Regular Session - March 8, 2010
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1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 March 8, 2010
11 3:44 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR ANDREA STEWART-COUSINS, Acting President
19 ANGELO J. APONTE, Secretary
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21
22
23
24
25
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
3 The Senate will please come to order.
4 I ask everyone present to rise and
5 recite with me the Pledge of Allegiance to our
6 Flag.
7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
10 In the absence of clergy, may we all bow our
11 heads in a moment of silence.
12 (Whereupon, the assemblage
13 respected a moment of silence.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
15 The reading of the Journal.
16 The Secretary will read.
17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
18 Sunday, March 7, the Senate met pursuant to
19 adjournment. The Journal of Saturday,
20 March 6, was read and approved. On motion,
21 Senate adjourned.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
23 Without objection, the Journal stands approved
24 as read.
25 Presentation of petitions.
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1 Messages from the Assembly.
2 Messages from the Governor.
3 Reports of standing committees.
4 Reports of select committees.
5 Communications and reports from
6 state officers.
7 Motions and resolutions.
8 Senator Klein.
9 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
10 I have several motions.
11 First, on behalf of Senator
12 Thompson, I move to recommit Senate Print
13 Number 2766, Calendar Number 34 on the order
14 of third reading, to the Committee on Finance.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
16 So ordered.
17 Senator Klein.
18 SENATOR KLEIN: On behalf of
19 Senator Oppenheimer, I move to recommit Senate
20 Print Number 3315, Calendar Number 44 on the
21 order of third reading, to the Committee on
22 Local Government.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
24 So ordered.
25 Senator Klein.
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1 SENATOR KLEIN: On behalf of
2 Senator Schneiderman, I move that the
3 following bill be discharged from its
4 respective committee and be recommitted with
5 instructions to strike the enacting clause:
6 Senate Bill Number 1633.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
8 So ordered.
9 Senator Klein.
10 SENATOR KLEIN: And, Madam
11 President, on behalf of Senator Montgomery, I
12 move that the following bill be discharged
13 from its respective committee and be
14 recommitted with instructions to strike the
15 enacting clause: Senate Bill Number 1293A.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
17 So ordered.
18 Senator Klein.
19 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
20 are there any substitutions at the desk?
21 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
22 Yes, there are.
23 The Secretary will read.
24 THE SECRETARY: On page 9,
25 Senator Sampson moves to discharge, from the
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1 Committee on Codes, Assembly Bill Number 7395
2 and substitute it for the identical Senate
3 Bill Number 4534, Third Reading Calendar 132.
4 On page 12, Senator Dilan moves to
5 discharge, from the Committee on Codes,
6 Assembly Bill Number 225A and substitute it
7 for the identical Senate Bill Number 1169B,
8 Third Reading Calendar 187.
9 On page 12, Senator Schneiderman
10 moves to discharge, from the Committee on
11 Codes, Assembly Bill Number 5537A and
12 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
13 Number 4593A, Third Reading Calendar 188.
14 On page 12, Senator Dilan moves to
15 discharge, from the Committee on Codes,
16 Assembly Bill Number 4467A and substitute it
17 for the identical Senate Bill Number 5172A,
18 Third Reading Calendar 190.
19 On page 13, Senator Huntley moves
20 to discharge, from the Committee on Codes,
21 Assembly Bill Number 9534 and substitute it
22 for the identical Senate Bill Number 6728,
23 Third Reading Calendar 192.
24 On page 13, Senator Valesky moves
25 to discharge, from the Committee on Local
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1 Government, Assembly Bill Number 901A and
2 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
3 Number 2831A, Third Reading Calendar 198.
4 And on page 14, Senator Stavisky
5 moves to discharge, from the Committee on
6 Finance, Assembly Bill Number 8220 and
7 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
8 Number 4199, Third Reading Calendar 201.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
10 Substitutions ordered.
11 Senator Klein.
12 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
13 I believe Senator Sampson has a resolution at
14 the desk. I ask that the title of the
15 resolution be read and move for its immediate
16 adoption.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
18 Senator Klein, has this resolution been deemed
19 privileged and submitted by the office of the
20 Temporary President?
21 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has,
22 Madam President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
24 Thank you.
25 The Secretary will read.
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1 THE SECRETARY: By Senators
2 Sampson, Squadron, Stavisky and Duane,
3 legislative resolution commending
4 Asian-Americans for Equality upon the occasion
5 of its 36th Annual Lunar New Year Banquet on
6 March 11, 2010.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
8 The question is on the resolution. All those
9 in favor of adopting the resolution signify by
10 saying aye.
