Regular Session - April 3, 2009
3029
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 April 3, 2009
11 8:48 a.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR DAVID J. VALESKY, Acting President
19 ANGELO J. APONTE, Secretary
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21
22
23
24
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
3 Senate will please come to order.
4 I ask everyone present to please
5 rise and recite with me the Pledge of
6 Allegiance.
7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: In the
10 absence of clergy, may we bow our heads in a
11 moment of silence.
12 (Whereupon, the assemblage
13 respected a moment of silence.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
15 reading of the Journal.
16 The Secretary will read.
17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
18 Thursday, April 2, the Senate met pursuant to
19 adjournment. The Journal of Wednesday,
20 April 1, was read and approved. On motion,
21 Senate adjourned.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
23 Without objection, the Journal stands approved
24 as read.
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1 Presentation of petitions.
2 Messages from the Assembly.
3 Messages from the Governor.
4 Reports of standing committees.
5 Reports of select committees.
6 Communications and reports from
7 state officers.
8 Motions and resolutions.
9 Senator Klein.
10 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President,
11 before we start today, I have an announcement.
12 We're going to celebrate today the birthday of
13 someone who's very, very special to us,
14 Vice President Pro Tem David Valesky.
15 (Applause.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
17 you, everybody.
18 SENATOR KLEIN: I'm sure, Senator
19 Valesky, I can think of no better place.
20 (Laughter.)
21 SENATOR KLEIN: At this time,
22 Mr. President, can we take up a controversial
23 reading of Calendar Number 136.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
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1 Secretary will ring the bells.
2 I ask all Senators to proceed
3 directly and immediately to the chamber so
4 that we can begin debate on Calendar Number
5 136, which the Secretary will read.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 136, substituted April 1, Assembly Budget
8 Bill, Assembly Print Number 157B, an act to
9 amend the Education Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Read
11 the last section.
12 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
13 is there a quorum in the house?
14 (Pause.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
16 Senator Libous, in answer to your question,
17 there is a quorum that is now present.
18 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
19 could we have a quorum call, please.
20 Mr. President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
22 Senator Libous.
23 SENATOR LIBOUS: I will withdraw
24 that quorum call, and I think we can get
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1 started in about two minutes.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
3 quorum call has been withdrawn.
4 Senator Libous.
5 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
6 could I have an explanation, please, on the
7 bill.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
9 Senator Kruger, an explanation has been
10 requested of Calendar 136 by Senator Libous.
11 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes,
12 Mr. President. This is the revenue bill,
13 Calendar Number 136. And the explanation will
14 start with Senator Liz Krueger.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
16 Senator Liz Krueger, for an explanation.
17 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
18 As Senator Carl Kruger mentioned,
19 this is the ELFA bill, which has a series of
20 parts to it. The first series of sections
21 involves the education budget. The following
22 sections D through L are the higher ed
23 sections of the budget.
24 And then Sections M through Z
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1 include tax issues, pass-throughs and
2 Social Security income, some changes in
3 unemployment law. Then we continue to human
4 rights, a section of building licensing and
5 boiler inspection and asbestos licensing. We
6 then continue to a section on enforcement in
7 pyrotechnics. We follow that by some changes
8 in the law for crane operator safety and some
9 additional civil penalties as such. And then
10 we follow up with some slight changes to
11 higher ed rules as well as the Private Housing
12 Finance Law.
13 It's a very complex and detailed
14 bill, and I'm sure we'll be discussing section
15 by section the legislation as we move forward.
16 Thank you, Mr. President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
18 you, Senator Liz Krueger.
19 Senator Libous.
20 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I
21 believe there's a number of amendments at the
22 desk; eight, to be exact.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There
24 are.
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1 SENATOR LIBOUS: We would like to
2 start with the first amendment, waive its
3 reading, and then I would ask you to call on
4 Senator DeFrancisco and then Senator
5 Fuschillo, please.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
7 Senator DeFrancisco, your amendment is here at
8 the desk. Without objection, the reading is
9 waived, and you are recognized to speak on the
10 amendment.
11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you
12 very much.
13 This amendment calls for the
14 elimination of the increase in personal income
15 tax that was originally called the
16 millionaire's tax, but in the course of the
17 closed-door meetings it came down to a
18 200,000-aire tax.
19 Basically, it reaches many people
20 that at least the initial marketing of the
21 bill would never have reached. It was
22 originally marketed as people with incomes
23 over a million, then it was marketed as people
24 with incomes over $500,000, then it turned out
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1 to be individuals with income over $200,000.
2 It's a very dangerous bill. We
3 have the federal government, the new change in
4 government that many in this chamber have been
5 praising, the new direction which tries to put
6 money in people's pockets to stimulate the
7 economy. Well, the $7 a week increased money
8 that you have from the payroll tax reduction
9 is more than eaten up by many of the taxes
10 that we see here.
11 In addition to the personal income
12 tax, there are a series of other taxes that
13 I'll get into in a moment. And what this
14 amendment basically does is eliminate those
15 revenue sources from this budget, mainly
16 because these taxes are going to stifle the
17 economy and make certain that the recovery is
18 going to lag other states, which would really
19 be a shame.
20 With respect to the personal income
21 tax, we're talking about $200,000 starts you
22 off in the new category of pay more personal
23 income tax. And many suggest that this tax is
24 a small tax, that it only increases the amount
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1 to individuals by a slight amount and they
2 could afford it anyway.
3 Well, it's a 15 percent increase in
4 tax rate for those individuals earning
5 $200,000 or more or couples, married couples
6 earning $300,000 combined or more. And that
7 affects a lot of people in this state. The
8 numbers that we've got, it's hundreds of
9 thousands of people will be paying more tax.
10 If you happen to be a very
11 successful individual and earn more than a
12 million dollars a year, then your highest tax
13 bracket goes up 31 percent.
14 We've had estimates -- and we
15 didn't request these, but the Empire Center
16 for New York State Policy estimates that this
17 tax is going to cause us to lose 15,500 jobs.
18 Now, what's a shame about this is
19 that this is a year when we're getting
20 millions and millions of dollars -- actually,
21 billions and billions of dollars of stimulus
22 money from the federal government. If we
23 can't put our house in order this year and
24 next year without increasing taxes and risking
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1 loss of jobs, then there's no other year we're
2 ever going to be able to do it.
3 With respect to the other taxes,
4 there's a whole list of taxes that all of you
5 are well aware of. And some of the other
6 speakers will talk about some of the most
7 onerous ones. But one, for example, is the
8 beer tax that, you know -- I imagine many
9 people think it's not good to drink beer, but
10 the fact of the matter is we have a Budweiser
11 plant in my district, and that company had a
12 rally indicating that if this beer tax was
13 increased, then an expansion that they were
14 considering -- think of that, an expansion in
15 this day and age -- they were thinking of,
16 they would not be able to do it. And coupled
17 with some of these other taxes, the utility
18 tax, it will put them in the last category,
19 the most expensive of all plants to operate in
20 the State of New York.
21 So when that company starts
22 thinking where we're going to stay and where
23 we're going to downsize when the economy goes
24 south, it looks pretty good that not only is
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1 the expansion not going to happen, but we may
2 be the first one to close.
3 And this is not something that we
4 learn later or after the fact. They warned us
5 of this before this onerous tax, all these
6 onerous taxes went in. Auto rental tax,
7 highway use tax, increase in the wine tax, the
8 tax on transportation-related activities. And
9 it goes on and on and on and on.
10 If we want to stifle growth and we
11 want to have less stimulus, then this is the
12 way to do it. So I would urge all of the
13 people -- everyone on this --
14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Excuse
15 me, Senator DeFrancisco.
16 There seems to be a lot of chatter
17 here this morning. If we could return to how
18 we've been conducting ourselves the last few
19 days, any conversations that need to take
20 place, I'd ask that they take place outside of
21 the chamber so that we can hear those who are
22 speaking on amendments and bills.
23 Please continue, Senator
24 DeFrancisco.
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1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you,
2 Senator.
3 We are calling on the Democrat
4 Majority, or at least one or two of them --
5 just like the Democrats who represent upstate
6 in the Assembly voted against this portion of
7 the budget -- it really is important for our
8 people in the State of New York that we don't
9 cause more harm. And rather than having a
10 stimu-less -- L-E-S-S -- package for our
11 budget, we should try to stimulate the economy
12 and make certain that we have the funds
13 necessary available to people so they can
14 purchase goods on the market and be in a
15 position to help stimulate this economy.
16 I'm looking for a list here of
17 items, because no doubt -- we have been asked
18 in the press -- not directly, but in the
19 press -- how we're going to pay for this.
20 Well, we had given you that information way
21 back when when we presented our budget
22 alternative that was provided by my letter to
23 Senator Kruger, but well before that when we
24 made our suggestion early on in the budget
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1 process.
2 One of the areas is cut a certain
3 percentage -- we've got 1 percent, you could
4 do more -- from agency contracts. And quite
5 frankly, that's what CSEA is looking for, is
6 basically to not outsource as much. They've
7 got talent within the State of New York to do
8 some of these things. So cut down on these
9 independent contracts that we have, and we
10 certainly can cut 1 or 2 percent, which would
11 generate a substantial amount of money because
12 there's more than $136 billion in agency
13 contracts, and probably more.
14 Consolidation of state agencies.
15 The Governor talked about how we've got to
16 streamline government in his budget
17 presentation. And we've got a whole list of
18 agency consolidations that were made public
19 when we presented our budget.
20 That seems more prudent. It will
21 be a better way to balance the budget, in that
22 it's a true structural change and will be
23 recurring, less money that we have to spend on
24 government. So that when the stimulus money
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1 runs out, we'll be in a position to actually
2 pay for government.
3 And this is the type of action that
4 really I think what the Comptroller, the
5 Democrat Comptroller DiNapoli, called for, a
6 budget that actually has recurring savings as
7 time goes on, not postpone the inevitable.
8 And the inevitable would be just waiting to
9 make these additional cuts somewhere two years
10 down the road when the largesse from the
11 federal government -- or, put another way,
12 when the money from the other pocket of the
13 taxpayer runs out, we will have to go back
14 into that state pocket even more and more
15 unless we do these types of things.
16 We had several others that I could
17 go into more details, but other speakers want
18 to speak. But we do have alternatives. We
19 can pay for it. We should pay for it in this
20 manner. And it's a recurring savings.
21 So I would urge all of the Democrat
22 majority members to join us and join the
23 upstate members of the Democrat majority of
24 the Assembly in voting for our amendment so
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1 that you would ultimately be voting against
2 these onerous new taxes.
3 Thank you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
5 you, Senator DeFrancisco.
6 Senator Fuschillo, on the
7 amendment.
8 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you
9 very much, Mr. President. On the amendment.
10 Yesterday it was reported by the
11 Associated Press that the Labor Department
12 today is slated to release a report expected
13 to show that a net total of 654,000 jobs were
14 lost last month. If the economists are right,
15 it would mark a record four straight months
16 that job losses topped 600,000. That's more
17 than the population of Baltimore. Economists
18 say the job market may not get back to normal
19 until 2013.
20 And now the Governor wants to raise
21 the personal income tax. Property taxes are
22 increasing everywhere, unemployment is at a
23 record high, more than 140,000 jobs lost just
24 since last August. Taxes and fees in this
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1 budget are killers.
2 Residents throughout this state and
3 small businesses are asking for help. I stand
4 corrected; they're pleading for help. Tax
5 increases will just create more vacant stores
6 in our downtowns and more residents just to
7 leave the state and go across the border to
8 Connecticut, that has a 5 percent maximum
9 rate.
10 Asked after the event of how the
11 stimulus money should be used in the state
12 budget, our United States Senator, the senior
13 one, Senator Schumer, said: "The first job is
14 twofold. One, prevent tax increases. We
15 cannot afford, at a time of recession, to have
16 a large tax increase. Second, to use it to
17 prevent mass layoffs. You can't have
18 teachers, firefighters, cops laid off in a
19 time of recession. It should be used to
20 mitigate the dangers we face from increases
21 and the large kind of layoffs which the state
22 government would have to do on its own without
23 the stimulus money."
24 My county executive, Tom Suozzi,
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1 said if they do an income tax increase and
2 don't do a property tax cap or property tax
3 relief, property taxpayers should revolt.
4 The Wall Street Journal stated that
5 capital gains and Wall Street wages, which
6 accounted for half of the 2003 to 2007 growth
7 in New York State aggregate income, are
8 projected to decline by $100 billion from '07
9 to '09.
10 When you look upon how we compare
11 to other states, tax analysis and the facts
12 and figures, it's going to take this year
13 until May 5th, which is our Tax Freedom Day,
14 and it shows how long New Yorkers must work
15 till they can pay all their taxes -- federal,
16 state, local, everything. We're third in the
17 nation, or only third by two days.
18 When you look at our state business
19 tax climate, we would hope we would be number
20 one. We're at the bottom of the barrel.
21 We're 49th. And probably, after this, we'll
22 be 50th.
23 Individual income tax index, we'd
24 like to be number one, which shows the most
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1 favorable climate in the nation. We're 43rd.
2 Sales tax index of collection, we'd
3 like to be number one. It would show the
4 least amount that we would collect. We're
5 49th.
6 Property tax index -- number one is
7 the best -- we're 45th.
8 State individual income tax
9 collection, 50th is the best -- it means they
10 collect the least -- we're number two in the
11 nation.
12 State corporate income tax, 50th is
13 the best, we're number eight in the nation.
14 State gas tax collection rate, we
15 have the distinction of being the worst, the
16 number one in the nation.
17 State and local tax burden -- 1 is
18 bad, 50 is good -- we're number two. State
19 and local income tax collection, we have the
20 distinction of being the worst. We're the
21 highest, we're number one.
22 Corporate tax collection, we're
23 number two.
24 State and local spending, 50 is
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1 supposed to be really good, at the bottom of
2 the barrel; it means you spend the least.
3 We're number two. After this budget, we'll
4 probably be number one.
5 The personal income tax -- and you
6 heard my colleague Senator DeFrancisco talk
7 about it -- it's been analyzed by the Empire
8 Center that we're going to lose, right off the
9 bat, 15,000 jobs. It's going to be more than
10 that. Because you're raising the tax and
11 fees, cutting school aid to certain regions,
12 taking away the STAR rebate. Just on Long
13 Island, we're losing $370 million that people
14 expected to have.
15 And the economy is tanking. And I
16 look on the federal level, what our President
17 is doing, and I saw a commercial the other day
18 that Ford is saying if you lose your job, we
19 have the money to pay for your car for seven
20 months; don't give it back to us.
21 That's taxpayers' dollars. That's
22 the President saying, I'm going to try to keep
23 this economy alive, I'm going to try to keep
24 this economy alive and keep people working.
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1 If the car industry goes down, they estimated
2 1 million to 2 million jobs are gone.
3 That's why they're pumping all this
4 money in. They're pumping it in to save jobs,
5 to keep people in their houses, with the
6 mortgage tax -- the foreclosures are at record
7 amounts. And they're trying to keep people in
8 their homes, in their jobs. And in New York
9 State, the opposite is happening.
10 You're raising taxes, Governor
11 Paterson, at the worst possible time in the
12 history of the State of New York. And you're
13 telling people with a subliminal message
14 that's going to be quite apparent to them
15 shortly: You're going to have to leave,
16 because we're raising your personal income tax
17 rate.
18 Senator DeFrancisco said it best.
19 It's not a millionaire tax, it's a tax that
20 hits S corporations, small businesses that pay
21 the personal income taxing that are starving,
22 that haven't taken salaries -- not in a week,
23 six weeks. I'm meeting with my chambers, they
24 haven't taken salaries, the small businesses,
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1 in months. And this is going to kill them
2 even further.
3 I urge the approval of this
4 amendment for every citizen who works hard in
5 New York State, who wants to stay and live
6 here with their family.
7 Thank you very much, Mr. President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
9 you, Senator Fuschillo.
10 The question is on the nonsponsor
11 motion to amend Calendar Number 136. All in
12 favor of the amendment please signify by
13 raising your hand.
14 The Secretary will announce the
15 results.
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 30. Nays,
17 30.
18 Excused for the day, Senator
19 Hassell-Thompson.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
21 motion fails.
22 Senator Libous.
23 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
24 there's another amendment at the desk, by
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1 Senator Ranzenhofer and Senator Marcellino. I
2 would ask that you waive its reading and
3 please call on Senator Marcellino first.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There
5 is an amendment at the desk.
6 Without objection, the reading is
7 waived and Senator Marcellino may be heard on
8 the amendment.
9 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 The other night on Channel 9,
12 Senator Smith, the Majority Leader, was
13 talking about the taking away of people's STAR
14 rebate checks. His comment was most of the
15 people don't even realize they were getting
16 that money, it was such a small amount.
17 Well, the people in my district and
18 districts around this state know how much
19 money they're getting. We're already getting
20 calls: Where are our STAR rebates? Why are
21 you taking them away?
22 At a time when property taxes are
23 going up -- and New Yorkers are already paying
24 the highest property taxes in the nation --
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1 this budget will make matters dramatically
2 worse, placing an enormous new burden on
3 middle-class taxpayers and homeowners who are
4 already struggling to make ends meet.
5 In Nassau County which I represent,
6 along with Senator Skelos and Senator
7 Fuschillo and Senator Johnson -- and Senator
8 Hannon, can't forget Senator Hannon -- the
9 STAR rebate check would be approximately $685
10 to each homeowner.
11 Suffolk County, which I also
12 represent part of, along with Senator LaValle,
13 Senator Owen Johnson, Senator Flanagan --
14 Senator Morahan is trying to move into Suffolk
15 County -- and Senator Foley, and I think I did
16 say Senator LaValle before -- and partly
17 Senator Fuschillo also -- the average check
18 will be $667.
19 Westchester County, $1276, Senator
20 Stewart-Cousins. I think Senator Leibell may
21 have a piece of that as well.
22 In Jefferson County, $282. Erie
23 County, Senator Stachowski, $369 average
24 check. Onondaga, Senator Valesky, $488.
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1 St. Lawrence, Senator Aubertine, $422. I
2 could go on.
3 These are not insubstantial amounts
4 of money that are being taken away from our
5 citizens.
6 The Empire Center's web-based
7 Spend-O-Meter predicts that this state's
8 $131.8 billion budget, all funds included,
9 would spend $4179 per second, $250,000 per
10 minute, $15 million per hour, $361 million per
11 day, $2.5 billion per week, and $11 billion
12 per month.
13 Under this year's budget, our state
14 government will spend more every hour than
15 more than 200 typical New York families earn
16 in a year. And we're going to take property
17 tax STAR rebate checks away from them.
18 That total amount on Long Island is
19 $368 million. In the Hudson Valley,
20 $305 million. In New York City, which
21 includes the personal income tax credit, which
22 would also be reduced, it's $187 million.
23 Central New York, $177 million. Western
24 New York, $141 million. In the Capital Region
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1 and the North Country, $140 million. And in
2 Rochester, $130 million. And we're going to
3 take the STAR rebate checks away from
4 homeowners who need it.
5 This is wrong, Mr. President. This
6 has got to change. We need to give money back
7 to the hardworking taxpayers of this state.
8 The rebate checks do that.
9 Some have put press releases out --
10 I believe I read one from Senator Aubertine
11 and yourself, Mr. President -- saying that how
12 the Republicans are adding all this money on
13 top and they're not going anything to show us
14 how to pay for the bill.
15 Well, maybe you missed it, but we
16 put a plan out weeks ago. Weeks ago, sir.
17 Perhaps you should read it. Or maybe use a
18 calculator when you read it next time.
19 Because we show you how to pay for this bill.
20 We show you how to take $3.2 billion -- I
21 won't itemize them, in the interest of time --
22 but $3.2 billion in savings that would help
23 pay for everything we are restoring to this
24 budget.
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1 Property taxpayers are facing a
2 heavy burden. Senator Aubertine, in your
3 district I'm sure they're facing the same
4 burden proportionately as they are in mine.
5 And I want them to have this STAR rebate
6 check; I think you do too. I'm asking you to
7 come with us, vote with us, vote with us and
8 restore this check. It's important to our
9 people, it's important to the property
10 taxpayers of our state.
11 Mr. President, this is a good
12 amendment. I know none of them have ever
13 passed in the history of this state, so
14 perhaps we should make history today and pass
15 this one. It's a no-brainer. It's a
16 no-brainer, restore the rebate checks to our
17 constituents, to our public. They need it,
18 they're demanding relief. This budget spends
19 too much. This secret budget spends too much,
20 and we don't give enough back to our
21 taxpayers.
22 Thank you, Mr. President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
24 you, Senator Marcellino.
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1 Senator Ranzenhofer, on the
2 amendment.
3 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Thank you,
4 Mr. President.
5 This truly could be an historic day
6 if we did provide some property tax relief for
7 homeowners. One of the comments, as Senator
8 Marcellino mentioned, is that in New York City
9 the STAR rebate check is not as large as
10 upstate, Western New York and on Long Island.
11 In New York City, it's $148. And what I'm
12 asking is for some of the other upstate and
13 Long Island Senators to stand together and
14 unite on something that's important for the
15 rest of the state.
16 Because when Senator Smith said
17 it's not important for New York City, that's a
18 New York City point of view. But it's not a
19 point of view that's reflected in the rest of
20 the state. Mr. President, there are
21 3.9 million residences in this state, of which
22 3.3 million of them are eligible to receive
23 this STAR rebate check. Last year, of the
24 3.3 million, 2.9 million actually got a check.
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1 So if you do not support this
2 amendment, what you are doing for 2.9 million
3 people in this state, people that live in
4 every single county in this state, you are
5 taking money out of their pockets at a time
6 when their property taxes are going up.
7 And we express concern in this
8 chamber over toxic mortgages, mortgages that
9 people either couldn't afford or didn't
10 realize that their mortgages were going to be
11 adjusted, and we tried to protect them. This
12 Senate has tried to take actions to protect
13 people against toxic mortgages.
14 On the other hand, we're imposing
15 toxic taxes. And with these toxic taxes we
16 are doing exactly what we're trying to prevent
17 in the mortgage industry, but worse, because
18 the amount of money that the average household
19 will have to pay next year under this
20 budget -- between not getting their STAR
21 rebate, energy taxes, and every other thing
22 that's taxed in this budget -- is another $200
23 a month, or $2,400 a year. That's a lot of
24 money.
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1 So what I'm asking is to unite on
2 this particular amendment. This is a very
3 important amendment because, come September
4 and October, when the property tax bill
5 arrives in the mail and the rebate check
6 doesn't, our phones are going to continue to
7 ring off the hook, and they're going to say,
8 "Where is my STAR rebate check?"
9 Especially for seniors, who have to
10 pay their property taxes and don't have any
11 kids in the school. They're going to ask me,
12 "Where is my STAR rebate check?" And I'm
13 going to tell them that I put in an amendment
14 to give you a STAR rebate check.
15 And all we need are a couple of
16 votes, and we can actually give them a
17 positive answer. We can say yes, you're going
18 to get your STAR rebate check.
19 Mr. President, I'd ask that we take
20 a vote on this. This is a very important
21 issue. And let's have some bipartisan support
22 on this particular STAR rebate check issue.
23 Thank you, Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
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1 you, Senator Ranzenhofer.
2 Senator LaValle, on the amendment.
3 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you,
4 Mr. President.
5 Long Islanders, if the PIT is
6 enacted, will pay 16 percent of that tax, one
7 of the highest contributions in the State of
8 New York. When we look at real property
9 taxes, Nassau and Suffolk residents pay the
10 highest property taxes.
11 And I'm rising today just to give a
12 historic perspective. We passed, some years
13 ago, the basic STAR and enhanced STAR program.
14 And at the time it brought a lot of joy,
15 because people saw for the first time that
16 they received an exemption that was worth $500
17 to probably about $1,000.
18 And we found, as a Legislature,
19 that the school districts played a smart game.
20 They saw that their school district received
21 back, because we gave them back dollar for
22 dollar the exemptions that were taken off the
23 tax roll, and they increased their budgets
24 accordingly. So it was like additional state
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1 aid.
2 We finally said, look, we need to
3 do something to give the money directly to the
4 people so that they can go out and pay their
5 taxes. That's what the program, the rebate
6 checks, the STAR rebate program was all about.
7 And under Governor Spitzer, we
8 reduced it to middle-income taxpayers.
9 Today, when we look at the basic
10 and enhanced and the rebate check, it really
11 represents real money, real relief to the
12 people that we represent. When October comes
13 of this year -- we think that people are
14 always weighing every word that we say in this
15 chamber, reading every word in the newspaper.
16 They don't. They will find, when October
17 comes, they'll be looking for their rebate
18 checks. And as has been said, it's not going
19 to come, and your phones are going to be
20 ringing off the hook.
21 You will have to tell them that it
22 wasn't in the budget, and whether you
23 supported that or didn't support that.
24 So this is critically important.
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1 If there is one item in this budget that is
2 critically important to the people of the
3 First Senatorial District, it's the STAR
4 rebate program. And as Senator Marcellino
5 indicated, we put forth a budget. This was
6 one of the central items in our budget,
7 restoring the money for the STAR rebate
8 program.
9 So I hope that people will --
10 Democrat members will come across and vote
11 with us on this, because this is critically
12 important to our taxpayers.
13 Thank you, Mr. President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
15 you, Senator LaValle.
16 The question is on the nonsponsor
17 motion to amend Calendar Number 136. All in
18 favor signify by raising your hand.
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 30. Nays,
21 30.
22 Excused from voting, Senator
23 Hassell-Thompson.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
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1 motion fails.
2 Senator Libous.
3 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you,
4 Mr. President. I believe there's another
5 amendment at the desk by Senator Ranzenhofer.
6 Could we waive its reading, and could you
7 please call on Senator Ranzenhofer.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There
9 is an amendment at the desk from Senator
10 Ranzenhofer.
11 Without objection, the reading is
12 waived and, Senator Ranzenhofer, you are
13 recognized to speak on the amendment.
14 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 We talked about this morning that
17 there are millions of hardworking families
18 that are trimming their own household budgets.
19 And it's time that we here in the Senate in
20 New York State took action on a constitutional
21 spending cap that would restrain spending
22 growth and tax increases for years in the
23 future.
24 Everybody is aware that the federal
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1 stimulus package provides relief for our state
2 budget short-term, but we need to bear in mind
3 this funding is not going to be there in
4 future years. And the need to make some
5 structural long-term fiscal reforms is more
6 critical than ever.
7 Now, this has been highlighted by
8 the opinion of our Comptroller, Thomas
9 DiNapoli. He said that the budget is not a
10 long-term solution to New York's propensity to
11 spend more than the state can afford. He says
12 that it does so by an overreliance on
13 nonrecurring federal stimulus funds, and that
14 they're not going to be there in the outyears.
15 Mr. President, 30 states in our
16 country have placed statutory or
17 constitutional caps on spending. And New York
18 continues to rank, as Senator Fuschillo said
19 earlier, among the top in combined state and
20 local tax burden. When you talk about
21 property taxes, income taxes, business taxes,
22 corporate taxes, personal income taxes, and
23 sales taxes, we need to take some action to
24 restrain this state.
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1 A spending cap would limit
2 year-to-year state spending increases. The
3 authority to exceed the cap would only be
4 authorized by the Comptroller in an emergency
5 situation.
6 As a matter of fact, prior to my
7 arrival in the Senate, Mr. President, last
8 year the Senate passed Resolution 7134 with
9 bipartisan support to enact a spending cap on
10 all state funds. In light of what's going on
11 in this state, Mr. President, right now, a
12 spending cap is needed more than ever,
13 especially given the serious economic
14 challenges that we have in this state and the
15 fact that we all know that in a year or two
16 this federal money dries up, the stimulus
17 package will not be there anymore, and we will
18 be in a greater deficit than we are today.
19 So I would urge its approval.
20 Thank you, Mr. President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
22 you, Senator Ranzenhofer.
23 Senator Marcellino, on the
24 amendment.
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1 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes,
2 briefly, Mr. President.
3 I rise because this state is
4 spending too much, clearly. And we have an
5 opportunity here by this resolution to
6 demonstrate and lead by our own example, and
7 that is to cap spending.
8 How do we go back to local
9 districts, how do we go back to the counties,
10 school districts, towns and otherwise and tell
11 them to slow down spending and cap their
12 spending if we don't do it?
13 We have an opportunity here to lead
14 by example, and we should. Let us cap our
15 spending.
16 Thank you.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
18 you, Senator Marcellino.
19 The question now is on the
20 nonsponsor motion to amend Calendar Number
21 136. All in favor signify by raising your
22 hand.
23 Announce the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 30. Nays,
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1 31.
2 Excused from voting, Senator
3 Hassell-Thompson.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
5 motion fails.
6 Senator Libous.
7 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I
8 believe there's an amendment at the desk by
9 Senator LaValle. Would you waive its reading
10 and please call on Senator LaValle.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There
12 is an amendment at the desk. Without
13 objection, the reading is waived, and Senator
14 LaValle is now recognized to speak on the
15 amendment.
16 SENATOR LaVALLE: On the
17 amendment, Mr. President.
18 I have spoken in the last number of
19 days about the need for institutional aid to
20 help both State University and City
21 University. Today, this amendment goes to
22 helping individuals pay tuition through two
23 mechanisms.
24 One is a mechanism called Family
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1 Tuition Investment Plan. As we all know, and
2 probably very painfully, some of us in this
3 chamber have set up 529 accounts through the
4 College Choice Program that we passed into law
5 here or another 529 program that sets aside
6 money in an IRA for the education of a child
7 or a grandchild or a niece or a nephew.
8 As everyone knows -- again,
9 painfully -- the 529 accounts are not doing
10 very well. A lot of money has been lost.
11 This mechanism allows individuals
12 to make a contractual agreement with a trust
13 fund set up to lock in tuition at SUNY or CUNY
14 now. An individual has to be -- the child has
15 to be 14 years or younger, and the State
16 University would receive that money. In this
17 budget, they would receive $116 million, we
18 estimate, on the basis of various
19 demographics.
20 I think it addresses the
21 institutional problem the State University has
22 or the City University has. And the parent
23 for the child is guaranteed that that will be
24 their tuition. It does not guarantee
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1 admission, but it guarantees that the tuition
2 is locked in.
3 The second part of the amendment
4 deals with tuition tax credit. New York
5 State -- and we in this Legislature -- I
6 believe was the first state to enact a tuition
7 tax credit. The federal government lagged
8 behind. But in the stimulus bill, it
9 increased the federal tuition tax credit from
10 $1,800 to $2,500.
11 We increase our tuition deduction
12 from $10,000 to $12,500 and also our tax
13 credit from $400 to $500. This would give
14 great relief to the individuals who are so
15 concerned about funding their child's
16 education.
17 The first provision actually
18 generates money for the state. The second
19 provision, the tax credit, tax deduction
20 provision, is a $4 million provision, and we
21 can pay for that in the same way. This was
22 part of our budget recommendation.
23 Thank you, Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
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1 you, Senator LaValle.
2 The question is on the nonsponsor
3 motion to amend Calendar Number 136. All in
4 agreement indicate by raising your hand.
5 Announce the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 30. Nays,
7 30.
8 Excused from voting, Senator
9 Hassell-Thompson.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
11 motion fails.
12 Senator Libous.
13 SENATOR LIBOUS: There's another
14 amendment at the desk, sir, that I ask that
15 you waive its reading and call on Senator
16 Flanagan and then Senator Saland, please.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: I'll
18 do that.
19 Before we do that, I would just
20 inform the members that we have four more
21 amendments, so I would request that you stay
22 close by to the chamber so we can expedite
23 these votes.
24 Senator Flanagan, there is an
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1 amendment at the desk. Without objection, the
2 reading of the amendment is waived and you may
3 be heard on said amendment.
4 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 The other day we had some
7 discussion on the education portion of the
8 budget, and today we're following up in the
9 language bill. And I had inquired of Senator
10 Oppenheimer as to some points that are
11 actually contained in this bill.
12 And I must express at the outset my
13 clear disappointment that in the budget
14 proposal that we have before us that there is
15 absolutely no mandate relief. And frankly,
16 there's no excuse for the fact that there's no
17 mandate relief, because it's easy, it's common
18 sense, it's something that's been discussed ad
19 nauseam by our school districts. We talked
20 about it in conference committees over the
21 last couple of years, but nothing's been done.
22 The Senate Republicans, every
23 chance we got, we advocated, we put
24 legislation here before this house, we put
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1 legislation before the conference committees.
2 And it contains some very basic things that
3 even the Governor had in his budget proposal.
4 And the amendment that we have
5 before us today I think will go a long way
6 towards helping our school districts. And I
7 don't care what corner of the state you live
8 in, whether it's the City of New York or out
9 on Long Island or any small community in
10 upstate New York. Mandate relief is something
11 we hear about all the time from our districts.
12 So let me quickly go through the
13 list of what is contained in this amendment.
14 First, no unfunded mandates. It's about time.
15 If the state is going to say you have to do
16 something, we should have to pay for it.
17 Second, no mandates should be
18 applied during a school fiscal year, something
19 Senator Saland has spoken about at great
20 length in past years. We should set the rules
21 of the game so schools know what's going on
22 and not change them right in the middle of the
23 school year.
24 Third, the Paperwork Reduction Act.
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1 There are so many reporting requirements that
2 school districts have to comply with that I
3 believe don't do a darn thing to educate
4 children. If they're superfluous and
5 unnecessary, get rid of them.
6 Fourth, energy audits. Allows for
7 energy audits for all schools that would be
8 aidable and payable by the State of New York.
9 Fifth, green buildings. We provide
10 incentives. Everybody talks about green
11 technology and green buildings. We have in
12 this amendment an incentive for school
13 districts to be involved so that there would
14 be additional aid if they chose to do so.
15 Sixth, BOCES. Expanding the role
16 of BOCES. I believe very strongly that if
17 we're going to find ways to help school
18 districts save money, we have to go to the
19 model we already have and simply try and
20 improve it.
21 Seventh, enhanced consolidation
22 initiatives. Very difficult to force school
23 districts to consolidate, but if we provide
24 incentives, that gives them the financial
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1 opportunity to look at this and maybe view
2 things differently than they would otherwise.
3 Eighth, school superintendent
4 sharing. This is a simple change in the law
5 that would allow school superintendents to be
6 shared by smaller school districts throughout
7 the State of New York.
8 Ninth, teacher pension costs. This
9 is something that not a lot of people really
10 understand. But the state will provide relief
11 with pension costs by providing a $100 million
12 program to aid for costs in excess of
13 4 percent outside of New York City, and up to
14 40 percent of the money in that program could
15 be used for New York City.
16 Municipal building sharing,
17 transportation contracts, and a blue ribbon
18 commission on mandates is the other thing.
19 Now, you might say, in light of
20 what I'm saying, why would we have a blue
21 ribbon commission? It is a very tight time
22 frame. It is an 11-member commission that has
23 to report back to this body.
24 But I believe that the things that
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1 we are advocating right in this amendment all
2 are common sense. I've been here for a long
3 time, I hear these things from my school
4 districts all the time. And especially now,
5 when it is difficult to actually give out
6 money, we should be finding ways to help
7 school districts save money, which inures to
8 the benefit of the property taxpayer.
9 Thank you, Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
11 you, Senator Flanagan.
12 Senator Saland, on the amendment.
13 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 I'm not going to repeat any of the
16 items that Senator Flanagan made mention of.
17 The fact of the matter is is that each and
18 every one of those items that he made
19 reference to has unanimously passed this house
20 previously. And there's no reason for it not
21 to pass unanimously. In fact, it's totally
22 revenue-neutral.
23 We all pay lip service to the idea
24 of mandate relief. It's one of the most basic
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1 and elementary things that we can do for
2 school districts. We can give them the relief
3 that they've been pleading for, begging for,
4 petitioning for, groveling for. There's
5 absolutely no reason why this house cannot
6 make this statement, as it has in the past,
7 now, here, today. It's not going to cost one
8 single solitary penny, but it's going to save
9 school districts millions upon millions of
10 dollars.
11 I implore you to do the right thing
12 for each and every one of you, particularly
13 for those of you who have independent school
14 districts. And, for that matter, the
15 dependent, the Big Five. They all will
16 welcome this as perhaps one of the most
17 important things you could have possibly done
18 for them at any time at any place.
19 Do the right thing on this one.
20 Let's pass this amendment.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
22 you, Senator Saland.
23 The question is on the nonsponsor
24 motion to amend Calendar Number 136. All in
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1 agreement indicate by raising your hand.
2 The Secretary will announce the
3 results.
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 30. Nays,
5 30.
6 Excused, Senator Hassell-Thompson.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
8 motion fails.
9 Senator Libous.
10 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
11 there's an amendment at the desk by Senator
12 Saland. Please waive its reading and call on
13 Senator Saland.
14 And I would probably ask the
15 members to stay close to the chamber, because
16 this will probably be very quick.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: We'll
18 ask the members to stay close by to the
19 chamber.
20 There is an amendment at the desk.
21 Without objection, the reading of the
22 amendment is waived. And, Senator Saland, you
23 are recognized to speak on the amendment.
24 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you,
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1 Mr. President.
2 Mr. President, I'm sure we're all
3 familiar with the Contracts for Excellence
4 provisions of Education Law whereby any
5 district that receives an increase of more
6 than 10 percent in foundation aid, or
7 $15 million or more, is subject to the
8 contract.
9 Let me preface my remarks by saying
10 a couple of years ago, when I chaired the
11 Education Committee, in a time in which we
12 provided just an extraordinary amount of
13 additional education aid, I was the lone vote
14 in opposition to the education budget -- not
15 because of the aid that I had negotiated into
16 the budget, but because of at that time an
17 issue dealing with charter schools, an issue
18 which -- a concept which I didn't oppose, but
19 an issue which bore disproportionately heavy
20 on certain school districts in the absence of
21 local control, districts such as the City of
22 Buffalo, the City of Albany, that were really
23 paying more than their fair share.
24 Well, this similarly is a situation
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1 which cries out for change. There are schools
2 called successful schools. They are the very
3 schools upon which the whole system of
4 foundation aid is based. And as successful
5 schools would imply, they're just that;
6 they're successful. They're doing things
7 well, they're doing things right, and they
8 form the basis for all the calculations and
9 contrivances that gave us the foundation aid
10 formula.
11 There are school districts called
12 districts in good standing. As the name
13 implies, after some 45 pages of data and
14 analysis, the State Education Department says:
15 You're a district in good standing.
16 There are 10 members here who have,
17 between them, 17 school districts that are
18 either successful and/or districts in good
19 standing, districts that have been recognized
20 for the quality of their work.
21 Under the Contract for Excellence,
22 they virtually lose the ability to use their
23 money as they see fit. They were successful
24 before the contracts, they're successful
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1 during the contracts, they're in good standing
2 during the Contract for Excellence, and
3 they're severely hamstrung. They can use it
4 for programs. Under this amendment, they can
5 use it for tax relief.
6 And I want to identify
7 alphabetically the members of the districts.
8 We have, in Senator Aubertine's district, the
9 Fulton School District, which is a district in
10 good standing, and the Oswego District, which
11 is a successful school and a district in good
12 standing.
13 Senator Bonacic also has two:
14 Monticello and Port Jervis, both districts in
15 good standing.
16 Senator Breslin has two: South
17 Colonie and Watervliet, South Colonie being a
18 successful school and a district in good
19 standing, Watervliet a district in good
20 standing.
21 Senator Griffo has Massena, which
22 is a successful school and a district in good
23 standing.
24 Senator Larkin, Valley Montgomery,
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1 a successful school and district in good
2 standing.
3 Senator Oppenheimer has two,
4 Ossining and White Plains, both of which are
5 districts in good standing.
6 Senator Morahan has Haverstraw,
7 which is a district in good standing.
8 Senator Nozzolio, Geneva,
9 successful school and district in good
10 standing, and Watervliet, a district in good
11 standing.
12 I have three, Hyde Park, Arlington,
13 and Wappinger, Hyde Park being a district in
14 good standing and both Arlington and Wappinger
15 being successful schools and districts in good
16 standing.
17 And Senator Winner has Elmira, a
18 district in good standing.
19 There is absolutely no reason
20 whatsoever that these school districts should
21 be ensnared in the Contract for Excellence
22 requirements. These school districts should
23 have the ability to continue to do what they
24 have done to make them successful, to make
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1 them in good standing -- without being
2 micromanaged by some people who have never set
3 foot in a classroom, some people who wouldn't
4 know what it would be like to instruct a
5 child, some person or people who, if they were
6 asked to instruct your children and to ensure
7 the quality of their education, in all
8 likelihood result in those children finding
9 the quality of their education diminished.
