Regular Session - May 4, 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 May 4, 2010
11 3:57 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR DIANE SAVINO, Acting President
19 ANGELO J. APONTE, Secretary
20
21
22
23
24
25
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
3 Senate will please rise and come to order.
4 I ask everyone present to recite
5 with me the Pledge of Allegiance.
6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Today's
9 invocation will be provided by the Reverend
10 Peter G. Young, of the Mother Teresa Community
11 in Albany.
12 REVEREND YOUNG: Thank you,
13 Senator. Let us pray.
14 As New York State legislators, we
15 are very concerned about our youth. And we
16 look to the splendid example of our Senate
17 guests today of Siena College's basketball
18 team to inspire academic and athletic
19 excellence for our future leadership in
20 New York State.
21 We call upon You, O God, to bless
22 them and our Senate as we gather here in this
23 chamber as members representing our
24 constituents to provide leadership for our
25 New York State citizens.
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1 Let Your spirit enlighten our minds
2 and guide our actions, that we may be united
3 in love and bring fulfillment in the work of
4 government for the greater honor and glory of
5 God.
6 Amen.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
8 reading of the Journal.
9 The Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
11 Monday, May 3, the Senate met pursuant to
12 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, May 2,
13 was read and approved. On motion, Senate
14 adjourned.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Without
16 objection, the Journal stands approved as
17 read.
18 Presentation of petitions.
19 Messages from the Assembly.
20 Messages from the Governor.
21 Reports of standing committees.
22 Senator Klein.
23 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
24 I believe there's a report of the Judiciary
25 Committee at the desk. I ask that it be read
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1 at this time.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: There
3 is a report of the Judiciary Committee at the
4 desk.
5 The Secretary will read.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Sampson
7 reports, from the Committee on Judiciary,
8 appointments for confirmation.
9 As judge of the Schenectady County
10 Surrogate Court, the Honorable Vincent W.
11 Versaci, of Schenectady.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
13 Klein.
14 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
15 can we move the nomination.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
17 there any Senators wishing to be heard on the
18 nomination?
19 Senator Farley.
20 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Madam
21 President.
22 I rise to second and move the
23 nomination of Vincent W. Versaci, who
24 currently is serving as a City Court judge in
25 the City of Schenectady, one of the largest,
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1 busiest calendars I think in the State of
2 New York.
3 And let me just say that I've been
4 very, very pleased to watch his demeanor on
5 the bench. He's an outstanding judge.
6 One of the most significant things
7 about Judge Versaci is the family that he
8 comes from. His father, Romolo, who is with
9 us in the gallery, is a graduate of Harvard
10 and one of the most distinguished attorneys in
11 the history of Schenectady.
12 But his son Vincent is a graduate
13 of the University of Rochester and Albany Law
14 School, and I believe in 2004 was elected as
15 one of the outstanding young attorneys of the
16 year in January 2004 by the Schenectady County
17 Bar Association. He also, in my judgment, has
18 served the city very, very well.
19 Now, Schenectady, as I mentioned,
20 got a second City Court judge because it had
21 one of the busiest calendars in the state, and
22 he's moving on to the Surrogate Court. And
23 we're very, very pleased with the Governor's
24 nomination, and I rise to second his
25 nomination.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
2 there any other Senators wishing to be heard
3 on the nomination?
4 Seeing none, the question is on the
5 nomination to confirm Vincent W. Versaci, of
6 Schenectady, as judge of the Schenectady
7 County Surrogate's Court. All those in favor
8 please signify by saying aye.
9 (Response of "Aye.")
10 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
11 Opposed, nay.
12 (No response.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
14 motion carries. The nomination is confirmed.
15 Judge Versaci is joined in the
16 gallery today by his wife, Tina; his
17 daughters, Caroline and Rosemarie; his son,
18 Michael; his parents, Eileen and Romolo; and
19 his in-laws, Roger and Phyllis Chericoni.
20 Congratulations.
21 (Applause.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
23 Secretary will continue to read.
24 THE SECRETARY: As judge of the
25 Suffolk County Court, Mr. Richard Ambro, of
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1 Wading River, New York.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
3 Klein.
4 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
5 please move the nomination.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
7 there any Senators wishing to be heard on the
8 nomination?
9 Senator LaValle.
10 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you,
11 Madam President.
12 I've had an opportunity to get to
13 know Richard Ambro. We've talked several
14 times. It was a pleasure to move his
15 nomination this morning in the Judiciary
16 Committee.
17 And one of the things -- and I'll
18 say it again here for everyone -- he has been
19 the chief law clerk to Judge Hinrichs, Suffolk
20 County. And Richard's demeanor, expertise,
21 professionalism is well known within the court
22 system in Suffolk County.
23 He has for I think eight years been
24 with Judge Hinrichs, and in essence he has
25 been a judge in training. And there is no
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1 doubt he will work very hard and demonstrate
2 to everyone that he has the proper
3 temperament, and he talked about that in the
4 Judiciary Committee.
5 So it is really a great pleasure to
6 second Richard Ambro's nomination. And he is
7 here today with his wife, Susan, and his sons,
8 Matthew and Terrence.
9 So I am sure that we will confirm
10 him, and it will be a great honor to see him
11 stand before us for the first time as
12 Judge Ambro.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
14 Foley.
15 SENATOR FOLEY: Thank you, Madam
16 President. I also rise to second the
17 nomination of Richard Ambro to the county
18 court system.
19 As Senator LaValle had mentioned,
20 he has spent a number of years preparing for
21 this particular position. He's highly thought
22 of within the county court system.
23 And I'd also add to the comments
24 made by Senator LaValle that similar to our
25 other nominees, he comes from a family that
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1 has served -- generations of Ambros have
2 served Suffolk County very well through a
3 variety of public positions. Be it his
4 father, be it other members of his family,
5 they have really been one of the stellar
6 families of Suffolk County in giving of their
7 time, talent and energy to the public. And
8 today I think is a very fitting example of how
9 the family continues to serve Suffolk County
10 in this particular way as a county court
11 judge.
12 So, Madam President, I strongly
13 support this and wish him the best of luck in
14 the years ahead. We know that he will be a
15 very fine county judge. And it's a privilege
16 for us to place him on that bench here today.
17 Thank you, Madam President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
19 Flanagan.
20 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank you,
21 Madam President. I just want to join my
22 colleagues' comments.
23 The Ambro family and the Flanagan
24 family go back a long way. His father served
25 in Huntington as the town supervisor, as a
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1 congressman, and the family has a long-steeped
2 tradition of public service.
3 And it's a pleasure to see him here
4 with his family today. I had a chance to sit
5 and chat with him and particularly with his
6 sons, both of whom are avid lacrosse players,
7 so they're good athletes. And good for all of
8 us, not only his father is becoming a judge,
9 but his older son is going to be a freshman at
10 Oneonta playing lacrosse this coming fall.
11 So to the Ambro family,
12 congratulations and welcome to Albany for a
13 very special day.
14 Thank you.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
16 there any other Senators wishing to be heard
17 on the nomination?
18 Seeing none, the question is on the
19 motion to confirm the nomination of Richard
20 Ambro, of Wading River, as a judge of the
21 Suffolk County Court. All those in favor
22 please signify by saying aye.
23 (Response of "Aye.")
24 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
25 Opposed, nay.
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1 (No response.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
3 motion carries. The nomination is confirmed.
4 Judge Ambro is joined in the
5 gallery today by his wife, Susan, and his
6 sons, Matthew and Terrence.
7 Congratulations.
8 (Applause.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
10 Secretary will continue to read.
11 THE SECRETARY: As judge of the
12 Westchester County Court, the Honorable Barry
13 E. Warhit, of Scarsdale, New York.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
15 Klein.
16 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
17 please move the nomination.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Does
19 any other Senator wish to be heard on the
20 nomination?
21 Senator Oppenheimer.
22 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Thank you,
23 Madam President.
24 Well, Barry is a constituent of
25 mine, and I know him more as a very
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1 personable, outgoing, competent, friendly guy.
2 But I can tell you that he has a distinguished
3 record and that his intelligence and his
4 thoughtfulness on the bench is well regarded
5 by everyone in Westchester County.
6 He has been serving as an acting
7 city, village and town justice in so many
8 communities in Westchester that he is well
9 known, well liked, and well revered for the
10 quality of the work and the impartiality of
11 the decisions that he has rendered.
12 So I want to join with my
13 colleagues in supporting this nomination and
14 thanking the Governor for it and welcoming
15 Barry and his very wonderful family to Albany.
16 There you are. I couldn't find
17 you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
19 Stewart-Cousins.
20 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Yes,
21 thank you, Madam President. I also wanted to
22 commend the Governor on this very, very fine
23 appointment.
24 And as Senator Oppenheimer was
25 saying, Barry Warhit is so visible and so much
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1 a part of so many communities that you have
2 served so well and so brilliantly.
3 So we are very, very happy for this
4 appointment, wish you tremendous success and
5 of course want to congratulate your wife Ellen
6 as well.
7 And thank you for the service. I
8 know you're my constituent at Sleepy Hollow,
9 but you've served in other of my districts --
10 Ardsley and Tarrytown. So thank you again,
11 and congratulations.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
13 Hassell-Thompson.
14 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
15 you, Madam President. Just to add my
16 congratulations to the Governor for this
17 appointment and to the candidate.
18 One of the things that makes this
19 job wonderful is when you have partners in the
20 judiciary that work with you and understand
21 the law but have compassion within the limits
22 of that law.
23 And so I am very pleased, along
24 with my colleagues, to congratulate Barry
25 Warhit on this appointment today and to
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1 congratulate him and his wife Ellen and thank
2 them not only for the term on the bench in the
3 City of Mount Vernon but for all of the things
4 that they do for the community at large, for
5 which we're very grateful.
6 Thank you, Madam President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
8 there any other Senators who wish to be heard
9 on the nomination?
10 Seeing none, the question is on the
11 motion to confirm the nomination of Barry E.
12 Warhit, of Scarsdale, as a judge of the
13 Westchester County Court. All those in favor
14 please signify by saying aye.
15 (Response of "Aye.")
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
17 Opposed, nay.
18 (No response.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
20 motion carries. The nomination is confirmed.
21 Judge Warhit is joined in the
22 gallery today by his wife, Ellen.
23 Congratulations.
24 (Applause.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
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1 Secretary will continue to read.
2 THE SECRETARY: As judge of the
3 Monroe County Court, Ms. Kelly C. Wolford, of
4 Webster, New York.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
6 Klein.
7 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
8 please move the nomination.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
10 there any Senators wishing to be heard?
11 Senator Nozzolio.
12 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you,
13 Madam President.
14 Madam President and my colleagues,
15 I rise with a great deal of pleasure to place
16 in nomination the candidacy of Kelly Wolford
17 to serve as a judge of the Monroe County
18 Court.
19 As the ranking Republican on the
20 Judiciary Committee, it was a pleasure to see
21 the judges who came before the committee today
22 from across the state, all of them very
23 qualified in a variety of ways. But I was
24 extremely impressed by the qualifications of
25 Kelly Wolford, a career prosecutor, who has
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1 extensive trial court experience and extensive
2 appellate court experience.
3 She was raised in the Webster
4 community, where she now lives with her
5 husband, Jim, and their small children. She
6 was a scholastic All-American swimmer, and she
7 is ready to dive into this job with a great
8 amount of experience and expertise.
9 It's a pleasure, Madam President,
10 to second the nomination of Kelly Wolford to
11 be judge of the Monroe County Court.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
13 there any other Senators wishing to be heard?
14 The question is on the motion to
15 confirm the nomination of Kelly C. Wolford, of
16 Webster, as a judge of the Monroe County
17 Court. All those in favor please signify by
18 saying aye.
19 (Response of "Aye.")
20 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
21 Opposed, nay.
22 (No response.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
24 motion carries. The nomination is confirmed.
25 Judge Wolford is joined in the
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1 gallery today by her husband, Jim; daughter,
2 Christine; son, Thomas; mother, Christine;
3 stepfather, John; father, Brian; stepmother,
4 Karen; sister Michelle and her family; and
5 sister Laura and her family.
6 Congratulations, Judge Wolford.
7 (Applause.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
9 Secretary will continue to read.
10 THE SECRETARY: As judge of the
11 Oswego County Court, the Honorable David J.
12 Roman, of Oswego, New York.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
14 Klein.
15 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
16 move the nomination.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
18 there any Senators wishing to be heard?
19 Senator Aubertine.
20 SENATOR AUBERTINE: Thank you,
21 Madam President. I rise today to thank the
22 Governor for nominating Judge David Roman.
23 Judge Roman has had a long and
24 distinguished career as the Oswego Family
25 Court judge; in fact, he has been recognized
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1 as one of the top Family Court judges in
2 New York State.
3 And I am certain that the people of
4 Oswego County will be well served by Judge
5 Roman as the Oswego County Court judge. And I
6 am proud to second the nomination of Judge
7 Roman.
8 Thank you, Madam President.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
10 there any other Senators wishing to be heard
11 on the nomination?
12 Seeing none, the question is on the
13 motion to confirm the nomination of David J.
14 Roman, of Oswego, as a judge of the Oswego
15 County Court. All those in favor please
16 signify by saying aye.
17 (Response of "Aye.")
18 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
19 Opposed, nay.
20 (No response.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
22 motion carries. The nomination is confirmed.
23 Judge Roman is joined in the
24 gallery today by his friend and former law
25 parter, John Sullivan, Jr.
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1 Congratulations.
2 (Applause.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
4 Secretary will continue to read.
5 THE SECRETARY: As a justice of
6 the Supreme Court of the Tenth Judicial
7 District, the Honorable Bernard J. Fried, of
8 New York City, New York.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
10 Klein.
11 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
12 please move the nomination.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
14 there any other Senators wishing to be heard
15 on the nomination?
16 Seeing none, the question is on the
17 nomination -- oh, excuse me. Senator
18 DeFrancisco.
19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. You
20 know, I didn't intend to speak, but it would
21 be wrong if someone didn't rise to second the
22 nomination of this outstanding jurist and an
23 individual who certainly is well qualified for
24 this position.
25 And I want to say generally, to all
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1 the nominees today, this was a very fine group
2 of people with substantial experience. And
3 having tried a few cases over the years
4 myself, it's important for the bar to have
5 judges that not only understand the law, the
6 rules of evidence, but have also been in the
7 trenches themselves.
8 So I want to stand and second the
9 nomination of Judge Fried and really praise
10 each of the nominees for their qualifications
11 and thank the Governor for nominating each and
12 every one of them.
13 Thank you.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
15 there any other Senators wishing to be heard?
16 Seeing none, the question is on the
17 motion to confirm the nomination of Bernard J.
18 Fried, of New York City, as an interim justice
19 of the Supreme Court, Tenth Judicial District.
20 All those in favor please signify by saying
21 aye.
22 (Response of "Aye.")
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
24 Opposed, nay.
25 (No response.)
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
2 motion carries. The nomination is confirmed.
3 Judge Fried is joined today in the
4 gallery by his wife, Judge Nina Gershon, who
5 is a judge of the United States District Court
6 for the Eastern District of New York.
7 Congratulations.
8 (Applause.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
10 Secretary will continue to read.
11 THE SECRETARY: As a justice of
12 the Supreme Court of the Ninth Judicial
13 District, the Honorable Lawrence H. Ecker, of
14 Irvington, New York.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
16 Klein.
17 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
18 can we please move the nomination.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
20 Leibell.
21 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you very
22 much, Madam President.
