Regular Session - March 21, 2006
1584
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 March 21, 2006
11 3:05 p.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 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: 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 LITTLE: In the
10 absence of clergy, may we bow our heads in a
11 moment of silence.
12 (Whereupon, the assemblage
13 respected a moment of silence.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Reading
15 of the Journal.
16 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
17 Monday, March 20, the Senate met pursuant to
18 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, March 19,
19 was read and approved. On motion, Senate
20 adjourned.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT LITTLE: Without
22 objection, the Journal stands approved as
23 read.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Presentation of
25 petitions.
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1 Messages from the Assembly.
2 Messages from the Governor.
3 Reports of standing committees.
4 Reports of select committees.
5 Communications and reports from
6 state officers.
7 Motions and resolutions.
8 Senator Fuschillo.
9 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you,
10 Madam President.
11 On page number 6, on behalf of
12 Senator Skelos, I offer the following
13 amendments to Calendar Number 28, Senate Print
14 Number 5404, and ask that said bill retain its
15 place on Third Reading Calendar.
16 THE PRESIDENT: The amendments
17 are received, and the bill will retain its
18 place on the Third Reading Calendar.
19 Senator Skelos.
20 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
21 if we could adopt the Resolution Calendar at
22 this time.
23 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of
24 adopting the Resolution Calendar please
25 signify by saying aye.
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1 (Response of "Aye.")
2 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
3 (No response.)
4 THE PRESIDENT: The Resolution
5 Calendar is adopted.
6 Senator Skelos.
7 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
8 I believe there's a substitution, if we could
9 make it at this time.
10 THE PRESIDENT: We have two
11 substitutions, Senator Skelos.
12 The Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: On page 14,
14 Senator Robach moves to discharge, from the
15 Committee on Civil Service and Pensions,
16 Assembly Bill Number 9847 and substitute it
17 for the identical Senate Bill Number 6532,
18 Third Reading Calendar 250.
19 And on page 24, Senator Skelos
20 moves to discharge, from the Committee on
21 Local Government, Assembly Bill Number 9854
22 and substitute it for the identical Senate
23 Bill Number 6817A, Third Reading Calendar 425.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Substitutions
25 ordered.
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1 Senator Skelos.
2 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
3 if we could go to the noncontroversial reading
4 of the calendar.
5 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
6 will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 60, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 5605, an
9 act to amend the Penal Law and others, in
10 relation to acts of terrorism.
11 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it
12 aside.
13 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is laid
14 aside.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 250, substituted earlier today by Member of
17 the Assembly Abbate, Assembly Print Number
18 9847, an act to amend the Civil Service Law,
19 in relation to providing.
20 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
21 section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
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1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 41.
2 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
3 passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 316, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 1150B, an
6 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
7 concurrent and consecutive terms of
8 imprisonment.
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, 40. Nays,
17 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
18 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
19 passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 324, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 3177, an
22 act to amend Civil Service Law, in relation to
23 improper employer practices.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
25 section.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 41.
6 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
7 passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 364, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 6784, an
10 act to amend the Labor Law and others, in
11 relation to prohibiting municipalities.
12 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
13 section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 41.
19 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
20 passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 395, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 6763A,
23 an act to amend the Civil Service Law, in
24 relation to duration.
25 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
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1 section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 41.
7 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
8 passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 402, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 1512A, an
11 act to amend the Social Services Law, in
12 relation to considering.
13 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
14 section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 42.
20 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
21 passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 415, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 5641, an
24 act to amend the General Municipal Law, in
25 relation to ensuring.
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1 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
2 section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 42.
8 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
9 passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 425, substituted earlier today by Member of
12 the Assembly DiNapoli, Assembly Print Number
13 9854A, an act to amend the Real Property Tax
14 Law.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
16 section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 42.
22 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
23 passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 441, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print
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1 6729, an act to amend the Estates, Powers and
2 Trusts Law, in relation to distribution.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
4 section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect on the first of January.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 43.
10 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
11 passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 447, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 874, an
14 act to amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules,
15 in relation to service.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
17 section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
19 act shall take effect on the 180th day.
20 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 44. Nays,
23 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
24 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
25 passed.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 461, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 177, an
3 act to amend the New York State Defense
4 Emergency Act, in relation to persons
5 eligible.
