Regular Session - January 4, 2012
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1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
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4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
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9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 January 4, 2012
11 12:38 p.m.
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14 REGULAR SESSION
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18 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR ROBERT J. DUFFY, President
19 FRANCIS W. PATIENCE, Secretary
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
3 now come to order.
4 I ask everyone again to please
5 rise and repeat the Pledge of Allegiance with
6 me.
7 (Whereupon, the assemblage
8 recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the
9 Flag.)
10 THE PRESIDENT: We are joined
11 today by His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of
12 America, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church
13 in America. And His Eminence will give our
14 invocation.
15 Your Eminence.
16 ARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS:
17 Honorable Lieutenant Governor, distinguished
18 Senators of this very beautiful Senate,
19 ladies and gentlemen. Good afternoon and
20 Happy and Blessed New Year. It's a great
21 honor and a great pleasure to be with you
22 today.
23 And so now let's bow our heads
24 to the Lord in prayer.
25 Almighty God, creator and
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1 sustainer of the universe, Lord of life and
2 giver of every good and perfect gift, we give
3 thanks unto You for this new year, a year
4 crowned with mercy and peace.
5 We open our hearts in gratitude
6 for the privilege of being citizens of this
7 great nation and for enjoying the benefits of
8 living in the Empire State of New York, where
9 natural beauty, rich resources, vital and
10 diverse neighborhoods, dedicated leaders and
11 a stable government bestow abundant blessings
12 on all.
13 Lord, as You are the source of
14 all wisdom and insight, we ask You to grant
15 our noble Senators an extraordinary measure
16 of these virtues, so that with foresight,
17 sensitivity, and creativity they may perform
18 their duties in these times of tremendous
19 challenges and opportunities.
20 Grant them hearts of compassion
21 for the needy, enlighten their minds with the
22 virtues of tolerance, respect, and passion
23 for justice.
24 Throughout their deliberations
25 in this 2012 session, grant unto them and to
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1 those who work with them health, peace, and
2 safety in all their ways.
3 Keep them ever mindful of the high
4 honor and responsibility that rests upon them as
5 representatives of the people of our state and as
6 bearers of the lawful authority that comes only
7 from You, O God.
8 Be our guide, our helper, our
9 comfort and our leader as we call upon You
10 through the year ahead, for Yours is to show us
11 great mercy and to bless us abundantly, and to
12 You we give glory now and forever, unto the ages
13 of ages.
14 Amen.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
16 Your Eminence.
17 The Secretary will now call the roll
18 to ascertain a quorum.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Adams.
20 SENATOR ADAMS: Aye.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Addabbo.
22 SENATOR ADDABBO: Here.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Alesi.
24 SENATOR ALESI: Here.
25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Avella.
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1 SENATOR AVELLA: Here.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Ball.
3 SENATOR BALL: Here.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bonacic.
5 SENATOR BONACIC: Here.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Breslin.
7 SENATOR BRESLIN: Here.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Carlucci.
9 SENATOR CARLUCCI: Here.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator
11 DeFrancisco.
12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Here.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Diaz.
14 (No response.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Dilan.
16 SENATOR DILAN: Here.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Duane.
18 SENATOR DUANE: Here.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Espaillat.
20 SENATOR ESPAILLAT: Here.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Farley.
22 SENATOR FARLEY: Here.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Flanagan.
24 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Here.
25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Fuschillo.
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1 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Here.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Gallivan.
3 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Here.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Gianaris.
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: Here.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Golden.
7 SENATOR GOLDEN: Here.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Griffo.
9 SENATOR GRIFFO: Here.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Grisanti.
11 SENATOR GRISANTI: Here.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon.
13 (No response.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator
15 Hassell-Thompson.
16 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Here.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Huntley.
18 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Here.
19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson.
20 SENATOR JOHNSON: Here.
21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kennedy.
22 SENATOR KENNEDY: Here.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Klein.
24 SENATOR KLEIN: Here.
25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Krueger.
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1 SENATOR KRUEGER: Here.
2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lanza.
3 SENATOR LANZA: Here.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin.
5 SENATOR LARKIN: Here.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator LaValle.
7 SENATOR LaVALLE: Here.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Libous.
9 SENATOR LIBOUS: Happy to be here.
10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Little.
11 SENATOR LITTLE: Here.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Marcellino.
13 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Happy New
14 Year.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos, a
16 quorum is present.
17 Next, presentation of petitions.
18 Any messages from the Assembly.
19 Messages from the Governor.
20 The Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: A message from the
22 Governor was received and read in the words
23 following:
24 "Dear Majority Leader Skelos:
25 "I would appreciate the privilege of
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1 the presence of all the members of the New York
2 State Senate at the Empire State Plaza Convention
3 Center on January 4, 2012 at 1:30 p.m.
4 "Very truly yours, Andrew M. Cuomo."
