Regular Session - January 23, 2007
225
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 January 23, 2007
11 11:03 a.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 LT. GOVERNOR DAVID A. PATERSON, President
19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary
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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 come to order.
4 I would ask all those in the
5 chamber to please stand and join me in
6 reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
9 THE PRESIDENT: In the absence of
10 clergy, we will bow our heads in silence for a
11 moment.
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 22, the Senate met pursuant to
18 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday,
19 January 21, was read and approved. On motion,
20 Senate adjourned.
21 THE PRESIDENT: Without
22 objection, the Journal stands approved.
23 Senator Skelos.
24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
25 there will be an immediate meeting of the
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1 Majority in the Majority Conference Room.
2 THE PRESIDENT: There will be an
3 immediate meeting of the Majority in the
4 Majority Conference Room.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: And we'll stand
6 at ease.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Till then, we'll
8 stand at ease.
9 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
10 ease at 11:04 a.m.)
11 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
12 at 11:35 a.m.)
13 THE PRESIDENT: The chair
14 recognizes Senator Skelos.
15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
16 if we could continue, regular order, please.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Presentation of
18 petitions.
19 Messages from the Assembly.
20 Messages from the Governor.
21 Reports of standing committees.
22 Reports of select committees.
23 Communications and reports from
24 state officers.
25 Motions and resolutions.
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1 Senator Skelos.
2 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
3 move that we adopt the Resolution Calendar in
4 its entirety.
5 THE PRESIDENT: All those in
6 favor of adopting the Resolution Calendar in
7 its entirety signify by saying aye.
8 (Response of "Aye.")
9 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
10 (No response.)
11 THE PRESIDENT: I believe the
12 ayes have it. The Resolution Calendar is
13 adopted.
14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
15 if we could go to the noncontroversial reading
16 of the calendar.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
18 Senator.
19 The Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 66, an act
22 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
23 including gambling.
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 first of
3 November.
4 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56.
7 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
8 passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 2, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 67, an act
11 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
12 possession of gambling devices.
13 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
14 section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. 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 SECRETARY: Ayes, 56.
21 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
22 passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 12, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 436, an
25 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
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1 establishing.
2 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
3 will read the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
5 act shall take effect on the first of
6 November.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55. Nays,
10 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative.
11 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
12 passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 13, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 439, an
15 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in
16 relation to limited plea bargaining.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
18 section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 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, 56.
25 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
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1 passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 17, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 1A, an act
4 to amend the Tax Law, the Administrative Code
5 of the City of New York, the Real Property Tax
6 Law, and the Education Law.
7 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside.
8 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is laid
9 aside.
10 Senator Skelos, that completes the
11 reading of the noncontroversial calendar.
12 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you,
13 Mr. President.
14 If we could go to the controversial
15 reading of the calendar, and please ring the
16 bell so that members will know that we have
17 one bill to discuss, controversial.
18 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
19 will ring the bell.
20 The Secretary will read on the
21 controversial calendar.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 17, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 1A, an act
24 to amend the Tax Law and others.
25 THE PRESIDENT: The chair
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1 recognizes Senator Valesky.
2 SENATOR VALESKY: Thank you,
3 Mr. President.
4 I believe there's an amendment at
5 the desk. I ask that the reading of the
6 amendment be waived and that I have an
7 opportunity to be heard on the amendment.
8 THE PRESIDENT: The reading of
9 the amendment is waived, and the chair
10 recognizes Senator Valesky.
11 SENATOR VALESKY: Thank you,
12 Mr. President.
13 Mr. President, I'm sure many if not
14 all of my colleagues in the chamber today have
15 repeatedly heard concerns from our
16 constituents about the burden of property
17 taxes. It was an issue and has been an issue
18 that we have attempted to address in recent
19 years, and there's certainly much more work
20 that needs to be done.
21 Senate Print 1A is a bill that
22 would provide additional property tax relief
23 to property taxpayers all across the State of
24 New York. We anticipate next week, in
25 Governor Spitzer's budget presentation, for an
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1 alternative plan to be offered.
2 Today I have an amendment, and my
3 colleague Senator Stewart-Cousins has an
4 amendment as well, which represent an attempt
5 on this side of the aisle to enhance and
6 improve Senate Bill 1A sponsored by Senator
7 Bruno.
8 This amendment specifically relates
9 to a real property tax credit -- it's
10 sometimes referred to as a circuit-breaker tax
11 credit -- that has been on the books in this
12 state long before, actually, the STAR program
13 was created a decade or so ago.
14 The problem with the real property
15 tax credit as it currently exists is that its
16 thresholds for participation have not been
17 raised in some 30 years. And so the way the
18 program works right now, if you have a
19 household income up to $18,000 and an assessed
20 value of your home up to $85,000, you're
21 eligible for a tax credit. If you're a
22 senior, that tax credit can be up to $375; if
23 you are a nonsenior, a $75 tax credit.
24 And, Mr. President, I'm sure that
25 members would agree over 30 years, those
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1 levels are no longer sufficient to provide
2 some significant property tax relief.
