Regular Session - May 8, 2018
2551
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 May 8, 2018
11 12:30 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR ELAINE PHILLIPS, Acting President
19 FRANCIS W. PATIENCE, Secretary
20
21
22
23
24
25
2552
1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
3 Senate will come to order.
4 I ask everyone present to please
5 rise and repeat with me the Pledge of Allegiance.
6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: In the
9 absence of clergy, may we please bow our heads in
10 a moment of silence.
11 (Whereupon, the assemblage respected
12 a moment of silence.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
14 reading of the Journal.
15 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Monday,
16 May 7th, the Senate met pursuant to adjournment.
17 The Journal of Sunday, May 6th, was read and
18 approved. On motion, Senate adjourned.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Without
20 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
21 Presentation of petitions.
22 Messages from the Assembly.
23 The Secretary will read.
24 THE SECRETARY: On page 20, Senator
25 Gallivan moves to discharge, from the Committee
2553
1 on Children and Families, Assembly Bill Number
2 8485B and substitute it for the identical Senate
3 Bill Number 7372B, Third Reading Calendar 348.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
5 substitution is so ordered.
6 Messages from the Governor.
7 Reports of standing committees.
8 Reports of select committees.
9 Communications and reports from
10 state officers.
11 Motions and resolutions.
12 Floor Leader.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Madam
14 President, I move to adopt the Resolution
15 Calendar, with the exception of Resolutions 5098,
16 4963, 4977, 5068 and 5069.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: All in
18 favor of adopting the Resolution Calendar, with
19 the exception of Resolutions 5098, 4963, 4977,
20 5068 and 5069, signify by saying aye.
21 (Response of "Aye.")
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS:
23 Opposed?
24 (No response.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
2554
1 Resolution Calendar is adopted.
2 Senator DeFrancisco.
3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Now may we
4 take up Resolution Number 5098, by Senator
5 Little, title only, and call on Senator Little to
6 speak.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
8 Secretary will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
10 Resolution Number 5098, by Senator Little,
11 memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
12 proclaim May 6-13, 2018, as Fibromyalgia
13 Awareness Week in the State of New York.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Senator
15 Little.
16 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you, Madam
17 President.
18 Fibromyalgia is a disease that
19 people did not know about for a very, very long
20 time. So having these one-week memorializations
21 of the disease of fibromyalgia is very, very
22 helpful in making more people aware of the
23 disease -- people who may contact it, who may
24 have it, who may know of someone who has it, but
25 also the medical community to know what needs to
2555
1 be done and how it can be treated.
2 There are an estimated 10 million
3 people in the United States that have been
4 diagnosed with fibromyalgia. While women make up
5 the majority, men also can have fibromyalgia.
6 And the new category is in pediatrics, which is
7 really sad to see that children also are a focus
8 of the research, finding out those who may be
9 constricted with pediatric fibromyalgia.
10 The average time for a diagnosis of
11 fibromyalgia is five years. Within those five
12 years, people experience extreme fatigue, like
13 fatigue that's unknown to other diseases, as well
14 as having a lot of pain, along with not knowing
15 what is wrong with them and continuing to go to
16 doctors and seek out -- and depression also can
17 be a symptom of fibromyalgia.
18 And the treatment of it is a team
19 approach. And through this Fibromyalgia Task
20 Force that has been developed and worked on, we
21 have developed a team approach as to how to treat
22 people who do have fibromyalgia.
23 So the purpose of this resolution is
24 to make people more aware of it, to recognize the
25 disease, and also to recognize some folks who
2556
1 have worked very hard to see that we can get this
2 disease under control and have treatment a lot
3 faster than five years when someone contracts
4 fibromyalgia.
5 With us today are Dr. Sue Shipe,
6 founder and chair of the Fibromyalgia Task Force,
7 of the International Institute for Human
8 Empowerment; Mr. Brian Hart, who is also a member
9 of that task force. Dr. Phil Albrecht, medical
10 researcher, and Elizabeth Ruggiero, also a
11 medical researcher, are involved in the
12 task force. And also with us today: Michelle
13 McCarthy, who is a volunteer working with the
14 task force, Julie Miner and Joe Ritchie.