10 This was put together by a bunch of
11 bureaucrats because it seemed to be a great
12 thing to do.
13 Nobody is opposed to
14 accountability. This is about flexibility for
15 people who are the very models for that which
16 we hope all of our schools and school
17 districts will accomplish. Give them a break.
18 Let them have the latitude. Let them be able
19 to do what it is that they do well: educate
20 children.
21 Lastly, in some instances, a number
22 of these districts are on for one reason and
23 one reason alone. And I'll give you an
24 example of one of my districts. Over 10,000
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1 students. Because 14 students with
2 disabilities failed to pass one of the No
3 Child Left Behind required tests, they have
4 effectively lost the ability to manage 3-plus
5 million dollars, 3-plus million dollars,
6 because of 14 students out of 10,000 students.
7 You figure the number. I don't know how many
8 zeros there are after the decimal point. You
9 figure the number. But because of that, that
10 school district has lost the ability to
11 control its own money.
12 Again, simple. Doesn't cost
13 anybody anything. All we're doing is
14 recognizing that quality schools who have done
15 the job right deserve the ability to continue
16 to do the job right without being severely
17 hamstrung by some bureaucrats who wouldn't
18 know a classroom if they stumbled into one.
19 Thank you.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
21 you, Senator Saland.
22 The question is on the nonsponsor
23 motion to amend Calendar Number 136. All in
24 agreement indicate by raising your hand.
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1 Announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 30. Nays,
3 31.
4 Excused, Senator Hassell-Thompson.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
6 motion fails.
7 Senator Libous.
8 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
9 there's another amendment at the desk. I ask
10 that you waive its reading and please call on
11 Senator Young and Senator Little, please.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There
13 is an amendment at the desk. Without
14 objection, the reading of the amendment is
15 waived.
16 Senator Young, you are recognized
17 to speak on the amendment.
18 SENATOR YOUNG: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 This amendment deals with the
21 OCFS -- that's the Office of Children and
22 Family Services -- youth facility closures.
23 Effective June 2009, the Governor and the
24 Senate Democrats propose to close, in this
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1 budget, the following youth facilities: Great
2 Valley, that has 31 employees; Cattaraugus,
3 32 employees -- and both of those are in my
4 district -- the Adirondack nonsecure centers,
5 30 employees, in Senator Little's district;
6 the Rochester and Syracuse community
7 residential homes, nine employees, that affect
8 Senator Valesky, Senator Robach, and Senator
9 Alesi; the Pyramid Reception Center, 47 beds,
10 80 employees -- that's in Senator Diaz's
11 district, and I might note that out of respect
12 for Senator Diaz, last year the Senate
13 Republicans kept that open in the budget --
14 and the evening reporting centers in Albany,
15 Buffalo, and Syracuse, 22 employees, that
16 affect Senator Breslin, Senator Stachowski,
17 Senator Thompson and Senator Valesky.
18 Also affected is the Tryon Limited
19 Secure Center and the Allen Secure Center, and
20 both of those will be downsized by June of
21 2009, which impacts 65 beds and 250 employees.
22 To accomplish these closures,
23 Article VII legislation would repeal the
24 current 12-month notice law. All employee
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1 reductions would be accomplished by layoffs.
2 What a time to eliminate jobs, when
3 we're already losing jobs in New York State.
4 In some cases, this may result in young people
5 being placed in privately operated facilities.
6 We've already seen tragic consequences from
7 that because earlier this year, on
8 January 31st, Rochester Police Officer Anthony
9 DiPonzio and his partner went to check on drug
10 activity, and, as he was walking away from a
11 15-year-old youth, he was shot in the back of
12 the head.
13 He survived, and he was just
14 released from a brain rehabilitation center.
15 He needs to wear a helmet, and he needs more
16 surgery. This 15-year-old youth had run away
17 from a private facility. He was absent
18 without leave, AWOL, but he was under the
19 supervision, supposedly, of the Office of
20 Children and Family Services.
21 We will see more situations like
22 this as you close our youth facilities.
23 They're doing a great job helping these
24 troubled youth. There are so many success
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1 stories coming out of these facilities. And
2 it really is a tragedy that they're being
3 closed.
4 In 2008, the Governor appointed a
5 task force, a Juvenile Justice Task Force, to
6 study juvenile services in New York State.
7 They're still undergoing their review. Why
8 would we close these facilities before this
9 task force makes its determination? We should
10 not be closing these facilities, that's the
11 bottom line.
12 But the other promise that is
13 broken by New York State is that there was to
14 be a 12-month notice given to communities that
15 will be losing these jobs, be losing these
16 facilities, so that they could plan and have
17 alternative usage. That changes under
18 Article VII language in this budget, and
19 that's what our amendment is about.
20 It would reject the change in the
21 12-month notification law by deleting Part W.
22 And I would urge people to vote on behalf of
23 this measure.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
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1 you, Senator Young.
2 Senator Little, on the amendment.
3 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you,
4 Mr. President. I would like to join Senator
5 Young in speaking on this amendment about the
6 importance of these youth facilities.
7 In this budget we see that a lot of
8 stimulus money is being used, stimulus money
9 from the federal government, which I am
10 finding continues to stimulate unemployment in
11 my district.
12 I have a youth facility, a very
13 good youth facility in Clinton County. Last
14 year there were two youth facilities. They
15 merged into one to be more efficient. I
16 understood that. However, 24 people found
17 other jobs or were let go.
18 We now have the loss of 30 more
19 jobs in Clinton County. But it's more
20 important than the jobs that we're losing.
21 We're losing a facility that has a great
22 record. I have a report that this facility
23 has like a 66 percent no-recidivism rate,
24 which is very high for a state facility.
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1 The New York State Comptroller's
2 office in 2001 also cited this facility in the
3 Adirondacks. It said: "The results of their
4 study showed the Adirondack Wilderness Center
5 recidivism rate was much better than all other
6 state programs and seemed to be stable even at
7 an extended period. Cost per resident was
8 cheaper than both traditional programs."
9 This is a good facility that has
10 helped many troubled young people. Is it far
11 from New York City? Yes. And that's the
12 answer that I get when we talk to the
13 Commissioner of OCFS. But it's not only far
14 from New York City, it's far from the
15 influences that got these young people in
16 trouble. It shows them a different way of
17 life. It shows them an appreciation for the
18 outdoors. It's not for every young person,
19 but the young people who have gone here have
20 benefited from it.
21 Will it cost money to keep this
22 open? Yes. But it will result in savings if
23 we help young people and keep them out of our
24 correctional system and keep them from
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1 returning to these facilities.
2 And if you're looking for money
3 that you could spend to help young people turn
4 their lives around, there's still $60 million
5 in this budget for the purchase of more land,
6 and land not only in the Adirondacks but in
7 other spots.
8 We have shown over $3.2 billion in
9 new cost-cutting measures for this budget to
10 afford the things that we are making
11 amendments to put back in, because we feel
12 that these are important issues. But our
13 ideas have fallen on deaf ears.
14 So in that light, I would ask you
15 to support this amendment and support many of
16 the troubled youth of New York State who,
17 according to this report, have really found
18 help at these centers.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
20 you, Senator Little.
21 Senator Farley, on the amendment.
22 SENATOR FARLEY: Yes. I wasn't
23 going to speak on this, but if everyone was
24 listening to these two gifted women Senators
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1 on our side, it's so significant. This is a
2 little mini part of the budget that talks
3 about one little problem, that addresses our
4 youth.
5 These have been very, very
6 successful facilities. They've done a great
7 job for troubled youth. Everybody in here
8 ought to be concerned about their closing.
9 It's really not the way to go.
10 And I think this amendment really
11 has a lot of merit. It's something that I
12 really wish could pass, because this really
13 does for our society what is desperately
14 needed: to try to change the lives of people
15 that are going down the wrong way. These
16 youngsters have really been successfully
17 treated by these facilities. And by a stroke
18 of a pen in the budget, they're going to
19 extinguish this program.
20 I'm going to vote for this
21 amendment.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
23 you, Senator Farley.
24 Senator DeFrancisco, on the
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1 amendment.
2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, one of
3 these facilities is closing in Onondaga
4 County. And the sad part about it is that it
5 was a very successful program.
6 And there were many articles in our
7 paper saying that it's underutilized, we
8 should definitely close it to save some money,
9 it makes no sense. The problem is it was
10 planned obsolescence. There was a definite
11 plan by the State of New York to remove young
12 people out of those facilities where they were
13 getting good treatment and good programs.
14 And it's easy to say it's
15 underutilized if intentionally it became
16 underutilized. And we had a great workforce
17 there that really cared for these kids, and
18 it's truly a shame that this planned
19 obsolescence took place.
20 We should restore these facilities
21 and bring the kids back where they were
22 getting good programming.
23 Thank you. I support the
24 amendment.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
2 you, Senator DeFrancisco.
3 The question is on the nonsponsor
4 motion to amend Calendar Number 136. All in
5 agreement indicate by raising your hand.
6 Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 30. Nays,
8 31.
9 Excused, Senator Hassell-Thompson.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
11 motion fails.
12 Senator Libous.
13 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I
14 believe there is one last motion at the desk.
15 I would ask that you waive its reading and
16 call on Senator Alesi and then Senator Winner,
17 please.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There
19 is one final amendment at the desk.
20 Without objection, the reading of
21 the amendment is waived. Senator Alesi, you
22 are recognized to speak on the amendment.
23 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you,
24 Mr. President.
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1 And I'm sure we're all, if nothing
2 else, at least happy that this will be the
3 last amendment of the day and of this process.
4 But make no mistake, this being the last
5 amendment -- I'll be happy to wait for some
6 quiet, Mr. President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Can we
8 have some quiet in the chamber, please. Any
9 conversation that must take place, please take
10 it outside of the chamber so that we can hear
11 the speakers.
12 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you,
13 Mr. President.
14 Make no mistake, this being the
15 last amendment does not make it the least. It
16 is my opinion that of all of the amendments
17 that have been offered here that are vitally
18 important to the conscience of this conference
19 and should be and should have been to the
20 entire body. With respect to this particular
21 amendment, it offers hope for not only the
22 upstate communities that many of us represent,
23 but as the Governor is fond of saying, all of
24 New York, the one New York that we
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1 collectively represent.
2 This amendment will provide tax
3 cuts for small manufacturers all across
4 New York State. There are approximately
5 18,000 high-tech companies that produce goods
6 and services -- some in upstate, some in
7 New York City. But they're produced all over
8 the state and used all over the state and
9 exported not only throughout the United States
10 but all across the country.
11 It's vitally important that these
12 small businesses, with an average employee
13 staff of about 16, be given every opportunity
14 to thrive, to succeed, to grow. And one of
15 the ways that this program and this amendment
16 will accomplish that is to provide tax cuts
17 for small businesses, many of them
18 manufacturers, cutting the corporate franchise
19 tax in half in the first year and eliminating
20 it altogether in the second year and
21 thereafter.
22 Those kinds of tax cuts not only
23 send a message to companies outside of
24 New York State but to the ones that are going
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1 to suffer under the burden of this
2 $132 billion budget that is being imposed on
3 all of us. It will send a message that there
4 is some hope, and at the same time it will
5 improve their bottom line almost immediately
6 by lessening the tax burden. That means that
7 they'll be able to keep employees, hire
8 employees, and be more productive.
9 The second part of this Upstate Now
10 program, which was introduced last year but
11 now applies to all of New York State, is a tax
12 incentive offering for manufacturers,
13 manufacturers that will have a payroll tax
14 credit if they hire new employees and a
15 investment tax credit if they're investing in
16 infrastructure.
17 And the final component of this --
18 and by the way, that manufacturing tax credit
19 will also apply to farms, so that farmers can
20 take advantage of hiring new people and
21 investing in infrastructure as well.
22 There's a job-training component in
23 here that also offers a tax credit of up to
24 50 percent of the cost of training existing
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1 employees as well as new employees.
2 And finally, this amendment
3 contains a component that each and every one
4 of us in this chamber last year voted for and
5 in the Assembly voted for, passed
6 unanimously -- I think with one "no" vote over
7 there -- an amendment to the Healthy New York
8 Act.
9 Now, with everything that's been
10 said about healthcare and the need for
11 improved healthcare and health coverage in
12 this state, as it applies to small businesses,
13 there hasn't been a better plan than the
14 Healthy New York plan. The Healthy New York
15 plan, as you know, allows small businesses to
16 offer their employees discounted healthcare
17 coverage.
18 Under the Healthy New York plan as
19 it was originally drafted, existing companies
20 had to have a 12-month waiting period if they
21 were already giving healthcare to their
22 employees. New companies that never offered
23 healthcare did not have to wait; they could
24 offer discounted healthcare to their employees
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1 from day one.
2 We understood that that was
3 patently unfair and counterintuitive. I
4 sponsored the bill here, Assemblymember
5 Morelle sponsored the bill in the Assembly,
6 and as I said, it was passed unanimously in
7 this house and nearly unanimously in the
8 Assembly.
9 Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed
10 that bill, citing the cost that might apply.
11 I disagreed with that rationale. But it's a
12 moot point, because now we're flush with all
13 of this stimulus money that's coming from
14 Washington. And a significant amount of that
15 money is supposed to go to cover the cost of
16 healthcare and health insurance.
17 So, my colleagues, when we're
18 looking at unemployment all across this state
19 being nearly double what it was last year --
20 and I'm not going to do what has been done
21 here for the last couple of days and select a
22 few of the members of the Senate from upstate
23 New York and cite their unemployment rates.
24 I'll cite all of our unemployment rates.
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1 Because, you know, if you look at
2 Lewis County, it's 11 percent -- or if you
3 look at Jefferson County, it's 11 percent.
4 Lewis County is almost 13 percent. Well, I
5 recognize that Senator Aubertine represents
6 that area, but I also recognize that Senator
7 Griffo represents one of those areas.
8 If you look in Buffalo, it's almost
9 10 percent. That's Senator Stachowski. But
10 Niagara, that's over 10 percent. That's
11 Senator Maziarz, if you go all the way across
12 this.
13 So why am I throwing in the
14 Republican Senators when we have been
15 highlighting the Democrat Senators? And I'll
16 tell you why. Because I believe that if you
17 recognize that this is our problem just as
18 much as your problem, you'll understand that
19 there isn't a reason on earth why there should
20 be a negative vote on this bill when every
21 single one of us voted for it last year and
22 when every single one of us had the
23 opportunity to do something good for the
24 people we represent regardless of what county
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1 we come from and regardless of where we are.
2 This is a good bill for small
3 business in New York State. This is a good
4 bill for the people that are trying to make a
5 go of it in New York State. This is a good
6 bill for the average 16 employees per small
7 business that work in the almost half-million
8 small businesses across this state.
9 When I cite unemployment rates in
10 Jefferson County and I cite unemployment rates
11 in Monroe County that I represent, I'm saying
12 across the board there isn't a single reason
13 and there isn't a single Senator that should
14 be able to say no to it. In fact, every one
15 of us should be able to say yes to this.
16 The NFIB supports this, the
17 Business Council supports this.
18 And now, ladies and gentlemen, I
19 hope I have had your attention on this very
20 important issue; I hope that I will have your
21 support on this amendment. And as much as I
22 hate to stop talking right now, because I
23 believe so fervently that this is a good thing
24 for small business in New York State, I will
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1 yield the rest of my time to Senator Winner,
2 who would like to talk on Empire Zones.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
4 you, Senator Alesi.
5 Senator Winner, on the amendment.
6 SENATOR WINNER: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 As you heard from me a few days
9 ago, obviously the whole proposal with respect
10 to Empire Zones I think is one of the most
11 egregious proposals that we're seeing in this
12 year's budget and certainly one of the most
13 egregious anti-upstate New York proposals that
14 we've seen in many, many years.
15 The good Senator from Nassau
16 County, Senator Fuschillo, so eloquently
17 outlined all the noncompetitive ways that we
18 are in New York with respect to taxes. That's
19 one of the reasons why we need the Empire
20 Zone.
21 Senator Alesi points out the
22 unemployment rate and the necessity for us to
23 be competitive as it relates to creating jobs
24 in this state to overcome the unemployment
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1 that is devastating our communities.
2 What have you done in this budget?
3 You've eliminated, one year early, and sped up
4 the elimination of the only economic
5 development tool that we have in upstate
6 New York to overcome the noncompetitive
7 circumstance that New York finds itself in.
8 Again, going forward in the Empire
9 Zone program, you're going to cut back on the
10 benefit of the real property tax credits.
11 You're going to eliminate the benefit of
12 trying to get sales tax exemptions. You're
13 going to cut off certain companies that have
14 been providing jobs and providing benefits to
15 upstate New York going forward that is going
16 to devastatingly increase that unemployment
17 even more.
18 As the head of the New York State
19 Economic Development Council pointed out, he
20 said: "The Empire Zone debate illustrates the
21 upstate/downstate split in state government.
22 It demonstrates how New York City-centric the
23 Legislature has become, and we're very
24 concerned that the focus on upstate is waning
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1 significantly."
2 Now, some people have said this
3 bill is better than the Governor's bill.
4 Well, that is hardly an excuse. The
5 Governor's original proposal is admittedly
6 worse, but this isn't much better. In fact,
7 this will still cause the type of harm we have
8 in upstate New York as a result of eliminating
9 this program and making us even more
10 noncompetitive.
11 You know, we had a debate over in
12 the other house. The other house indicated
13 that, you know -- and I want to quote a little
14 bit. It says, "There's little in the way of
15 tax breaks in this budget. One, however,
16 gives $350 million this year to the movie and
17 television industry. The only new tax credit
18 proposal that we have in this budget is
19 $350 million for movies and television
20 operations in New York City, and not a dollar
21 for upstate New York."
22 He went on to say: "Meanwhile, the
23 call for tax breaks to encourage
24 rehabilitation of older buildings, which would
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1 boost development in many upstate communities,
2 was not included, even though it would cost
3 nothing in 2009 and $87 million over six
4 years."
5 "There's no real attention to
6 Western New York and upstate," Assemblyman Sam
7 Hoyt said of this budget. "If I were the
8 deciding vote on the budget," he continued, "I
9 would have voted no."
10 I couldn't agree with Assemblyman
11 Hoyt anymore. He said it all. There's no
12 attention to western and upstate New York in
13 this budget.
14 You know, one of the other ironic
15 things is last year Senator Stachowski and
16 Senator Valesky joined with me in cosponsoring
17 legislation that was sponsored by the Rural
18 Resources Commission that would have expanded
19 Empire Zone programs in rural New York,
20 recognizing that the Empire Zone changes that
21 were being proposed and being suggested
22 demonstrated an upstate and rural New York
23 bias, a bias against upstate and rural
24 New York.
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1 Those changes that they
2 supported -- you supported, Mr. President, and
3 you voted for a couple of years ago -- which
4 passed this body by a vote of 60 to 2, would
5 have expanded Empire Zone programs,
6 recognizing that Empire Zone programs in
7 upstate and rural New York needed to be
8 relaxed and encouraged and expanded rather
9 than decimated as they are under this
10 proposal.
11 So, my colleagues, there couldn't
12 be a better opportunity to stand up and voice
13 support for upstate New York and the upstate
14 economy than we could with regard to
15 supporting this amendment and supporting the
16 provisions for tax cuts and tax benefits that
17 will grow New York rather than shrink New York
18 that are contained in this amendment.
19 Thank you, Mr. President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
21 you, Senator Winner.
22 The question is on the nonsponsor
23 motion to amend Calendar Number 136. All in
24 agreement please raise your hand.
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1 Announce.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 30. Nays,
3 31.
4 Excused, Senator Hassell-Thompson.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
6 motion fails.
7 Senator Liz Krueger, on the bill.
8 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
9 Mr. President.
10 Well, as I started out this
11 morning, it's a very complex bill with many,
12 many sections. And we listened to my
13 colleagues with their proposed amendments.
14 And I asked my staff whether we could add up
15 all the amendments that have been brought to
16 the floor or already submitted on the budget,
17 because in fact this is the revenue bill. And
18 I've learned that if you add up all the
19 hostile amendments -- excuse me, all the
20 minority amendments -- it creates a financial
21 gap of $8 billion in the state budget.
22 And so my concern is we are allowed
23 to disagree, and we will, and that's
24 democracy. But I'm very confused about where
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1 my colleagues think they could create a
2 balanced budget. Because they're cutting out
3 the tax proposals and they're putting back the
4 expenditures and they're not providing
5 alternative expenditure cuts or alternative
6 revenue additions.
7 And so, again, you add it up,
8 $8 billion out of whack. We have a
9 constitutional amendment that requires us to
10 pass a balanced budget, and we all know that.
11 And we all know that basically we're faced
12 with a challenge of a $16.5 billion budget
13 deficit.
14 And so with all due respect, a
15 group of amendments that puts us another
16 $8 billion out of whack, with a constitutional
17 obligation to go back to the voters of every
18 single district in our state and say, We
19 didn't want to make any hard cuts, we didn't
20 want to ask for shared pain by increasing
21 revenues, we just wanted to do what we like to
22 do -- which is spend and then borrow. Because
23 the only way your financial plan would work
24 would be to borrow the money.
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1 And unfortunately, I believe that
2 in fact that is exactly what we did for the
3 last 20 years when you were in control of the
4 budget. We were a borrow-and-spend
5 legislature.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
7 Senator LaValle, why do you rise?
8 SENATOR LaVALLE: Would Senator
9 Krueger yield for one quick question?
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
11 Senator Krueger, do you yield at this time?
12 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
14 Senator yields.
15 SENATOR LaVALLE: Senator
16 Krueger, did you read our budget proposal?
17 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes, I did.
18 SENATOR LaVALLE: Okay. Thank
19 you.
20 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
21 And again, you cut the taxes that
22 are being added, and you put back money for
23 new expenditures or restorations. And so when
24 you add it all up, it's $8 billion, a gap of
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1 $8 billion in the state financial plan.
2 And again, why are we here today at
3 this point? Of course we're in an economic
4 downturn that is horrendous worldwide,
5 nationally, and in our state. And so it's a
6 little, I suppose, disingenuous for any of us
7 to blame anyone specifically on that. But the
8 State of New York has built its debt ratio up,
9 year after year after year, decade after
10 decade.
11 And so, in fact, we can't borrow
12 our way out of the problems this year because
13 the debt is so high. And in fact, one of the
14 reasons our budget costs go up is because of
15 our debt service.
16 And I will just note that several
17 weeks ago you were voting against the debt
18 service bill. Which meant we were telling the
19 people we had borrowed money from and legally
20 owed interest and payments to that we were
21 choosing to default on our loans. Imagine the
22 State of New York saying it was going to
23 default on the money owed that we borrowed,
24 decades and decades worth of borrowing. That
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1 is the most fiscally irresponsible thing the
2 State of New York could do.
3 And so while I admit this is not a
4 budget I like -- no one wants to cut programs;
5 no one wants to raise taxes -- this is the
6 situation we find ourselves in in the year
7 2009 both because of the actions of this
8 Legislature and the reality of a worldwide
9 economic crisis.
10 And so I respect my colleagues'
11 arguments that they would like to put
12 everything back. Who wouldn't like to put
13 everything back? I know my side would like to
14 put everything back also. But we have an
15 obligation, a legal, constitutional obligation
16 to balance the budget.
17 And so in fact the only way we
18 found that we could balance the budget was to
19 decide to pass some revenue. And you know
20 what? We did this last in 2003, under
21 Governor Pataki and Majority Leader Joe Bruno.
22 And we not only stood up and said, both
23 houses, We have to do this, as painful as it
24 is, but I know most of you recall that we
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1 overrode a veto of Governor Pataki to do
2 exactly that, a temporary surcharge on
3 higher-income New Yorkers in order to not
4 leave ourselves with a fiscal gap or cause too
5 great pain to the people of New York by
6 cutting fundamental services.
7 And so we find ourselves in that
8 situation today again. And so when we have a
9 hostile amendment that eliminates the entire
10 tax and revenue bill, I'm very confused about
11 how we imagine we would meet the obligations
12 of the State of New York.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
14 Senator DeFrancisco, why do you rise?
15 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
16 Senator Krueger yield to a couple of
17 questions?
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
19 Senator Krueger, will you yield?
20 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: If you
21 wouldn't mind, I'd like to continue and then
22 take questions. I certainly will take your
23 question after, Senator DeFrancisco.
24 Thank you. And so I know that one
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1 of the most controversial issues today is the
2 fact that there's a proposal to increase the
3 personal income tax in the state budget. And
4 many states are facing this exact situation.
5 California has increased its personal income
6 tax to a rate of 10.3 percent for people with
7 incomes over a million dollars, a 38 percent
8 increase. New Jersey has increased their tax
9 rate to 9.75 percent on people with incomes
10 above $500,000.
11 Again, we did a surcharge in 2003.
12 Connecticut yesterday increased its tax
13 60 percent, a 60 percent increase on couples
14 earning over a million dollars. They needed
15 to close an $8.7 billion gap.
16 We are proposing an increase, as
17 was discussed earlier, on people above
18 $300,000, $300,000 to $500,000, and between
19 $500,000 and a million and up.
20 And yes, I heard you reference the
21 testimony of James [sic] Haughton from the
22 Beacon Institute arguing that this increase
23 would lose 15,000 jobs. Many economists have
24 written just the opposite and have stated just
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1 the opposite, and the data from study after
2 study shows that that impact will not happen.
3 And I just note, for the transcript
4 record, the gentleman from the Beacon
5 Institute who you're citing is on a consultant
6 contract with the Senate Republicans.
7 So fine, use your consultants, use
8 your experts. Everyone should use experts.
9 But he's pretty much the only one making that
10 argument.
11 And he made the argument that he
12 did an equilibrium model that has 3800
13 variables and that's how he concluded that
14 there would be 15,000 jobs lost. But in fact,
15 economic models are very often wrong.
16 Mr. Greenspan and the Federal Reserve Bank
17 models didn't predict the housing collapse.
18 So you can make economic models that say
19 almost anything.
20 But the vast majority of
21 economists, including Nobel Prize winners, are
22 in fact arguing your first assignment in an
23 economic downturn is to stimulate the economy
24 by spending money in the local economy as fast
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1 as you can and create jobs.
2 And to quote my mayor, Mayor
3 Michael Bloomberg, in November 2008 when asked
4 about marginal tax rates on the wealthy
5 impacting them: "I can only tell you among my
6 friends I've never heard one person say 'I'm
7 going to move out of the city because of
8 taxes.' Not one, not in all the years I've
9 lived here. You know, they can complain, 'Oh,
10 I get my tax bill, it's heavy.' But they've
11 never, ever thought that. My friends all want
12 to live here and understand the value."
13 And I've heard from my constituents
14 since we've put the personal income tax
15 proposal into the budget -- and just for the
16 record, my district will take the largest hit
17 from this personal income tax increase, the
18 number-one district. And I've heard
19 constituents, and they're concerned.
20 And I've had constituents claim and
21 point out: "So you're raising our taxes so we
22 can transfer the money to upstate New York."
23 Because that in fact is what we're doing in
24 the budget. We are trying to make sure we
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1 don't cut the programs and the services for
2 upstate New York. And so in fact we are
3 transferring money up there.
4 And when I explained, "But we have
5 to" --
6 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
8 Senator Libous.
9 SENATOR LIBOUS: Would Senator
10 Krueger yield for a question?
11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
12 Senator Krueger, do you yield for a question?
13 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: You know, I
14 just asked Senator DeFrancisco to wait till I
15 was done, so -- is it one question?
16 SENATOR LIBOUS: One question.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
18 Senator Krueger yields to a question.
19 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Certainly,
20 yes.
21 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you,
22 Senator.
23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: -- you like
24 Senator Libous better than me?
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1 (Laughter.)
2 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I take the
3 Fifth.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
5 Proceed with your question.
6 SENATOR LIBOUS: I'm just
7 confused, Senator Krueger. I heard you say
8 that you're transferring the money to upstate
9 New York.
10 Do you not eliminate the STAR
11 rebate checks in this budget? Isn't that
12 money that was going back to the taxpayers in
13 upstate New York? You're taking that away
14 from us. How could you be transferring the
15 money to us?
16 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you
17 for the question.
18 The STAR rebate program of course
19 has an impact in every county, as does the
20 overall STAR program. Because as you know, we
21 are holding harmless the vast majority of the
22 STAR program and only impacting the STAR
23 rebate program.
24 And so in fact STAR overall and the
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1 STAR rebate has an impact in every county, and
2 technically disproportionately also in the
3 City of New York, as you yourself reference,
4 or someone else did before.
5 So yes, when high-income earners
6 end up with a higher tax, it is distributed
7 away from New York City and Long Island at
8 this point in time to upstate New York.
9 SENATOR LIBOUS: I know she said
10 I could only have one question, Mr. President,
11 but I'm compelled to ask the good Senator for
12 one more, please.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
14 Senator Krueger, do you continue to yield?
15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Senator
16 DeFrancisco, will you hate me forever if I
17 allow him two questions?
18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Not because
19 of this.
20 (Laughter.)
21 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Senator
22 Libous, Senator DeFrancisco gives you
23 permission.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
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1 Senator Libous, you may proceed.
2 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you,
3 Senator Krueger.
4 I'm again just a little confused on
5 your answer. By taking away the STAR rebate
6 check that's going to the people in Broome
7 County, Tioga County, and Chenango County, an
8 average of $450 to $500, by taking that check
9 away from them this year in upstate New York,
10 how does increasing taxes in New York City
11 transfer the wealth up there?
12 You're taking something away from
13 us. I don't understand it.
14 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Senator
15 Libous, if we had not made the change in the
16 STAR rebate program and if we did not increase
17 the personal income tax, I am very confident
18 we would have ended up having to cut education
19 funding and healthcare funding.
20 That clearly would have had a
21 direct impact on your district and your school
22 districts, regardless of where you were in the
23 state. But again, that also would have had a
24 disproportionate impact on poorer communities
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1 of the State of New York.
2 So we were, as I said, in a very
3 difficult situation economically. Hard
4 choices were made. But in fact if you hold
5 all those up together, you will see that what
6 we are doing was actually protecting education
7 funds, healthcare funds, and other priorities.
8 And again, it is a transfer from
9 downstate to upstate, because of course we
10 know that at least in the City of New York we
11 historically are a donor to the upstate
12 economy at a tune of approximately $13 billion
13 a year. And because of the decisions we are
14 forced to make this year, the impact will be
15 even greater.
16 But we are one New York, and we
17 believe that we must make sure that all the
18 people of New York are protected and provided
19 fundamental basic services even in the
20 toughest of economic times.
21 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,
22 Senator Krueger was nice enough to give me two
23 questions. I have much more to say on this
24 topic, but I'll wait till my turn. I'll let
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1 her continue, because in all due respect I do
2 disagree with her, but I'll take that time a
3 little bit later.
4 Thank you, Senator.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
6 Senator Krueger, please continue.
7 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
8 Sorry, my thoughts were a little lost.
9 Just to highlight just a couple of
10 facts that I think perhaps were misspoken by
11 accident earlier.
12 The personal income tax in New York
13 State even in 2007 -- so it excludes the
14 changes that we're seeing in other neighboring
15 states already -- we were number 22 in the
16 country for the rate of personal income tax.
17 State taxes per $1,000 in personal income in
18 fiscal year 2000 placed, on a list of
19 50 states, New York at number 22.
20 Now, I could agree that's not at
21 the bottom, but it's not at the top either.
22 And it's not significantly more than the
23 national average. The U.S. average for
24 personal income taxes by state was $68.41 in
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1 the year 2007, and it was $74.42 in New York
2 State. And so there's 21 states with a higher
3 personal income tax at that time.
4 And yes, it will go up because we
5 are calling for the surcharge. But again,
6 it's important to remember that when you look
7 at the overall tax rate for New York State,
8 when you look at the combination of taxes
9 across the board -- because of course we are
10 all people who evaluate our entire tax bill,
11 not just the personal income tax -- people in
12 the categories that would be impacted by the
13 taxes we are proposing in the budget today,
14 the top 5 percent of earners in New York
15 State, if they're the top 1 percent, they're
16 paying 17.3 percent of their total income as
17 taxes after federal offset deductions. And if
18 they're in the next 4 percent, earners
19 basically from $160,000 to $634,000, they're
20 paying 13.4 percent of their total income in
21 taxes after the federal offset.
22 So while we are raising the taxes
23 on the wealthiest, we are in fact not raising
24 their tax rate to significantly more than
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1 other earners in the State of New York. And
2 in fact, their rates are still lower than
3 people with $74,000 to $160,000 in income or
4 people with $44,000 to $74,000 in personal
5 income.
6 And so I've had constituents tell
7 me, explain "fair." And I've had constituents
8 tell me just the opposite. They have told me
9 they support what we are doing. They
10 recognize that it is not in the state's best
11 interests if our public services collapse, if
12 we don't educate our children, if we allow our
13 hospitals to close down, if we don't have
14 police and fire and public transportation.
15 And they have told me that while so
16 many have already lost jobs and don't know
17 what they're going to do next, that we're only
18 talking about a tax on the people who still
19 have the earnings. I've had people call me
20 and say, "I don't understand. I lost my job
21 on Wall Street. What will this do to me?"
22 And I've explained, no, this
23 impacts you if you're still earning over
24 $300,000 a year or if you're still earning
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1 over $500,000 a year. And so if you
2 unfortunately, because of the economic
3 collapse, have lost your job or your family
4 income has decreased, this isn't a tax on you.
5 This is a tax on people who are still making
6 the highest levels of income in the State of
7 New York.
8 And I have had them say to me, "Oh,
9 now I understand." And I've even had at least
10 one constituent say: "I live in the greatest
11 city in the greatest state in the greatest
12 country in the world. I have a wonderful
13 house and a wonderful life. I'm not allowed
14 to complain." And so I appreciate that people
15 do understand what the impact is.
16 And again, we're hoping that this
17 will only be a short-term need. But we have
18 to meet our obligations under the law, and so
19 we are forced to make these tough decisions.
20 And again, you can argue that there
21 were other models to do so. We could cut
22 education funding more. I've heard everyone
23 discuss on the floor in the last several days
24 that they are opposed to our having kept
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1 education funding flat. I can't imagine
2 anyone who would have called for a cut in
3 education funding.
4 And I've heard everyone in this
5 room talk about the impact of the healthcare
6 cuts and that we could only make some of the
7 restorations to the proposed cuts that the
8 Governor offered us in his Executive Budget.
9 And I can't imagine that anyone wants to go
10 home and explain, No, we had to cut healthcare
11 more because we didn't have the revenue and we
12 had no choice.
13 And I've heard the argument that
14 this is going to hurt small businesses. But
15 in fact, just for the record, the marginal
16 income tax increases will not have a
17 significant impact on small business owners:
18 98.6 percent of small business owners make
19 less than $250,000 a year.
20 And so yes, if you're a small
21 business paying your tax through the PIT and
22 you don't make a lot of money, this isn't
23 going to impact you. But it's a misnomer to
24 try to argue that we are attempting in any way
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1 to put small businesses out of business by
2 increasing their taxes.
3 And we do have a historic problem
4 with inequity in the tax system. And I wish
5 that we could have done more to make it more
6 progressive. And I am hoping that we will do
7 so in future years.
8 But again, this year was hard
9 choices. And so we didn't get it perfectly
10 right, but we are going to make sure that the
11 money is used to stimulate the economy, keep
12 people in jobs, create jobs.
13 The amendments didn't reference
14 that in fact we have proposals to create tens
15 of thousands of jobs in New York, allowing
16 those people to be taxpayers and to contribute
17 towards the needs of the state. Leaving them
18 unemployed will only cost us more, immediately
19 and in the long-term.
20 And we have proposals to try to
21 protect those most vulnerable from the impact
22 of the state budget, and that will assure that
23 we don't have increased costs.
24 And so no one likes taxes. No one
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1 likes to vote for taxes. We have a tax phobia
2 in this country. It is used to attack
3 politicians. I know that. I certainly expect
4 to be attacked on my position today. But I
5 feel that as responsible legislators we are
6 sent here to make the hard decisions and
7 explain to our voters why we had to do the
8 tough work that they might not like. But I
9 think when it is explained to them, they will
10 understand that we did what we had to do
11 today.
12 And that hopefully the actions we
13 take today will increase the chances of our
14 jump-starting our economy sooner than later
15 and allowing us to all move forward with
16 budgets not so painful in future years.
17 Thank you, Mr. President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
19 you, Senator Krueger.
20 Senator DeFrancisco.
21 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
22 Krueger, I forgot my question.
23 (Laughter.)
24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: But I'll
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1 think of another.
2 Senator Krueger, you indicated that
3 we had a -- oh, would you yield for a
4 question?
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
6 Senator Kruger, do you yield to Senator
7 DeFrancisco?
8 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Of course,
9 Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
11 Senator yields.
12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You just
13 mentioned that we had a lot of tough choices
14 to make, and you talked about people being
15 affected by this bad economy.
16 Do you think that raising the
17 amount of spending in the New York State
18 budget this year by $12 billion to
19 $13 billion, or almost 10 percent, which is
20 seven times the rate of inflation, was a
21 preferable way to be concerned about and deal
22 with the concerns of our beleaguered taxpayers
23 and citizens, that that's a better solution
24 than keep holding the line on taxes?
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1 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you
2 for the question.
3 As has been discussed quite a few
4 times in the last week, the General Fund only
5 increased 1 percent this year, and it was the
6 overall funds, as we explained. Of that money
7 you described, at least $7 billion is federal
8 stimulus money.
9 And yes, I am delighted that the
10 New York representatives of our Congress and
11 our U.S. Senate got New York State that money
12 by voting for the stimulus package. And I
13 feel very strongly that the State of New York
14 should absolutely have taken the money and
15 spent it to increase jobs and increase
16 economic activity and assure that we have
17 adequate funds for our unemployment system.
18 And then of course you know that
19 several billion involve debt service.
20 So again, All Funds versus General
21 Funds, this is the lowest rate of increase in
22 the General Fund that the state budget has
23 seen. I actually have a chart here for you in
24 endless years. One second and I will get the
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1 chart. I have the chart.
2 So spending increase over inflation
3 is negative 2.1 this year. It was .07 last
4 year. If we just go back to 2003-2004, we saw
5 an 8.3 percent increase, spending over
6 inflation. In 2004-2005, a 2 percent increase
7 spending over inflation. 2005-2006, a
8 6.3 percent increase. 2006-2007, a
9 7.5 percent increase. And then again
10 2007-2008, when Governor Spitzer began, we saw
11 the trend start to go down.
12 So you always see some increase in
13 spending. You have to balance out, Senator --
14 excuse me. Through you, Mr. President, you
15 have to balance out the needs for the expenses
16 of the state and the revenue. But in fact,
17 we've been trending down.
18 And so even in the context of all
19 the realities facing us today, I think we're
20 doing a pretty good job historically.
21 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
22 Senator Krueger yield to another question?
23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
24 Senator Krueger, do you continue to yield to
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1 Senator DeFrancisco?
2 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
3 Mr. President, of course.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
5 Senator yields.
6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
7 Krueger, it's been established through my
8 questions of Senator Carl Kruger that the
9 increase is between $12 billion and
10 $13 billion in spending over last year. You
11 just indicated that there was $7 billion of
12 stimulus money that was spent this year.
13 Is it fair to say, then, the
14 additional $5 billion was state funds,
15 additional state funds that were spent in this
16 year's budget?
17 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Let me just
18 double-check one answer for you.
19 Thank you. Well, I don't have the
20 exact numbers. And my understanding is a
21 significant percentage of that $5 billion is
22 debt service. And some of that is also
23 additional federal stimulus that went -- we
24 were pass-throughs to the localities on that
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1 money.
2 So no, I don't believe there was
3 $5 billion of new spending of the taxpayers'
4 dollars in this year's budget.
5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
6 Krueger, is debt service -- would you yield to
7 another question?
8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
9 Senator Krueger, do you continue to yield?
10 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
11 Mr. President, I certainly do.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
13 Senator yields.
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Is debt
15 service that's spent -- part of this money was
16 debt service -- is that paid by the taxpayers
17 of the State of New York?
18 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes. In
19 fact, because of the budgets that were passed
20 by this house year in and year out before we
21 in fact became the majority, we owe the money
22 and we have a legal obligation to pay that
23 debt.
