery.
15 Ayes, 56.
16 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
17 passed.
18 Senator Skelos.
19 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
20 with the consistent of the Minority, would you
21 please call up Calendar Number 88, by Senator
22 Hannon, noncontroversial.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Back to the
24 noncontroversial calendar.
25 The Secretary will read.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 88, substituted earlier today by Member of the
3 Assembly Gottfried, Assembly Print Number
4 9462, an act to amend the Public Health Law.
5 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
6 section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59.
12 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
13 passed.
14 Senator Skelos, that completes the
15 reading of the calendar.
16 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
17 thank you. Is there any further business at
18 the desk?
19 THE PRESIDENT: No, there is not,
20 Senator.
21 SENATOR SKELOS: There being no
22 further business to come before the Senate, I
23 move we stand adjourned until Monday,
24 January 30th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening days
25 being legislative days.
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1 THE PRESIDENT: On motion, the
2 Senate stands adjourned until Monday,
3 January 30th, 3:00 p.m., intervening days
4 being legislative days.
5 (Whereupon, at 11:59 a.m., the
6 Senate adjourned.)
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