6 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
7 section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 44. Nays,
13 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
14 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
15 passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 462, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 179A, an
18 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
19 local disaster preparedness plans.
20 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
21 section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
23 act shall take effect on the first of June.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
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1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 45.
2 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
3 passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 463, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 180, an
6 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
7 nuclear-powered electric generating
8 facilities.
9 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
10 section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 45.
16 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
17 passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 464, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 184, an
20 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
21 requiring.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
23 section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
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1 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 45.
4 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
5 passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 465, by Senator Rath --
8 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it
9 aside.
10 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is laid
11 aside.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 467, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 6912, an
14 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
15 the powers and duties.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
17 section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect immediately.
20 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 46.
23 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
24 passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
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1 468, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 6913, an
2 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to
3 ensuring that state and local disaster
4 preparedness plans address.
5 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
6 section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 46.
12 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
13 passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 473, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 6845, an
16 act to amend the Retirement and Social
17 Security Law and the General Municipal 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, 48.
25 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
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1 passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 477, by Senator Winner, Senate Print 6449, an
4 act to amend the Highway Law, in relation to
5 designating.
6 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
7 section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 48.
13 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
14 passed.
15 Senator Skelos, that completes the
16 noncontroversial reading of the calendar.
17 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
18 if we could go to the controversial reading of
19 the calendar.
20 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
21 will ring the bell, and the members should
22 return to their seats so that we can begin the
23 controversial calendar.
24 Senator Farley.
25 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Madam
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1 President.
2 Resolution 4032 is asking the
3 Governor to proclaim April 2nd through the 8th
4 as Library Week. And a lot of members have
5 asked me to go on that resolution. We didn't
6 have time. So I'd offer that up to the entire
7 body. Anybody that does not want to go on it,
8 please notify the desk.
9 That's Resolution 4032. Thank you.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos,
11 any objection to opening up the resolution to
12 all the members?
13 SENATOR SKELOS: If anybody
14 wishes not to sponsor it, they should notify
15 you.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Any member who
17 does not wish to cosponsor Resolution 4032
18 please notify the desk.
19 The Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 60, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 5605, an
22 act to amend the Penal Law and others, in
23 relation to acts of terrorism.
24 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Brief
25 explanation.
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1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Balboni,
2 a nondescript explanation has been requested.
3 SENATOR BALBONI: Madam
4 President, I notice today that there are many
5 children in the chamber. And I'd like to just
6 point out that what we have just done today is
7 we've passed a series of bills that have
8 related to emergency preparedness and
9 terrorism.
10 This bill before us talks
11 specifically about the third stage of
12 preparedness and prosecution of terrorist acts
13 in the State of New York. We had Terror 1,
14 that we did right after 9/11. We did
15 Terrorism 2 in August of 2004. And today
16 marks hopefully the third piece of the trilogy
17 of preparing the state for an act of
18 terrorism, in order to prevent it and respond
19 effectively.
20 The provisions of this bill have
21 been analyzed previously, but just to kind
22 of -- as one of our great colleagues, Senator
23 Goodman, used to say, a quick helicopter ride
24 over the terrain.
25 This has a new amendment for the
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1 Criminal Procedure Law Act for the crime of
2 agriterrorism, cyberterrorism. It talks about
3 the ability to prosecute terrorists who want
4 to structure or want to money launder to
5 facilitate their deeds. And it also sets up
6 various criminal procedure mechanisms to make
7 prosecutions of terrorists much more, how
8 should I say, constitutionally protected.
9 Thank you, Madam President.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
11 Schneiderman.
12 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
13 Madam President. On the bill.
14 I certainly appreciate the ongoing
15 effort that we're making in this state, the
16 Senate and the Assembly and the Governor --
17 and Senator Balboni has certainly been the
18 leader -- to address the new law enforcement
19 issues that come up in the context of threats
20 from terrorists. It is a difficult area.
21 And one of the things that makes it
22 difficult is that in the United States, what
23 makes us a target of fundamentalist
24 terrorists, in fact, is that we have a
25 Constitution. We are a government of laws,
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1 not men, and we are a society that protects
2 the right to dissent. We have certain
3 freedoms. The police just can't burst into
4 your house for any reason, search your stuff
5 and take you off to prison. These are things
6 that were put into our Constitution after
7 experiences with oppression by the British.