3 So this amendment would increase
4 the household eligibility level from $18,000
5 to $36,000. It would increase the assessed
6 value of a home to participate in this project
7 from $85,000 to $100,000. And it would
8 increase those maximum benefits for seniors
9 from $375 to $1125 and for nonseniors from $75
10 to $225.
11 Right now there are about 280,000
12 households that take advantage of this
13 property tax credit. We estimate that if this
14 amendment were to be adopted today and
15 ultimately become law, we would see over a
16 half a million households across New York
17 State getting real help and relief in regard
18 to their property taxes through an enhanced
19 property tax credit structure.
20 So, Mr. President, I encourage all
21 of my members to support this particular
22 amendment. Thank you very much.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
24 Senator Valesky.
25 On the amendment, all those in
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1 favor of the amendment signify by raising your
2 hand.
3 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
4 agreement are Senators Breslin, Diaz, Dilan,
5 Duane, Gonzalez, Hassell-Thompson, Klein,
6 Onorato, Perkins, Sabini, Sampson, Savino,
7 Schneiderman, Serrano, Smith, Stavisky,
8 Stewart-Cousins, Thompson and Valesky.
9 THE PRESIDENT: The amendment is
10 not agreed to.
11 The chair recognizes Senator
12 Stewart-Cousins.
13 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Yes,
14 Mr. President. I believe there's an amendment
15 at the desk, and I ask that the reading of the
16 amendment be waived so that I can be heard on
17 the amendment.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Waive the reading
19 of the amendment.
20 Senator Stewart-Cousins.
21 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Yes,
22 Mr. President. I rise because Chapter 105 of
23 the Laws of 2006 will increase the New York
24 State STAR credit against the New York City
25 personal income tax. What the Senate
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1 Democratic minority is proposing today is that
2 we expand that personal income tax credit to
3 include renters who are outside of New York
4 City.
5 Currently the personal income tax
6 credit applies to approximately 900,000
7 households. By expanding that credit, we will
8 be able to impact the lives and the prospects
9 to maintain affordable housing for
10 middle-class families, working poor families,
11 and it would impact, frankly, approximately
12 another million households.
13 I think that as we move forward to
14 stabilize our economy and to create
15 possibilities for New York's economic growth,
16 we try and create ways quickly for the middle
17 class, for working poor to maintain
18 affordability. So although I certainly am
19 happy that New York City renters are able to
20 receive a personal income tax credit, I
21 believe that it is an egregious error to
22 exclude non-New York City residents.
23 So this amendment, Mr. President,
24 would include non-New York City renters as
25 being eligible for a personal income tax
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1 credit. And I certainly would urge all of the
2 Senators to adopt this amendment.
3 THE PRESIDENT: On the amendment,
4 all those in favor please indicate by raising
5 their hands.
6 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
7 agreement are Senators Breslin, Diaz, Dilan,
8 Duane, Gonzalez, Hassell-Thompson, Klein,
9 Onorato, Perkins, Sabini, Sampson, Savino,
10 Schneiderman, Serrano, Smith, Stavisky,
11 Stewart-Cousins, Thompson and Valesky.
12 THE PRESIDENT: The amendment is
13 not agreed to.
14 Senator Little, on the bill.
15 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you,
16 Mr. President.
17 The bill that we have before us is
18 one that we have all talked about bringing to
19 the floor for a number of years. It is a bill
20 that will reform the property tax payment
21 system in New York State, and it has two parts
22 to it.
23 It has one part which is a
24 short-term fix which will expand the STAR
25 program. Over a number of years, $6 billion
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1 will go into this program to expand the STAR
2 rebate to help primary residents pay their
3 school taxes.
4 In all six of the counties that I
5 represent, the average county rebate will more
6 than double with this program, offering a
7 substantial help in paying their school taxes.
8 But we shouldn't fool ourselves.
9 Reforming the property tax issue is a very
10 complicated issue. The amount of money
11 collected in property taxes in New York State
12 amounts to about $38 billion. If you decide
13 not to collect that through a property tax,
14 where are you going to collect it from? And
15 are you going to be able to attack the
16 spending as needed to meet what you can
17 collect in an income tax or a sales tax or
18 fees or however else we come up with?
19 So the second part of this bill
20 incorporates a bill that I have proposed,
21 which is to have a blue-ribbon commission.
22 And that blue-ribbon commission will have one
23 year, meeting on a monthly basis, with nine
24 members -- not politicians, but financial
25 experts who will look at all the myriad of
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1 property tax bills that we have. I myself
2 have probably submitted eight to 10 property
3 tax bills.
4 We all know we need to do
5 something. One of the amendments that we had
6 here today dealt with a circuit-breaker bill.
7 A circuit breaker, my understanding is, is one
8 of the best ways to help have a property tax
9 figure in the ability to pay. We have a
10 circuit breaker on the books. It is not
11 enough. It has never been changed. The
12 current one says a household -- market value
13 of your house has to be $85,000.
14 The amendment that was proposed
15 today only increases that household value to
16 $100,000. I will tell you that the houses in
17 my district, the median value the market value
18 of them in many areas has doubled, tripled,
19 quadrupled. A $100,000 house of market value
20 on Long Island? I don't know how many are
21 left of $100,000 value. And even in many of
22 my small communities in the Adirondacks, where
23 people are buying these homes for second
24 homes.