23 I had the chace during Judiciary
24 Committee to renew an old acquaintanceship and
25 a friendship. Judge Ecker is from Westchester
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1 County, and he's someone I knew many years ago
2 as a young assistant district attorney.
3 And throughout the years, Judge
4 Ecker has had an outstanding reputation as a
5 jurist and as a member of the practicing bar
6 of Westchester County. He is respected by
7 prosecutors, defense counsels, everybody
8 involved with our justice system in
9 Westchester County.
10 So I'm very pleased to stand here
11 today and to second this nomination.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
13 there any other Senators wishing to be heard?
14 Senator Stewart-Cousins.
15 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Thank
16 you, Madam President. I also rise to second
17 this outstanding nomination.
18 I heard my colleagues talking about
19 people who have been in the trenches.
20 Certainly that can aptly describe our newest
21 Supreme Court justice. The Ecker name, the
22 Ecker family, the involvement and the respect
23 that Lawrence Ecker has garnered over the
24 years serves all of us well and will continue
25 to serve him well on the Supreme Court bench.
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1 There is very little that I can add
2 other than the accolades that I hear from
3 everyone, which is that Larry Ecker is a very
4 wise, honest man with integrity and the
5 temperament that, again, will benefit
6 everyone. I am so pleased that Westchester
7 County is well represented today and my
8 district is very well represented today.
9 Congratulations.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
11 Hassell-Thompson.
12 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
13 you, Madam President.
14 Again, I rise to second the
15 nomination of Judge Ecker and also to add my
16 voice to those who congratulate the Governor
17 on such a phenomenal appointment.
18 He too has a long history of
19 community service to the County of Westchester
20 and beyond. And therefore I am very happy to
21 be one of those who places his name in
22 nomination for today's Judicial Supreme Court.
23 Congratulations to you, Judge.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
25 Oppenheimer.
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1 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: It's a very
2 good day for Westchester, isn't it?
3 And I also am very honored to be
4 able to second this nomination. We are so
5 blessed with some of our judges that are now
6 moving up through the various courts. And
7 this is a person of esteem and intellect and
8 someone that is really revered in Westchester.
9 So it's a very good day for us in
10 Westchester and for the State of New York to
11 have people like Larry Ecker come forward and
12 run. And we appreciate this nomination by the
13 Governor.
14 Thank you.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
16 there any other Senators wishing to be heard
17 on this nomination?
18 Seeing none, the question is on the
19 motion to confirm the nomination of Lawrence
20 H. Ecker, of Irvington, as an interim justice
21 of the Supreme Court, Ninth Judicial District.
22 All those in favor please signify by saying
23 aye.
24 (Response of "Aye.")
25 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
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1 Opposed, nay.
2 (No response.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
4 motion carries. The nomination is confirmed.
5 Judge Ecker is in the gallery
6 today, joined by his wife, Lynn; son, Andrew;
7 daughter, Karen; and grandson, Joshua.
8 Congratulations.
9 (Applause.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
11 Klein.
12 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
13 I believe there's a report of the Finance
14 Committee at the desk. I ask that it be read
15 at this time.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: There
17 is a report of the Finance Committee at the
18 desk.
19 The Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator C.
21 Kruger, from the Committee on Finance, reports
22 the following nominations.
23 As a member of the New York State
24 Energy Research and Development Authority,
25 Mark A. Willis, of New York City.
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1 As a member of the Administrative
2 Review Board for Professional Medical Conduct,
3 John A. D'Anna, of Staten Island.
4 As a member of the Correction
5 Medical Review Board, Robert S. Kurtz, of
6 Brooklyn.
7 As directors of the New York State
8 Urban Development Corporation, Paul F.
9 Ciminelli, of Amherst, and Joyce L. Miller, of
10 New York City.
11 As a member of the Advisory Council
12 on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services,
13 Monroe Wesley Parrott, of Albany.
14 As a member of the Advisory Council
15 to the Commission on Quality of Care and
16 Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, Milo
17 Tomanovich, of Rochester.
18 As chair of the Minority Health
19 Council and member of the Public Health
20 Council, Carla Boutin-Foster, M.D., of
21 Brooklyn.
22 As a member of the Minority Health
23 Council, Lori Quigley, of Salamanca.
24 As a member of the State Camp
25 Safety Advisory Council, Gordon W. Felt, of
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1 Remsen.
2 As members of the Board of Visitors
3 of the Buffalo Psychiatric Center, Carolyn A.
4 Siegel, of West Falls, and Lisa Michaelsen, of
5 Lockport.
6 As a member of the Board of
7 Visitors of the Finger Lakes Developmental
8 Disabilities Services Office, Anne Marie
9 Ormiston, of Fairport.
10 As a member of the Board of
11 Visitors of the Long Island Developmental
12 Disabilities Services Office, Marisol
13 Getchius, of Deer Park.
14 As a member of the Board of
15 Visitors for the New York State Home for
16 Veterans and Their Dependents at Montrose,
17 Elva L. Girton, of Wappingers Falls.
18 As members of the Board of Visitors
19 of the Rochester Psychiatric Center, Judith D.
20 Watt, of Sodus Point, and Dorothy A. Wentland,
21 of LeRoy.
22 And as a member of the Board of
23 Visitors of the St. Lawrence Psychiatric
24 Center, Barbara Briggs Ward, of Ogdensburg.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
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1 Kruger.
2 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Thank you,
3 Madam President. Will you please move those
4 nominations.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
6 there any Senators wishing to be heard on this
7 motion to confirm the nominations?
8 Seeing none, the question is on the
9 motion to confirm the nominations. All those
10 in favor please signify by saying aye.
11 (Response of "Aye.")
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
13 Opposed, nay.
14 (No response.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
16 motion carries. The nominations are
17 confirmed.
18 Returning to the order of business,
19 reports of select committees.
20 Communications and reports from
21 state officers.
22 Motions and resolutions.
23 Senator Klein.
24 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
25 on behalf of Senator Stachowski, I move that
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1 the following bill be discharged from its
2 respective committee and be recommitted with
3 instructions to strike the enacting clause:
4 Senate Number 7626.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: So
6 ordered.
7 Senator Klein.
8 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
9 I believe there are substitutions at the desk.
10 I ask that we make the substitutions at this
11 time.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
13 Secretary will read.
14 THE SECRETARY: On page 16,
15 Senator Fuschillo moves to discharge, from the
16 Committee on Local Government, Assembly Bill
17 Number 9010 and substitute it for the
18 identical Senate Bill Number 5863B, Third
19 Reading Calendar 311.
20 On page 24, Senator Huntley moves
21 to discharge, from the Committee on Cities,
22 Assembly Bill Number 10172B and substitute it
23 for the identical Senate Bill Number 7344,
24 Third Reading Calendar 428.
25 On page 24, Senator Sampson moves
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1 to discharge, from the Committee on Judiciary,
2 Assembly Bill Number 2876 and substitute it
3 for the identical Senate Bill Number 4090,
4 Third Reading Calendar 431.
5 On page 24, Senator L. Krueger
6 moves to discharge, from the Committee on
7 Judiciary, Assembly Bill Number 6011 and
8 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
9 Number 4781, Third Reading Calendar 432.
10 On page 24, Senator Montgomery
11 moves to discharge, from the Committee on
12 Codes, Assembly Bill Number 8524 and
13 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
14 Number 3868A, Third Reading Calendar 433.
15 On page 25, Senator Schneiderman
16 moves to discharge, from the Committee on
17 Codes, Assembly Bill Number 2874 and
18 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
19 Number 7035, Third Reading Calendar 435.
20 On page 25, Senator Stavisky moves
21 to discharge, from the Committee on Codes,
22 Assembly Bill Number 10750 and substitute it
23 for the identical Senate Bill Number 7541,
24 Third Reading Calendar 436.
25 On page 25, Senator Duane moves to
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1 discharge, from the Committee on Health,
2 Assembly Bill Number 8498A and substitute it
3 for the identical Senate Bill Number 3255A,
4 Third Reading Calendar 437.
5 On page 25, Senator Duane moves to
6 discharge, from the Committee on Health,
7 Assembly Bill Number 10664 and substitute it
8 for the identical Senate Bill Number 4999A,
9 Third Reading Calendar 438.
10 On page 26, Senator Valesky moves
11 to discharge, from the Committee on Finance,
12 Assembly Bill Number 6020 and substitute it
13 for the identical Senate Bill Number 6903,
14 Third Reading Calendar 447.
15 On page 26, Senator Huntley moves
16 to discharge, from the Committee on Finance,
17 Assembly Bill Number 10260 and substitute it
18 for the identical Senate Bill Number 7140,
19 Third Reading Calendar 449.
20 On page 26, Senator Adams moves to
21 discharge, from the Committee on
22 Investigations and Government Operations,
23 Assembly Bill Number 8531A and substitute it
24 for the identical Senate Bill Number 6058,
25 Third Reading Calendar 451.
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1 On page 27, Senator Valesky moves
2 to discharge, from the Committee on Energy and
3 Telecommunications, Assembly Bill Number 7987B
4 and substitute it for the identical Senate
5 Bill Number 4303B, Third Reading Calendar 457.
6 And on page 27, Senator Parker
7 moves to discharge, from the Committee on
8 Children and Families, Assembly Bill Number
9 6812 and substitute it for the identical
10 Senate Bill Number 2082, Third Reading
11 Calendar 463.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
13 Substitutions ordered.
14 Senator Klein.
15 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
16 at this time I move we adopt the Resolution
17 Calendar in its entirety, with the exception
18 of Resolutions 5009 and 4977.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: All
20 those in favor of adopting the Resolution
21 Calendar in its entirety, with the exception
22 of Senate Resolutions 5009 and 4977, please
23 signify by saying aye.
24 (Response of "Aye.")
25 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
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1 Opposed, nay.
2 (No response.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
4 Resolution Calendar is adopted.
5 Senator Klein.
6 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
7 at this time I move to take up Senate
8 Resolution Number 5009, by Senator Breslin. I
9 ask that the resolution be read in its
10 entirety and move for its immediate adoption
11 and give Senator Breslin the opportunity to
12 speak on his resolution.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
14 Secretary will read.
15 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
16 Breslin, Senate Resolution 5009,
17 congratulating the Siena College Men's
18 Basketball Team and Coach Fran McCaffery upon
19 the occasion of capturing the 2010 Metro
20 Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship.
21 "WHEREAS, Excellence and success in
22 competitive sports can be achieved only
23 through strenuous practice, team play, and
24 team spirit, nurtured by dedicated coaching
25 and strategic planning; and
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1 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this
2 Legislative Body to recognize and commend
3 those athletes of the State of New York who
4 combine in a team effort to achieve a common
5 goal, thereby representing the great Empire
6 State with exceptional dignity, determination,
7 and honor; and
8 "WHEREAS, The Siena Saints immense
9 basketball team are the 2010 Metro Atlantic
10 Athletic Conference (MAAC) champions; and
11 "WHEREAS, On Monday, March 8, 2010,
12 Siena entered the MAAC Tournament as the
13 number-one seed and played at the Times Union
14 Center Arena in Albany, New York, where it
15 owns a 38-game winning streak. The Saints
16 rallied from a 15-point deficit to win their
17 third straight MAAC title by defeating
18 Fairfield University 72-65 in overtime,
19 advancing into the NCAA Tournament for the
20 third consecutive season under Coach Fran
21 McCaffery; and
22 "WHEREAS, Coach Fran McCaffery has
23 been selected by the National Association of
24 Basketball Coaches (NABC) as an All-District
25 Coach representing District 1. Under his
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1 leadership, Siena has become the only school
2 in the nation to win its conference regular
3 season and tournament championship each of the
4 past three years; and
5 "WHEREAS, The Siena Men's
6 Basketball Team is 112-51 in Coach Fran
7 McCaffery's five years with the program, and
8 his 67-21 (.761) MAAC mark ranks third
9 all-time among winning percentage for league
10 coaches; and
11 "WHEREAS, The athletic talent
12 displayed by this team is due in great part to
13 the efforts of Coach Fran McCaffery and his
14 dedicated assistants, skilled and
15 inspirational tutors, respected for their
16 ability to develop potential into excellence;
17 and
18 "WHEREAS, The team's overall record
19 of 27-7 is outstanding, and the team members
20 were loyally and enthusiastically supported by
21 family, fans, friends and the community at
22 large; and
23 "WHEREAS, The hallmarks of the
24 Siena College Men's Basketball Team, from the
25 opening practice of the season to
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1 participation in the NCAA Tournament, were a
2 brotherhood of athletic ability, of good
3 sportsmanship, of honor and of scholarship,
4 demonstrating that these team players are
5 second to none; and
6 "WHEREAS, Athletically and
7 academically, the team members have proven
8 themselves to be an unbeatable combination of
9 talents, reflecting favorably on their school;
10 and
11 "WHEREAS, Coach Fran McCaffery and
12 his staff have done a superb job in guiding,
13 molding and inspiring the team members toward
14 their goals; and
15 "WHEREAS, Sports competition
16 instills the values of teamwork, pride and
17 accomplishment, and Coach Fran McCaffery and
18 his outstanding athletes have clearly made a
19 contribution to the spirit of excellence which
20 is a tradition at Siena College; now,
21 therefore, be it
22 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
23 Body pause in its deliberations to
24 congratulate the Siena College Men's
25 Basketball Team, its members -- O.D. Anosike,
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1 Jonathan Breeden, Kyle Downey, Conner Fenlon,
2 Alex Franklin, Kyle Griffin, Clarence Jackson,
3 Davis Martens, Ronald Moore, Steven Priestley,
4 Ryan Rossiter, Just-in'love Smith, Edwin
5 Ubiles, Brandon Walters, and Owen Wignot --
6 Assistant Coaches Mitch Buonaguro, Andrew
7 Francis and Adam Chaskin, and Head Coach Fran
8 McCaffery on their outstanding season and
9 overall team record; and be it further
10 "RESOLVED, That copies of this
11 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
12 to the Siena College Men's Basketball Team and
13 to Coach Fran McCaffery."
14 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
15 Breslin.
16 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you,
17 Madam President.
18 I stand -- it's getting to be a
19 habit. Siena, small school, less than 4,000
20 students, located in Loudonville, New York.
21 But that small school has produced three
22 straight NCAA appearances in Division 1
23 basketball, three straight. This year they
24 were 27 and 7. They are the only team in the
25 country to have won not only their league
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1 championship but their tournament at the end
2 of the year three consecutive years.
3 And we have all of them up here.
4 Two seniors are in the crowd, Alex Franklin
5 and Ronald Moore, both All-Division players,
6 All-League players, the two graduating
7 seniors. There's ten upstairs who will be
8 back next year. They've made it a habit.
9 And Fran McCaffery, their coach for
10 the past five years, who's established the
11 third highest winning percentage in the
12 league, has moved on. But the transition has
13 been seamless. Mitch Buonaguro, who's now the
14 head coach -- for those members from Brooklyn,
15 he's a Bishop Loughlin graduate. For those
16 members who are Jesuit-educated, he's a Boston
17 College graduate -- he will lead them on as
18 they've been led before.
19 And he's joined upstairs by Adam
20 Chaskin, the assistant coach; Dave Matturro,
21 the director of operations; and the assistant
22 athletic director, Jason Rich.
23 I am so pleased and privileged to
24 have you come here. I expect this to be a
25 yearly occurrence for at least the coming
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1 10 years. You're all to be complimented
2 because you go to such a fine institution that
3 upholds an academic standard while at the same
4 time provides basketball excellence to the
5 Greater Capital District.
6 Thank you, and I commend you.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
8 Farley.
9 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you very
10 much, Madam President.
