Regular Session - March 17, 2016
1184
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 March 17, 2016
11 11:16 a.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR TERRENCE P. MURPHY, Acting President
19 FRANCIS W. PATIENCE, Secretary
20
21
22
23
24
25
1185
1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The
3 Senate will come to order.
4 I ask everyone present to please
5 rise and repeat with me the Pledge of
6 Allegiance.
7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Today's
10 invocation will be offered by the Reverend Peter
11 Young, from Mother Teresa Community.
12 REVEREND YOUNG: Thank you,
13 Senator.
14 Let us pray.
15 As we celebrate today this
16 important Day of St. Patrick's, there's been an
17 old Irish traditional kind of statement that
18 they've always believed in, that we will try
19 always to -- unless someone offers a friendly
20 smile, a helping hand, a caring word, a
21 listening ear, somebody somewhere loses the
22 courage to live.
23 It's an important kind of thing
24 that creates then the dialogue rather than the
25 monologue in our meeting today. When we meet in
1186
1 session, sometimes we stop listening and use our
2 communication skills to advocate only for the
3 agenda that we have. But God wants us to
4 communicate with respect and care to each other
5 and in this chamber so that we might use our
6 skills and common good for the statement of
7 New York State citizens.
8 Help us to share open ears and to
9 be hospitable in mind and thinking. Share our
10 building community instead of the disunity of
11 anything for our citizens. May we remember the
12 important call of this 4th-century saint who led
13 the call to try to unite Ireland into a common
14 kind of belief of helping one another.
15 Amen.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: May we
17 have the reading of the Journal.
18 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
19 Wednesday, March 16th, the Senate met pursuant
20 to adjournment. The Journal of Tuesday,
21 March 15th, was read and approved. On motion,
22 Senate adjourned.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Without
24 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
25 Presentation of petitions.
1187
1 Messages from the Assembly.
2 Messages from the Governor.
3 Reports of standing committees.
4 Reports of select committees.
5 Communications and reports from
6 state officers.
7 Motions and resolutions.
8 Senator DeFrancisco.
9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, can we
10 have a little bit of order here today.
11 Mr. President, I wish to call up my
12 bill, Print Number 6650 -- it's not my bill,
13 it's actually Senator Little's bill, 6650,
14 recalled from the Assembly, which is now at the
15 desk.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The
17 Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 184, by Senator Little, Senate Print 6650, an
20 act to authorize.
21 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: May I now
22 move to reconsider the vote by which this bill
23 was passed.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Call the
25 roll on reconsideration.
1188
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54.
3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I now offer
4 the following amendments.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The
6 amendments are received, and the bill retains its
7 place on the Third Reading Calendar.
8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO:
9 Mr. President, I now move that the following bill
10 be discharged from its respective committee and
11 be recommitted with instructions to strike the
12 enacting clause. That's Senate 6374, by Senator
13 Marchione.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: So
15 ordered.
16 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would you
17 please recognize Senator Gianaris.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Senator
19 Gianaris.
20 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President, I
21 move that the following bill be discharged from
22 its respective committee and be recommitted with
23 instructions to strike the enacting clause:
24 Senate Bill 6548.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: So
1189
1 ordered.
2 Senator DeFrancisco.
3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO:
4 Mr. President, at this time I move to adopt the
5 Resolution Calendar.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The
7 question is on the adoption of the Resolution
8 Calendar. All those in favor signify by saying
9 aye.
10 (Response of "Aye.")
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Opposed,
12 nay.
13 (No response.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The
15 Resolution Calendar is adopted.
16 Senator DeFrancisco.
17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: May we now go
18 back to motions -- well, we're still there. Back
19 to resolutions, can we take up previously adopted
20 Resolution 4217, by Senator Amedore, read the
21 title only, and call on Senator Amedore.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The
23 Secretary will read.
24 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
25 Resolution Number 4217, by Senator Amedore,
1190
1 commending student-athlete Aidan Cohane upon the
2 occasion of capturing the 2016 New York State
3 Overall Men's Alpine Skiing Championship.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Senator
5 Amedore.
6 SENATOR AMEDORE: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 And happy St. Patrick's Day to you.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Thank
10 you, sir.
11 SENATOR AMEDORE: Today we are
12 graced with a fine group of students from
13 Windham-Ashland-Jewett School District -- which
14 is in Greene County, in part of the district I
15 serve -- and they're up in the gallery, who
16 represent the student council of the fine school,
17 as well as the mock trial team.
18 And in the team, part of the student
19 council and all of the classmates there, is one
20 particular individual who has really set, I
21 believe, Windham on a map for not just being a
22 great place of skiing in the Catskill region in
23 upstate New York, but also an individual who has
24 accomplished a victory that for the first time in
25 state history, in the state school title in
1191
1 history, Aidan Cohane has been able to
2 accomplish, and won, the 2016 New York State
3 Men's Alpine Skiing Championship.
4 So for all of those years of skiing,
5 from the bunny hill to the black diamonds of all
6 of the ski mountains throughout the Catskill
7 region, Aidan and his father, who accompanies him
8 today, we recognize you for your great
9 accomplishments and your leadership. May you
10 continue to win many more gold medals in the
11 years to come.
12 Thank you, and God bless you.
13 (Applause.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY:
15 Congratulations.
16 Senator DeFrancisco.
17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator
18 Amedore would like to open this resolution for
19 cosponsorship. So as is our usual practice,
20 everyone will be on the resolution unless they
21 indicate otherwise to the desk.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY:
23 Resolution 4217, which was previously adopted, is
24 open for cosponsorship. If you do not wish to be
25 a cosponsor, please notify the desk.