8 And my concern with this
9 legislation is that I don't think we're -- if
10 we're taking a helicopter ride, we're seeing
11 the same traffic jam that was over this
12 terrain in the 2005 bill, in the 2004 version,
13 in the 2003 version. This bill -- and many of
14 us would like to support an effort to tighten
15 up the rules related to the prosecution of
16 terrorists. Many of us, however, cannot
17 support this bill because it is blatantly
18 unconstitutional.
19 This is something that I would
20 respectfully suggest -- I realize that the
21 game here is to pass a bill and hope that the
22 Assembly does something. But there's no point
23 in us continuing to pass a bill, year in and
24 year out, that clearly violates the
25 exclusionary rule.
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1 In fact, what this bill essentially
2 does, by creating a broad good-faith exception
3 it says police officers don't need a warrant;
4 if they just can make a argument they acted in
5 good faith, the exclusionary rule doesn't
6 apply.
7 That is absolutely clearly contrary
8 to the holdings of the United States Supreme
9 Court, that is contrary to the holdings of the
10 federal courts in this area, the Second
11 Circuit Court of Appeals.
12 What we're doing here is simply
13 teeing up something that would go to Senator
14 Volker's favorite court, the New York State
15 Court of Appeals, and where they will reject
16 it, you know, in a three-sentence opinion.
17 So my request is this. If you're
18 going to put in a bill that deals with
19 difficult issues like roving wiretaps, where
20 any of us could stumble into this zone of no
21 privacy that would hover over us, if you're
22 going to deal with issues like a good-faith
23 exception to the exclusionary rule, which has
24 been proven to be one of the most effective
25 deterrents against police abuse in the history
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1 of the United States, let's proceed with care.
2 And I would request, Senator
3 Balboni, before we see this one-house bill
4 again next year, let's amend the part that
5 clearly violates the Constitution. The Fourth
6 Amendment to the Constitution and Section 12,
7 Article 1, of the constitution of this state
8 clearly narrow the provisions of the
9 exclusionary rule in a way that is violated by
10 this legislation. You cannot ask this state
11 government to openly violate federal law, and
12 that's what this bill does.
13 So please let's amend that
14 provision. Let's give us a bill we can all
15 vote for so we can all proceed forward to try
16 and get something through the Assembly. I'm
17 sorry we're not doing it this year, but I hope
18 we will do it in the future. Absent that,
19 Madam President, I will have to vote no, as I
20 have in the past, and urge my colleagues to do
21 likewise.
22 Thank you.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Balboni.
24 SENATOR BALBONI: Yes, I rise
25 because I am really encouraged by Senator
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1 Schneiderman's political courage. It is not
2 every day that Senator Schneiderman gets up
3 and calls a bill that has been drafted and
4 supported by the Attorney General of this
5 state, Eliot Spitzer, unconstitutional. I
6 think that is a tremendous step in political
7 courage.
8 I believe you've endorsed him or
9 talked about supporting him, so I think it's a
10 great moment that you would take your personal
11 principles and put that over politics.
12 However, having said that, let's
13 talk about those two aspects real quick. The
14 first issue is the roving wiretaps. So that
15 everybody does not confuse this issue with
16 what happened in Washington, D.C., if you
17 recall, the national issue about roving
18 wiretaps was that the wiretaps would be done
19 without a warrant and without a court looking
20 over the wiretap.
21 That's not the case here, because
22 the Attorney General of this state wouldn't
23 support that. So he didn't. He put in a
24 provision that said -- and by the way, when I
25 said "he put in a provision," I mean he put in
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1 the provision. Because this has been in other
2 bills that he has sent up to this chamber.
3 And he put in a provision that said
4 as long as you have an application that
5 specifically identifies the person who you
6 want to have the wiretap on, a terrorist, and
7 that the application is approved by order with
8 a specific timeline, then it's okay. And that
9 is constitutional.
10 And by the way, as you know, that
11 in organized crime, roving wiretaps are done
12 right now at the federal level. We do it here
13 as it relates to organized crime in this state
14 through federal statutes.
15 And in the second piece about the
16 good-faith exception, so that everybody
17 understands what the good-faith exception is,
18 first of all, who it applies to, it's
19 terrorists. It's not some run-of-the-mill
20 criminal. It is a terrorist.
