Regular Session - March 31, 2007
1764
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 March 31, 2007
11 4:50 p.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
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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 that all rise and
5 please join with all of us in reciting the
6 Pledge of Allegiance.
7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
9 THE PRESIDENT: For our
10 invocation today, we're joined by a newcomer
11 to the Senate, the Reverend Peter G. Young, of
12 Albany, who works on Saturdays.
13 (Laughter.)
14 REVEREND YOUNG: As we have just
15 stood and sworn our allegiance to the American
16 Flag, we're very proud as New Yorkers to know
17 that the christening of the American Flag was
18 first flown in battle at the defense of Fort
19 Stanwick in Rome.
20 Therefore, it's with great pride
21 that we are able to serve in this chamber to
22 see that these Senators are following in this
23 rich patriotic tradition as the elected
24 leaders to fulfill Your call, O God, for
25 leadership for all of our citizens and to You
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1 in New York State.
2 Amen.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Father
4 Young, serving in his 48th year.
5 The reading of the Journal.
6 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
7 Friday, March 30, the Senate met pursuant to
8 adjournment. The Journal of Thursday,
9 March 29, was read and approved. On motion,
10 Senate adjourned.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Without
12 objection, the Journal stands approved as
13 read.
14 We will now move to the order of
15 business.
16 Presentation of petitions.
17 Messages from the Assembly.
18 Messages from the Governor.
19 Reports of standing committees.
20 Reports of select committees.
21 Communications and reports from
22 state officers.
23 Motions and resolutions.
24 Senator Libous.
25 SENATOR LIBOUS: If we can go to
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1 reports of standing committees, Mr. President,
2 there is a report of the Finance Committee at
3 the desk.
4 THE PRESIDENT: We'll move to
5 reports of standing committees.
6 The Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator O.
8 Johnson, from the Committee on Finance,
9 reports the following nomination.
10 As Commissioner of the Department
11 of Environmental Conservation, Alexander B.
12 Pete Grannis, of New York City.
13 THE PRESIDENT: The chair
14 recognizes, on the nomination, Senator
15 Johnson.
16 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: I move the
17 nomination.
18 THE PRESIDENT: On the
19 nomination, the chair recognizes
20 Senator Krueger.
21 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 I rise to support the nomination of
24 Pete Grannis as the next commissioner of the
25 Department of Environmental Conservation. And
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1 I speak both for myself and the Democrats in
2 the New York State Senate.
3 I am Assemblymember Grannis's State
4 Senator; he is my Assemblymember. And so as a
5 result, we have been able to develop a very
6 close relationship of working together both
7 here in Albany and in our district at home.
8 And what I'd like to share on a
9 personal note is that Assemblymember Grannis
10 has an unbelievable commitment to the people
11 of New York State that he has shown for his
12 32 years in the Assembly and has shown through
13 his personal commitment to taking on the
14 challenge -- and it has been a challenge -- to
15 become the next commissioner of DEC in
16 New York State.
17 We've had several hearings, and
18 people have had an opportunity to learn about
19 Assemblymember Grannis's biography and all the
20 work he's done on behalf of the people of
21 New York State and the fact that he has a long
22 history as an advocate for the environment, as
23 someone who has an extraordinary respect for
24 and appreciation for the importance of
25 Environmental Conservation, but also the
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1 technical knowledge to be the commissioner of
2 such an important agency.
3 He has worked on legislation with
4 so many of us throughout the years that is
5 relevant to the environment. He has technical
6 expertise in what the responsibilities of the
7 DEC are. But perhaps even greater than that
8 is Assemblymember Grannis's combined personal
9 commitment and skill in learning about the
10 issues that he might not know about, and his
11 openness and willingness to work with everyone
12 to hammer out hard fights to come to the
13 decisions that are in the best interests of
14 the people of the State of New York.
15 He does have a commitment to
16 protecting our open spaces and providing wider
17 access to the outdoors. He does have a
18 respect for the outdoor tradition. He
19 understands the different but equally critical
20 importance of urban environmental issues,
21 rural environmental issues and suburban
22 issues.
23 He understands that often there's a
24 balance between the needs of communities and
25 the needs of the overall environment that, as
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1 the DEC commissioner, he must be the steward
2 of. Because let's be honest; if we aren't
3 protecting our environment, we're not writing
4 off our future, we're writing off our
5 children's future, our grandchildren's future.
6 And so to say that Pete Grannis
7 will be the DEC commissioner under the Spitzer
8 administration who will move us forward in the
9 21st century to ensure that we take on the
10 unbelievable difficult challenges of the
11 risking of global warming, of air pollution,
12 water pollution, brownfields, the problems of
13 invasive species to our agricultural industry
14 and to our parks, to balance out the needs of
15 our businesses with the protection of our
16 environment when dealing with questions of
17 pesticides and toxins, to deal with the very
18 difficult issues of how we do remediation of
19 pollution that has been left unchecked for too
20 many decades.
21 Sometimes I worried during the last
22 few weeks that the term "environmentalist" was
23 somehow a negative term when describing the
24 next commissioner of the Department of
25 Environmental Conservation. But in fact,
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1 that's what we all are. We are obligated to
2 respect and protect our environment -- not
3 just ourselves and for our constituents, but
4 for the generations to come. And we are years
5 too late in taking on many of these issues.
6 And in closing, I can think of no
7 candidate that Governor Spitzer would have
8 proposed to us to be the commissioner of DEC
9 who is better suited, better skilled, better
10 qualified to take this enormous challenge.
11 So in my renomination and
12 confirmation of our nomination of Pete Grannis
13 for commissioner of DEC, I want to thank him
14 for his willingness to take on this enormous
15 challenge. Some people would argue that after
16 32 years in the Assembly, he could rest on the
17 laurels that he had so proudly and rightly
18 earned himself in all the years of good
19 legislation and great stewardship of his
20 district. And yet he is excited and motivated
21 to take on this very difficult job.
22 So I want to thank Pete so much for
23 taking on this new challenge, and wish my best
24 to his wife, Ainslie, who is here with us
25 today also, both of whom are dear friends.
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1 Thank you, Mr. President.
2 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
3 Senator Krueger.
4 On the nomination, Senator
5 C. Johnson.
6 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Thank
7 you, Mr. President. I rise this evening to
8 support the nomination of Pete Grannis.
9 First, I want to commend Senator
10 Marcellino, the chairman of the Environmental
11 Conservation Committee. As the ranking member
12 of the EnCon Committee, I was very impressed
13 with Senator Marcellino's handling of the
14 hearing, its fairness, and the way the
15 questions were handled, his openness to other
16 members of the Senate not on EnCon to question
17 the nominee.
18 So I thank Senator Marcellino from
19 this side of the aisle for chairing that
20 committee in such a gentlemanly fashion.
21 For Pete Grannis, I wish to
22 congratulate you here tonight on your
23 confirmation. But I issue you a challenge.