1192
1 Senator DeFrancisco.
2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Could we
3 please take up the reading of the
4 noncontroversial calendar.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The
6 Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 87,
8 by Senator Klein, Senate Print 853, an act to
9 amend the Insurance Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This
13 act shall take effect on the 180th day.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 194, by Senator O'Mara, Senate Print 4926B, an
22 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Read the
24 last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
1193
1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Bill 194,
6 please lay it aside for the day.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Lay it
8 aside for the day.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 212, by Senator Amedore, Senate Print 6515, an
11 act to amend the Highway Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Read the
13 last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Call the
17 roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Senator
20 Amedore to explain his vote.
21 SENATOR AMEDORE: Mr. President,
22 I'd like to explain my vote.
23 You know, this piece of legislation
24 is extremely important because this is an
25 individual, Major General Greene, who served his
1194
1 country well and was the highest decorated
2 officer or official that had died in military
3 service since the Vietnam War. And back in 2014,
4 August 4th, when the Afghan soldiers opened fire
5 on a meeting of senior military officials, as I
6 said, he was the highest ranking American officer
7 to be killed in combat in a war zone since
8 Vietnam.
9 Major General Greene grew up and was
10 from the Town of Guilderland, which is Albany
11 County, which I know Senator Breslin has served.
12 And he was a graduate of RPI, and a decorated
13 Army soldier who dedicated his life and career to
14 our nation.
15 So I believe it's very important
16 that we memorialize those who have served our
17 country, made the ultimate sacrifice, and who
18 have helped pave the way for our freedom and
19 liberties.
20 So Thank you, Mr. President, for
21 allowing me to explain my vote. I vote aye.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Announce
23 the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The bill
1195
1 is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 253, by Senator Ranzenhofer, Senate Print 1557,
4 an act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
5 Law.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: Lay it aside.
7 Lay it aside, please.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The bill
9 is laid aside.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 274, by Senator Griffo, Senate Print 2265, an act
12 to amend the Highway Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
16 act shall take effect on the 120th day.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The bill
22 is passed.
23 Senator DeFrancisco.
24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Could you
25 please now take up the controversial reading of
1196
1 the calendar.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The
3 Secretary will ring the bell.
4 The Secretary will read.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 253, by Senator Ranzenhofer, Senate Print 1557,
7 an act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control
8 Law.
9 SENATOR KRUEGER: Explanation.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Senator
11 Krueger.
12 SENATOR KRUEGER: I asked for an
13 explanation, Mr. President.
14 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Thank you,
15 Senator Krueger.
16 This is a bill which would amend the
17 Alcoholic Beverage Control Law. It would allow
18 courts to impose an additional fine when someone
19 who has been cited for underage drinking fails to
20 show up in court, fails to complete their
21 treatment that has been required by the court, or
22 fails to complete their community service.
23 What's actually happening in our
24 communities is that obviously, you know, this
25 state has a policy which has said that we really
1197
1 want to discourage young people from becoming
2 substance abuse users, whether it be drugs or
3 alcohol. In this particular case, alcohol.
4 So young people unfortunately are
5 drinking underage. And the purpose behind this
6 is to make sure that we get our young people on
7 track, that we make sure that if they've been
8 given a citation, whether it's at a concert where
9 they've been drinking underage or hanging out in
10 a park, whatever they've been doing -- to make
11 sure that they understand that this is a serious
12 problem, not only for our community but for
13 themselves.
14 So what we want to do is to
15 encourage them to at least originally abide
16 by the court's directives of either paying a
17 minor fine, completing their substance abuse
18 evaluations and treatments, or community service.
19 And I will note that this bill
20 passed this house the last four years, and last
21 year the vote was 59-1. So it has pretty strong
22 bipartisan support in this chamber.
23 SENATOR KRUEGER: Through you,
24 Mr. President, if the sponsor would please
25 yield.
1198
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Does the
2 sponsor yield?
3 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Yes,
4 Mr. President, I will.
5 SENATOR KRUEGER: I want to thank
6 the sponsor for his explanation.
7 And he's right, in the past most
8 members of this body have in fact supported this
9 bill.
10 And I might not have noticed why I
11 didn't want to support this bill if not for the
12 fact that the U.S. Department of Justice just
13 sent us all a letter and a reference to a series
14 of reports where they are highlighting their vast
15 research into the growing use of fines and fees
16 and bail -- though this does not apply to bail --
17 and the negative impact it is having on young
18 people and people of color throughout the
19 country.
20 And the fact that we have been
21 increasing the fines and the fees in the criminal
22 justice system to such an extent that we've
23 actually created a giant cycle of debt for
24 low-income young people in this country. And
25 that it has actually gotten to the point where
1199
1 research shows 20 percent of the people in jail
2 in this country are actually in jail because they
3 couldn't pay the fines and the fees applied
4 through our criminal justice system.
5 So I guess my first question to the
6 sponsor is, what do we think this will accomplish
7 other than to increase the amount of money --
8 probably increase the amount of money we're
9 demanding of young people?
10 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Well, first
11 of all, let me just address the portion of your
12 comments dealing with jail. Under this provision
13 of the law, as I'm sure that you are aware, there
14 is no provision for someone to go to jail.
15 If someone does not abide by either
16 paying their initial fine or doing their
17 community service or getting an evaluation and
18 any treatment, they still can't got to jail, the
19 court can't issue a warrant for their appearance
20 because it's not that type of criminal sanction.
21 Furthermore, in this particular bill
22 we're not increasing the fine. The fine is
23 actually very low. It's $50. And what we're
24 doing is we're imposing a penalty. So if you
25 don't pay your minor fine -- and I will just tell
1200
1 you, from my experience, very often courts are
2 not even imposing fines because they're more
3 concerned with making sure that the young person
4 understands that, you know, you're 15, 16, 17 --
5 14 years old, you're engaging in binge drinking.
6 The outcome is not going to be good for you or
7 your family, you know, whether you're going to be
8 turning yourself into an alcoholic, whether --
9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Excuse me.
10 Pardon me. Can you recognize me for a moment?
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Senator
12 DeFrancisco.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Could you
14 move your mic up? We're having a very difficult
15 time hearing on this side, and there's been a
16 request to raise the volume, both in the mics and
17 in your voice, so we can hear.