15 All of these people have been
16 involved in the research, the care, the treatment
17 and the awareness, helping people who have
18 developed fibromyalgia and are finally diagnosed
19 with it, finding the correct treatment, and being
20 able to live a normal life afterward.
21 So I thank all of you for your
22 efforts and your work on this, and I thank all of
23 my colleagues for joining me in this resolution,
24 and the Governor for memorializing May 6-13 as
25 Fibromyalgia Awareness Week.
2557
1 Thank you.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
3 question is on the resolution. All in favor
4 signify by saying aye.
5 (Response of "Aye.")
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS:
7 Opposed, nay.
8 (No response.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
10 resolution is adopted.
11 And on behalf of the New York State
12 Senate, to Dr. Shipe, Mr. Hart and the entire
13 task force, thank you for your advocacy. And we
14 offer all the privileges of the house to you.
15 (Applause.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
17 resolution is open for cosponsorship. If you'd
18 like to be a cosponsor, please notify the desk.
19 Senator DeFrancisco.
20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Can we now
21 take up previously adopted Resolution 4533, by
22 Senator Akshar, title only, and call on Senator
23 Akshar to speak.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
25 Secretary will read.
2558
1 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
2 Resolution Number 4533, by Senator Akshar,
3 commemorating the second annual Sock Out Cancer
4 Day benefit campaign and concerts.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Senator
6 Akshar on the resolution.
7 SENATOR AKSHAR: Madam President,
8 thank you very much for your indulgence.
9 I rise this afternoon with mixed
10 emotions, quite frankly, and a heavy heart. It's
11 not often today you see Republicans and Democrats
12 agreeing on much of anything. But today,
13 regardless of how divided we may seem in Albany,
14 it's important to remember that there are
15 certainly some things that we can in fact agree
16 on, and certainly there are some things that we
17 can advance without partisan back and forth.
18 Today we're here because of a
19 disease that knows no political party, it knows
20 no race, no creed, no color, no age. It doesn't
21 matter whether you're rich or poor, whether you
22 live upstate or downstate, in a city or in a
23 rural community. I would respectfully offer to
24 everyone that every person in this room and every
25 person that's watching the livestream has been
2559
1 affected by cancer in one way or another.
2 While it affects a wide range of
3 families, not every family is equipped to deal
4 with cancer financially. And today I want to
5 thank Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo for advancing
6 this joint resolution with me, wherein we are
7 proclaiming today, May 8th, Sock Out Cancer Day
8 in the State of New York.
9 Sock Out Cancer is really for
10 communities and folks throughout this great state
11 to help raise funds to help those who are
12 financially distressed and find themselves
13 battling cancer. Last year Sock Out Cancer, that
14 organization, in my home district raised $120,000
15 for the hospital systems there, for Lourdes
16 Hospital and UHS.
17 And I'm pleased to say that tonight,
18 during the second annual Sock Out Cancer Day in
19 the state, Sock Out Cancer organization will be
20 putting on another benefit concert at the Palace
21 Theater at 8 p.m. All of my esteemed colleagues,
22 of course, and your staffs have been invited to
23 that, and tonight Sock Out Cancer organization
24 will be raising money for Albany Med and
25 St. Peter's Hospital, to help folks battling
2560
1 cancer here in the Capital District.
2 I would offer to all of my
3 colleagues, regardless of where you're from, that
4 Sock Out Cancer would come to your neighborhood
5 and work with you collectively and the hospital
6 systems in your respective jurisdictions to help
7 you raise money to help families who are battling
8 this terrible disease.
9 I'm wearing this blue, yellow and
10 red T-shirt of course in honor of Cooper Bush.
11 Last week when we had a bipartisan press
12 conference to announce in concert and this
13 resolution that we would be bringing forth, I
14 told the story at the podium of a beautiful young
15 boy, 4 years old, Cooper Busch is his name, who
16 suffered from acute myeloid leukemia. He also
17 had Down syndrome. He was put in hospice care
18 last week, but unfortunately lost his battle with
19 cancer on Sunday.