24 It's a tough challenge. DEC, as we talked
25 about in the confirmation hearing, is one of
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1 the most important agencies we have in
2 New York State. It does so much. And for
3 years it's faced budget cuts, it's faced
4 workforce shortages.
5 Tonight, when we vote on the
6 budget, hopefully we'll start the process of
7 restoring, restoring employees to the DEC,
8 making it easier for now Commissioner Grannis
9 to do his job for the men and women of this
10 state. But it's going to be a difficult job,
11 and we're going to have to stand with
12 Commissioner Grannis as he goes forward.
13 But what I took from the hearings
14 was his open-mindedness and his fairness. The
15 state, as large as it is and as diverse as it
16 is -- upstate, middle-state, downstate -- has
17 so many different interests when it comes to
18 the environment. And what I was impressed
19 with Assemblyman Grannis was his ability to
20 talk about the issues and express an
21 open-mindedness, to listen to everybody when
22 it comes to a particular issue, whether it's
23 hunting or fishing or trapping or whether it's
24 about greenhouse gases and the need to reduce
25 carbon monoxide within our state.
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1 So I congratulate soon-to-be-
2 Commissioner Grannis, I look forward to
3 working with you in the DEC, and I wish you
4 the very best. Congratulations, sir.
5 THE PRESIDENT: On the
6 nomination, Senator Volker.
7 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
8 regrettably, as a representative of four
9 counties in upstate New York -- and I have had
10 many conversations with Pete Grannis, who I've
11 known for I guess 30, 32 years -- I'm going to
12 have to, as I did in the Senate Finance
13 Committee -- and I gave him the reasons that
14 make me speak against him.
15 Not as a person or as an
16 individual -- and I understand the difference
17 between we who live in upstate New York -- and
18 as I said to him, I think there many times is
19 kind of a chasm between the cultures of
20 upstate New York and New York City; in
21 particular, Manhattan.
22 The problem is that the people of
23 my district have made it extremely clear that
24 they are opposed to the nomination. And it is
25 true that some of the reasons is a
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1 misunderstanding of the role of the Department
2 of Environmental Conservation. However, I
3 would also point out that the Department of
4 Environmental Conservation at times I think
5 has misjudged its role itself.
6 And although I congratulate you on
7 being the new commissioner, I have to say that
8 I only speak here to make it clear that on
9 behalf of the people of my district, I would
10 have to not support you, and as I did,
11 frankly, in the Senate Finance Committee,
12 regrettably. But I feel it's my duty to
13 represent the people of the four counties that
14 I represent in upstate New York.
15 THE PRESIDENT: On the
16 nomination, Senator Serrano.
17 SENATOR SERRANO: Thank you,
18 Mr. President. I rise to wholeheartedly
19 support the nomination of Assemblyman Pete
20 Grannis to this position.
21 As many may know, Pete Grannis was
22 sworn in to the Assembly the same year, 1975,
23 as my father, Congressman Serrano. And I grew
24 up hearing very fond talk, very strong talk
25 about the great work that Mr. Grannis was
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1 doing.
2 And it was such pleasure two years
3 ago to be elected to a Senate district that
4 overlapped with Assemblymember Grannis and to
5 see firsthand how he got things done, how well
6 he worked with others. And it's rare to see
7 someone with that level of experience and that
8 wealth of knowledge that he brings to his
9 work, and I'm sure that he will do a wonderful
10 job in dealing with all the issues that we
11 have in our state.
12 In the 28th Senate District we have
13 major problems with brownfields and issues
14 with asthma in the South Bronx and in East
15 Harlem. And I feel very good about
16 soon-to-be-Commissioner Grannis and the work
17 that he will do on behalf of the residents,
18 not only of the 28th Senate District but
19 throughout the entire state.
20 So thank you, Mr. President, and I
21 support this nomination.
22 THE PRESIDENT: On the
23 nomination, Senator Marcellino.
24 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
25 Mr. President.
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1 As chairman of EnCon, I rise to
2 extend my hand to the incoming commissioner in
3 hopes that we can work together and will work
4 together in the years to come on the many
5 important issues that affect this state.
6 The Department of Environmental
7 Conservation, as has been said before, is one
8 of the key agencies in the state, probably the
9 largest enforcement agency the state has on
10 most important issues.
11 Brownfields legislation, that I
12 worked very hard on for many years to get
13 passed in this state, has a problem, and the
14 problem is in the development of the regs and
15 implementation of the regulations. I'd like
16 to work with you together on that, Pete,
17 because I think they need to be done and done
18 correctly.
19 The DEC's image, I think as you
20 heard in Finance and perhaps got a hint of in
21 the EnCon hearings, needs to change. There
22 are regions of this state that look upon the
23 department that you will be heading as the
24 enemy. That's not good.
25 It's the old joke, "I'm from the
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1 government, I'm here to help you," and
2 everybody laughs. But it really isn't funny
3 when people look on the government as their
4 enemy. When the government official comes in
5 to try to help clean up water or clean up a
6 spill or clean up a problem or deal with
7 something, an issue that arises that's locally
8 important, and all of a sudden those people
9 are the enemy, that's not a good thing.
10 I think we need to work together to
11 change that. The department should be welcome
12 in all communities. In all communities.
13 Because as was said before during the hearings
14 and will be said many times again, nobody
15 wants dirty water, nobody wants foul land,
16 everybody wants open space and preservation.
17 We all want the good things for our families
18 and for our children and for our
19 grandchildren.
20 Yours is a tremendous
21 responsibility, it truly is. And you've got a
22 lot of work ahead of you to be done. I urge
23 you to be visible all over the state. Visit
24 all the regions more than once. Be a regular
25 face in those regions so they know who you are
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1 and so you understand them and they understand
2 you. I think that will go a long way.
3 You were a legislator for 30-plus
4 years. You understand the process. You
5 understand consensus building. Before you can
6 get something done in a positive way, you know
7 people have to agree with you from diverse
8 origins and from diverse directions. I urge
9 you to remember that and never forget it,
10 because it will serve you well as
11 commissioner.
12 I wish you luck. You have my
13 cooperation. And God bless you.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
15 Senator Marcellino.
16 On the nomination, Senator Bonacic.
17 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you,
18 Mr. President.
19 First of all, a narrow
20 interpretation of the Constitution would have
21 us approve any nominee of the Executive as
22 long as he or she was not incompetent.
23 Competence or incompetence of a nominee, in my
24 view does not relate to political views, it
25 relates to the capacity to do the job.
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1 I am of the opinion generally that
2 the Executive ought to have the nominee that
3 he wants so long as that nominee is an honest
4 broker in terms of controversy, that nominee
5 is not incompetent, and that nominee is not
6 related in any way to the Executive.