21 And as it relates to terrorists,
22 what it means is that a police officer can --
23 if there's a good-faith exception, that the
24 officer believes, in good faith, that the
25 person is a terrorist and that the evidence
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1 will prove their crimes.
2 It doesn't mean that they get
3 convicted, it means that the jury can hear
4 that evidence. That's all it is. We don't
5 circumvent the jury system. We have faith in
6 our fellow citizens to decide that if evidence
7 is brought forward about a terrorist activity,
8 that they will make the right decisions.
9 This bill has been before us
10 before, Madam President. I'm sorry we have to
11 keep talking about it. It's time to enact
12 this. And I think that as we continue to have
13 demonstrations of political courage, perhaps
14 we'll be able to have demonstrations of an
15 appreciation as to the severity of terrorist
16 activities in this nation and particularly
17 this state.
18 Thank you.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
20 Schneiderman.
21 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
22 Madam President.
23 I'm glad to be called courageous.
24 But I think that one of the things that
25 characterizes the skills, qualities and -- on
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1 the bill one more time, Madam President -- the
2 skills and qualities of the Attorney General,
3 who many of us believe will be the next
4 Governor, is the fact that he in fact is eager
5 to tolerate debates.
6 And he and I disagree on a lot of
7 issues. I've known him since we were both
8 lawyers in private practice. We disagree on
9 certain issues. And believe me, he can hold
10 his own in any sort of an argument, and I'm
11 happy to carry this argument on when he's in
12 the executive.
13 I would suggest, however, that when
14 we're faced with something that we have a very
15 hard time getting through the other house,
16 that a sign of political courage is a sign of
17 confidence. You know, if you have political
18 courage, and I think Senator Balboni certainly
19 has lots of courage, what we should do is take
20 a hard look at the reasons this may not be
21 become a law.
22 And even if there's a disagreement,
23 a serious disagreement about something as
24 serious as the protections provided by the
25 Fourth Amendment, the protection to be safe in
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1 our homes, free from unlawful search and
2 seizures, free under the Fourth, Fifth
3 Amendments and other things that protect us,
4 that we should take a very close look.
5 I don't think there's any close
6 call, frankly, in my own opinion -- and I know
7 there could be disagreement -- that you cannot
8 go beyond the judicially established limits of
9 the exclusionary rule. This reason is very
10 simple. Senator Balboni said: Oh, this is
11 just about terrorists. It's not about
12 terrorists. It's about suspected terrorists.
13 The reason we have the system that
14 we have in this country is to try and prevent
15 people from being wrongfully convicted and to
16 prevent them from being wrongfully convicted
17 in one area by having unlawful searches and
18 seizures. So there are suspected terrorists.
19 Every terrorist, we agree, should
20 be prosecuted, should be punished to the full
21 extent of the law. This is an effort to
22 modify the laws to make it easier to go after
23 this particular set of crimes.
24 But I would suggest that, just as
25 the Attorney General has the strength of his
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1 own convictions and the confidence in his own
2 convictions to tolerate dissenting point of
3 views and engage in debates with those of us
4 who disagree with him, I think that we should
5 take into account the view -- not just my
6 view, but the view of our colleagues in the
7 other house, in the Assembly.
8 And, Senator Balboni, if we don't
9 want to just have a one-house bill for
10 posturing here and into the future, let's try
11 and modify this one provision. I disagree
12 with the wiretap provisions, but I'm not
13 making an argument it's unconstitutional. I
14 just think it's bad public policy. The
15 exclusionary rule provision, though, I think
16 there's a strong argument it is
17 unconstitutional.
18 Give us something we can all vote
19 for. Give us something that can pass in the
20 Assembly. And then we will have something
21 that we can give to the Attorney General when
22 he is Governor that he can actually sign,
23 which I know is what he wants and what I want
24 and I believe, Senator Balboni, ultimately
25 what you want. Let's not do a one-house bill.
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1 Let's do a law.
2 Thank you.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Does any other
4 member wish to be heard?
5 Senator Volker.
6 SENATOR VOLKER: I side with the
7 Attorney General and Mike Balboni. Thank you.
8 (Laughter.)
9 THE PRESIDENT: The debate is
10 closed.