11 Let me rise to pay tribute to the
12 pride of the Capital District, that Siena
13 team, which has been a champion year after
14 year after year. And it's has been in our
15 chamber being saluted, and we're so proud of
16 them.
17 They are the absolute toast of the
18 nation. One of the smallest schools in the
19 entire tournament, I think a little over 3,000
20 students. But I'll tell you, they were the
21 toast of the country. And really they're
22 going to be better next year, with all of the
23 members, many of the members returning.
24 They've got a great new coach who is -- Fran
25 McCaffery, who was their coach, has moved
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1 on -- is confident that they're not only going
2 to achieve even greater heights.
3 But I wish them well. We're very
4 proud of them. As a professor at Albany, we
5 always used to watch those Albany-Siena games,
6 much to the chagrin of the Albany students and
7 faculty. But Siena is a great school. We're
8 very, very proud of them. I know that Senator
9 Leibell's children have graduated from there.
10 And it's not only a great
11 basketball school, it is an academic school of
12 excellence. And I salute them and wish them
13 well, particularly in the years ahead.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
15 McDonald.
16 SENATOR McDONALD: Thank you,
17 Madam President. I'd like to echo the
18 comments of Senators Breslin and Farley.
19 Not only is it a great athletic
20 school, it's the quality of the education and
21 the quality of the men and women they produce
22 there. They are not only leaders
23 academically, athletically, but just in pure
24 decency. It's a wonderful institution. I'm
25 proud to be a part of the season ticket
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1 holders. I've been there for almost 20 years.
2 And I'm even prouder that they're part of the
3 Greater Capital Region. They represent us
4 well. They're great folks.
5 Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
7 there any other Senators wishing to be heard
8 on the resolution?
9 The question is on the resolution.
10 All those in favor please signify by saying
11 aye.
12 (Response of "Aye.")
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
14 Opposed, nay.
15 (No response.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
17 resolution is adopted.
18 Senator Breslin has indicated that
19 he would like to open up this resolution for
20 cosponsorship by the entire house. Any
21 Senator wishing to not be on the resolution
22 please notify the desk.
23 Congratulations.
24 (Standing ovation.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
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1 Klein.
2 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
3 at this time I move to take up Senate
4 Resolution Number 4977, by Senator Huntley. I
5 ask that the resolution be read in its
6 entirety and move for its immediate adoption
7 and give Senator Huntley the opportunity to
8 speak on her resolution.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
10 Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
12 Huntley, Senate Resolution Number 4977, urging
13 the New York State Congressional delegation to
14 direct the Veterans Administration to build a
15 full-service veterans hospital on the grounds
16 of the St. Albans Veterans Facility,
17 St. Albans, New York.
18 "WHEREAS, St. Albans Veterans
19 Facility opened in 1943 as the St. Albans
20 Naval Hospital; and
21 "WHEREAS, It was turned over to the
22 United States Veterans Administration in 1974;
23 currently, the VA is looking to modernize the
24 St. Albans facility; and
25 "WHEREAS, St. Albans is not a
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1 full-service hospital, and veterans from
2 Queens and Nassau County who need the services
3 of a full-service hospital must travel to the
4 VA hospital in Brooklyn, New York; and
5 "WHEREAS, According to the 2000
6 Census, there are over 200,000 veterans in
7 Queens and Nassau County that would benefit
8 from having a full service hospital in close
9 proximity; and
10 "WHEREAS, Veterans organizations in
11 Queens, Nassau County, and the surrounding
12 areas are united in the view that only
13 veterans services should be conducted on the
14 grounds of the Veterans Facility and that a
15 full-service hospital, serving both male and
16 female veterans, is necessary for this
17 location; and
18 "WHEREAS, Local civic and community
19 organizations adjacent to the VA facility
20 fully support the veterans in their quest for
21 a full-service hospital and agree that
22 residential or commercial development on the
23 site is not appropriate nor supportable by the
24 local infrastructure; and
25 "WHEREAS, Veterans and residents
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1 agree that the hospital should be built by the
2 veterans administration and not be built under
3 a contract with a private developer; now,
4 therefore, be it
5 "RESOLVED, That the New York State
6 Congressional delegation be and hereby is
7 respectfully memorialized by this Legislative
8 Body to direct the Veterans Administration to
9 build a full-service hospital on the grounds
10 of the St. Albans Veterans Facility,
11 St. Albans, New York, and it be further
12 "RESOLVED, That copies of this
13 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
14 to each member of the Congressional delegation
15 from the State of New York."
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
17 Huntley.
18 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Yes, Madam
19 President. This resolution is something
20 that's very important to the community that I
21 represent and to the veterans that I
22 represent.
23 And as you see, there are 200,000
24 veterans who must travel to Brooklyn for full
25 service. We need that in St. Albans. I'm
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1 asking the Congressional delegation to please
2 support us in this. The community, the civic
3 associations, they're all in favor of this.
4 We don't need any type of buildings other than
5 a hospital.
6 This country has many, many
7 veterans who are underserved as we speak. And
8 I don't think it's too much for a community to
9 ask for a full-service hospital so that our
10 veterans will get the kind of care that they
11 should have been receiving for many years.
12 Thank you.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
14 Padavan.
15 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you.
16 First, Senator Huntley, let me
17 thank you very, very much for advancing this
18 resolution.
19 And as you properly pointed out,
20 Queens County, a borough of about 2 million
21 people, has more veterans per capita than any
22 county in the state. And also as you pointed
23 out, when they are in need of medical care,
24 they have to either go to Hamilton, in
25 Brooklyn, or out to Long Island, to Stony
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1 Brook. And that's unreasonable. Particularly
2 when you view the facts that on the grounds is
3 a nursing home.
4 And I was there when the ground was
5 broken for that state-operated facility, and I
6 was there in 1974, the date you mentioned in
7 your resolution.
8 So I know full well the views of
9 the American Legion, the VFW, the Catholic War
10 Veterans, the Jewish War Veterans, all of whom
11 have been speaking out for a long time about
12 the need to establish a full-fledged facility
13 on those grounds. The land is there, the
14 property is there, the clients are there. The
15 community wants it, the veterans need it, and
16 there's no reason in the world why it should
17 not be done.
18 So again, I thank you for advancing
19 this resolution.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
21 there any other Senators wishing to be heard
22 on the resolution?
23 Seeing none, the question is on the
24 resolution. All those in favor please signify
25 by saying aye.
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1 (Response of "Aye.")
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
3 Opposed, nay.
4 (No response.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
6 resolution is adopted.
7 Senator Huntley has indicated that
8 she would like to open up the resolution for
9 cosponsorship by the entire house. Any
10 Senator not wishing to be on the resolution
11 please notify the desk.
12 Senator Klein.
13 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
14 I believe there's a resolution at the desk by
15 Senator Serrano. I ask that the resolution be
16 read in its entirety and move for its
17 immediate adoption and give Senator Serrano
18 the opportunity to speak on his resolution.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
20 Klein, has this resolution been deemed
21 privileged and submitted by the office of the
22 Temporary President?
23 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has,
24 Madam President.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
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1 Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
3 Serrano, legislative resolution denouncing any
4 policy of profiling in New York State and
5 urging the federal government to denounce any
6 similar state-sanctioned immigration policy,
7 such as the law that recently passed in the
8 State of Arizona.
9 "WHEREAS, America, a nation of
10 immigrants, is the greatest nation of the
11 world; and
12 "WHEREAS, New York is home to
13 approximately 4.2 million immigrants,
14 accounting for one in five residents in
15 New York; and
16 "WHEREAS, Immigrants are essential
17 to New York's economy by contributing
18 approximately $229 billion in annual economic
19 output; and
20 "WHEREAS, For more than a decade,
21 our nation has pursued an enforcement-only
22 approach to immigration -- an exercise in
23 futility and cruelty which has squandered
24 resources and created a climate of fear in
25 immigrant communities, but has not brought us
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1 any closer to a solution for the immigration
2 problems facing our nation; and
3 "WHEREAS, The State of New York and
4 the nation as a whole need and deserve
5 comprehensive immigration reform which will
6 stop current practices that result in divided
7 families; and
8 "WHEREAS, The Legislature of
9 Arizona and the Governor of Arizona recently
10 signed into law Arizona's Senate Bill 1070,
11 which requires law enforcement to question
12 people about their immigration status and
13 arrest individuals if they have a 'reasonable
14 suspicion' that they are in the country
15 illegally; and
16 "WHEREAS, Such a law, if passed in
17 the State of New York, would institute a
18 policy of profiling that would infringe upon
19 the civil rights of individuals and families
20 across the state, and would threaten basic
21 notions of decency, justice, and fairness
22 which are essential elements of the American
23 way of life; and
24 "WHEREAS, President Obama has
25 expressed concern over Arizona's law by
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1 characterizing it as 'misguided'; and
2 "WHEREAS, The policy encouraged by
3 Arizona's law is indicative of the need for
4 comprehensive immigration reform, which can
5 only be achieved by a partnership between
6 state and federal governments; and
7 "WHEREAS, Studies have shown that
8 comprehensive immigration reform with a clear
9 path to citizenship can play a vital role in
10 revitalizing both New York State's and the
11 United States' struggling economy; and
12 "WHEREAS, Immigration reform
13 transcends party lines and requires input from
14 all elected officials without regard to
15 political affiliation; now, therefore, be it
16 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
17 Body denounces any policy, such as the
18 above-mentioned law recently passed in the
19 State of Arizona, that can be described as
20 anti-immigrant; and be it further
21 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
22 Body welcomes and encourages cooperation on
23 all levels of government to work together to
24 enact immigration policies and laws which are
25 directly germane to the affairs, business,
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1 rights, benefits and obligations of New York
2 State and New Yorkers so as to strengthen the
3 family immigration system, provide a clear
4 path to citizenship, and revise current
5 enforcement so that human and civil rights are
6 safeguarded; and be it further
7 "RESOLVED, That copies of this
8 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
9 to President Barack Obama and all members of
10 the New York State Congressional delegation."
11 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
12 Serrano.
13 SENATOR SERRANO: Thank you,
14 Madam President.
15 I'd like to thank all of my
16 colleagues for allowing me to bring this very
17 important resolution here to the floor of the
18 Senate. And I would also like to thank my
19 cosponsor, Senator Jose Peralta, for his
20 leadership on this resolution.
21 This resolution speaks to a very
22 complex and disturbing issue that we have,
23 unfortunately, here in the United States. We
24 have a very broken immigration system, very
25 much in need of immigration reform, one that
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1 respects the fact that this nation was founded
2 on the backs of immigrants, people who came
3 here to love this country and to die for this
4 country.
5 But in Arizona, we've seen in
6 recent weeks a bill put forth that actually is
7 a slap in the face to that immigration
8 heritage and legacy that we have in this
9 nation. It is a bill that encourages racial
10 profiling, with terms such as "reasonable
11 suspension," meaning that based on the color
12 of a person's skin, possibly an accent, ways
13 that they look, that they are subject and fair
14 game to harassment by police and by
15 questioning to produce papers, papers that
16 would have to prove that they are here in this
17 country legally.
18 This is the wrong approach, many
19 believe -- and I agree -- to solving the
20 broken immigration system that we have in our
21 nation. This actually would have a chilling
22 effect on relations between our immigrants,
23 whether here legally or not, and law
24 enforcement.
25 So often we hear about immigrants
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1 who are the victims of fraud or crime,
2 domestic violence, and they won't come
3 forward. They won't come forward to law
4 enforcement because their fear of maybe their
5 own immigration status, or of a friend or a
6 loved one, and they just don't want to open
7 the door to that scrutiny. So a lot of crimes
8 go unheard, and they go without any kind of
9 justice.
10 We have 10 million undocumented
11 immigrants in this nation, which shows that
12 the immigration policies that we have now are
13 not working. But this Arizona law actually
14 serves to just polarize our nation even
15 further on the issue of immigration. It will
16 actually keep our immigrants further in the
17 shadows and would feel less inclined to move
18 forward on a path to immigration.
19 In East Harlem, where I represent,
20 East Harlem and the South Bronx, we have a
21 very strong and growing immigrant community.
22 And in 2009 I formed a coalition called East
23 Harlem Against Deportation, along with other
24 elected officials in East Harlem, as well
25 immigrant advocacy groups. And we looked at
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1 the negative effect that unjust deportation
2 and mistreatment of immigrants has had on this
3 nation.
4 And our report cited information
5 from a group called Jailed Without Justice,
6 which cited a 2009 report by Amnesty
7 International which said that more than 30,000
8 immigrants are detained each day in the United
9 States. "They include asylum seekers, torture
10 survivors, victims of human trafficking,
11 long-time lawful permanent residents and
12 parents of U.S. citizens."
13 This is the wrong approach. I
14 believe that we should respect the immigrants
15 who are coming here, who are seeking to build
16 this nation, to keep this nation as the
17 greatest nation on earth. And the way that we
18 respect them is by giving them an immigration
19 system that gives them a path to citizenship,
20 that gives them a path to being here legally.
21 There are people dying every day to
22 come to this nation. They are dying every day
23 because they know that this nation is the
24 greatest nation on earth and that it provides
25 unique opportunities that they will not find
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1 anywhere else in the world. We owe it to
2 them, we owe it to the legacy of our parents
3 and our grandparents and all the immigrants
4 who started our families here in this great
5 nation that we call home.
6 I ask my colleagues to support this
7 resolution, but actually that we also continue
8 to move forward in pressing our members of
9 Congress and the U.S. Senate and our President
10 and the federal government to institute real
11 immigration changes, real immigration policy
12 reform, policies that will deal with the fact
13 that we have so many undocumented immigrants
14 here who deserve the opportunity to have their
15 path to citizenship.
16 With that, I will conclude. I will
17 thank Senator Peralta once again -- we'll be
18 hearing from him in a minute. And I thank
19 you, Madam President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
21 Peralta.
22 SENATOR PERALTA: Thank you,
23 Madam President.
24 I also want to take this
25 opportunity to thank Senator Serrano and all
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1 the colleagues, all my colleagues that have
2 signed onto this resolution.
3 This resolution not only denounces
4 Arizona Law 1070, which legalizes racial
5 profiling and usurps federal immigration laws,
6 but it also sends a very strong message. It
7 sends that a message that we need a strong
8 path towards citizenship, we need
9 comprehensive immigration reform.
10 This law in Arizona is weak and
11 ineffective, in a sense because of its legal
12 standing and its moral standing. Legally,
13 this law defies reasonable suspicion, ignores
14 the role of the federal government in
15 immigration enforcement, and creates a set of
16 circumstances that will surely result in civil
17 liberties claims against police departments
18 throughout the state.
19 This resolution not only does that,
20 or will do that; this resolution will call for
21 real reform, reform that the President has
22 acknowledged, reform that Congress has
23 acknowledged. Morally, the effect that
24 legalization of racial profiling will have in
25 America will be devastating.
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1 How can we as a nation denounce
2 human rights violations around the world, send
3 men and women to war in the name of spreading
4 democracy, and pride ourselves on electing the
5 first African-American president -- and then
6 turn around and support a law that victimizes
7 our fellow citizens?
8 If Americans were similarly stopped
9 and detained for being American or just simply
10 looking American anywhere else in the world,
11 we would denounce it immediately and
12 forcefully. And yet in our country elected
13 officials have decided to criminalize the
14 color of someone's skin, the features on a
15 person's face, or the accents that they carry
16 from their culture.