18 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: So I will
19 gladly increase it, because --
20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It didn't
21 bother me. I wasn't listening.
22 (Laughter.)
23 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: I think
24 that's true on most of the bills.
25 (Laughter.)
1201
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Senator
2 Ranzenhofer.
3 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: So if you
4 want, I can repeat everything that I just said
5 for your benefit --
6 (Laughter.)
7 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: -- but you
8 can also go and watch the tape, so I'll give you
9 that alternative.
10 But in this particular situation,
11 this is really being done for, you know, the
12 benefit of the young person.
13 And one other issue that I'll just
14 raise parenthetically is in one particular
15 community that I represent, there's a very large
16 concert venue. And you talk about, you know, the
17 cost of the -- of the situation. So, you know,
18 the concert ticket could cost, you know, $75 or
19 $100. You know, you buy your alcohol for another
20 $30 or $40, and then there's a $50 fine.
21 So the message here is that if you
22 don't pay your $50 fine or your $25 fine or your
23 $30 fine or you don't complete your community
24 service or you don't get your alcohol evaluation
25 and any treatment that's recommended, well, in
1202
1 that situation, yes, you know, then the court has
2 the right, if this bill is passed, to impose a
3 higher penalty.
4 So your -- the comments about jail,
5 incarceration and bail really are not applicable
6 to this particular bill that we're passing.
7 And again, you know, the whole point
8 here is to get a young person to understand that,
9 you know, this is really done out of concern for
10 their well-being and for their future, to make
11 sure that we can nip this in the bud at age,
12 again, 13, 15, 17, 19, whatever the case may be,
13 rather than deal with the very serious problems
14 of somebody becoming a substance abuser, whether
15 it be prescription drugs or heroin or cocaine.
16 This is really an effort to try to stop that
17 early on.
18 SENATOR KRUEGER: Through you,
19 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue to
20 yield.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Will the
22 sponsor yield?
23 SENATOR RANZENHOFER:
24 Mr. President, I'll be happy to continue to
25 yield.
1203
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Senator
2 Krueger.
3 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.
4 So perhaps my mic wasn't loud enough
5 either, because I did, in my question, point out
6 this bill does not address incarceration, I agree
7 with the sponsor.
8 But in fact the research shows that
9 the patterns of young people ending up
10 incarcerated are actually growing out of higher
11 and higher fees and penalties that are not paid,
12 leading them ultimately into the prison system,
13 and there have been a number of national studies
14 documenting that.
15 But going back to the specifics of
16 this bill, the sponsor referenced in his own
17 community, or a specific community in his
18 district, the rates of problems. He said binge
19 drinking. Is this bill specifically only for
20 binge drinking or one open can of beer?
21 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: It applies to
22 anybody -- the law in the state right now is that
23 if you are under a certain age, you are not
24 allowed to drink alcohol. So in the original
25 bill, the quantity -- you know, it's not an issue
1204
1 of quantity. You know, when you're under 21,
2 you're not allowed to drink. It's as simple as
3 that.
4 SENATOR KRUEGER: I agree the law
5 is clear, under 21 you're not allowed to drink.
6 So the question -- so under the law, if you are
7 found with one open can of beer under 21 and you
8 are fined $50 and community service, and you fail
9 to complete either the community service or pay
10 the $50, you then under this law would be fined
11 $500 for that original one can of beer? Is that
12 my correct reading of the bill?
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The court
14 would have discretion that they can impose an
15 additional fine up to $500. They can impose an
16 additional $10 fine, they can impose an
17 additional $50 fine. But the law provides that
18 $500 would be the maximum.
19 SENATOR KRUEGER: Through you,
20 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue to
21 yield.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Will the
23 sponsor yield?
24 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Yes,
25 Mr. President.
1205
1 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.
2 Has the sponsor done any analysis
3 within the community that he was using as an
4 example of the proportion of people arrested
5 under the current law by race or gender?
6 Because the national data, with a
7 variety of different communities having been
8 studied, show that the laws on underage drinking
9 seem to be -- the penalties seem to be
10 disproportionately applied to young people of
11 color.
12 I'm wondering whether there's any
13 analysis from the community he was referencing.
14 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Again, the
15 question, Mr. President, originally dealt with
16 incarceration dealing with --
17 SENATOR KRUEGER: No. Just the
18 fines.
19 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: -- people of
20 different races. Again, this is really not an
21 issue dealing with incarceration.
22 I don't believe that the court
23 system -- and I am not sure, because, you know,
24 it's not just a situation where -- they have this
25 concert venue where there are many people from
1206
1 the community and there are many people from
2 outside the community. So I'm not sure if this
3 particular community keeps track of the number of
4 people from within their community or outside --
5 the number of people within their county or from
6 outside, or the demographics of the people, the
7 young people that are appearing before them.
8 The important part of this
9 legislation is that no matter where the community
10 is that you're coming from, the important thing
11 is we want to send the message through the court
12 system that we would prefer that you not engage
13 in underage drinking, that you abide by the law,
14 really for your own benefit so we're not dealing
15 with 30-day or 28-day in-house detoxes later on.
16 So the point is, to your question, I
17 don't know if for this community or really for
18 any community -- again, it could be another
19 community where a lot of people hang out in the
20 park and engage in underage drinking. So I'm not
21 sure if each community is keeping track of
22 whether those people live in the neighborhood or
23 outside the neighborhood, from their town or not
24 their town, or otherwise.
25 SENATOR KRUEGER: Through you,
1207
1 Mr. President, if the sponsor will continue to
2 yield.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Will the
4 sponsor yield?
5 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Yes, I will,
6 Mr. President.
7 SENATOR KRUEGER: I agree with the
8 sponsor, I don't know how many towns are keeping
9 data. But the towns that are keeping data, the
10 research results are quite consistent that
11 municipal fines on criminal penalties
12 disproportionately go to the poorest in the
13 population and those of color. And so in fact
14 there's national data showing that that is in
15 fact what happens.