5 THE PRESIDENT: To be filed in the
6 Journal.
7 If I could start, Senator Skelos, I
8 just want to -- on behalf of Governor Cuomo, I
9 want to thank this body. I want to thank you,
10 sir, for your leadership, Senator Libous, Senator
11 Sampson, on the Democratic Conference, Senator
12 Breslin, and this entire body for your support
13 and leadership and work in the past year. It has
14 been an honor and a privilege to be up here being
15 part of this body.
16 And last year when I made my opening
17 comments I talked about the sheer beauty of this
18 chamber. And the work that you have done has
19 matched that beauty in the last year.
20 You have made this state proud. You
21 have served the people of this state. There has
22 been tremendous work that was done, led by the
23 great Governor of our state, but also with the
24 support of this body and the Assembly, and it's
25 made us very, very proud.
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1 So I want to wish you all a very
2 Happy New Year, welcome you back. And again, it
3 is an honor. And hopefully we'll even surpass
4 last year's expectations this year.
5 Senator Skelos.
6 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 If you would recognize Senator
9 Sampson.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Sampson.
11 SENATOR SAMPSON: Thank you very
12 much, Mr. President. Thank you very much,
13 Senator Skelos.
14 And I want to give a special welcome
15 to His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek
16 Orthodox Church. Thank you very much for that
17 prayer. And I'm glad, with the help of
18 Governor Cuomo, we were able to ensure that
19 St. Nicholas Church will be rebuilt at
20 Ground Zero.
21 I don't think anyone in this room
22 will disagree, but by working together we
23 accomplished some amazing things last year.
24 Under the leadership of Governor Cuomo, Senate
25 Democrats had one of the most productive and
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1 progressive legislative years in modern history.
2 We passed marriage equality, created
3 a fairer tax code for the State of New York,
4 strengthened ethics laws, secured affordable
5 housing for millions of New Yorkers, and
6 established a new economic recovery plan that
7 will create jobs. And we also reduced
8 unemployment in our most vulnerable communities.
9 We made it clear that government's
10 top priorities must be about helping our
11 citizens, not political posturing, empty
12 rhetoric, and/or broken promises. Government
13 works best when we listen to all the people, not
14 just the 1 percent.
15 But as we sit here today at the
16 start of another legislative session, we must
17 remember that our work is far from over. We
18 still face an approximately $2 billion budget
19 deficit that must be dealt with in a fair and
20 equitable manner. Millions of New Yorkers feel
21 the pain of being ignored and disenfranchised.
22 Too many of our residents are struggling to just
23 get by.
24 It used to be simple: If you played
25 by the rules and you worked hard, you could
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1 provide for your family. New York was a place
2 where people came to get a better life. If you
3 can make it in New York, you can make it
4 anywhere.
5 I think everyone in this room
6 believes that we've changed Albany for the
7 better.
8 Senator Skelos and my colleagues,
9 the Democrats in this chamber stand ready to
10 assist you in all endeavors. We will support you
11 when we agree; we will challenge you when we
12 disagree. As John F. Kennedy once said, "Let us
13 not despair, but act. Let us not seek the
14 Republican answer or the Democratic answer. Let
15 us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let
16 us accept our own responsibility for the future."
17 During this legislative session we
18 must, one, keep our pledge on redistricting,
19 protect our families from crime, protect the
20 rights of women, pass the Reproductive Health
21 Act, protect the water we drink and the air we
22 breathe, increase access to higher education,
23 recognize the importance of our immigrant
24 community, enact the President's healthcare
25 exchange, and continue something that we started
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1 last year, continue job creation but with a
2 concentration -- and I repeat -- a concentration
3 on women in the workforce.
4 I look forward to working with all
5 of you in ensuring that this legislative agenda
6 is passed this year.
7 And finally, I want to take this
8 time to recognize and thank the staffs for doing
9 a phenomenal job on both sides of the aisle. We
10 salute you, we respect you, and we want to thank
11 you for enduring what we had to do last year.
12 And to all of my colleagues, we look
13 forward to having a very productive legislative
14 session. Congratulations and Happy New Year.
15 Thank you very much.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
17 Senator.
18 Senator Skelos.
19 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you very
20 much, Mr. President.
21 Let me start off by welcoming
22 His Eminence here. Not only is he the spiritual
23 leader of my church in this great country, he's
24 also a spiritual leader of people of all faiths.
25 So we welcome you, Your Eminence, to
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1 our chamber.
2 (Applause.)
3 SENATOR SKELOS: Lieutenant
4 Governor Duffy, it's an honor to have you
5 presiding once again this year. And let me
6 assure you that it will be another bipartisan and
7 productive session.
8 And Senator Sampson and all of my
9 colleagues, welcome to the 2012 legislative
10 session.