17 Less than 50 years ago, the great
18 Martin Luther King, Jr., dreamed of a country
19 where his children would not be judged by the
20 color of their skin but by the content of
21 their character. This Arizona law is a slap
22 in the face of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s
23 dream. It is a slap in the face to the United
24 States Constitution. It is a slap in the face
25 to every American that believes that we are
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1 all created equal.
2 This law is most likely to be
3 legally challenged based on the standard of
4 reasonable suspicion that it uses and based on
5 the fact that only the federal government has
6 the authority to regulate immigration reform.
7 This law will not only have a
8 negative economic impact on Arizona, but it
9 also force local law enforcement agents -- as
10 my colleague has pointed out, it would also
11 force local law enforcement agents to perform
12 duties that not only do they have little
13 training on, but it will also create a larger
14 gap between police officers and the people
15 they are sworn to protect. Because no one
16 will end up trusting police officers after
17 this law is implemented.
18 That's what this resolution is all
19 about. This is not about protecting those
20 that are here unlawfully, this is about
21 denouncing racial profiling and protecting
22 civil rights and civil liberties. That's what
23 this country was based on. That's what this
24 country became so great on, the fact that we
25 have a Constitution, the fact that we have
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1 liberties and rights that we have defended for
2 so many centuries.
3 And let me just say this. As a
4 Latino legislator, if I travel to Arizona and
5 if I happen to walk down the streets and a
6 police officer stops me and asks me for my
7 identification, if I happen for that
8 particular day not to carry my identification
9 on me, well, guess what? I most likely will
10 be arrested.
11 That is unacceptable. That is
12 something that we are denouncing today.
13 That's why we're introducing this resolution.
14 And I ask all my colleagues to come
15 on board and join us in denouncing the
16 legitimizing of this racial profiling that
17 this law has created in Arizona. There have
18 been many, many cases across the land where
19 federal judges have struck down ordinances and
20 state laws simply because they did not meet
21 the requirements that were necessary, because
22 there were issues with the supremacy clause of
23 the Constitution, because the federal
24 government is the only government that has the
25 right to regulate immigration reform.
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1 So once we have a state trying to
2 dictate to the federal government what type of
3 immigration reform laws they should pass,
4 we're heading down a slippery slope.
5 Now, yes, it is true that we need
6 the federal government to step up to the
7 plate, that we need President Obama to step up
8 to the plate. But we also need to ensure that
9 it's the federal government that takes this
10 up, that it's the federal government that
11 takes the lead here.
12 Because with all the issues that
13 Arizona is facing currently -- they're
14 currently facing a $3 billion deficit -- this
15 will hurt them economically as well. This,
16 because of the boycotts and because of what
17 will happen in terms of the cost of detaining
18 all the potential unlawful individuals in
19 Arizona, it will break the treasuries.
20 Many police officers and agencies
21 in Arizona and outside are saying the same
22 thing: Why would they implement this state
23 law? It makes no sense. Let the federal
24 government deal with it. That's what we're
25 asking. We're asking for you to denounce and
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1 to join us in denouncing this law and join us
2 in pushing, in urging for a comprehensive
3 immigration reform on a national level.
4 Thank you.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
6 Schneiderman.
7 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
8 Madam President.
9 I rise in support of this
10 resolution. I truly hope that everyone here
11 will support it and join, I think, the
12 overwhelming majority of reasonable Americans,
13 including most of those involved in law
14 enforcement, in rejecting this approach to
15 immigration law and really rejecting this as
16 an anti-American piece of legislation that
17 Arizona has come up with.
18 This, from a strictly law
19 enforcement point of view, is a catastrophe.
20 You've got a state where more than 40 percent
21 of the population is African-American, Latino
22 or Native American. Anyone is subject to a
23 stop at any time. And the notion that this is
24 not going to have an effect, when witnesses to
25 crimes will be fleeing from the police or
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1 avoiding the police or victims of crimes will
2 refuse to report them -- this is just a law
3 enforcement catastrophe waiting to happen.
4 And that's the reason the Arizona Association
5 of Chiefs of Police has come out in opposition
6 to this bill.
7 So let's not support and let's not
8 tolerate legislation that essentially
9 criminalizes the way you look.
10 This is also a bill that
11 criminalizes the solicitation of work, even
12 though that's been held to be protected under
13 the First Amendment. And listen to what is
14 prohibited here, what a cop can pick you up
15 for in Arizona under this bill: Any verbal or
16 nonverbal communication by a gesture or nod
17 that would indicate to a reasonable person
18 that someone is willing to be employed.
19 Well, if we're going to start
20 criminalizing that, I think we're headed in
21 the wrong direction.
22 This is fundamentally, to me,
23 anti-American. I commend Senators Serrano and
24 Peralta for bringing this resolution forward.
25 I think that we should join with all of the
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1 other groups across the country that have
2 taken a stand in opposition to this bill.
3 I'm pleased with the fact that in
4 New York State we're moving in the right
5 direction, that the Governor has announced the
6 establishment of a panel to deal with
7 commutation of sentences for folks who are
8 facing deportation based on very old or very
9 minor crimes.
10 The solution to America's
11 immigration problem is a comprehensive federal
12 solution. Let's work on that. Let's urge our
13 leaders in Washington to work on that. But
14 let's reject the Arizona policy right now and
15 make it clear that here in New York State we
16 stand for the basic American principles of
17 equal justice under law.
18 Thank you, Madam President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
20 Hassell-Thompson.
21 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank
22 you, Madam President.
23 I rise to lend my support to that
24 of my two colleagues, Senators Serrano and
25 Peralta, on this resolution on the
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1 denouncement of the Arizona immigration
2 enforcement law.
3 Just very briefly, if we study
4 history, we will understand that the rise in
5 apartheid began in just this manner, that by
6 limiting the freedom and the movement of a
7 people, you are violating your own internal
8 constitution.
9 We continue to say to the world at
10 large, lend us your tired, your poor. And yet
11 we do everything that we can to obstruct their
12 ability to become a part of this tremendous
13 country that we call the United States of
14 America.
15 I think that we must support this
16 resolution, because I've already seen here in
17 our own city of New York where there's
18 unreasonable searches and seizures that happen
19 every day to African-Americans and Latinos.
20 This is not an accident. It is a deliberate
21 act. And therefore, I am part of any group
22 that will denounce the inability of people to
23 move freely throughout the United States.
24 When I've gone to other countries,
25 I make sure that I always keep my passport
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1 present because I know that that's their
2 policy. Anyone who feels that in the United
3 States that you have to do that, there's
4 something very wrong with that situation.
5 So, Madam President, I rise and
6 hope to encourage all of my colleagues in this
7 house to support this resolution in its
8 fullest intent.
9 Thank you, ma'am.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
11 L. Krueger.
12 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you,
13 Madam President.
14 I too rise simply to state as a
15 legislator in the State of New York, as
16 someone who respects our rights as people here
17 in our state to live free, to travel free, to
18 not be frightened to be stopped by the police
19 without justification, that it is so critical
20 that everyone in this country speak out
21 against what Arizona has done.
22 As my colleague Senator
23 Hassell-Thompson just said, this is a
24 frightening precedent. Perhaps it wouldn't go
25 down the road the wrong way. But there are so
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1 many precedents in so many countries, and
2 throughout history, of laws being passed under
3 one explanation that led to very, very
4 dangerous activities by law enforcement.
5 Time and time again we've seen this
6 in history and in the international playing
7 field. Even today, we see this going on
8 around the world. And in the United States of
9 America, we have to all stand up and say no,
10 not here, not in this country. I'm very
11 pleased to be cosponsoring this resolution.
12 Thank you, Madam President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
14 Montgomery.
15 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Madam
16 President. I rise to compliment my colleagues
17 for introducing this resolution.
18 And I just want to just reflect for
19 a minute on how the country actually came into
20 being. And of course we are all
21 representative of different parts of the world
22 that have come together here in America --
23 slaves from Africa, and how the Africans were
24 so much a part of the building of this nation,
25 and the immigrants from Europe who were so
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1 much a part of the building of the nation and
2 the creating of our Constitution and our
3 government, and the people from South America
4 and Mexico and how really this has always been
5 or at least in the past, before we became
6 race-neutral, we had a very vibrant mosaic of
7 peoples from around the world. All of us
8 represent part of that. And I am very happy
9 and proud to be part of that.
10 So it is a sad day when we have one
11 of our states declare essentially their own
12 internal war on a part of our nation, a group
13 of immigrants. And in particular, as it
14 relates to Arizona, it would most likely be
15 for, the most part, Mexican immigrants.
16 But all of the people in Arizona
17 will be subject to this law, and anyone
18 visiting Arizona would be subject to it. So
19 that if I visited Arizona and I had my son
20 with me, and God forbid I would not have
21 appropriate identification, I may end up in an
22 Arizona jail.
23 So this really is the wrong
24 message, I think, for us to be sending to our
25 fellow citizens. Especially it's the wrong
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1 image, recognizing that we all represent
2 another part of the world. And if we deny
3 that, we are going to deny ourselves access to
4 the tremendous amount of resourcefulness that
5 people bring with them when they come here
6 from other parts of the world.
7 So I hope that our federal
8 government, our Congress, our President can
9 figure out what to do about creating an
10 immigration policy. But at the same time I
11 hope that we don't turn on our most important
12 heritage, or at least one of our most
13 important heritages, and that is the fact that
14 we represent every part of the world. And
15 that's what we want to enjoy, appreciate, and
16 above all celebrate.
17 So I am happy that we're doing this
18 resolution, and we should keep the pressure on
19 Congress to make sure they join us in doing
20 something about immigration, but this is not
21 what we want done.
22 Thank you, Madam President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
24 Perkins.
25 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you very
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1 much, Madam President.
2 I just want to be brief, first, in
3 identifying myself with the resolution and how
4 important it is for us to be standing up in
5 opposition to what is taking place in Arizona.
6 It is a blight, if you will, on the
7 wonderfulness of this democracy that such a
8 statement has been made. And I think it's the
9 wrong message, not only to send to fellow
10 citizens of this nation but also to the world,
11 that -- you know, that Statue of Liberty
12 that's down near your neighborhood, Senator
13 Savino, that is a very, very important --
14 that's the message that should be brought down
15 to Arkansas. And that is -- I mean, I'm
16 sorry, Arizona. Did I say Arkansas? Both
17 places, it wouldn't hurt.
18 (Laughter.)
19 SENATOR PERKINS: In any case,
20 but that's the message. And, you know, what
21 we're doing here today I think is important.
22 And I think that, you know, what is going on
23 down there is inflammatory. It may create
24 many more problems than was intended. And so
25 I think the more voices that are heard in
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1 opposition to it, the better this country and
2 even the world, for that matter, is.
3 So thank you so much for the
4 sponsors. And hopefully this message will
5 translate to the leadership of this country
6 and make a difference.
7 Thank you.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
9 Smith.
10 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, thank you
11 very much, Madam President.
12 Let me thank Senator Serrano and
13 Senator Peralta for their commitment and
14 leadership to an issue that, when you think
15 about it in terms of your heart, it is just
16 the right thing to do.
17 It's actually unconscionable. If
18 you saw the President's statements of late, he
19 felt that this is one of the most
20 ill-conceived pieces of legislation that one
21 governor could sign.
22 And it takes not only leadership,
23 as Senator Peralta and Senator Serrano have
24 demonstrated, but conviction. It would be
25 very easy for either one of them to simply
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1 write a letter or to simply make a phone call
2 and lodge their complaint or concern to the
3 Governor or to the President. But they have
4 taken it a step further. They have not only
5 put this resolution on the floor, they have
6 put themselves in front of cameras and media
7 alike, which means that they demonstrating
8 their courage because there are others who
9 feel the opposite.
10 There are some people who will say,
11 Why are they doing this? So they are actually
12 putting their lives and their personal family
13 at risk. And that takes a lot. It's one
14 thing to be a politician, to stand up and
15 argue for a cause; it's another thing to put
16 your personal selfishness aside and say, I'm
17 doing this because it's the right thing to do.
18 So I stand on this floor today to
19 thank both of them for demonstrating the
20 leadership that many of us should try to
21 emulate.
22 And again, I stand here supporting
23 this resolution and encouraging the President
24 to move forward on a national immigration
25 policy that needs to happen.
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1 Thank you.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
3 Parker.
4 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you, Madam
5 President. On the resolution.
6 I first want to also add my voice
7 to whose who are thanking Senator Serrano and
8 Senator Peralta on advancing this important
9 resolution.
10 As the chair of the Democratic Task
11 Force on New Americans, I in my tenure the
12 last eight years have been dealing with issues
13 of new Americans and of immigration here in
14 the state.
15 And this is really -- what they've
16 done in Arizona is really both appalling and
17 shocking. This is a country of immigrants.
18 This country owes much of its success to
19 immigrants.
20 I represent a district in Flatbush,
21 East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park,
22 Kensington and Boro Park that has a very
23 diverse population. It's 57 percent black,
24 most of which are Caribbean immigrants. I
25 represent the largest concentration of
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1 Haitians outside of Haiti in the world. It
2 has many Caribbean nations, including
3 Panama -- I represent the place where more
4 Panamanians live than, again, anyplace else in
5 the world. It's 23 percent white, most of
6 which are Orthodox Jews, many of which, again,
7 are immigrants from Eastern Europe. It's
8 10 percent Latino, 5 percent Asian, including
9 the largest Pakistani community outside of
10 Pakistan.
11 And I want to say that I love my
12 district because it looks like Brooklyn, it
13 looks like New York, it looks like America.
14 And that kind of diversity is not just what
15 makes Brooklyn or New York State or New York
16 City great, but it's what really makes America
17 great.
18 And where would we be as a nation
19 if it weren't for, you know, Chinese
20 immigrants who helped build the railroads?
21 Where would we be if it wasn't for the
22 Pilgrims, who were immigrants themselves, who
23 came here and began the founding of this
24 nation? Where would we be without so many
25 groups that have come here?
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1 You know, we talked earlier today
2 about the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. You know,
3 Verrazano was an immigrant. And so where
4 would we be from Italian immigrants? And
5 Brooklyn has one of the largest populations of
6 Irish immigrants in the entire world. And so
7 where would we be without all these groups?
8 I think to develop policies in
9 which we are racially profiling people -- and
10 I get that we're in hard times, and scarcity
11 and economic scarcity is really important for
12 people right now, and where terrorism is a
13 real critical part. I get all of those
14 things. But I really think that this is the
15 wrong message that we should be sending.
16 I want to commend the President for
17 his comments but also want to encourage him in
18 action and encourage him and the members of
19 Congress to put forward a comprehensive
20 immigration reform package now. Now is the
21 time. And clearly, with the things that we're
22 seeing in Arizona and throughout the country,
23 that it's really past time that we start
24 seriously dealing with immigration.
25 This is, I think, an ill-conceived
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1 policy. Even the law enforcement people are
2 against it. I think that this is going to
3 be -- you know, it's going to spread our
4 resources in a way where we're not going to
5 get the things that I think that that state
6 expects to get out of it. And certainly it
7 provides a poor model for how we should go
8 forward.
9 And so I'm in favor of this
10 resolution and really want to commit myself to
11 continuing the fight to make sure that we
12 actually make America and New York State a
13 more immigrant-friendly community.