16 Through you, Mr. President, if the
17 sponsor will continue to yield.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Will the
19 sponsor yield?
20 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Yes.
21 SENATOR KRUEGER: So if someone
22 hasn't paid the $50 fine on the criminal activity
23 of having one can of open beer when they're not
24 21, the court can then in fact apply a $500 fine
25 but -- can apply up to a $500 fine.
1208
1 Who's likely to actually have to
2 pay that fine when we're talking about someone
3 under 21, the young person or their family?
4 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Well, first
5 of all, generally the situation is more
6 problematic not for somebody not paying their
7 fine. The problem arises in a number of
8 situations. The first is that the person just
9 ignores showing up for court. It also occurs
10 where the person has not completed their
11 community service and also -- and I know that the
12 community that I'm referring to, the gravest
13 concern is that the person has not gotten their
14 evaluation for whether or not they have an
15 alcohol problem.
16 So it's not just in the situation
17 where someone has not paid the fine, but it also
18 applies to their other areas. So in other words,
19 if there was a fine -- again, the fine here is a
20 maximum of $50. And in the situation that I'm
21 referencing, normally the concert ticket far
22 exceeds the fine. So what you have is somebody
23 buying a concert ticket for $75 or $100. And
24 again, I don't know whether it's the young person
25 that bought the ticket or the parent or the
1209
1 guardian that bought the ticket.
2 But I would imagine that -- and
3 again, this would be pure speculation. You know,
4 if somebody doesn't -- you know, someone going to
5 mom and dad or their grandmother or their uncle
6 or their brother to pay the $50 fine, are they
7 doing something to earn that money? So that's
8 something that I don't know exactly, number one,
9 where they got their money to buy their concert
10 ticket. I don't know where they got their money
11 to buy their alcohol. Hopefully it's not from
12 their parents or their guardians. And I don't
13 know where they would get their money or where
14 they do get their money to pay up to that $50
15 fine that could be imposed if the court decided
16 to do that.
17 SENATOR KRUEGER: Through you,
18 Mr. President. On the bill.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: On the
20 bill.
21 SENATOR KRUEGER: I want to thank
22 the sponsor for his answers.
23 I don't actually know whether kids
24 who pop open a can of beer before they're 21 are
25 more or less likely to buy concert tickets, so
1210
1 I'm not sure of the correlation in the
2 expenditures there.
3 But I do know that on a national
4 level, the research shows that increasing the
5 monetary penalties for minor infractions of the
6 law -- and I think most of us would define
7 underage, open container as a minor infraction of
8 the law -- that the result is we've been
9 increasing the monetary penalties. We actually
10 aren't collecting the money anywhere.
11 So I agree with the sponsor's
12 analysis in his memo that many people are not
13 paying the $50. And the national data shows that
14 that's true. In fact, it shows a much lower rate
15 of payment than even the statistics the sponsor
16 uses for the community he's referencing.
17 But what we are showing is we're
18 spending more in criminal justice just applying
19 these penalties and attempting to collect them
20 than we are collecting. There's no research that
21 shows a financial penalty for an underage
22 drinking capture is actually decreasing the use
23 of alcohol.
24 I have to say I like the evaluation
25 part for counseling people on underage alcohol
1211
1 use. I think that's valuable. But I don't think
2 that should or needs to be associated with
3 growing financial fines.
4 The data shows that it is
5 disproportionately poorer people who end up with
6 these large financial fines. I think the obvious
7 answer for why didn't you pay the $50 was you
8 didn't have the $50, so how could you pay the
9 $500. And when suddenly it's $500, you're very
10 well talking about a family's ability to either
11 pay the rent or pay that fine, buy food for the
12 next several months or pay that fine.
13 Now, if there was any research
14 evidence showing the paying of the fine was going
15 to change the behavior of the young person,
16 maybe. But the research shows just the opposite,
17 that it's not actually resulting in changing the
18 behavior of young people, it's just increasing
19 the likelihood that any given young person who
20 gets caught up in any way with the criminal
21 justice system ends up caught up more in the
22 system with greater fines being owed and not
23 paid. And ultimately, under many of New York
24 State's laws -- but I agree with the sponsor, not
25 this one -- Step 3 or Step 4 is incarceration
1212
1 after you haven't paid your fines.
2 So I object to this bill, but I
3 really object to the entire pattern of laws that
4 not just this state but, according to the federal
5 government, states all over the country have been
6 escalating with a huge number of young people
7 ending up with large amounts of financial
8 penalties owed to a criminal justice system that
9 then spends more trying to collect than it ever
10 collects, it doesn't accomplish a criminal
11 justice goal, but it sure is increasing the
12 number of young people from poor communities who
13 end up in financial debt, who end up then having
14 the risk of entering the criminal justice system
15 with money owed and then leading to
16 incarceration.
17 I urge my colleagues to take a look
18 at an entire package of reports that are now
19 online and available associated with the U.S.
20 Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division,
21 office for access to Justice. They put out what
22 they call a resource guide for reforming
23 assessment and enforcement of fines and fees. It
24 links to it from the site. I am happy to make
25 copies for anyone who does not have access on
1213
1 their computer to finding these reports.
2 It tells me a lot about what's right
3 and what's wrong with the approach we've been
4 taking by increasing the financial fines and fees
5 and penalties. And because of that, I am urging
6 everyone here not to vote yes for this bill, even
7 if they voted yes in the past. I think we should
8 look at research when it comes to criminal
9 justice reform. And I think the research now is
10 quite clear that this would continue New York
11 State down the wrong path for our young people
12 and our criminal justice system.
13 I'm urging a no vote.
14 Thank you, Mr. President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Thank
16 you, Senator Krueger.
17 A little order in the house, please.
18 Senator Sanders.
19 SENATOR SANDERS: Happy
20 St. Patrick's Day, Mr. President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Same to
22 you.