11 (Response of "Aye.")
12 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
13 Opposed, nay.
14 (No response.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
16 The resolution is adopted.
17 Senator Klein.
18 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
19 I believe Senator Volker has a resolution at
20 the desk. I ask that the title of the
21 resolution be read and move for its immediate
22 adoption.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
24 Senator Klein, has this resolution been deemed
25 privileged and submitted by the office of the
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1 Temporary President?
2 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has,
3 Madam President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
5 The Secretary will read.
6 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
7 Volker, legislative resolution commending
8 Niall Burgess, Consul General of Ireland at
9 New York, upon the occasion of his designation
10 for special recognition by the New York State
11 American Irish Legislators Society at its
12 Annual Dinner.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
14 Senator Volker.
15 SENATOR VOLKER: I would just
16 like to remind everybody that tonight is the
17 annual Irish-American Dinner at the Hibernian
18 Hall. And we hope to have the usual Irish
19 ruckus there.
20 And this resolution I'm going to
21 present to Niall Burgess, who's the consul
22 general of Ireland, at the dinner. And I
23 appreciate the passage of this resolution on
24 this date.
25 Thank you.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
2 Thank you, Senator Volker.
3 Are there any Senators wishing to
4 be heard on the resolution?
5 Then the question is on the
6 resolution. All those in favor please signify
7 by saying aye.
8 (Response of "Aye.")
9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
10 Opposed, nay.
11 (No response.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
13 The resolution is adopted.
14 Senator Volker has indicated that
15 he'd like to open this resolution up to the
16 entire body for cosponsorship. Any Senator
17 wishing to not be on the resolution please
18 inform the desk.
19 Senator Klein.
20 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
21 at this time can we please move to a reading
22 of the calendar.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
24 The Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
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1 61, by Member of the Assembly Gabryszak,
2 Assembly Bill Number 9925, an act to amend the
3 Civil Service Law, in relation to resolution.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
5 Read the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
9 Call the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
15 The bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 174, by Senator Squadron, Senate Print 5577A,
18 an act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
19 Law, in relation to making provisions.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
21 Read the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
25 Call the roll.
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1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
3 Announce the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
6 The bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 176, by Senator Klein, Senate Print 5726, an
9 act to amend the Not-for-Profit Corporation
10 Law, in relation to reacquisition.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
12 Read the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
16 Call the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
21 Calendar Number 176, recorded in the negative,
22 Senator Marcellino.
23 Ayes, 56. Nays, 1.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
25 The bill is passed.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 178, by Senator L. Krueger, Senate Print
3 4260A, an act to amend the Real Property Tax
4 Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
6 Read the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
10 Call the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
13 Senator Saland, to explain his vote.
14 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Madam
15 President. To explain my vote.
16 Madam President, I'm voting against
17 this bill not because it adds or specifies a
18 designee from New York City to be on this
19 particular Real Property Services Board, but
20 by inference it elevates one geographic area
21 of the state over a host of other geographic
22 areas or regions of the state.
23 And this particular region of the
24 state, while it experiences real property
25 issues -- as do all others -- it historically
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1 has had a maintenance of effort that's lower
2 than any other region of the state. So I
3 don't know why we're picking just the City of
4 New York when there are a host of other
5 regions that would be crying out for the same
6 type of membership.
7 And I'm going to, as I mentioned
8 when I rose, vote in the negative.