7 Just a little history; bear with me
8 a minute. Alexander Hamilton, in The
9 Federalist Papers, talks about having an
10 advice and consent clause which would "prevent
11 the appointment of unfit characters from State
12 prejudice, from family connections, from
13 personal attachments or from a view to
14 popularity."
15 What I take from this man's words
16 is that our constitutional responsibility is
17 to make sure that nepotism does not occur or
18 hacks are not appointed to this important
19 office. However, I believe we abdicate our
20 responsibility if we don't look at the history
21 of this nominee.
22 This nominee knows I have concerns.
23 The nominee knows that the DEC is probably the
24 most important position in our Senate
25 district. However, we deal, Senator Seward
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1 and I, with watershed issues, we deal with
2 flooding issues, we deal with recreational
3 uses on city lands, state lands. And we have
4 sponsored legislation, with your help, to
5 force New York City DEP to open up their lands
6 so we could have more recreation, tourism,
7 economic vitality.
8 I deal with the DEC on economic
9 development in the watershed, on state support
10 for Belleayre, on whether the dams in our
11 district are safe, or upgrading the
12 campgrounds. I could go on and on and on.
13 In terms of voting for Peter
14 Grannis, I had to make sure that he understood
15 the issues; again, he would be an honest
16 broker. The nominee has assured me that he
17 will not try to ban or restrict hunting,
18 fishing, trapping. He has assured me that he
19 will work on all of these issues honestly.
20 I am aware that in my district some
21 sportsmen have concerns. They want me to
22 reject Peter Grannis. And I've given it a
23 great deal of thought. I am proud to support
24 the sportsmen and the Second Amendment rights
25 every year since I've been here. I am proud
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1 to have voted against the efforts to limit the
2 Second Amendment in any way.
3 When we look at this DEC job, it
4 covers, as Senator Marcellino pointed out, a
5 variety of areas -- environmental permits, air
6 and waste management, air resources,
7 environmental remediation, solid and hazardous
8 waste, natural resources, water quality,
9 climate control, mineral resources. And we
10 can go on and on and on. This nominee has an
11 awesome area of responsibility and so much
12 subject matter to cover.
13 A manifest lack of qualification
14 does not mean that he would simply vote
15 differently than I on a single issue. If that
16 were the case, this chamber would be empty.
17 As a member of the Senate Environmental
18 Committee, I've asked Peter Grannis tough
19 questions, many questions, in many of the
20 areas that I've told you that his department
21 would cover. He was honest, he was
22 professional, he was competent.
23 The conclusion that I come to,
24 after he has testified, is that he will work
25 for all of us, he will be an honest broker
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1 when there's controversy, and he's promised
2 that he would.
3 And this nominee knows that his
4 policies will be based on the Governor's
5 policies, and we all understand that, and that
6 the Governor will be responsible for the major
7 policy decisions on the environment. I
8 believe this nominee knows it. His testimony
9 demonstrates his competence, his honesty. And
10 for all of those reasons, I will be voting in
11 the affirmative.
12 Thank you, Mr. President.
13 THE PRESIDENT: On the
14 nomination, Senator Klein.
15 SENATOR KLEIN: Thank you,
16 Mr. President.
17 It's my privilege to rise today in
18 support of the nomination of Alexander Pete
19 Grannis as our new commissioner of the
20 Department of Environmental Conservation.
21 We all sometimes think to ourselves
22 on what type of an elected official we want to
23 be. And I think Pete Grannis is that elected
24 official. He's intelligent, he's passionate
25 about issues. He's truly, I think, someone we
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1 consider a public man.
2 I had the privilege of serving in
3 the Assembly for ten years with Pete Grannis.
4 Sometimes we agreed; sometimes we didn't
5 agree. But always I respected him as someone
6 who understood an issue, was well-versed in a
7 whole -- really, a myriad of different types
8 of issues, be it housing, insurance. He's
9 someone who truly understands what it means to
10 be a legislator.
11 All of us now, I guess, in the
12 newspapers, we read an awful lot about reform.
13 Well, I think through his 30-plus-year career,
14 Pete Grannis lived reform. He was always on
15 the right side of issues, someone who is
16 beyond reproach, someone who really
17 understands what it means to be an advocate.
18 And I think the future of our environment will
19 be in great hands with our new commissioner,
20 Alexander Pete Grannis.
21 Thank you.
22 THE PRESIDENT: On the
23 nomination, Senator Morahan.
24 SENATOR MORAHAN: Thank you,
25 Mr. President.
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1 I also rise in support of this
2 nomination. I attended EnCon hearings through
3 the confirmation process and also earlier
4 today the Finance Committee that forwarded
5 that nomination to the floor.
6 I first met Pete Grannis in 1981.
7 And at that time in the Assembly I was
8 impressed with his passion, his knowledge, his
9 hard work, and his attention to detail.
10 But I was more impressed in the
11 last several weeks as he went through the
12 confirmation process with his answers, his
13 approach to the new commissionership that he's
14 now going to assume, and gave me the answers I
15 needed so that I could vote for him with full
16 confidence.
17 Yes, he's able. Yes, he's
18 qualified. But some of the myths that have
19 clouded this nomination -- such as he's not
20 for hunters, when he grew up as a hunter with
21 his dad, that he continues to be an avid
22 fisherman today. That he's anti-gun. I don't
23 know whether he is or he isn't, but I know as
24 the DEC commissioner he will have nothing to
25 do with gun regulation or gun licensing.
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1 I believe Pete Grannis is a
2 capable, honest, hardworking individual who
3 will take the DEC into new realms of concerns,
4 such as the dams that we have in our
5 districts, such as the oil spills that we have
6 in our districts, and contaminants, those
7 issues that affect our air, our water, our
8 environment, the great lands of the State of
9 New York, our great parklands.
10 And I know his management will
11 probably be a new dawning in that
12 commissionership, because so many of us in the
13 past have been somewhat disappointed with the
14 arbitrary, coldhearted way they would respond
15 as law enforcement people to constituent
16 concerns.
17 So, Commissioner Grannis, you have
18 my personal support and my congratulations,
19 and we'll be watching to see how you do this
20 great job that you're now going to assume.
21 Thank you, Mr. President.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
23 Senator Morahan.
24 On the nomination, Senator
25 Schneiderman.
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1 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 It's really with tremendous pride
4 that I rise in support of this nominee. We
5 get to cast a lot of votes in this house. I
6 cannot think of a better person to vote for
7 than Alexander Pete Grannis.
8 I appreciate the comments of
9 Senator Morahan and Senator Bonacic referring
10 to other fine American leaders. Senator
11 Bonacic spoke about Alexander "Pete" Hamilton,
12 another great New Yorker, who in fact was born
13 in Santo Domingo and then came to Upper
14 Manhattan, and so was one of my -- I consider
15 him the first of my constituents.