20 So I wear this shirt very proudly.
21 Me and Senator Peralta talked about whether you
22 could in fact wear this shirt, you couldn't wear
23 this shirt in the chamber. I'm glad I have it on
24 today, because I know that Cooper's mom and dad,
25 Tara and Steve, and brother Cole and sister Hope,
2561
1 are home struggling themselves in trying to deal
2 with the loss of their 4-year-old son and brother
3 and grandson to the rest of the family.
4 So my thoughts and prayers of course
5 are with the Busch family today. And again, I
6 just want to thank the Assemblywoman and
7 everybody else who cosponsored this resolution.
8 It's really for a great cause, and I'm glad we're
9 doing it in a bipartisan fashion.
10 Madam President, thank you.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Thank
12 you, Senator Akshar.
13 Senator DeFrancisco.
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I'm
15 providing a hand-up from the Senate Democrat
16 Conference concerning assignments.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
18 hand-up is received and will be filed in the
19 Journal.
20 And can I also say on behalf of you,
21 sir, that the resolution is open for
22 cosponsorship? Senator Akshar -- or were you
23 about to say that, sir?
24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Okay, thank
25 you. And if you want to cosponsor, please notify
2562
1 the desk.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Thank
3 you.
4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Next if we
5 could take up previously adopted Resolution 4861,
6 by Senator Croci. Please read it in its
7 entirety.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
9 Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
11 Resolution 4861, by Senator Croci, commending
12 Officer Ryan Nash upon the occasion of his
13 designation as recipient of a Liberty Medal, the
14 highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the
15 New York State Senate.
16 "WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the
17 people of the State of New York to recognize and
18 acknowledge those within our midst who have made
19 significant contributions to the quality of life
20 therein; and
21 "WHEREAS, From time to time this
22 Legislative Body takes note of certain
23 extraordinary individuals it wishes to recognize
24 for their valued contributions to the success and
25 progress of society and publicly acknowledge
2563
1 their endeavors which have enhanced the basic
2 humanity among us all; and
3 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is
4 justly proud to commend Ryan Nash upon the
5 occasion of his designation as recipient of a
6 Liberty Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon an
7 individual by the New York State Senate; and
8 "WHEREAS, The New York State Senate
9 Liberty Medal was established by resolution and
10 is awarded to individuals who have merited
11 special commendation for exceptional, heroic, or
12 humanitarian acts on behalf of their fellow
13 New Yorkers; and
14 "WHEREAS, A five-year veteran of the
15 NYPD, Ryan Nash worked day tours in the
16 First Precinct in Lower Manhattan; on Tuesday,
17 October 31, 2017, he and his partner were
18 responding to an unrelated call at Stuyvesant
19 High School when they were alerted by civilians
20 about an apparent car crash nearby; and
21 "WHEREAS, A man had driven a pickup
22 truck down a crowded bike path along the
23 Hudson River in Manhattan, killing eight people
24 and injuring 12 more; and
25 "WHEREAS, Officer Ryan Nash and his
2564
1 partner, along with two other officers, quickly
2 responded to the scene, and saw the suspect, who
3 appeared to be waving a gun and yelling, at the
4 scene of the accident, and observed the victims
5 down on the scene; and
6 "WHEREAS, Officer Ryan Nash
7 immediately took action and fired his service
8 weapon nine times, shooting the suspect in the
9 abdomen, bringing the worst terrorist attack in
10 New York City since 9/11 to an end; and
11 "WHEREAS, A resident of Medford,
12 Long Island, Officer Ryan Nash serves as the
13 epitome of an NYPD officer; each and every day,
14 he strives to enhance the quality of life in
15 New York City by working in partnership with the
16 community to enforce the law, preserve peace,
17 reduce fear, and maintain order; and
18 "WHEREAS, In addition to being
19 recognized for his role on that deadly Tuesday
20 afternoon, Officer Ryan Nash was the recipient of
21 both the Excellent Police Duty and Meritorious
22 Police Duty Awards from the NYPD; and
23 "WHEREAS, Officer Ryan Nash should
24 be regarded as a true hero; he has continually
25 devoted himself to public service, demonstrating
2565
1 great courage and diligence in providing for the
2 care and welfare of the citizens of this great
3 Empire State; and
4 "WHEREAS, Praised for maintaining
5 his composure and his professional conduct,