24 And so each time the State of
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1 New York makes a decision to borrow, we in
2 fact obligate ourselves to make the payments
3 and we obligate the taxpayers to pay that
4 interest on debt service, yes, sir.
5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
6 Senator Krueger yield to another question?
7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
8 Senator Krueger, do you continue to yield?
9 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
10 Mr. President, I do.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
12 Senator yields.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: How much
14 new debt service is in this particular budget?
15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: One moment.
16 I will see if I can you the answer.
17 And I know that it's a trick
18 question, because we have of course -- we have
19 off-budget debt. No, no, I didn't mean that
20 you were trying to -- I'm sorry. Excuse me.
21 Mr. President, through you, I did not mean to
22 be jovial.
23 There is off-budget through the
24 authorities as well as on-budget. There is
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1 personal income tax-obligated debt, and there
2 are other sources of debt, and there are
3 volume cap limits, et cetera. So it's not one
4 answer, which is why it might take a few
5 minutes.
6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator, I
7 had asked staff that was sitting here a moment
8 ago -- here he is. He's all ready to go. I
9 had a question, and I asked him a couple of
10 days ago -- if you would respond to another
11 question. Would you respond to another
12 question?
13 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Instead of
14 the question you just asked me? I'm sorry,
15 Mr. President, I'm confused.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
17 Senator DeFrancisco, are you asking Senator
18 Krueger to answer your question that you asked
19 a few moments ago, or are you withdrawing that
20 question and replacing it with an additional
21 question?
22 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: No, I'm
23 withdrawing that, I'm sorry.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Okay.
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1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
2 Krueger, would you respond to another
3 question?
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
5 Senator Krueger, do you yield?
6 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
7 Mr. President, I will respond to a different
8 question.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
10 Senator yields.
11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: My question
12 is -- and I gave this question two days ago to
13 a member of the majority staff. Can you tell
14 me what the total amount of stimulus money
15 that was received from the federal government
16 and the amount of that stimulus money that's
17 being used this year and what it's being used
18 for? Because I couldn't find it in any
19 documents.
20 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Apparently
21 we have it for you. One moment. I wasn't
22 asked that question earlier, but we're going
23 to get that for you.
24 Seven billion, all funds, was
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1 counted towards our budget this year from the
2 federal stimulus.
3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Okay. And
4 the second -- would she continue to yield?
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Do you
6 continue to yield, Senator Krueger?
7 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Can I edit
8 my answer?
9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Okay.
10 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
11 There was an additional 1.3 billion
12 that was the retroactive federal stimulus pre
13 the beginning of this new state fiscal year
14 that we used to help fill the gap remaining in
15 the 2008-2009 budget. And then there's the
16 7 billion going forward.
17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
18 Senator Krueger yield to another question?
19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Do you
20 continue to yield?
21 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes, I
22 certainly will, Mr. President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
24 Senator yields.
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1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Just so
2 it's clear in my mind, what is the total
3 stimulus money received? I don't care if it's
4 retroactive, proactive, or however you want to
5 characterize it. The amount of that used this
6 year, and what's left for next year.
7 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Okay. So
8 again, while I'm asking staff to get the
9 answer for everyone's edification, technically
10 the federal stimulus package was a 27-month
11 stimulus package, so it in effect overlapped
12 three of our fiscal years. So again, we
13 discussed the retroactive monies applied to
14 the budget year that's technically ended, and
15 then we have this year and then we have next
16 year.
17 Now, to add to the complications,
18 some of the federal stimulus money, we are a
19 pass-through to the localities, so it's not in
20 our budget to control the decisions that are
21 made. And some of that money is within our
22 budget, although mostly within limited uses.
23 Then, finally, there is competitive
24 federal stimulus money that the State of
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1 New York can apply for, and in quite a large
2 number of categories. And so we are hoping
3 there will be even more. So even whatever I
4 answer I offered you today, I think -- we hope
5 we will see additional money in the months to
6 come as New York State can apply for those
7 funds. And some of those are matching funds,
8 so it will require us to pay something to get
9 something. So it also would add to the
10 complications.
11 But to deal with the original
12 question, we believe an estimate for the three
13 years minus any competitive funds we might get
14 is 24 billion. But again, as I explained,
15 it's a little bit of a gray-area question
16 because we haven't quite factored in what we
17 might be able to get and what we would have to
18 contribute towards getting it.
19 For example, some of the programs
20 are a 60/40 match or an 80/20 match, and we
21 the Legislature would have to decide whether
22 we think it is worthwhile to put up the
23 20 cents or 40 cents on the dollar in order to
24 draw down the federal stimulus money.
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1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
2 Senator Krueger yield to another question?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
4 Senator Krueger, do you continue to yield?
5 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
6 Mr. President, I yield to another question.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
8 Senator yields.
9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: So over the
10 next 20-some-odd months your best estimate is
11 that there will be $24 billion available from
12 the federal government; correct?
13 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Minus the
14 7. Right? Or again, we've already accounted
15 for some of it. Right?
16 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: All right.
17 Would you yield to another question?
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
19 Senator Krueger?
20 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I'm sorry.
21 Yes, Mr. President, I will yield to another
22 question.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
24 Senator yields.
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1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: So the
2 $24 billion you estimate or the best estimate
3 of your finance people is what we get from the
4 federal government, and we've used in this
5 budget $7 billion of that, less than
6 one-third. Correct?
7 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes, I am
8 told that we assumed that and you assumed that
9 in your budget plan also.
10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
11 Senator Krueger yield to another question?
12 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
13 Mr. President, I do.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
15 Senator yields.
16 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
17 Krueger, first of all, how many billions do
18 you estimate that all the taxes -- personal
19 income tax and all the other taxes that are in
20 this budget -- will generate towards balancing
21 the budget that you've presented?
22 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: The new
23 revenue proposals as opposed to the current,
24 existing?
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1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The new
2 revenue proposals. PIT and all the others.
3 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: $5.1
4 billion.
5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: $5.1
6 billion?
7 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes, sir.
8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: And will
9 Senator Krueger yield again.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
11 Senator, do you continue to yield?
12 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
13 Mr. President, I do.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
15 Senator yields.
16 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: And in this
17 budget, of the $7 billion that you used,
18 there's approximately $1 billion of money that
19 is placed in the budget that is not specified
20 for what it is going to be used for; correct?
21 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Mr.
22 President, through you, if I could clarify by
23 asking a question.
24 Are we discussing the dry
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1 appropriation in the bill that was discussed
2 last night -- excuse me, two, three nights
3 ago? Is that the reference? Could you give
4 me the cite?
5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It's the
6 $1 billion appropriation, and the question --
7 which is available in this budget to be spent
8 in some manner, shape or form.
9 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I'm sorry,
10 I believe that is the federal contingent
11 $1 billion that we discussed on the floor the
12 other night.
13 And again, it is a dry
14 appropriation. We are not spending that
15 money, nor could we unless we revisited with
16 the Legislature, so it's -- for a vote and
17 approval. So it's not actually part of the
18 totals we're discussing here.
19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
20 Senator Krueger yield to another question?
21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
22 Senator, do you yield?
23 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
24 Mr. President, I do.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
2 Senator yields.
3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Is that
4 $1 billion that you say you'll have to revisit
5 with the Legislature, is that $1 billion being
6 used to balance the budget that you're
7 presenting in this case -- in this state, to
8 the state in this bill?
9 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Through
10 you, Mr. President, no. And we're not
11 authorized to do so. It's defined in federal
12 law as emergency funds, and so it could not be
13 used for purposes of gap-filling in the normal
14 circumstance of our budget at this time.
15 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
16 Senator Krueger yield for a question?
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
18 Senator Krueger, do you continue to yield?
19 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Mr.
20 President, of course I yield.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
22 Senator yields.
23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
24 Krueger, what is the purpose of having a
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1 $1 billion number in a budget that is not
2 being used to balance the budget and that
3 cannot be utilized until approved by the
4 Legislature for some specific use? What is
5 the purpose of that being in the budget?
6 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: It's my
7 understanding that Section 53 of -- I'm just
8 finding the citation -- state law requires
9 that it's a very limited definition of what we
10 could use emergency funds for and what would
11 be required by the Legislature.
12 And apparently this is put into the
13 budget every four years. So it is a -- every
14 year, pardon me. Excuse me. It's put into
15 the budget every year. It's not a new
16 phenomenon or something being slid into the
17 budget, Mr. President.
18 And again, it would require further
19 action by the state to be able to access that
20 money and what specifically it could be used
21 for. It's very limited. So again, it's an
22 emergency fund dry appropriation. We have
23 many dry appropriations in the state budget
24 from year to year.
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1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
2 Senator Krueger yield to another question?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
4 Senator Krueger, do you continue to yield?
5 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
6 Mr. President, I continue to yield.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
8 Senator yields.
9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: If this
10 money is in the budget each year, a
11 billion-dollar dry appropriation, why is it
12 identified in this particular budget as
13 federal stimulus money?
14 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I'm sorry,
15 I've been informed that it's not federal
16 stimulus money, it's exception to the federal
17 stimulus.
18 It is a dry appropriation of
19 emergency funds as is put in each year. We
20 did, for example, use this money after the
21 9/11 crisis, and so we found a way through the
22 Legislature to choose to turn a dry
23 appropriation into emergency funding for that
24 emergency.
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1 But then again, each year it's
2 there. And since it's there each year,
3 Mr. President, it's my understanding that
4 there isn't a correlation to the federal
5 stimulus, because obviously the federal
6 stimulus starts now. And this is something
7 that has existed in law year after year,
8 although I don't know what year it started,
9 although obviously it existed in 2001 when we
10 dealt with it for the 9/11 crisis.
11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
12 Senator Krueger yield to another question?
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
14 Senator Krueger, do you continue to yield?
15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
16 Mr. President, I happily yield.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
18 Senator yields.
19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
20 Krueger, was there any prohibition of using
21 the $7 billion federal stimulus money that is
22 being used this year in the budget, or any of
23 the remaining federal stimulus money, to be
24 used in lieu of these tax increases that are
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1 in this budget?
2 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Through
3 you, Mr. President, yes, there are many
4 prohibitions.
5 My understanding is that the
6 federal stimulus package was, by and large,
7 lined out for specific items and that there
8 could not be changes in use in the vast
9 majority of these monies by a state
10 legislature or by federal elected officials in
11 their home state.
12 So for example, there's a targeted
13 amount for infrastructure and energy, and in
14 fact within that I see about 16 different
15 categories that are suballocated that could
16 not be moved around. Then there's health and
17 human services, there are at least 20
18 categories I see that could not be moved
19 around by the State Legislature. Education,
20 seven categories.
21 And in fact, a significant amount
22 of the federal stimulus for the education
23 monies were given directly to every local
24 school district. So while it appears as the
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1 State of New York's money, it in fact has been
2 targeted very carefully and specifically by
3 the federal government for education, with
4 approximately $1.1 billion this year coming to
5 the state and a significant amount going to
6 our local districts.
7 Then there's also public safety
8 funds, approximately four categories. So --
9 and then there's of course the FMAP funds,
10 which there is some flexibility with. But as
11 we know, we've had many discussions here on
12 the floor, and there's even been great
13 consternation that we moved some of the FMAP
14 funds into a more general-purpose use rather
15 than remaining in healthcare.
16 So to answer your question, most of
17 the federal stimulus monies could not be moved
18 around to address our gap problem.
19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
20 Senator Krueger yield to one or two more
21 questions?
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
23 Senator Krueger, do you continue to yield?
24 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I would be
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1 happy to yield to one or two more questions,
2 Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
4 Senator will be happy to yield.
5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
6 Krueger, rather than belabor this point, I
7 would request that we be provided a breakdown
8 of the $24 billion -- and this is what I had
9 asked for a couple of days ago -- a breakdown
10 of the $24 billion as to what was spent,
11 what's remaining, and what is restricted that
12 has to be used for a specific purpose rather
13 than could be used for whatever purpose.
14 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Mr.
15 President, I would happy to do so and would
16 just like to direct all of my colleagues to
17 the Governor's website, which has the
18 information directly up online, so it is all
19 line-itemed out.
20 So I appreciate the fact that the
21 Governor's office has done us that service.
22 But I will happily give it to you as well.
23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
24 Senator Krueger yield to another question?
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
2 Senator Krueger, another question?
3 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
4 because I have to make up to Senator
5 DeFrancisco for apparently choosing Senator
6 Libous over him earlier.
7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
8 Krueger -- I won't go there.
9 (Laughter.)
10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
11 Krueger, can you tell me on that website does
12 it indicate what agencies are using this money
13 from the federal stimulus fund? And does it
14 say what's restricted and what's not
15 restricted?
16 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Mr.
17 President, through you, no, I don't believe I
18 saw the itemization that way.
19 Although in fact the NCSL website,
20 which I know we all have access to, the
21 National Conference of State Legislatures, has
22 done a very good job of breaking it down even
23 further, not by state but by category within
24 the federal stimulus. So in fact what it
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1 helps you do is see which federal agency is
2 writing which regulations about how the money
3 can be used or how it is restricted.
4 And so then it does take a little
5 more work, Mr. President. But if you know,
6 for example, that the federal regs for certain
7 funds are through HHS, you can then separate
8 and tease out what in the State of New York
9 might be through the Department of Health and
10 what might be through the Office of Temporary
11 and Disability Assistance.
12 There are some monies where the
13 regulations are coming through the federal
14 Department of Transportation, where again you
15 can tease out and have to make -- perhaps call
16 the agencies and ask. But you can figure out
17 which of the state agencies -- for example,
18 State Department of Transportation -- those
19 monies would be going through. Education I
20 think is clear it's through the State
21 Education Department. The public safety
22 funds, obviously there are a number of
23 different state agencies that it might go
24 through.
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1 And again, I agree, to make it more
2 complicated -- I don't think the federal
3 government did it with this intent -- some of
4 the monies go directly to the localities. So
5 even if you're asking on behalf of your own
6 Senate district, you might need to be able to
7 play out or tease out, so to speak, what from
8 the federal stimulus is coming to the State of
9 New York directly and through state agencies,
10 what is going from the federal government
11 technically to your local agencies.
12 And so I think for each county or
13 each district, it would be different. I know
14 in New York City I have, I suppose, the
15 advantage of we have a city group of agencies
16 where we can go directly to them. I don't
17 know if there's an exact parallel in each of
18 the counties to the situation with the city
19 government.
20 So I agree, the more fine-tuned you
21 want your answers, the more complex the
22 question becomes.
23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
24 Senator Krueger yield to another question?
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
2 Senator Krueger, do you continue to yield?
3 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: You said
4 one or two. Is this the third?
5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It may be
6 more. Because of that answer, I can't -- I've
7 got to get an answer that I can follow.
8 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Mr.
9 President, I am happy to answer the Senator's
10 questions.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: You do
12 continue to yield.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
14 Krueger, I'm not going to go to some state
15 legislators' website or the federal
16 government's website. What I'm asking you, as
17 vice chair of Finance, simply --
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
19 Senator Carl Kruger, why do you rise?
20 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Point of
21 order, Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Please
23 state your point of order.
24 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: As I
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1 indicated previously when we discussed another
2 aspect of this budget, the Finance Committee
3 is in the process -- as we know, this is a lot
4 of money. It's very complicated, very
5 confusing. But we're trying to get through
6 this.
7 And we will have for the Minority a
8 detailed breakdown to the best of our ability
9 of the flow of these stimulus dollars that's
10 forthcoming, and it will be made available in
11 the very near future.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
13 you, Senator Carl Kruger.
14 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Thank you.
15 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would
16 Senator Carl Kruger yield to a question?
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
18 Senator DeFrancisco, are you withdrawing your
19 request of Senator Liz Krueger to yield at
20 this time?
21 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I have one
22 other -- just a follow-up to what he just
23 said.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
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1 Senator Carl Kruger, do you yield to Senator
2 DeFrancisco?
3 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
5 Senator Kruger yields.
6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
7 Kruger, you understand that the budget of the
8 State of New York is due before April 1,
9 correct, and that we're on April 3rd. And you
10 say forthcoming at some point in the very near
11 future we'll have a breakdown of the federal
12 stimulus money? Is that what you're telling
13 us?
14 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Through
15 you, Mr. President, I'm very well aware that
16 the budget was supposed to be passed by
17 April 1st, and we made every attempt to do
18 that. And as you're well aware, we wanted to
19 expedite this process, and we did not get the
20 level of cooperation that we would have
21 sought.
22 Notwithstanding, notwithstanding,
23 as I said, this is a lot of money, it's very,
24 very complicated. You can see all these
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1 pages, all this material. We're going to be
2 going through it, and we will get you the
3 breakdown that you asked for.
4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you.
5 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Thank you.
6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: One last
7 question for Senator Krueger, please, if
8 she'll yield.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Which
10 Senator Kruger? Senator Liz Krueger?
11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
12 Liz.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
14 Senator Liz Krueger, do you yield?
15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: It's so
16 hard to tell us apart.
17 Yes, Mr. President, I'm happy to
18 yield.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
20 Senator Liz Krueger yields.
21 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
22 Krueger, earlier you said that the $1 billion
23 was a dry appropriation and had nothing to do
24 with the stimulus money. I'm going to refer
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1 you to the Public Protection Budget, page 319,
2 where this $1 billion of nonstimulus money is
3 listed.
4 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: One moment.
5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Page 319,
6 Public Protection.
7 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
8 Mr. President. I found the section of the
9 bill.
10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The
11 question is this. If this is not $1 billion
12 from the federal stimulus money, can you tell
13 me why this is the way this section is worded?
14 "The sum of $1 billion is hereby appropriated
15 solely for transfer by the Governor to funds
16 established to account for revenues from the
17 federal government in order to meet
18 unanticipated or emergency expenditures
19 pursuant to Section 53 of the State Finance
20 Law."
21 And it goes on to say: "In
22 addition, to the extent necessary to spend
23 monies available from the American Recovery
24 and Reinvestment Act of 2009, funds
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1 appropriated herein may be suballocated
2 subject to the approval of the Director of the
3 Budget" -- it doesn't say the Legislature --
4 "to any state department, agency or public
5 authority for purposes in the American
6 Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."
7 And you told me that this has
8 nothing to do with the federal stimulus money.
9 Do you want to change your answer?
10 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: No, I
11 don't. Mr. President, through you.
12 I might agree that Department of
13 Budget didn't write this well or clearly.
14 It's my understanding that if you go back
15 previous years in this section of the law, you
16 will find the first sentence: "The sum of
17 1 million is hereby appropriated solely for
18 transfer by the Governor to funds established
19 to account for revenues from the federal
20 government in order to meet unanticipated or
21 emergency expenses pursuant to Section 53 of
22 the State Finance Law." And again, that
23 predates the federal stimulus law. So
24 apparently that language is in each year.
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1 Then this year, they added an
2 additional paragraph: "In addition, to the
3 extent necessary to spend monies available
4 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment
5 Act of 2009" -- what we call the stimulus
6 package -- "funds appropriated herein may be
7 suballocated subject to the approval of the
8 Director of the Budget for any state
9 department, agency, or public authority. For
10 the purpose in the American Recovery and
11 Reinvestment Act of 2009, funds appropriated
12 herein shall be subject to all applicable
13 reporting and accounting requirements."
14 It's transitional language. And I
15 agree, Senator, that they could have written
16 that better and clearer. But again, it's my
17 understanding the billion-dollar dry
18 appropriation in this section of law mirrors
19 previous years. And then the following
20 paragraph was added in relationship to the
21 federal stimulus money.
22 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: On the bill
23 very briefly, please.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
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1 Senator DeFrancisco, on the bill.
2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I think
3 this question-and-answer session pretty much
4 indicated how difficult it is for anyone,
5 especially the Minority, to participate in a
6 process to come up with a good budget.
7 For Senator Kruger to tell us that
8 in the near future we'll learn where the
9 federal stimulus money was used and where it
10 went because it's a very complicated thing
11 because we didn't cooperate is -- is --
12 doesn't make any sense. We weren't asked to
13 cooperate. So what cooperation was needed
14 from us for them to determine what federal
15 stimulus money went in and where it was used?
16 I mean, how do you determine that
17 you need to tax people or take away STAR
18 rebate checks or whatever without knowing what
19 you're using federal stimulus money for?
20 There is much of the money -- and I can't say
21 chapter and verse -- that is unrestricted,
22 that could have been used in lieu of raising
23 taxes, and that could have been done.
24 So, secondly, I don't know how much
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1 clearer the Budget Office had to write this
2 section of the bill. To suggest that they
3 could have written it clearer by taking out
4 the words "American Recovery and Reinvestment
5 Act," which Senator Krueger told us this
6 $1 billion had nothing to do with, does that
7 make any sense whatsoever to anybody?
8 The fact of the matter is there is
9 a billion dollars that is unallocated that is
10 not subject to the Legislature, it's subject
11 to the approval of the Director of Budget and
12 not the Legislature.
13 With respect to the economists that
14 estimate 15,000 jobs are being lost, I don't
15 know what organization Senator Krueger
16 referred to that we were relying on. We're
17 relying on the Empire Center, which we did not
18 hire. E.J. McMahon, who's done many of these
19 analyses, that center has done it. They talk
20 about 15,500 jobs as a result of increased
21 taxes.
22 Stimulus money is supposed to be
23 used to stimulate the economy. By taking
24 $2,400 to $3,500 out of the pockets of
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1 New Yorkers doesn't stimulate a thing. But if
2 you had avoided those taxes by using the
3 stimulus money, you would have been able to
4 legitimately keep more money in people's
5 pockets.
6 And by the way, Senator Krueger
7 quoted from Mayor Bloomberg. I don't know
8 when it was; several months ago, a year ago,
9 whatever. The fact of the matter is Mayor
10 Bloomberg came out against this personal
11 income tax increase, as far as I understand
12 it. So you can quote what anybody says that's
13 not current and come out with any answer you
14 would like.
15 Lastly, we went and checked, our
16 staff member checked the Governor's website to
17 determine if what Senator Krueger said about
18 the federal stimulus money, all the details
19 being on his website explaining all this --
20 well, there is still no financial plan on the
21 Department of Budget's website indicating
22 monies coming in, monies going out, and
23 explaining where we are with the budget at
24 this very moment.
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1 How do you possibly make wise
2 decisions and determine priorities by this
3 process? You simply don't. It's like --
4 it's -- saying it's not transparent doesn't do
5 this process justice. We can't figure out --
6 and I don't think anybody on that side of the
7 aisle has a clue either -- what happened in
8 these closed-door discussions.
9 So I guess what I'm saying is that
10 we should not tax people if we have
11 alternatives. We should keep the money in
12 their pockets. And we certainly have
13 alternatives, or at least you can't say we
14 don't have alternatives, because you can't
15 even tell us how much stimulus money is left
16 over, what we've used, and what's available to
17 avoid taxes. And we're past the budget
18 deadline.
19 So I'm going to vote against this
20 bill when the time comes.
21 Thank you, Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
23 you, Senator DeFrancisco.
24 Senator Griffo.
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1 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you,
2 Mr. President. Would Senator Krueger yield
3 for some questions?
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
5 Senator Krueger, do you yield?
6 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I'd be
7 honored to yield to Senator Griffo.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
9 Senator Krueger will yield and be honored.
10 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you,
11 Senator.
12 Are you familiar with the closeout
13 numbers from this year, total closeout for the
14 budget?
15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: One moment.
16 I'm not sure if they've completely closed out
17 the numbers in the budget for this year.
18 They have not closed out the
19 numbers for the budget this year, sir. My
20 understanding is the Department of Budget has
21 not been able to do that yet.
22 SENATOR GRIFFO: In one estimate,
23 we're looking at about $121.5 billion. Would
24 you agree that that's an estimate?
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1 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I'm sorry,
2 did you say billion or million?
3 SENATOR GRIFFO: 119.7 to 121 are
4 the numbers that --
5 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I believe
6 that's the 2009-2010 projected closeout
7 numbers. No? I'm sorry.
8 SENATOR GRIFFO: No.
9 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I think the
10 121 number you're referencing is the 2009-2010
11 Executive Budget proposal. The 119 I believe
12 was some type of -- oh, yeah, thank you. The
13 projected closeout number for 2008-2009 was
14 119.8 million.
15 But again, as we know, budget
16 documents are estimates, and so you start the
17 year with a projection of what you'll spend
18 and what will come in, and then you close out
19 the year after the year is done. So it was an
20 estimate as of a certain date, and the
21 Division of Budget has not yet closed out the
22 2008-2009 numbers. So I truly can't answer
23 whether I think it's a good guess or not.
24 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you.
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1 Will the Senator continue to yield?
2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
3 Senator Krueger, do you continue to yield?
4 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes, I
5 certainly do, Mr. President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
7 Senator yields.
8 SENATOR GRIFFO: Well, if we look
9 at all these numbers, we know that budgets are
10 blueprints and fluid.
11 That number of 119.6 was an
12 estimate. The estimate of this budget moving
13 forward is, I believe, over 132; correct?
14 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: In all
15 funds, yes, sir.
16 SENATOR GRIFFO: Will the Senator
17 continue to yield?
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
19 Senator, do you yield?
20 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
21 Mr. President, I do.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
23 Senator yields.
24 SENATOR GRIFFO: Would you not
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1 say that if you look at the comparison between
2 those two numbers there is a significant
3 increase, obviously?
4 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes. And
5 again, as I explained --
6 SENATOR GRIFFO: Will the Senator
7 continue to yield?
8 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: -- it
9 includes the stimulus monies on top of the
10 other realities for our state.
11 SENATOR GRIFFO: Will the Senator
12 continue to yield?
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
14 Senator, do you continue to yield?
15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
16 Mr. President, I yield.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
18 Senator continues to yield.
19 SENATOR GRIFFO: If you look at
20 stimulus money, you described it over a
21 27-month period. Correct?
22 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes, sir.
23 SENATOR GRIFFO: Will the Senator
24 continue to yield?
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1 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes, I do,
2 Mr. President.
3 SENATOR GRIFFO: If you look at
4 these figures over that 27 months -- and we've
5 seen that there's a lot of confusion. And
6 Senator Kruger, the chair of Finance,
7 indicated that more numbers would be
8 forthcoming. We referred to websites.
9 My concern is many of the programs
10 that you're looking at, such as in the
11 Department of Labor, maybe on unemployment
12 insurance -- in order to become eligible for
13 federal funds, you will have to either expand
14 or extend benefits. Correct?
15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes, that
16 is part of the federal requirements.
17 SENATOR GRIFFO: Will the Senator
18 continue to yield?
19 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
20 Mr. President, I do.
21 SENATOR GRIFFO: As a result of
22 that, when you look at that increased
23 spending, the question would be what happens
24 after 27 months. Because you are going to
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1 have this new spending, and yet we're not
2 making any provisions here of how you're going
3 to handle that spending that the state is
4 going to have to absorb when the stimulus
5 disappears.
6 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Through
7 you, Mr. President. I know that all of us,
8 including the 19 million New Yorkers we
9 represent, are certainly hoping that at the
10 end of the 27-month period we are economically
11 in a better place with fewer people needing
12 unemployment benefits.
13 And I suppose the State of New York
14 could have said, to the federal government:
15 No, thank you, we won't pay unemployment to
16 our people who are unemployed during this
17 economic downturn. So we could have said no
18 to those funds.
19 I feel very strongly that we should
20 have and must have accepted those funds. Can
21 you imagine actually calling for this
22 Legislature to tell unemployed people who we
23 know can't get jobs in this economy that we
24 were going to turn down unemployment benefits
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1 or keep them on a shorter time period for
2 unemployment benefits at a lower level? I,
3 sir, would not want to do that.
4 I suppose I will ask you, would you
5 want to have shorter and lower unemployment
6 benefits in an economic crisis?
7 SENATOR GRIFFO: Will the Senator
8 continue to yield?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
10 Senator, do you continue to yield?
11 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
12 Mr. President, I yield.
13 SENATOR GRIFFO: Senator, we all
14 understand that there are a number of programs
15 that would require New York State to make
16 decisions on that ultimately could have a
17 financial impact going forward. And many
18 opportunities to discuss that in public didn't
19 exist.
20 I would quote, again, the State
21 Comptroller, who said that the danger in
22 New York is that we could end up right back
23 where we started, with huge budget gaps and
24 unsustainable levels of spending. Would you
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1 disagree with Comptroller DiNapoli?
2 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I think he
3 made that statement in a broader context.
4 I suppose I would cite President
5 Obama that we need to invest in the economy
6 today to get our people back to work and to
7 ensure that our people are cared for until our
8 economy kick-starts and they can get back to
9 work.
10 It is true, sir, any decision we
11 make here leads to the next question, what
12 happens if. What happens if the economy
13 continues to go down beyond 27 months?
14 Historically when that has happened, the
15 federal government has come through with
16 additional commitments of extended
17 unemployment benefits. And so in each of the
18 most recent cycles of economic downturn, we
19 have been able to count on the federal
20 government to provide an additional length of
21 time on unemployment benefits and in fact to
22 refill our sometimes at-risk coffers to be
23 able to pay unemployment.
24 I don't have a crystal ball, so I
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1 don't know whether we will need that at the
2 end of the 27-month period or whether we can
3 count on the federal government. But
4 personally I believe that President Obama and
5 the U.S. Congress will not leave the states
6 out there hanging if we continue to have an
7 unemployment crisis.
8 SENATOR GRIFFO: Will the Senator
9 continue to yield?
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
11 Senator Krueger, do you yield?
12 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
13 Mr. President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
15 Senator yields.
16 SENATOR GRIFFO: I think it's
17 beyond the Department of Labor issues, it's
18 for agencies across the State of New York.
19 And I think the Comptroller, who
20 many people supported in the appointment,
21 obviously we need to be sensitized to and be
22 attentive to, I would think. Do you not
23 agree?
24 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Mr.
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1 President, through you. I have the highest
2 respect for the Comptroller. And in fact, the
3 Comptroller has a legal obligation to make us
4 aware of the fiscal situation of the state and
5 to make projections on the revenues expected
6 and the expenditures on the balance of the
7 budget.
8 So I do not envy the Comptroller
9 having to say we're in an at-risk situation,
10 we don't have the monies coming in. I suspect
11 that it is not very different, from what I
12 have read, than what 49 other comptrollers are
13 saying.
14 And of course we know we have the
15 same situation at the federal level, where the
16 dollars we are investing in stimulus, through
17 any number of bills moving through Congress,
18 is translating into an increased deficit for
19 the federal government. And yes, that is a
20 risk in every way.
21 Of course we might remember that
22 when President Clinton became the President of
23 the United States, we had an enormous federal
24 deficit. We happily brought it down to almost
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1 nothing during his eight years in the White
2 House.
3 Of course, we grew that federal
4 deficit enormously during the Bush
5 administration. And so we found ourselves and
6 President Obama found himself faced already
7 with a large deficit, needing to make the
8 right economic decisions for the country
9 involving further increasing our deficit.
10 You know, but again, there's an ebb
11 and flow. And I feel fairly confident that if
12 we make the right actions federally and at the
13 state level, we will be able to jump-start our
14 economy. And while these are years of, I
15 suppose -- you know, you call them famine, we
16 will again see years of feast where we will
17 shift the dynamic.
18 I would hope, by the way, Senator
19 Griffo -- and I think you agree with me --
20 that one of the smart planning things the
21 State of New York ought to do is to have a
22 larger emergency reserve fund available,
23 recognizing that there are bad economic times
24 and good economic times.
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1 In the bad economic times, more
2 people need to turn to us for assistance, such
3 as unemployment benefits. And then there are
4 good economic times, and these should be the
5 times where we raise some additional revenue
6 to put away for a rainy day, to have as
7 emergency funds.
8 We all know our economy is cyclical
9 and we will have good and bad years. So I am
10 hoping that we could work together to move
11 together to move forward with budget proposals
12 that will provide for a larger emergency
13 rainy-day reserve fund for the next time.
14 Because while we all hope there won't be a
15 next time, we know there will be, of course.
16 SENATOR GRIFFO: I would agree
17 that reserve accounts are very important. But
18 I would disagree that we can spend and tax our
19 way out of a recession.
20 And I know neither one of us are
21 economic prognosticators, but you're basing
22 what is taking place in this budget and the
23 27-month period for stimulus, you're looking
24 for an economic miracle.
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1 And while we all want to see the
2 economy improve, I think we need to be
3 practical and realistic here too. And I think
4 that's what the State Comptroller and many
5 fiscal experts and economists are indicating
6 right now.
7 If I can ask the Senator to yield
8 on a couple of other questions.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
10 Senator, do you continue to yield?
11 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes,
12 Mr. President, I yield.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
14 Senator yields.
15 SENATOR GRIFFO: Senator, earlier
16 today we talked about a number of amendments
17 that we had asked for consideration here. And
18 do you recall last year supporting the Warren
19 bill, the Warren bill?
20 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Mr.
21 President, I need a clarification of what the
22 Warren bill is.
23 SENATOR GRIFFO: It's a piece of
24 legislation that was sponsored by Senator
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1 Robach and passed this body 61 to nothing,
2 which would ensure that private companies give
3 at least 90 days' notice to employees in
4 companies with over 50.
5 Do you recall that now?
6 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes, I'm
7 sorry, I didn't recognize the name.
8 And I believe I was in the Senate
9 at that time, so I believe I did vote for
10 that, yes, sir.
11 SENATOR GRIFFO: Essentially what
12 we're doing here is ensuring -- and we all
13 agreed on this, and it is now statute -- that
14 we should be giving notice before we put
15 people on the streets.
16 Don't you agree that we should be
17 giving the same kind of consideration and
18 respect to public employees before we close
19 their facilities?
20 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Mr.
21 President, through you. If I am understanding
22 the question correctly, we are discussing the
23 amendment today around the OCFS proposed
24 closings, as was raised in the amendment.
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1 And here's my dilemma. One is my
2 understanding that while we are closing sooner
3 than later, we intend to assure that those
4 workers continue to have jobs and alternative
5 options. We also know that those by and large
6 are empty facilities, or almost empty
7 facilities.
8 So on behalf of the taxpayers of
9 New York State, as I said yesterday and I
10 would say again today, regardless of an
11 economic crisis, we have an obligation to the
12 taxpayers of New York State not to keep
13 underutilized facilities open just for the
14 sake of keeping them open. We have an
15 obligation to be efficient and effective with
16 their monies.
17 And in fact, in the discussions
18 I've had with the Office of Child and Family
19 Services, I've been assured both that the
20 alternative proposals they have made are in
21 the best interests of the children, are in the
22 best interests of the state budget. And in
23 fact they are addressing the concerns of
24 workers having to deal with some kind of
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1 transfer of their job.
2 And I suppose one of the
3 differences in the question you raised prior
4 was that was on private employers and trying
5 to ensure protection of jobs and taxpayers.
6 This is government, and of course government
7 should have as its first priority the best
8 interests of the people of New York.
9 So again, hard budget, hard
10 decisions. I actually think the OCFS plan is
11 a win-win for the children, the state, and the
12 system of child services that we provide with
13 the great workers of the State of New York in
14 those programs.
15 SENATOR GRIFFO: But, Senator
16 Krueger -- will the Senator continue to yield?
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
18 Senator Krueger, do you continue to yield?
19 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes, I do
20 yield. Please.
21 SENATOR GRIFFO: Through you,
22 Mr. President, don't you believe we should
23 extend the same courtesy to public employees
24 that we're extending in the private sector
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1 right now, for which you voted for? Why would
2 you treat public employees differently? Why
3 would you -- it's just a clause -- regardless
4 of the decision on the facilities, but to
5 remove the notification provision?
6 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
7 Senator Griffo. Through you, Mr. President.
8 It's been clarified that the Warren bill
9 requires what's called Warren notices, which
10 is to make available federal rapid response
11 dollars to be deployed to the companies so
12 that they can support alternative employment
13 through the Department of Labor. So in fact
14 it isn't a parallel situation.
15 And in fact one of the reasons
16 you'd want to pass the law under the Warren
17 Act is to assure that those companies could
18 get additional federal monies which would
19 assist them in helping their workers find
20 alternative jobs.
21 My understanding is there are no
22 parallel opportunities for the state that way.
23 SENATOR GRIFFO: The spirit of
24 law, Senator, does also indicate that we
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1 should be providing notification so that
2 people can't be disrupted and taken out of
3 jobs instantly. That was also part of the
4 intent and the spirit behind the legislation.
5 I'd like to move on in another
6 area. Mr. President, if the Senator would
7 continue to yield. You look good. I know you
8 were getting --
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN:
10 Senator, will you continue to yield?
11 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes, the
12 new Mr. President, happily.
13 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 Senator Krueger, process is
16 something that we've discussed here too which
17 is troubling to me, because I know I had the
18 opportunity to be in your office, your former
19 office, and you had a big sign on the door
20 that talked about "Rules Reform Now," and you
21 went to court to try to change the rules of
22 this procedure.
23 I see our Finance chair is not in
24 the room right now, Senator Kruger. He
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1 indicated earlier, though, that this process
2 was not -- it was expedited because it was
3 without cooperation. But I think yesterday we
4 showed how this conference attempted to
5 cooperate by letting Senator Hassell-Thompson
6 come forward and execute her votes.
7 So are you happy with the fact that
8 the reform process that you have advocated for
9 so long was totally abandoned?
10 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Through
11 you, Mr. President. I'm not sure it's germane
12 to this bill, but I'm happy to answer the
13 question.
14 SENATOR GRIFFO: It's very --
15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: No, no, I
16 wasn't going to argue, sir.
17 We have been the majority for less
18 than 90 days, after you were in the majority
19 basically since 1939.
20 No, I don't think this was the
21 ideal process. It doesn't meet my
22 expectations for what we can do to reform the
23 process.
24 We have a -- we made some rules
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1 changes that I was very pleased with at the
2 beginning of the year. We have a rules reform
3 commission, task force, that I believe you are
4 on that is continuing its process and that
5 will get a report released to us all to
6 discuss soon. So I am optimistic we will take
7 additional steps.
8 I asked to be the chair of the
9 Select Committee on Tax and Budget Reform
10 because I fundamentally believe there's an
11 enormous number of things we can do to make
12 our tax system more fair and equitable and
13 meet the 21st-century standards and to address
14 what I believe are not the ideal situations in
15 our budget process, including not using
16 standardized accounting procedures, having a
17 timeline that traps us all in this very short
18 timeline to get something done. I would
19 actually propose we move the budget to a later
20 date. I would explore multiyear budgets for
21 school districts.
22 So no, sir, I support reform, and I
23 will agree that we have not accomplished all
24 my goals yet. Again, I'm not sure anybody
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1 could in their first 90 days when they were
2 faced with a $16.5 billion deficit; an entire
3 transition to the majority, with staffing; a
4 federal stimulus package to try to move as
5 quickly as we can -- to respect Senator
6 DeFrancisco's point, even before we have all
7 the notice from the federal government, we're
8 trying to make sure we get that money out the
9 door.
10 So it's been a busy three months,
11 and we have not gotten there yet. And I am
12 looking forward to working with you to have a
13 better process for next year.
14 So I think that answers the
15 question.
16 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you,
17 Senator Krueger.
18 On the bill.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN:
20 Senator Griffo, on the bill.
21 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 I do believe it's a very important
24 issue in this process because that's what this
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1 budget is all about. And we passed a budget
2 reform bill here in 2007. And I think people
3 of this state expect laws of this state to be
4 abided by and to be enforced. And this year
5 the laws of 2007 were totally ignored and
6 violated, in my opinion. There was no
7 discussion, open discussion of this budget.
8 There was no timetables distributed so people
9 could see what was going to happen when.
10 There were no conference committees.
11 As a result of that, the
12 information has been put on our desks --
13 thousands of pages, as I indicated yesterday,
14 for individuals to try to examine and to
15 evaluate and to deliberate and debate, because
16 the results of all of these pieces of paper
17 will cost the people of the State of New York
18 much money.
19 Between the taxes and fees that are
20 being imposed upon citizens of this state, the
21 average family can look to be paying up to
22 $2400 a year, and many of them won't
23 understand or appreciate it today. Because
24 until they actually go and pick up a license
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1 or go purchase a beverage, then they'll begin
2 to really feel the impact immediately and
3 understand what was done as a result of this
4 budget process which was so secretive.