16 But I will say this. When I first
17 got to Albany and was really, frankly,
18 dismayed by what I perceived to be a certain
19 lack of integrity in the process and a lack of
20 intelligent and fair consideration of issues,
21 one of the people who I could look up to and
22 respect in every aspect of the legislative
23 process was Pete Grannis.
24 This is a guy who way before reform
25 came into fashion would pay for his own
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1 dinner, would take care of his own matters,
2 would act against the direction of his own
3 leader in his house if it was what he believed
4 to be correct.
5 This is a guy who exemplifies the
6 concept of playing on a team but not losing
7 your integrity. I think he will make a great
8 commissioner.
9 And to all of my colleagues who
10 have questions about whether or not you
11 disagree with him on an issue or you're
12 concerned about the direction the DEC will
13 take, you cannot have a more honest broker
14 than Pete Grannis. I disagree with a lot of
15 people in this chamber on a lot of issues, but
16 there are people here who I have honest
17 disagreements with I respect and I know that
18 we can work things out.
19 You will disagree with some of
20 things that DEC does in the Spitzer
21 administration. But it is a big state. We
22 have a lot of pressing issues in my district.
23 We have people dying because of the poison in
24 our air and water. We have asthma rates that
25 are out of control. This is something that
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1 requires attention.
2 The balance between the interests
3 of the people in the watershed and the people
4 who drink the water from the watershed is
5 very, very tough to maintain. But can you
6 honestly say that there's a member of this
7 Legislature who over the years has
8 demonstrated more intelligence and more
9 integrity than Pete Grannis? I think not.
10 And I think we should all be very
11 proud to rise in support of his nomination,
12 and I do so today.
13 Thank you, Mr. Commissioner.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
15 Senator Schneiderman.
16 Point of information, Senator
17 Schneiderman. Alexander Hamilton was born on
18 the island of St. Croix, in 1751.
19 (Laughter.)
20 THE PRESIDENT: On the
21 nomination, Senator LaValle.
22 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you,
23 Mr. President. I rise in support of the
24 nomination.
25 For the First Senate District,
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1 environmental issues are critically important,
2 whether it be preservation of open space,
3 protection of our waterways, quality of our
4 air -- very, very important.
5 During the Finance Committee, I
6 asked the man who will be our commissioner
7 questions about a project in the middle of
8 Long Island Sound that would begin the
9 industrialization of Long Island Sound. And
10 of course he gave a very temperate answer,
11 because his agency will be involved in making
12 decisions and he did not want to prejudice
13 that by his comments today.
14 Senator Schneiderman made a very,
15 very interesting point that even strengthens
16 my resolve on this nominee. Because I do know
17 that throughout his career he has held views
18 very strongly, sometimes in the face of
19 diversity, but he has held his ground.
20 Senator Bonacic said that policies
21 are set by the Governor. And so the Governor
22 will be very involved in how not only the DEC
23 but the Department of State will respond on
24 this very, very critical issue to not only the
25 First Senate District but Suffolk County.
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1 And I know that Pete Grannis as the
2 DEC commissioner will make the strongest
3 possible case to oppose this project. Every
4 environmental group opposes it. Every elected
5 official in the first Senate district opposes
6 this project. It is a dangerous project. It
7 is a bad project environmentally. So I want
8 someone in that position who has the
9 intelligence, the ethical and moral standards
10 to stand up and do the right thing.
11 He mentioned in the Finance
12 Committee that this will be the first time
13 that a legislator will occupy this position as
14 commissioner of the DEC. And so there was a
15 myriad of questions from upstate, the Hudson
16 Valley, downstate. And so I believe that he
17 will use the 32 years that he has served in
18 the Legislature to understand when one of the
19 members in this house or the other house comes
20 to the DEC, and he will balance his decision
21 in a way that will give the best possible shot
22 for us to represent our constituents.
23 So, Pete, I wish you very good
24 luck. I know that you and I will have lots of
25 dialogue on environmental issues. And I know
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1 that you will make that agency run correctly.
2 Just in closing, many years ago the
3 DEC in my district was not always a favored
4 agency. People, homeowners, small-business
5 people were just irritated by decisions coming
6 out of the regional office.
7 And so myself and at that time my
8 two Assemblymembers, during a political
9 campaign, came up with what was one of the
10 most popular radio ads. Someone comes on the
11 commercial and says: "There are initials that
12 strike fear in the hearts of men -- the IRS,
13 the FBI, the DEC."
14 I will say that a lot of very
15 positive things have happened in the last
16 15 years when that commercial was made. And I
17 hope that you will both enjoy and be strident
18 in representing our environment and the people
19 that use the environment, such as our
20 sportsmen.
21 Thank you, Mr. President.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
23 Senator LaValle.
24 And the chair stands corrected.
25 Senator Stavisky has advised the chair that
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1 Alexander Hamilton was born on the island of
2 Nevis, and it is affirmed by Google.
3 (Laughter.)
4 THE PRESIDENT: On the
5 nomination, Senator Stachowski.
6 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: I'm just
7 glad for the history lesson, among other
8 things that I've learned today.
9 I rise too to support the
10 nomination of Pete Grannis, not somebody
11 that's supported strongly by all the
12 sportsmen's groups. This was an interesting
13 situation I found myself in.
14 But in talking to Pete, reading up
15 on his background, getting reports back on the
16 Environmental Committee and the questioning,
17 and then sitting through the Finance
18 Committee, I have no doubt that he has
19 answered all the questions on whether he is
20 against hunting and fishing.
21 The interesting thing, as was said
22 in the committee, hunting is not about guns,
23 it's about a way of life. If you had taken
24 the time to read the speech that Pete Grannis
25 made to the conservation group a few weeks
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1 back, you would have seen that he hunted
2 different game with his father and brothers,
3 and that one of the great thrills and memories
4 of his life is the look on his father's face
5 when he got his first buck -- with a bow, as
6 opposed to a gun.
7 Which, for those people that aren't
8 familiar with hunting, is much more difficult.
9 And maybe that's why some of the hunters don't
10 like Pete, because he did get it with a bow
11 and not with a gun.
12 I also found it interesting that he
13 answered the questions on trapping. I think
14 that's very important. He still is an avid
15 fisherman, so the fisherman can't really be
16 opposed to him.
17 I happen to agree with Senator
18 LaValle that if you're going to have an issue
19 that it's going to be important that the
20 commissioner is going to be fighting on, as
21 we've seen through the years here in Albany,
22 nobody fights harder on something they believe
23 in than Pete Grannis. And I think that
24 includes all of us. He's the equivalent of
25 anybody as far as determination when he
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1 believes he's in the right.
2 I think that we all appreciate the
3 fight he did on clean air, and I think he'll
4 do the same on our air in general. I think
5 that he'll be a great advocate for all those
6 colleagues of mine that are from the city that
7 worry about the particulars that cause the
8 aggravation of asthma. I can't really say
9 that those particulars cause asthma, because
10 the last I've ever read, I don't think anybody
11 knows what causes asthma yet. So that's kind
12 of an interesting concept, but that's reality.