11 The Secretary will ring the bell.
12 Read the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 39. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
18 the negative on Calendar Number 60 are
19 Senators --
20 THE PRESIDENT: If the members
21 would please take their seats. And if there's
22 any conversation, please take it out of the
23 chamber so that we can proceed quickly with
24 our business.
25 The Secretary will announce the
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1 results.
2 THE SECRETARY: -- Senators
3 Andrews, Dilan, Duane, L. Krueger, Montgomery,
4 Parker, Sabini, Schneiderman, Serrano and
5 Stavisky.
6 Those Senators absent from voting:
7 Senator Connor.
8 Ayes, 49. Nays, 10.
9 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
10 passed.
11 The Secretary will continue to
12 read.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 465, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 1568, an
15 act to amend the Penal Law.
16 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN:
17 Explanation.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Rath, an
19 explanation has been requested.
20 SENATOR RATH: The bill is a very
21 simple bill. It puts a couple of sections,
22 new sections into the Penal Law that make a
23 municipality or a school district capable of
24 recovering costs when a false bomb is placed
25 and a person is convicted of being the person
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1 who has placed that false bomb.
2 And a great deal of expense, of
3 course, would have been gone to in order to
4 roll out all of the hazardous gear, the hazmat
5 troops. Hopefully nothing would have happened
6 by way of automobile or truck accidents as
7 these responses are being conducted.
8 But up until now -- this happened
9 as a result of an incident that happened near
10 my district, in a neighboring school district,
11 and there were a lot of costs incurred and no
12 one was able to recover the costs from the
13 perpetrators.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Does any other
15 member wish to be heard?
16 Then the debate is closed. The
17 Secretary will ring the bell.
18 Read the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
20 act shall take effect immediately.
21 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
24 the negative on Calendar Number 465 are
25 Senators Andrews, Duane and Parker.
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1 Absent from voting: Senator
2 Connor.
3 Ayes, 56. Nays, 3.
4 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
5 passed.
6 Senator Skelos, that completes the
7 reading of the calendar.
8 Senator Larkin.
9 SENATOR LARKIN: Madam President,
10 we'd like to open up Resolution Number 4092.
11 This was a resolution requested by
12 the Orange and Ulster musical community --
13 THE PRESIDENT: I'm going to ask
14 the members to return to their seats and to
15 take any conversations out of the chamber. It
16 is difficult to hear the speakers. We need to
17 proceed with our business.
18 SENATOR LARKIN: Again, Madam
19 President --
20 THE PRESIDENT: I'm going to wait
21 until there's order, Senator.
22 You may proceed, Senator Larkin.
23 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, Madam
24 President.
25 The musical directors of the
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1 counties of Orange and Ulster asked me to take
2 pride in having a resolution introduced
3 commemorating the 75th anniversary of "The
4 Star Spangled Banner" becoming our national
5 anthem, and as such we've done it today. And
6 I'd like to open it up for everybody, if you
7 see fit to join us.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Any member who
9 does not wish to cosponsor the resolution,
10 please notify the desk.
11 Senator Skelos.
12 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
13 there will be an immediate meeting of the
14 Finance Committee in the Majority Conference
15 Room.
16 I believe we will then return, take
17 up some confirmations, Senator Krueger has a
18 petition, and then we'll adjourn.
19 THE PRESIDENT: There will be an
20 immediate meeting of the Finance Committee in
21 the Majority Conference Room.
22 The Senate stands at ease.
23 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
24 ease at 3:41 p.m.)
25 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
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1 at 4:04 p.m.)
2 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos.
3 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
4 if we could return to reports of standing
5 committees, I believe there's a report of the
6 Finance Committee at the desk. I ask that it
7 be read.
8 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
9 will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson,
11 from the Committee on Finance, reports the
12 following nomination:
13 As Commissioner of Motor Vehicles,
14 Nancy A. Naples, of Hamburg.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Johnson.
16 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes, Madam
17 President. Move the nomination, please.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Volker.
19 SENATOR VOLKER: Thank you.
20 I have to say that I'm clearly
21 biased, because I've known Nancy Naples for a
22 number of years. In fact, the two of us have
23 received awards together on a number of
24 occasions.