5 And I hear the word "crisis" being
6 used, that this was a crisis. Well, if you
7 were in Washington, D.C., and you were talking
8 about national security, I might be able to
9 accept some of that. But today we're talking
10 about a budget process that involves the
11 people's lives of the State of New York. And
12 regardless of the economic crisis, that's more
13 of a reason and a necessity to be able to have
14 an open exchange and dialogue and be able to
15 have prior information in order to do it
16 intelligently.
17 I think the people of the State of
18 New York are outraged at the way you've
19 conducted yourselves. And the fact that words
20 mean nothing and that laws mean nothing.
21 They've been passed, but they've been ignored.
22 How in good conscience can anybody stand there
23 and defend that? I can't understand it.
24 And to say today, I remember
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1 Senator Carl Kruger said earlier that -- could
2 we have done this budget in a better -- could
3 we done a better job, perhaps. I would say
4 absolutely. It's essential. We have to.
5 And that road, the fork in the
6 road, Senator Kruger, that you talked about
7 during your opening statement, I think we've
8 taken the wrong road in this budget process.
9 And it's unfortunate, and it's going to have a
10 dire impact on the people of this state.
11 We've talked about mandate relief for -- I've
12 only been here two years, and I've heard it
13 two years, talking mandate relief. And it's
14 been before that. What have we done about it?
15 The people want to see something. They don't
16 want to hear it anymore, they want to see it.
17 So there is no mandate relief.
18 We've taken away STAR rebate checks, something
19 that was actually put in people's pockets,
20 money to help them, to alleviate property
21 taxes. But guess what? We haven't done
22 anything to give them genuine property tax
23 relief. We haven't provided any specific
24 proposals in this budget. Instead, we've
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1 talked about the Rockefeller drug laws. Why
2 wasn't there property tax relief put into this
3 budget proposal?
4 Then we looked at Empire Zones and
5 we talk about promoting economic development.
6 And yes, there needs to be reforms to EDZs.
7 But you've abandoned the concept. And the
8 ratios that you've put in are going to be so
9 harmful to the upstate industries that it's
10 going to be impossible for them to survive.
11 I mean, you look at each and every
12 aspect of what was done -- I have another
13 little illustration here with the sunset of
14 the sales tax on aircraft maintenance and
15 repair. We have a major employer in the City
16 of Rome who, because this was not dealt with
17 in this budget process, is in jeopardy.
18 There's over 350 jobs.
19 Yet states around us -- in
20 New Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut -- all
21 have taken care of this issue so that their
22 industry can compete. But ours can't.
23 So I think today, when you look at
24 what we've done here, I think it's legitimate
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1 that we're questioning and taking our time.
2 We have cooperated. But we have a role here,
3 and it's essential and necessary that we
4 question.
5 Because coming from some of the
6 conversations and discussions that I've
7 witnessed, I'm worried. Because you don't
8 seem to have the answers, and you're relying a
9 lot on staff to give you some of the material
10 and then to say more will be forthcoming.
11 But this budget has to be put in
12 place now. And the people of this state need
13 to know what to expect and what they're going
14 to be facing.
15 And as I indicated earlier, I think
16 the problem is going to be when they're
17 actually out there beginning to pay these
18 bills. That's when there will be a price to
19 pay and there will be a consequence. And I
20 hope the people of the New York State will
21 remember that we stood here and tried to not
22 only examine but to question and provide new
23 alternatives and better alternatives than what
24 we are experiencing here today.
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1 And I think that, you know, there
2 is no good here, it's just bad and ugly. And
3 I will tell you something, that as we look at
4 this particular document and what we have to
5 experience in the future, I'm truly concerned.
6 And I know that there's no way that I can see
7 anybody capable or willing to accept this.
8 So I will be voting no.
9 Thank you, Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Thank
11 you, Senator Griffo.
12 Senator Padavan.
13 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 I'm not going to ask any questions,
16 so let me put your mind at ease there, because
17 so far it's been like throwing jello up
18 against the wall. It just slides down and you
19 don't get very much out of it.
20 The fact remains during the
21 dialogue that did take place here there was
22 reference to the fact that you can develop
23 economic models to draw any conclusion you
24 wish. And I think the discussion centered
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1 about the loss of jobs that this budget would
2 produce.
3 Yes, economic models can be skewed
4 in one direction or the other. But the bottom
5 line is the bottom line. And there is one
6 economic principle that has stood the test of
7 time that is now being loudly touted in
8 Washington, and it was generated by a
9 gentleman whose name was John Maynard Keynes.
10 And Keynesian economics has a
11 fundamental precept associated with it, and
12 that precept is that during bad times -- when
13 there is a depression, when there is high
14 unemployment -- that the last thing you want
15 to do is to reduce disposal income, the
16 available money in a macro sense that's out
17 there for people to spend.
18 So when you talk about these tax
19 increases in a very, very cavalier way and
20 say, well, it doesn't really mean that much,
21 and so on, you're dead wrong. It means a
22 great deal.
23 Now, in the City of New York, the
24 mayor communicated with us on this issue. And
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1 he pointed out that the very tax categories
2 that you're talking about -- folks on an
3 individual basis making $200,000 and going up
4 the ladder -- represent more than half of the
5 revenue, income tax revenue generated from the
6 City of New York.
7 He goes on to point out that many
8 of these people are mobile. And all you have
9 to do is look across the Hudson at all of
10 those apartments and co-ops and condos being
11 built there, and reflect back right after 2001
12 how many of them fled across the Hudson over
13 to Jersey, to know that that's not just a
14 hypothetical but is a reality already.
15 He indicates that the city would be
16 losing, based on these increases, at a minimum
17 $3.5 billion in revenue. A staggering sum, in
18 my view, $3.5 billion.
19 So therefore, Senator, I suggest to
20 you when you refer to these increases in
21 income taxes and talk about the minimal
22 percentages that you outlined, I'm afraid that
23 you're being somewhat disingenuous. The fact
24 remains, it will have a negative impact -- it
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1 will have a negative impact on your city, on
2 your constituents.
3 You know, when you talk about
4 $200,000 in your area, you can get a
5 one-bedroom apartment and pay $3,000 or $4,000
6 a month rent. Take that right off the top.
7 And then after you pay city income taxes and
8 all the other taxes in the City of New York,
9 and a variety of other expenditures that are
10 unique to the city and so on, that money
11 becomes less and less available in terms of
12 its net amount to that taxpayer.
13 Now, one of the other areas that
14 you mentioned -- in passing, I guess -- where
15 do you suggest we get the money to offset our
16 budgetary needs if we do not have these tax
17 increases?
18 And several Senators have brought
19 up the fact that a month ago, the Senate
20 Majority Leader -- the Minority Leader;
21 forgive me, I'm being prophetic -- put out a
22 plan that we endorsed that was widely
23 distributed that had a lot of aspects in it
24 that would deal precisely with the question
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1 you raised. That is our alternative.
2 But to go beyond that -- and it is
3 part of what that plan refers to -- you may
4 recall the New York Times did a three-part
5 series of articles on Medicaid. They
6 calculated, based on a great deal of
7 information they had collected, that in the
8 State of New York there was somewhere between
9 10 and 30 percent in our Medicaid budget that
10 could be directly attributed to fraud and
11 inefficiencies and wasteful spending.
12 As a result of that article and a
13 great deal of other inputs, we put together --
14 with Senator Skelos being the prime mover -- a
15 bill creating the Medicaid Inspector General.
16 The New York Times said at a
17 minimum the waste, fraud, and inefficiency was
18 between 10 and 30 percent. If you took the
19 lowest end of that, 10 percent, and you look
20 at our 40-some-odd-billion-dollar Medicaid
21 budget, we're talking about $4 billion at a
22 minimum.
23 Well, what's happened? What's
24 happened? Despite some of the things that the
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1 Comptroller has pointed out, the Attorney
2 General has pointed out and others have
3 pointed out, we're not doing what we said we
4 were going to do. And if we did, many of the
5 things you've talked about would simply not be
6 a problem.
7 And of course the other issue,
8 which we all know about and talk about all the
9 time, is the failure to collect the revenues
10 from purchases of cigarettes and gasoline and
11 other products on Indian reservations. And
12 I've heard various estimates there, somewhere
13 in the billion-dollar category, of lost
14 revenue.
15 So just take those two things
16 alone, and we wouldn't be having to do the
17 income tax increases that you've talked about.
18 I also want to point out one
19 additional factor. When you talk about
20 $200,000, $300,000, $500,000 incomes, you are
21 including S corporations, small businesses,
22 which everyone agrees are the prime provider
23 of jobs in this state and nationally.
24 As a matter of fact, the President
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1 addressed that issue just the other day, as
2 did his Treasury Secretary, that small
3 business is the largest employer in the
4 aggregate throughout the nation and certainly
5 here in New York.
6 What you're saying to those
7 S corporations, who are now going to get hit
8 by those income tax increases, is that you're
9 going to have to pay more. Which means if you
10 are marginal, and many of them are today,
11 you're going to have to lay people off, you're
12 not going to make the investment in your
13 business that you may have hoped to make. The
14 net result is less jobs, less income, and
15 everybody suffers.
16 So don't just talk about these
17 revenue producers vis-a-vis income tax
18 increases as individuals. They are small
19 businesses, and those small businesses
20 represent a whole array of wage earners, from
21 one end to the other.
22 Well, Mr. President, I'd simply say
23 that the proposals before us just don't make
24 any sense, by any measure, at any level. And
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1 we are completely ignoring some very
2 fundamental aspects of our economic health and
3 in the process are doing a great deal of
4 damage.
5 Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Thank
7 you, Senator Padavan.
8 Senator Skelos.
9 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 I appreciate the opportunity to
12 speak and just want to point out, in my
13 opinion and in the opinion of the Senate
14 Republicans, this bill represents everything
15 that's wrong with this budget.
16 It increases fees by over
17 $8 billion. It includes most of the
18 $13 billion in increase in spending in the
19 overall budget. It doesn't help our school
20 districts, it doesn't make college more
21 affordable. And what's most important, it
22 does nothing to reduce the tax burden on
23 businesses large and small so that they can be
24 competitive and create new jobs.
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1 Today and throughout this week
2 Senate Republicans have offered amendments
3 after amendments to make this a better budget.
4 We've tried to fix the budget by offering
5 amendments that would eliminate the biggest
6 tax increase in history, stop a massive
7 personal income tax hike that will not only
8 hurt families but will harm small businesses
9 and cost thousands of jobs; strike the
10 countless tax increases on things such as
11 healthcare, highway use, auto rentals, beer,
12 wine, and cigars; restore the tax rebate
13 checks that so many New Yorkers depend on to
14 help pay their property taxes.
15 And I should point out, my father
16 is 88 years old, still works, and does depend
17 upon his STAR rebate check.
18 We've offered amendments to help
19 families afford college tuition by prepaying;
20 provide desperately needed mandate relief for
21 our schools to help them contain costs; place
22 a cap on state spending to put the brakes on
23 budgets like this that spend taxpayers' money
24 like a runaway train.
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1 All of our amendments to this bill
2 reflect a budget plan that Senate Republicans
3 put out a month ago, the only plan that was
4 put out, other than the Governor's initial
5 budget, prior to voting.
6 We have all read papers from across
7 the state that have criticized this budget.
8 Unlike the budget we are voting on, our budget
9 plan was released in public. It was fiscally
10 responsible, it was balanced, and included
11 $3.2 billion in cuts and revenues.
12 We have all heard from our
13 constituents that say that this budget we are
14 acting on spends way too much, $13 billion
15 more than last year. The Senate Republicans'
16 budget spent less than the budget proposed by
17 the Governor. We have all heard from our
18 constituents that they don't like the
19 $8 billion in new taxes in this budget.
20 That's $2400 per family of four earning under
21 $84,000. These are not wealthy people.
22 Senate Republicans fought to stop
23 the tax increases in this budget. We tried to
24 restore property tax rebates. The Majority
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1 Democrats defended the tax increases in this
2 bill, criticized our tax cuts by saying they
3 would increase spending. That's not spending.
4 We're trying to put more money in the pockets
5 of our hardworking families throughout
6 New York State so they can spend it and
7 stimulate the economy, as Senator Padavan has
8 pointed out.
9 The federal stimulus money was
10 supposed to be used to turn our economy around
11 so taxpayers could keep more of their money to
12 put back into our economy instead of giving
13 more to state government.
14 Senator Krueger talked about
15 studies that show it's not going to hurt small
16 businesses -- Senator Liz Krueger. We've
17 heard from business groups on Long Island,
18 Westchester, Central and Western New York.
19 These are not egghead professors in some
20 colleges or universities that are speaking
21 from on high. These are people that are in
22 the trenches on a daily basis trying to make
23 small businesses survive.
24 Now, one of those, Unshackle
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1 Upstate, it's a fine organization. I'll read
2 from a memo: "The CEOs of the five major
3 upstate Chambers of Commerce, along with their
4 colleagues across the region, are calling upon
5 the five representatives of the Senate Upstate
6 Democratic Caucus to speak up for their
7 constituents by either voting against the
8 proposed budget, accepting the amendments
9 being put forth by the Senate Republicans, or
10 agree to delay the vote so that a new budget
11 can be negotiated.
12 "'The five men -- Senators
13 Aubertine, Breslin, Stachowski, Thompson and
14 Valesky -- have the power to protect the
15 upstate economy and the future of New York
16 State by just standing up and voting in the
17 best interests of their constituents,' said
18 Brian Sampson, executive director of Unshackle
19 Upstate."
20 One last quote from this memo.
21 "'The taxpayers and job creators of New York
22 State are already the most generous in the
23 country, as they pay by far the highest taxes
24 in the nation.'" This comes from the
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1 president of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of
2 Commerce. "'They are suffering under the
3 burden along with the pressures of the
4 recession.'"
5 Senate Republicans offered a plan
6 to reduce taxes on businesses -- especially
7 small businesses -- and manufacturers so they
8 can retain and create jobs. Increasing the
9 tax burden on small businesses that pay under
10 the PIT, increasing the utility taxes of large
11 manufacturers by thousands of dollars a month
12 will only chase businesses away. Some people
13 here call it progressive. We are progressing
14 people out of the state.
15 To call this bill, as it's been
16 called in the past, the Big Ugly, is almost
17 too polite and it's too flip. This bill is an
18 assault on taxpayers' wallets, it's a massive
19 blow to any hopes for economic recovery in
20 New York, and it's the epitome of all that is
21 wrong with this budget.
22 We Republicans have offered a
23 better budget. We offered amendments to fix
24 the budget and address the concerns. We have
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1 been hearing from people we represent. It
2 only took one vote to stand up and make those
3 changes happen, but it doesn't appear that
4 anybody on the Democrat side of the aisle has
5 the courage to stand up and do it.
6 I will be voting against this bill,
7 Mr. President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Thank
9 you, Senator Skelos.
10 Senator Saland.
11 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you,
12 Mr. President. Mr. President, would Senator
13 Krueger yield -- oh, she's no longer in the
14 chamber?
15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I'm sorry,
16 Senator, I was taking a personal-needs break.
17 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you for
18 extending me the courtesy of returning to the
19 chamber.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN:
21 Senator Krueger, would you yield to a question
22 from Senator Saland?
23 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Certainly,
24 Mr. President.
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1 SENATOR SALAND: Senator Krueger,
2 I've been listening intently here all morning,
3 and I enjoyed your exchanges with one or
4 another of the Senators who rose to engage
5 you.
6 And at some point during the course
7 of your dialogue you made reference to
8 President Obama and the need to stimulate the
9 economy. And I'd like to think that everybody
10 here would hope that the President, as we
11 would any president, would be successful in
12 his efforts.
13 And interestingly enough, as you
14 were speaking, there were a group of young
15 people who are no longer here sitting in the
16 gallery. And I would say there must have been
17 at least 15 to 20 young people, I assume they
18 were high-school age, observing the debate
19 that was going on.
20 And I looked at them and it made me
21 sort of think about their future, the future
22 of my children, who range in age from 26 to
23 39, and my grandchildren, who range in age
24 from 1 to 4 years old.
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1 And while the federal government is
2 spending trillions of dollars to stimulate the
3 economy, they have a printing press, and they
4 can just keep cranking out that money and
5 cranking out that money and cranking out that
6 money, and at some point I think everybody
7 recognizes there will be inflation, which we
8 will all have to contend with when it happens.
9 We don't have a printing press. So
10 my initial question to you would be, do you
11 share with me the recognition that, unlike the
12 federal government, we are required to balance
13 our budget?
14 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Through
15 you, Mr. President. Yes, we do have to
16 balance our budget. In fact, I stated it
17 several times in my explanation of the bill
18 and my argument for it.
19 And yes, you are of course right
20 that only the federal government can print
21 money. I've actually had the debate with one
22 of my Congressmen, Jerrold Nadler, who is the
23 chair of the House Committee on the
24 Constitution. I have asked him whether we
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1 could have an exception to that amendment
2 because it would be of great assistance to the
3 State of New York to be able to print money.
4 And he's explained to me there's this whole
5 Articles of the Confederacy issue and the
6 reason the amendment was put in. So he
7 advised me as a legislator not to print money.
8 But I think I understand your
9 point, that the State of New York has an
10 obligation to balance our budget. And as you
11 so well said, speaking on behalf of your
12 grandchildren and my -- I have six nieces and
13 nephews, no children or grandchildren, but I
14 do understand our responsibilities to the
15 State of New York for our future.
16 Which is why I think that given the
17 alternatives available to us, I would prefer
18 to raise revenues to balance the budget rather
19 than to continue to borrow at even greater
20 amounts. Because in fact, over last 12, 14,
21 15 years, that's what the State of New York
22 did. We spent and borrowed, spent and
23 borrowed. It increased our debt enormously.
24 It increased the responsibilities on the next
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1 generation.
2 And I am hoping to avoid that in a
3 variety of ways, including making the hard
4 decisions to tax in order to balance our
5 budget as opposed to borrow and put ourselves
6 even further in debt than necessary.
7 SENATOR SALAND: If the Senator
8 will continue to yield.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN:
10 Senator Krueger, will you continue to yield?
11 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Certainly,
12 Mr. President, I do.
13 SENATOR SALAND: In one of your
14 exchanges, and perhaps it was with Senator
15 DeFrancisco, you spoke somewhat critically of
16 prior spending and made reference to, as you
17 just did, the fact that we don't want to
18 borrow.
19 Now, depending upon the year which
20 we choose to use as a base -- and in your
21 comments you said yes, there is a closeout
22 estimated DOB number of 119.8, is I believe
23 the number you used. And this budget proposes
24 to spend -- I believe Senator Kruger two or
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1 three days ago, whenever we started this, used
2 the number of 131.9. The difference being
3 some $12 billion, if -- yeah, $12 billion.
4 And in an exchange between myself
5 and Senator Kruger, and subsequently Senator
6 Flanagan and Senator Kruger, there was a
7 recognition of the fact that also cut from
8 that base was some $6 billion.
9 And while I don't want to go there,
10 we heard, for example, that there are
11 agricultural programs that are being cut.
12 There's a host of programs that are being cut
13 before we get to whatever it is that we're
14 spending in that $12 billion.
15 So for purposes of our discussion,
16 I'm not going to use the $18 billion number,
17 I'll use the mere $12 billion number.
18 $7.2 billion of that is stimulus.
19 And that was discussed at some length, and
20 that's also cited in the Finance report. The
21 additional money that by everybody's account
22 is being spent is being spent in a variety of
23 different ways: PIT, some several billion
24 dollars' worth of fees, we're cutting some
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1 $1.6 billion in tax relief to taxpayers by way
2 of the STAR rebate program, we imposed almost
3 a billion dollars' worth of taxes or fees a
4 month and a half or so ago when we did the
5 DRP.
6 I come back to a question that I
7 asked earlier on this floor: Do you believe
8 that it is prudent policy to attempt to tax
9 your way out of a severe recession?
10 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Mr.
11 President, through you. I think we are doing
12 multiple things. We are cutting the budget.
13 We are using federal stimulus monies. We are
14 continuing to move forward with capital
15 projects, including federal separate monies
16 for capital projects.
17 The economists are pretty
18 consistent with arguing what you want to do is
19 not dramatically cut government spending
20 during an economic downturn, that in fact
21 government spending has some of the most
22 effective rates of economic stimulus activity
23 in the local economy.
24 So what do we know we want to do in
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1 a recession or in an economic downturn? We
2 want to put people to work, we want to support
3 investing in our local economy, we want to use
4 our money for the types of models that have
5 what's called a multiplier effect in the
6 economy. So in fact the answer is partially
7 yes, our first priority in a recession is to
8 try to use our government funds to create the
9 greatest amount of economic activity.
10 So the food stamp program has been
11 rated the most effective at economic-activity
12 generation, a 1 to -- excuse me, let me start
13 again. For every dollar we spend in food
14 stamps, we generate immediately over $1.75 in
15 economic activity in our local economy.
16 And I'm glad you brought up
17 agriculture. The food stamp program not only
18 is 100 percent federally funded, but what do
19 you do with a food stamp? It's not even a
20 food stamp anymore, it's a debit card. You go
21 to a local food store to buy food. The food
22 store hires people who get jobs and pay taxes.
23 The food companies who sell food produce more
24 to sell, the truckers bring it in, the
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1 agricultural sector has more of the demand for
2 its product.
3 It's one of the most effective --
4 actually, Moody's reports that it's the most
5 effective model of spending for economic
6 stimulus. The research shows that government
7 money in fact creates gross domestic product
8 more effectively than the private sector,
9 interestingly, because we can't do anything
10 with our money but spend it locally in our
11 state.
12 Our money, when we spend it, isn't
13 being used for offshore accounts or
14 international investments, it's used for job
15 creation right here at home, which is the win.
16 And in fact, all the economists at
17 the revenue hearing that we held, except for
18 the Beacon Institute gentleman -- which I want
19 to get back to in a moment -- all the
20 economists talked about that we shouldn't cut
21 spending in bad economic times, with the one
22 exception of the economist from the Beacon
23 Institute. I just want to get his name again,
24 because I want to clarify --
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1 SENATOR SALAND: If I may, if
2 you'd suffer an interruption, you did in your
3 response to I believe it was Senator
4 DeFrancisco make reference to whomever it was
5 and question his bona fides because of his
6 relationship apparently to some institute or
7 consulting for --
8 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: It wasn't
9 E.J. McMahon I was quoting. Senator
10 DeFrancisco said it was E.J. McMahon I was
11 quoting, but in fact E.J. McMahon was quoting
12 the gentleman from the Beacon Institute, and
13 my understanding is he is the consultant to
14 the Republican Conference.
15 So it was not -- E.J. was quoting
16 him, and he was the only economist of the five
17 who said that we shouldn't actually increase
18 spending, that we should decrease spending.
19 And then I have about a hundred economists who
20 have written letters supporting it --
21 SENATOR SALAND: Senator Krueger,
22 would you -- would you suffer an interruption?
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Excuse
24 me?
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1 SENATOR SALAND: Would Senator
2 Krueger suffer an interruption?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Excuse
4 me, I can't --
5 SENATOR SALAND: I said would
6 Senator Krueger suffer an interruption,
7 Mr. President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Would
9 you suffer an interruption?
10 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I'm not
11 feeling that suffering. Certainly, Senator.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: She
13 will suffer an interruption, Senator Saland.
14 SENATOR SALAND: May I say that I
15 will accept your answer to this point as being
16 your answer. You don't have to impress me
17 with any more additional data.
18 I'd like to ask you one very narrow
19 question and then go on the bill.
20 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes.
21 Mr. President, one narrow question.
22 SENATOR SALAND: One of the
23 few -- perhaps only -- tax relief measures
24 that I'm familiar with being in this budget is
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1 something that provides tax relief to the
2 television and entertainment industry. I
3 believe there's some $350 million in relief.
4 Am I correct in assuming you
5 support that and you believe it's important to
6 the economy, particularly important to the
7 economy of New York City?
8 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: My
9 understanding is that is a continuation of a
10 tax expenditure that had sunset. And my
11 understanding is that on the evaluations done
12 by the ESDC and the Tax and Finance Commission
13 on the ratings of economic activity generated
14 for the state from different types of tax
15 expenditures, it has been one of the most
16 effective job-creation models through the use
17 of a tax expenditure.
18 So while I am always hesitant to
19 support tax expenditures, I will tell you
20 that -- and I am actually holding a hearing on
21 that issue in Rochester at the end of the
22 month, if you would like to join us, because I
23 think there needs to be so much more
24 evaluation of them.
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1 Based on the data through
2 independent auditors and through ESDC, yes, I
3 was comfortable supporting that in the budget
4 because it has created so many jobs. Thank
5 you, because I can't memorize everything.
6 Their studies show that there's $1.90
7 generated for every dollar, based on an
8 Ernst & Young audit.
9 And again, I think there was a
10 misspeak before about that proposal. That is
11 not unique to New York City; that is for
12 productions anywhere in the State of New York.
13 I actually -- I know that there's a very
14 active TV and film production company in
15 Buffalo that was also found to be very
16 important for job creation.
17 So again, the truth is when there's
18 economic activity anywhere in the State of
19 New York, again, as one state, we all win.
20 But that was not a specific credit for
21 New York City.
22 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you,
23 Senator Krueger.
24 I would call your attention and the
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1 chamber's attention --
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN:
3 Senator Saland --
4 SENATOR SALAND: On the bill.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN:
6 Senator Saland, on the bill.
7 SENATOR SALAND: I would call
8 your attention and the chamber's attention to
9 page 110 of this bill, lines 35 to 42. And
10 what this in effect does is it imposes a tax
11 on those air transport companies that engage
12 in the business of servicing and shuttling
13 passengers for other people. Large
14 corporations, perhaps. These people
15 supposedly, by way of this tax, are going to
16 contribute $2 million to help close our budget
17 deficit.
18 Well, there is in my district a
19 company, AAG. They have already located a
20 site in New Jersey -- all they need is a
21 helipad -- and they have told my county that
22 they are leaving. They are taking 79 jobs
23 with them, out the door in the very near
24 future.
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1 Not a laughing matter. My county
2 will lose $177,000 in revenues. The town in
3 which it's located will lose $36,000 in
4 property taxes. Other businesses that deal
5 with them obviously are going see a diminution
6 of their top line; they, in turn, will lose.
7 And as this happens, I just have
8 reports in one of my local newspapers, today's
9 Register Star, I have a company in Chatham, at
10 the northern end of Columbia County not far
11 from this Capitol -- they're moving to
12 Massachusetts. They're a plastic
13 manufacturer. They're closing their doors.
14 Massachusetts, once known as "Taxachusetts."
15 Same newspaper. Another company in
16 the City of Hudson, a struggling city that has
17 already lost two or three businesses in the
18 last several months, including the largest
19 employer in the county. Hudson Fabrics,
20 struggling to stay alive, is looking to sell
21 their facility to see if someone will help to
22 keep those people employed in that county.
23 The taxes that we are imposing and
24 the spending that we are imposing is a clarion
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1 call to any small business that their days are
2 numbered. They're struggling as it is. We
3 are punishing them mercilessly.
4 This AAG that is going to be run
5 out of my county because of this tax was
6 supporting 79 people, 79 families with
7 good-paying jobs. They're not moving very
8 far, they're just going to New Jersey.
9 What sensible policy -- who could
10 not see the writing on the wall? Two million
11 dollars in the scheme of $132 billion, it's
12 not petty cash, it's chump change. And you're
13 not going to get the $2 million, because
14 they're taking their business over the border.
15 And they're not fleeing to the South, they're
16 not fleeing to the Southwest, they're merely
17 going to New Jersey.
18 I heard a number of things today on
19 the floor. For example, the importance of
20 educating our children. And I full well know
21 and appreciate the importance of educating
22 children. I've always said there was an
23 "equal" sign between education and
24 opportunity.
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1 And on the whole, we do a good job
2 in many places. We could do a better job in
3 many other places. And when we get to our
4 institutes of higher education, we are as good
5 as you're going to find anywhere.
6 There's a problem. We educate them
7 and they leave, because they don't want to pay
8 what they have to pay here. They don't want
9 to pay the personal income tax, as high as it
10 is, and getting higher. They don't want to
11 pay the property taxes. They don't want to
12 absorb the cost of living that we have in
13 New York.
14 Census data will tell you that in
15 the last decade we lost hundreds of thousands
16 of people who left and were replaced primarily
17 by -- and I say this in no disparaging way --
18 by immigrants. We're a wonderful country. We
19 embrace immigrants. But there were people who
20 had tens of thousands of jobs that they left
21 here or lost here knowing that they would have
22 greater opportunity elsewhere and not wanting
23 to bear the burden of staying here and bearing
24 the God-awful taxes, the micromanaging of
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1 government.
2 Let me suggest to you that if
3 you're a middle-class family, this is what you
4 can look forward to. Aside from the personal
5 income tax increases -- which, incidentally,
6 we talk about the adjoining states, and we
7 talk about New Jersey at 8.97 and perhaps
8 going up, we talk about Connecticut. Nobody
9 talks about the rates beneath those highest
10 rates. They're lower than ours. So somebody
11 making $500,000 or $300,000 will fare better
12 moving across the border.
13 And as Senator Padavan pointed out,
14 in New York City better than 50 percent of the
15 budget is paid by, I believe he said,
16 15 percent of the people. And he went on in
17 his same piece to say if 10 percent of them
18 move out -- 1500 taxpayers, I'm sorry. If
19 1500 taxpayers move out, the city loses
20 3.5 billion.
21 But what can middle-class
22 New Yorkers expect? In addition to higher
23 property taxes, thanks to stripping away the
24 STAR rebate, you're going to pay more for your
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1 car, pay more for your registration.
2 Certainly you'll pay more for your utility
3 bills. You're going to pay higher costs of
4 health insurance; you're going to pay higher
5 costs, in addition to that, for home health
6 care. If you happen to enjoy the outdoors,
7 hunting and fishing, that's going to cost you
8 more too.
9 And perhaps the ultimate indignity,
10 it's going to cost you more to file your
11 taxes, because now tax preparers are going to
12 have to pay a $100 fee for the distinction of
13 being able to provide their service here in
14 New York.
15 Who's going to make up all this
16 money, the tooth fairy? The simple fact of
17 the matter is that we are taxing people out of
18 this state. We have $12 billion,
19 conservatively, and I believe $18 billion of
20 new spending. Knock off the $7 billion in
21 stimulus money, we are spending $10 billion to
22 $11 billion more in this budget in a
23 recession -- that's not a mild recession, it's
24 a severe recession.
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1 We are putting ourselves, as I said
2 earlier, at a precipice. And much of this
3 spending is recurring spending, with one-shot
4 money for recurring spending. Woe to all of
5 us that we do not experience a miraculous
6 recovery within the next 48 months. If we do
7 not experience a miraculous recovery within
8 48 months, there will be an exodus of people,
9 people who would be people who we would rely
10 upon to pay these taxes.
11 Because that opportunity that might
12 have been perceived as still being available
13 to them in New York is going to be far more
14 attractive in virtually every other state in
15 the union.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Thank
17 you, Senator Saland.
18 Senator Flanagan.
19 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Mr. President,
20 I was hoping Senator Liz Krueger would yield.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN:
22 Senator Kruger.
23 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: I will have
24 to do, Senator Flanagan.
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1 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Well,
2 actually, Senator Kruger, no disrespect to
3 you, I was looking to ask questions based on
4 comments that were made by Senator Liz
5 Krueger.
6 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: I think
7 she's left the chamber. If I can't do, I
8 don't know what to suggest.
9 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Again, Senator
10 Kruger, I certainly don't pretend to speak for
11 anybody else. And Senator Krueger made some
12 specific comments as it relates to Long
13 Island. And I wouldn't want to put you in the
14 position of having to explain the details as
15 to what she was thinking.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: We can
17 have a moment.
18 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Mr.
19 President, then maybe I suggest we go on to
20 the next speaker and come back.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Good
22 idea. Would that be all right with you?
23 SENATOR FLANAGAN: No, in fact,
24 it won't.
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1 Then I'll just speak on the bill.
2 And I'll have to assume certain things in the
3 absence of Senator Krueger.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN:
5 Senator Flanagan, on the bill.
6 SENATOR FLANAGAN: On the bill.
7 I listened very carefully, and I
8 double-checked with my colleague Senator
9 Robach as to characterizations and direct
10 comments and statements made by Senator Liz
11 Krueger, and she was talking about the
12 revenues in this budget and in particular the
13 PIT and how it was going to work and where the
14 money was going to go. And she specifically
15 said that the City of New York is a donor to
16 upstate New York to the tune of $13 billion.
17 Then she went on to say that the
18 money that's generated from this doesn't
19 benefit Long Island and doesn't benefit
20 New York City, but benefits upstate New York.
21 Now, as a Long Islander, someone
22 representing communities all across the Second
23 Senate District, I'm concerned, I'm
24 frustrated, I'm frankly appalled that a
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1 characterization like that would be made by
2 the vice chair of the Senate Finance
3 Committee.
4 So I'll only have to assume that
5 there's some type of callous disregard for the
6 communities on Long Island. Because after
7 all, if we're going to raise revenue, there
8 should be some fair and equitable
9 distribution. That's number one.
10 Number two, following up on
11 conversations that I know Senator DeFrancisco
12 had, and I did as well, in talking to Senator
13 Carl Kruger, we asked questions about General
14 Fund spending. And Senator Kruger told me he
15 would get back to me. And Senator Liz Krueger
16 couldn't answer the question today as well.
17 So it is perplexing for me and I
18 think for many of us, including the public, to
19 listen to characterizations by the majority
20 that General Fund spending is only up
21 1 percent, and yet no one can provide us with
22 any numbers. There are no numbers from DOB,
23 there are no updated numbers from the
24 financial plan, there is nothing that we can
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1 represent, not only in terms of General Fund
2 spending but in State Fund spending. There is
3 absolutely no specificity.
4 And I go back to the financial plan
5 that was presented to us the other day with
6 both Senator Kruger and Senator Krueger on the
7 cover of this. The All Funds number is there,
8 but not the General Fund number and not the
9 State Fund number.
10 So I am left to assume that we
11 don't have that information, and yet we're
12 listening to characterizations that General
13 Fund spending is only up 1 percent. We don't
14 know that factually, but those who are
15 advocating for this budget keep making those
16 statements.
17 And then finally, I want to go back
18 to something that Senator DeFrancisco said
19 relative to page 319 of the Public Protection
20 and General Government Budget, and this is
21 something that I will partially agree with the
22 majority on. The first part of this language
23 is language to the tune of $1 billion hereby
24 being appropriated for transfer by the
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1 Governor to funds established in a specific
2 account.
3 We have done that in the past, I
4 readily acknowledge that. And that in this
5 respect right now is a dry appropriation.
6 But in working with our own finance
7 people, who negotiated some prior budgets, the
8 second paragraph is the most glaring example
9 of where I think we're going to have problems
10 and where I think the most politics is going
11 to get played with this budget.
12 A fair interpretation of what this
13 statute says right here is that a billion
14 dollars can be put into this special fund.
15 And now, unlike in the past, there is
16 unfettered discretion and authority on the
17 part of the Division of Budget, obviously in
18 conjunction with the Governor, to spend that
19 money as they see fit. And it says
20 specifically to any state department, agency,
21 or public authority for the purposes in the
22 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
23 2009.
24 There is no oversight by the
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1 Legislature, there is no specific authority
2 where the Legislature is allowed to provide
3 input. This is at the sole discretion of the
4 Division of Budget.
5 Now, the Division of Budget is the
6 organization, the entity here right now that's
7 holding up capital projects, that's holding up
8 other projects that affect all of our
9 communities in all of our separate Senate
10 districts.
11 This is the ultimate member item,
12 except it doesn't go out to the communities
13 that we represent, it's in the authority and
14 discretion of the Division of Budget. And I
15 think we should be able to tell people that so
16 they know, when these issues come up, well,
17 how did that press release that new money's
18 going out the door and somehow it's going into
19 one portion of the state but not to another?
20 This is exactly what is wrong with
21 this budget. Because -- and I don't offer
22 this disrespectfully -- I listened to Senator
23 Liz Krueger say there was $7 billion in
24 federal stimulus funds. I listened to Senator
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1 Carl Kruger the other night make a
2 representation of $5 billion. Then I looked
3 at some press releases that said $7.2 billion.
4 Then I heard Senator Krueger said $1.3 billion
5 that goes back to last year.
6 So if I'm standing here, my
7 thinking is it's 7, plus the 1.3, that's
8 8.3 billion, and there were representations
9 made that there's a total of $24 billion in
10 this package. So are we to assume that over
11 the course of the next year we're going to
12 spend the other $15.7 billion?
13 And then I think to myself, all
14 right, if we have $24 billion and we're
15 spending approximately $8 billion, why
16 shouldn't we be using another $4 billion this
17 year to get rid of some of these onerous taxes
18 that are contained in this budget? Why are we
19 putting most of the money into next year when
20 our need is the most glaring right now?
21 The problem is that no one can
22 provide a satisfactory answer. And I'll close
23 on this point. Looking at this financial
24 plan, I will give the majority credit for
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1 this. You have provided great clarity and
2 great detail on all the taxes and fees that
3 you want to impose upon the residents of
4 New York. There's no speculation, it's right
5 there.
6 However, there's no plan as to how
7 the federal stimulus money will be spent.
8 There's no document, even right now, that we
9 can all look at, any one of us -- not me, not
10 the Republicans -- any one of us in the Senate
11 doesn't know where the money is going. In
12 fact, we don't even know how much money we
13 have. And on top of that, we don't even know
14 what the Governor has applied for, supposedly
15 on behalf of the residents of the State of
16 New York.
17 This fund was referred to the other
18 night as a slush fund. I'll say it a little
19 differently. It's the ultimate member-item
20 fund, except it doesn't affect any of the
21 members that serve in this chamber. It's
22 there for the Division of Budget. And
23 frankly, I'm worried that I'm not going to see
24 any money coming to Long Island no matter
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1 whose district we're talking about, because
2 Senator Krueger just said with all the
3 revenues we have coming in, the money is not
4 going to Long Island and it's not going to the
5 City of New York, it's going upstate.
6 And I know and I believe my
7 colleagues in upstate New York need help. But
8 like everybody else, we should have a fair and
9 equitable distribution and we should be able
10 to see now a blueprint of what that is so that
11 we can go home to our taxpayers and say:
12 Here's where the money came from, and here's
13 where it's going to be spent.
14 That we can't tell them.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
16 you, Senator Flanagan.
17 Senator LaValle, on the bill.
18 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 Senator Liz Krueger, in her
21 remarks, said something that is a good slogan:
22 We are one New York. From my vantage point in
23 Long Island -- and Senator Flanagan
24 articulated some views -- the people I
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1 represent really feel put upon. I don't think
2 there is any other way to say it. We feel put
3 upon.
4 I have yesterday's Newsday.
5 Congressman Steve Israel, who is trying on a
6 national level, trying to have, in terms of
7 taxation, a regional adjustment because
8 $200,000 on Long Island has the same buying
9 power in Indianapolis of $121,000. And the
10 Congressman says, and I think this gets to
11 something that we on Long Island have been
12 saying for a long time -- to quote the
13 Congressman, he said: "But I'm getting
14 increasingly frustrated when I hear people say
15 $200,000 is a lavish income."
16 "It may be a lavish income in some
17 areas of the country," Israel continued, "but
18 it is not a lavish income on Long Island when
19 you're trying to put kids through college and
20 you're watching your home equity decline and
21 paying the highest property taxes in the
22 country."
23 This budget has been hurtful to our
24 schools. State aid, we had a 13 percent
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1 share; now we have 5. We eliminated the STAR
2 program, which has been critically helpful for
3 Long Island and quite honestly was -- the
4 basic and enhanced STAR program was put in to
5 help Long Island, and then the STAR rebate
6 program, because we pay the highest property
7 taxes.
8 Now, many of the people -- and I
9 wish people could hear the calls and the
10 emails that I'm getting. Because we think
11 that -- we talk about $200,000, $300,000, you
12 know. Yeah, well, maybe in some parts of the
13 state that's a lot of money. Steve Israel
14 says, you know, we're trying to put our kids
15 through college because we don't get student
16 financial aid. We're watching our values go
17 down, in every family two people are working
18 in a household, trying to generate the kind of
19 money they need to pay their taxes, give their
20 children a decent lifestyle.
21 We watch, in this budget -- and
22 several constituents of mine have complained
23 that we are doing away with fingerprinting at
24 a time when we're going to go back to
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1 increased welfare and Medicaid fraud. We had
2 for years passed bills and counted on revenue
3 from welfare and Medicaid fraud. And now
4 we're just throwing that away. And people I
5 represent, you know, they have a problem with
6 that. They have a problem with that.