14 Thank you.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
16 Bonacic.
17 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you,
18 Madam President.
19 You know, I read this resolution,
20 and I happened to have read the Senate bill in
21 Arizona. I read both. And I thought a lot of
22 the rhetoric in discussing this resolution was
23 mischaracterized, was not factually true, and
24 was a chorus of political pandering at its
25 worst.
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1 And this is what I do know. Number
2 one, in the State of Arizona there are 460,000
3 illegals that crossed that border. It costs
4 the taxpayers in Arizona $2 billion a year to
5 fund education for the illegal aliens. When I
6 read the legislation of Arizona, it talks of
7 illegal aliens. That's the only thing it
8 talks about.
9 It welcomes legal aliens. It
10 welcomes immigrants who come to Arizona and
11 come to America and contribute and make this
12 country a better country because of their
13 presence.
14 What is a little disturbing to me
15 is remarks like "a slap in the face to
16 America," "anti-immigration." It's not
17 anti-immigration. It's anti-illegal
18 immigration. That's our law. That's the law
19 here in New York.
20 And I agree with all of you who
21 have gotten up and said we need the federal
22 government to step up and put forward a
23 national immigration policy. And it's a
24 travesty of justice that we have waited so
25 long for the federal government to do this.
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1 So I ask you, how do the residents
2 of Arizona or any other state near the borders
3 protect themselves? When you have gangs
4 oncoming over, terrorizing residents that live
5 there, what are -- and raising the expenses on
6 the state budget for illegal activity, what
7 does that have to do with the validity of
8 immigration? And all of the rhetoric was more
9 to it's an attack on immigration. So I
10 honestly think it's misguided.
11 And I join you in asking the
12 federal government to do more. But what are
13 the people of that state supposed to do?
14 They're asking that the federal government
15 come in and enforce the federal law, which is
16 not being done.
17 So 70 percent of the population
18 stands up and says, We've got to do -- this is
19 a defense mechanism, we've got to protect
20 ourselves. I don't think they are people that
21 are intent on racial profiling. If they were,
22 that would be wrong. Of course it would be
23 wrong.
24 But we have these laws in New York,
25 if there's reasonable suspicion and probable
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1 cause, that a police officer can stop someone
2 and ask questions, whether you're here legally
3 or not. And they do.
4 So what I particularly find
5 offensive is by calling this anti-immigration.
6 It is certainly not. And when you read the
7 statute, when it talks about businesses in
8 Arizona that hire illegal immigrants, they
9 want to send them back. Which is the federal
10 law.
11 And just as a point of information,
12 those Hispanics that are in Arizona that are
13 there legally, they don't like illegal
14 Hispanics coming to Arizona. They're not
15 anti-Hispanic, but they believe that they went
16 through a system, a process, to conform to
17 what the law is. And why should illegals come
18 in and take work away when they're there to
19 work?
20 So there's more to this than meets
21 the eye with all of the rhetoric.
22 And I also question why do we stick
23 our nose in other states and their problems
24 when they could be passing these resolutions
25 condemning us for not having a timely budget?
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1 Or the amount of criminal convictions we have
2 of elected officials in the last five years,
3 and they can stick their nose in our business.
4 We shouldn't be in their business,
5 because we've got a lot of business to take
6 care of here. And we're not doing it. And
7 our time could be spent more effectively
8 addressing the problems that we have in the
9 State of New York.
10 And all of those that have spoken,
11 I wish they would have read the statute in
12 Arizona before they spoke. And there's not
13 one mention, not one mention in this
14 resolution of that statute. But there is
15 mention of anti-immigration. I wasn't going
16 to speak, but -- and I could have agreed with
17 this whole resolution except that
18 anti-immigration remark. And then when I
19 heard the chorus of political pandering that
20 just simply was not true, I just thought there
21 should be a balance.
22 So for that reason, I'm not going
23 to support this resolution.
24 And the second reason is I again
25 want to say it, for the last time, I agree
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1 with all of my colleagues on the other side of
2 the aisle that the federal government should
3 step up, sooner rather than later, and do a
4 federal immigration policy. Because we
5 wouldn't be having these problems like this in
6 Arizona or any other state near that border.
7 We need help from the federal government, and
8 they're all tiptoeing. They don't want to get
9 into it now, they're waiting for the November
10 elections. But every day they delay creates
11 these collateral-damage problems.
12 Thank you, Madam President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
14 Diaz.
15 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, Madam
16 President. I'm a Puerto Rican with broken
17 English, kinky hair, black skin. And, you
18 know, honestly, honestly, I don't like what's
19 happening in Arizona. And I join my
20 colleagues supporting the resolution.
21 But -- there's always a "but" in my
22 life -- but there should be a resolution
23 introduced in this chamber not condemning
24 Arizona, condemning the federal government,
25 the Congress and the President. That's what
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1 the resolution should be. Because they ran a
2 campaign promising that they would solve this
3 problem if they get elected. They got
4 elected, and the problem is getting worse and
5 worse.
6 And now, how nice it is to focus on
7 Arizona and put all the attention on Arizona
8 and let the federal government off the hook.
9 Let Congress, all the Congressman, the
10 Senators, the President, let them off the
11 hook. Let's blame Arizona. Let's go after
12 Arizona.
13 I'm not saying that it's right what
14 they did. It's wrong. So don't confuse me
15 now. It is wrong what Arizona did, and I join
16 in the resolution. But let the resolution be
17 on the Congress, on the President. You
18 promised, they promised, they said, Vote for
19 me, and we will take care of this. And they
20 have not done anything.
21 They're forcing Arizona -- in a
22 way, in a way -- let me see if I can say this
23 right -- in a way, I'm glad this is happening.
24 Why? It is wrong what they're doing. But in
25 a way, I'm glad it's happening. Because it's
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1 going to force the President and the federal
2 government and the Congress to do what they
3 promised. You know what's going to happen in
4 other states? Other states are going to do
5 the same thing, the same thing.
6 And the buck stops not in Arizona.
7 You promise something, go ahead and do it.
8 They said, Elect us, because Bush and the
9 Republicans are the bad guys. But Bush did
10 more for immigrants than all what we're doing.
11 Bush did more than what we have done for the
12 immigration reform.
13 Where is the beef?
14 (Laughter.)
15 SENATOR DIAZ: Where is the beef?
16 I'm angry, yes, I'm angry. Because I -- I --
17 I -- when Bush was in power and Bush was the
18 bad guy, I coordinated a demonstration across
19 the Brooklyn Bridge, about 40,000 people
20 crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, and I
21 coordinated a demonstration in favor of the
22 immigration reform because Bush was the bad
23 guy, so we did it.
24 And when we got, when the
25 Democrats -- we, my party, my party, got
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1 elected, I say, oh, but no more demonstration.
2 No more, nothing else. It's over, finito.
3 Guess what? Arizona is here. And now we are
4 saying Arizona, Arizona, Arizona.
5 But I'm not saying Arizona, I'm --
6 what they did is wrong. I condemn what they
7 did, what they're doing. It's wrong, it's
8 bad. But that's not the point here. The
9 point is that they've been forced to do what
10 they have done because the promise that was
11 given to us has not been fulfilled.
12 And by the way, do you know how
13 many times in a day I got stopped and had to
14 show my identification? Even here in this
15 building. When I don't have my -- show me --
16 asking for identification, this is an everyday
17 thing. Everywhere.
18 So I'm supporting the resolution.
19 But I would love to see a resolution
20 condemning not only Arizona, the Congress, the
21 United States Congress of America, and the
22 President of America that promised. So don't
23 play these games, and don't play with emotion
24 trying to switch the attention to Arizona. We
25 don't have to go to Arizona, to lock ourselves
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1 in chains in Arizona. We should go to the
2 Congress, to Washington, and lock ourselves
3 there in Washington. That's what we should
4 do.
5 Thank you, Madam President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
7 Duane.
8 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Madam
9 President.
10 I would first like to thank
11 Senators Peralta and Serrano for introducing
12 this resolution. And I would further like to
13 associate myself with their remarks.
14 I feel very strongly that the
15 action that was taken in Arizona is
16 un-American. And if you look at the most
17 recent history of the attempts at immigration
18 reform, seriously, in a bipartisan way, there
19 have been lions who have tried to do
20 immigration reform. And perhaps the greatest
21 loss to our country on that issue was Senator
22 Kennedy.
23 And I also went back and looked at
24 some of the things that Senator McCain had
25 said on the issue. And I'm not going to go
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1 into what's happening now in the state that he
2 represents in great detail, but it really is
3 at odds to what he stands for.
4 So whether you're a progressive
5 Democrat or a libertarian-leaning Republican,
6 there is no way you could look at this
7 legislation, this bill, this action taken by
8 Arizona and not be saddened by it.
9 So I hope that it will galvanize
10 our nation towards doing true immigration
11 reform that will protect individual rights and
12 also protect all of the things that we cherish
13 about this country.
14 I'll be voting yes, Madam
15 President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
17 Adams.
18 SENATOR ADAMS: Thank you, Madam
19 President.
20 You know, this is a -- it's a
21 complicated issue when you deal with
22 immigration matters. And when you ask the
23 average police officer, he or she will state
24 that they don't like getting involved in
25 immigration issues. They want to leave that
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1 to the federal government. They would rather
2 deal with the issues of fighting crime and
3 some of those points.
4 I was just talking to my staff and
5 just going over a quick perusal. Arizona's
6 law orders immigrants to carry their alien
7 registration documents at all times and
8 require police to question people if there's
9 reason to suspect they're in the United States
10 illegally.
11 Just think about this for a moment.
12 Let's say you're -- many individuals who are
13 from outside the United States, they do
14 various tasks, particularly in New York City.
15 Many do babysitting and nannies. Miss Wong or
16 someone is pushing a child down the street or
17 picking a child up from school. Police
18 believes that he or she is here illegally,
19 they stop and question them and, if they are,
20 they could arrest them on the spot or take
21 them to the precinct. What happens to that
22 child?
23 Or better yet, someone is in an
24 intercultural relationship where your mate is
25 either Hispanic, Mexican, Chinese or any other
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1 group. You're stopped while having dinner or
2 leaving a restaurant or parking your car,
3 someone stops and say I want to see the
4 identification of your wife, your husband, the
5 person you are going out with that evening.
6 Think about how would you feel. You know?
7 How would you feel if all of a
8 sudden you're walking down the block hand in
9 hand with someone you decided to be in a
10 relationship with that's not from America,
11 that don't look like American -- what the heck
12 does an American look like? Who is making the
13 determination of what someone looks like
14 that -- let me read this again: And require
15 police to question people if there's reason to
16 suspect they're in the United States
17 illegally.
18 What criteria are we arming our
19 police officers with that they can make an
20 intelligent decision that you know what, the
21 person you're holding hands with Onorato,
22 because they're Asian, they may not be here
23 legally, so I'm going to stop you, I'm going
24 to question your mate. Or Senator Flanagan,
25 you're walking down the block with your lovely
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1 wife that happens to be Hispanic. I don't
2 know if she's here legally. I'm going to stop
3 you and question the status of your wife.
4 Senator Parker, you decide to date
5 an Asian woman. I don't know if she's here
6 legally. I'm going to stop you and question
7 if she's here right.
8 Ruth Hassell-Thompson, you decide
9 that you want to date a German male. I don't
10 know if he's here legally. Let me stop you
11 and question you. And, you know, he doesn't
12 have a identification card, you know what I'm
13 going to do? I'm not only going to stop you,
14 I'm taking you down to the precinct.
15 Can you imagine the environment
16 that's created? Particularly a -- I'm really
17 in trouble, because I'm a bachelor and I love
18 beautiful women of all origins. So I'm in
19 trouble.
20 (Laughter.)
21 SENATOR ADAMS: This is wrong.
22 This is wrong. You can't create an atmosphere
23 where this country promotes intercultural
24 relationships -- this is what we promote.
25 Unlike any other country, we promote different
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1 groups from different backgrounds that come
2 from different geographical areas on the globe
3 to interact with each other. And if we create
4 an environment where Senator Libous and his
5 Middle Eastern background, all of a sudden
6 he's out with his family, can be stopped and
7 harassed -- if we create that, that's the
8 wrong thing to do.
9 And so we can't close our eyes,
10 cover our ears, and shut our mouths and say
11 you know what, that's happening over there.
12 The last I checked, Arizona is in America.
13 And we have a responsibility as New Yorkers to
14 lead what is right, not only here in the
15 eastern part of the country but the western,
16 the northern, and the southern, to send a
17 strong message and prick the conscience of the
18 entire country and hope that cascades
19 throughout the entire globe, that human beings
20 should not be treated wrongly merely because
21 of where they were born or how they look.
22 That's what this law does. This
23 law is telling our police officers to make
24 this wild assertion, based on a person's
25 physical looks, to say if they are an American
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1 or not. Can you imagine if we did that to
2 young Italians when they were coming up? To
3 say, well, if you walk a certain way or talk a
4 certain way or eat at a certain restaurant you
5 automatically have to be in the Mafia? Can
6 you imagine that?
7 Can you imagine if we did it to or
8 were trying to do to Hispanics? Just because
9 you speak broken English, or your mother,
10 probably the first generation that didn't
11 speak English at all, well, you know what? I
12 heard her speaking English, so she can't be an
13 American, let me stop and detain and question
14 her.
15 And let me tell you what happened
16 in cases like this far too often. Individuals
17 who are stopped like that, they're not stopped
18 just once, they are stopped repeatedly over
19 and over and over again, until they reach the
20 point that they are afraid to go out. They're
21 afraid to go shopping, they're afraid to walk
22 the streets, they're afraid to enjoy the
23 country because over and over, they're stopped
24 and they're harassed: Let me see your ID, let
25 me see your ID, let me see your identification
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1 card.
2 Look at the criterias of this. I
3 was in Soweto, South Africa, and this is what
4 they were doing to blacks there. Every time
5 you walk down the block: "Let me see your
6 identification. Are you supposed to be out?
7 Let me see your papers." Does that sound
8 familiar? "Let me see your papers." This is
9 what this is saying. "Let me see your
10 papers." Have you heard that before? "Let me
11 see your papers." Have you heard that before?
12 I have.
13 This is the wrong direction for
14 this country to go in. And if we start with
15 Mexicans, then, Libous, you better watch out.
16 If we start with people from El Salvador, then
17 you better watch out, Serrano. If we start
18 with people from the Middle East, then you
19 better watch out, Addabbo. Because when fear
20 becomes the motivating factor for police
21 practices, then when you get rid of one
22 particular group, you start to look for other
23 groups.
24 We cannot allow fear to motivate
25 policies in this country. Our country is
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1 better than that. That's what they do in
2 other countries. We don't do that in America.
3 If we have a crime issue in Arizona, then
4 let's give them the law enforcement resources
5 to fight that crime. If there's border
6 issues, then let's do a better job of
7 protecting our borders. If there are
8 immigration issues, then let's pass the proper
9 federal law to address the issues of
10 immigration that not only should attack those
11 who are here illegally but the countless
12 number of underground marketing of those who
13 benefit from the immigration problem in
14 America. From nanny to picking lettuce,
15 everyone who benefits should impact and they
16 should be held accountable.
17 Immigrants are here illegally
18 because there's a market for their existence.
19 And we can't all of a sudden start to say that
20 now we no longer want to identify that very
21 real market that is going on every day in many
22 parts of these border states where people
23 exploit immigrants for profit. And that's
24 what we need to start having a real
25 conversation about. We could stop this
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1 immigration issue immediately if there wasn't
2 so much profit that was made from it, and
3 exploiting immigrants over and over again.