13 I think the fact is that all of us
14 as legislators, the one thing we look for in a
15 commissioner is when we have a problem in our
16 district and we go to the commissioner, we
17 want the commissioner to hear us, to
18 understand what the problem is, and to get
19 back to us with an answer.
20 I have every belief that Pete
21 Grannis will get back to us with an answer. I
22 don't know that it will be answer we want to
23 hear, but at least we'll get an answer. And
24 that's not always the case with a lot of
25 commissioners.
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1 So to my mind, he's answered all
2 the questions that people wrote me about as
3 far as their concerns. He's covered all the
4 areas that I had an interest in besides the
5 ones that were written from people that said
6 you should vote against him because of this,
7 this and this, and I think he answered all of
8 those.
9 And I also think I will have a
10 responsive commissioner, somebody I'll be able
11 to work with over the years. And I look
12 forward to having those opportunities.
13 I support Pete Grannis. Thank you.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
15 Senator Stachowski.
16 The chair now recognizes the
17 ubiquitous Senator Stavisky.
18 SENATOR STAVISKY: Thank you,
19 Mr. President. I've been called a lot of
20 things; that's the first time "ubiquitous" was
21 ever used.
22 I'm delighted to rise in support of
23 Assemblyman Grannis's confirmation. He brings
24 a sensitivity and understanding of the
25 legislative process, as well as a deep and
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1 profound knowledge of the issues -- not only
2 the environment, but everything else upon
3 which it impacts.
4 I represent a district in Queens
5 which has a great deal of construction going
6 on, expansion, with many environmental issues,
7 particularly concerning water quality and
8 brownfields in, particularly, the
9 Flushing-Corona area. And I'm sure he will
10 understand these issues. And yet he brings,
11 in addition, an understanding of what's
12 important not only to my district in Queens
13 but to all parts of the state.
14 I thought his answers to the
15 questions today in the Finance Committee were
16 extremely impressive. He listened. He
17 understood. And he will be fair. And I think
18 that's really all we can ask of a candidate.
19 So I congratulate Pete Grannis.
20 And I think I've known him the entire 32 years
21 that he's been here. And I look forward to
22 working with him in the days ahead.
23 And incidentally, Mr. President,
24 Alexander Hamilton was also a Regent of the
25 State of New York.
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1 (Laughter.)
2 THE PRESIDENT: On the
3 nomination, Senator Larkin.
4 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 You know, I've known Peter for
7 28 years, as I said in the Finance Committee.
8 Have we agreed on everything? No. I like
9 West Point, and he likes some other school.
10 But have I always found Peter to be
11 willing to discuss with you? When he came to
12 my office, he said: "I know you have
13 problems." We do have problems. Everyone in
14 this room has problems. But we're confirming
15 someone who's going to enter into an office,
16 he knows every one of us, he's worked with us
17 in one form or another of a committee.
18 Some of my colleagues, Neil Breslin
19 and I have had an opportunity to work with him
20 on a national thing, on insurance. Always
21 found him willing to take that extra step.
22 But let's remember, when you go to
23 an agency and you want to talk to him about
24 something -- I heard someone in the hallway
25 the other day said: "You know,I voted against
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1 DiNapoli, but I've had to call him twice.
2 Guess what? He called me back." I expect
3 that's the same thing we'll get from Peter.
4 He's not being nominated to be the
5 pope, he's being nominated to take an agency
6 and deal with it. I can tell you in my
7 district, as I said in Finance, I have
8 outstanding working relationships with the
9 region. And I expect that, as some of my
10 colleagues said today, that they expect to be
11 able to work with Peter.
12 But remember, he knows us. He
13 knows that we have problems that he's dealt
14 with, maybe in another facet of it. Maybe it
15 was an opposite to what we wanted. But he is
16 going to deal with those as he sees best,
17 because he's got a job to do.
18 He's got a challenge to do. He's
19 going to get the bodies that he needs to do
20 them with. And I'm very confident that he's
21 going to represent the Governor, he's going to
22 represent the interests, and he's going to
23 work with us. Because if he don't, he'll hear
24 from us.
25 Congratulations, Pete. You've
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1 earned it.
2 THE PRESIDENT: On the
3 nomination, Senator Padavan.
4 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 You know, while you were trying to
7 decide where Alexander Hamilton had as his
8 origin, where he came from, I was reminded of
9 that fact that perhaps the greatest
10 environmentalist and the greatest
11 sportsman-hunter that this state ever produced
12 came from Manhattan, raised and born there.
13 His name was Teddy Roosevelt.
14 So the notion that Manhattan is a
15 foreign place to those who have an interest in
16 recreation that relates to fishing and hunting
17 and trapping and that sort is just
18 historically incorrect.
19 Also, when Senator LaValle was
20 talking, it came to me that it's a delight
21 that the Governor now feels an Assemblyman can
22 do a great job in a statewide position. No
23 reaction.
24 (Laughter.)
25 SENATOR PADAVAN: I've known Pete
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1 Grannis, like many of you have, for a number
2 of years. We worked together on some very,
3 very significant legislation, and we got to
4 know each other on a personal basis because of
5 that.
6 And I can say without any doubt
7 that all of you who have indicated that his
8 motivation, his sincerity, his commitment is
9 unquestionable. And that this job, this
10 position is something that is, to him, perhaps
11 one of the greatest things that's happened in
12 his career. This is something he really
13 wanted to do and wants to do.
14 So when you put those things
15 together, a committed individual who's being
16 appointed to a position that was a goal of
17 his, a long-standing desire of his, there's no
18 doubt that he will be successful. And I'm
19 sure all of us will find that out in due time,
20 even those who have some questions about one
21 issue or the other that relates to that
22 agency.
23 It will be my honor and privilege
24 to vote in the affirmative.
25 THE PRESIDENT: On the
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1 nomination, Senator Perkins.
2 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you very
3 much. I just want to briefly lend my voice to
4 those who support Pete for this position.
5 You know, he has a vision for those
6 of us who are very concerned about
7 environmental justice. We know that we have a
8 friend in Pete Grannis from that point of
9 view, because we know that there are
10 communities not only in our city but
11 throughout this state that are suffering from
12 conditions that are aggravating the health of
13 children and the health of families. And that
14 he will be there with a vision of
15 environmental justice, with a vision of trying
16 to remedy those problems.
17 And we also know that he will not
18 just serve legislators. We know that he will
19 continue to have that very special common
20 touch that we've come to know about him as
21 we've been working with him over the years in
22 our communities, in his own community.
23 So I think that he will be the kind
24 of commissioner that will be accessible, that
25 will be visionary, that will be bold, the kind
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1 of commissioner that we will all be proud to
2 have been associated with before he became the
3 commissioner and even more so now that he has
4 become the commissioner.