7 I talked yesterday and we'll
8 probably have more discussion on our
9 hospitals. Our hospitals are receiving less
10 aid. Some of them are going to be at the
11 brink of reducing services or going out of
12 business.
13 Senator Krueger is chair of the
14 select committee; I serve with Senator
15 Ranzenhofer on that committee and others. We
16 had a hearing here in Albany, and I think it
17 was a pretty balanced approach. There were
18 some there articulating views that would have
19 supported Senator Schneiderman's legislation
20 increasing the PIT.
21 There were others -- Frank Mauro
22 made a balanced approach focusing on the
23 property tax issue, how important that is.
24 There was the approach of E.J.
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1 McMahon that talked about and actually had a
2 good exchange with Senator Schneiderman on
3 exactly what his legislation and the
4 implication of that legislation would have on
5 our businesses. And I do believe that we're
6 going to lose jobs. Whether it be 15,000 jobs
7 or 10,000 jobs, it's not a good thing. Not a
8 good thing at this time.
9 One of the groups that testified,
10 and I forget the group, talked about we need
11 higher taxation, we need higher taxes to
12 protect those that are vulnerable, and in the
13 testimony said "and we should be unapologetic
14 about increasing taxes."
15 Now, I understand we have a
16 constitutional responsibility from our
17 founding fathers. New York is probably, I
18 don't know, one of the few states that has in
19 its constitution a commitment to protect the
20 poor. So we have a constitutional obligation.
21 But you know, I keep hearing this
22 chorus about protecting the vulnerable. Well,
23 you know, if we keep taxing, the people who
24 are sending a lot of money in this state from
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1 Long Island are going to be among the
2 vulnerable.
3 We presented a balanced budget, a
4 budget without taxes. Had we had conference
5 committees, we would have had that debate with
6 Senator Krueger and others about whether the
7 Senate plan was balanced, what were the good
8 things, what were the bad things. But we
9 didn't have that opportunity. We did not have
10 that opportunity.
11 I would say that the general rule
12 of thumb had been that when you're in a
13 recession, you don't increase taxes. You
14 don't increase taxes. This is the wrong
15 medicine at the wrong time. So I hope, once
16 again -- maybe I'll be surprised. I know
17 Senator Maziarz went to mass this morning.
18 Maybe he prayed that two people would come
19 over and vote for us, vote with the Republican
20 Minority.
21 Thank you, Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
23 you, Senator LaValle.
24 Senator Robach, on the bill.
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1 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes,
2 Mr. President. I am assuming by her absence
3 that Senator Krueger is not taking questions
4 even though she made the remark -- or where
5 are we on that?
6 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
7 Senator Liz Krueger is not in the chamber at
8 this point.
9 However, Senator Carl Kruger is.
10 Are you asking the chairman of the Finance
11 Committee to yield to a question?
12 SENATOR ROBACH: Well, I'll do my
13 best. It might be a little bit different
14 because after making those comments, I'm sorry
15 our colleague had to leave. I can't imagine
16 where we would go during the middle of the
17 budget process.
18 But, Senator Kruger, thank you for
19 staying here as the chairman and talking about
20 a bill that's going to impact all of our
21 constituents greatly.
22 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: It's part
23 of the budget process, Senator.
24 SENATOR ROBACH: Your colleague
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1 Senator Krueger had indicated that no one in
2 the City of New York in her district had ever
3 indicated any displeasure with raising taxes
4 whatsoever. Would you agree with that, and do
5 you have that experience in your district as
6 well?
7 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Through
8 you, Mr. President. Obviously I cannot speak
9 for the population that exists in Senator
10 Krueger's district. But in reference to
11 your --
12 SENATOR ROBACH: Well,
13 Mr. President, why don't we get her in here,
14 then, so I can ask her. Why don't we do
15 that --
16 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Well,
17 Senator --
18 SENATOR ROBACH: Because I'm sure
19 she's got to be around here somewhere.
20 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Through
21 you, Mr. President, Senator Krueger is not in
22 the chamber now. And I'd be more than glad,
23 as the chairperson of the committee, to answer
24 Senator Robach's questions to the best of my
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1 ability.
2 SENATOR ROBACH: Okay. Would you
3 share the belief of Senator Krueger that no
4 one in New York City is concerned about
5 increasing taxes?
6 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Through
7 you, Mr. President. Obviously, since I do not
8 represent Senator Krueger's district --
9 SENATOR ROBACH: No, in New York
10 City. I'll broaden it for you, Senator.
11 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Well, in
12 the broad sense of the word, I don't take
13 polls, so I really couldn't answer that.
14 But I would suspect that it's a
15 mixed bag. Some people may, and some people
16 may not. You really can't tell.
17 SENATOR ROBACH: I just have to
18 say for a minute before I go on with my
19 questions, this is very frustrating to me --
20 not to me, to my constituents. People make
21 statements that are going to impact the people
22 I represent and their lives, and I would like
23 to really know, I'm really trying to learn and
24 respect what people say and understand it for
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1 clarity, and now we can't. But I'll try and
2 continue.
3 Well, Senator Kruger, do you
4 believe me that just the opposite happens --
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
6 Senator Robach, excuse me for one minute.
7 Senator Kruger, do you continue to
8 yield?
9 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
11 Senator Kruger continues to yield.
12 SENATOR ROBACH: How about this.
13 Would Senator Kruger continue to yield for a
14 series of questions so we can expedite this?
15 Because I know many people are in a hurry.
16 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: We
18 need to continue through the chair, Senator
19 Robach.
20 SENATOR ROBACH: Well, I'm trying
21 to do that once and for all here,
22 Mr. President, if that works okay for you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
24 Proceed with your question.
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1 SENATOR ROBACH: Do you believe
2 me when I tell you, in all sincerity, that in
3 my district people tell me every day -- as a
4 matter of fact, I'm getting hundreds of calls
5 and emails today, people panicked that they're
6 going to lose their STAR rebate check. And
7 they're very concerned, in these economic
8 times with what's going on with downsizing in
9 some of our large companies, about paying all
10 their taxes, all their fees and everything
11 else.
12 Do you believe me when I do take
13 polls too and tell you that everyone is very,
14 very concerned with that? Do you believe me
15 on that, Senator Kruger?
16 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Through
17 you, Mr. President. Firstly, just to
18 reiterate, no one wanted to cut the STAR
19 rebate check. However --
20 SENATOR ROBACH: But you did.
21 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: At least
22 give me an opportunity --
23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
24 Senator Robach, if you could allow Senator
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1 Kruger to complete his answers to your
2 questions.
3 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: -- to
4 answer the question.
5 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes,
6 Mr. President, I will.
7 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Firstly, no
8 one wanted to cut the STAR rebate check. As
9 you know, it was well over a billion dollars
10 in order to generate those checks.
11 The STAR program in the exemption
12 form is still an available option to the
13 residents of this state.
14 And in terms of the veracity of
15 your statement, whether or not I should
16 believe you or not, I think that we know each
17 other long enough that I wouldn't question the
18 integrity of your word and you wouldn't
19 question the integrity of mine.
20 But I think it's a gross
21 exaggeration when we say that there's panic in
22 the streets.
23 SENATOR ROBACH: I never said the
24 word "panic," I said strong, legitimate
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1 concern of peopling facing difficult economic
2 times.
3 Let me continue. Could you tell
4 me, outside of the PIT -- which Senator
5 Krueger did a good job of explaining, and her
6 joy for that -- what are the other combined
7 total taxes on this budget eliminating the
8 PIT? What would that be, Senator Kruger? In
9 the aggregate.
10 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Again,
11 through you, Mr. President, to the best of my
12 recollection, the tax bill was approximately
13 $5.2 billion. Approximately.
14 SENATOR ROBACH: In addition to
15 the PIT. So there's going to be an additional
16 $5 billion -- I actually only have it at about
17 4 billion additional dollars, but if you're
18 telling me it's five, I can believe that too,
19 then?
20 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Right.
21 Again, Mr. President, through you, if we would
22 go back to the budget fact sheet, I call your
23 attention to page 3. And the number of the
24 tax and revenue total is 5,126.6.
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1 SENATOR ROBACH: Taxes and fees,
2 I'm going to disagree with you a little bit,
3 is really -- I won't list all these for
4 time -- is really about an additional
5 $3.9 billion that people are going to be
6 paying in addition to this.
7 You said that you believe me on my
8 tax issue. Senator DeFrancisco, Senator
9 Flanagan, and others pointed out very
10 accurately that we have this billion-dollar
11 fund, I don't know what you want to call it,
12 that's unspecified.
13 You know, timing in life is
14 everything. You've now agreed with me that
15 where I live, taxes and fees are tremendously
16 important to people on the verge in these
17 economic climates. Don't you think we could
18 have better used that billion dollars --
19 minimally, if not more -- of the stimulus
20 package to offset these taxes? Wouldn't you
21 agree with me that that would have been a good
22 response to at least my constituents, if not a
23 prudent move for all New Yorkers?
24 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Through
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1 you, Mr. President. Firstly, if we go back
2 again to that billion-dollar line, that
3 billion-dollar line, as you know, is not an
4 appropriated line, that's a reservoir. We
5 call it a dry line, call it whatever you want
6 to call it.
7 But more particularly, is there a
8 good way or a bad way? I don't ever think
9 there's a good way or a bad way of taxing
10 people. But I think that we have an
11 obligation -- the obligation is not something
12 that I think; we know, it's constitutional --
13 and that's to provide for a balanced budget.
14 And no matter how tortuous a
15 process we go through and no matter how we
16 want to manipulate the numbers and no matter
17 how much we want to distort the facts, the
18 facts are that you know that we approached a
19 $17 billion shortfall, and that was the
20 scenario that was developed in our judgment in
21 the shared belief that it was a way of going
22 forward to get us out of this rut.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
24 Senator Robach --
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1 SENATOR ROBACH: Through you,
2 Mr. President --
3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
4 Senator Robach. Senator Robach.
5 If I could interrupt the debate for
6 a moment and ask Senator Smith to speak on a
7 matter that has occurred in recent moments.
8 We will return to the debate in a moment,
9 Senator Robach.
10 Senator Smith.
11 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you very
12 much, Mr. President. Thank you, Senator
13 Robach and Senator Carl Kruger, for yielding
14 the floor to me at this moment.
15 Colleagues, we have had a terrible
16 situation happen in this state. And it is
17 important that we -- while we are conducting
18 the business of the state, and it is critical,
19 it sort of puts things in perspective.
20 And up in Binghamton, as we are in
21 here right now, there is a hostage situation
22 going on where it is reported that 15 people
23 have been killed, and the individual is still
24 not apprehended.
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1 Whether that number is 10, 12, or
2 15, what matters most for us is that we have a
3 situation that we need to be in prayer.
4 Senator Libous obviously has to
5 make a determination as to his movement, and I
6 will stand at this moment to indicate to him,
7 before I yield the floor to him, that if for
8 any reason he needs the courtesy extended to
9 him in terms of having him vote on these bills
10 to move forward to Binghamton, that we would
11 extend that to him.
12 But I do hope, colleagues, that we
13 recognize that this is a very tragic
14 situation, one that we have to keep in mind as
15 stewards of this state. It is a situation
16 that is unfolding as we speak. The news, the
17 fact that his family is okay -- which we
18 immediately called, in the office. We spoke
19 to the Governor. The Governor is prepared to
20 assist him. Troopers are on the ground there,
21 the FBI.
22 But we should all be prepared to
23 extend any help to Senator Libous and
24 Binghamton. And I'm talking about financial
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1 as well as spiritual as well as physical, in
2 terms of us being there for him during this
3 tragedy.
4 And at this time, Mr. President,
5 I'd like to yield the floor to Senator Libous.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
7 you, Senator Smith.
8 Senator Libous.
9 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you,
10 Mr. President. Thank you, Senator Smith and
11 my colleagues.
12 We're picking up information as
13 everyone else is, through the national news
14 media, CNN and others. I've made several
15 calls, I've tried to get ahold of the mayor,
16 the mayor is at the scene. There's a number
17 of sketchy reports. The Governor and I had a
18 conversation; he's trying to get a briefing
19 from the State Police so that we can get our
20 arms around exactly how many fatalities there
21 are, exactly what's going on.
22 The one thing that we do know, as
23 Senator Smith mentioned, is that at this time
24 the gunman is still at large. They're not
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1 sure if he has hostages inside the building or
2 if he has left the building.
3 So as Senator Smith said, our
4 prayers are certainly with the family members.
5 It's a difficult situation. I know it was at
6 the American Civic Society. I have a lot of
7 very, very close and dear friends there. And,
8 you know, as we get details, we're going to
9 need to do whatever we can to comfort the
10 families, as Senator Smith and I talked about,
11 in the months ahead. And the Governor has
12 offered his help and assistance.
13 So all I can do now is tell you
14 please offer your prayers for any of the
15 victims and their families and those who may
16 be in harm's way at this time.
17 Thank you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
19 you, Senator Libous.
20 Senator Smith.
21 SENATOR SMITH: Before we return
22 to debate, if we would just pause in a moment
23 of silence for the families of all those who
24 might be under this terrible moment.
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1 (Whereupon, the assemblage
2 respected a moment of silence.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
4 Senator Robach, you have the floor.
5 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes. I think
6 Senator Kruger was just finishing up
7 explaining why it wasn't good to use that
8 billion dollars to offset property tax or
9 taxes. If you want to continue, feel free to,
10 if you weren't finished with your answer.
11 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Through
12 you, Mr. President. Well, I think in
13 substance we've covered that ground
14 previously. I know that you feel, as well as
15 we feel, that taxing anyone is a bad thing but
16 sometimes, as we know, a necessary thing. And
17 hopefully, as this economy improves, we'll be
18 able to look at this issue in greater detail
19 and try to spread the pain in a more
20 appropriate fashion.
21 Thank you, Mr. President.
22 SENATOR ROBACH: One last
23 question and then I'll go on the bill.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
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1 Senator Klein.
2 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President,
3 can we suspend the debate for a moment and
4 open the roll.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: By
6 unanimous consent, the debate is suspended
7 momentarily.
8 The Secretary will open the roll on
9 Calendar Number 136. First, read the last
10 section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
14 Secretary will call the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
17 Senator Libous.
18 SENATOR LIBOUS: No.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
20 roll call is withdrawn, and the bill is laid
21 aside.
22 The Secretary will read Calendar
23 Number 138 for the same purpose.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
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1 138, Assembly Budget Bill, Assembly Print
2 Number 159B, an act to amend Chapter 279 of
3 the Laws of 1998.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
12 Senator Libous.
13 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I
14 believe there are two amendments at the desk
15 on this bill, and I would vote aye on both of
16 those amendments.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
18 record shall so reflect.
19 And your vote on the bill?
20 SENATOR LIBOUS: On the bill I
21 would vote no.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
23 Senator Libous to be recorded in the negative.
24 The roll call is withdrawn, and the
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1 bill is laid aside.
2 The Secretary will continue to read
3 Calendar 137.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 137, Assembly Budget Bill, Assembly Print
6 Number 158B, an act to amend the Public Health
7 Law and the Elder Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Read
9 the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
16 Senator Libous.
17 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I
18 believe there would be one amendment on this
19 bill; I would vote aye.
20 And on the bill, I would vote no.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: So
22 recorded.
23 The roll call is withdrawn, and the
24 bill is laid aside.
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1 The Secretary will read Calendar
2 Number 131.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 131, Assembly Budget Bill, Assembly Print
5 Number 151A, an act making appropriations for
6 the support of government: Legislative and
7 Judiciary Budget.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Read
9 the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
16 Senator Libous.
17 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I
18 vote no.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
20 Senator Libous to be recorded in the negative.
21 The roll call is withdrawn, and the
22 bill is laid aside.
23 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I
24 want to thank Senator Smith and certainly all
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1 my colleagues for extending me this courtesy.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
3 Secretary will place Calendar 136 before the
4 house.
5 Senator Klein.
6 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President,
7 can we return to the debate on Calendar 136
8 and recognize Senator Robach.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
10 Calendar 136 is before the house.
11 Senator Robach.
12 SENATOR ROBACH: Thank you. And
13 certainly, with this sad news, hard to get
14 refocused.
15 But let me just ask one last
16 question, because this is going to have such
17 an impact.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
19 Senator Kruger, do you yield?
20 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do,
21 Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
23 Senator Kruger yields.
24 SENATOR ROBACH: Thank you,
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1 Mr. President.
2 The other issue that I think stands
3 out so largely in here -- and some of my other
4 colleagues have talked about it -- is you
5 said, actually -- I guess it's good that
6 you're up, and not Liz Krueger -- you had said
7 earlier that we're going to get a detailed
8 list of how the stimulus money is spent later
9 on.
10 And I guess I think I owe it to my
11 constituents and feel that this should be so
12 integrated, so coordinated before we do some
13 of these things we're all agreeing on are so
14 terrible to people. Do you feel that we
15 should have listed these things separately or
16 know exactly where the money is, rather than
17 generically and later on?
18 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Through
19 you, Mr. President. Within the appropriation
20 bill that we have here, they are all lined
21 out.
22 However, for the purpose of
23 clarity, there will be distributed to all of
24 the members a detailed list, as I had
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1 committed to.
2 SENATOR ROBACH: Thank you,
3 Senator Kruger.
4 Mr. President, on the bill.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
6 Senator Robach, on the bill.
7 SENATOR ROBACH: I really try not
8 to, but I just -- I have such a great deal of
9 concern and somewhat frustration from where
10 we're at today.
11 You know, we all keep talking about
12 what we don't want to do, yet it's exactly
13 what we're doing. And we're not doing it to
14 us, we're doing it to the residents of this
15 state, my constituents.
16 We are going to be adding in taxes
17 and fees, the elimination of the STAR program,
18 taxes on energy, healthcare -- and you know
19 what? A lot of people are calling me on this.
20 But everybody doesn't know yet. And when they
21 do, they're going to demand a little bit more
22 of an answer than we got here today.
23 There's a lot of money in there.
24 People talked about other states earlier.
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1 Other states are using this money, like
2 Senator Schumer suggested, not to raise taxes.
3 Off the PIT, we can't just talk about that one
4 without the other $4 billion in fees on cars,
5 on registrations, on licenses that I believe
6 disproportionately hurt the people in upstate
7 New York where we don't have an option to take
8 the subway or something else. Kids commute to
9 college, you have to get to work. This is
10 seriously impactful stuff.
11 You know, timing in life is
12 everything. I think John F. Kennedy said
13 during the Cuban missile crisis that, you
14 know, the challenge at hand should dictate our
15 actions. We're acting like we're flush.
16 We're acting like we're in a budget surplus.
17 My colleague Liz Krueger said we had done that
18 once before, several years ago, we had all
19 done that before. Yeah, we had a surplus.
20 We now have a deficit. We have an
21 opportunity to fill it in with stimulus money
22 and some other options. We don't know where
23 the money's really going. There's a
24 billion-dollar unallocated fund -- I won't
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1 call it a slush fund. I don't know what it
2 is. No one can answer the question of any of
3 my colleagues. I'm going to have a hard time
4 answering the question or answering that
5 question to my constituents.
6 This is flawed. We've talked
7 ad nauseam about the flawed process and why we
8 couldn't get answers. But the outcome now is
9 almost equally as bad to me, given the
10 situation and the times we're at, as the
11 process. This makes it a concern.
12 And I guarantee you, I don't
13 know -- I'll only speak for my district. I
14 know I'm going to be hearing a lot about this.
15 And my guess is not only in upstate New York
16 but even in Manhattan some people are going to
17 be concerned about some of these taxes and
18 fees that not only are going to hurt
19 individuals but really are job-killing taxes.
20 Taxing energy, you know -- and I'm
21 going to leave that to Senator Maziarz, who
22 will talk about that a little bit later and
23 has a greater expertise than I. And
24 increasing that when people are looking at
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1 siting jobs, staying somewhere, moving,
2 really, really isn't good.
3 So I will end with saying again, as
4 I have on these other things, I wish there was
5 a different process. I wish I didn't have to
6 vote no. I wish I wasn't going to have to
7 spend -- because you're going for vote yes for
8 this and pass this -- the next several months
9 explaining to people, Yes, you do have to pay
10 this, no, no one would listen to me, I
11 couldn't get consensus in this house, it's
12 going to happen.
13 But I think not just me, others are
14 going to have to answer these too. Because I
15 don't think the public has any idea -- and I
16 won't bore you, you all have this. This part
17 isn't debatable, isn't hidden, these taxes and
18 fees on all those things, taking away the STAR
19 program, the one thing -- rebate check -- that
20 we gave upstate people to let them know we
21 were really paying attention and sympathetic
22 to them on property tax. We don't have a
23 municipal income tax. People pay a great deal
24 of money on a home not valued anywheres near
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1 as those in New York City in my district, way
2 more in property tax. We can't do any of
3 that.
4 So I'm really left with no recourse
5 but not only be committed to try and get more
6 information to answer these questions, but
7 wholeheartedly vote no. And while there's
8 still time left, but given all the other past
9 votes, hopefully some of what I believe is
10 very meritorious dialogue will have some
11 impact on some of my other colleagues who have
12 voted yes for the rest of this budget.
13 But this is the Big Ugly. This is
14 what is going to impact people's lives in a
15 big way. The estimate in my district is -- my
16 colleague Senator Kevin Parker said 96 percent
17 of the people won't be affected by these. In
18 my district, on a $78,000 household income for
19 a family of four, it's going to be
20 approximately $2,000 more in taxes and fees
21 with what we're voting on here today.
22 If that's not significant to you,
23 it sure as hell is where I live. And I'd
24 encourage everyone to vote no.
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1 Thank you, Mr. President.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
3 you, Senator Robach.
4 Senator Lanza.
5 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you,
6 Mr. President.
7 First let me say, of course, as
8 everyone in this chamber feels, my thoughts
9 and prayers to go out to the people of
10 Binghamton. I thought about not speaking at
11 this point, but I think it is important for
12 the people of this state.
13 And, you know, I know people at
14 this juncture, there's a lot of fatigue,
15 people would rather go home. My good friend
16 Senator Serrano choked me up yesterday when he
17 talked about his baby boy. You know, I just
18 missed my baby boy's first T-ball game. I'd
19 rather be there. But I believe that I owe it
20 to him and to his friends and to their
21 families to fight all I can to make sure that
22 this is a better budget for them.
23 And I'm still hopeful and I'm still
24 holding out for a miracle that we can have one
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1 vote here against this budget, which hurts
2 families, which will allow us to go back to
3 the process and make a better budget.
4 I'm still trying to understand why
5 anyone would vote for this budget. In my
6 discussion with Senator Parker -- he's not
7 here right now -- yesterday he offered up a
8 reason, from his point of view a legitimate
9 reason. He said "So that I wouldn't have to
10 go back to my district and tell people why
11 vital services wouldn't be there, why those
12 without a voice, the most vulnerable, wouldn't
13 be taken care of."
14 Well, I have a story in the Staten
15 Island Advance dated April 2nd. It says:
16 "State Budget Decimates Staten Island Mental
17 Health Program.
18 "The state budget has decimated one
19 of Staten Island's oldest mental health
20 programs, pulling more than $800,000 in
21 funding and effectively ending treatment
22 services as of July 1st to some 1,000 disabled
23 children and their families, who are among the
24 borough's most economically disadvantaged.
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1 "The Elizabeth Pouch Center for
2 Special People, one of three divisions of the
3 Staten Island Mental Health Society in West
4 Brighton, will lose $784,000 from the New York
5 State Office of Mental Retardation and
6 Developmental Disabilities, said Dr. Kenneth
7 Popler.
8 "This, Dr. Popler told the Advance,
9 after OMRDD repeatedly had told him, 'Don't
10 worry, Ken,' when he sought assurances from
11 the state that they weren't about to pull the
12 plug on the 35-year-old center.
13 "'Our patients will have nowhere to
14 go,' said Dr. Popler.
15 "Dr. Popler said Pouch annually
16 treats upwards of 1,000 Staten Islanders of
17 all ages, although the center works primarily
18 with children.
19 "'We work with people who come in
20 off the street,' said Dr. Popler. 'There is
21 no HHC facility here. There is really no
22 other place for the general population to go
23 that will serve them.'
24 "Dr. Popler said patients have one
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1 or a combination of developmental
2 disabilities, including mental retardation,
3 cerebral palsy, autism, and epilepsy, with
4 some requiring prescription medications.
5 "Pat Miller" -- a good friend to me
6 and to Senator Savino on Staten Island -- "a
7 1994 Advance Woman of Achievement, said her
8 Down syndrome daughter has been a patient at
9 Pouch for the last few years. 'It is
10 shameful,' said Mrs. Miller of the cuts."
11 So, Senator Parker, and to my
12 colleagues, I can't go home and tell the
13 people of Staten Island that this budget, that
14 this budget contains the right priorities and
15 is helping those who are the most vulnerable,
16 those with the greatest need. I've got to
17 tell a thousand children and their families
18 with developmental disabilities that somehow,
19 somehow a budget that spends more and taxes
20 more than has ever been spent and has ever
21 taxed in the history of the State of New York
22 somehow doesn't address their needs.
23 Where is the money being spent?
24 What are the priorities? I've talked to lots
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1 of people on both sides of the aisle, and
2 there are a lot of questions, because the
3 process that brought us to this point was
4 severely flawed. I'd like to go home. I see
5 a lot of glazed-over faces. I see a lot of
6 empty chairs in the chamber. But this is the
7 first opportunity that the people of this
8 state have really heard with respect to some
9 of the details in this budget.
10 You know, and maybe people are numb
11 outside this chamber, and maybe they don't
12 listen to the words. And maybe it's our
13 fault. Maybe because it's more about spin
14 than it is about substance. And that's a
15 shame. And that's a disservice.
16 I have a quote here from a press
17 release. It says: "In this fiscal crisis,
18 taxes should be the last thing we consider,
19 not the first. Reducing the rate of growth in
20 our spending while investing in job creation
21 and sound economic development will put
22 New York back on the road to economic
23 recovery."
24 I could not agree more with any
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1 statement that has been said. That was said
2 by the Majority Leader, Senator Smith.
3 The problem is this budget ignores
4 those words. This budget does not reflect the
5 sentiment of that statement. It seems like
6 taxes was the first, the second, and the last
7 thing that this budget did.
8 Another statement, same press
9 release: "At a time when so many working
10 families are struggling to make ends meet,
11 when the cost of everything from food to fuel
12 to tuition is increasing, it is essential that
13 government do all that it can to ease their
14 tax burden. We believe it is particularly
15 important not to increase the cost of those
16 basic quality-of-life products and services
17 that help families tolerate times of hardship
18 and uncertainty."
19 I take it back, there is a
20 statement that I can agree with more; it's
21 that one. That's from the Speaker of the
22 Assembly, Assemblyman Sheldon Silver.
23 The problem with that statement too
24 is that this budget ignores that statement,
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1 just as this budget ignored the Majority
2 Leader's statement.
3 I agree, we should do everything we
4 can not increase the cost of those basic
5 quality-of-life products that people have to
6 spend their money on. So why are we
7 increasing the price of water?
8 And, just incidentally, the DEP in
9 New York City just announced a 16 percent
10 increase to water. So whether you buy a
11 bottle of water or you turn the tap on, this
12 budget's got you coming and going.
13 So why are we increasing the price?
14 And just for argument's sake, for the purpose
15 of my statement here, if people have to pay
16 it, whether it's a tax or a fee or an
17 assessment, I'm going call it a tax. Because
18 that's what it is to the people back home.
19 So why is it, then, if we mean
20 these words, if we mean these words, why is it
21 that we're putting a tax on healthcare?
22 Everyone talks about the need for universal
23 healthcare and the need to decrease the cost
24 of healthcare. This budget taxes it.
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1 Why is it, then, if these words
2 mean something, why is it that we're putting a
3 tax on electricity? How is that helping the
4 people back home? Why is it, then, that we're
5 putting a tax on college tuition? That's
6 certainly a cost-of-living increase. That's
7 something, certainly a basic service that a
8 people deserve. Why is that we're doing that?
9 Why is it that we're taxing -- I
10 remember last year everyone was concerned with
11 the big evil oil companies gouging the good
12 people of this state every time they put the
13 key in the ignition and drove their cars.
14 They were the bad guys. They were making it
15 more expensive for people, good hardworking
16 families, to get around.
17 So if they were bad, what is this
18 budget that increases the cost for every
19 person that has a car and drives a car as a
20 means of getting around in this state?
21 Because the cost of your driver's license is
22 going up.
23 The driver's license plate you have
24 on the car? You may have gotten it yesterday,
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1 but after this budget you've got to get a new
2 one. Turn it in. We want you to get a new
3 one. You have to get a new one. Why? So you
4 can pay $250. That's wrong.
5 Or you need auto insurance. Well,
6 what do we do to help you out there in this
7 budget? We tax it. You're paying for
8 insurance, and this budget says you've got to
9 pay a tax on top of it.
10 You know, a lot of people in this
11 room -- I know I did, I went around my
12 district, I heard the cries for help, I said I
13 would take that cry for help to Albany and I
14 would fight for them. And that's what I'm
15 doing here. That's why I'm not home. That's
16 why I'm willing to go on and speak on this
17 bill in the hopes that someone will listen.
18 You know, we hear about this
19 economic disaster, a lot of rhetoric. People
20 like to use it in speeches and as talking
21 points and as a pivot point and as a slogan
22 and as a way to blame someone who happens to
23 be in the other party. The worst since the
24 Great Depression. Words. Words. What do
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1 they mean? Let me tell you what it means.
2 It means that people back home are
3 scared. They're worried that they're not
4 going to be able to afford to keep their
5 families living the lifestyle that they
6 deserve. They either have lost their job or
7 they're afraid they're going to lose a job or
8 they're afraid that their neighbor is going
9 lose a job.
10 This is not some exercise in
11 economics, a bunch of theory. Let me tell you
12 what a bad economy means for people. It means
13 they're afraid that they're not going to be
14 able to make ends meet and pay the bills. We
15 all said we were going to come to Albany and
16 help them. Here's the solution in this
17 budget: It's going to cost you more. It's
18 going to cost you more.
19 Average family on Staten Island,
20 just for the privilege of living there, under
21 this budget is going to spend $3,000 to $4,000
22 more. Not that they're getting a single
23 additional service, not one. Do what you're
24 doing now, and you're going to spend $3,000 to
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1 $4,000 more. That's the solution? That's a
2 disgrace. They deserve better.
3 This is a bad budget. I've heard
4 it, I've heard it from Democrats and
5 Republicans. I've heard my friends on that
6 side of the aisle, some of you, say: "This is
7 a bad budget." Why would you ever vote for a
8 bad budget? Why? We come here to vote our
9 conscience. We come here to fight for the
10 people that send us here. If you think it's a
11 bad budget, vote no. We can do better.
12 Let me just say this. Talk about
13 spin, talk about words that get people sick
14 and tired and numb -- "fiscal restraint"?
15 I've heard that thrown around, that this
16 budget is an example of fiscal restraint.
17 That we've pulled back spending. I've heard
18 every excuse and explanation under the sun.
19 I'm not convinced. The people back home won't
20 be either.
21 I've heard the stimulus money is
22 not our money, it doesn't count. We don't
23 know whose pockets it comes from. Let me tell
24 you where it comes from. It comes from the
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1 same place that every dollar in this budget
2 comes from. It comes from the taxpayers.
3 Whether we took it from them by way of the
4 federal government or we take it from them by
5 way of the state budget or we take it from
6 them by way of the city budget, it comes from
7 the taxpayers.
8 So let me just put it simply. Last
9 year the state spent $120 billion. This year,
10 wherever the money comes from -- and I just
11 told you where it comes from, it comes from
12 the taxpayers -- this budget spends
13 $132 billion. That's more money than was
14 spent last year. That's an increase. In
15 fact, it's a 10 percent increase. In fact,
16 it's unbridled spending. In fact, it's tax
17 and spend.
18 And where does it get the money?
19 Not just from the federal stimulus money --
20 that in my opinion seems to be squandered in
21 this budget -- but it comes from a $7 billion
22 tax increase. In a state that, as Senator
23 Fuschillo pointed out, comes in just about
24 last or runner-up to last place with respect
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1 to every tax burden we shackle the people of
2 this state with.
3 The stimulus money. I'm glad I
4 brought that up; I reminded myself. A lot of
5 talk on the news, a lot of complaints, a lot
6 of criticism with respect to what certain
7 companies are doing with the money. They're
8 buying corporate jets, they're having parties,
9 they're giving out bonuses. They're wasting
10 the money, according to a lot of people.
11 Mostly I hear -- but I think it's a bipartisan
12 complaint -- the money is being squandered.
13 That's what I hear. That's what I see.
14 We're going to take $7 billion of
15 that stimulus money, put it into this budget,
16 and we're not doing what the President asked
17 us to do -- cut taxes, put money in the
18 pockets of New Yorkers so they could spend it
19 and drive this economy. We're putting this
20 money in the budget so that we can go on a
21 spending spree. We make those CEOs look like
22 fiscal conservatives and prudent stewards of
23 the taxpayer dollars.
24 Reminds me of the guy, reminds me
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1 of the guy who owns a house and the roof falls
2 in. He doesn't have the money to fix it, so
3 he takes a loan. When he gets the check, he
4 decides to go to the casino, and he blows it
5 at the crap table. And when he comes home,
6 he's further in debt, he's deeper in the hole.
7 And guess what? The rain's still pouring in.
8 That's what this budget does with
9 respect to this $7 billion in federal stimulus
10 money. It throws it down a deep hole. We're
11 wasting an opportunity. We're wasting an
12 opportunity here.
13 I said I wouldn't go on long; I
14 guess my words were not true. But this is --
15 this is important. We shouldn't be throwing
16 words around. We have a solemn trust that was
17 given to us by the people.
18 What are you going to say when you
19 go back home, when the cost of everything that
20 people do in their ordinary lives costs more
21 because of this budget? What are you going to
22 tell them next year when things get worse
23 because we haven't created jobs and we
24 squandered the stimulus money? What are you
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1 going to tell them?
2 I'm going to tell them that I did
3 my best, my very best to convince one of my
4 friends on the Democratic side of the aisle to
5 vote no. I'm hoping that the end of the story
6 has not been written. I'm hoping that I get
7 to go home and say that one of you stood up
8 with us and did that.
9 The truth of the matter is this is
10 the largest, most bloated and irresponsible
11 tax-and-spending spree in the history of the
12 State of New York. We can do better. It's
13 been said you can't dig yourself out of a
14 hole, and that's what we're doing in this
15 budget.
16 I urge you to join me and vote no
17 on this budget.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
19 you, Senator Lanza.
20 Senator Golden, on the bill.
21 SENATOR GOLDEN: Quickly, thank
22 you. I have one question, no follow-up, I
23 need from either Senator Oppenheimer or either
24 Carl or Liz.
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1 And the question is, why do we
2 freeze the charter school funding? We know
3 that we reversed the formula, and that breaks
4 faith with the schools whose aid increases
5 have been based on total school operating
6 spending, not just on state aid.
7 And that's a two-year lag, which
8 means that we're frozen at the 2007 year.
9 Which means they missed the 2008 and the 2009
10 years, which are big hits. It cost the
11 charter schools $51 million, of which
12 $31 million went to the City of New York.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
14 Senator Carl Kruger, do you yield to a
15 question from Senator Golden?
16 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Rumor has
17 it I'm not Liz. Please, Senator Liz Krueger.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
19 Senator Liz Krueger, do you yield to this
20 question from Senator Golden?
21 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
23 Senator Krueger yields.
24 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Could you
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1 repeat the question? I'm sorry, Martin.
2 SENATOR GOLDEN: The charter
3 school funding has been frozen at the 2007
4 rates. Why was that frozen at all? Why
5 wasn't that allowed to continue to get its
6 funding? $51 million, $31 million of that
7 goes to the city schools. It's only 45,000
8 kids. Thirty thousand today are on waiting
9 lists to get into those schools.
10 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
11 Senator Golden. And in the absence of our
12 chair, Senator Oppenheimer, I'll do my best.
13 My understanding, having consulted
14 with our analyst, is that because we were
15 holding public school aid flat -- we were in
16 fact forced, because of the bad budget
17 situation, to hold their funding flat -- that
18 we also felt that we had to hold the charter
19 school funding flat as well, rather than
20 giving them the significant increase this
21 year.
22 And so it was simply a reality of
23 the tough economic times we find ourselves in.
24 SENATOR GOLDEN: Thank you.
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1 On the bill.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
3 Senator Golden, on the bill.
4 SENATOR GOLDEN: The problem
5 obviously with that is they put stimulus money
6 into the Board of Education and into education
7 across this state. So even though we hold
8 them flat, as a state we put in much more
9 spending than they ever would have received
10 with the stimulus dollars.
11 They should have been allowed to
12 get their increase. Since they're frozen at
13 2007 rates, it is going to be impossible for
14 them to be able to get where they've got to
15 be. Charter schools already get 30 percent
16 less funding than the school districts because
17 they have no building and certain
18 administration aid. Why widen this gap?
19 Charter schools are heavily reliant
20 on the funding formula, which provides as much
21 as 90 percent of their funding. They do not
22 have the ability to raise taxes. They don't
23 have the ability to get money from anyplace
24 else. That was the only place they could have
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1 gotten that money. The stimulus denied money
2 going into those schools. The only way we
3 could have done it was at the state level.
4 Hopefully, we recognize that.
5 Hopefully, we can correct that so that we
6 correct that imbalance.
7 As I said, there are 30,000 kids
8 waiting to get into those schools. There are
9 45,000 kids in those schools. And that was a
10 $31 million hit just to the city and a
11 $15 million hit across the state.
12 I would have done it a little bit
13 differently; I'm sure everybody else has said
14 they would have done it a little bit
15 differently as well. It's all about
16 priorities and directing and redirecting those
17 monies.
18 But I definitely would not have
19 raised this budget to the $132 billion that
20 it's at today. And I wouldn't have hurt our
21 hospitals, our nursing homes, our assisted
22 living facilities, our adult homes, and our
23 home cares. And I would have made sure there
24 was property tax cap so that we couldn't spend
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1 beyond our means, and have a spending cap to
2 make sure that we couldn't spend beyond our
3 means. We missed both of those opportunities
4 here in this bill.
5 Where could we have saved money?
6 Well, I don't know if I'd want to send money
7 into a welfare grant when we could have sent
8 money into education. Increasing the welfare
9 grant I don't think was really a great idea at
10 the cost of children.
11 And you know what, I don't think I
12 would have done this revamping of the drug
13 laws across the State of New York either,
14 especially when you see that you've only put
15 in, say, $50 million for treatment, some
16 $75 million for probation. It's probably
17 going to cost us somewhere -- the state and
18 the counties -- around $500 million this year
19 and could go as high as a billion to a
20 billion-five next year. I probably would not
21 have put that in. I probably would have
22 redirected that funding to its needs here in
23 the State of New York.
24 We missed great opportunities here.
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1 I hope, as my colleague Andy Lanza has said,
2 that some of you recognize how bad this bill
3 is, that you join us and vote this bill down.
4 But I'm a realist. I know that you will vote
5 it up.
6 And that's unfortunate for the
7 taxpayers of this great state, and it's
8 unfortunate for all the families that live in
9 this great state, because less families will
10 live in this state next year.
11 Thank you.
12 SENATOR VALESKY: Thank you,
13 Senator Golden.
14 The debate on Calendar 136 is now
15 closed.
16 I ask the Secretary to ring the
17 bells and request that all Senators proceed
18 immediately to the chamber so that we may
19 proceed with the roll call.
20 The Secretary will read the last
21 section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
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1 Secretary will call the roll slowly.
2 I simply remind all members who
3 wish to explain their vote of the two-minute
4 time limit that is in the rules of this house
5 for purposes of vote explanation.
6 The Secretary will call the roll
7 slowly.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Adams.
9 SENATOR ADAMS: Yes.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Addabbo.
11 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Alesi.
13 SENATOR ALESI: No.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator
15 Aubertine.
16 SENATOR AUBERTINE: Yes.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bonacic.
18 SENATOR BONACIC: To explain my
19 vote.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
21 Senator Bonacic, to explain his vote.
22 SENATOR BONACIC: The Tax
23 Foundation, which has been around I think
24 since 1937, said that if this budget is passed
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1 that the State of New York will claim the
2 mantle of America's worst tax code for
3 business. Congratulations.