4 So this is the wrong direction that
5 we should go into. Arizona is wrong. And
6 New York should not silently sit back and
7 pretend the geographical boundaries that
8 separate our state from their state is the
9 reason that we should ignore that. We should
10 never ignore that. We've learned from the
11 past. You cannot pretend that tyranny does
12 not exist merely because you refuse to open
13 your eyes to the tyrannical act. That's
14 wrong. Dr. King said it best: Evil prevails
15 because good people sit silently by and permit
16 it to happen.
17 I'm not going to allow it to
18 happen. And if it means going to Arizona,
19 being arrested for not showing ID, then I'm
20 willing to do that. That is what we are as
21 human beings. This is a point in time that we
22 have to stand up as Americans and define what
23 our country is. Fear is not going to motivate
24 me to stand back, remain silent when another
25 person of the greatest race alive, and that's
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1 the human race, is being treating
2 unwarrantedly, unjustly, and that's wrong. I
3 believe that. And I know that many of us
4 believe that.
5 That's why we should be standing up
6 today pointing out what's wrong with a bill
7 that tells police officers that if they're
8 walking down the block and Senator Libous is
9 with his family and they believe that his
10 family member is here illegally, they can stop
11 and question him. And if they don't have
12 their papers, they can take him to jail.
13 I don't believe a bill that states
14 if Senator Flanagan is walking with his family
15 and they believe that his wife is here
16 illegally, that they can stop and question
17 her, and if she doesn't have her papers, they
18 can take her to jail. I don't believe a bill
19 that says that if Senator Serrano's mother is
20 thought to be here illegally, she can be
21 stopped and taken to jail if she doesn't have
22 her papers. I don't believe it. I don't
23 believe that's right.
24 And the only reason many of us are
25 able to accept this is because we're saying,
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1 well, it's not going to happen to me. That's
2 why we're able to accept this. We're saying
3 nobody is going to make the mistake that I'm
4 not an American. Nobody is going to stop the
5 nanny that's pushing my daughter. Nobody is
6 going to stop the beautiful woman that I'm
7 having dinner with, or the beautiful male that
8 I'm having dinner with. No one is going to
9 interrupt my card game that I'm sitting down
10 having cards with a group of friends. No one
11 is going to walk into a restaurant or pull me
12 off a movie line. No one is going to pull
13 over my car.
14 It could happen to anyone of us
15 that don't fit the description of who is an
16 American. And no one in here has fit that
17 description to state who is an American and
18 who's not. This is the wrong direction for
19 our country to go.
20 Thank you.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
22 Squadron, to close.
23 SENATOR SQUADRON: Thank you,
24 Madam President. I rise to follow Senator
25 Adams in just expressing just how damaging
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1 this Arizona law is.
2 You know, obviously it's a national
3 issue. Obviously, it's a issue of major
4 national import. But, you know, I represent a
5 pretty small Senate district in the context of
6 the nation. But in my Senate district is the
7 Lower East Side. And the Lower East Side of
8 Manhattan is where immigrant after immigrant
9 after immigrant generation have started their
10 path here as Americans. They've started in
11 the Lower East Side, whether it's German and
12 Irish or Jewish or Latino, from Puerto Rico,
13 coming over, or now an enormous number of
14 Chinese immigrants are coming into this nation
15 starting at the Lower East Side in order to
16 become Americans.
17 Because the only way to become an
18 American is by coming here as someone who
19 wasn't born here and start that path and that
20 journey. And the idea now we would say if
21 there is a chance, if there's a likelihood
22 that you are an immigrant, you are going to be
23 treated in this way -- if you can't prove that
24 you are here rightfully, you are going to be
25 hauled off to jail. If you're not carrying
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1 your papers in this country, you don't have
2 the right to be free in this country -- is a
3 real blight on the entire nation.
4 And down in the Lower East Side, we
5 don't have this law. We'll never have this
6 law in this state, God willing. But the fact
7 that Arizona has enacted this law is a slap in
8 the face to Lower East Siders in New York
9 State, to people across New York City and
10 New York State, to everyone who started their
11 journey in this country as an immigrant,
12 whether in this generation or in the last
13 generation or 10 generations ago. And as a
14 nation, as a community, as a state we must
15 stand against it.
16 Thank you, Madam President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
18 question is on the resolution. All those in
19 favor please signify by saying aye.
20 (Response of "Aye.")
21 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
22 Opposed, nay.
23 (Response of "Nay.")
24 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
25 resolution is adopted.
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1 Senator Klein.
2 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
3 I believe there's a resolution at the desk by
4 Senator Onorato. I ask that the resolution be
5 read in its entirety and move for its
6 immediate adoption and allow Senator Onorato
7 to speak on his resolution.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
9 Klein, has this resolution been deemed
10 privileged and submitted by the office of the
11 Temporary President?
12 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has,
13 Madam President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
15 Secretary will read.
16 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
17 Onorato, legislative resolution urging the
18 Metropolitan Transportation Authority to
19 reconsider the layoff of hundreds of station
20 agents in New York City.
21 "WHEREAS, The Metropolitan
22 Transportation Authority (MTA) is planning to
23 lay off approximately 500 employees in
24 New York City, starting this week, in response
25 to its current financial problems; and
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1 "WHEREAS, Several hundred station
2 agents employed by the MTA will lose their
3 jobs. Station agents are the key personnel
4 who help riders in the event of an emergency;
5 and
6 "WHEREAS, The Metropolitan
7 Transportation Authority plans to use security
8 cameras and buzzers to help passengers in
9 distress to compensate for the absence of
10 laid-off station agents in several highly used
11 subway stations in New York City; and
12 "WHEREAS, This reduction of the
13 MTA's workforce will impact the security --
14 and sense of security -- for the thousands who
15 ride the subways regularly and have started to
16 feel safer visiting New York City since
17 September 11, 2001; and
18 "WHEREAS, The need for continued
19 responsiveness by station agents and other
20 employees to ensure the safety and security of
21 those who ride New York City's subways and
22 buses was demonstrated this week by an
23 attempted car bomb explosion in Times Square;
24 and
25 "WHEREAS, Layoffs are a drastic
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1 response to financial difficulties that rip
2 apart the security of affected employees and
3 their families; and
4 "WHEREAS, The layoff of hundreds of
5 MTA employees will have a downward effect on
6 New York City's economy and government by
7 taking away the ability to workers to support
8 local businesses and provide tax revenues, and
9 may force many onto public assistance; and
10 "WHEREAS, The layoffs will also
11 increase the unemployment rolls in New York
12 City, which currently has an unemployment rate
13 of 10 percent, which is higher than the rest
14 of the state, and which also has an
15 unemployment rate of 38.7 percent for
16 African-Americans and 23 percent for
17 Hispanics; and
18 "WHEREAS, The Metropolitan
19 Transportation Authority, as the country's
20 largest urban transportation system, has built
21 an excellent reputation for responding to the
22 needs of its riders and making New York City
23 easy to get around by mass transit, which
24 helps the local economy by constantly bringing
25 thousands of visitors to New York City each
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1 year; and
2 "WHEREAS, The MTA's good reputation
3 is due in large part to the dedication and
4 quality of work performed by the MTA station
5 agents and other employees; and
6 "WHEREAS, Station agents can play
7 an active role as partners with the MTA to
8 curb the loss of $27 million in revenues from
9 turnstile jumping, as such loss was reported
10 in a recent MTA audit; and
11 "WHEREAS, The MTA's workforce is
12 one of its strongest assets which should be
13 maintained -- not reduced -- during this
14 difficult financial period; and
15 "WHEREAS, There are alternatives to
16 laying off station agents that the
17 Metropolitan Transportation Authority should
18 consider to reduce costs that have not been
19 given careful consideration by the MTA; now,
20 therefore, be it
21 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
22 Body pause in its deliberations to urge the
23 Metropolitan Transportation Authority, its
24 chairman and board of directors, to consider
25 and use alternatives to laying off its station
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1 agents and other employees starting this week;
2 and be it further
3 "RESOLVED, That copies of this
4 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
5 to Jay Walder, Chairman and Chief Executive
6 Officer, Metropolitan Transportation
7 Authority; Andrew M. Saul, Vice Chairman,
8 Metropolitan Transportation Authority; and
9 Michael Bloomberg, Mayor, New York City."
10 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
11 Onorato.
12 SENATOR ONORATO: Thank you,
13 Madam President.
14 Well, the resolution speaks for
15 itself. I think it's a travesty to go laying
16 off 500 MTA workers at this time that the
17 state is in the dire straits that we're in.
18 These workers contribute a great
19 deal to the economy of the City of New York
20 and provide a needed safety factor. These
21 station ticket agents are the eyes and ears of
22 the crime that's being committed, whenever it
23 is being committed, in the subways, on the
24 platforms, and are the instant callers to the
25 Police Department or the Transit Police to
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1 handle the situation.
2 And I'm sure that the MTA can find
3 other means, just as the Governor did when he
4 proposed laying off 8,900 workers in the state
5 workforce. He rescinded that process and
6 found other means by cutting other projects
7 within the agency.
8 And I'm urging the MTA to use the
9 same technology that the Governor used in
10 providing the safety for the City of New York
11 and its riders and to restore the faith that
12 these workers had when they took these jobs.
13 I urge the chairman of the MTA to reconsider
14 his position and rescind that order.
15 Thank you, Madam President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
17 Schneiderman.
18 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you,
19 Madam President. And I want to thank Senator
20 Onorato.
21 I have been engaged in battles with
22 the MTA for quite some time, from long before
23 I was a State Senator, when I represented the
24 NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and the TWU in
25 litigation with the MTA. And one issue that
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1 came up over and over again was the question
2 of the Authority's shortsighted approach to
3 the issue of public safety.
4 And I understand there's a fiscal
5 crisis. But our fundamental duty as a
6 government, first and foremost, is to provide
7 for the safety and security of our citizens.
8 And there is no question that the reduction of
9 MTA workers is going to hurt our efforts to
10 ensure public safety. I mean, you know, after
11 what just happened in Times Square, I think
12 it's obvious that having alert folks with the
13 ability to report suspicious conduct is
14 essential to ensuring safety.
15 In the MTA -- we're talking about
16 thousands and thousands of people whose lives
17 have been saved and injuries have been avoided
18 because of MTA workers. The number of
19 emergency calls made, the number of
20 notifications of the police and EMTs is
21 staggering.
22 So to then just say, okay, well, we
23 have no choice but to lay off these workers,
24 there's a tremendous cost. And it's much
25 greater than the money that will be saved.
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1 So I'm pleased to support this
2 resolution. I hope everyone will support this
3 resolution. This is something that is not
4 optional. There's some things we have to do.
5 And I will joining my colleagues in fighting
6 as hard as we can to prevent layoffs of police
7 officers, reduction in other things that are
8 essential for public safety.
9 Let's be clear about this. These
10 reductions will adversely affect public
11 safety. That is the last thing we should be
12 doing, not the first thing. The MTA's
13 approach is shortsighted, it is wrong, and I
14 stand with my colleagues here in opposing it
15 and will do everything I can -- hopefully
16 don't have to go to court again -- but, you
17 know, do everything I can to prevent these
18 layoffs. This is something that just is
19 really -- we can't tolerate.
20 And as a body that has some
21 supervisory power over authorities, I think
22 it's something that we have to take a very
23 strong stand on. I'm honored to support this
24 resolution, Madam President, and I hope
25 everyone in this chamber will support it.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
2 DeFrancisco.
3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You can't
4 make this up. You truly cannot make this up.
5 Week after week, on the extender
6 bills, we from upstate New York try to get
7 amendments to the bills because the extenders
8 are resulting in people not being able to be
9 put to work. Road and bridge projects stopped
10 because bills aren't being paid. Construction
11 projects stopped because bills can't be paid.
12 SUNY projects -- not CUNY -- SUNY projects
13 being stopped because they're not getting
14 paid. People get laid off. People aren't
15 being paid. It increases the unemployment
16 rolls. I could just change the word from
17 "MTA" to "upstate."
18 And instead of working on the
19 remedy, which is to follow the 2007 law and
20 debate, as passionately as we debated the
21 ill-conceived laws of Arizona today or
22 passionately debated the MTA's outrageous
23 concept of laying employees off because they
24 don't have any money, we could be debating the
25 various aspects of the budget and try to put
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1 as many of these people back to work because
2 the budget process will be done.
3 You truly can't make this up. You
4 truly can't make this up.
5 And, ladies and gentlemen, we can
6 debate -- I'm sure we've got more policy
7 judgments to make on other states and more
8 criticism of the federal government and more
9 MTA resolutions because MTA is in trouble.
10 But the fact of the matter is we have one
11 primary obligation that is long overdue, and
12 that is to start the conference committees,
13 get a budget, so we can put people -- what, am
14 I out of order now? Am I not germane? Go
15 ahead, you were going to say --
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
17 Continue, Senator DeFrancisco.
18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I was just
19 wondering if I was going to be out of order or
20 not germane. Because it would be -- that
21 would also -- you couldn't make that one up
22 either. But --
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
24 DeFrancisco, please complete your comments.
25 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: But I don't
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1 want you to feel shy. You were going to say
2 something. I want you to get it off your
3 chest.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
5 DeFrancisco --
6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: All right.
7 I think I've made the point. The point simply
8 is this. Let's stop this stuff and stop
9 debating what other people are doing wrong,
10 and look in the mirror.
11 The leaders should look in the
12 mirror and say in less than a week we're going
13 to be laying off more employees. State
14 employees are going to be furloughed for a day
15 each week while we debate the wisdom of an
16 Arizona law and we debate whether MTA should
17 lay off workers because they don't have any
18 money, a topic of which we don't the
19 information that they have to determine their
20 fiscal responsibilities and their fiscal
21 abilities.
22 So again, I would call for us to
23 follow the 2007 law and let's start doing what
24 we're supposed to be doing now.
25 Thank you.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
2 Marcellino.
3 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
4 Madam President.
5 As onerous as the laying off of 500
6 people by the MTA is -- and it is. And I
7 think it's a terrible thing to do.
8 Especially, as Senator Onorato just said, that
9 we have a crisis and we're going to put these
10 people on the streets at a time when we really
11 don't want to do that and add to the
12 unemployment rolls -- the MTA is also doing
13 something which I consider to be far more
14 egregious. It is proposing to cancel what is
15 known as the Able-Ride system.
16 This is a system of bus
17 transportation that occurs on Long Island to
18 provide disabled, physically challenged
19 people, mentally challenged people, a ride to
20 their medical needs, in some cases for
21 dialysis. I have a constituent that uses the
22 system three times a week to go to dialysis at
23 a local hospital. He cannot get there by
24 private transportation. It's very expensive.
25 Able-Ride, by the way, is not free,
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1 Madam President. It's a $7 fee. Which he's
2 willing to pay. Because on the North Shore of
3 Long Island, where this is most important,
4 there is no bus service. There are no buses
5 that do this. The streets are not big enough.
6 The major bus lines don't go there. So the
7 people that are served by this system really
8 need it. This is going to -- so, I'm told by
9 Senator Padavan, is Access-A-Ride in the City.
10 This, I'm told, is proposed to save
11 the MTA $1 million, possibly. Out of a
12 $750 million deficit, and probably an $11
13 billion to $12 billion budget that the system
14 has, they're going to cut service to the most
15 vulnerable and people who need the system the
16 most at a time when they need the system the
17 most. This is truly life and death for the
18 people who use this Able-Ride system.