6 Officer Ryan Nash demonstrated his true character
7 and genuine compassion for the well-being of
8 others; and
9 "WHEREAS, Within every community of
10 the State of New York there are certain
11 individuals who, by virtue of their commitment
12 and dedication, command the respect and
13 admiration of their community for their exemplary
14 contributions and service on behalf of others;
15 Officer Ryan Nash is one such individual; and
16 "WHEREAS, It is the custom of this
17 Legislative Body that those dedicated public
18 servants who unselfishly devote their lives to
19 the preservation of order and the protection of
20 others are worthy and due full praise for their
21 commitment and noble endeavors; now, therefore,
22 be it
23 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
24 Body pause in its deliberations to commend
25 Officer Ryan Nash upon the occasion of his
2566
1 designation as recipient of a Liberty Medal, the
2 highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the
3 New York State Senate; and be it further
4 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this
5 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to
6 Officer Ryan Nash."
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Senator
8 Croci.
9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Could you
10 please recognize me.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Senator
12 DeFrancisco.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Could we now
14 call up Resolution Number 3117, by Senator Croci,
15 which was previously adopted, read it in its
16 entirety, and then Senator Carlucci will speak on
17 both of the resolutions at once.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Yes,
19 sir, thank you.
20 The Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
22 Resolution 3117, by Senator Croci, commending
23 Peter DiPinto, Sr., upon the occasion of his
24 designation as recipient of a Liberty Medal, the
25 highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the
2567
1 New York State Senate.
2 "WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the
3 people of the State of New York to recognize and
4 acknowledge those within our midst who have made
5 significant contributions to the quality of life
6 therein; and
7 "WHEREAS, From time to time this
8 Legislative Body takes note of certain
9 extraordinary individuals it wishes to recognize
10 for their valued contributions to the success and
11 progress of society and publicly acknowledge
12 their endeavors which have enhanced the basic
13 humanity among us all; and
14 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is
15 justly proud to commend Peter DiPinto, Sr., upon
16 the occasion of his designation as recipient of a
17 Liberty Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon an
18 individual by the New York State Senate; and
19 "WHEREAS, The New York State Senate
20 Liberty Medal was established by resolution and
21 is awarded to individuals who have merited
22 special commendation for exceptional, heroic, or
23 humanitarian acts on behalf of their fellow
24 New Yorkers; and
25 "WHEREAS, On Tuesday, October 10,
2568
1 2017, at approximately 10:30 p.m., volunteer
2 firefighter and United States Navy veteran Peter
3 DiPinto, Sr., heard a car crash at the crossing
4 near the intersection of Montauk Highway and
5 Arthur Avenue, to the east of the Bellport
6 Station, in Brookhaven, Long Island, in
7 Suffolk County; and
8 "WHEREAS, The driver of the car was
9 turning when another vehicle hit the passenger's
10 side, sending her SUV onto the train tracks; and
11 "WHEREAS, Peter DiPinto, Sr.,
12 quickly ran to the driver's aid, pushing the
13 airbags aside to reach her; realizing a train was
14 speeding towards them, he pulled the terrified
15 woman across the passenger seat, dragging her to
16 safety behind a silver utility shed; about
17 10 seconds later, the Long Island Rail Road train
18 slammed into the vehicle, sending it 50 feet into
19 some nearby brush; and
20 "WHEREAS, Due to the spontaneous
21 actions of 30-year veteran firefighter Peter
22 DiPinto, Sr., the victim of the car crash
23 survived with minor injuries; and
24 "WHEREAS, Peter DiPinto, Sr., should
25 be regarded as a true hero; he has continually
2569
1 devoted himself to public service, demonstrating
2 great courage and diligence in providing for the
3 care and welfare of the citizens of this great
4 Empire State; and
5 "WHEREAS, Praised for maintaining
6 his composure and his professional conduct,
7 Peter DiPinto, Sr., demonstrated his true
8 character and genuine compassion for the welfare
9 of others; and
10 "WHEREAS, Within every community of
11 the State of New York there are certain
12 individuals who, by virtue of their commitment
13 and dedication, command the respect and
14 admiration of their community for their exemplary
15 contributions and service on behalf of others;