25 However, a circuit breaker is
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1 something to be looked at. I have a bill that
2 not only helps seniors but it helps all
3 primary residents. And it figures in their
4 income, so that after a certain percentage of
5 that income, they get a tax rebate back to
6 help pay their property taxes. And it's not
7 just their school, it's also all of their
8 property taxes.
9 We need to consider everything.
10 And the way I believe that we can do it, and
11 the way that this bill shows us, is to have a
12 group of experts. Those experts would have
13 subcommittees who would look at all of the
14 different issues in property tax reform:
15 Accountability, property assessment plans, tax
16 containment policies, alternative financing
17 methods, government options.
18 Is a circuit breaker right? Is a
19 STAR program right? What do we need to do to
20 help the people of New York State who have
21 some of the highest property taxes in this
22 country? I find people whose income has not
23 increased in a number of years, and yet the
24 market value on their home has doubled and
25 tripled. Therefore, their taxes are more than
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1 they can bear. I have people whose taxes are
2 more than 15, 20 percent of their income. A
3 senior citizen and many young families can't
4 handle this, and they can't afford to do all
5 the other things.
6 Many of our communities are finding
7 declining growth, no growth -- I guess that's
8 an opposite, declining growth. But there is
9 no growth, declining enrollment in the
10 schools.
11 We have to do something to make
12 New York State more affordable, and the one
13 way to do it is to help property taxes, not
14 only for the homeowner but for the commercial
15 businesses in our state as well. It's
16 something that they have to consider.
17 So I would say that the amendment
18 that was proposed does not go far enough, it
19 is not big enough, it does not help enough
20 people.
21 The bill that we have before us
22 today has the short-term plan, expanding the
23 STAR program. And whether you like it or not,
24 in my district two years ago, the STAR program
25 paid $45 million of school taxes for
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1 year-round residents. People complaining
2 about their property taxes -- and they are --
3 would complain all the more if that
4 $45 million had to be paid by the homeowners.
5 STAR has benefited New York State
6 residents. Expanding the STAR will help in
7 the short term. But don't kid yourselves,
8 it's a complicated process. We need to
9 examine the whole system: the real property
10 offices, the meanings of assessment, the way
11 we are doing the whole thing and how we are
12 funding our schools.
13 So this bill with this blue-ribbon
14 commission I think is step number one to get
15 us on the road to real property tax reform. I
16 urge all my colleagues to support this bill,
17 and I thank Senator Bruno for putting it on
18 the floor.
19 Thank you.
20 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
21 Senator Little.
22 Senator Bonacic.
23 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you,
24 Mr. President.
25 I'm going to support this bill. We
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1 all know that property tax and the burden that
2 it's putting on our constituents is probably
3 one of the biggest problems facing all elected
4 officials.
5 It's tough when you have to pay
6 rising taxes and it's not based on your
7 wealth. If I'm a poor family and I have to
8 pay taxes on a home that's $10,000 and right
9 next to me is a multimillionaire with the same
10 house, he has to pay $10,000.
11 And what's happening is that
12 hardworking families have to choose between
13 should I vote for these school budgets for the
14 education of my children, or should I vote
15 against these school budgets in order to pay
16 the mortgage and taxes on my house? That's
17 the choice that's facing many of our
18 constituents, not throughout the state of
19 New York but a lot of pockets in the state of
20 New York.
21 Now, in New York City, the property
22 tax burden is not as high outside New York
23 City. The Island, Hudson Valley, Westchester
24 County, and pockets upstate are getting
25 squeezed badly.
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1 Now, let's talk of what we've done
2 in the past. I commend my colleagues on the
3 other side of the aisle who have gotten up and
4 said, We recognize there's a property tax
5 problem; I have this idea, with this
6 amendment. Senator Valesky: I have this
7 idea. You are at least cognizant of the
8 problem as a high priority to help our
9 constituents.
10 In fact, last year, together, we
11 voted to abolish the property tax, school
12 property taxes on primary homeowners in the
13 state of New York, with your support. What
14 happened? The Assembly did absolutely
15 nothing.
16 In 1994, Senator Cook, my
17 predecessor, voted to get away from the
18 property tax and go to an income tax. In '94,
19 a phaseout over years. The Assembly did
20 nothing.
21 Last year, we asked for a
22 blue-ribbon panel to study the school tax
23 problem. The Assembly did nothing, not even
24 in a committee.
25 So I'm glad we have partners in
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1 this house that realize how acute this problem
2 is. But the Leibell, the Saland, the Bonacic
3 bill would have given every school district
4 the option to get away from school taxes and
5 have the state pick up that share. It would
6 have been a six-year phase-in at $9 billion.
7 And if the city didn't want it, they don't
8 have to do it. So we have addressed it.
9 But not having a partner in the
10 Assembly, we expand STAR. STAR last year --
11 rough numbers, not exact -- 175 bucks for the
12 nonsenior that owned a home. If you were a
13 senior, you got about 300 bucks. This
14 two-year plan triples it over two years.