19 I would urge that we all call upon
20 the MTA -- I've spoken to Mr. Walder. He
21 understands my position. I've written him
22 letters. Others have done the same. There
23 have been stories in the local papers about
24 it. This is not the way to balance your
25 budget, on the backs of those people who are
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1 in the greatest need.
2 I am sure in that morass which is
3 known as the budget of the MTA, a million
4 dollars can be found in another way, rather
5 than by cutting the Able-Ride system.
6 Thank you, Madam President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Thank
8 you.
9 Are there any other Senators that
10 wish to be heard on the resolution?
11 Seeing none, the question is on the
12 resolution. All those in favor please signify
13 by saying aye.
14 (Response of "Aye.")
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
16 Opposed, nay.
17 (Response of "Nay.")
18 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
19 resolution is adopted.
20 Senator Klein.
21 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
22 I believe there's a resolution at the desk by
23 Senator Adams. I ask that the resolution be
24 read in its entirety and move for its
25 immediate adoption.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
2 Klein, has this resolution been deemed
3 privileged and submitted by the office of the
4 Temporary President?
5 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has,
6 Madam President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
8 Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
10 resolution by Senator Adams commemorating the
11 65th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.
12 "WHEREAS, The suffering and
13 sacrifices of members of the United States
14 Armed Forces, who served so faithfully and
15 courageously in World War II, must be
16 remembered with reference so future
17 generations will never forget the cost of the
18 peace they made possible; and
19 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such
20 concern, and in full accord with its
21 long-standing traditions, this Legislative
22 Body is justly proud to commemorate the 65th
23 Anniversary of Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, to
24 be celebrated on Saturday, May 8, 2010; and
25 "WHEREAS, May 8, 1945, the date
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1 when the Allied Forces formally accepted the
2 unconditional surrender of the armed forces of
3 Nazi Germany, marked the end of the Third
4 Reich. The citizens of Europe were liberated,
5 as were the survivors of Hitler's
6 concentration camps and the Allied prisoners
7 of war; and
8 "WHEREAS, With victory in the
9 Pacific just over the horizon, celebrations
10 broke out all over the world. V-E Day, May 8,
11 remains a time when people across the globe
12 pay tribute to those who so courageously
13 fought for the freedom we enjoy today; and
14 "WHEREAS, In acknowledgment of the
15 supreme sacrifice of the fallen forces on
16 May 8, 2010, many will mourn those losses;
17 others will celebrate with fireworks; and
18 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this
19 Legislative Body, acting on behalf of this
20 Empire State, to honor the members of the
21 United States Armed Services who served so
22 valiantly and with such distinction to
23 liberate Europe from the tyranny of the Third
24 Reich, and specifically to honor the more than
25 100,000 veterans of World War II yet living in
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1 New York, who remind us by their example why
2 they were the 'Greatest Generation'; now,
3 therefore, be it
4 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
5 Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate
6 the 65th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day;
7 and be it further
8 "RESOLVED, That copies of this
9 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
10 to the Intrepid Air-Sea-Space Museum in
11 New York City, the New York State Military
12 Museum in Saratoga Springs, the United States
13 Merchant Marine Academy, and the United States
14 Military Academy at West Point."
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
16 Adams.
17 SENATOR ADAMS: Thank you, Madam
18 President. And I'm doing the resolution for
19 both V-E Day as well as V-J Day. And I just
20 want to take a moment -- the other resolution
21 is not necessary to read in its entirety. I'm
22 sure it will be present for those who want to
23 read and sign on.
24 I think it's imperative that while
25 our young men and women are overseas fighting
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1 in both Afghanistan and Iraq, that we never
2 forget that we are able to enjoy our liberties
3 and freedoms here in America because our men
4 and women that have donned the green fatigues
5 or the blue, Navy blue, or whatever other
6 colors, indicate the army of hope and
7 prosperity that they bring across the globe.
8 Thank you.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
10 Larkin.
11 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, Madam
12 President.
13 Thank you, Senator Adams, for the
14 resolutions.
15 You know, I look at these two
16 resolutions for World War II, in Europe and in
17 the Pacific. D-Day was the 6th of June, '44,
18 was the day we finished basic training at Fort
19 Dix and then went to the South Pacific.
20 While a lot of people in this in
21 this room were not thought about -- George,
22 you were too young. Come on, George, smile.
23 I said you were too young.
24 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Oh, you're
25 right.
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1 SENATOR LARKIN: But, you know,
2 when you start to think about on the TV now
3 they're talking about what the Pacific was all
4 about. But the struggles of all the armed
5 forces going into the Pacific, when you have
6 to go all the way back to Corregidor, you have
7 to go back to 1941, December the 7th, and then
8 take that stream all the way up --
9 Quadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa.
10 Many of troops that went to the
11 Philippines, when President Truman dropped the
12 bomb, the 6th and the 9th of August, 1945, we
13 were practicing climbing the mountains because
14 we were going to go to Japan. There was a
15 million body bags in the Philippines in August
16 of 1945, because that was the intelligence
17 estimate of the number of Americans we would
18 have lost had we gone through and invaded
19 Japan.
20 So there's a lot to say about the
21 end of World War II. A lot of troops came
22 home. And, you know, there was nothing for
23 them. Troops couldn't get into college.
24 There wasn't enough housing.
25 But, you know, we're the greatest
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1 country in the world. We're the greatest
2 country in the world because there were a lot
3 of young people, a lot of young people, 16,
4 17, 18 years of age went to combat and never
5 came home.
6 I came out of Troy, New York, and
7 there were three other fellow that's went away
8 with me. One was killed in Germany, the other
9 two were killed in Okinawa. But that war was
10 something. And the end of it, I don't know
11 how many know that there were eight signings
12 of the end of the war in the Pacific, eight
13 specific signings at different locations. The
14 one most popular that everyone knows is
15 September the 2nd, in Yokohama Bay, with
16 General MacArthur, where they did the signing,
17 official signing. But there were seven
18 others, to accommodate the British, the
19 Australians, and a lot of other allies so that
20 they could take part in the ceremonies which
21 their troops fought to end the war in the
22 Pacific.
23 New York had the 27th Infantry
24 Division. Many elements from this part of the
25 state fought in the Pacific -- Saipan, others.
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1 But, you know, to take a few moments and think
2 about what happened to the end of that war and
3 to think about the young people who made the
4 sacrifices.
5 I think I understand this more than
6 most people because six weeks ago this
7 Thursday I received a call, not about Japan,
8 not about the Pacific, but about Korea. And
9 it makes you think of how important life is
10 and that, you know, sometimes we ought to stop
11 struggling and try to cooperate. Because the
12 cooperation six weeks ago was a woman telling
13 me that her husband's body, remains, were
14 found. I was the best man at their wedding.
15 He had been in captivity 59 years. They were
16 married December 1949, we went to Korea July
17 of 1950, and he was captured by the Chinese in
18 November 1950.
19 So we've been at a string of wars.
20 But I hope everybody just takes a moment --
21 whether you like to think about war or not,
22 but just think about what's in the resolution.
23 It's what means something to America. Too
24 many of our young children, mine included,
25 don't realize the impact that that war,
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1 World War II, had on their parents, their
2 grandparents.
3 And when we start to just pass it
4 by as passing a resolution -- it is important.
5 It's important that everybody knows. Nobody
6 was exempt from the casualties. No one was
7 exempt from the hits on it. And it's
8 important because just last Wednesday we had
9 part of the Greatest Generation, I consider,
10 is those young cadets from West Point. Just
11 for information, the group that was here last
12 year, two-thirds of them are in combat in
13 Afghanistan and Iraq today.
14 So think about it. And if you
15 don't know enough to think about it, go to the
16 library and get a book or ask somebody. Or
17 the next time you see something that says the
18 American Legion, the VFW, Jewish War Vets,
19 whatever it might be, go and attend one of
20 their functions and meet some of the people
21 who fought in those wars and made it easy for
22 you and I to sit here today. And just think
23 about how easy we have it. We have it easy.
24 And just remember this. There are
25 1.9 million Americans that have been killed
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1 and wounded in combat since World War II.
2 Thank you, Madam President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
4 Huntley.
5 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Yes, Madam
6 President. I just wanted to commend Senator
7 Adams for his resolution.
8 And that's why it's so important
9 that we spend more time and energy when we're
10 here in this chamber, here in Albany, meeting,
11 talking about what we can do for veterans.
12 And like Senator Larkin said, this
13 is the greatest country. And the part that
14 disturbs me the most, that the greatest
15 country does not do enough for our vets. And
16 we are here because they're fighting for us.
17 Many have died. And sometimes we seem, as a
18 body, very unappreciative. And I think we
19 need to read, if we don't know about it. I've
20 read books about the world wars. That's where
21 I got my knowledge from.
22 And I think it's important that we
23 all become a part of that and try to make
24 lives for our vets better. And that's why I'm
25 so concerned about St. Albans Veterans
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1 Hospital. They deserve better, and we can do
2 that for them.
3 Thank you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
5 Leibell.
6 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you,
7 Madam President.
8 It is fitting that we pause for a
9 few moments during today's deliberations to
10 think back on V-E Day and V-J Day. In my age
11 group, it's not uncommon to have gone to
12 school with classmates who had lost their
13 fathers or their older brothers during that
14 conflict.
15 Today we find ourselves in a
16 similar conflict, to the extent that we have
17 hundreds of thousands of young people who are
18 continuing a great tradition in this country
19 of defending freedom around the world.
20 We have been blessed that we have
21 so many people who have been willing to serve
22 our great country. I know my own father told
23 me that on V-E Day in Europe, because there
24 was a war in the Pacific, every unit expected
25 to be sent to the Pacific. And he said to me
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1 there was one question we all had in our
2 minds: Would we go through the United States,
3 would we be able to see our families again, or
4 would they send us directly through the Canal
5 and right out to the Pacific?
6 For so many of them, they were
7 transferred out of the Europe at the
8 conclusion of the hostilities there and went
9 directly over to combat in the Pacific. And
10 many -- many lost their lives in that
11 conflict.
12 So it is important that we pause
13 today. We're grateful to Senator Adams for
14 putting forth these resolutions. I hope
15 they'll be open to everybody on the floor to
16 join in sponsorship, because it is so
17 important that this country always remember
18 the events of those difficult times.
19 Thank you, Madam President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
21 Maziarz.
22 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very
23 much, Madam President.
24 You know, the previous two
25 resolutions that we did, there was
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1 disagreement on both sides of this room. It's
2 great to see something like this. And I thank
3 Senator Adams for bringing it forward.
4 Because, you know, sometimes in
5 history events happen and, you know, many,
6 many, many years later people begin to realize
7 the extent of what all of that meant. When
8 you think about it, World War II, you know,
9 when you think of the book that was written,
10 "The Greatest Generation," and some of the PBS
11 series that are out there, Ken Burns' series
12 on the war, you know, talking about four small
13 towns in America that sent their sons off to
14 war, and more recently in the Pacific, and you
15 think about the young people that just left
16 home -- I was with a group of veterans, a
17 World War II veteran, and he was saying how he
18 had never been more than 20 miles away from
19 his home. The furthest he had ever been
20 from -- he grew up in Lockport was to go to
21 Batavia to pick up apples with his father.
22 And suddenly, within like eight weeks, he
23 found himself over in Europe in areas that he
24 couldn't pronounce, couldn't spell, and had no
25 idea on a map how to find them. But he was
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1 there fighting for a cause, and this country
2 came together to do it.
3 And I just want to mention Colonel
4 Larkin, the highest ranking military officer
5 that we have here in the New York State
6 Senate. Senator Padavan thinks he is, and
7 Senator Larkin is such a gentleman that he
8 allows Senator Padavan to think that, even
9 though he's not.
10 (Laughter.)
11 SENATOR MAZIARZ: But this is
12 really a great resolution. It's something
13 that we should all pause to think about.
14 I take part in an organization
15 called Honor Flight. And I would suggest
16 every one of my colleagues, on both sides of
17 the aisle, to go to honorflight.com. This is
18 a national organization that takes World War
19 II vets -- now, mind you, these individuals
20 are in their late 80s, in some cases early
21 90s. And they take these individuals to
22 Washington, D.C., for one day -- Southwest
23 Airlines cooperates with it -- for one day to
24 visit the World War II Memorial in Washington,
25 D.C.
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1 And if you want any information
2 about it, contact my office and we'll show
3 you. It's the best program I've ever done in
4 my public life. And it really honors those
5 individuals who really deserve an honor,
6 because they really preserved freedom. It was
7 their sacrifice that allows us to stand up
8 here and argue about resolutions, about
9 immigration and the MTA, that they allowed us
10 to do that here today.
11 So thank you, Madam President. And
12 again, thank you, Colonel Larkin, the highest
13 ranking military officer here in the New York
14 State Senate.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
16 Little.
17 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you, Madam
18 President.
19 I would like to join my colleagues
20 today in thanking Senator Adams for putting
21 forth this resolution because it gives us an
22 opportunity to reflect on World War II and on
23 all of those men and women and for the
24 sacrifices that they made, for the lives that
25 were lost but for the freedom that was gained
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1 for all of us.
2 Last May, it's about exactly a
3 week -- the same week, a year ago this week, I
4 had the opportunity to visit my son, who is
5 serving in Japan as a naval aviator, and he is
6 on the Atsugi Naval Base. This air base was
7 actually built in 1939 by the Japanese, and it
8 was an air base that the kamikaze pilots and
9 planes trained at.
10 Today it is a pleasure to be able
11 to be there to reflect on what took place
12 there and what has taken place since there,
13 but to see that it is a base that is jointly
14 occupied by the Navy, the American Navy, and
15 the Japanese military as well. And there's
16 such a great working relationship between the
17 two that it shows how far we have come and how
18 much we all appreciate that peaceful
19 relationship.
20 So thank you.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
22 Oppenheimer.
23 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Thank you.
24 I really hadn't thought much about Corregidor
25 and Guadalcanal and names like that, but they
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1 were a part of my childhood. As some of you
2 know, my father joined the Army the day after
3 Pearl Harbor. And for the next five and a
4 half years, my sister and I were Army brats,
5 moving every single year to a different place.
6 My father was a colonel in the
7 Judge Advocate General's department. And
8 every battle was discussed in our home, and we
9 followed it very closely. And it was an
10 experience I don't wish on everybody, but I
11 think it was a broadening experience for me
12 personally to have lived in so many different
13 places each year, learning to quickly adjust
14 to a new place, trying to make friends, and
15 feeling very, very close to the war effort.
16 And wherever we went, my mother immediately
17 volunteered for the Red Cross.
18 So even though I was a child, it
19 was a part of our lives and very significant.
20 And there wasn't -- you couldn't believe the
21 joy when V-E Day came and a few months later
22 when V-J Day came. We were just all crying
23 and laughing on the street. We were living in
24 Washington, D.C., at the time.
25 So I thank you for bringing back
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1 these remembrances. And please God, we will
2 never have another war like that.
3 Thank you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
5 Farley.
6 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Madam
7 President. I rise to pay tribute to one of
8 our colleagues that serves here, a Marine who
9 was part of the Greatest Generation, who
10 served in World War II, Senator Owen Johnson.
11 Yeah, O.J.
12 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Thanks for
13 the recognition.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
15 there any other Senators wishing to be heard
16 on this resolution?
17 Seeing none, the question is on the
18 resolution. All those in favor please signify
19 by saying aye.
20 (Response of "Aye.")
21 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
22 Opposed, nay.
23 (No response.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
25 resolution is adopted.