23 SENATOR SANDERS: Although I agree
24 with my esteemed colleague in his attempt to
25 combat underage drinking and open containers,
1214
1 which I view as detestable, I fear that he has
2 gone too far. I fear that he went to try to
3 shoot a fly with a shotgun, that the law of
4 unanticipated consequences is going to get us.
5 That we are seeing type of hang-'em-high
6 legislation -- not this one, and not from my
7 colleague -- throughout the nation on the ability
8 of poor people to pay fines.
9 I remind us that America has moved a
10 long way from the day of the poorhouse. There
11 used to be a time when you didn't have money,
12 you'd be thrown into the poorhouse to work your
13 way out of it, God willing, or not work your way
14 out of it.
15 We've gone a long way. And while
16 $50 or $500 may not be much to many people in
17 this room, $50 or $500 to an unemployed youth may
18 be the difference between going to the poorhouse
19 or the jail or whatever we're going to do, and
20 not going.
21 This is one of the reasons why the
22 Department of Justice study on the Town of
23 Ferguson pointed out many of these things, that
24 if viewed independently perhaps had meaning, but
25 if viewed collectively, were draining and
1215
1 bleeding that town something awful, and many
2 towns like it.
3 Now, I would encourage my colleague
4 that if he were to go this path, then he should
5 think of how that a young person can work their
6 way back, how they could expunge their records.
7 You know, if they -- 16 years old, you get
8 caught -- of course, no one in this room ever was
9 in that situation, and thank God for that. But
10 if there was a person who, 16 years old, found
11 themselves in such a shape, you may want to speak
12 of expunging your record. You want to speak of
13 okay, you do community service, you do good and
14 then at a certain point in your life you can get
15 rid of that completely. You don't want that
16 stuff lingering and going further into 18, 21,
17 et cetera, putting them on a path that we don't
18 want them on where their youthful foolishness --
19 foolishness -- would put them in that situation.
20 So if more of that were in this
21 legislation, if more of that were involved, I
22 would be much more open to it.
23 And again, I wish everyone a happy
24 St. Patrick's Day.
25 Thank you.
1216
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Senator
2 Ranzenhofer.
3 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Thank you.
4 Thank you for your comments,
5 Senator, and your questions, Senator Krueger.
6 Let me just say a couple of things
7 about this. Number one, this bill has nothing to
8 do with anybody going to jail.
9 Number two, this has nothing to do
10 with a warrant ever being issued, because it's
11 not provided for in the bill.
12 And finally, this has nothing to do
13 with a criminal record, because there is no
14 criminal record as a result of this violation of
15 the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.
16 What this bill simply does -- and we
17 talk about young people and where their future
18 lies; this really has to do with young people
19 disrespecting the court. So you've been given a
20 citation by law enforcement which says that you
21 are consuming alcohol or you have alcohol with
22 the intent to consume it. And, you know, very
23 often the people that are arrested are just, you
24 know, drunk, as drunk as can be because they've
25 been partying at a park or they're at a concert.
1217
1 So they're given a citation, they're
2 not taken to jail. And what the young person is
3 doing in some of these circumstances is saying to
4 the court or law enforcement: Well, you know, I
5 know you can't do anything, so too bad.
6 Or they do come to court and the
7 judge says, Well, you know, here you are, you
8 know, you drank, you know, 18 cans of beer. You
9 know, you might have a problem. Let's go get an
10 evaluation. And the person says, No, I'm not
11 going to do that. I don't care. You can't do
12 anything to me if I don't.
13 So this really is intended to make
14 sure that the young person realizes that you have
15 to respect the law that we've all passed. That
16 is the law of the State of New York. And
17 actually it is more helpful, because if the young
18 person gets the impression that for this offense
19 that they don't have to show up in court or they
20 don't have to get their evaluation or they don't
21 have to do their community service or they don't
22 have to pay their $50 fine -- you know, if
23 that -- you know, that then breeds in the young
24 person a contempt and disrespect for law. And,
25 you know, as they get older or as they move on in
1218
1 their life, they may feel that, well, you know,
2 because nothing happened to me the last time, you
3 know, I just didn't show up in court or I just
4 didn't abide by the judge's instructions to get
5 an evaluation, I think it's more damaging down
6 the road.
7 So it really is a balancing act. I
8 certainly respect, you know, your position on the
9 issue. But I think when you do the balancing
10 test, you know, if you're -- and I don't want to
11 imply that you're not concerned about young
12 people. But from my perspective, if you're
13 really trying to change behaviors and you're
14 really trying to help these kids, you know, you
15 let them know that if you do get a citation
16 because, you know, you're at the concert and
17 you've been drinking or you're hanging out in the
18 park and you've been drinking that, you know,
19 this really means something, that you do have to
20 show up in court.
21 You know, you don't want to create
22 the image in a young person that, okay, no one
23 can do anything to me so I don't have to obey the
24 speed limit. Or I don't have to abide by the red
25 light. You know, whatever the case may be.
1219
1 Those are just two examples.
2 So I think, on balance, this is
3 helpful. It's teaching a valuable lesson. The
4 original fine that's imposed for this statute is
5 $50. And, you know, we have all -- you know,
6 we've had on our books for ages the most minor
7 criminal offense, which is not a criminal
8 offense, it's a violation under our penal code.
9 The maximum fine there is $250 -- five times what
10 the penalty is here.
11 So when you're talking about
12 comparing a $50 fine with what we have under
13 every other single violation under our penal code
14 of $250, you know, this is really, you know,
15 relatively very minor.
16 And I think the life lesson that we
17 are trying to teach somebody for respect for the
18 law certainly outweighs some of the concerns that
19 have been expressed.
20 So again, I thank you for your
21 comments. I know that 59 other members in this
22 house voted for it last year. I think it was a
23 good bill then, I believe it's a good bill now,
24 Mr. President. Thank you.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Thank
1220
1 you, Senator Ranzenhofer.
2 Are there any other Senators wishing
3 to be heard?
4 Seeing none, the debate is closed.
5 The Secretary will ring the bell.
6 (Pause.)