15 Governor Spitzer is talking
16 about -- and we'll find out next Wednesday in
17 his budget -- some kind of STAR expansion,
18 middle-class families. I congratulate him.
19 He recognizes there's a problem. Now we have
20 a partner in the Governor's office that's
21 trying to address it.
22 I happen to think that this bill,
23 it's good because it does provide some relief.
24 It doesn't provide the structural changes that
25 we need when we come back here, when the STAR
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1 money runs out and taxes keep going up. Five
2 to ten years from now, the Senate and the
3 Assembly will be still talking about
4 escalating property taxes.
5 So if we're really going to bite
6 the bullet, we have to take the school taxes
7 away from primary homeowners, put it at the
8 state level, fund it. And that is the way we
9 would like to proceed in the Senate. And I
10 know many of you do, by the vote which I have
11 in front of me, and I thank you for that.
12 But this is all we have today. And
13 I will continue to support this. But it's not
14 a cure. It's not really the structural remedy
15 that we need.
16 Thank you very much, Mr. President.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
18 Senator Bonacic.
19 Are there any other members that
20 wish to speak on this bill?
21 The Secretary will ring the bell.
22 The debate is closed. We'll give
23 some of the members who are not in the chamber
24 a chance to join us.
25 The Secretary will read the last
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1 section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 13. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Nozzolio,
7 to explain his vote.
8 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. President,
9 I rise to explain my vote.
10 Mr. President and my colleagues, I
11 rise to support this desperately needed
12 legislation. Senator Little framed it well,
13 that our overburdened taxpayers are being
14 crushed by, particularly, the property tax.
15 That New Yorkers, and upstate
16 homeowners specifically, are extremely
17 stressed. They're stressed for their
18 financial future. They believe their children
19 will inherit a far worse New York State than
20 their parents gave to them.
21 This is a signal to our upstate
22 taxpayers that reform is on the way in the
23 form of property tax relief. Financial peace
24 of mind is the very least that this house can
25 forge on behalf of our constituents. And that
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1 the time is now to reform the outdated,
2 burdening, crushing property tax system.
3 I support this legislation,
4 Mr. President. I urge my colleagues to do the
5 same. Our property taxpayers deserve to have
6 their burden eased.
7 Thank you very much.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Libous
9 will be recorded in the affirmative -- I'm
10 sorry, Senator Nozzolio will be recorded in
11 the affirmative.
12 Senator Marcellino, to explain his
13 vote.
14 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes,
15 Mr. President. Thank you.
16 I rise also to support this bill.
17 I think it's long overdue. The issue of
18 property tax impacts my district greatly, and
19 my constituents are constantly asking me to
20 come up here and do something about their
21 property taxes, and I'm glad to see we've
22 taken a good first step. I'd like to see it
23 go a lot more and do a lot more, but it's a
24 good first step in the process.
25 I would just caution that any
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1 further movement towards getting off property
2 tax and moving over other forms of taxes we
3 need to discuss and we need to study
4 carefully, lest we shift one burden to another
5 and overly impact certain districts and
6 certain other areas of the state.
7 However, that being said, this bill
8 does a good job, this bill is positive. It
9 will go a long way in protect our hardworking,
10 overburdened taxpayers, particularly the
11 property owners of the state of New York. But
12 as I said earlier, it's only a first step in
13 my mind. We need to do a lot more.
14 I will vote aye.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
16 Marcellino will be recorded in the
17 affirmative.
18 Senator Libous.
19 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you,
20 Mr. President.
21 Senator Little, thank you for your
22 explanation and certainly your support of this
23 legislation.
24 Over the past two years, in going
25 throughout my district, the taxpayers of the
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1 Southern Tier have made it very clear to me
2 that they cannot afford a penny more when it
3 comes to property taxes. We did give some
4 relief last year, but that was only the
5 beginning.
6 This legislation goes a long way in
7 helping senior citizens who are on fixed
8 incomes who cannot afford to pay their
9 property taxes in many cases, helping young
10 families, the forgotten middle class who are
11 trying to make ends meet every day, trying to
12 share in the American dream of homeownership
13 and with that American dream of homeownership,
14 raise a family.
15 These are the people that are going
16 to be most affected by this piece of
17 legislation which is so badly needed.
18 On top of that, we in the Southern
19 Tier most recently were hit six months ago
20 with a very devastating flood. That flood
21 wiped out many homes. And unfortunately,
22 Mr. President, some of those people have to
23 pay the very, very high taxes on homes that
24 don't even exist.
25 This house passed legislation at
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1 the end of last session to help relieve that,
2 and I hope that we will do it again and that
3 this time the Assembly will partner with us.
4 But reducing property taxes, in my
5 opinion, is the most important thing we can do
6 legislatively this year in helping the
7 overburdened taxpayer -- certainly the fixed
8 income, the middle income, and young families
9 who are trying to begin the process and stay
10 in New York.
11 So I join my colleagues, I applaud
12 my colleagues for this legislation, and I say
13 to the people that I represent: This is only
14 the beginning. We will continue to work hard
15 throughout this session to relieve you from
16 the overburden of taxes, particularly property
17 taxes, that exist in this state.