4 I vote no.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
6 Senator Bonacic to be recorded in the
7 negative.
8 The Secretary will continue.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Breslin.
10 SENATOR BRESLIN: Yes.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator
12 DeFrancisco.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
14 Senator DeFrancisco, to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I vote no
16 for several reasons, the most important of
17 which, we're in a recession, we spend
18 $7 billion -- at least that's the estimate we
19 get verbally -- of federal stimulus money and
20 still feel required to spend an additional
21 $5 billion of new taxes that we're imposing on
22 people who are losing their jobs. It is
23 absolutely wrong.
24 Secondly, it's not just the
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1 Republican conference here in the Senate
2 saying that, it's the Comptroller, the
3 Democrat Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who says
4 this budget is not a good way to do business,
5 we're simply postponing a problem to another
6 day, relying on one-shots and not doing any
7 structural change.
8 Third, there's better ways to do
9 it. Consolidation, cost-cutting, doing things
10 that families are doing in their households.
11 And lastly, with respect to the
12 process, we don't even know how much total
13 stimulus money we have, where it went, and we
14 have no conception of what the spending really
15 is being used for in this particular budget.
16 So for all of those reasons, I vote
17 no. And it's a shame we don't have at least
18 one Democrat voting with us, especially when
19 many of the courageous Democrats that are
20 upstate Democrats voted no in the Assembly on
21 this horrible budget.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
23 Senator DeFrancisco to be recorded in the
24 negative.
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1 The Secretary will continue.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Diaz.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
4 Senator Diaz, to explain his vote.
5 SENATOR DIAZ: Yes. Today is a
6 day that the Lord has made. Today we are
7 taxing the rich and not the poor. Today we
8 are not balancing the budget on the back of
9 the poor.
10 So yes, Senator Bonacic, I proudly
11 and gladly accept your congratulations.
12 I'm voting yes.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
14 Senator Diaz to be recorded in the
15 affirmative.
16 The Secretary will continue.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Dilan.
18 SENATOR DILAN: Yes.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Duane.
20 SENATOR DUANE: Yes.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Espada.
22 SENATOR ESPADA: Yes.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Farley.
24 SENATOR FARLEY: No.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Flanagan.
2 SENATOR FLANAGAN: No.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Foley.
4 SENATOR FOLEY: Aye.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator
6 Fuschillo.
7 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Quickly to
8 explain my vote.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
10 Senator Fuschillo, to explain his vote.
11 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Senator
12 Bonacic said New York will become -- "Make New
13 York's taxes the worst in the country."
14 "Paterson fears budget may not work" -- it's
15 not even adopted yet. Newsday said the budget
16 is very negative for Long Island.
17 The Governor had said -- when
18 Speaker Silver wanted to impose the tax, the
19 PIT, the Governor said he warned of the risk
20 of such a move earlier this month: When we
21 have raised taxes in the past, we have seen
22 loss of job growth almost immediately.
23 The Business Council is outraged
24 over more than $7 billion in new taxes. "Tom
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1 DiNapoli rips fellow Dems on the budget."
2 We're losing $685 in Nassau County,
3 $667 in Suffolk County. The senior citizens
4 are losing a lot more by taking away the
5 rebate check. It raises taxes, it spends too
6 much and provides no property tax relief.
7 I vote no.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
9 Senator Fuschillo to be recorded in the
10 negative.
11 The Secretary will continue.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Golden.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
14 Senator Golden, to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR GOLDEN: Real quickly.
16 Again, I'm going to plead with my
17 colleagues across the other side of the aisle.
18 That charter school hit is a $51 million hit
19 to that charter school industry -- that's not
20 the industry, that's to the children.
21 $31 million of that money is to the City of
22 New York, to the children in the City of
23 New York, in the inner cities, that are frozen
24 at a 2007 aid dollar.
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1 We cannot allow that to continue.
2 Hopefully, you find money to make that cut up
3 for our children. As these children in the
4 balcony here, they want to make sure that the
5 dollars go to their schools, we want to make
6 sure that dollars go across the state to all
7 of our children in all of our schools that are
8 public schools.
9 I vote no. Thank you.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
11 Senator Golden to be recorded in the negative.
12 The Secretary will continue.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Griffo.
14 SENATOR GRIFFO: No.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
17 Senator Hannon, to explain his vote.
18 SENATOR HANNON: I wasn't going
19 to speak, Mr. President, but one of the
20 greater misleading stories about this tax
21 package is that it's a millionaire's tax or
22 it's a tax on the rich, as one of the
23 Democratic Senators just said.
24 The reality is this is a
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1 middle-class tax hike throughout the state.
2 It's not justified. And it should be
3 rejected.
4 I vote no.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
6 Senator Hannon to be recorded in the negative.
7 The Secretary will continue.
8 THE SECRETARY: With unanimous
9 consent, Senator Hassell-Thompson voted in the
10 affirmative April 2.
11 Senator Huntley.
12 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Yes.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator C.
14 Johnson.
15 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Yes.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator O.
17 Johnson.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
19 Senator Owen Johnson, to explain his vote.
20 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Well, we
21 certainly learned a lot from those who spoke,
22 especially on this side, about the effect of
23 this budget on families. It's been said that
24 costs for each family are going to go up
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1 $3,000 or $5,000 more.
2 But some people don't realize what
3 that means. The middle-class people that I
4 know are living just about up to the income
5 they have now. They don't have extra money to
6 give $3,000 or $4,000 or $5,000 away to the
7 government. But it's being taken from them.
8 There's going to be a heavy negative effect.
9 Now, when your expenses get out of
10 line sometimes, you get a part-time job or
11 your wife will go to work, your husband will
12 go to work, your kids get a part-time job.
13 There's no jobs out there. How are they going
14 to pay this money?
15 Do you care, does anybody over
16 there care how people are going to live with
17 this extra burden that the state is putting on
18 them, that we're putting on them now? I guess
19 not. Nobody wants to support the bill that
20 knocks down some of these additional taxes and
21 fees.
22 You know, it's -- I guess it's
23 about the most irresponsible budget I've ever
24 seen in my 37 years. And I've asked before,
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1 when we talked about the drug law, who devised
2 this scheme to let these druggies out? Nobody
3 knows. Who devised this scheme to tax and
4 burden all these people? Nobody knows. It
5 just showed up here. Some of your people
6 brought it out, and we're supposed to say yes
7 or no.
8 That's not a good answer. It's the
9 only answer we have right now. Vote no on
10 this bill.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
12 Senator Owen Johnson to be recorded in the
13 negative.
14 The Secretary will continue.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Klein.
16 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
18 Senator Klein in the affirmative.
19 The Secretary will continue.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator L.
21 Krueger.
22 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator C.
24 Kruger.
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1 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lanza.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
4 Senator Lanza, to explain his vote.
5 SENATOR LANZA: Very briefly.
6 You know, it's not just that we're
7 spending too much in this budget, taxing too
8 much in this budget. If there were value, at
9 least you can show people what they're
10 getting.
11 The problem with this budget is
12 that the taxpayers are paying for caviar and
13 they're getting tuna fish.
14 I vote no.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
16 Senator Lanza to be recorded in the negative.
17 The Secretary will continue.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
20 Senator Larkin, to explain his vote.
21 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 You know, I've been listening here
24 for a few days, and then again I hear Senator
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1 Krueger tell us about all the great things in
2 the money -- I guess there's something coming
3 out of the Governor's office that's for the
4 Majority and some that's coming out for the
5 rest of us people back in the hills.
6 This says $24 billion, plus there
7 are 14 items to be determined, with no money
8 on it. So are we getting 24 or getting
9 something else?
10 And then I hear this is a
11 millionaire tax. Well, I don't know any
12 millionaires in my area that go fishing and
13 have to pay a new fee. The STAR rebates. You
14 know, they're not dumb people. That's why
15 they're writing us and asking us, Why are you
16 doing this? Why are you doing this to us?
17 I remember people in this chamber
18 when we did the STAR the first time, they had
19 press releases out the kazoo, look what I did
20 for you. Are you going to write them now and
21 tell them, Look what I just did to you?
22 You ought to be ashamed of
23 yourself. This is a disgrace. It's not a
24 savior. What I'd like to know, does anybody
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1 on that side of the aisle want to stand up and
2 tell me what you're going to do in the budget
3 for 2010-2011 when there's no more stimulus
4 and there's no more money to tax?
5 I vote no.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
7 Senator Larkin to be recorded in the negative.
8 The Secretary will continue.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator LaValle.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
11 Senator LaValle, to explain his vote.
12 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you,
13 Mr. President.
14 I see this budget and the taxes as
15 being an effort by the Democrat Senators of
16 redistributing the wealth. I listen to
17 Senator Diaz, who celebrates this as a tax on
18 the rich.
19 I say again, the people of the
20 First District, the people of Long Island, are
21 not rich. And to listen to a member being so
22 cavalier -- thank you, Senator Padavan --
23 about the treatment of people in a part of the
24 state and throughout the state, it's not a
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1 good thing.
2 The spending in this budget is out
3 of control. The distribution of that spending
4 is not done in a fair and equitable way. And
5 so I cast my vote in the negative.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
7 Senator LaValle to be recorded in the
8 negative.
9 The Secretary will continue.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Leibell.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
12 Senator Leibell, to explain his vote.
13 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 For many months now we have
16 listened to news reports in the national media
17 about the condition of our country's economy.
18 We've listened to national reports on our
19 state's economy. And now we've had a report
20 coming in from our State Comptroller telling
21 us what serious problems this budget will
22 create for our state looking into the future.
23 But even more significant than any
24 of those reports are the ones that we've heard
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1 from our constituents, our neighbors, those
2 who live at home in our districts. And
3 they're letting us know that this budget will
4 wreck them.
5 We are already the highest-taxed.
6 Now we're going to a level beyond that, if
7 possible. This budget will have a serious
8 impact on the future of this state for many,
9 many years to come. It's a disastrous budget.
10 I vote in the negative.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
12 Senator Leibell to be recorded in the
13 negative.
14 The Secretary will continue.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Libous,
16 voting the negative earlier today.
17 Senator Little.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
19 Senator Little, to explain her vote.
20 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you,
21 Mr. President.
22 In the conversation, in the debate
23 that we have had today, many, many reasons
24 have been brought out as to why we should vote
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1 against this budget. I've listed several
2 reasons for me that are among the top reasons
3 I am going to vote no.
4 Number one would be ending the STAR
5 rebate checks, causing property taxes to rise.
6 Having no mandate relief for our schools;
7 therefore, those school taxes may rise even
8 higher.
9 There are tax and fee increases for
10 our middle-income New Yorkers on their energy
11 costs, their heating costs, their health
12 insurance premiums, their motor vehicle
13 registrations, license plates, driver's
14 licenses.
15 There is a SUNY sweep, which will
16 affect middle-income New Yorkers. Eighty
17 percent of that tuition goes to the General
18 Fund for agencies, not to the SUNY system.
19 And the personal income tax on
20 individuals, partnerships, and Chapter C
21 corps -- who will get hit by this? You know,
22 one group that I thought of that we've worked
23 very, very hard to attract in Northern
24 New York is doctors. We have a difficult time
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1 getting physicians to come to the six
2 hospitals I represent.
3 Two years ago we did Doctors Across
4 New York, and we rejoiced in the fact that we
5 had an incentive for them. This tax increase
6 neutralizes that.
7 We know we are the highest-taxed
8 state in the United States. Now we are higher
9 than the highest-taxed state. And not only do
10 New York millionaires -- what are left of
11 them -- have an almost 9 percent personal
12 income tax, but they can only use the standard
13 deduction. And I have a concern as to how
14 that affects our charitable organizations in
15 New York State.
16 And the last and most important
17 reason is $132 billion is too much spending in
18 this economy. The stimulus money is supposed
19 to improve our economy. But when you combine
20 that stimulus money with the taxes and fees in
21 this budget and the spending in this budget,
22 the stimulus money will end up stimulating the
23 exodus of New Yorkers from New York.
24 I vote no.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
2 Senator Little to be recorded in the negative.
3 The Secretary will continue.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator
5 Marcellino.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
7 Senator Marcellino, to explain his vote.
8 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
9 Mr. President.
10 I'm in receipt of a copy of a
11 letter from Matthew Crosson of the Long Island
12 Association to Senators Johnson and Foley.
13 "Dear Craig and Brian:
14 "With personal respect to your
15 stated reasons for voting in favor of this
16 budget, it makes no sense. If you vote in
17 favor of this budget, you will not be voting
18 to start the recovery. And Senator Johnson
19 was quoted in a blog article as saying 'You
20 will be obstructing the recovery.' There is
21 nothing in this budget that will encourage
22 economic recovery, and there is a great deal,
23 including $9 billion in effective new taxes,
24 that will hinder it."
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1 Mr. President, along the lines of
2 the so-called taxing on the rich, if you
3 increase New York State's maximum account to
4 10 percent, the top rate -- the feds have
5 already raised their top rate to 40 percent.
6 If you lived in New York City, that's 4 more
7 percent. You're talking 54 percent of your
8 income.
9 If you live on Long Island, you
10 already pay, in my district, $5,000 annually
11 just to go to work in the city, including the
12 subway and including cab and bus fares.
13 You add to that Senator Dilan's
14 call for increasing the commuter tax and you
15 add to that the MTA proposal to increase rates
16 and fees, including a mobility tax on
17 everybody in the western world, including
18 bridges and tunnels -- you have property tax
19 increases; the removal of the STAR program in
20 the rebate checks; increases in utility rates;
21 bottled water, we're going to raise the fees
22 on that soon; the cost of food will go up; the
23 cost of fuel has gone up; increasing
24 everything under the sun -- how are people
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1 supposed to live here? How are people
2 supposed to stay in this state and survive
3 here?
4 This is ridiculous. This budget
5 spends too much, taxes too much, and leaves us
6 in a tremendous hole for the future and will
7 destroy us in future years.
8 I vote no.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
10 Senator Marcellino to be recorded in the
11 negative.
12 The Secretary will continue.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Maziarz.
14 SENATOR MAZIARZ: No.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator McDonald.
16 SENATOR McDONALD: No.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator
18 Monserrate.
19 SENATOR MONSERRATE: Aye.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator
21 Montgomery.
22 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Aye.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Morahan.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
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1 Senator Morahan, to explain his vote.
2 SENATOR MORAHAN: Thank you,
3 Mr. President.
4 As we wind down this budget
5 process, I see budgeting that raises taxes,
6 income, drinking water, fees, a budget that
7 removes the rebate checks, a budget that
8 provides no mandate relief, a budget that does
9 not allow for certain school districts to
10 allow state aid to be used as they see fit, a
11 budget that works against small business, the
12 moms-and-pops, the backbone of our economy,
13 works against our farmers, a budget that
14 really works against the families of New York,
15 a budget that will leave this state in an ever
16 more precarious financial situation two years
17 out.
18 But notwithstanding that, this is a
19 budget that spends over 10 percent over last
20 year, a budget soundly criticized by many,
21 including the Comptroller of the State of
22 New York. But it's no surprise. It was
23 crafted by three people in a room in total
24 secret, without debate.
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1 And I want to compliment my
2 colleagues in the Republican conference for
3 all of the debate and comments and issues that
4 we brought forth in this debate to make at
5 least the guts of this budget made public to
6 the people of the State of New York.
7 Thank you, Mr. President. I vote
8 no.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
10 Senator Morahan to be recorded in the
11 negative.
12 The Secretary will continue.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Nozzolio.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
15 Senator Nozzolio, to explain his vote.
16 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 The Tax Foundation has just
19 reported that with this budget, New York again
20 becomes America's worst state for taxes in all
21 of the 50 states.
22 And my biggest concern in voting no
23 on this budget is that the budget drives jobs
24 out of New York State. It's going to have a
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1 devastating impact on the entire economy of
2 the state. And to hit individuals,
3 homeowners, families, businesses with tax
4 hikes at this very critically challenging time
5 in our economy will ensure that New York State
6 will be the state to be the deepest into the
7 recession and will linger longer and suffer
8 longer in that recession.
9 And I believe this budget
10 unfortunately gives us the opportunity to be
11 the longest of the 50 states in the economic
12 recession that we are now experiencing across
13 our country.
14 It's the wrong proposal at the
15 wrong time, Mr. President, and that's why I'm
16 voting no.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
18 Senator Nozzolio to be recorded in the
19 negative.
20 The Secretary will continue.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Onorato.
22 SENATOR ONORATO: Aye.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator
24 Oppenheimer.
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1 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Aye.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Padavan.
3 SENATOR PADAVAN: No.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Parker.
5 SENATOR PARKER: Aye.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Perkins.
7 SENATOR PERKINS: Aye.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator
9 Ranzenhofer.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
11 Senator Ranzenhofer, to explain his vote.
12 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: I'm voting
13 no on this budget for the following 11
14 reasons, Mr. President.
15 It spends more than 10 percent,
16 more than $10 billion, over last year. It's
17 more than seven times greater than the rate of
18 inflation, which is ridiculous. It's bad for
19 Western New York and kills jobs.
20 The budget is not balanced. The
21 budget is rejected by the Comptroller as
22 unsound.
23 It relies on one-shot federal
24 stimulus money which will not be repeated in
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1 future years, has job-killing utility and
2 healthcare taxes which will hurt the
3 low-income and middle-income people. It will
4 cost us $2400 more per family per year as a
5 result of this action today.
6 It's laden with pork and patronage.
7 It raises property taxes by eliminating the
8 STAR program and will continue to drive kids
9 from New York State.
10 I vote no.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
12 Senator Ranzenhofer to be recorded in the
13 negative.
14 The Secretary will continue.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Robach.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
17 Senator Robach, to explain his vote.
18 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes, just very
19 quickly. For a point of clarity, as one of my
20 colleagues from over there mentioned me by
21 name and blurted out his little deal here.
22 I am voting against this budget not
23 so much for the tax that he talked about but
24 the $3.9 billion of taxes that are going to be
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1 on the people I represent.
2 Senator Stavisky was nice enough to
3 point to me that I don't have a lot of
4 millionaires in my district. Correct. But I
5 do have a lot of middle-class people, I have a
6 lot of low-income people, and they are going
7 to eat $3.9 billion worth of taxes, fees,
8 elimination of the STAR program -- which is
9 one of the great things about where I live,
10 almost everybody can own a home because
11 they're not quite as inflated as they are
12 certainly in downstate New York. This is
13 going to help eliminate that.
14 And for them, not only do I feel
15 obligated, but it screams out for a no vote.
16 And so I cast my vote in the negative,
17 Mr. President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
19 Senator Robach to be recorded in the negative.
20 The Secretary will continue.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Saland.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
23 Senator Saland, to explain his vote.
24 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you,
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1 Mr. President.
2 Mr. President, I had a conversation
3 last night with my wife, who was watching much
4 of this proceeding on television, and she said
5 to me: "Why would anybody stay here if they
6 can leave? Or why would anybody come here?"
7 Based upon what she saw in the exchanges in
8 the debate on the various bills that she
9 happened to observe.
10 We heard talk today about
11 commentary about people talking about the need
12 of the state to stimulate the economy. That's
13 more appropriately a federal role or more
14 appropriately done by the federal government.
15 Again, they can print money. They don't have
16 to balance their budget. We can play at the
17 margins, and that's even true during good
18 economic times.
19 Ann Davis, professor at Marist
20 College of economics, very well known in our
21 area, basically makes that point in a recent
22 piece in our local newspaper, the Poughkeepsie
23 Journal. She says yeah, there's some more
24 capacity -- I'm paraphrasing her -- to tax the
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1 wealthy than at the federal level. However,
2 the con is that wealthy people are mobile. If
3 taxes are lower in neighboring states, they
4 can simple relocate. And I quote her, "It's
5 difficult for states to do it on their own
6 without coordination."
7 There's no media outlet of any
8 significance that has embraced this budget.
9 In fact, they virtually uniform condemned it
10 for being absolutely horrendous. Tax and
11 spend in a good economy is perhaps imprudent
12 or unwise. Tax and spend in a severe
13 recession and a horrendous economy is sheer
14 lunacy.
15 I vote in the negative.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
17 Senator Saland to be recorded in the negative.
18 The Secretary will continue.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Sampson.
20 SENATOR SAMPSON: Yes.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Savino.
22 SENATOR SAVINO: Yes.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator
24 Schneiderman.
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1 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Serrano.
3 SENATOR SERRANO: Yes.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Seward.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
6 Senator Seward, to explain his vote.
7 SENATOR SEWARD: Yes, very
8 briefly to explain my vote.
9 I think there's one thing that
10 members on both sides of the aisle can agree
11 on, and that is that we are truly in an
12 economic crisis, we are truly in a budget
13 crisis. And putting together the 2009-2010
14 budget, we are at a fork in the road. And
15 coming from the Cooperstown area, the Baseball
16 Hall of Fame, I like to quote that great
17 philosopher Yogi Berra, who said "When you
18 come to a fork in the road, take it."
19 And we do have a choice here of
20 which fork to take, whether it be one as tax
21 and spend and business as usual, as this
22 budget proposal and this bill before us
23 suggests, or we can take the fork of economic
24 development, new jobs, revitalization of our
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1 state.
2 Because it seems to me that the
3 only way we're going to get out of these
4 current economic problems is to have a
5 healthier job-creating economy in this state.
6 And nothing in this budget suggests that will
7 be the result if this budget becomes law.
8 Every single business group that I
9 know of has told us, whether it be the Long
10 Island Association to the Unshackle Upstate
11 group, and everybody in between, has told us
12 this is a disastrous budget for the people who
13 create jobs in the State of New York.
14 The answer is very simple,
15 Mr. President. The answer is no.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
17 Senator Seward to be recorded in the negative.
18 The Secretary will continue.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Skelos.
20 (Senator Skelos was recorded as
21 voting in the negative.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Smith.
23 (Senator Smith was recorded as
24 voting in the affirmative.)
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1 Senator Squadron.
2 SENATOR SQUADRON: Yes.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator
4 Stachowski.
5 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Yes.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stavisky.
7 SENATOR STAVISKY: Yes.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator
9 Stewart-Cousins.
10 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Yes.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Thompson.
12 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Valesky.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Aye.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Volker.
16 SENATOR VOLKER: No.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Winner.
18 SENATOR WINNER: No.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Young.
20 SENATOR YOUNG: No.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
22 Secretary will announce the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 32. Nays,
24 30.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
2 bill is passed.
3 Senator Klein.
4 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President,
5 staying on the controversial calendar, can we
6 please take up Calendar Number 138.
7 And the Minority has agreed to
8 waive the explanation. Please call on Senator
9 Flanagan so he can introduce the said
10 amendments.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
12 Secretary will place Calendar Number 132
13 before the house.
14 The Secretary will read.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 138, substituted April 1, Assembly Budget
17 Bill, Assembly Print Number 159B, an act to
18 amend Chapter 279 of the Laws of 1998 amending
19 the Transportation Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
21 Senator Flanagan, there is an amendment at the
22 desk. Without objection, the reading is
23 waived, and you may now speak on the
24 amendment.
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1 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 There are two amendments at the
4 desk, the first one being offered by Senator
5 Nozzolio and Senator Maziarz. And I would ask
6 that you would recognize Senator Nozzolio.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
8 Senator Nozzolio, on the amendment.
9 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you,
10 Mr. President and my colleagues.
11 The amendment that we are offering
12 today is three-pronged. First, I will be
13 discussing the elimination of the 18-A
14 assessment charged to our utility consumers
15 through the utility companies of New York
16 State.
17 The second aspect of our amendment
18 will discuss the Power for Jobs program. And
19 the third aspect of the amendment will be
20 presented by Senator Maziarz, who has led the
21 effort to eliminate or stop and block the
22 sweep of Power Authority funds into the
23 General Fund.
24 Mr. President and colleagues, the
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1 proposed section of the budget that is now
2 before us will undoubtedly raise New Yorkers'
3 gas and electric bills over a half a billion
4 dollars in the next year alone. This energy
5 tax is a joint step backward for job
6 development in New York State. At a time when
7 homeowners, senior citizens, families and
8 businesses can least afford it, this tax
9 alone, an 800 percent increase over last year,
10 will undoubtedly raise the energy bills of all
11 New Yorkers.
12 It robs people. It robs
13 opportunity. It ensures that those who are
14 planning to bring jobs, new jobs, into the
15 economy of this nation will reject New York
16 State.
17 We already have the federal
18 government indicating that New York has the
19 highest or second-highest utility rates in all
20 of the continental United States. And this
21 tax placed on our utility consumers is by far
22 a considerable regressive tax.
23 The Buffalo News has commented and
24 quoted representatives from the Business
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1 Council to say that if we are to see economic
2 recovery, we have to reduce the costs and
3 remove obstacles to job creation.
4 Ratcheting up energy taxes in this
5 economy is a huge step backward. My region, a
6 region that I am honored to represent, from
7 Syracuse to Rochester, the Southern Tier to
8 Lake Ontario, has many job opportunities
9 because of the great natural resources that
10 exist there. But when push comes to shove,
11 time and time again businesses tell us that
12 the biggest impediment to job growth in
13 New York State is energy costs.
14 It's so difficult now to compete
15 with Pennsylvania and Ohio for energy for
16 jobs, because jobs go where energy is easier
17 to produce and easier to consume. And what we
18 have in New York, even with the tremendous
19 renewable resource of Niagara Falls -- when
20 people talk about renewable energy, Niagara
21 Falls is the greatest source of renewable
22 energy in this nation if not the world.
23 But when people see that New York's
24 reliable renewable energy sources are flowing
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1 through utilities that are taxed and regulated
2 and taxed again and then taxed again, by the
3 time that energy gets to the businesses or the
4 consumers of this state, it is costlier than
5 energy developed in other states, particularly
6 our neighbors of Pennsylvania and Ohio.
7 All this talk about green jobs
8 falls very flat, because the jobs that we have
9 now are going to hemorrhage even more out of
10 this state as utility costs are increased.
11 The sum and substance of these
12 amendments, Mr. President, is to take away an
13 enormous cost of providing energy to consumers
14 of this state, to take a tax that was never
15 intended to be such a broad-based tax -- it
16 was originally designed in the 1930s, 18-A was
17 originally designed in the 1930s to pay for
18 the cost of regulation, the cost of running
19 the Public Service Commission.
20 Well, Mr. President and my
21 colleagues, the costs of this tax far exceed
22 the costs associated with regulating our
23 utilities and energy in this state. We
24 certainly need to take a look at why
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1 businesses -- which in this economy can't
2 control much, but they can control where they
3 make their products and particularly the cost
4 of energy in the location where they make
5 those products. They're just going to make
6 products in places that are less expensive,
7 places that are not as onerous a tax burden as
8 we see this budget placing on all of
9 New Yorkers.
10 The last portion of my discussion
11 in explaining this amendment goes to Power for
12 Jobs. Power for Jobs is a program that is
13 essential, a lifeblood program to upstate
14 manufacturers. And that this Power for Jobs
15 program is in jeopardy. Unless we act
16 clearly, swiftly, and with some dynamic
17 effort, we will lose this incentive for the
18 few businesses that are still here. And if we
19 do that, it's a foolhardy move.
20 So this amendment restores the
21 Power for Jobs program and makes it strong
22 once again.
23 Thank you, Mr. President, for the
24 opportunity to explain my portion of this
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1 amendment.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
3 you, Senator Nozzolio.
4 Senator Maziarz, on the amendment.
5 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very
6 much, Mr. President.
7 Just by way of information,
8 Mr. President, I want to make one thing clear.
9 We are talking on the amendment right now. We
10 will be taking up the bill in just a few short
11 minutes.
12 My part of this amendment is to
13 offer an amendment to rescind the sweep that
14 this Senate approved by one vote back on
15 February 3rd when they took $550 million out
16 of the Niagara and St. Lawrence power projects
17 and sent it to Albany.
18 Congressman Brian Higgins from the
19 City of Buffalo said that that action by this
20 Legislature, that sweep by the State
21 Legislature of New York Power Authority funds
22 into the state's General Fund, took more
23 resources out of Western New York in one day,
24 more resources out of Western New York in one
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1 day, Congressman Higgins said, than the
2 Niagara Power Project has given to Western
3 New York in 50 years.
4 Senator Schumer was much more
5 precise. He called the actions of those
6 32 Senators a disgrace.
7 Thank you, Mr. President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
9 you, Senator Maziarz.
10 Senator Volker, on the amendment.
11 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
12 you know, there's been a lot of talk about the
13 fact that the budget is really paid for by the
14 wealthy. Of course, we know that that's not
15 true. But here probably may be the most
16 glaring example of how this budget is not paid
17 for by the wealthy.
18 18-A, as has been cited, has been
19 around for a lot of years. I was chairman of
20 Energy many years ago, and one of the things
21 that I fought against was when governors and
22 even various legislators wanted to increase
23 that to use to fund various projects and so
24 forth.
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1 And there's a reason for it. The
2 Bureau of the Budget loves this, by the way,
3 because it's an indirect tax. They love
4 indirect taxes. They love taxes that come to
5 people from some other direction and you don't
6 really know, or at least they don't think you
7 know it comes from the State of New York.
8 An 800 percent increase in this
9 assessment. What it means is -- and I looked
10 at my industries. In every county in my
11 district, it endangers a major business:
12 Steuben Foods, Moog Valve, Quebecor -- which
13 is in Cheektowaga, Village of Depew and
14 Cheektowaga, in mine and Bill Stachowski's
15 districts.
16 That industry has been teetering,
17 and the president of the company has told me
18 that he is fighting to keep that facility in
19 Depew. And in fact, Quebecor I believe is in
20 bankruptcy internationally.
21 Barilla Foods, pasta. Buffalo
22 Tungsten, that many of you may have heard of,
23 but is actually right near where I live in
24 Depew. And Constellation Brands, in Ontario
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1 County.
2 But you know, there's another group
3 that hasn't been mentioned a lot here that
4 uses a lot of power. There is a gentleman I
5 spoke to just the other day -- I won't mention
6 his name, although he wouldn't care -- he has
7 a thousand cows on his farm. He was telling
8 us that he is now losing a thousand dollars a
9 year on every one of his cows.
10 You say, well, what's the big deal
11 with electricity? Well, this change in the
12 electrical rates could cost him $200 more lost
13 per cow.
14 Now, I want to tell you that
15 farmers use a tremendous amount of
16 electricity, especially the big farms. And I
17 happen to know that Senator Young has one that
18 is more than teetering, it's talking about
19 moving right out of the state.
20 The problem is that we really don't
21 understand that gas and electric, particularly
22 in our region, although the rates are so much
23 higher in downstate New York -- but there's
24 something that you've got to know about
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1 Western New York. We have some weather. We
2 have to use a lot of energy. We have to use
3 gas and we have to use a lot of electric at
4 times because it snows and it gets cold
5 sometimes. For the farmers, it's a terrific
6 cost.
7 So I just want to say that it not
8 only hits residential people -- and this is a
9 big, big, big deal -- it not only hurts big
10 businesses, it hurts small businesses. But
11 really hurts the biggest industry in this
12 state, which is farmers.
13 Personally, if you wanted to do an
14 amendment and knock something out of here that
15 probably, maybe not on the most major basis,
16 but would have a major impact on every one of
17 our constituents, this is it. This is it.
18 This and the health care assessment. These
19 two alone would have major, major impacts on
20 all our constituents.
21 So all I can say is I ask you to
22 please consider this. There certainly are
23 better ways to fund the budget than an
24 800 percent increase in 18-A. And frankly,
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1 there was a much better way to do it than to
2 assess every person who uses healthcare.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
4 you, Senator Volker.
5 Senator Ranzenhofer, on the
6 amendment.
7 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 As you can tell from the previous
10 speakers, we're all from upstate or Western
11 New York, because this is a particularly
12 important issue. This is about energy
13 affordability.
14 And this is not about a
15 millionaire's tax or just for people that own
16 real property. This affects every resident in
17 the state. This doesn't affect high-income
18 people alone, this affects low-income people,
19 moderate-income people, across the board.
20 These are going to be the folks who are going
21 to have the most difficult time paying this
22 new tax. And you've heard all the facts and
23 figures from some of the previous Senators
24 that have spoken.
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1 Just to echo a couple of the
2 comments from Senators Nozzolio and Volker and
3 Maziarz, this kills jobs. I was out in
4 Tonawanda not too long ago talking with an
5 office furniture company. And when this tax
6 goes in, they're cutting back on their
7 employees, they're cutting back on their
8 employees' hours, because they just don't have
9 any margins anymore to make it work.
10 Whether you're talking about a
11 small business that has from two to 50,
12 whether you're talking about General Motors,
13 which is located in my district, and they have
14 to decide, when they have plants throughout
15 the state, where are they going to shut down
16 and where are they going to stay. And if
17 energy is not affordable, they're leaving.
18 And you talk about agriculture as
19 well. Very labor-intensive, very
20 energy-intensive. This is just bad for small,
21 medium and big business. This is bad for
22 poor, middle-income and rich folks. This is
23 just bad, bad, bad all across the board. It's
24 all about energy affordability, and this makes
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1 it unaffordable.
2 Thank you, Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
4 you, Senator Ranzenhofer.
5 The question is on the nonsponsor
6 motion to amend Calendar Number 138. All in
7 agreement please indicate by raising your
8 hand.
9 The Secretary will announce the
10 results.
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 30. Nays,
12 29.
13 Excused, Senator Hassell-Thompson.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
15 motion fails.
16 Senator Flanagan.
17 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank you,
18 Mr. President.
19 There's a second amendment at the
20 desk. I would ask that you waive its reading
21 and give Senator Marcellino an opportunity to
22 explain it, please.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There
24 is an amendment at the desk. Without
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1 objection, the reading of the amendment is
2 waived and, Senator Marcellino, you are
3 recognized to speak on the amendment.
4 May we have some quiet in the
5 chamber, please. Thank you.
6 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes,
7 Mr. President, on the amendment.
8 This budget would take the
9 Environmental Protection Fund and reduce it
10 from the $300 million, which is current law,
11 permanently to $222 million as a result, if
12 this budget passes intact.
13 This amendment would restore the
14 EPF, which is the economic engine which drives
15 the environmental movement in this state. It
16 is absolutely necessary for the preservation
17 of open space, clean air, clean water, and
18 just about every other project that is
19 environmentally related -- from renewable
20 energy to parks preservation to agricultural
21 programs, you name it. Breast cancer
22 research, solar initiatives, zoos and
23 botanical gardens, all funded through the EPF.
24 By lowering this money, by taking
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1 this money away, some $78 million, we have set
2 the EPF back in funding a full decade. This
3 is not a good idea. This is not a good idea.
4 It took us a long time to get the
5 EPF here. When I first took over the
6 Environmental Committee, the EPF was at
7 $25 million and unfunded. There was no money
8 behind it. We had to scratch and claw and beg
9 and borrow -- I won't say steal, but some
10 would have thought we had -- to get the money
11 to fund the programs necessary to preserve and
12 protect our environment.
13 This program is important. The EPF
14 is important. The funding stream is
15 particularly important. It needs a reliable
16 funding stream. It was always funded through
17 the real estate transfer tax -- and some
18 additional fees, but the transfer tax was the
19 tax in it.
20 There's an attempt here to change
21 that a little bit. We've put the real estate
22 transfer tax back a little bit, but there is
23 now some fees on pesticide permits and so
24 forth, and various application fees, some of
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1 which were raised and tripled to get to a
2 certain fund and add the money into it, which
3 is not a good idea.
4 The EPF is too important to rely
5 upon risky or unaccountable funding or
6 unreliable funding streams. We need a
7 reliable funding stream for this program.
8 These programs, these issues are extremely
9 important to the state, to the quality of life
10 of every citizen in the State of New York. No
11 matter what region of the state you live in,
12 from Long Island to Buffalo, it doesn't
13 matter; the environment is key.
14 Mr. President, this amendment would
15 restore the funding of the EPF and restore the
16 full funding through the real estate transfer
17 tax. I urge everyone who is environmentally
18 concerned -- and that is, I am sure, everyone,
19 Republican and Democrat in this chamber,
20 because there's no such thing as a Republican
21 environment or a Democrat environment. It is
22 all of our environments -- to help guarantee
23 that funding for those vital programs is
24 preserved and protected.
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1 Thank you, Mr. President.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
3 you, Senator Marcellino.
4 Senator LaValle, on the amendment.
5 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you,
6 Mr. President.
7 I support Senator Marcellino's
8 amendment because it really is a
9 quality-of-life issue for Long Island and for
10 the First Senatorial District. We on Long
11 Island are in really a footrace with
12 development. We need to have a balance
13 between development and land preservation. We
14 need the state dollars to match the dollars
15 and the commitment that has been made by the
16 County of Suffolk and the individual towns.
17 Some years ago, you may have
18 recalled, for those members who were here, we
19 passed a transfer tax, real estate transfer
20 tax, to establish a community preservation
21 fund. And that has produced over the years a
22 lot of dollars in many of the towns to be able
23 to match state dollars and county dollars to
24 do the kind of preservation that we need to
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1 do.
2 Because real estate is down, we do
3 not have the kinds of community preservation
4 dollars that we once had. And there are
5 similar pressures on the county. So the
6 state, in every project that we look at, in
7 terms of land preservation, the state shrugs
8 its shoulders, says the cupboard is bare.
9 So we need maintain our commitment
10 to the Open Space Program, and we need the
11 dollars that Senator Marcellino's amendment
12 would provide to us and a commitment.
13 I would also mention that those of
14 us who supported the Bottle Bill always
15 thought that whatever the dollars were would
16 go in to support the EPF. But that is not to
17 be, even though it's only on water.
18 So when we have a vote, I will be
19 supporting the Senator's amendment.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
21 you, Senator LaValle.
22 The question is on the nonsponsor
23 motion to amend Calendar Number 138. All in
24 favor please indicate by raising your hand.
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1 Announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 30. Nays,
3 31.
4 Senator Hassell-Thompson, excused.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
6 motion fails.
7 Senator Maziarz, on the bill.
8 SENATOR MAZIARZ: We're on the
9 bill. Yes, thank you very much,
10 Mr. President.
11 Mr. President, when I got up to
12 discuss the amendment to the bill, I made a
13 point of pointing out to you, Mr. President,
14 and to the other members that we were talking
15 on the amendment. Now we are talking on the
16 bill. This is the debate on S59.
17 And the reason I made that
18 distinction, Mr. President, is because we have
19 guests in the chamber today. I want to give a
20 shout out to my staff. They have worked
21 diligently, diligently over the past five
22 days, notifying people, notifying businesses,
23 television stations, newspapers of this
24 impending debate.
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1 We have invited, in the last 15
2 minutes, after making a whole lot of
3 preparations -- the editorial board of the
4 Buffalo News is watching, the Watertown Times,
5 the Syracuse Post-Standard, the Palladium
6 Times of Oswego, the Ogdensburg Journal,
7 television stations in Syracuse, Buffalo,
8 Rochester, Watertown -- Newswatch 50 in
9 Watertown. Newzjunky.
10 And in addition to that,
11 Mr. President, my staff, my staff has
12 contacted -- using Twitter, Facebook, social
13 networking, emailing, and you know what, just
14 old-fashioned telephone calls -- 494 companies
15 across the State of New York. Companies from
16 every county. Edward John Noble Hospital from
17 St. Lawrence County. Great Lakes Cheese of
18 New York, from Jefferson County. Exelon
19 Corporation in Erie County. Fiberglass
20 Industries in Montgomery County. Interface
21 Solutions in Oswego County. I'm not going to
22 read them all.
23 But we made preparations for all of
24 them to go to their lunchrooms, to go to their
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1 cafeterias, and to watch this debate on this
2 bill. That's how important this bill is.
3 Every bill that we have passed so
4 far is going to affect the people of the State
5 of New York, every one. This one is going to
6 affect everyone in New York, everyone that's
7 employed, every business, the poor people that
8 Senator Ruben Diaz mentioned earlier. And if
9 you vote yes, it's going to affect them
10 retroactive to March 1st.
11 You're going to tax them on every
12 utility bill, every gas bill, every electric
13 bill retroactive to March 1st. There's not
14 one piece of legislation that we've passed
15 today that's going to tax them retroactively
16 other than this one.
17 Just two weeks ago the New York
18 State Power Authority proposed a rate
19 increase. Senator Joe Griffo and I went to
20 the public hearing down the street. You'd
21 have to be Lewis & Clark to find that room
22 where that public hearing was being held.