9 Thank you, Madam President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
11 Senator Saland to be recorded in the negative.
12 Senator DeFrancisco.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, this
14 bill is extremely ironic, being from Central
15 New York.
16 We have a government now with a
17 Governor from New York City, a Lieutenant
18 Governor from New York City -- a nonelected,
19 by the way, Lieutenant Governor from New York
20 City. We've got an Attorney General from
21 New York City, we've got an Assembly
22 overwhelmingly controlled by New York City,
23 we've got a Senate Majority, 23 out of the 33
24 Majority, from New York City.
25 We're still waiting, by the way,
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1 for our road and bridge money after the MTA
2 bailout.
3 We also have a chairman of Finance
4 from New York City, a vice chairman of Finance
5 from New York City, and I could go on to each
6 of the various positions in the State Senate.
7 And it seems to me that if anybody
8 needs protection, it's those regions outside
9 of New York City, in view of the New York
10 City-centric government that we currently have
11 at the present time.
12 So I vote no.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
14 Senator DeFrancisco to be recorded in the
15 negative.
16 Are there any other Senators
17 wishing to explain his or her vote?
18 Hearing none, announce the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
20 the negative on Calendar Number 178 are
21 Senators Alesi, Bonacic, DeFrancisco, Farley,
22 Griffo, Hannon, Larkin, LaValle, Leibell,
23 Little, Marcellino, Ranzenhofer, Robach,
24 Saland, Skelos, Winner and Young. Also
25 Senator Flanagan.
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1 Ayes, 39. Nays, 18.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
3 The bill is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 185, by Senator Duane --
6 SENATOR KLEIN: Lay the bill
7 aside for the day.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
9 The bill is laid aside for the day.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 192, substituted earlier by Member of the
12 Assembly Gordon, Assembly Print Number 9534,
13 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
14 endangering the welfare.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
16 Read the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
18 act shall take effect on the 60th day.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
20 Call the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
23 Announce the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
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1 The bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 197, by Senator Aubertine, Senate Print 2813B,
4 an act to amend the Public Authorities Law and
5 the Executive Law, in relation to
6 establishing.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
8 Read the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
12 Call the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
15 Announce the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
17 the negative on Calendar Number 197 are
18 Senators Golden, Marcellino and Ranzenhofer.
19 Ayes, 54. Nays, 3.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
21 The bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 200, by Senator Oppenheimer, Senate Print
24 3903A, an act to amend the Education Law, in
25 relation to cooperative competitive bidding.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
2 Read the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
6 Call the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
9 Announce the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
12 Senator DeFrancisco, to explain his vote.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I'm
14 voting in the affirmative. This is an
15 excellent bill, especially in view of the fact
16 that libraries are completely hammered by the
17 Governor's proposed budget. And it's
18 important to be able to do things much more
19 efficiently, and by cooperative bidding, that
20 will help.
21 And speaking of the budget, we're
22 well past 10 days from the date that the
23 Governor submitted the budget to the
24 Legislature. And we're rapidly approaching
25 April 1.
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1 And the law that we passed to
2 reform the system -- I know we have a lot of
3 reformers in this room -- that law says that
4 we're supposed to have conference committees
5 appointed. Not only -- and a schedule of open
6 conference -- joint conference committees by
7 the Assembly and the Senate.
8 We are now approaching -- I think
9 it's almost two and a half weeks to the
10 budget, three weeks when we're supposed to
11 have the budget in. So I would request that
12 in addition to passing wonderful bills like
13 this one, that I vote in the affirmative, it
14 might be a good idea to follow the law that we
15 already have and the reformers that we have in
16 this room who sued for reform, who campaigned
17 on reform, who got a majority based upon
18 reform, who speak reform on a daily basis,
19 follow the rules as they exist, because that
20 was reform. And that would help us start the
21 budget process.
22 And it doesn't help just to blame
23 the Governor for his failures or his being
24 distracted. The fact of the matter is the
25 Governor proposed the budget, proposed 21-day
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1 amendments. It's up to the Legislature to do
2 their job.
3 So we're waiting, and we're waiting
4 not so patiently.
5 Thank you, Madam President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
7 Thank you, Senator DeFrancisco, who was
8 recorded in the affirmative.