7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Please call
8 the roll.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect on the 90th day.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Announce
17 the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
19 Calendar 253, those recorded in the negative are
20 Senators Comrie, Dilan, Espaillat, Hamilton,
21 Hassell-Thompson, Hoylman, Krueger, Montgomery,
22 Parker, Peralta, Persaud, Rivera and Sanders.
23 Ayes, 47. Nays, 13.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The bill
25 has passed.
1221
1 Senator DeFrancisco.
2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Now can we go
3 back to motions and resolutions and take up
4 previously adopted Resolution 4316, by Senator
5 Flanagan, and read the title only, and then
6 recognize Senator Flanagan.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The
8 Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
10 Resolution Number 4316, by Senator Flanagan,
11 honoring St. Patrick and all persons of Irish
12 descent upon the occasion of the 2016 celebration
13 of St. Patrick's Day on Thursday, March 17, 2016.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Senator
15 Flanagan.
16 Some order in the house, please.
17 Senator Flanagan.
18 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 I feel obligated -- you know, Murph,
21 I know you're up there as Mr. President, but nice
22 to see you presiding today on what we might
23 consider a holy day of obligation in many
24 respects. But I'd like to -- well, you know,
25 Parker, come on, you've got to work with me here.
1222
1 All right?
2 (Laughter.)
3 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Everyone wants
4 to be Irish on St. Paddy's Day. And frankly,
5 some of us want to be Irish the other 364 days of
6 the year.
7 But let me just fundamentally offer
8 everyone a great day. We are on the cusp of
9 coming into probably a beautiful spring, doing
10 our budgetary work. So happy St. Paddy's Day to
11 everybody.
12 But I want to digress with a point
13 that I hope is valid. In the last two days I,
14 like everybody else, got visited from some of the
15 messengers who work with us. And Billy Crowe,
16 who is, you know, a dapper guy, he always has
17 these funky outfits on when he's parading around
18 the LOB and the Capitol, he's one of many of the
19 messengers. So Billy had left me a poem, a
20 limerick for today. And so I'm just going to
21 take a moment -- they're not here, but you all
22 know this, they're great people.
23 So I'm just going to read off
24 quickly -- Beth and Kevin run the messenger
25 service. But we have Brian Abreu, Greta Amodeo,
1223
1 a gentleman named Ryan Banker, who is an
2 apprentice, Beth Bonesteel, Michael Cohen, Nancy
3 Comley, Billy Crowe, Michelle Daley, Adam
4 Denenberg, Robert DeSieno, William Faulkner,
5 Sharon Forkeutis, Marcus Gagnon, William Gerard,
6 Katherine Griffin, Kevin Kather, Kimmy Lapp,
7 Barbara McDonald, Kathy O'Brien, Patrick O'Hara
8 -- there's a lot of Irish people working in the
9 messenger service. No correlation to today, but
10 they're all there. Kadija Oliver, Frankie
11 Rotundo, Kathleen Schleich, Gil Seburyamo, who's
12 also an apprentice. Barb -- I've got to make
13 sure I'm saying it right -- Wojtowicz, and
14 Valerie Zeh.
15 So these are the people who are
16 always walking around with a smile. I saw at
17 least half a dozen of them this morning, all
18 dressed in all kinds of green for St. Patrick's
19 Day. So in the course of what we do in honoring
20 St. Patrick and those type of events, let's just
21 make sure we remind ourselves of the people who
22 do great things for us, and that's our messenger
23 service.
24 Mr. President, thank you for your
25 indulgence.
1224
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Thank
2 you, Senator Flanagan.
3 Senator DeFrancisco.
4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: This is a
5 wonderful day. We've got Majority Leader
6 Flanagan, we've got Murphy presiding. But this
7 green cover is above and beyond the call of duty.
8 I mean, this is really over the top.
9 (Laughter.)
10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: But I just
11 wanted to mention that we're here honoring a man,
12 St. Patrick. And if I can find the resolution --
13 it's a long resolution -- it just has this slight
14 reference that I need to provide some explanation
15 for.
16 "WHEREAS, A native of Roman Britain,
17 Patrick was the son of Calpurnius, a civil
18 servant and deacon." It forgot to say that
19 Calpurnius and St. Patrick were Italian.
20 So if we're honoring a person here
21 of Italian descent, this cover should have been
22 red.
23 (Laughter.)
24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: And so I
25 want --
1225
1 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Mr. President,
2 point of personal privilege.
3 (Laughter.)
4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I won't seek
5 to amend this resolution, but I've got a feeling
6 that next year we'll have a similar one, and I
7 would request bill drafting to make sure that
8 that is pointed out clearly in the first
9 paragraph.
10 Thank you.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Thank
12 you, Senator DeFrancisco.
13 Senator Kennedy.
14 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you very
15 much, Mr. President.
16 I too want to wish you and all of
17 our colleagues and staff, friends and family and
18 the respective communities that we all represent,
19 a happy and glorious St. Patrick's Day.
20 This is truly a great day. If you
21 could give me just a moment to indulge on a
22 little bit of history as we stand here today on
23 the floor of this great institution, the New York
24 State Senate, I want to talk a little bit about
25 the unique relationship between our great state,
1226
1 between our great nation and the country of
2 Ireland that St. Patrick had such an
3 extraordinary influence on.
4 And, you know, we celebrate today
5 and, you know, we wear our green and some of us
6 wish they were wearing their green. I will tell
7 you that that reminds me of a little bit of an
8 old story, that there are those that are Irish
9 and those that wish they were Irish.
10 You know, the unique relationship
11 between our country and Ireland goes back
12 hundreds of years. But I want to talk before
13 that, it started with a great oppression by the
14 English government for about 700 years, resulting
15 in uprisings over the years -- clans working
16 together to fight against this oppression in
17 Ireland.
18 At one point in time the English
19 controlled about a quarter of the land mass in
20 the entire globe. Fast forward to about 160-plus
21 years ago, the result was the famine, or
22 otherwise known as the Great Hunger, An Gorta
23 Mor, where there were a million people who
24 starved to death in the country of Ireland.