25 She's probably the finest -- I
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1 believe the finest comptroller that Erie
2 County ever had. She was the comptroller at a
3 time, tumultuous time in Erie County, probably
4 took more abuse than anyone in government that
5 I've ever known in Erie County.
6 Unfortunately, the local media
7 didn't realize that we probably saved more
8 money for the taxpayers through bonding and
9 borrowing and so forth. It was certainly a
10 shame the treatment that she received. But
11 she was always upstanding, tough when she had
12 to be, told it like it is.
13 And when Alan Hevesi, the
14 Comptroller of the State of New York, went in
15 and took a look at the finances, he said and
16 his people said many times to us: "Why didn't
17 anybody listen to the comptroller, to Nancy
18 Naples?" And the answer was that nobody
19 was -- at least, well, almost nobody in Erie
20 County was listening, unfortunately. If they
21 had listened to Nancy Naples, we wouldn't have
22 a control board in Erie County right now.
23 But all that aside, that's water
24 over the dam. But in a sense, this is a
25 vindication of the fact that everyone knew
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1 that Nancy Naples was one of the best public
2 officials in Erie County. And she'll do a
3 super job, I have no doubt, as head of the
4 Motor Vehicle Department.
5 I'm proud to say that she's a
6 friend, as her husband, Tom, is a good friend.
7 And I wish her the very best of luck. And I
8 can only say that we have a situation, I
9 think, where Western New York shines today,
10 and we're very happy with that.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Rath.
12 SENATOR RATH: Yes, Madam
13 President. I'd like to add my congratulations
14 to those of Senator Volker to my good friend
15 Commissioner Naples, who I used to call
16 Comptroller Naples. And the variety of titles
17 that Nancy Naples has had through the years
18 has clearly shown what a consummate
19 professional she is.
20 And it was brought up in the
21 Finance Committee that one of the only places
22 that many people in New York State have
23 contact with their state government is the
24 DMV. And we have to have someone there who is
25 showing the best side of New York State, and
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1 Commissioner Naples will certainly provide
2 that, through accessibility, fairness and
3 balance as she approaches some very difficult
4 and weighty issues in this time of national
5 and international security and riding herd on
6 some of those issues.
7 We're proud to have you there,
8 confident that you're going to do a great job.
9 I congratulate the Governor on his wise
10 selection and look forward to working with
11 you.
12 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
13 Stachowski.
14 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Madam
15 President, I too rise to second the nomination
16 of Nancy Naples.
17 I have the pleasure of having Nancy
18 Naples live in my district, her and her
19 husband. And the fact is that we know each
20 other for roughly 30 years, I'd say, a rough
21 ballpark number.
22 But she's been successful in every
23 job she's taken. I think she brings to the
24 office the detail kind of look at things as
25 well as the outgoing personality that's
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1 important in a position like that.
2 And I think the Governor has made a
3 great choice, and I think Nancy will do just
4 an excellent job. And we're glad to have
5 Nancy Naples on board as the new Commissioner
6 of the Department of Motor Vehicles. And it's
7 my pleasure to second the nomination.
8 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of
9 the nomination and confirmation of Nancy A.
10 Naples as New York State Commissioner of Motor
11 Vehicles please signify by saying aye.
12 (Response of "Aye.")
13 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
14 (No response.)
15 THE PRESIDENT: The nominee is
16 hereby confirmed.
17 It is my great privilege as
18 president of the Senate -- and, most
19 importantly on this occasion, as Commissioner
20 Naples' friend and colleague -- to preside
21 over this confirmation.
22 I've known Nancy for many years as
23 a professional in both the private and public
24 sector. She's known, I think, beyond New York
25 State for not only her intelligence but for
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1 her character, her principles, and for her
2 really even demeanor, in good times as well as
3 bad.
4 You've been an excellent
5 professional already in Erie County and in
6 New York State. And as I said to the Governor
7 when he decided to choose you as his nominee
8 as commissioner, that it was an excellent
9 choice for the people across the State of
10 New York to get to know Nancy Naples and to
11 have you using your expertise for the benefit
12 of the people of the State of New York.
13 Congratulations. Best wishes for
14 success.
15 (Applause.)
16 THE PRESIDENT: Commissioner
17 Naples is here this afternoon with her
18 stepdaughter, Barbara O'Neill, Esquire. Have
19 a wonderful celebration.