5 So in the words of those who were
6 so committed to his candidacy: "Free Pete."
7 (Laughter.)
8 THE PRESIDENT: On the
9 nomination, Senator Hannon.
10 SENATOR HANNON: Thank you,
11 Mr. President.
12 As I was looking over Assemblyman
13 Grannis's resume and looking at the long list
14 of legislative accomplishments, I was
15 reflecting upon the intellectual intensity he
16 and I have had over the past two decades,
17 cochairs or respective chairs of the Housing
18 Committee and things on the budget committee
19 in regard to health.
20 But it also struck me -- and the
21 point I just wanted to add was the experience
22 of being a legislator, the experience of
23 working legislation that affects every part of
24 this state is truly a great background for
25 becoming a commissioner of DEC, for moving on
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1 to a managerial position. No one can really
2 know the type of learning experience, the type
3 of consultation experience that one has as a
4 legislator.
5 And I'm glad the Governor has
6 recognized that, that great can come out of
7 this legislative experience. I commend him on
8 his selection of Mr. Grannis to be
9 commissioner of the Department of
10 Environmental Conservation.
11 THE PRESIDENT: On the
12 nomination, Senator Montgomery.
13 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes,
14 Mr. President, thank you.
15 I rise to congratulate Pete
16 Grannis, Commissioner Grannis. I knew him as
17 Pete long before I knew him as Alexander, and
18 I thought we had the wrong name for a while.
19 I want to just acknowledge also
20 that I have a relationship with Pete's son.
21 He is a wonderful dad. And his son and my son
22 played together at some point in time,
23 cavorting in the museum. We would meet once a
24 year. And he had the best handshake of any
25 youngster that I had ever met. So I'm happy
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1 that he is here to witness his dad.
2 And also I want to say to Pete the
3 people in my district, the people who are
4 concerned about many issues are very happy
5 that we are here today to confirm you, because
6 we have some very, very difficult
7 environmental issues, and we look forward to
8 working with you.
9 As you perhaps know, some of the
10 worst "hot spots" in the nation are in my
11 district. And they're caused by a tremendous
12 overburden of traffic, which we have to live
13 with every day.
14 We have a huge problem with
15 contaminated -- with the combined sewage
16 overflow. Some of the people in parts of my
17 district and parts of Senator Connor's
18 district have a tremendous problem every time
19 it rains. And we're looking for a plan that
20 has to involve both the state and the city as
21 well as the federal government.
22 We have a number of contaminated
23 waste sites. And we really are looking
24 forward to being able to work with you on some
25 of these difficult issues.
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1 So I congratulate you, I
2 congratulate your family. And we all of us,
3 even people who have expressed whatever
4 negative issues they've raised, I think that
5 the sentiment overall is that this is a very,
6 very large task and we certainly look forward
7 to being partners with you as you try to
8 fulfill your role. Congratulations.
9 Thank you, Mr. President.
10 THE PRESIDENT: On the
11 nomination, Senator Duane, to close for the
12 minority.
13 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 You know, when I first saw the
16 Assemblymember's name come up on the agenda, I
17 thought it was sort of an early cruel April
18 Fool's joke. But in fact it was a piece of
19 good news that was being announced with the
20 agenda.
21 I have to say that when I first
22 came to Albany and discovered that majority
23 members don't always welcome minority
24 sponsorship of their legislation, I thought it
25 was frankly weird. And I looked to see who
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1 didn't act that way legislatively, and I saw
2 that Assemblymember Grannis was one of the
3 distinct few who worked in a bipartisan manner
4 in the Legislature. And I thought that that
5 was great.
6 I have seen things in our state
7 from the beauty of our beaches on Long Island
8 to the majesty of the Adirondacks and, sadly,
9 things like the devastation of the floods that
10 have impacted the Southern Tier. And I have
11 to say that if Assemblymember Grannis is
12 anywhere near as good as he has been as an
13 Assemblymember, we're going to have a pretty
14 darn fine person looking over the environment
15 for this administration. And I know that he
16 is going to do a great job.
17 Thank you, Mr. President.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very
19 much, Senator Duane.
20 Our apologies; we did not recognize
21 Senator Connor. The chair recognizes Senator
22 Connor on the nomination at this time.
23 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you,
24 Mr. President.
25 Mr. President, you were probably
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1 thinking of Alexander Hamilton's mother, who
2 was from St. Croix, and left an abusive
3 husband and went to Nevis, where she met
4 Alexander Hamilton's father. Of course, he
5 later went to Kingston, Jamaica, and worked on
6 the docks, a 16-year-old, and so impressed the
7 businessmen that they took up a collection to
8 send him to New York for a fine education.
9 I was first elected 29 years and
10 seven weeks ago and assigned to Room 415 in
11 the LOB. And my next-door neighbor was Pete
12 Grannis. And this was very, very fortunate
13 for me, because I was under firm instructions
14 from my then district leader, who was the
15 director of the Environmental Action
16 Coalition, which I believe Pete had founded,
17 to, you know, "as soon as you get to Albany,
18 talk to Pete Grannis."
19 So I did, and we had many, many
20 conversations over the years about issues.
21 You know, newer colleagues have
22 said to me: What are these things? What are
23 these things in the desks? And, you know, for
24 many years after I got here this chamber was
25 smoke-filled. At one time certainly a
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1 majority, an overwhelming majority of the
2 members would sit here during session smoking
3 cigars, pipes, and cigarettes. And members
4 look at me in shock. That's the way it was.
5 And my next-door neighbor, Pete
6 Grannis, one day said to me: "Hey, I've got
7 this new bill I'm going to put in, the Clean
8 Indoor Air Act." I said, "What's that?" He
9 said, "It's going to ban smoking indoors."
10 I said: "Pete, you know, I agree
11 with most of the stuff you do; I'm another
12 liberal reformer from New York City. But that
13 one will never fly. It will never happen,
14 never, ever. The public won't go for it."
15 So Pete was way ahead of the curve.
16 And he was very effective and persistent, not
17 just with that bill but with the other
18 significant legislation that Pete has guided
19 through this Legislature and negotiated
20 through this Legislature over the years.
21 And I do want to correct something,
22 though. I thought Peter Berle was an
23 Assemblyman before he was the DEC
24 commissioner, and I believe he was Pete's
25 predecessor in the Assembly. So Pete is not
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1 the first time, he's just the first time in a
2 long, long, long time that we -- since we have
3 had a legislator appointed to this position.
4 But, you know, being a legislator,
5 you know, in the current atmosphere out there
6 for the last year or two, there seems to be
7 this tendency in the press or elsewhere to
8 denigrate the service we do, to denigrate the
9 way legislators perform their duties and
10 functions. But I happen to think that among
11 the best qualifications and experiences to
12 have are to have all of those years of
13 effectiveness as a legislator.