23 They expected no one to show up.
24 But you know, like our audience
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1 here today from across the state, YouTube was
2 a great tool. A firestorm started across this
3 state. Suddenly everyone was opposed to this
4 rate increase. The Governor jumped on.
5 Members of this house, members of the other
6 house, they all jumped on. Everybody was
7 against this NYPA rate increase. Which really
8 wasn't all that significant, it was pennies,
9 but it was still an increase.
10 And 11 days ago, just 11 days
11 ago -- in a room just outside this chamber, to
12 everyone listening -- I attended a press
13 conference. Five of my colleagues spoke at
14 that press conference.
15 Senator Stachowski said, "We think
16 any kind of rate increase, albeit a small rate
17 increase, is detrimental to jobs and to the
18 people in Western New York. Any job lost, it
19 doesn't matter whose it is, where it is in
20 New York, is bad for the people of New York.
21 We like to make sure that we do the best we
22 can to keep rates low and keep programs
23 available."
24 Senator Valesky -- Mr. President --
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1 you said, "This is not the time to once again
2 ask ratepayers to be subjected to yet another
3 rate increase."
4 Senator Breslin said, "Let's make
5 the right decision, and those right decisions
6 are no increases in rates at this time."
7 Senator Aubertine said, "A rate
8 increase at this time would be
9 counterproductive. It would send the wrong
10 message to the public and to New York in
11 general that everything is okay, and
12 everything is not okay."
13 Senator Thompson said, "It has been
14 said more than once, and I will say it again,
15 upstate residents and utility consumers pay
16 some of the highest electricity rates in the
17 United States of America. It is particularly
18 upsetting for the people of Western New York."
19 As I said, that rate increase, that
20 righteous indignation, was minor compared to
21 the vote that you are going to take in just a
22 few minutes. That rate increase by the
23 New York Power Authority would have raised
24 approximately $10 million a year. The rate
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1 increase that you are going to vote on, if you
2 vote yes, will tax every business, every
3 person in this state. It will raise
4 $637 million. Every homeowner, every senior
5 citizen, every low-income person, every
6 moderate-income person.
7 And as I said, it's retroactive to
8 March 1st. We're taxing them retroactively.
9 This tax will raise the energy
10 rates, the utility costs of HSBC Arena in
11 Buffalo by $44,000 a year.
12 Now, we all know that the
13 automobile industry in this country is in
14 trouble. President Obama has correctly stated
15 that they have to restructure themselves.
16 Some plants are going to close, workers are
17 going to lose their jobs in the automobile
18 industry.
19 The Tonawanda Engine Plant, a
20 General Motors plant on River Road in the Town
21 of Tonawanda, employs hundreds, hundreds of
22 UAW workers. If you vote yes on this bill,
23 you will be increasing the Tonawanda Engine
24 Plant's utility cost by over $1,000 a week.
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1 One thousand dollars a week.
2 The Delphi Thermal plant in
3 Lockport, which produces automobile parts for
4 General Motors and Chrysler, employs 3,000 UAW
5 workers from all over Western New York. If
6 you vote yes on this bill, you will be
7 increasing the utility costs for Delphi
8 Thermal by $1,500 a week, $1,500 a week for
9 Delphi Thermal.
10 Now, let me tell you what's going
11 to happen. In weeks -- not years, not months,
12 but weeks -- some automotive executives and
13 accountants are going to get into a room in
14 Detroit, and they're going to have a list of
15 plants on the wall, and they're going to
16 scroll down that list. And they're going to
17 decide which plants are going to stay open and
18 which plants are going to close and what
19 workers are going to lose their jobs.
20 And they're going to come to that
21 Tonawanda Engine Plant, that General Motors
22 plant, and some accountant is going to say:
23 "The State of New York, it already costs us a
24 lot to do business in the State of New York.
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1 They just raised our utility rates by a
2 thousand dollars a week."
3 And then in another boardroom
4 somewhere in Detroit, in Delphi headquarters,
5 they're going to be doing the same thing.
6 They're going to say: "If General Motors is
7 suffering, General Motors isn't going to buy
8 parts, Chrysler isn't going to buy parts.
9 Delphi has to downsize. Workers have to be
10 laid off. Let's go down that list of plants.
11 Where are we making money? Where are we
12 losing money?"
13 Delphi Lockport could be history
14 because of the vote that's taken in this room
15 today.
16 This tax will affect not just the
17 working people, but senior citizens. This
18 vote on this bill can either enhance or end --
19 or end -- the career of some of the people who
20 are going to take this vote. Remember who's
21 watching.
22 The Western New York Assembly
23 delegation voted unanimously against this
24 bill. Assemblywoman Corwin, Assemblywoman
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1 DelMonte, Assemblyman Gabryszak, Assemblyman
2 Hawley, Assemblyman Hayes, Assemblyman Hoyt,
3 Assemblyman Parment, Assemblywoman Peoples,
4 Assemblyman Quinn, Assemblyman Schimminger and
5 Assemblyman Schroeder all voted not to impose
6 this utility tax on the people of New York
7 State.
8 I can tell you that the excuses are
9 not going to work. Other states are looking
10 to do this. Previous administrations and
11 legislatures have done this. The mailers that
12 go out that say "We had to make tough
13 decisions" aren't going to work.
14 Mr. President and those listening
15 today in those factories, in those plants --
16 those workers at ORC Plastics in Oswego,
17 Peltor Electronic Corporation in Madison
18 County, Pivot Punch in Niagara County, Polymer
19 Conversions in Erie County, Quad Graphics in
20 Saratoga County, Samaritan Medical Center in
21 Jefferson County, Suit-Kote Corporation in
22 Cortland County, Syracuse Casting Sales
23 Corporation in Onondaga County -- all of them
24 indicated that they would be watching today.
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1 I want to read an email that I
2 received. It was from a couple, an elderly
3 couple who live in Western New York, and it
4 was about the proposed Power Authority
5 increase. This is what they had to say.
6 "Thank you, George, for persevering
7 against the proposal of the Power Authority to
8 raise rates. This proposal upset many of us
9 VFI seniors (very-fixed-income seniors).
10 "George, my husband and I plan on
11 how to cut down washing our clothes. We only
12 use a few lights." And listen to this.
13 Listen to this, my colleagues, and listen to
14 this to the people that are watching today.
15 "We actually plan on not opening the
16 refrigerator unless it's absolutely necessary
17 in order to conserve energy.
18 "I'm serious when I say this,
19 George. We cannot afford one more nickel in
20 taxes, not one more penny in increase in our
21 utilities, not one.
22 "George, we've given up many
23 things. We're old now. We thought in our
24 later years that we would enjoy our retirement
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1 and our life. But it's sad, as we worked hard
2 all of our lives in the hope of getting it
3 easier one day, but instead it's becoming
4 harder and more expensive. We can't do it
5 anymore, George."
6 We're raising their utility rates,
7 this elderly couple, if you vote yes.
8 Now, I've laid out the case, but
9 I'm going to lay out the solution too. Some
10 people mistake my passion and my commitment to
11 this issue as anger. I've shown up at places
12 where I have not been very welcome to talk
13 about this issue, I feel that strongly about
14 it.
15 The solution is this, for somebody
16 to go Senator Klein and tell him to lay this
17 bill aside and then go back in there and tell
18 Senator Smith, "I can't be responsible for
19 that engine plant closing. I can't be
20 responsible for Delphi in Lockport closing."
21 Delphi just sold their brake
22 division on Monday, their brake division on
23 Monday to the Chinese. It will take the
24 Chinese probably six months to move that from
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1 the United States over to China.
2 The Delphi division located in
3 Western New York is the thermal division.
4 That's the division that makes
5 air-conditioning parts and heater parts. If
6 Delphi sells that to the Chinese, that's gone
7 in six months. Thousands of UAW workers laid
8 off, out of a job. Thousands of workers.
9 You want to risk that? There's a
10 way out. Go in there and tell Senator Smith,
11 "This is one I can't do. This is one that
12 could end my career." Everybody's watching.
13 The whole state's watching. This is one we
14 have to lay aside.
15 A lot of talk on the other bills
16 and their effect. This one affects us all,
17 and this one affects us all retroactively.
18 Don't do it because of the political pressure.
19 Do it because it's the right thing to do. Do
20 it for the people who don't open their
21 refrigerator in order to save energy -- don't
22 open their refrigerator, plan when they're
23 going to wash their clothes.
24 Thank you, Mr. President.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
2 you, Senator Maziarz.
3 Senator Bonacic, on the
4 legislation.
5 (Scattered applause.)
6 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 I'd like to thank Senator Maziarz
9 for highlighting the devastation to all of the
10 businesses, the families, the individuals that
11 are going to suffer as a result of this rate
12 hike. And I think you nailed this issue
13 perfectly -- the devastation that we're going
14 to have on jobs and people leaving this state,
15 voting with their feet.
16 I stood up to talk about another
17 issue that is important to every Senator that
18 lives outside New York City as it relates to
19 our volunteer firefighters. And I have a
20 series of questions for Senator Kruger. But
21 before I ask you these questions, I want to
22 preface my remarks to enlighten us about the
23 issue.
24 For those Senators that don't live
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1 outside New York City, volunteer firefighters
2 have full-time jobs, they do different
3 occupations, and when that alarm goes off
4 24/7, middle of the night, men or women,
5 volunteer firefighters get up, leave their
6 family, and run to that fire to try save that
7 home and people's lives.
8 I have said over the years that
9 they are truly our heroes. And they are never
10 compensated one cent for what they do for this
11 secondary job. They are courageous, they are
12 committed to their community. And the people
13 who live in New York City have paid
14 firefighters who are professionals who are
15 also our heroes, but they are expensive to
16 have fire services, while upstate, our
17 volunteers do not increase the tax rate on the
18 people they serve.
19 For forty years, to drive a fire
20 truck never required a commercial driver's
21 license. All of a sudden, back in 2005, there
22 was a vague provision put in the Motor Vehicle
23 Law that one could interpret that fire trucks
24 now need to have a commercial driver's license
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1 to drive a fire truck.
2 This has caused havoc in all of the
3 volunteer fire companies in the State of
4 New York. If I go to a pancake breakfast --
5 and I go to several, for several different
6 fire companies -- they come up to me, they
7 don't ask for grants, they talk about this
8 burden of a commercial driver's license.
9 Now having said that, I'm going to
10 ask Senator Kruger would he yield to a couple
11 of questions.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
13 Senator Kruger, do you yield?
14 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do,
15 notwithstanding the fact that no explanation
16 for the bill was asked. Yes, I do yield.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
18 Senator Kruger yields.
19 SENATOR BONACIC: And, Senator
20 Kruger, this is language interpretation, so
21 I'll be brief with you. Okay?
22 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Be gentle.
23 SENATOR BONACIC: And I will be
24 gentle.
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1 But this is something that if not
2 solved today can be solved in the near future,
3 because Senator Foley has a bill that got it
4 right, a bill that I've been working with him
5 and our other colleagues, Republican
6 colleagues, have been working with Senator
7 Foley to get done.
8 Now, the first question I have --
9 and I'm going to refer to pages 24 and 25,
10 lines 23 to 25. And this is very difficult
11 for you, Senator Kruger, because you're
12 involved with macro issues and I'm asking you
13 for three lines tucked in this transportation
14 budget.
15 And basically what it says, for
16 purposes of an emergency operation a
17 firefighter can now drive a truck back to the
18 fire station without a CDL license. That's a
19 good thing. That's a good thing.
20 So do you agree with me as a result
21 of this budget language we have made a partial
22 correction where now, if I don't have a CDL
23 license and we responded to a fire, that
24 volunteer firefighter without a CDL license
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1 can drive that truck back to the station?
2 That's what I think your language
3 did. Do you agree?
4 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Through
5 you, Mr. President, obviously we agree.
6 And we're going to -- I can say
7 that we could do it in a cleanup bill, but
8 that won't even be good enough. Senator
9 Foley's bill deserves action on this floor,
10 and we will do that.
11 SENATOR BONACIC: Okay. And I
12 thank you very much, Senator Kruger.
13 On the bill.
14 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Thank you,
15 Senator Bonacic.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
17 Senator Bonacic, on the bill.
18 SENATOR BONACIC: The other point
19 that I wanted to make, a commercial driver's
20 license is expensive. You have to go through
21 training. It's usually for tractor-trailer
22 trucks.
23 And it never was needed for a fire
24 engine and for volunteer firefighters, whether
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1 they went to training, whether they responded
2 to an emergency to or from the fires, whether
3 they used it in a parade. And I made a survey
4 of how many fire companies in the rural areas
5 have this CDL license. Most of them do not.
6 So when we are trying to do
7 recruitment and retention, we do state income
8 tax credits for those that volunteer to go for
9 volunteer firefighting and join the company.
10 We do scholarships to have our young people at
11 a school where we pay for some aid to go to
12 college if you join the volunteer
13 firefighters.
14 And every Senator outside New York
15 City appreciates what I'm saying, and I am
16 sure they feel the same way that I do.
17 And knowing that Senator Carl
18 Kruger has indicated that he will work with
19 Senator Foley, as we all will -- and Senator
20 Foley also is to be commended for having this
21 bill and for pushing it. And we will continue
22 to work with him to make that happen.
23 And I thank you for the future
24 consideration you're going to give to all of
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1 the volunteer firefighters in the State of
2 New York.
3 Thank you, Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
5 you, Senator Bonacic.
6 Senator Nozzolio, on the bill.
7 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. President,
8 thank you very much for the opportunity to
9 speak on this legislation, so critically
10 important.
11 The most critically important issue
12 that America faced up until last October was
13 energy. October brought the storm clouds of
14 the economic crisis there; the country's focus
15 had left energy and of course gave attention
16 to much broader issues.
17 But soon again, when the economic
18 crisis is over with, energy will again be at
19 the forefront of Americans' minds -- how we
20 are going to be energy independent from
21 foreign sources of energy, how we are going to
22 heat our homes, how we're going to power our
23 factories, how we're going to deal with growth
24 and opportunity and how that growth and
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1 opportunity will be presented.
2 Unfortunately, my colleagues, this
3 budget and this proposal and this 800 percent
4 increase in the utility taxes in our state
5 will ensure that there will be no opportunity
6 in New York State.
7 I want to thank Senator Maziarz for
8 his impassioned discussion and his call to
9 arms to each and every one of you to join us
10 in rising up and saying no, saying no to this
11 budget proposal. Because we care about senior
12 citizens in their homes, we care about keeping
13 them in their homes, we care about their
14 electric rates, we care about how they are
15 living their lives.
16 It could not have been said better.
17 But the focus shouldn't be forgotten a few
18 minutes after the remarks.
19 I heard discussions from my
20 colleagues from Western New York earlier this
21 week. Senator Thompson, Senator Stachowski,
22 were talking to me, particularly Senator
23 Thompson, about the upstate economy, about
24 jobs in Western New York, about population
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1 draining from the state, facts of which I am
2 well aware, too painfully aware.
3 High-user electricity, those
4 businesses that depend on electric and natural
5 gas service to be able to run those boilers
6 for the glass plants, those important ovens
7 for steel manufacture. Those bottle plants in
8 Sennett that it was talked about yesterday by
9 Senator DeFrancisco that may or may not expand
10 in New York State. The glass plants I have in
11 my district, in Geneva and in Sennett, in
12 Auburn, to try to ensure that they're going to
13 continue their operations. Nucor Steel, which
14 is in my district and Senator Winner's
15 district. Steel companies that are high users
16 of electricity and are high contributors to
17 the economy of our lives because they bring
18 jobs and keep jobs in New York State.
19 Those companies will leave and
20 could make the decision to leave as early as
21 tomorrow after they read about how their
22 electric rates are going to skyrocket because
23 of this proposal.
24 Those are the statistics, Senator
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1 Thompson, that I want you to remember as you
2 ask me to recall the population losses in
3 New York State, the job losses in New York
4 State. We might as well start a tally today
5 of how many jobs will be lost in your area of
6 Western New York, in my area of Central and
7 Western New York as a result of this utility
8 tax.
9 One of our colleagues and good
10 friends in the State Assembly, Assemblyman
11 Robin Schimminger, said it very clearly when
12 he said the worst way to recover from a
13 recession is to raise the cost of doing
14 business. That's what this budget does. A
15 Democrat from Western New York who's saying
16 clearly that the budget is raising the cost of
17 doing business.
18 And there's no greater increase in
19 the cost of doing business and the cost of
20 living in New York State than this onerous
21 utility tax.
22 In the Finger Lakes region, the
23 average family of four will see their home
24 budgets increased by $3,400. I'm not sure
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1 they're not going to have to do the same thing
2 that Senator Maziarz's constituents are going
3 to have to do -- don't open the refrigerator,
4 don't use electricity. You're not going to be
5 able to afford the bill.
6 I'm certainly concerned about the
7 individuals and the families, as we all need
8 to be. But I'm also concerned about those
9 businesses that are making decisions whether
10 or not to stay in Western New York, and
11 particularly those manufacturers who use a lot
12 of electricity.
13 And, Senator Krueger, I had to
14 laugh when you said earlier today that the
15 government spending increases the gross
16 national product of our nation more than
17 private-sector spending. That is the most
18 flipped up, upside-down economic theory I've
19 ever heard.
20 Seventy-five percent of our nation
21 still is the private sector. And the private
22 sector brings the jobs. The private sector
23 will bring us the jobs to get us out of this
24 recession. It's not the public sector, it's
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1 not taxes. It's growth. It's not government,
2 it's opportunity. And what this proposal does
3 is stifle opportunity and stifle job growth.
4 So imagine those companies that are
5 making those decisions: Are we going to
6 continue in New York State? Are we going to
7 expand and pay multimillions of dollars to
8 expand here, to do our business here, to make
9 our glass plates here at Guardian Glass, to
10 make our glass bottles at Owens-Illinois?
11 Those decisions are going to have
12 to be checked when you look at the costs of
13 doing business and the cost of making
14 products. And what this will do is drive jobs
15 out of New York State.
16 I thank my colleagues for their
17 support of our amendments, and I urge all of
18 my colleagues to listen not to the Republicans
19 on this side of the aisle but to the Democrats
20 in the Assembly from Western New York who are
21 saying clearly this will hurt job production
22 in our region of the state.
23 Thank you, Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
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1 you, Senator Nozzolio.
2 Senator DeFrancisco, on the bill.
3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'm going
4 to be very brief.
5 Senator Maziarz has taken the lead
6 on this important issue. He's done his
7 homework, he's stated the case.
8 And I simply want to say one thing.
9 And that is that everybody who's watching now
10 or learns of this later should hold everybody
11 accountable for their vote, because each one
12 of us has an opportunity now to say no -- to
13 say no to higher utilities, no to higher
14 taxes, no to all the fees and assessments. So
15 that we do exactly what our constituents are
16 doing and what our businesses are doing,
17 cutting corners in order to make their lives
18 even possible.
19 So I want to thank George Maziarz
20 for his incredible job. I know he's going to
21 be speaking again, and I want to hear his
22 concluding remarks, because this is such an
23 important time in this budget process that we
24 can't let it fail. We need support on the
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1 Democrat side to vote no on this aspect of the
2 budget.
3 Thank you, Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
5 you, Senator DeFrancisco.
6 Senator Fuschillo, on the bill.
7 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you
8 very much, Mr. President.
9 We've talked for a few days about
10 how desperate people are and businesses are.
11 And now to hear Senator Maziarz talk about
12 that people can't even open up their
13 refrigerators anymore is beyond desperation.
14 Senator Maziarz, let me compliment
15 you on having the people of the State of
16 New York and the businesses watch these
17 proceedings. Because we talked about a
18 personal income tax increase that the
19 Democratic Senators voted on that's going to
20 affect about 360,000, 375,000 people in the
21 State of New York. And the issue you're
22 exposing today, because that's what you're
23 doing, is going to affect every single person
24 in this state.
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1 And you mentioned some numbers. In
2 my district, the Freeport Electric Company
3 sent me a letter pleading with me to vote
4 against this, because this increase that is
5 contained in this bill will result in
6 significantly increased costs for our
7 ratepayers. An increase of $479,000, almost
8 $9,800 a week, that's going to be passed on to
9 the ratepayers.
10 Now, I live on Long Island. We pay
11 the highest utility rates in the country
12 through LIPA, Long Island Power Authority. We
13 can't afford anymore, let alone the people
14 that have their own utility companies in
15 Freeport and Rockville Centre in Senator
16 Skelos's district.
17 And Senator Maziarz isn't wasting
18 his time, because he's got a lot to do to go
19 to these meetings all over upstate New York.
20 And if it wasn't for his leadership, the
21 New York Power Authority would have raised
22 rates last week.
23 And I think you embarrassed the
24 Governor, Senator Maziarz, to step in and say
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1 no and make a recommendation to don't do it.
2 So a lot of people owe thanks to you.
3 And this is pretty simple, ladies
4 and gentlemen. Property taxes are high, and
5 utility rates are high. You've made personal
6 income tax rates higher. Stop. Enough.
7 We're choking to death. It's enough.
8 I hate the excuse this is a crisis,
9 we have to sneak it in. Stop talking on the
10 floor. Five days, you're killing people.
11 They can't afford to live here anymore.
12 I vote no.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
14 you, Senator Fuschillo.
15 Senator Maziarz, to close.
16 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you once
17 again, Mr. President.
18 I can only implore my colleagues.
19 And I hope that all those companies that we've
20 spent a week -- and all those editorial boards
21 and all those television stations are still
22 watching. This is the moment that my staff
23 has been Twittering you about, using Facebook,
24 using email, telephoning you about. This is
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1 the moment.
2 We've voted on a lot of important
3 issues. We're going to raise a lot of taxes.
4 I don't know of any that we're going to raise
5 on every New Yorker, every New Yorker, and
6 we're going to do it retroactive to March 1st.
7 This is the moment when just one person, one
8 person, has to lay this aside.
9 There's a better way of doing this
10 than raising these utility rates on everyone.
11 You can't vote yes if 11 days ago you said not
12 one penny more. How are you going to face
13 your constituents?
14 I can only tell you that your
15 careers could end over this vote. That's how
16 important it is. I am committed to doing this
17 across the State of New York if necessary. We
18 can stop this rate increase.
19 If 11 days ago it was not one penny
20 more, what's the difference today? All it
21 takes is one brave individual, one hero --
22 that term is so overexposed today -- one hero
23 to step up to the plate. Just one. There are
24 30 votes on this side of the aisle against
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1 this bill, against this utility increase,
2 against taxing poor people. Against possibly
3 putting those thousands of UAW workers in
4 Western New York out of work.
5 What is it like to lose a job? A
6 37-year-old guy sat in my office just two
7 weeks ago. He got laid off from a job that he
8 had for over 12 years. He told me he felt
9 like he was a failure. He had two kids in
10 middle school and high school. He felt like a
11 failure as a father and a failure as a
12 husband. He couldn't provide for his family.
13 The vote we're taking today, the
14 vote we're taking today could do that to a lot
15 of other people across this state. Half of
16 the companies that I mentioned today are in or
17 near bankruptcy. They can't take any more
18 utility rate increases, not one penny more.
19 They couldn't take the NYPA increase, and they
20 can't take this increase.
21 Thank you, Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
23 you, Senator Maziarz.
24 The Secretary will ring the bells.
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1 I ask all Senators to proceed to the chamber
2 so that we may move to a roll call.
3 The Secretary will read the last
4 section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
8 Secretary will call the roll slowly.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Adams.
10 SENATOR ADAMS: Aye.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Addabbo.
12 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Alesi.
14 SENATOR ALESI: No.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator
16 Aubertine.
17 SENATOR AUBERTINE: Yes.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bonacic.
19 SENATOR BONACIC: No.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Breslin.
21 SENATOR BRESLIN: Yes.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senator
23 DeFrancisco.
24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: No.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Diaz.
2 SENATOR DIAZ: Yes.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Dilan.
4 SENATOR DILAN: Yes.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Duane.
6 SENATOR DUANE: Yes.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Espada.
8 SENATOR ESPADA: Yes.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Farley.
10 SENATOR FARLEY: No.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Flanagan.
12 SENATOR FLANAGAN: No.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Foley.
14 SENATOR FOLEY: Aye.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator
16 Fuschillo.
17 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: No.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Golden.
19 SENATOR GOLDEN: No.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Griffo.
21 SENATOR GRIFFO: No.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon.
23 SENATOR HANNON: No.
24 THE SECRETARY: With unanimous
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1 consent, Senator Hassell-Thompson voted in the
2 affirmative on April 2.
3 Senator Huntley.
4 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Yes.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator C.
6 Johnson.
7 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Yes.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator O.
9 Johnson.
10 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: No.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Klein.
12 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator
14 L. Krueger.
15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator C.
17 Kruger.
18 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lanza.
20 SENATOR LANZA: No.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin.
22 SENATOR LARKIN: No.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator LaValle.
24 SENATOR LaVALLE: No.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Leibell.
2 SENATOR LEIBELL: No.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Libous
4 voting in the affirmative earlier today.
5 (Laughter.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Oh, excuse me.
7 Excuse me. Senator Libous voting in the
8 negative earlier today.
9 Senator Little.
10 SENATOR LITTLE: No.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator
12 Marcellino.
13 SENATOR MARCELLINO: No.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Maziarz.
15 (No response.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator McDonald.
17 SENATOR McDONALD: No.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator
19 Monserrate.
20 SENATOR MONSERRATE: Aye.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator
22 Montgomery.
23 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Aye.
24 THE SECRETARY: Senator Morahan.
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1 SENATOR MORAHAN: No.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Nozzolio.
3 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: No.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Onorato.
5 SENATOR ONORATO: Aye.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator
7 Oppenheimer.
8 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Aye.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Padavan.
10 SENATOR PADAVAN: No.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Parker.
12 SENATOR PARKER: Aye.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Perkins.
14 SENATOR PERKINS: Yes.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator
16 Ranzenhofer.
17 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: No.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Robach.
19 SENATOR ROBACH: Mr. President,
20 to explain my vote.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
22 Senator Robach, to explain his vote.
23 SENATOR ROBACH: Indulge me, I'm
24 sorry. I had my name on the list to speak and
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1 either purposely or accidentally got
2 overlooked there. But I did want to speak on
3 this very briefly.
4 And first let me thank Senator
5 Kruger for answering all these questions,
6 being here for that, not only in your position
7 but to fill in for many of your colleagues on
8 this topic and many others.
9 I also want to applaud Senator
10 Maziarz for his work on energy, not only on
11 this one, but in the deficit reduction program
12 that took three-quarters of a billion dollars
13 out of hydropower out of upstate New York to
14 help bail out the state when we need it in a
15 way many of us thought should have been used
16 to stabilize energy in our part of the world.
17 But I do want to say there's still
18 a few votes left. This is really one of those
19 rare times that no matter where you're from --
20 rich or poor, private individual or business,
21 everyone is going to get hurt. We're talking
22 about a stimulus package. There's going to be
23 nothing worse than this if we pass it.
24 I for one am going to be voting no.
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1 I do not want my fingerprints at the scene of
2 this crime, and it is going to be a crime --
3 death, killing taxes on jobs.
4 You heard my colleague Senator
5 Maziarz. This is no joke. This is serious
6 stuff. Whether you're trying to hang onto
7 your home and heat it and whether you're
8 trying to get a job, this is the most
9 challenged, competitive economy we've ever
10 been. I've heard people on that side of the
11 aisle say that as much as we are.
12 Let's just do the math here and
13 think about this. Putting this tax on
14 business and private individuals at a time
15 when people are shopping around where to live,
16 where to set up shop, where to move their
17 company or factory to, is bad, bad business.
18 This is antistimulus. I have never been more
19 sure of a no vote in my life than I am of this
20 one, and I hope others will follow suit.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
22 Senator Robach to be recorded in the negative.
23 The Secretary will continue.
24 THE SECRETARY: Senator Saland.
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1 SENATOR SALAND: No.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Sampson.
3 SENATOR SAMPSON: Yes.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Savino.
5 SENATOR SAVINO: Yes.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator
7 Schneiderman.
8 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Serrano.
10 SENATOR SERRANO: Yes.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Seward.
12 SENATOR SEWARD: No.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Skelos.
14 SENATOR SKELOS: No.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Smith.
16 (Senator Smith recorded as voting
17 in the affirmative.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Squadron.
19 SENATOR SQUADRON: Yes.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator
21 Stachowski.
22 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Yes.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stavisky.
24 SENATOR STAVISKY: Yes.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Senator
2 Stewart-Cousins.
3 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Yes.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Thompson.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
6 Senator Thompson, to explain his vote.
7 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes,
8 Mr. President. Thank you for recognizing me.
9 It's been a nice and spirited
10 debate about the nature of this bill, but I
11 want to highlight a couple of things that I
12 believe are important for Western New York,
13 particularly for Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
14 This bill provides an additional
15 $39.7 million for roads. In addition, for the
16 first time in history, in more than 20 years,
17 my district in Niagara Falls will receive
18 multimodal money for transportation -- which
19 usually goes to the Senate Majority -- of
20 $100 million, so we'll be able to fix some
21 roads finally.
22 In addition, this bill deals with
23 the casino, the Niagara Falls casino, which is
24 located in downtown Niagara Falls. As a
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1 result of this bill, we will be able to
2 provide -- we will take the money from Niagara
3 County and give all of the rest of the
4 remaining money, almost a million dollars a
5 year, to fix roads and sidewalks that are
6 desperately needed in downtown Niagara Falls.
7 In addition to that, this bill will
8 also provide funding support for the
9 Underground Railroad Heritage Area in Niagara
10 Falls as well. This is where -- at this
11 point, this place in Niagara Falls, this is
12 where Harriet Tubman crossed from the United
13 States of America to Canada.
14 So yes, I'm voting for this bill.
15 Yes, there are some bad things in this bill,
16 but there's also some positive in this bill as
17 well, and I vote aye.
18 Thank you.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
20 Senator Thompson to be recorded in the
21 affirmative.
22 The Secretary will continue to call
23 the roll.
24 THE SECRETARY: Senator Valesky.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Aye.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Volker.
3 SENATOR VOLKER: No.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Winner.
5 SENATOR WINNER: No.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Young.
7 SENATOR YOUNG: No.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
9 Secretary will call the absentees.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Maziarz.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
12 Senator Maziarz, to explain his vote.
13 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very
14 much, Mr. President.
15 Mr. President, I don't know that
16 all those people that you just put out of work
17 will be able to use those roads.
18 But, Mr. President, two minutes
19 isn't enough to explain the carnage and the
20 suffering that you just caused. Two minutes
21 isn't enough. So I'm going to explain my vote
22 next week at a press conference outside the
23 Cheektowaga Senior Citizen Center.
24 I'm going to partner with an
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1 advocacy group called Responsible New York.
2 And on the break week and Christmas when
3 everybody is down in Florida having fun, we're
4 going to be up in Jefferson County, we're
5 going to be up in Oswego County, we're going
6 to be up in St. Lawrence County. We're going
7 to have the Expose the Hypocrisy Tour across
8 this state. Expose the Hypocrisy Tour.
9 Expose the taxes that you just put
10 on what Senator Diaz called the poor people.
11 The people that I hope you didn't, you didn't
12 put out of work at that Tonawanda Engine Plant
13 or that Delphi Thermal plant in Lockport. The
14 thousands of UAW workers. Because if they do
15 close one of those plants, you can bet, you
16 can bet that I'll be there. I will be there,
17 and I will name names.
18 Eleven days ago, 2 cents was too
19 much. Shame on every one of you. Shame on
20 every one of you.
21 I vote no.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
23 Senator Maziarz to be recorded in the
24 negative.
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1 The Secretary will announce the
2 results.
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 32. Nays,
4 30.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
6 bill is passed.
7 Senator Klein.
8 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President,
9 still on the controversial calendar, can we go
10 to Calendar Number 137. The Minority has
11 agreed to waive an explanation.
12 But I'd like to call on Senator
13 Skelos. I believe there's an amendment at the
14 desk.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
16 Secretary will read Calendar Number 137.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 137, substituted March 31, Assembly Budget
19 Bill, Assembly Print Number 158B, an act to
20 amend the Public Health Law and the Elder Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
22 Senator Skelos.
23 SENATOR SKELOS: I believe
24 there's an amendment at the desk by Senator
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1 Seward. If you could recognize Senator
2 Seward, please.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
4 Certainly. There is an amendment at the desk.
5 Without objection, the reading of the
6 amendment is waived.
7 Senator Seward, you are recognized
8 to speak on the amendment.
9 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 We have just had a very spirited
12 and I think a very informative discussion on a
13 challenge that our constituents have in terms
14 of affording electricity and other utilities.
15 There is another struggle that everyday
16 New Yorkers have and our small businesses have
17 every day in New York State, and that is
18 affording health insurance coverage in
19 New York State.
20 There's one very specific way that
21 that Legislature, through the budget, can have
22 an impact on the cost of health insurance, is
23 in the taxation of this type of insurance and
24 all insurance, for that matter.
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1 This budget proposal before us
2 raises taxes on health insurance, making it
3 more costly to do business in New York State,
4 to offer health insurance to employees in
5 New York State and, because of the increased
6 costs, makes it more difficult for New Yorkers
7 to have access to quality and affordable
8 healthcare that they deserve.
9 At a time when at the
10 federal-government level there's a lot of
11 discussion about making healthcare and health
12 insurance available to more people, many of
13 our sister states are seeking ways, innovative
14 ways to make healthcare and health insurance
15 more affordable.
16 This budget not only maintains the
17 status quo here in New York, it actually makes
18 it more difficult to have health insurance,
19 more expensive to have health insurance and
20 healthcare by hiking healthcare taxes at a
21 time when New Yorkers can least afford it.
22 No question, higher health
23 insurance taxes will force businesses which
24 are already facing tough economic times to
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1 close their doors, in some cases; if they're
2 able to stay open, drop coverage, aggravating
3 our high number of uninsured; or pass on
4 health insurance costs more to the employees
5 who can ill afford those higher costs.
6 The bill before us raises the HCRA
7 surcharge on patient services. That's paid by
8 the insurers, passed on to those who pay
9 health insurance premiums. If a person is
10 uninsured, they pay this tax directly. No one
11 who seeks medical care in the State of
12 New York can avoid this tax.
13 Other parts of this budget expands
14 the premium taxes for HMOs. Even on Healthy
15 New York policies, which is designed to be a
16 lower-cost option for small businesses,
17 they're going to be paying more under this
18 budget.
19 And of course in the deficit
20 reduction plan that passed in early February,
21 there were more taxes on insurance -- health
22 insurance, covered lives, $240 million. This
23 Senate on the Majority side, the Democrat
24 side, raised health insurance $240 million
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1 then. Also, another $177 million in increased
2 taxes on all other forms of insurance: life
3 insurance, homeowner's insurance, auto
4 insurance. Where does it end?
5 When you add all of this up in
6 terms of the insurance taxes specifically on
7 health insurance, what this is going to mean
8 for the premium payers of New York State --
9 you're not taxing the insurance companies,
10 you're taxing the hard-pressed premium payers
11 of New York State.
12 If you are representing
13 constituents in New York City, their costs,
14 with the actions that the other side of the
15 aisle have taken this year, in this budget and
16 in the deficit reduction plan, will impact
17 their premiums by $700, a $700 increase in
18 premiums in New York City for health insurance
19 under what actions have been taken and are
20 proposed to be taken in this bill.
21 On Long Island, it's a $508
22 increase estimated in health insurance
23 policies on an annual basis. Upstate, it's a
24 $368 increase in the cost of a health
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1 insurance policy.
2 This is real money. It's a real
3 hardship for hard-pressed families and
4 businesses of our state. But there is an
5 answer, and the answer is the amendment that
6 is before us today.
7 This amendment, if we can get the
8 yes votes, would strike this HCRA surcharge
9 from this budget. It would repeal the covered
10 lives assessment that has been passed earlier
11 by this Legislature, signed into law by the
12 Governor. And it would repeal the
13 assessments, the 332 assessments that were
14 part of the deficit reduction plan earlier
15 this year.
16 As we have heard throughout other
17 discussions, there are better ways to cover
18 this loss of revenue, if this amendment
19 passes, by further restraining spending, by
20 consolidating state agencies. The list goes
21 on and on: $3.2 billion that this conference,
22 the Republican side, has offered in terms of
23 additional savings that we can incur and cover
24 the tax reductions that we are seeking through
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1 this amendment.
2 So, Mr. President, I urge a yes
3 vote on this amendment because the people of
4 New York City can ill afford a $700 increase
5 in taxes on their health insurance policies.
6 The people of Long Island can ill afford that
7 $500-plus increase on their health insurance
8 premiums next year. And upstate, we can
9 certainly ill afford a nearly $400 increase in
10 our health insurance policies, only through
11 taxes and assessments imposed by this budget
12 this year.
13 Mr. President, I urge a yes vote.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
15 you, Senator Seward.
16 Senator Hannon, on the amendment.
17 SENATOR HANNON: On the
18 amendment, Mr. President.
19 Senator Seward has eloquently put
20 forward the reasons that we should not be
21 imposing and raising the cost of health
22 insurance throughout the state.
23 I also would like to address myself
24 to the portion of the amendment that we have
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1 put forward so that rural and community
2 hospitals would share in the monies that are
3 otherwise restricted under the provisions of
4 the main bill, and that we lower -- in fact,
5 eliminate the threshold for Medicaid patients
6 as a part of the total discharges for a
7 hospital.
8 Because under the current bill, it
9 requires that for the pool we amend that at
10 least 40 percent or greater of the discharges
11 be Medicaid patients. That limitation alone
12 excludes hospitals that are serving major
13 populations for Medicaid, such as SUNY Upstate
14 or Crouse in Syracuse, Long Island Jewish
15 Medical, Community Memorial, it goes on and
16 on. The list is obvious. There's no reason
17 to exclude them.
18 And by virtue of amending the pool
19 we do amend, there are other pools, this
20 myriad of pools that have been created, there
21 are other pools that are also changed so that
22 people can have the monies that are in this
23 budget fairly distributed, so we can make sure
24 that the rural hospitals are not put at risk,
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1 we can make sure that community hospitals are
2 not put at risk.
3 We also include measures so that we
4 would promote the use of telemedicine in this
5 state to save the administrative costs and to
6 save the Medicaid costs, resulting in a net
7 savings in this budget.
8 I also wanted to discuss what we're
9 trying to do here by striking the provisions
10 of what is called the 332 assessment. That
11 assessment is much like what has been done in
12 regard to the Public Service Commission. The
13 332 assessment was something that was to
14 originally defray operating expenses of the
15 Department of Insurance.
16 And instead we find out that under
17 those expenses we've now added such things as
18 the Healthy New York program, the direct-pay
19 Stop Loss program, the subsidy we give for one
20 of the essential industries in this state, the
21 entertainment industry, for people who don't
22 have insurance.
23 Those fundings through 332 have
24 never been done that way before. 332 had
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1 always been something that would allow for the
2 regulation of the insurance industry.
3 Seventy percent of those assessments come out
4 of the healthcare insurance plans.
5 It's another tax on health
6 insurance, just as the premium taxes, just as
7 the covered lives would be. Those are all
8 things that have to be borne by the people who
9 are getting health insurance.
10 There was some mention in regard to
11 one of these that, well, we're just doing it
12 on for-profits. You know what?
13 Not-for-profit people buy health insurance
14 from for-profit insurers. And there are also
15 not-for-profit insurers. And what we do in
16 regard to these taxes is we affect everybody.
17 In the bill that we are seeking to
18 amend there's some intent language, and it
19 talks about that intent language in a totally
20 duplicitous fashion, because it says we want
21 to reduce a certain number of the uninsured in
22 this state, we want to extend the access to
23 healthcare. Well, when you do it by imposing
24 taxes, you're working in reverse.
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1 So we seek, through this amendment,
2 to make sure we do not have a disincentive to
3 a greater health insurance coverage. We make
4 sure that we take the pools of money and make
5 it available to all hospitals in this state,
6 especially the rural and community hospitals,
7 and that we provide incentives for telehealth.
8 Thank you, Mr. President. I urge
9 people's support for this amendment.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
11 you, Senator Hannon.
12 The question is on the nonsponsor
13 motion to amend Calendar Number 137. All in
14 agreement please signify by raising your hand.
15 Announce the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 30. Nays,
17 31.
18 Senator Hassell-Thompson, excused.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
20 motion fails.