20 The Secretary will continue to
21 read.
22 THE SECRETARY: As a member of
23 the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge
24 Authority-Peace Bridge, Gerald J. Lewandowski,
25 of Williamsville.
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1 As a member of the Small Business
2 Advisory Board, Alex Rovt, of Brooklyn.
3 As a member of the State Board of
4 Historic Preservation, Robert B. MacKay,
5 Ph.D., of Cold Springs Harbor.
6 As a member of the Empire State
7 Plaza Art Commission, Marijo Dougherty, of
8 Altamont.
9 As members of the Republic Airport
10 Commission, Stella M. Barbera, of Lindenhurst,
11 and Vincent A. Bologna, Jr., of West Babylon.
12 As a member of the State Park,
13 Recreation and Historic Preservation
14 Commission for the City of New York, Theodore
15 Roosevelt, IV, of Brooklyn.
16 As members of the board of
17 directors of the New York Convention Center
18 Operating Corporation, Charles A. Gargano, of
19 New York City, and Alan H. Wiener, of Rye.
20 As a member of the State Insurance
21 Fund, Robert H. Hurlbut, of Honeoye Falls.
22 As a member of the Board of
23 Visitors of the New York State Home for
24 Veterans and Their Dependents at Oxford,
25 Louisa Mary Platt, of Westford.
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1 And as a member of the Board of
2 Visitors of the South Beach Psychiatric
3 Center, Beverly Salierno-Peare, of Brooklyn.
4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Johnson.
5 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the
6 nominations.
7 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of
8 the nominees' confirmation as read by the
9 Secretary please signify by saying aye.
10 (Response of "Aye.")
11 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
12 (No response.)
13 THE PRESIDENT: The nominees are
14 all hereby confirmed.
15 Senator Skelos.
16 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
17 is there any further business at the desk?
18 THE PRESIDENT: No, there isn't,
19 Senator.
20 SENATOR SKELOS: Would you please
21 recognize Senator Krueger.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Krueger.
23 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
24 Madam President. I believe I do have a motion
25 at the desk, and I would like to have it
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1 called at this time.
2 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
3 will read.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senate Print
5 433B, by Senator L. Krueger, an act to amend
6 the Public Health Law.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Krueger.
8 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
9 Madam President.
10 Today I am urging my colleagues
11 through this motion to bring to a vote of the
12 floor of the Senate my bill S433B, which
13 creates the "Reproductive Cloning Prohibition
14 and Stem Cell Research Act."
15 This is an act that would provide
16 for public health law establishing both a
17 prohibition on reproductive cloning but
18 facilitate stem cell research and protect
19 human subjects.
20 My bill is broken down into several
21 categories: Definitions, informed consent by
22 donors prohibitions, a commission on cloning
23 and therapeutic research, the prohibition on
24 reproductive cloning, possibilities for state
25 funding.
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1 There are an estimated 128 million
2 Americans who are suffering from chronic
3 degenerative and acute diseases such as
4 juvenile diabetes, cancer, Parkinson's,
5 Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, ALS (Lou
6 Gehrig's disease), and one can go on and on.
7 The cost of treatment and lost
8 productivity of these diseases is estimated to
9 be in the hundreds of billions of dollars each
10 year, which does not account for the extreme
11 human loss and suffering associated with these
12 conditions.
13 New York State has historically
14 been a haven for open scientific inquiry and
15 technical innovation. With the commitment of
16 public and private resources, New York State
17 has become a world leader in biomedicine and
18 biotechnology. And yet we lag behind so many
19 other states in the country when it comes to
20 establishing protocols for and allowing stem
21 cell research to move forward.
22 Four states have already
23 established legislation allowing embryonic
24 stem cell research. These include our
25 neighbors Massachusetts, New Jersey,
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1 Connecticut, and California.
2 The debate over embryonic stem cell
3 research may result in another 10 states
4 moving forward with legislation in the near
5 future, according to recent press reports.
6 In December 2005 New Jersey
7 officials announced $5 million in grants for
8 stem cell research, including studies
9 involving embryonic stem cells. According to
10 New Jersey officials, these grants were based
11 on science, not politics, and it sets the
12 stage for a new era in medical treatments that
13 will ease the suffering of millions and
14 ultimately save lives.