9 And the bill has passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 202, by Senator C. Kruger, Senate --
12 SENATOR KLEIN: Lay the bill
13 aside for the day.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
15 The bill is laid aside for the day.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 204, by Senator Aubertine, Senate Print 4837,
18 an act to amend the Highway Law, in relation
19 to permitting.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
21 Read the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
25 Call the roll.
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1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
3 Senator Montgomery, to explain her vote.
4 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Madam
5 President. I rise in favor of this
6 legislation, and I thank Senator Aubertine for
7 introducing it.
8 It certainly is revenue-neutral as
9 it relates to the state, because it simply
10 authorizes farmers to advertise their goods on
11 state highways.
12 And I think this is an absolutely
13 wonderful idea, and I'm happy that we're
14 paying attention in small as well as large
15 ways to what happens to farmers upstate.
16 And I take this opportunity to
17 thank the farmers, the many, many farmers who
18 every weekend, even beginning now and on
19 through the spring and through the summer and
20 into the fall, come down to New York City and
21 bring fresh produce to people in my district
22 and all over the city. We welcome them. We
23 thank them because, for many communities that
24 I represent, they really are the only source
25 of fresh produce.
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1 And so it's the farmers in New York
2 State serving the citizens of New York State
3 in urban areas like mine where we don't have
4 our own farms -- maybe one or two small
5 ones -- but they really make the difference
6 for us. And so we thank them. And certainly
7 I'm happy to support them being able to
8 advertise on the highways in our state.
9 Thank you, Madam President. I vote
10 aye.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
12 Senator Montgomery to be recorded in the
13 affirmative.
14 Are there any other Senators
15 wishing to explain his or her vote?
16 Announce the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. Nays,
18 0.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
20 The bill is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 205, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 5182A, an
23 act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
24 Law, in relation to exemption.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
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1 Read the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
5 Call the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
9 The bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 207, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 6602, an
12 act making appropriations for the legal
13 requirements of the state debt service.
14 SENATOR WINNER: Lay it aside.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
16 The bill is laid aside.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 211, by Senator Addabbo --
19 SENATOR KLEIN: Lay the bill
20 aside for the day.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
22 The bill is laid aside for the day.
23 Senator Klein, that completes the
24 reading of the noncontroversial calendar.
25 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
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1 can we please go to a reading of the
2 controversial calendar.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
4 The Secretary will ring the bell. Members are
5 all asked to come to the chamber for the
6 controversial reading of the calendar.
7 The Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 207, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 6602, an
10 act making appropriations for the legal
11 requirements.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
13 Senator Flanagan.
14 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Madam
15 President, could we get an explanation of the
16 bill?
17 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
18 Senator Kruger, an explanation has been
19 requested.
20 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Thank you.
21 Through you, Madam President.
22 The bill is a simple one. It
23 provides for the mandatory payment of our debt
24 service for the fiscal year.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
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1 Senator Flanagan.
2 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Madam
3 President, would Senator Kruger yield to
4 several questions?
5 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
6 Senator Kruger, do you yield?
7 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Let's take
8 them one at a time.
9 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Would Senator
10 Kruger yield to a question?
11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
12 Senator Kruger, do you yield to a question?
13 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
15 Senator Kruger yields.
16 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Senator
17 Kruger, what's the total amount of debt
18 service authorized in this bill?
19 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: $5.86
20 billion.
21 SENATOR FLANAGAN: My
22 understanding --
23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
24 Senator Flanagan --
25 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Through you,
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1 Madam President, would Senator Kruger continue
2 to yield?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
4 Senator Kruger, do you continue to yield?
5 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do.
6 SENATOR FLANAGAN: My
7 understanding, in reviewing this with our own
8 staff, is that the total appropriation
9 authority is for $9.29 billion.
10 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: That's
11 correct.
12 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Madam
13 President, through you, would Senator Kruger
14 continue to yield?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
16 Senator Kruger, do you continue to yield?
17 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do.
18 SENATOR FLANAGAN: I realize this
19 is esoteric, it's technical, it's not the most
20 exciting thing in the world. But I'm trying
21 to figure out how can I go back, when people
22 are going to ask potential questions about
23 this, and properly explain the details.
24 Because in reality, what we're doing as part
25 of this exercise today is starting the budget
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1 process, certainly in the form of passing
2 bills.