18 I vote aye.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
20 Senator Libous.
21 Senator Libous will be recorded in
22 the affirmative, as I predicted earlier today.
23 (Laughter.)
24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Winner.
25 SENATOR WINNER: Thank you,
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1 Mr. President. Just briefly to explain my
2 vote.
3 I certainly rise in support of this
4 legislation, but I also want to put another
5 little equation on the table when we're
6 dealing with this proposal. And that equation
7 is the fact that there are places in this
8 state that are not experiencing huge increases
9 in value of their real property, and yet those
10 places are suffering under tremendous
11 percentages of taxation that in many instances
12 are between 4 and 5 percent of their value.
13 Those percentages of value result
14 in basically your buying your house back every
15 25 years for your real property tax payments.
16 And we need to make sure that we're addressing
17 those imbalances in areas that are not
18 achieving high real estate value growth,
19 because in those areas they're getting the
20 double whammy -- not only are they paying high
21 burdens in property taxes, but their property
22 values are not growing as well.
23 So, Mr. President, I think that
24 there was a study that went out from the Tax
25 Foundation, rankings that showed a number of
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1 counties that have overburdened tax rates, and
2 those areas are the areas in which the
3 property values are lower.
4 So I think this bill that is on the
5 floor today goes a long way to meet that,
6 because the STAR program directly relates to
7 relief in that arena. So I support this
8 measure, and I hope that this body going
9 forward, in talking about additional real
10 property relief, will take into account those
11 circumstances where we have areas that are not
12 achieving the high growth.
13 Thank you, Mr. President.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Winner
15 will be recorded in the affirmative.
16 Senator Robach, to explain his
17 vote.
18 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes,
19 Mr. President. I too rise to support this.
20 I think that we've in a good way
21 had a lot of dialogue recently about trying to
22 be responsive to the public in a lot of areas,
23 whether it's been budget reform or other
24 aspects of what we do here.
25 For us in our world, property taxes
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1 is real as rain for the people we represent in
2 upstate New York. Whether you're a new
3 family -- and I still believe in the American
4 dream of owning your own home -- those high
5 taxes are an extra burden. Or if you're on
6 the other end of the extreme, where you're a
7 senior citizen who may have lost a spouse but
8 want to end your years in dignity in the home
9 you may have raised your children in and been
10 in a long time, this is critically important.
11 We are being responsive today to
12 those people on something that really does
13 affect them. It is not ideology, it is not
14 opinion, it is real, real stuff. And this is
15 very, very good.
16 I have some people that live along
17 Lake Ontario whose property tax portion of
18 their bill is bigger than their mortgage
19 payment, even in their first year of owning
20 the home. This will go to address a lot of
21 that, and I think it's very good.
22 And I also want to say I am very
23 optimistic. We have voted for this almost
24 every year I've been in the Senate, but this
25 year I feel like we may have a chance to
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1 really accomplish something and get this done.
2 With you, Mr. Lieutenant Governor, and the
3 Executive now on board and talking the same
4 language, I am hoping, after we pass this,
5 we'll be able to have a little bit more
6 dialogue on the merits of this with the other
7 house, and really not just pass this bill in
8 the Senate but get this through all parts of
9 the Legislature working together and really
10 make a substantial difference for, as all my
11 colleagues have pointed out, the overburdened
12 taxpayers of New York.
13 And whether combined taxes -- I
14 literally was at a meeting where people were
15 saying we're not really number one in combined
16 taxes, we're number two. It doesn't matter if
17 we're one or two. While we do have a lot of
18 great programs in New York, we have to make it
19 affordable for people all across the spectrum,
20 upstate and down, to be able to live in their
21 homes and maintain them.
22 This goes very well to this, so I
23 am very happy to cast my vote in the
24 affirmative.
25 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Robach
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1 will be recorded in the affirmative.
2 The chair recognizes Senator
3 Saland, to explain his vote.
4 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 It is not a cliche to say that
7 taxpayers, particularly real property
8 taxpayers, are overburdened; it is regrettably
9 a very unfortunate reality.
10 And we don't distinguish by age.
11 There are certainly senior citizen who at
12 times have to make the most critical of
13 decisions as to what to pay, whether it's a
14 medical bill, whether it's a pharmaceutical
15 bill, whether it's the real property tax bill.
16 Young people trying to establish a family,
17 young people trying to trying to buy their
18 first home, young people in their first home.
19 Two working-member households. The vast
20 majority of people are struggling to pay their
21 property taxes.
22 When we created this program last
23 year, it effectively established a beachhead.
24 Well, we are now expanding that beachhead. We
25 are ultimately quadrupling it -- first
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1 tripling it and then quadrupling it, providing
2 tax relief, much-needed tax relief across the
3 entire spectrum of those who own real property
4 and are paying those significant real property
5 taxes.
6 It is, however, not the panacea.
7 It is not the cure-all. It is not the fix.
8 It is a form of relief. The system requires
9 reform and change. That remains our task.