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1 Senator Adams has indicated he
2 would like to open up this resolution for
3 cosponsorship by the entire house. Any
4 Senator not wishing to be on the resolution
5 please notify the desk.
6 Senator Craig Johnson.
7 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Madam
8 President, I believe that Senator Adams has
9 another resolution at the desk. I ask that
10 the title of the resolution be read and move
11 for immediate adoption.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
13 Johnson, has this resolution been deemed
14 privileged and submitted by the office of the
15 Temporary President?
16 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Yes,
17 Madam President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
19 Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Adams,
21 legislative resolution commemorating the 65th
22 Anniversary of Victory in Japan Day.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are
24 there any Senators wishing to be heard on the
25 resolution?
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1 Seeing none, the question is on the
2 resolution. All those in favor please signify
3 by saying aye.
4 (Response of "Aye.")
5 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
6 Opposed, nay.
7 (No response.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
9 resolution is adopted.
10 Senator Adams has indicated that he
11 would like to open up this resolution also for
12 cosponsorship by the entire house. Any
13 Senator not wishing to be on the resolution
14 please notify the desk.
15 Senator Johnson.
16 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Madam
17 President, there will be an immediate meeting
18 of the Finance Committee, followed by an
19 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
20 the Majority Conference Room, Room 332.
21 Pending the return of the Rules
22 Committee, can we please stand at east.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: There
24 will be an immediate meeting of the Finance
25 Committee, followed by an immediate meeting of
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1 the Rules Committee in Room 332.
2 Pending the return of the Rules
3 Committee, the Senate will stand at ease.
4 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at
5 ease at 6:22 p.m.)
6 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened
7 at 6:50 p.m.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
9 Klein.
10 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
11 I believe there's a report of the Rules
12 Committee at the desk. I move that we adopt
13 the Rules Committee report at this time.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: There
15 is a report of the Rules Committee at the
16 desk.
17 The Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Smith,
19 from the Committee on Rules, reports the
20 following bills:
21 Senate Print 4966, by Senator
22 Oppenheimer, an act to amend the Education
23 Law;
24 And Senate Print 7573A, by Senator
25 Aubertine, an act to amend the Economic
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1 Development Law.
2 Both bills ordered direct to third
3 reading.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: All
5 those in favor of adopting the Rules Committee
6 report please signify by saying aye.
7 (Response of "Aye.")
8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
9 Opposed, nay.
10 (No response.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
12 Rules Committee report is adopted.
13 Senator Klein.
14 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
15 at this time can we please go to a reading of
16 the calendar.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
18 Secretary will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 152, by Senator Schneiderman --
21 SENATOR KLEIN: Lay the bill
22 aside for the day, please.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
24 bill is laid aside for the day.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
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1 278, by Senator Oppenheimer, Senate Print
2 6868A, an act to amend the Tax Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: There
4 is a home-rule message at the desk.
5 Read the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
12 Oppenheimer, to explain her vote.
13 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: This is
14 not -- I see a lot of hands up, so I think
15 I'll have to give a little explanation here.
16 Because I'm not sure that it is what they
17 think it is.
18 This is one-quarter of 1 percent in
19 the sales tax for White Plains. And what they
20 want to do with that money is to put it into a
21 reserve fund, because they have totally spent
22 down their reserve fund and it has no money in
23 it. And so they feel that they are obligated
24 to put money into a reserve fund in case an
25 emergency occurs. They have totally depleted
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1 their fund balance.
2 And this is going to be a
3 stabilization reserve fund, and it's
4 replenishing the deficit in which it now finds
5 itself. So this is as safe as it can be, and
6 it can only used under emergencies. And it's
7 because they have no money in the reserve fund
8 now.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
10 Libous.
11 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you. I
12 rise because Senator Seward just entered the
13 chamber. Thank you, Madam President.
14 (Laughter.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: We saw
16 him, thank you.
17 Announce the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 32. Nays,
19 29.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 298, by Senator Parker, Senate Print 3601C, an
24 act to amend the Social Services Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Read
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1 the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Call
5 the roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: All
8 those voting in the negative, could you please
9 raise your hand again so the Secretary can
10 recognize you.
11 Announce the results.
12 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
13 the negative on Calendar Number 298 are
14 Senators Bonacic, DeFrancisco, Farley,
15 Flanagan, Golden, Griffo, O. Johnson, Lanza,
16 Larkin, Leibell, Libous, Little, Nozzolio,
17 Ranzenhofer, Saland, Seward, Skelos, Volker,
18 Winner and Young.
19 Ayes, 41. Nays, 20.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
21 bill is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 316, by Senator Squadron, Senate Print 5288A,
24 Concurrent Resolution of the Senate and
25 Assembly proposing an amendment to Section 8
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1 of Article 2 of the Constitution.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Call
3 the roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO:
6 Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
8 the negative on Calendar Number 316 are
9 Senators Alesi, Bonacic, DeFrancisco, Farley,
10 Flanagan, Fuschillo, Golden, Griffo, Hannon,
11 O. Johnson, Lanza, Larkin, LaValle, Leibell,
12 Libous, Little, Marcellino, Maziarz, McDonald,
13 Nozzolio, Padavan, Ranzenhofer, Robach,
14 Saland, Seward, Skelos, Volker, Winner and
15 Young.
16 Ayes, 32. Nays, 29.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 407, by Senator Klein, Senate Print 4589C, an
21 act to amend the Public Health Law.
22 SENATOR KLEIN: Lay the bill
23 aside for the day, please.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
25 bill is laid aside for the day.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 421, by Senator C. Johnson, Senate Print 7366,
3 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
13 bill is passed.
14 Senator Klein, that completes the
15 reading of the noncontroversial calendar.
16 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
17 can we please go to a reading of the
18 supplemental calendar.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
20 Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 478, by Senator Oppenheimer, Senate Print
23 4966, an act to amend the Education Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Read
25 the last section.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Call
4 the roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 483, by Senator Aubertine, Senate Print 7573A,
11 an act to amend the Economic Development Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Read
13 the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 20. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Call
17 the roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
20 Stachowski, to explain his vote.
21 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Yes,
22 normally I support every economic development
23 program. But unfortunately, I can't support
24 this one.
25 Currently we have programs that
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1 total about 900 megawatts of power for
2 economic development, and we have not touched
3 the rural and domestic power. In this bill we
4 take the rural and domestic power and put it
5 into a program that then adds up four programs
6 and totals the same 900 megawatts of power.
7 The problem with this -- you'd say,
8 normally, it's a wash. But the problem is
9 that the residents we're taking the power from
10 are going to have an increase their utility
11 bills. And I recall last year standing on
12 this floor listening to how people couldn't
13 afford to pay for that. And now here we are a
14 year later with a bill that's going to
15 increase it more than the assessment that the
16 Governor put on power last year.
17 And with that in mind, I'm not
18 willing to do that. So -- and I also
19 understand that so far there's not a same-as
20 bill with this. So to put a bill out to set
21 up a negotiating position taking the rural and
22 domestic power is a problem for me.
23 I don't want to see Power for Jobs
24 go out. I think we can still have a Power for
25 Jobs program without taking the rural and
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1 domestic power. Hopefully we'll come to a
2 better bill by next week and we can get a
3 Power for Jobs program in place. But at this
4 time, because of the way this bill was
5 structured and the speed with which it's
6 passing, I can't support it. I vote no.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
8 Stachowski to be recorded in the negative.
9 Senator Young.
10 SENATOR YOUNG: Thank you, Madam
11 President.
12 I'm a strong supporter of the Power
13 for Jobs program. And apparently this is not
14 the final version of a Power for Jobs bill.
15 It takes some steps in the right direction,
16 but there are a number of issues that still
17 need to be rectified, especially the impact on
18 residential consumers and farmers.
19 And so I will be supporting this
20 bill, but I would urge people who are working
21 on these issues in this entire chamber to come
22 up with a final bill that really works for
23 everyone.
24 Thank you.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
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1 Young to be recorded in the affirmative.
2 Senator Little, to explain her
3 bill.
4 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you, Madam
5 President.
6 I have many, many businesses in my
7 district that rely on Power for Jobs and many
8 companies that are looking for additional
9 Power for Jobs as they invest. So it's
10 important that we do more than extend the
11 Power for Jobs bill, that we do something that
12 adds some longevity to it, as this bill does.
13 But I too, as Senator Young, am
14 concerned about the additional cost to
15 farmers, and I hope that that can be addressed
16 as we go forward.
17 Thank you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
19 Little will be recorded in the affirmative.
20 Senator DeFrancisco, to explain his
21 vote.
22 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I'm
23 going to support the bill because we need to
24 provide some benefits to businesses in this
25 state in order to keep people employed. But
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1 as these negotiations go forward, as Senator
2 Stachowski said, this is a stand-alone bill.
3 I just want to remind everybody --
4 I have brought this to the floor before --
5 that Power for Jobs should really be primarily
6 for manufacturing and job creation in the
7 private sector. I've got a list of Power for
8 Jobs recipients. Presently they include the
9 American Ballet Theater, the American Cancer
10 Society, the American Folk Art Museum, and I
11 can go on. It gets kind of interesting. The
12 Brooklyn Historical Society.
13 Now, those are all worthwhile,
14 wonderful organizations. And I have
15 historical societies in my district and arts
16 organizations in our district. But I don't
17 really think that's the priority for Power for
18 Jobs. It should be manufacturing, farming,
19 private companies that create private-sector
20 jobs.
21 And I would hope that that would be
22 part of the negotiations, to make sure that
23 that's where that goes, the Power for Jobs
24 goes, especially since we're taking dollars
25 away from the consumer, the private consumer,
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1 in order to put this bill together.
2 Thank you. I vote aye.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
4 DeFrancisco will be recorded in the
5 affirmative.
6 Senator Aubertine, to explain his
7 vote.
8 SENATOR AUBERTINE: Thank you,
9 Madam President.
10 I certainly want to express my
11 appreciation to the chairman of the Energy
12 Committee for acting swiftly on this bill, in
13 light of the fact that the current Power for
14 Jobs program expires May 15th.
15 But in the process of crafting this
16 legislation to replace the existing Power for
17 Jobs program, we traveled across New York
18 State. We held joint roundtables with the
19 Assembly, gathered information from Buffalo,
20 Niagara, Jamestown, Long Island, Kingston,
21 Albany, Oswego, Syracuse, Massena, all across
22 New York State. And because of the process, I
23 believe we've come up with a very good bill
24 that will lead the way for the Power for Jobs
25 program in the very near future.
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1 But the support that we've
2 garnished from across the state comes from
3 organizations such as MACNY, the Buffalo
4 Niagara Partnership, the Business Council, the
5 Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, the Metropolitan
6 Development Association, the National
7 Federation of Independent Business, Consumers
8 for Affordable Sustainable Energy, the Center
9 for Economic Growth, the Plattsburgh-North
10 Country Chamber of Commerce -- and the list
11 goes on and on.
12 And it's clear that the steps that
13 we've taken with this legislation are steps in
14 the right direction and steps that will
15 sustain economic development all across
16 New York State with the Power for Jobs
17 program.
18 And I certainly am supportive of
19 it, and I would encourage my colleagues to be
20 supportive as well.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
22 Aubertine to be recorded in the affirmative.
23 Senator Libous, to explain his
24 vote.
25 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, Madam
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1 President.
2 I'm disappointed that we have to be
3 faced with a decision on this bill on the
4 floor today. And Senator Aubertine, in all
5 due respect, I think this is a political
6 document. Because May 15th -- and put it into
7 the record -- will come and go, and there will
8 be no companion bill in the Assembly. And
9 what will happen here is what's happened in
10 Albany since April 1st: Nothing. And that's
11 the problem.
12 We have a political document here
13 because now, if you vote against this, you're
14 going to be against Power for Jobs. Well, let
15 me tell you something. I visited a company in
16 my district just last Friday, and they depend
17 on Power for Jobs, 290 employees. They want
18 to double their workforce in three years. And
19 they depend on a real bill that's called Power
20 for Jobs.
21 This bill is going to hurt my
22 farmers. It's going to take a credit away
23 from them. And it was said, when I asked the
24 question in committee of Senator Aubertine, he
25 said, "Well, in the bill we're going to
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1 protect them for a couple of years." And that
2 may be the case, but over the long term
3 they're going to get hurt.
4 I'm disappointed that we put this
5 on the floor today, Madam President. I'm
6 disappointed that there will be no companion
7 to this. And I'm disappointed that we are
8 going to give false hope to all the businesses
9 of this state, as if there is a solution to
10 Power for Jobs.
11 So I'm torn. I don't know if I
12 should vote yes or I should vote no. Because
13 I support Power for jobs, but I don't support
14 this bill.
15 So, Madam President, I'm going to
16 vote no.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
18 Libous will be recorded in the negative.
19 Senator Griffo, to explain his
20 vote.
21 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you, Madam
22 President.
23 Yesterday in the Energy Committee I
24 expressed some of my concerns also that this
25 is May 4th, and May 15th is fast approaching.
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1 And much like the budget process that my
2 colleague Senator Libous said, these deadlines
3 seem to come and we're playing brinksmanship
4 with such major and important policies here in
5 the State of New York.
6 There are several bills that are
7 out there right now. There is no Assembly
8 companion. There are really no formal
9 negotiations. There's no reconciliation
10 process where we can communicate through a
11 conference committee to get a result.
12 So if I had to prognosticate, I
13 would think that we're going to see this bill,
14 several other bills -- no movement, where I am
15 hopeful maybe there would be movement, but
16 probably not, and then it would be a mere
17 extender again. So I think that's a
18 disservice, because this is a program that
19 truly needs to be made permanent.
20 And I hope that we can learn and
21 really do better as a result of how we
22 approach this process to get fundamental
23 changes in laws that can benefit the
24 constituents and the businesses that we
25 represent.
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1 I vote yes.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
3 Griffo to be recorded in the affirmative.
4 Senator Maziarz, to explain his
5 vote.
6 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very
7 much, Madam President.
8 I just want to keep my comments to
9 the comments that were made earlier about the
10 distribution of the rural and domestic power,
11 the R&D power. It should be noted that, you
12 know, last year in the state budget, by one
13 vote in this house, the 18A assessment was
14 increased on all commercial and residential
15 customers in this state. This legislation
16 actually incrementally decreases that 18A
17 assessment, which should be a wash for most of
18 the residential customers, but a huge, a huge
19 positive for businesses that are located.
20 And, you know, it's already been
21 talked about how important it is for the
22 business climate to have a long-term extension
23 to the Power for Jobs program which already
24 protects tens of thousands of jobs in this
25 state and will protect even more jobs in this
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1 state.
2 So I vote in the affirmative, Madam
3 President. Thank you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator
5 Maziarz to be recorded in the affirmative.
6 Is there any other Senator wishing
7 to explain their vote?
8 Announce the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
10 the negative on Calendar Number 483 are
11 Senators Duane, Libous and Stachowski.
12 Ayes, 58. Nays, 3.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The
14 bill is passed.
15 Senator Klein, that completes the
16 reading of the supplemental calendar.
17 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President,
18 is there any further business at the desk?
19 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: No,
20 Senator Klein, there is no further business at
21 the desk.
22 SENATOR KLEIN: There being no
23 further business, Madam President, I move we
24 adjourn until Wednesday, May 5th, at
25 11:00 a.m.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: There
2 being no further business to come before the
3 Senate, on motion, the Senate stands adjourned
4 until Wednesday, May 5th, at 11:00 a.m.
5 (Whereupon, at 7:13 p.m., the
6 Senate adjourned.)
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