3 So my initial two questions now
4 give me a contradictory set of facts. On the
5 one hand, you said it authorizes
6 $5.86 billion. And then I asked you if it was
7 really $9.29 billion, and you said yes, it
8 was. So what is the answer? Is it
9 $9.29 billion or $5.86 billion?
10 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: $5.86
11 billion cash.
12 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Okay. And
13 Madam President, through you, would Senator
14 Kruger continue to yield?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
16 Senator Kruger --
17 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
19 Senator Kruger continues to yield.
20 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Senator
21 Kruger, what makes up that difference? If
22 it's $5.86 billion in cash, what's the rest of
23 it? Because that's not a small amount of
24 money.
25 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: No, it's a
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1 large amount of money, actually.
2 It's contingent upon several
3 factors. Firstly, we're also looking -- when
4 you're talking about that $9.2 billion, we're
5 also talking about a -- it's a -- well, let's
6 go simple. I'll try to keep it for myself.
7 The $5.86 billion is an increase.
8 When we start going to the $9.2 billion, an
9 increased $718 million, which would be based
10 upon the budget as proposed, which would be
11 actual -- that would be the appropriation. So
12 that's number one.
13 The total expenditures for the
14 state debt service are projected at
15 $6.4 billion for 2010-2011, which would be an
16 increase of $8.12 million, which is a
17 14.3 percent increase.
18 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Madam
19 President, through you, would Senator Kruger
20 continue to yield?
21 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
22 Senator Kruger, do you continue to yield?
23 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do.
24 SENATOR FLANAGAN: I believe you
25 said $5.86 billion and then an additional --
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1 was it $800 million or 600 million?
2 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: $718
3 million.
4 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Comprising
5 what?
6 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: It's an
7 increase year over year.
8 SENATOR FLANAGAN: I'm not
9 worried about the increase year over year.
10 I'm worried about what authority are we giving
11 to DOB and to the Executive to play with that
12 other money, the roughly $3.5 billion. What
13 makes up that $3.5 billion?
14 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Well, the
15 contingent appropriation would be
16 $2.766 billion.
17 SENATOR FLANAGAN: And what is
18 that --
19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
20 Senator Flanagan --
21 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Madam
22 President, through you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
24 Senator Kruger, do you continue to yield?
25 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do.
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1 SENATOR FLANAGAN: What is that
2 money supposed to be for? Because that --
3 again, if we're talking in the context of the
4 budget, we're talking about a substantial
5 amount of new debt or debt service being
6 available to the Division of the Budget.
7 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Just to
8 clarify that point, Senator -- through you,
9 Madam President -- there is no new debt in
10 this bill. This is to pay our obligations of
11 prior debt.
12 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Madam
13 President, would Senator Kruger continue to
14 yield?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
16 Senator Kruger?
17 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
19 He yields.
20 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Senator
21 Kruger, it's my understanding that there is
22 money in here to provide for new debt service
23 for capital projects that will be issued in
24 fiscal year 2010-2011. Is that accurate or
25 not?
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1 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: There are
2 no new capital programs.
3 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Madam
4 President, through you, would Senator Kruger
5 continue to yield?
6 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
7 Senator Kruger, do you continue to yield?
8 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do.
9 SENATOR FLANAGAN: I appreciate
10 the answer. That was not my question.
11 My question is, are we providing
12 new authority to pay debt service for capital
13 projects that may come into existence in the
14 next budget? I know there are no new capital
15 programs right now, but would there possibly
16 be under this legislation?
17 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Through
18 you, Madam President, no.
19 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Madam
20 President, through you. Would Senator Kruger
21 continue to yield?
22 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
23 Senator Kruger, do you continue to yield?
24 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Yes, I do.
25 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Senator
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1 Kruger, I have in front of me a list of new
2 sales from five different authorities and
3 agencies that are projected for fiscal year
4 2010-2011, approximately $4.5 billion in new
5 debt, which would call for $155 million in new
6 debt service that would be part of this bill
7 that we're doing today.