10 The blue-ribbon commission that is part of
11 this certainly is a step in that right
12 direction. The legislation that this house
13 passed, which I sponsored, along with Senator
14 Bonacic and Senator Leibell, goes a long way
15 in that same direction.
16 And hopefully this will elicit a
17 response from the other house, as well as the
18 interest expressed by the new executive,
19 Governor Spitzer, can bring us all together
20 and try and deal not merely with relief but
21 with reform.
22 Mr. President, as you can well
23 surmise, I vote in favor of this measure.
24 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
25 will record Senator Saland in the affirmative.
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1 Senator DeFrancisco, to explain his
2 vote.
3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you,
4 Mr. President.
5 I too rise in support of this
6 legislation to give much-needed property tax
7 relief to the citizens of Central New York as
8 well as all over the state.
9 It's a significant piece of
10 legislation because it returns money directly
11 to the taxpayer. And that was done
12 successfully last year, and now it's going to
13 be quadrupled this year if we could get
14 agreement by the other house and the
15 Governor's office.
16 In any event, whether this is the
17 exact legislation or not, there's no doubt,
18 from the discussion that we've heard from the
19 executive branch, that there is going to be
20 property tax relief for the taxpayers in this
21 state, much-needed property tax relief.
22 However, the fact of the matter is
23 whether you call it property tax or any other
24 tax, unless the cost of government decreases,
25 we're going to be looking for other revenues.
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1 So coupled with this, it is essential that the
2 highest-rising cost in this government,
3 Medicaid, has to be brought under control by
4 real reform of the system. Because the monies
5 that are being used for Medicaid now are
6 eating up monies that are needed for education
7 and every other source.
8 In addition, we must operate
9 government more efficiently -- from the state
10 level, from consolidation of services at the
11 local level, and, if possible, consolidation
12 of governments, local governments, so that
13 there is a situation where government is not
14 overlapping.
15 So this is a wonderful thing, tax
16 relief, for our property owners. However, we
17 need those other reforms. We need control
18 over the cost of all levels of government, and
19 including Medicaid and consolidation of
20 services of local governments. So hopefully
21 we can get the rest of this package completed
22 this year so that there will be long-lasting
23 property tax relief for everyone in the State
24 of New York.
25 I vote aye.
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1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator
2 DeFrancisco will be recorded in the
3 affirmative.
4 The chair now recognizes, to
5 explain his vote, the distinguished Senator
6 from Rockland County, Senator Morahan.
7 SENATOR MORAHAN: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 Obviously this bill starts the
10 progress we want to make this year on property
11 tax reform. It started last year in the
12 Senate with the rebate program directly to the
13 taxpayers, and certainly it was well received.
14 This bill, which will triple and quadruple
15 that benefit over the next two years, really
16 will be a significant piece of legislation.
17 But what I'm really optimistic
18 about is we have the Governor talking tax
19 reform, we have the tax relief, we have that
20 sort of conversation now with the Assembly.
21 And I think even local governments and school
22 districts recognize we must find a new way,
23 not just to raise the revenues but to control
24 the cost.
25 And Senator DeFrancisco put his
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1 finger on a very, very important aspect of
2 state spending, and that's Medicaid and the
3 need for reform, investigations, and things
4 that will bring that under control. Quite
5 obviously, there's over $4 billion out there
6 to be saved which more than would offset this
7 increase each year and this relief that we're
8 proposing.
9 So I rise in support of this
10 legislation. As my fellow colleagues have
11 said, property tax is the biggest issue in the
12 state of New York. It's surpassing
13 healthcare, it's surpassing education. It's
14 property tax relief. And we not only have to
15 find a new way to drive the tax to those who
16 can afford it, like adding to this bill
17 circuit-breaker legislation that would allow
18 us to take care of the cost of living that's
19 happening to government but not to the incomes
20 of our people.
21 So I welcome this bill. I'm glad
22 it's early in January; I know the Governor
23 will be coming out next week with his budget
24 and we'll see his plan, and we're going to
25 probably negotiate hopefully a very rewarding
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1 and a very rich rebate program, tax relief
2 program, for the people of the State of
3 New York.
4 Thank you, Mr. President.
5 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Morahan
6 votes aye.
7 Senator Skelos, to explain his
8 vote.
9 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 This is probably one of the most
12 significant pieces of legislation that we will
13 pass this year, because it will begin the
14 dialogue on how we can bring real property tax
15 relief to our constituents throughout the
16 state.
17 On Long Island we have some of the
18 highest taxes not only in the state but in the
19 nation. And our constituents, our taxpayers,
20 are crying out for relief.
21 What's important about this
22 legislation is that it indirectly recognizes
23 the fact that there are higher costs of living
24 and sometimes higher incomes in other areas of
25 the state, but you're not penalized for this.
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1 There's no means testing in this. You will
2 get a percentage of your STAR program as a
3 rebate check, which I think is critically
4 important because there is a direct
5 relationship to the taxes that you pay.
6 It's my hope that when Governor
7 Spitzer brings out his budget next week that
8 there will not be a sleight of hand, that
9 there will not be means testing, or that you
10 will say property tax relief but cut school
11 aid so that taxes are raised in many districts
12 on the other hand and that in the end it's a
13 wash so there's no real property tax relief to
14 our constituents.