14 Because it requires not just
15 intellect -- which Pete has -- and not just
16 imagination and thoughtfulness and a
17 forward-looking nature -- which Pete has --
18 but it also requires a skill which many of us
19 have in this Legislature, in both houses,
20 where we certainly hone and refine it over our
21 years of service here. If you don't have it
22 when you get here, if you're here long enough
23 and you're going to be successful, you will
24 have it.
25 And that's the ability to listen to
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1 others, to reason with people, to be sensitive
2 to the public's concerns and to address them,
3 all the while keep your eye on the ball and
4 discharging your obligations. And I can't
5 think of skills or experiences that more
6 qualify someone to be commissioner of DEC.
7 I think the storm that certain
8 quarters brought against this nominee was
9 grossly unfair. It was based on a view of
10 people in New York City -- Senator
11 Padavan's -- Senator Padavan's here. You
12 know, not everybody in New York City is
13 against hunting. I have a license in my
14 pocket. I grew up, and I've said this many
15 times before here, I grew up hunting. My
16 grandfather first took me hunting, and I've
17 been in the city for a long, long time. And I
18 think that misapprehension of some of the
19 positions we sometimes take on behalf of our
20 constituents is unfortunate.
21 And I admit some of us from the
22 city do the same thing, same thing with
23 respect to some upstate concerns. Once upon a
24 time we had a Governor -- I won't go into
25 it -- who characterized hunters as having
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1 something to do with six-packs of beer,
2 whatever.
3 But the fact is, we are one state.
4 Pete Grannis will be an excellent DEC
5 commissioner. He brings a wealth of
6 experience both in the political realm and the
7 substantive realm of dealing with
8 environmental issues. His career began early
9 on as an environmental lawyer. He will make
10 this state proud.
11 I congratulate the Governor on this
12 appointment, and I am proud to support the
13 confirmation of this nominee.
14 Thank you, Mr. President.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
16 Senator Connor.
17 Are there any other Senators that
18 would like to speak on the nomination? If so,
19 please indicate.
20 Hearing none, the question is on
21 the nomination of Alexander Pete Grannis, of
22 New York County, as Commissioner of the
23 New York State Department of Environmental
24 Conservation.
25 All those in favor please indicate
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1 so by saying aye.
2 (Response of "Aye.")
3 THE PRESIDENT: All those
4 opposed, nay.
5 (Response of "Nay.")
6 THE PRESIDENT: The chair
7 recognizes Senator Libous.
8 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
9 could I have the record reflect that my vote
10 is in the negative on this nominee.
11 THE PRESIDENT: The record will
12 so reflect.
13 Any others wishing to vote no may
14 raise their hands, and we will record their
15 names.
16 The Secretary will read the names
17 of those who have raised their hands.
18 THE SECRETARY: Recorded in the
19 negative are Senators Farley, Griffo, Lanza,
20 Leibell, Libous, Little, Maltese, Nozzolio,
21 Rath, Robach, Seward, Valesky, Volker, Winner,
22 Wright, Young. Also Senator DeFrancisco.
23 Also Senator Maziarz.
24 THE PRESIDENT: The nominee is
25 confirmed.
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1 (Extended applause.)
2 THE PRESIDENT: Alexander Pete
3 Grannis, you are hereby confirmed as
4 Commissioner of the Department of
5 Environmental Conservation.
6 Pete Grannis is joined in the
7 gallery by his wife, Ainslie, by his Albany
8 staff, and by his staff from the Upper East
9 Side of Manhattan, who came here without
10 compensation to bear witness to his
11 appointment.
12 He has served for over 30 years
13 with distinction, steadfast discipline and
14 critical honesty in the Assembly, and we wish
15 you well in your new role as Commissioner of
16 DEC. Congratulations.
17 (Applause.)
18 THE PRESIDENT: The chair
19 recognizes Senator Libous.
20 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
21 can we go to motions and resolutions for the
22 adoption of the Resolution Calendar, please.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Motions and
24 resolutions.
25 All those in favor of adopting the
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1 Resolution Calendar please indicate so by
2 saying aye.
3 (Response of "Aye.")
4 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
5 (No response.)
6 THE PRESIDENT: The Resolution
7 Calendar is adopted.
8 Senator Libous.
9 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
10 there will be an immediate meeting of the
11 Senate Majority in Room 332.
12 And the Senate will stand at ease.
13 THE PRESIDENT: There will be an
14 immediate meeting of the Senate Majority in
15 Room 332.
16 The chair recognizes Senator Duane.
17 SENATOR DUANE: Mr. President,
18 would you call on Senator Martin Malave Dilan,
19 please.
20 THE PRESIDENT: I'm sorry, I'm
21 having a little trouble hearing Senator Duane.
22 Can we have order in the house.
23 Senator Duane.
24 SENATOR DUANE: Mr. President,
25 would you recognize Senator Martin Malave
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1 Dilan, please.
2 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Dilan.
3 SENATOR DILAN: Mr. President,
4 there will be a meeting of the Minority at
5 8:00 p.m. in Room 315.
6 THE PRESIDENT: There will be a
7 meeting of the Minority in Room 315 at
8 8:00 p.m.
9 The Senate stands at ease.
10 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
11 ease at 5:58 p.m.)
12 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
13 at 9:03 p.m.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator
15 Skelos.
16 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
17 there will be an immediate conference of the
18 Majority in the Majority Conference Room.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: There
20 will be an immediate conference of the
21 Majority in the Majority Conference Room.
22 The Senate will stand at ease.
23 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
24 ease at 9:04 p.m.)
25 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
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1 at 10:12 p.m.)
2 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno.
3 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
4 can we at this time call an immediate meeting
5 of the Finance Committee in the Majority
6 Conference Room.
7 THE PRESIDENT: We are certainly
8 going to call an immediate meeting of the
9 Finance Committee in the Majority Conference
10 Room.
11 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you,
12 Mr. President.
13 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
14 Mr. Leader.
15 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
16 ease at 10:13 p.m.)
17 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
18 at 10:32 p.m.)
19 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
21 Senator Bruno.
22 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
23 can we return to reports of standing
24 committees.
25 I believe there's a report from the
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1 Finance Committee at the desk. I would ask
2 that it be read at this time.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
4 Secretary will read.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator O.
6 Johnson, from the Committee on Finance,
7 reports the following bills:
8 Senate Print 2100D, Senate Budget
9 Bill, an act making appropriations for the
10 support of government;
11 2101B, Senate Budget Bill, an act
12 making appropriations for the support of
13 government;
14 2105D, Senate Budget Bill, an act
15 making appropriations for the support of
16 government;
17 2106C, Senate Budget Bill, an act
18 to specify;
19 2108C, Senate Budget Bill, an act
20 to amend the New York Healthcare Reform Act of
21 1996;
22 2109C, Senate Budget Bill, an act
23 to authorize funding;
24 And Senate Print 4090, by the
25 Senate Committee on Rules, an act to amend
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1 Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2005.