25 A million more stayed, but a million
1227
1 emigrated. They left the country of Ireland
2 between 1845 and 1852 to find a better life for
3 themselves and their families and future
4 generations. And where did they come? They came
5 right here, to the United States of America.
6 They came right here, to the great State of
7 New York. And what happened then, as a third of
8 the population that they left behind was wiped
9 out in Ireland? They settled in New York City
10 and other areas across the Eastern Coast and up
11 into Canada.
12 And the oppression continued here.
13 Much like we're dealing with the immigration
14 issues today at the state and national level,
15 there were immigration issues then. The
16 oppression continued. There were signs that were
17 put up that said "No Irish Need Apply."
18 Being Catholic, being Irish, being
19 unable to speak the language, it was very
20 difficult to find peace, to find a job, to better
21 one's family. But amid this oppression in this
22 newfound life, there was also an incredible
23 opportunity. And with this newfound opportunity,
24 with newfound freedoms that the Irish were never
25 able to have in their native land, they got
1228
1 involved in politics, they got involved in
2 government and the community.
3 The Irish began to take root right
4 here in the great State of New York. As the
5 Irish poured off the ships -- often referred to
6 as coffin ships, because those that were
7 starving, by the time they got to this new land
8 of opportunity, they were dead and diseased --
9 but as they poured off the ships, many joined the
10 Union Army or were drafted into the Union Army.
11 One hundred forty thousand Union troops fought
12 for this great country and for the liberation of
13 the Union and for the emancipation of the slaves.
14 One hundred fifty years ago this
15 year, the sesquicentennial we'll be celebrating
16 in June of the Fenian Raid of Canada, where the
17 Irish Civil War vets invaded Canada to hold it
18 hostage until England got out of Ireland. That
19 happened on the shores of my hometown of Buffalo.
20 It resulted, a year later, in Canada becoming a
21 commonwealth from England.
22 A hundred years ago this April, the
23 proclamation of Irish independence happened. It
24 will be celebrated across the pond in Ireland, in
25 Dublin City, the day after Easter, Easter Monday,
1229
1 the uprising that ultimately resulted in a true
2 Irish independence.
3 These were only able to be
4 accomplished because of the unique relationship
5 between the United States, the great State of
6 New York, and the country of Ireland. The Irish
7 brothers and sisters that were here, that left
8 the desperation in Ireland to come here and then
9 maintained relationships with their native
10 land -- today, 30 million-plus Irish call the
11 United States of America home, in every walk of
12 life.
13 Over 150 years ago in this great
14 state, they built the Erie Canal that began the
15 commerce across this state and across this
16 nation, the greatest feat of its time. They used
17 government as an opportunity to better themselves
18 and their families, becoming firefighters and
19 police officers, ultimately resulting in being a
20 part of the government, becoming business
21 leaders, and then in every single walk of life
22 have enjoyed great success in this great land of
23 the United States of America.
24 The Irish helped to shape New York
25 State. The Irish helped to shape this great
1230
1 nation, whether we're talking about a
2 relationship between the Irish 150-plus years
3 ago, between freed slaves like Frederick
4 Douglass, who lived in this great state, who
5 worked with the liberator and emancipator in
6 Ireland, Daniel O'Connell, to bring peace and
7 justice across Ireland and across the U.S.A.
8 We have to remember where we've come
9 from. It's incumbent upon us Irish on this great
10 occasion of St. Patrick's Day to remember our
11 history. But being Irish isn't just about
12 wearing green today, celebrating and partaking in
13 some libations -- although that's a big part of
14 it. We remember to honor our family and our
15 friends, care for our community, trust in our
16 faith, believe in the divine intervention of God,
17 ensuring that the greatest nation in the history
18 of the world, the United States of America,
19 continues to work closely to bring peace to our
20 native country of Ireland and other countries
21 across the globe. It's about hard work,
22 dedication, and focus.
23 And I will just say this. Over the
24 course of the last several decades, there has
25 been terrible conflict in Ireland from the
1231
1 results of that great oppression that I spoke of,
2 the troubles in the '60s through the '90s, the
3 hunger strikers of 1981, the casualties of
4 thousands of individuals across the pond, the
5 1998 Good Friday peace agreement cultivated by
6 United States leaders working in concert with
7 Irish leaders, and now the president of the
8 United States every single year inviting the
9 prime minister and president of Ireland over to
10 this great nation to celebrate.
11 Two days ago we had the Irish
12 minister of defence, Paul Kehoe, here in Albany
13 to celebrate. We had other leaders like Barbara
14 Jones, the consul general of Ireland, here to
15 celebrate this great occasion.
16 March 17th represents so much. Yes,
17 as the Majority Leader, John Flanagan, mentioned,
18 it is a holy day of obligation in our lives.
19 It's great to see the incredible history of
20 Ireland and the United States and its culmination
21 in great leadership here in the State of New York
22 and across the United States.
23 And we must continue that trend. We
24 must never forgot where we've come from. We must
25 always think about where we are and where we're
1232
1 going. We must always remember the millions that
2 sacrificed so much to people like us, people like
3 myself, to stand here on the floor of the
4 New York State Senate and speak about these
5 freedoms that we hold so dear in our hearts, in
6 our minds, and in society.
7 And I will leave you all with this
8 as an Irish proverb, a little bit of an Irish
9 prayer, and I extend that prayer especially to my
10 Republican colleagues, but to all of us: May the
11 road rise to meet you, may the wind be at your
12 back, and may you be in heaven a half an hour
13 before the devil knows you're dead.
14 (Laughter.)
15 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you,
16 Mr. President. Happy St. Patrick's Day.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Thank
18 you, Senator Kennedy. Well put.
19 Senator Hoylman.
20 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Thank you,
21 Mr. President.
22 I join my colleagues in celebrating
23 today and thanking Senator Flanagan for his
24 resolution on St. Patrick's Day.