8 I didn't make this bill, the
9 Governor made this bill, and you're presenting
10 it to us. So how is that -- how does that fly
11 with what you're telling me? Because I'm
12 going on information that was provided by the
13 Division of the Budget and the Executive. It
14 clearly says that we are giving them authority
15 for the issuance of new debt.
16 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Through
17 you, Madam President, I guess in terms that we
18 can understand, there is no new debt. This is
19 debt to pay for existing programs as they move
20 forward.
21 SENATOR FLANAGAN: I have one
22 last question for Senator Kruger, if he would.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
24 Senator Kruger, do you yield?
25 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: My
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1 pleasure. Thank you.
2 SENATOR FLANAGAN: I want to be
3 clear. I do not for one second -- I don't
4 think any of us want to be an agent of delay.
5 But it is March 8th, and our fiscal year ends
6 March 31st. Why are we doing this bill today
7 when we haven't even started any other part of
8 the budget?
9 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Well,
10 through you, Madam President, I guess we could
11 say that we're sending, as my ranker on
12 Finance wanted to point out -- you said this
13 is the first budget bill. We want to send a
14 very clear and compelling message to the
15 bankers and to the bond markets and all the
16 other folks out there that want to listen that
17 we're in the process of developing a budget.
18 This is not new debt, this is debt
19 that we're obligated to pay. And under
20 authority, we will pay it.
21 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Madam
22 President, on the bill.
23 Thank you, Senator Kruger.
24 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Thank you.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
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1 Senator Flanagan, on the bill.
2 SENATOR FLANAGAN: I just want to
3 offer some general comments in relation to the
4 process that we are purportedly starting
5 today, otherwise known as the New York State
6 budget.
7 When I was asking Senator Kruger
8 questions, I want to again be very, very
9 clear. I understand, we all understand we
10 have debts, we have obligations, we need to
11 meet those, we need to pay them on time, and I
12 think we absolutely should be doing that. In
13 conjunction with that, though, I think we have
14 to take a fresh, new, hard look at every
15 single thing that we do.
16 My reading of this bill is that
17 there is $5.86 billion that needs to be paid
18 now. Now. Cold, hard cash that needs to go
19 out the door. That was our credit card.
20 That's our minimum payment. That's what we
21 need to do.
22 We also have a $250 million dry
23 appropriation from the Debt Reduction Reserve
24 Fund that may be available to help defease
25 bonds. I think that's a good thing. And that
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1 could be very helpful. But I also believe
2 that we're providing a tremendous amount of
3 latitude and authority to the tune of almost
4 another $3.4 billion, for which I don't feel
5 there's enough justification.
6 Now, I know people are going to say
7 that's what the past practices are, we can't
8 run the risk of doing this or sending the
9 wrong signal to the markets. I think we can
10 actually do both. What we should be doing
11 right now is cleaning this bill out a little
12 bit or whittling it out down to say tell us
13 exactly what you need. Whatever it is you
14 have to pay, we'll come up with the money and
15 we'll pay it. And frankly, ladies and
16 gentlemen, it's less than what this bill is
17 calling for and asking for.
18 And if we get in a situation where
19 the Executive or the Division of the Budget
20 has to come back and say, You know what, there
21 have been some changes, rates have gone up, we
22 have to do things a little differently, we
23 want to do some swaps that may affect our debt
24 service -- that's okay. That's okay. But I
25 think we're missing the boat here by doing
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1 this in the way that we've done it in the
2 past.
3 Did I support the debt service bill
4 last year and vote against the budget? Yes, I
5 did. I know we need to pay our obligations.
6 But to follow up on the comments of my
7 colleague Senator DeFrancisco, I think it's
8 also important to recognize that while we were
9 taking this perhaps baby step forward, there
10 are a litany of things that are left
11 unanswered.
12 I raised a point that I believe is
13 a hundred percent accurate, that we are
14 providing the possibility for new debt, for
15 capital programs that will come into being in
16 this prospective budget. And that there will
17 be debt service associated with that to the
18 tune of $155 million or thereabouts.
19 I'd like to know what the programs
20 are. I'd like to know what the distribution
21 is. I think we should all like to know that,
22 and we should want to know that. But part of
23 the problem is we're not doing anything else.