2 All bills ordered direct to third
3 reading.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
5 Without objection, all bills direct to third
6 reading.
7 Senator Bruno.
8 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
9 can we at this time take up the bills that are
10 reported from Finance in regular order.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
12 Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 297, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2100D,
15 an act making appropriations for the support
16 of government, PUBLIC PROTECTION AND GENERAL
17 GOVERNMENT BUDGET.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
19 Senator Bruno.
20 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, is
21 there a message from the Governor at the desk?
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes,
23 there is, Senator Bruno.
24 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
25 move to accept the message.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
2 motion is to accept the message. All in favor
3 say aye.
4 (Response of "Aye.")
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
6 Opposed, nay.
7 (No response.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
9 message is accepted.
10 Read the last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
14 the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
17 Announce the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
20 bill is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 298, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2101B,
23 an act making appropriations for the support
24 of government, LEGISLATURE AND JUDICIARY
25 BUDGET.
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1 SENATOR BRUNO: Is there a
2 message of necessity at the desk?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes,
4 there is, Senator.
5 SENATOR BRUNO: Move to accept.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
7 motion is to accept the message. All in favor
8 signify by saying aye.
9 (Response of "Aye.")
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
11 Opposed, nay.
12 (No response.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
14 message is accepted.
15 The Secretary will read the last
16 section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
23 Announce the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
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1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 301, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2105D,
4 an act making appropriations for the support
5 of government, TRANSPORTATION, ECONOMIC
6 DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
7 BUDGET.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
9 Senator Bruno.
10 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, is
11 there a message of necessity at the desk?
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes,
13 there is, Senator.
14 SENATOR BRUNO: Move to accept
15 the message.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
17 motion is to accept the message. All in favor
18 say aye.
19 (Response of "Aye.")
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
21 Opposed, nay.
22 (No response.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
24 message is accepted.
25 Read the last section.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
7 Announce the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
10 bill is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 302, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2106C,
13 an act to specify the manner of distribution.
14 SENATOR BRUNO: Is there a
15 message of necessity at the desk,
16 Mr. President?
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes,
18 there is, Senator Bruno.
19 SENATOR BRUNO: I would move to
20 accept the message.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: On the
22 motion to accept the message, all in favor say
23 aye.
24 (Response of "Aye.")
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
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1 Opposed, nay.
2 (No response.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
4 message is accepted.
5 Read the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 304, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2109C,
18 an act to authorize funding for the
19 Consolidated Local Street and Highway
20 Improvement Program.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
22 Senator Bruno.
23 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, is
24 there a message of necessity at the desk?
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes,
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1 there is, Senator.
2 SENATOR BRUNO: I would move that
3 we accept the message.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: On the
5 motion to accept the message, all in favor say
6 aye.
7 (Response of "Aye.")
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
9 Opposed, nay.
10 (No response.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
12 message is accepted.
13 Read the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 18. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
20 Announce the results.
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
23 bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 480, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2108C,
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1 an act to amend the New York Healthcare Reform
2 Act of 1996.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
4 Senator Bruno.
5 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, is
6 there a message of necessity at the desk?
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes,
8 there is, Senator.
9 SENATOR BRUNO: I would move that
10 we accept the message.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
12 motion is to accept the message of necessity
13 from the Governor. All in favor say aye.
14 (Response of "Aye.")
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
16 Opposed, nay.
17 (No response.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
19 message is accepted.
20 Read the last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
24 the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
2 Announce the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
5 bill is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 481, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate
8 Print Number 4090, an act to amend Chapter 57
9 of the Laws of 2005, amending the Education
10 Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read
12 the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 11. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. Nays,
19 1. Senator LaValle recorded in the negative.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
21 bill is passed.
22 Senator Bruno, that completes the
23 calendar.
24 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
25 handling the people's work as expeditiously as
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1 we just did, we now should stand at ease until
2 11:45, when we hopefully will have two more of
3 the budget bills that are in the process of
4 being printed.
5 And at that time we will call a
6 Finance meeting, come back in, hopefully pass
7 those bills.
8 And then the intent is, since the
9 other two budget bills will not be printed
10 until early tomorrow morning, that we will
11 gavel out, gavel back in, and then reconvene
12 tomorrow, early, to finish the budget process
13 that we have started.
14 We have no other bills to come
15 before us at this time, so I would move that
16 we stand in recess until 11:45.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
18 Senate will stand at ease until 11:45.
19 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
20 ease at 10:40 p.m.)
21 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
22 at 11:51 p.m.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
24 Senator Bruno.
25 SENATOR BRUNO: Good evening,
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1 Mr. President.
2 Mr. President, can we at this time
3 have an immediate meeting of the Finance
4 Committee in the Majority Conference Room.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes,
6 you can.
7 There will be an immediate meeting
8 of the Finance Committee in the Majority
9 Conference Room.
10 The Senate will stand at ease.
11 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
12 ease at 11:52 p.m.)
13 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
14 at 11:58 p.m.)
15 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
17 Senator Bruno.
18 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
19 can we at this time return to reports of
20 standing committees.
21 Senator Robach, would you take your
22 seat? Thank you.
23 Mr. President, we need order in the
24 chamber. It is two minutes before midnight.
25 We're about to lose March 31st.
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1 I would ask that the report from
2 the Finance Committee at this time be read and
3 move for its adoption.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
5 Secretary will read.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator O.
7 Johnson, from the Committee on Finance,
8 reports the following bill direct to third
9 reading:
10 Senate Print 2104D, Senate Budget
11 Bill, an act making appropriations for the
12 support of government.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: On
14 motion to accept the report, all in favor
15 signify by saying aye.
16 (Response of "Aye.")
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
18 Opposed, nay.
19 (No response.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
21 report is accepted.
22 Senator Bruno.
23 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,
24 can we at this time take up Calendar Number
25 333.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
2 Secretary will read.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 333, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2104D,
5 an act making appropriations for the support
6 of government, HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE
7 BUDGET.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
9 Senator Bruno.
10 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, is
11 there a message of necessity at the desk?
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes,
13 there is, Senator.
14 SENATOR BRUNO: I move we accept
15 the message.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: On the
17 motion to accept the message, all in favor say
18 aye.
19 (Response of "Aye.")
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
21 Opposed, nay.
22 (No response.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
24 message is accepted.
25 Read the last section.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:
7 Announce the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The
10 bill is passed.
11 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, is
12 there any other business that we should be
13 taking up on March 31st?
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: No,
15 Senator, there is not.
16 SENATOR BRUNO: Well,
17 Mr. President, there being no further business
18 to come before the Senate on March 31st, I
19 would move that we stand adjourned until
20 April 1, at 12:02 a.m.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: On
22 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
23 April 1st, at 12:02 p.m.
24 (Whereupon, at 12:01 a.m., the
25 Senate adjourned.)
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