25 You know, today also is the
1233
1 St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City. It's
2 the 255th parade. And it kicked off at 11 a.m.
3 It goes through part of my district, along Fifth
4 Avenue. It goes all the way up to 79th Street,
5 just past St. Patrick's Cathedral. Thirty-five
6 blocks; over 2 million spectators are watching
7 it.
8 But today is special. It's a
9 historic day for the parade. It's a unifying day
10 for the parade. And it's an important day, not
11 just for Irish men and women, but for anyone who
12 values self-determination and self-expression.
13 Because for the first time, people who are
14 LGBT will be able to march in the parade and
15 carry banners celebrating their identity.
16 You know, for years, Mr. President,
17 organizers said that LGBT folks couldn't carry
18 signs or banners or identify themselves for who
19 they are. You know, as Senator Kennedy
20 mentioned, there are those who are Irish and
21 those who wish they were Irish. In this case,
22 there are those who are Irish and those who are
23 Irish and wished they could march in the parade.
24 And that led, Mr. President, to
25 decades of protests, to court cases, to lawsuits,
1234
1 to boycotts by everyone from Mayor Dinkins to
2 Governor Cuomo to Mayor de Blasio -- to arrests,
3 countless arrests by activists in the LGBT
4 community, including my predecessor, a great
5 Irishman, Senator Tom Duane; the speaker of the
6 City Council, Christine Quinn, was arrested
7 numerous times; and countless other activists.
8 But for the first year in its 255
9 years of existence, since 1762, LGBT activists
10 who have been campaigning for inclusion for over
11 a quarter-century, will be able to march carrying
12 their own banner.
13 And I wanted to thank,
14 Mr. President, Mayor de Blasio for his steadfast
15 support, the activists, the Irish consul general,
16 Barbara Jones, who actually helped negotiate the
17 agreement with the Ancient Order of Hibernians
18 allowing the Irish LGBT folks to march, our New
19 York City Councilmembers, particularly Danny
20 Dromm and Jimmy Van Bramer, who participated in
21 those discussions, and Brendan Fay. I know my
22 colleagues from Queens know Brendan. He's
23 founder of the Lavender and Green Alliance and
24 cochair of St. Pat's For All. St. Pat's For All
25 held its own inclusionary march since 2000 in
1235
1 Queens, and I know a number of my colleagues in
2 Queens marched with Brendan and his colleagues,
3 including Kathleen Walsh D'Arcy, who is the
4 cochair of St. Pat's For All.
5 And I wanted to thank Dr. John
6 Lahey, he's the chair of the St. Patrick's Day
7 Parade Board, and John O'Connor, president of the
8 St. Patrick's Day Parade Board.
9 You know, today is a very, very
10 significant day. And we also have to thank the
11 people of Ireland, because just last year, like
12 this chamber did in 2011, they legalized marriage
13 equality. And they did it in a referendum, the
14 first time in world history that an entire
15 population voted in support of marriage equality.
16 And that's due to the people of Ireland. And
17 they set the precedent, I think, for this parade,
18 as this chamber did in approving marriage
19 equality in 2011.
20 So when Senator George Mitchell, who
21 negotiated the Good Friday agreement, is being
22 honored today as the Grand Marshal, we should
23 also thank all the organizers and all the
24 activists for the work they've put in to make
25 this St. Patrick's Day Parade truly special,
1236
1 truly historic.
2 Thank you, Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Thank
4 you, Senator Hoylman.
5 Senator Savino.
6 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you, Senator
7 Murphy.
8 I also want to rise and thank
9 Senator Flanagan for bringing this resolution
10 today in honor of St. Patrick's Day. And I want
11 to thank my colleagues for their presentations.
12 You know, they say those of us who
13 are of Irish descent have the gift of the
14 blarney. And if any of you were paying attention
15 today, you would certainly agree with that,
16 Senator Kennedy. Thank you for that history
17 lesson.
18 And Senator DeFrancisco, he raised a
19 point about St. Patrick's heritage himself, in
20 fact whether he might possibly be Italian. The
21 history books suggest he might have been Roman.
22 And his history dates back to a time prior to
23 Italy even existing.
24 However, he might have started a
25 tradition that eventually did play itself out on
1237
1 the shores of a country no one knew existed at
2 that time, when the sons of Italy would join in
3 neighborhoods that were populated by the
4 daughters of Ireland, find their mates, marry and
5 create an entire new population of children that
6 looked like me.
7 The children of the Italian and
8 Irish immigrants are part of the new fabric of
9 New York. And while every day you see people who
10 look like me, you never really know who we are.
11 I'm as Irish as I am Italian, and proud of it.
12 And so today, on St. Patrick's Day,
13 I am happy to join all of you and wish all of you
14 a happy St. Patrick's Day, not just today but
15 every day of the year.
16 Thank you, Mr. President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Thank
18 you, Senator Savino.
19 Senator DeFrancisco.
20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I assume that
21 there are no further speakers.
22 If that's the case, Senator Flanagan
23 has opened up this resolution for cosponsorship.
24 If you don't wish to be a cosponsor, notify the
25 desk.
1238
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Resolution
2 4316 is open for cosponsorship. If you choose
3 not to be a cosponsor, please inform the desk.
4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Mr. President,
5 is there any further business at the desk?
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: There is
7 no further business at the desk.
8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: That being
9 the case, I will now move to adjourn until
10 Monday, March 21st, at 3:00 p.m., intervening
11 days being legislative days.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Thank
13 you, Senator DeFrancisco.
14 I would just like to wish everybody
15 a happy St. Patrick's Day, get home safe, and God
16 bless.
17 And, Senator Lanza, congratulations
18 to your son for winning the state championship
19 with his basketball team.
20 There being no further business, on
21 motion, the Senate will stand adjourned until
22 Monday, March 21st, at 3:00 p.m., intervening
23 days to be legislative days.
24 (Whereupon, at 12:23 p.m., the
25 Senate adjourned.)