24 Here we are, it's now March 8th, and we have
25 not followed the law. The majority in this
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1 house, the Senate Democrats, have not followed
2 the law.
3 There are well-known parameters in
4 the Budget Reform Act of 2007 that are clear,
5 concise, simple and easy to follow. What's
6 lacking is the political will to do it. Why
7 don't we have conference committees? Forget
8 the conference committees, why don't we even
9 have a schedule? Why don't we even have
10 members named to the conference committees?
11 We can't even name our members because we
12 don't even know what the committees are.
13 The public, at this juncture, they
14 may not expect to have all the nuances and all
15 the details of the budget laid out, but they
16 sure as heck think that we should be following
17 the law that we all supported and enacted a
18 couple of years ago.
19 This sends maybe a decent signal to
20 the markets, but it sure as heck sends a
21 terrible message to the taxpayers. I care
22 about what the bond market thinks, but ladies
23 and gentlemen, I care a heck of a lot more
24 about what the taxpayer and the property
25 taxpayer thinks. And if we start off like
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1 this, then we're going down the same bad path
2 that we started to last year.
3 I understand that we have
4 obligations. I'm going to vote no on this
5 bill because I think we should be making
6 changes to keep DOB's feet and the Executive's
7 feet much closer to the fire.
8 Thank you.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
10 Senator Marcellino.
11 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
12 Madam President.
13 Let me add my voice to my colleague
14 Senator Flanagan's voice. On the bill.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
16 Senator Marcellino, on the bill.
17 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes, we have
18 to take our first steps with the budget. And
19 this is the beginning of it. This seems to be
20 the beginning.
21 There are other things, as Senator
22 Flanagan has said -- and I won't go through it
23 all again to add to our time, but that should
24 be done by now. The law is clear. We're
25 simply not following it, but we should, in my
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1 mind.
2 I look at this bill as a checkbook.
3 You put money in the checkbook to pay your
4 bills. We should be paying the bills that we
5 owe. If we owe money, we should pay it. And
6 there should be money in the book to pay for
7 the bills we owe.
8 You put more money in your
9 checkbook than you need, you're going to spend
10 that money. It's that simple. I understand
11 that we may need a cushion, that there may be
12 some adjustable rate situations that might
13 come forward and might come up later on in the
14 year. But as Senator Flanagan rightly pointed
15 out, then let them come back to the chamber if
16 need be and say look, this happened, this
17 changed, conditions were altered, we need more
18 money at this point in time, give us the
19 authorization, here are the bills, here's the
20 amount of money we need, here are the projects
21 we have to pay for, this is why they're
22 important, let us go forward. So we go
23 forward, but we do so in an informed way.
24 I'm think I'm just getting to the
25 point and I think my constituents are getting
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1 to the point where we're tired of these
2 so-called dry appropriations that put money
3 out there. Yes, we've done it in the past.
4 It was wrong. It's led us in the wrong
5 position, it's put us in the wrong place right
6 now. We can't afford to do that anymore. We
7 have to change our methods. We have to change
8 our procedures. And we should.
9 I'd be willing to work with you on
10 that. Let's change the process now. Let's
11 not continue to do the same-old-same-old, and
12 ending up with the same old bad results.
13 That's more debt. We don't need more debt
14 anymore, we need less. We don't need more
15 spending, we need less. And we need a process
16 that will get us to the point where the public
17 will begin to respect this Legislature.
18 The Governor, for good or ill, with
19 all his distractions, presented us with a
20 budget and he presented it early. He gave us
21 his 21-day amendments. Do I agree with
22 everything in them? Absolutely not. Do I
23 agree with everything in the Governor's
24 budget? Absolutely not. If you put that on
25 the table, I'd vote no right today here and
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1 now.
2 However, we should be going through
3 a process now to reconcile those issues.
4 Where's the Assembly's budget? Let's get that
5 out here. Let's get our budget out on the
6 table. Let's move forward together in a
7 bipartisan way. That word is used a lot, but
8 it's not acted on. We say it, but we don't do
9 it. We talk it, but there's no action. Let's
10 get some action here.