21 Senator Hannon, on the bill.
22 SENATOR HANNON: This
23 legislation, Mr. President, is the language
24 bill in regard --
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Excuse
2 me, Senator Hannon. You may proceed.
3 SENATOR HANNON: Mr. President,
4 this is the language bill in regard to the
5 health budget that has been presented for
6 enactment for the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
7 When the appropriation bill was up,
8 we saw the Health chairman lead us through
9 what could charitably be called a confusing
10 path of all of the new pools created under
11 this bill. And those new pools were in lieu
12 of what was supposedly an improvement on the
13 current system.
14 I've said that the current system
15 is something that is in deep need of
16 improvement. We've moved towards it over the
17 years, but healthcare is a moving target.
18 What was needed in 2000 is no longer
19 sufficient for 2010. We have populations that
20 get older. We have technologies that improve.
21 We have advances in medicine that we couldn't
22 believe existed just a little while ago.
23 This Republican group of Senators
24 started off a lot of this reform with our
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1 Medicaid Task Force, with our introduction of
2 a Medicaid Inspector General, with our series
3 of amendments over the years. The goals that
4 we find our Governor advancing this year are
5 ones that we were there in the forefront.
6 Preventive care, wellness, we all agree with
7 that. Movement out of institutional settings
8 to ambulatory care, we agree with.
9 The real problem, and it's hard to
10 make it dramatic, is simply how do you do
11 this. Hospitals, nursing homes, home health
12 care agencies exist so that every day of the
13 week, 24 hours a day, they have to provide
14 care to people who are their patients. Making
15 changes in midstream is admittedly very
16 difficult. Making changes abruptly means we
17 face the fact that people can fall off the
18 horse. Making changes abruptly means we can
19 fail to have a good healthcare system.
20 We've heard that people want to
21 have clinics, what they call diagnostic and
22 treatment centers, to take care of folks and
23 we will move people out of emergency rooms.
24 Well, that's all well and good. Except those
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1 clinics or the for-profit emergency care
2 centers run by doctors, they're not open
3 24 hours a day. Call them at 8:30: My child
4 has an earache, my child might have strep
5 throat, maybe it's a tonsillectomy that's
6 needed.
7 Hospitals simply can't avoid it.
8 They have a federal obligation, they have a
9 moral obligation, they have a state
10 obligation. They have to provide the care.
11 So do we make changes? Yes. But
12 do we do it all of a sudden? No. And one of
13 the themes that I really have a problem with
14 are the so-called reforms. Because for all
15 they have the right press releases, for all --
16 and you can find it in this bill on page 39 --
17 for all you can set forth wonderful intent,
18 unless you can provide practical, concrete
19 steps to allow people to make these changes,
20 it's not going to happen.
21 Now, yesterday Senator Duane tried
22 to lead us through the huge number of pools
23 that have been created. It's too confusing to
24 lead you through because it's a shell game.
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1 If we create this pool, some people won't get
2 benefited and they will lose, so we'll create
3 another pool. Oh, well, that doesn't work, so
4 we'll create another pool. And what you have
5 is a health bureaucracy -- talented,
6 well-intentioned people who think they can
7 promise to you: Oh, it's all going to be
8 okay.
9 The experience that we have in this
10 state is it's not okay. They can't do things.
11 First of all, to get a new pool that's matched
12 by the federal government is not like the old
13 days where you could have a new Medicaid plan
14 and send it to Washington and it got filed and
15 you got your money. It's not that way
16 anymore. A couple of years ago they said CMS,
17 this federal regulatory agency for Medicaid,
18 has to accept the plan and approve it.
19 And I just don't know -- I hope
20 it's true, because it will go to a lot of good
21 places, but I don't know that the federal
22 government's all of a sudden going to give us
23 another $150 million to $200 million in a year
24 they've already sent us $5 billion in
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1 increased Medicaid matching funds for our
2 budget. Five -- I'm sorry, I misspoke. Not
3 5 million, $5 billion. For this fiscal year,
4 the 2009-2010 fiscal year, 12 months. And
5 we'll have to share 30 percent of that with
6 New York City and the other counties, but the
7 rest of that 70 percent comes here.
8 So are they going to give us a new
9 pool? I don't know.
10 What's the other problem with all
11 these pools? I'm not going to tell you what
12 they do, because the statute that you propose
13 to enact is silent. It doesn't tell you which
14 hospitals get which. We did just have an
15 amendment to get rid of the 40 percent
16 threshold, but it doesn't tell you which
17 hospitals get which.
18 It does not have a mechanism in
19 there for the Health Department or the
20 Division of Budget to tell us where the money
21 is going. There's no reporting requirement
22 that will then let us know where it's going.
23 I mentioned yesterday when we had
24 the approp bill, hospitals come to me and say,
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1 "We've been working with that department for a
2 year, two years, three years. We have a
3 specialized situation. They've told us
4 they'll look into it, they've told us they'll
5 try to help us, they've told us we want to be
6 helped."
7 Now, I'm not going to mention any
8 of those hospitals, because maybe they will be
9 helped. But I'll tell you, it's very doubtful
10 that they will.
11 Anybody go through the Berger
12 Commission closing? Anybody go through the
13 communities being concerned about what was
14 happening there? They all went to the
15 department: "Oh, we'll try to help you."
16 Women's hospital nearby? A community hospital
17 in the city? "We'll try to help you." Were
18 they helped? No.
19 And heaven forbid I bring up Erie
20 County, because that was a massive
21 dislocation. Probably good for health in the
22 end, except if you ask people in the
23 community. Probably good if you ask the
24 experts.
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1 What am I saying? I can't make
2 this black and white, such as Senator Maziarz
3 did with the public service tax. But I can
4 tell you this is an essential service, this is
5 one that evolves every year, this is going to
6 be a continued challenge every year. And this
7 is simply not the way to do it.
8 It's not partisan, it's not
9 political. This is the delivery of services
10 to the people of this state that's an
11 obligation of this government. It's your
12 obligation, and we have not met it in this
13 bill.
14 I really want to take difference
15 with the intent that was lined out, buried in
16 the middle of the bill. Doesn't necessarily
17 say it has a tricky title to it, it just calls
18 itself "This act may be known as the
19 Healthcare Improvement Act."
20 Well, I differ with that. Because
21 it recites about how much we spend, and they
22 say if patients had timely access to quality
23 outpatient care. Well, I'm sorry, you haven't
24 erected a system of quality outpatient care in
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1 this measure. And I'm not even sure that
2 you've put the stepping stones to it.
3 Last year we were supposed to have
4 the beginnings of that with what they called
5 the ambulatory patient group. When I checked
6 on March 1, not one of the federally qualified
7 health centers in this state had taken
8 advantage of that ambulatory patient group
9 system. It's a way of paying.
10 Well, wait a minute. Those are
11 some of the best clinics we have throughout
12 the state. And they're not participating?
13 That's their option, because they're federal.
14 So there are things here that are
15 omitted, even though the intent says they
16 should be there.
17 Supporting providers that serve
18 uninsured patients. I can tell you of a list
19 of providers serving uninsured patients who
20 are not helped by this bill whatsoever. So we
21 haven't helped those uninsured patients.
22 Increasing affordable coverage in
23 partnership with the federal government. I'm
24 not so sure we've done that. I can go on and
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1 on. It's not something that strikes me that
2 we've accomplished, especially when we recite
3 how many New Yorkers are uninsured and we have
4 increased the money paid under covered lives,
5 increased the money paid under patient
6 services, increased the money under the HMO
7 taxes, increased the money under the
8 332 assessment.
9 All of those fall right on the
10 people who pay for health insurance. And if
11 that is a single individual, it makes it
12 almost impossible for them to continue. If
13 that is an employer, small or large, what are
14 they doing? They're passing it right on to
15 the employee, because they raise deductibles,
16 they raise copays, they say that you're going
17 to be limited in the benefits. It almost --
18 people say we want universal coverage. It
19 doesn't work that way. As a practical matter,
20 it's not there.
21 So what we've been doing with this
22 budget is going the wrong way. It's a nuanced
23 thing, but it is a question of the services
24 we're going to deliver to folks throughout
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1 this state.
2 We have nursing homes that have had
3 the promise of rebasing undercut. We have
4 nursing homes that borrowed based on our
5 statutes that we've passed -- not once, but
6 twice -- in this state. They will essentially
7 get, when you go through the complicated
8 formulas, half of what we promised. How do
9 they pay back those loans? How do they take
10 care of the individuals? It's not clear-cut.
11 We have not done a good job. I'm
12 sorry, I cannot support this measure.
13 Thank you, Mr. President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
15 you, Senator Hannon.
16 The Secretary will ring the bells.
17 I ask all Senators to proceed directly to the
18 chamber so that we can expeditiously move to a
19 roll call.
20 The Secretary will read the last
21 section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
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1 Secretary will call the roll slowly.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Adams.
3 SENATOR ADAMS: Yes.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Addabbo.
5 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Alesi.
7 SENATOR ALESI: No.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator
9 Aubertine.
10 SENATOR AUBERTINE: Yes.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bonacic.
12 SENATOR BONACIC: No.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Breslin.
14 SENATOR BRESLIN: Yes.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator
16 DeFrancisco.
17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: No.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Diaz.
19 SENATOR DIAZ: Si.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Dilan.
21 SENATOR DILAN: I'm thinking
22 about it. Yes.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Duane.
24 SENATOR DUANE: Yes.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Espada.
2 SENATOR ESPADA: Yes.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Farley.
4 SENATOR FARLEY: No.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Flanagan.
6 SENATOR FLANAGAN: No.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Foley.
8 SENATOR FOLEY: Aye.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator
10 Fuschillo.
11 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: No.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Golden.
13 SENATOR GOLDEN: No.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Griffo.
15 SENATOR GRIFFO: No.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon.
17 SENATOR HANNON: No.
18 THE SECRETARY: With unanimous
19 consent, Senator Hassell-Thompson voting in
20 the affirmative April 2.
21 Senator Huntley.
22 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Yes.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator C.
24 Johnson.
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1 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Yes.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator O.
3 Johnson.
4 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: No.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Klein.
6 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator
8 L. Krueger.
9 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator C.
11 Kruger.
12 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lanza.
14 SENATOR LANZA: No.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin.
16 SENATOR LARKIN: No.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator LaValle.
18 SENATOR LaVALLE: No.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Leibell.
20 SENATOR LEIBELL: No.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Libous
22 voting in the negative earlier today.
23 Senator Little.
24 SENATOR LITTLE: No.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Senator
2 Marcellino.
3 SENATOR MARCELLINO: No.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Maziarz.
5 SENATOR MAZIARZ: No.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator McDonald.
7 SENATOR McDONALD: No.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator
9 Monserrate.
10 SENATOR MONSERRATE: Aye.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator
12 Montgomery.
13 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Aye.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Morahan.
15 SENATOR MORAHAN: No.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Nozzolio.
17 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: No.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Onorato.
19 SENATOR ONORATO: Yes.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator
21 Oppenheimer.
22 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Aye.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Padavan.
24 SENATOR PADAVAN: No.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Parker.
2 SENATOR PARKER: Aye.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Perkins.
4 SENATOR PERKINS: Yes.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator
6 Ranzenhofer.
7 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: No.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Robach.
9 SENATOR ROBACH: No.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Saland.
11 SENATOR SALAND: No.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Sampson.
13 SENATOR SAMPSON: Yes.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Savino.
15 SENATOR SAVINO: Yes.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator
17 Schneiderman.
18 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Serrano.
20 SENATOR SERRANO: Yes.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Seward.
22 SENATOR SEWARD: No.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Skelos.
24 SENATOR SKELOS: No.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Smith.
2 (Senator Smith recorded as voting
3 in the affirmative.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Squadron.
5 SENATOR SQUADRON: Yes.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator
7 Stachowski.
8 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Yes.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stavisky.
10 SENATOR STAVISKY: Yes.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator
12 Stewart-Cousins.
13 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Yes.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Thompson.
15 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Valesky.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Aye.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Volker.
19 SENATOR VOLKER: No.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Winner.
21 SENATOR WINNER: No.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Young.
23 SENATOR YOUNG: No.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
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1 Secretary will announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 32. Nays,
3 30.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
5 bill is passed.
6 Senator Klein.
7 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, to
8 take up the final budget bill, can we take up
9 Calendar 131.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
11 Secretary will read Calendar Number 131.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 131, substituted April 1, Assembly Budget
14 Bill, Assembly Print Number 151A, an act
15 making appropriations for the support of
16 government: Legislature and Judiciary Budget.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
18 Senator DeFrancisco, on the bill.
19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I just have
20 a couple of questions. And if Senator Carl
21 Kruger would respond to one of them and yield.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
23 Senator Kruger, do you yield?
24 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do,
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1 Mr. President.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
3 Senator yields.
4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Without
5 going through the specific numbers, I've read
6 publicly that Senator Smith indicated that the
7 Senate legislative budget was going to be
8 reduced by 8 percent over last year.
9 Is that correct? And was that
10 done?
11 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, it
12 was.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: So it is
14 correct, and it was done?
15 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes.
16 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you.
17 If Senator John Sampson, chair of
18 Judiciary, could answer a question, I'd
19 appreciate it.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
21 Senator DeFrancisco, the rules prohibit the
22 chair from asking a member to yield to a
23 question who has not spoken on the bill
24 already.
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1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: All right,
2 point of order. I used to, during the course
3 of the prior proceedings, the Judiciary chair
4 would always be available for questions --
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Excuse
6 me, Senator DeFrancisco.
7 Could we have some order, please,
8 in the chamber. Shhh.
9 Thank you.
10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Excuse me.
11 Point of order.
12 I could always ask Senator Sampson
13 to explain the judiciary budget, but I'm not
14 so sure everybody wants to hear it. And all
15 I'm requesting is that in lieu of that that he
16 answer one area of questions for me. And if
17 he consents, I think he could do that.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
19 Senator Sampson, do you consent to yield for
20 Senator DeFrancisco?
21 SENATOR SAMPSON: Anytime for
22 Senator DeFrancisco.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
24 Proceed, Senator DeFrancisco.
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1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you.
2 Senator Sampson, in the Governor's
3 proposed budget there was a pot of money
4 designated for judicial salaries. And the
5 understanding was out of the judiciary budget
6 that was submitted by the judiciary and
7 submitted by the Governor, that out of that
8 money there was enough money available for a
9 salary increase for the judiciary.
10 I understand that the language
11 authorizing such an increase is not in the
12 final budget; is that correct?
13 SENATOR SAMPSON: That's correct.
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: All right.
15 Would he answer one last question?
16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
17 Senator Sampson, do you continue to yield?
18 SENATOR SAMPSON: Of course.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
20 Senator yields.
21 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: In order
22 for the judiciary to receive a salary increase
23 from this budget, is it correct that there
24 would have to be a separate bill authorizing
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1 such an increase separate and apart from this
2 budget?
3 SENATOR SAMPSON: That's correct,
4 Senator. Through you, Mr. Chair, that is
5 correct, Senator DeFrancisco.
6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: One last
7 question, I'm sorry, just to be clear.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
9 Senator Sampson, do you continue to yield?
10 SENATOR SAMPSON: Through you,
11 Mr. President, yes, I do.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
13 Senator yields.
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Stated
15 another way, the only mechanism for a judicial
16 salary increase would be through a separate
17 piece of legislation. And just because the
18 same money is in the budget, that would not
19 authorize, for example, the head of the Office
20 of Court Administration or the Chief Judge of
21 the Court of Appeals to simply grant an
22 increase?
23 SENATOR SAMPSON: Through you,
24 Mr. President, you are correct, Senator
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1 DeFrancisco.
2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you.
3 I have no further questions.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
5 you, Senator DeFrancisco.
6 The Secretary will ring the bells.
7 I ask all Senators to proceed to the chamber
8 for purposes of a roll call.
9 The Secretary will read the last
10 section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: Slow roll call,
14 please.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
16 Secretary will proceed with a slow roll call.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Adams.
18 SENATOR ADAMS: Aye.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Addabbo.
20 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Alesi.
22 SENATOR ALESI: No.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator
24 Aubertine.
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1 SENATOR AUBERTINE: Yes.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bonacic.
3 SENATOR BONACIC: No.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Breslin.
5 SENATOR BRESLIN: Yes.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator
7 DeFrancisco.
8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: No.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Diaz.
10 SENATOR DIAZ: Yes.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Dilan.
12 SENATOR DILAN: Yes.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Duane.
14 SENATOR DUANE: Yes.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Espada.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
17 Senator Espada, to explain his vote.
18 SENATOR ESPADA: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 As this is my last vote in this
21 cycle of budget bills, many questions have
22 been asked about the economic stimulus dollar,
23 what to call it, where it is going, will it
24 stimulate, will it work.
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1 And some of the exchanges have been
2 fair. But just to be totally fair, when some
3 of us go back home Monday, courtesy of
4 Governor Paterson, who has given me permission
5 to share this, $253 million of the economic
6 stimulus budget will be going -- to Senator
7 Breslin, $18.3 million. Monday, we will get
8 to celebrate that. Senator McDonald,
9 $12.1 million in his Senate district. Senator
10 Robach, $4.7 million. Senator Robach again,
11 $6.3 million. Mr. President, $24.5 million.
12 And the list could really go on and will total
13 $253 million this Monday.
14 And those opportunities and those
15 stimuli will be present in every community.
16 So for those who have not found the gold, for
17 those who have not found the silver lining, it
18 will be present. Look for it Monday in your
19 districts and all year long.
20 Thank you very much. I vote aye.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
22 Senator Espada to be recorded in the
23 affirmative.
24 The Secretary will continue.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Farley.
2 SENATOR FARLEY: Aye -- no.
3 (Laughter.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Flanagan.
5 SENATOR FLANAGAN: No.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Foley.
7 SENATOR FOLEY: Aye.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator
9 Fuschillo.
10 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: No.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Golden.
12 SENATOR GOLDEN: No.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Griffo.
14 SENATOR GRIFFO: No.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon.
16 SENATOR HANNON: No.
17 THE SECRETARY: With unanimous
18 consent, Senator Hassell-Thompson voted in the
19 affirmative April 2.
20 Senator Huntley.
21 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Yes.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senator C.
23 Johnson.
24 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Yes.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Senator O.
2 Johnson.
3 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: No.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Klein.
5 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator
7 L. Krueger.
8 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator C.
10 Kruger.
11 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lanza.
13 SENATOR LANZA: No.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin.
15 SENATOR LARKIN: No.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator LaValle.
17 SENATOR LaVALLE: No.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Leibell.
19 SENATOR LEIBELL: No.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Libous
21 voting in the negative earlier today.
22 Senator Little.
23 SENATOR LITTLE: No.
24 THE SECRETARY: Senator
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1 Marcellino.
2 SENATOR MARCELLINO: No.
3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Maziarz.
4 SENATOR MAZIARZ: No.
5 THE SECRETARY: Senator McDonald.
6 SENATOR McDONALD: No.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator
8 Monserrate.
9 SENATOR MONSERRATE: Aye.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator
11 Montgomery.
12 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Aye.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Morahan.
14 SENATOR MORAHAN: No.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Nozzolio.
16 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: No.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Onorato.
18 SENATOR ONORATO: Yes.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator
20 Oppenheimer.
21 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Aye.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Padavan.
23 SENATOR PADAVAN: No.
24 THE SECRETARY: Senator Parker.
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1 SENATOR PARKER: Aye.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Perkins.
3 SENATOR PERKINS: Aye.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator
5 Ranzenhofer.
6 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: No.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Robach.
8 SENATOR ROBACH: No.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Saland.
10 SENATOR SALAND: No.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Sampson.
12 SENATOR SAMPSON: Yes.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Savino.
14 SENATOR SAVINO: Yes.
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator
16 Schneiderman.
17 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Serrano.
19 SENATOR SERRANO: Yes.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Seward.
21 SENATOR SEWARD: No.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Skelos.
23 SENATOR SKELOS: No.
24 THE SECRETARY: Senator Smith.
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1 SENATOR SMITH: Yes.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Squadron.
3 SENATOR SQUADRON: Yes.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator
5 Stachowski.
6 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Yes.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stavisky.
8 SENATOR STAVISKY: Yes.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator
10 Stewart-Cousins.
11 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Yes.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Thompson.
13 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Valesky.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Aye.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Volker.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
18 Senator Volker, to explain his vote.
19 SENATOR VOLKER: Well, it's not
20 quite to explain my vote.
21 I just want to announce to the
22 members that today is the 10th anniversary of
23 the death of one of the great friends of those
24 people in this chamber, John Brendan Daly, who
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1 is the predecessor of George here, and he died
2 on April 3, 1999. I just wanted to tell
3 everybody to remind them.
4 I vote no.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank
6 you. Senator Volker to be recorded in the
7 negative.
8 The Secretary will continue.
9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Winner.
10 SENATOR WINNER: No.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Young.
12 SENATOR YOUNG: No.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
14 Secretary will announce the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 32. Nays,
16 30.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The
18 bill is passed.
19 Senator Smith, that completes the
20 reading of the controversial calendar.
21 Senator Skelos.
22 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you,
23 Mr. President.
24 Normally at this time of year when
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1 we complete our budget process, and even
2 though it is three days late, we tend to
3 congratulate each other, say how hard we all
4 worked, we made difficult decisions. We pat
5 each other on the back.
6 Unfortunately, I can't stand here
7 and say that, because I feel I'd be
8 hypocritical.
9 I want to start off by thanking
10 Senator John DeFrancisco, our ranker on
11 Finance, the wonderful finance staff that we
12 have on the Republican side, and each and
13 every Republican member for participating in
14 this part of the budget process since they
15 were put on our desks, and really to expose
16 the deficiencies and really how bad this
17 budget is that the Democrats passed and that
18 we voted against and how anti-family, how
19 anti-business this budget is.
20 We start off by the process. My
21 good friends on the Democrat side of the aisle
22 pledged to the people of the State of
23 New York, when they campaigned to become the
24 majority party, how things would be different.
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1 Well, they are certainly different. Because
2 they managed, the three Democrat leaders from
3 New York City, to make this the biggest sham
4 and the most disgraceful way to negotiate a
5 budget.
6 And really what is unconscionable
7 to me, especially when so many of the members
8 here campaigned on transparency and the fact
9 that there would be openness, there would be a
10 vibrant discussion of issues, that everybody
11 would be involved -- what you did by this
12 process is not just close out us as
13 Republicans, representing almost 50 percent of
14 the state, but what's really unforgivable is
15 that you shut out the people of this great
16 state.
17 You shut out the media. And we all
18 at times have difference with the media. We
19 may not like what they write, sometimes, or
20 what they put on TV or radio. But part of our
21 process of government is for the media to
22 challenge us, to let the public know what's
23 going on, and for us to be part of the
24 process, both Republicans and Democrats.
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1 And what we saw from the three
2 leaders from New York City was a total
3 shutdown of that process. They closed the
4 curtains, they went behind closed doors --
5 everything that every single one of you here
6 said would not happen, would not happen if you
7 gained the majority. It is the worst display
8 of arrogance that I've ever seen in Albany
9 since I've been here now for my 25th year.
10 We may have had disagreements on
11 process in the past. But under the Senate
12 majority we opened up the process. We started
13 joint conference committees. There were
14 resolutions. There were budgets put out on
15 the floor. There were joint conference
16 committees. There was something out there for
17 us to see as members, but even more important,
18 for the press to see and for our public to
19 see -- our voters, our taxpayers, those who
20 are struggling, those who have had it, like
21 Senator Fuschillo indicated.
22 And nobody ever said it better on
23 this floor than Senator George Maziarz, who
24 spoke so eloquently on behalf of the
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1 hardworking, overtaxed families of New York
2 State.
3 So in all honesty, I can't say this
4 has been a great process. I can't say or
5 accept when some will say these are difficult
6 times so difficult choices had to be made and
7 they had to be made behind closed doors. A
8 Governor who has indicated -- and he was going
9 to be a great reformer -- how the process
10 would be open. And then he says, "Well, you
11 can't negotiate a budget in public."
12 Why not? Why can't you negotiate a
13 budget in public? We represent the people.
14 And they have a right to know what we're
15 negotiating, not just a couple of days before
16 these are plopped, thousands of pages, on our
17 desks, and they're expected to go through that
18 and understand fully how these documents
19 impact their everyday lives.
20 The people of the State of
21 New York, our hardworking folks, have really
22 had it. I have never, never, in all the years
23 that I've been here -- and I've dealt with
24 difficult budgets -- have I seen such an
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1 outpouring of disgust, anguish, and fear by my
2 constituents and by all of the constituents
3 that we represent on this side of the aisle
4 and quite frankly that you represent on your
5 side of the aisle. Republicans, Democrats.
6 And yet the Democrat side of the
7 aisle, the Democrat Governor and the Democrat
8 Speaker, you turned your backs on those
9 people. You didn't make tough choices. You
10 just overspent and you taxed. Taxed, make
11 it -- just keep taxing. By raising taxes the
12 way you did, $8 billion to spend $13 billion
13 more, and growing.
14 That's the coward's way of doing
15 it, by raising taxes. That's the easy way.
16 That's not the hard way. You put some figures
17 together, you pop up some percentage points,
18 you attack the so-called rich, you don't tell
19 the people that it's the small-businesspeople
20 that you're attacking with income tax
21 increases, the utility increases, the fee
22 increases.
23 That's why you want it to be behind
24 closed doors, because you did not want the
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1 people of the State of New York to know what
2 you were going to do to them. You didn't
3 listen to Tom DiNapoli, Democrat Comptroller,
4 who said this budget is totally out of whack
5 and unsustainable -- not just now, but down
6 the road.
7 So, Mr. President, I'm just going
8 to conclude by saying thank you to my
9 Republican colleagues for standing up for
10 middle-income families, for hardworking
11 families, the people that are holding down
12 sometimes two and three jobs to make ends
13 meet. I thank you for standing up.
14 And I hope when my friends on the
15 Democrat side of the aisle go home that they
16 listen to people in their districts, they
17 listen to them about what you did to small
18 businesses, what you have done to utility
19 rates, what you have done to increase the
20 costs of health insurance premiums, what
21 you've done to increase license fees,
22 registration fees, tax on wine, tax on beer,
23 tax on cigars -- anything, you taxed it. And
24 that was wrong.
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1 So hopefully, hopefully at some
2 point the Democrats will come to your senses,
3 the Governor will come to his senses. He does
4 have an opportunity to eliminate, through
5 veto, some of these things.
6 But I hope you come to your senses
7 and understand that this is not about patting
8 yourself on the back and saying what a great
9 job we did during these difficult times. Your
10 job is to represent the people of this state,
11 your constituents, and not make their lives
12 more difficult during these difficult
13 recession economic times.
14 So I appreciate, Mr. President, the
15 courtesy for allowing me to speak.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
17 Senator Smith.
18 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you very
19 much, Mr. President.
20 This week we saw and were a part of
21 two things that I believe should help all of
22 us put our life into some perspective.
23 We saw Senator Ruth
24 Hassell-Thompson, a dear colleague of ours,
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1 who became ill. And because of her commitment
2 to her career and her job, because of other
3 commitments to each and every one of you in
4 this chamber and those of you under the sound
5 of my voice, she pulled herself out of the
6 hospital in a wheelchair, twice, and came to
7 this chamber to do her job.
8 Whether you disagree or agree with
9 her in terms of what she believes in, her
10 ideology, the bottom line is her commitment to
11 the job, to the people of this state, is very
12 clear by her action.
13 You saw our dear colleague Senator
14 Libous, who spent 45 minutes with me in my
15 office almost in tears about what was
16 happening in Binghamton. He got on the phone,
17 and I suggested to him, "Check with your wife,
18 where is she, where is your children" -- he
19 said in the Bronx, he wasn't worried. And I
20 said, "Make sure your family is nowhere in
21 that surroundings."
22 Senator Adams was in my office and
23 ministered to him by telling him what to do
24 with his office in terms of dealing with the
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1 people that was at a scene, a law enforcement
2 scene, that took them by surprise. He
3 explained to him what he should be doing.
4 Didn't matter that Senator Libous
5 had a different ideology than Senator Ruth
6 Hassell-Thompson, didn't matter that Senator
7 Libous or Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson had a
8 different ideology than Senator Carl Kruger or
9 Senator Bonacic.
10 What mattered was that there was
11 two moments that occurred that required us as
12 members of a body to rise above everything and
13 recognize that there is a purpose for us being
14 here, and we have to be there for each other
15 when that moment occurs, like it or not.
16 We have colleagues here who did a
17 tremendous job -- on both sides of the aisle.
18 I heard most of the debate. Senator Carl
19 Kruger did a tremendous job.
20 My colleague, my deputy, my friend
21 Senator Jeff Klein did a tremendous job,
22 sitting here hours and hours over the last
23 three or four days, taking a lot of grief,
24 taking a lot of accusations.
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1 Senator Valesky, things being
2 spoken to him that we thought shouldn't be
3 spoken on the floor of the Senate.
4 But we stayed here, and we did our
5 job. The staff on both sides worked countless
6 hours, from three weeks ago, 24 hours a day,
7 seven days a week. Eating pizza, peanut
8 butter and jelly, anything that was required
9 to keep their energy high. On both sides of
10 the aisle. I can't imagine what you went
11 through. But I know we all went through a
12 lot, and I thank the staff tremendously.
13 My colleagues, again, whether it
14 was Senator Adams, whether it was Senator
15 Parker, whether it was Senator Liz Krueger,
16 whether it was Senator Schneiderman, whether
17 it was Tom Duane, whether it was my good
18 friend Antoine Thompson, Toby Stavisky,
19 Shirley Huntley, whether it was Craig Johnson,
20 whether it was Brian Foley.
21 The bottom line is -- Senator
22 Espada, Senator Monserrate -- everyone put
23 time in because they believed in why they were
24 here.
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1 I want to thank the Governor, and I
2 want to thank the Speaker as well. Because
3 they also were part of doing what they thought
4 was the best thing for all of us.
5 But I do want to put a little bit
6 of this in some perspective, and I want to
7 read something that was a Post editorial.
8 It says: "There was much ballyhoo
9 about a not-late budget approved by
10 legislators last week, which may not have been
11 late, but it was incomplete, it was not openly
12 arrived at, and it was not honest." That was
13 in 2005. You were in the majority.
14 Then let's go further. The
15 editorial says, about conference committees --
16 I didn't write this; it's the Post, 2005 --
17 "The public seemed to be largely appeased by
18 the mock negotiating sessions in which
19 lawmakers pretended to hash out spending plans
20 but in reality discussed the agreements that
21 had already been agreed to behind closed
22 doors." 2005. I didn't write that.
23 I've got one more for you, because
24 I know there was much discussion about
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1 spending. And we all know that you cannot cut
2 your way back to prosperity. The President,
3 thank God for him, understands that every
4 economist from here to Europe has told you
5 that you have to spend money in order to
6 stimulate the economy, especially in this kind
7 of recession.
8 "Pataki figures the true price of
9 the budget will be $115 billion. Four years
10 ago, the bill was $91 billion, including
11 boatloads of fat and waste. This year, it
12 will be some $25 billion more, a whopping
13 27 percent jump." That was 2005-2006.
14 This budget is not a 25 percent
15 jump. This budget is not $25 billion more
16 than last year. The budget this year is
17 $131.8 billion. I think Senator Krueger and
18 Senator Kruger spelled it out very carefully
19 to you. $7.2 billion was stimulus.
20 $2 billion restoration -- that's real money --
21 for hospitals, for schools, for programs in
22 many of your districts; SUNY, very important
23 to all of us.
24 $1.2 billion reappropriation for
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1 capital. Most of that capital money is your
2 projects. We wasn't in the majority last
3 year. Your capital money has not been
4 released yet. That's your money.
5 Debt service. Your debt service.
6 We did not bond the future like the Pataki
7 eras. You did that.
8 Now, let's talk about what this
9 budget does. By enacting this budget, a
10 $17.7 billion gap that we had, we have reduced
11 our multiyear deficit by 80 percent. This is
12 real economic math. $60 billion multiyear
13 deficit, it now goes down to $11 billion.
14 Check the rating companies. Check your
15 economists. This is good budgeting.
16 Let's talk about the General Fund.
17 $55.3 billion General Fund. We decreased the
18 General Fund, by the way, by $21 million from
19 your budget from last year, which is actually,
20 when you adjust it for inflation, a 3 percent
21 cut in spending.
22 Don't feel bad about this budget,
23 my colleagues. You did the right thing.
24 Now let's talk a little bit about
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1 the PIT. Because I know everybody says the
2 PIT, you did a $4 billion PIT, you're taxing
3 people out of the State of New York. They're
4 all leaving. Everybody making over $200,000,
5 $300,000 are leaving.
6 And I know some of you make over
7 $200,000. You're not leaving. I know you're
8 not leaving.
9 But more importantly, let's put
10 that in perspective, ladies and gentlemen, my
11 colleagues, my staff, staff on both sides.
12 Ninety-six percent of the people in the State
13 of New York are not impacted by the PIT. I'll
14 say it again. Ninety-six percent of the
15 people in the State of New York are not
16 impacted by this PIT.
17 Four percent. And I think some of
18 you on this side of the aisle are in that
19 4 percent, and I'm sorry. But I don't think
20 you'll leave. I think you will help out the
21 State of New York because you're committed
22 public servants and you know that means trying
23 to put us back on track. And I thank you for
24 that.
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1 In terms of the process, am I happy
2 with the process? Absolutely not. Where I
3 pointed out the process to you in 2005 and
4 2006, it wasn't to point a finger and it
5 wasn't to say two wrongs make a right. Two
6 wrongs do not make a right.
7 We have to do better. We
8 campaigned on reform. We campaigned on
9 transparency. We changed the rules when we
10 first got here so that Senator Bonacic and
11 Senator Valesky could chair a reform committee
12 which they will put out a report by the 24th
13 to both Dean and I. And we together are going
14 to make some adjustments on how this chamber
15 is run.
16 But we did not create this moment.
17 We inherited this moment. All we did was make
18 tough decisions about a bad situation that was
19 created 12 years ago. And I appreciate your
20 passion, but I need all of you to take a
21 moment and think about the past. You created
22 this past.
23 And on top of this was the
24 recession, which we didn't create.
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1 Foreclosure markets, deregulation down on
2 Wall Street, we all know about that. That
3 contributed to what is now one of the worst
4 economic moments in our history. But on top
5 of that, it was the out-of-control spending
6 that went on for 12 years. So all we're
7 trying to do is correct it.
8 We can't cut our way back to
9 prosperity. We have to spend some money. So
10 you heard my colleague Senator Duane:
11 $800 million in restorations for hospitals,
12 $16 million for upstate hospitals, suburban
13 and community hospitals.
14 You heard my colleague Suzi
15 Oppenheimer talk about school funding at the
16 2008-2009 level, maintain foundation aid and
17 high tax aid, restore teacher centers and
18 libraries.
19 Toby Stavisky talked about full
20 restoration, $42 million, of SUNY and CUNY,
21 $65 million full restoration of college base
22 aid. Medgar Evers is going to have its senior
23 college status. $25 million for SUNY
24 hospitals.
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1 You heard Senator Antoine Thompson,
2 his bottle bill, 20 percent back to
3 distributors, $22 million for parks and for
4 botanical gardens. A green initiative in
5 Buffalo.
6 Rockefeller drug laws, you heard
7 Senators Hassell-Thompson, Schneiderman, and
8 Sampson. Forty years, that law has not
9 changed. It will save us close to
10 $250 million, a quarter of a billion dollars
11 that we can recycle. Fourteen-hundred police
12 officers back on our streets. Operation
13 S.N.U.G. Gun violence, gang violence, gun
14 violence, shooting people -- this program
15 helps to change that and stop that.
16 Bill Stachowski: Film industry, we
17 get $3 for every $1 we invest. Centers for
18 Advanced Technology. Waterfront development
19 in Buffalo.
20 Senator Espada, rural housing
21 assistance, $25 million in foreclosure
22 prevention.
23 Senator Dilan, a billion dollars
24 for highways, $2 billion for rails.
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1 And as much as we talked about the
2 STAR program, there is still $3.3 billion in
3 property tax relief through the STAR program.
4 Do we have to do mandate relief?
5 Yes, and we will. Do we have to deal with
6 property taxes? Yes, and we will. Do we have
7 to deal with the MTA so that bridges and roads
8 in upstate and suburban Long Island get their
9 just due? Yes, and we will.
10 And we did all of that, as my good
11 friend Senator Kruger told you, with 13 public
12 hearings. That's pretty public. Four hundred
13 twenty-eight groups testified at those
14 hearings. That's pretty public. One thousand
15 letters that we received in one office; that
16 was pretty public.
17 You heard Senator Maziarz. Welcome
18 to the 21st century; I heard you talk about
19 Twitter and MySpace, all the social networks.
20 God bless you for that, because that's the
21 real world. We had 10,000 hits on our social
22 network. One thousand pages of testimony.
23 Now, could we have done better than
24 that, colleagues? There's no question. But
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1 that clearly was not a secret process. Many
2 of you, whether you felt it was accessible at
3 the rate that you wanted it to, had dialogue
4 and sent communication to our colleagues.
5 Some of that information that you shared with
6 them was in the budget, and you heard that
7 during these last three days of testimony.
8 So what I'm saying to each and
9 every one of you is -- and I differ with my
10 respected colleague, Senator Skelos. I think
11 you have a lot to be proud of. Because you
12 know when leadership is made? Leadership is
13 made when crisis is at its best. And we are
14 at a crisis right now, ladies and gentlemen.
15 Don't be fooled. There is no state in this
16 country, no state in this country that is not
17 at crisis level. And this is the year that
18 Democrats and Republicans, the 62 members of
19 this body, put New York State in a place where
20 it's going to be back on track.
21 Are there some things that are
22 going to hurt? There's no question about it.
23 You think I want to tax people? I ran a
24 business for 12 years, real estate
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1 development. The last thing I want to do is
2 tax my income. I need my money. But at the
3 same time, we have an obligation to take care
4 of those who need being taken care of. That's
5 just the way life is.
6 We are not going to be here
7 forever. There are generations coming after
8 us. We are here for the purpose of those next
9 generations. And whether you like it or not,
10 that's the obligation that you accepted when
11 you signed your oath of office, for good or
12 bad or indifferent. It's like marriage, till
13 death do you part. You have to be there for
14 good times and bad times.
15 And this may not be the best of
16 times, but we're here. We are here. And so
17 now we have to do our job.
18 So I appreciate your passion. I
19 understand your passion, Senator Fuschillo. I
20 understand your passion, Senator Maziarz. I
21 understand your passion also, Senator Morahan.
22 But look at me in my eyes. Do you
23 really believe that I came to this place, like
24 my colleagues, to hurt somebody? Do you
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1 really believe that I came to this august
2 body, like my colleagues, because we wanted to
3 devastate somebody's life, that we wanted to
4 destroy somebody's business, that we wanted to
5 make sure somebody moves out of the State of
6 New York?
7 You don't believe that for one
8 moment. There's just no way you want to
9 believe that. You know me. You know my
10 heart, you know my passion. You know my
11 colleagues, when you talk to each other when
12 you're inside that room, the lounge, different
13 from this floor.
14 And I tell you as I stand here
15 before you, we all have an obligation to do
16 what's best for this state. This is not the
17 best of times, Mr. President. But I will tell
18 you, the best of times is coming.
19 And all we have to do is stand
20 firm, deliver the bad news like leadership can
21 do, be forward and honest, but at the same
22 time deliver the good news that we stood up
23 and did what we had to do during one of the
24 worst crises in the State of New York. And
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1 God will bless all of us for taking on the
2 challenge that we took on today.
3 Thank you very much.
4 (Applause.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
6 Senator Smith.
7 SENATOR SMITH: Mr. President, is
8 there any further business at the desk?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
10 Senator Smith, the desk is clear.
11 SENATOR SMITH: There being none,
12 Mr. President, I move that we adjourn until
13 Monday, April 6, at 3:00 p.m., intervening
14 days to be legislative days.
15 And I would ask that the Democratic
16 Majority come to the Majority Conference Room
17 for a five-minute conference.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: On a
19 motion by Senator Smith, and there being no
20 further business to come before the Senate,
21 the Senate stands adjourned until Monday,
22 April 6th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening days
23 being legislative days.
24 (Whereupon, at 4:45 p.m., the Senate adjourned.)
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