15 California has not only passed
16 legislation, they've passed a public
17 resolution bond of up to $3 billion to invest
18 in stem cell research.
19 I feel so strongly that New York
20 State must take action now to support this
21 kind of research, which could result in
22 unprecedented treatments for diseases and the
23 development of affordable and accessible
24 treatments for other health threats to
25 New Yorkers.
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1 When a family member, when a
2 neighbor or a friend is suffering from an
3 illness that we cannot address, we all ask the
4 question what more can we do. We must be
5 prepared to say we have done everything
6 possible, including extensive scientific
7 research to find cures for these terrible
8 diseases.
9 In 2001, the President of the
10 United States banned federal financing for
11 most embryonic stem cell research. This has
12 hurt the cycle of breakthroughs that could
13 result in cures for many of the diseases that
14 I described before.
15 If we were to pass my bill, or a
16 similar bill by someone else authorizing the
17 conduct of stem cell research in New York, it
18 would require informed consent for research
19 purposes for the donors, it would prohibit
20 human reproductive cloning, it would -- my
21 bill would also address numerous ethical and
22 policy concerns that have been raised
23 regarding the use of embryonic stem cells for
24 medical research.
25 One of the legislative intents of
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1 this bill requires that public policy on stem
2 cell research shall balance ethical, societal,
3 and medical considerations. Policy shall be
4 based on the understanding of science
5 associated with this research, grounded on a
6 thorough consideration of ethical concerns
7 regarding that research.
8 In my bill, public policy on stem
9 cell research shall be carefully crafted to
10 ensure that researchers have the tools
11 necessary to fulfill the promise of their
12 work. But an ongoing commission made up of
13 scientists, researchers, and bioethicists will
14 ensure that the complex public policy
15 questions do not fall to the side but, rather,
16 as this science moves forward and as research
17 opportunities move forward, that the State of
18 New York will be prepared to address our laws
19 to maximize the opportunities while protecting
20 human subjects and ensuring that there is
21 informed consent for anyone who would donate
22 genetic material or who would participate in
23 therapeutic trials.
24 I'd like to refer my colleagues to
25 a report that recently was released, "New York
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1 and Stem Cell Research: A Scientific Policy
2 and Economic Analysis." I would just like to
3 read briefly the names of the universities in
4 New York State who signed on to this report
5 and are urging us to move forward quickly to
6 ensure that we have stem cell research in
7 New York State: The University of Buffalo,
8 Columbia University Medical Center, Cornell
9 University, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
10 Center, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York
11 University, Rensselaer Polytech Institute, the
12 University of Rochester, Albany Medical
13 Center, Rockefeller University, the Rochester
14 Institute of Technology, Stony Brook
15 University, SUNY Downstate Medical Center,
16 SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse
17 University, the Roswell Park Cancer Institute,
18 and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at
19 Yeshiva University.
20 The great scientists, medical
21 institutions, and researchers in our state are
22 in fact begging us to move forward with
23 legislation to ensure that they can, in good
24 faith, continue their efforts to expand
25 embryonic stem cell research in our state and
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1 hopefully, very soon in the future, be able to
2 proudly announce that here in New York State
3 we have come to solve some of the worst
4 medical crises of our time.
5 I urge my colleagues to support me
6 in this motion to discharge.
7 Thank you, Madam President.
8 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of
9 the petition out of committee please signify
10 by raising your hand.
11 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
12 agreement are Senators Andrews, Breslin,
13 Coppola, Dilan, Duane, Gonzalez, Klein,
14 L. Krueger, C. Kruger, Montgomery, Onorato,
15 Parker, Paterson, Sabini, Sampson, Savino,
16 Schneiderman, Serrano, A. Smith, M. Smith and
17 Valesky.
18 THE PRESIDENT: The petition is
19 not agreed to.
20 (Negative response from floor.)
21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
22 Marcellino.
23 SENATOR MARCELLINO: In an
24 attempt to assuage the Minority's
25 disappointment, there being no further
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1 business, I move we adjourn until Wednesday,
2 March 22nd, at 11:00 a.m.
3 THE PRESIDENT: On motion, the
4 Senate now stands adjourned until Wednesday,
5 March 22nd, 11:00 a.m.
6 (Whereupon, at 4:21 p.m., the
7 Senate adjourned.)
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