15 So I know, for one, I anxiously
16 await Governor Spitzer's budget release next
17 week, and I hope that he fully understands the
18 needs of suburban communities and upstate
19 communities and the real property tax burden
20 that we all suffer.
21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos
22 will be recorded in the affirmative.
23 Senator Duane, to explain his vote.
24 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you,
25 Mr. President.
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1 I just want to thank some of the
2 members on the other side of the aisle for
3 their very complimentary remarks on some of
4 the proposals that we put forward. And I'm
5 hopeful that we'll be able to move forward on
6 this important issue of property tax in a
7 bipartisan manner and that we can each
8 regularly be voting in the affirmative for
9 proposals which come from both sides of the
10 aisle.
11 I'll be voting yes, Mr. President.
12 Thank you.
13 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Duane
14 will be recorded in the affirmative.
15 Are there any other members that
16 would like to explain their vote?
17 Senator Griffo.
18 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 I come as a freshman to this body
21 and, as a former local official, each and
22 every day saw and heard the concerns of the
23 citizens of our community relative to the
24 property tax and the significant burden that
25 this placed upon their future and their
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1 families' lives.
2 So today I think this step is
3 significant because it indicates to people
4 that we recognize this problem, that we're
5 being attentive and responsive to this
6 situation. And I think that's the important
7 thing. If I have heard anything throughout my
8 time in government, it is that there is
9 erosion in competence that exists in
10 government, and that erosion develops because
11 we neglect to deal with the issues at hand.
12 And this particular issue is
13 significant. And today this measure is a
14 significant step in the right direction, but
15 there's much more to do. And I'm encouraged
16 by the opportunities that present themselves
17 from both sides of the aisle, so that we,
18 despite the differences we may have on where
19 we should be on a breaker, more or less, that
20 we come to some consensus ultimately that we
21 will provide necessary and significant
22 property tax relief which will encourage
23 economic growth but, more importantly, be
24 helpful to the families that we serve across
25 this state.
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1 Thank you. I vote aye.
2 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Griffo
3 will be recorded in the affirmative.
4 Senator Diaz, to explain his vote.
5 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you,
6 Mr. President.
7 It's an honor to address you as my
8 Senate President for the first time and
9 congratulate you on your position.
10 I'm voting yes on this bill.
11 However, I have to say that this Democratic
12 side, we Democrats, since I came to this
13 Senate, we have shown our support, we have
14 shown our interest in helping the people of
15 the State of New York and decreasing their
16 taxes.
17 Even today, today we are showing,
18 by an amendment to you by Senator Valesky and
19 Senator Cousins, that we really want something
20 that really helps the people. I'm very proud
21 that my Democratic colleagues, Senator Valesky
22 and Senator Cousins, has introduced an
23 amendment to give bigger help to senior
24 citizens, that they deserve that. And I'm
25 very sad that that side rejected those
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1 amendments.
2 I'm voting yes because I'm thinking
3 to help senior citizens and to help the people
4 of New York, I will take whatever it is, even
5 though it is not enough and even though I'm
6 sad that Senator Valesky, Senator Cousins'
7 amendments were denied and were rejected by
8 that side. However, that's all we get? I'm
9 voting yes. But we could have done better if
10 we would have said Senator Valesky, Democrat
11 Senator Valesky and Democratic Senator
12 Stewart-Cousins' amendments.
13 My President, that's my complaint.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Diaz will
15 be recorded in the affirmative.
16 Senator Sampson, to explain his
17 vote.
18 SENATOR SAMPSON: Mr. President,
19 I rise in support of this bill and want to say
20 to my colleagues on the other side of the
21 aisle, we recognize the problem, not only in
22 the suburban counties but throughout the state
23 of New York. That's why we rise in support of
24 this.
25 But in addition, we want it to go
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1 further. We want it to go further with the
2 amendments of our two colleagues, Senator
3 Valesky and Senator Cousins, because we
4 recognize and realize the problem. We want to
5 make sure that we cut those property taxes.
6 And we're looking forward to partnership with
7 the Executive to make that a reality.
8 So, my colleagues, this is a very
9 important day, but we could have gone further.
10 But you know what? This is just the first
11 step of many steps to make sure that we
12 provide relief, not only to New York City, but
13 relief to all suburban counties in the state
14 of New York.
15 Thank you very much, Mr. President.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Sampson
17 will be recorded in the affirmative.
18 Senator Fuschillo, to explain his
19 vote.
20 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you,
21 Mr. President.
22 First of all, it's nice that we all
23 agree. This is the first time in a long time.
24 And what Senator Duane said, I couldn't agree
25 with him more. It may shock some of you.
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1 This is not a partisan issue,
2 providing tax relief to the residents of the
3 state, whether it's upstate, the inner cities,
4 or on the Island. Wherever I go, I could ask
5 anybody, Tell me the three top issues of your
6 concern -- it's taxes, taxes and taxes.