11 Again, I will not -- I didn't
12 support this bill last year, and last year's
13 budget, and I was right. Last year's budget
14 was out of whack even with this. And the way
15 we're going right now, we're going to have
16 another budget that's out of whack, because
17 we're doing it quietly, we're doing it behind
18 the scenes, and we're doing it out of
19 ignorance. We don't know, nobody here knows
20 what's in the proposed budget. Nobody.
21 The other side, our side, nobody
22 knows what's in a proposed budget -- because
23 we don't have one. And there's no process
24 that I can see moving forward that's going to
25 bring us together so we can come together with
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1 a real budget to show the people of this state
2 that this is not a dysfunctional house, that
3 this is not a dysfunctional legislature, and
4 that this we deserve to be where we are.
5 I just attended a meeting of the
6 Council of State Governments over the weekend.
7 We are the laughingstock of the nation. When
8 everybody has a problem, they say: "Oh, you
9 don't want to be like New York." Or "You
10 don't want to be like California." We're
11 getting laughed at. I don't like that. I
12 don't enjoy that. It's not fun. And I know
13 you're not enjoying it either.
14 Anybody, everybody around here, we
15 all feel it. We're all getting it. But we're
16 doing the same things that are going to lead
17 us down the same path to another budget that
18 isn't balanced, to another budget that won't
19 work, to another summer where we're going to
20 be called back to fix it. This is not the
21 year you want to come back in the summertime
22 to fix a budget. We will have other things to
23 be doing at that point in time.
24 So, ladies and gentlemen, I suggest
25 this bill be pulled, this bill be pared down,
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1 this bill be put, as Senator Flanagan rightly
2 said, to what we absolutely need to pay so
3 that we can meet our obligations and we can
4 send the right message to the bonding
5 institutions that this state is operating on a
6 fiscally prudent method, in a fiscally prudent
7 way. We will pay our bills. But we're not
8 going to put that slush fund out there so that
9 maybe, in case, possibly, on some unknown
10 issue, something happens and then we're out
11 there and the taxpayers are going to foot the
12 bill down the road.
13 Madam President, I'm going to be
14 voting no when this bill comes up. I would
15 prefer to vote yes. But I would prefer to
16 vote yes on a bill that is to the point and to
17 the dollar that we need, not on some mythical
18 number.
19 Thank you, Madam President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
21 Thank you, Senator.
22 Are there any other Senators
23 wishing to be heard on the bill?
24 Hearing none, debate is closed.
25 The Secretary will please ring the bells.
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1 Read the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
5 Call the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
8 Announce the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
10 the negative on Calendar Number 207 are
11 Senators Alesi, DeFrancisco, Flanagan, Griffo,
12 Hannon, O. Johnson, Larkin, LaValle, Libous,
13 Marcellino, Maziarz, Nozzolio, Ranzenhofer,
14 Robach, Winner and Young.
15 Absent from voting: Senator
16 Volker.
17 Ayes, 42. Nays, 16.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
19 The bill is passed.
20 Senator Klein, that completes the
21 reading of the controversial calendar.
22 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
23 on behalf of Senator Smith, I hand up the
24 following leadership notice and ask that it be
25 filed in the Journal.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
2 To be filed in the Journal.
3 Senator Klein.
4 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
5 can you please recognize Senator Ruth
6 Hassell-Thompson for an announcement.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
8 Senator Hassell-Thompson.
9 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
10 you.
11 Madam President, at 6:30 there is a
12 meeting of the Majority Conference.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
14 At 6:30 there will be a meeting of the
15 Majority Conference.
16 Senator Klein.
17 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
18 is there any further business at the desk?
19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
20 Senator Klein, the desk is clear.
21 SENATOR KLEIN: There being none,
22 Madam President, I move that we adjourn until
23 Tuesday, March 9th, at 3:00 p.m.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:
25 There being no further business to come before
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1 the Senate, on motion, the Senate stands
2 adjourned until Tuesday, March 9th, at
3 3:00 p.m.
4 (Whereupon, at 4:35 p.m., the
5 Senate adjourned.)
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