11 Last year we made the Senate
12 functional again. And I think that was
13 critically important in restoring the faith of
14 the people of this state in this legislative body
15 and in Albany. We closed a $10 billion deficit
16 through difficult but real spending cuts. We
17 provided tax relief to millions of New Yorkers.
18 We enacted a property tax cap. And we eliminated
19 the job-killing MTA payroll tax for tens of
20 thousands of businesses and for all of our
21 schools, both public and private. We passed
22 New York-SUNY 2020, reduced taxes on upstate
23 manufacturers, and laid the groundwork for the
24 creation of thousands of new jobs.
25 Many of these accomplishments were
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1 long-held Senate Republican priorities passed and
2 signed into law because we finally had a partner
3 in Governor Cuomo.
4 While our accomplishments were many,
5 our conflicts were few. Unlike what we're seeing
6 in Washington, we reached across the aisle to
7 find common ground. We listened and we led. And
8 we achieved real results.
9 Despite our successes, New York
10 still faces many challenges. Government must
11 work smarter and better, and we must continue to
12 spend less. It's time to enact mandate relief
13 and pension reform to ease the burden on local
14 taxpayers. And we must help the private sector
15 create jobs so we can get this economy moving
16 again. Creating jobs has to be Job Number One
17 for this Legislature and this Governor.
18 My colleagues, let's keep our good
19 beginning going. If we continue to work together
20 in a bipartisan manner, we can accomplish
21 anything and we can make this session even more
22 productive than the last one.
23 Thank you very much, Mr. President
24 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator.
25 (Applause.)
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1 THE PRESIDENT: We'll now return to
2 the order of business.
3 First, reports of standing
4 committees.
5 Reports of select committees.
6 Communications and reports from
7 state officers.
8 Motions and resolutions.
9 Senator Skelos.
10 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
11 believe there's a resolution at the desk. I
12 request that it be read and move for its
13 immediate adoption.
14 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary will
15 read.
16 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Skelos,
17 Senate Resolution resolved that the Temporary
18 President appoint a committee of two to inform
19 the Governor that the Senate is organized and
20 ready to proceed with business.
21 "RESOLVED, That the Temporary
22 President appoint a committee of two, comprised
23 of Senator Gallivan and Senator Espaillat, for
24 the purpose of informing the Governor that the
25 Senate is organized and ready to proceed with
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1 business."
2 THE PRESIDENT: The question is on
3 the resolution. All in favor signify by saying
4 aye.
5 (Response of "Aye.")
6 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
7 (No response.)
8 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is
9 adopted.
10 Senator Skelos appoints Senators
11 Gallivan and Espaillat to inform the Governor
12 that the Senate is organized and ready to proceed
13 and to receive the Governor's message in the
14 Empire State Plaza Convention Center at 1:30 p.m.
15 today.
16 Senator Skelos.
17 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I
18 believe there's another resolution at the desk.
19 I request that it be read and move for its
20 immediate adoption.
21 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary will
22 read.
23 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Skelos,
24 Senate Resolution resolved that the Temporary
25 President appoint a committee of two to wait upon
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1 the Assembly and inform that body that the Senate
2 is organized and ready to proceed with business.
3 "RESOLVED, That the Temporary
4 President appoint a committee of two, comprised
5 of Senator Zeldin and Senator Avella, for the
6 purpose of waiting upon the Assembly and
7 informing that body that the Senate is organized
8 and ready to proceed with business."
9 THE PRESIDENT: The question is on
10 the resolution. All in favor signify by saying
11 aye.
12 (Response of "Aye.")
13 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay.
14 (No response.)
15 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is
16 adopted.
17 Senator Skelos appoints Senators
18 Zeldin and Avella to inform the Assembly that the
19 Senate is organized and ready to proceed and to
20 receive the Governor's message in the Empire
21 State Plaza Convention Center at 1:30 p.m. today.
22 Senator Skelos.
23 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, is
24 there any other business at the desk?
25 THE PRESIDENT: I'm happy to
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1 announce, Senator, that the desk is clear.
2 SENATOR SKELOS: I would urge
3 members to move to the Convention Center as
4 quickly as possible so that we can all be in at
5 the appropriate time and listen to the Governor's
6 message.
7 There being no further business to
8 come before the Senate, I move we stand adjourned
9 until Monday, January 9th, at 3:00 p.m.
10 We will now proceed to the Empire
11 State Convention Center for the Governor's State
12 of the State address.
13 THE PRESIDENT: On motion, the
14 Senate stands adjourned until Monday,
15 January 9th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening days being
16 legislative days.
17 The Senate will now proceed to the
18 Empire State Plaza Convention Center for the
19 Governor's State of the State.
20 (Whereupon, at 12:52 p.m., the
21 Senate adjourned.)
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