7 They're being choked to death.
8 And it's such a game that I see of
9 all the districts and school districts and
10 municipal governments. And a village will
11 blame a town or a city, the town will blame
12 the county, and the county will blame the
13 state, the school district will blame the
14 state. Nobody takes credit, even though they
15 have all independent elected bodies that are
16 responsible for setting their own tax
17 jurisdictions, tax rates.
18 This is a major step forward. We
19 need, obviously, the other house to do it. By
20 all signals, the Governor is on board. He
21 wants to do it in three years, we want to do
22 it in two years. We want to accelerate it
23 because the tax relief is so necessary right
24 now.
25 But much more does need to be done,
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1 and I'm glad I'm starting to hear that.
2 Because government has to be responsible. We
3 have to provide action. You know, we talk
4 about jobs, providing jobs and tax relief. We
5 should be talking about careers and providing
6 careers that people stay here in New York
7 State. And in order to make them stay here,
8 we have to make it affordable. So it is a
9 domino effect.
10 Today is a significant step, but
11 much more needs to be done. I'll be voting in
12 the affirmative.
13 Thank you, Mr. President.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Fuschillo
15 will be recorded in the affirmative.
16 The chair recognizes Senator Klein
17 to explain his vote.
18 SENATOR KLEIN: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 I too rise today in support of this
21 very important legislation, which I think
22 could have been improved if we adopted the two
23 measures by my two colleagues, Senator Valesky
24 and Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins.
25 But I think what we're doing today
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1 is a very, very important first step because
2 we're sending a message loud and clear to our
3 constituents that we hear their plea regarding
4 property taxes.
5 It's a very simple premise, which
6 is going on in my district, especially in
7 Westchester County, as well as around the
8 state. The price of everyone's home is going
9 up, thus enhancing their property tax, but
10 their income isn't going up. So I think what
11 we're doing today is a very, very important
12 first step in alleviating some of their
13 property tax burden.
14 The STAR program has been very,
15 very successful and our ability today to
16 enhance that program is something that's very,
17 very important.
18 I also look forward to doing more
19 on this issue. I don't think our work is done
20 yet today. Our new governor, Eliot Spitzer,
21 has made property tax relief his number-one
22 proposal, and I look forward in the way he's
23 going to be dealing with that in the budget.
24 But I know one of my colleagues,
25 Senator Saland, had a proposal last year which
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1 I think certain pieces of that are certainly
2 worth looking into.
3 I think Senator Fuschillo said it
4 best, that a lot of our local school districts
5 in many ways blame us or blame the county or
6 blame their constituents. And what we're
7 doing with our constituents is sort of giving
8 them a Hobson's choice. They want great
9 education -- and in many cases these local
10 school districts are delivering that
11 education -- but they really don't want to pay
12 for it.
13 So I think we have to look at ways
14 that maybe we can allow our local school
15 districts a little more autonomy to figure out
16 ways that they can raise money to make sure
17 that our young people in overtaxed school
18 districts get the education they need and
19 deserve.
20 I vote yes, Mr. President.
21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Klein
22 will be recorded as voting in the affirmative.
23 The Secretary will announce the
24 results.
25 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
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1 the negative on Calendar Number 17 are
2 Senators Perkins, Schneiderman and Serrano.
3 Those Senators absent from voting
4 pursuant to Rule 9: Senators Johnson,
5 C. Kruger, Larkin, Leibell, Maziarz,
6 Montgomery, Oppenheimer, Parker and
7 Stachowski.
8 Absent from voting, Senator Connor.
9 Ayes, 46. Nays, 3.
10 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
11 passed.
12 Senator Skelos.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
14 there will be no further substantive business
15 to be taken up today in the Senate, but there
16 may be some housekeeping. So if we could just
17 stand at ease.
18 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
19 stand at ease.
20 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
21 ease at 12:30 p.m.)
22 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
23 at 4:35 p.m.)
24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
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1 Senator Skelos.
2 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could
3 return to the order of motions and
4 resolutions.
5 I wish to call up bill Senate Print
6 Number 1322, recalled from the Assembly, which
7 is now at the desk.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
9 Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 38, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 1322, an
12 act to amend the State Finance Law.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
14 now move to reconsider the vote by which the
15 bill was passed and ask that the bill be
16 restored to the order of third reading.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
18 Secretary will call the roll on
19 reconsideration.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
22 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
23 now move to discharge, from the Committee on
24 Rules, Assembly Print Number 2755 and
25 substitute it for the identical bill, Senate
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1 Print 1322.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:
3 Substitution ordered.
4 SENATOR SKELOS: The Senate bill
5 on first passage was voted unanimously. I now
6 move that the substituted Assembly bill have
7 its third reading at this time.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
9 Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 38, by Member of the Assembly Farrell,
12 substituted earlier, Assembly Print Number
13 2755, an act to amend the State Finance Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The
23 bill is passed.
24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
25 is there any further business at the desk?
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: There
2 is not, Senator Skelos.
3 SENATOR SKELOS: There being
4 none, I move we stand adjourned until Monday,
5 January 29th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening days
6 being legislative days.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: On
8 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
9 Monday, January 29th, intervening days to be
10 legislative days.
11 (Whereupon, at 4:37 p.m., the
12 Senate adjourned.)
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