16 Peter DiPinto, Sr., is one such individual; and
17 "WHEREAS, It is the custom of this
18 Legislative Body that those dedicated public
19 servants who unselfishly devote their lives to
20 the preservation of order and the protection of
21 others are worthy and due full praise for their
22 commitment and noble endeavors; now, therefore,
23 be it
24 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
25 Body pause in its deliberations to commend
2570
1 Peter DiPinto, Sr., upon the occasion of his
2 designation as recipient of a Liberty Medal, the
3 highest honor bestowed upon an individual by the
4 New York State Senate; and be it further
5 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this
6 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to
7 Peter DiPinto, Sr."
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Senator
9 Croci on the resolution.
10 SENATOR CROCI: Thank you, Madam
11 President. And thank you to my colleagues for
12 passing this resolution.
13 You know, we refer to the police
14 services and the fire services with the terms the
15 finest and the bravest. And I am very privileged
16 to be able to introduce to you today truly the
17 representation of those words "finest" and
18 "bravest."
19 The incidents which both of these
20 gentlemen are recognized for today with our State
21 Senate's highest honor, the Liberty Medal, are
22 probably not the first you've heard of them.
23 They've been covered in the press, they've been
24 covered on television. Because I think in our
25 society we often hear a lot of bad news when we
2571
1 pick up a paper or listen to the news. And when
2 one of our neighbors performs in this manner, I
3 think it gives us all hope that we are the kind
4 of people who are going to endure, because we
5 have men and women who are truly fine and truly
6 brave.
7 This is only the third time that the
8 Senator from the Third Senate District has ever
9 presented a Liberty Medal. My predecessor, Lee
10 Zeldin, presented a Liberty Medal posthumously to
11 Lieutenant Michael Murphy, a Navy Seal who was
12 killed on active duty in Afghanistan saving the
13 lives of others and performing his duties.
14 Today I am honoring two individuals
15 who we are blessed to have in the chamber with us
16 who have saved the lives of other humans. It is
17 said in Scripture that a greater love hath no man
18 than to lay down his life for his friends. In
19 this case, it's about the willingness to go on
20 and do something extraordinary without regard for
21 oneself. That is, to me, the very essence of
22 what it means to be an American.
23 And there are studies about heroism,
24 and it's a word that I certainly never throw out
25 lightly. But I'm privileged to have invited and
2572
1 have in the chamber with us today two individuals
2 who I consider to be heroes. When they study
3 heroism, they talk about the key to heroism is a
4 concern for other people, something I think -- I
5 hope we all identify with. But here's the key
6 ingredient: A disregard for what happens to you
7 in that process.
8 In the Navy, when we present -- or
9 in the military when we present awards to
10 individuals, the highest awards, we talk about
11 valor and selfless disregard for one's own
12 safety. Now, I'm sure your families don't
13 necessarily like the fact that you selflessly
14 disregarded your own safety, but thank God that
15 you did. And I know that the men and women whose
16 lives you saved certainly do.
17 Madam President, I could not be
18 prouder than to have these two gentlemen, Peter
19 DiPinto and Ryan Nash, living in the Third Senate
20 District. They truly, I believe, are exemplary
21 Americans and really typify what I think all of
22 us should examine in our own lives, and that is
23 the ability to put something greater than oneself
24 ahead of oneself.
25 Gentlemen, I would like, if you
2573
1 wouldn't mind, if you would stand for a moment.
2 I had the great opportunity to present them the
3 Liberty Medal previously. And Madam President, I
4 will turn it over to you to recognize two amazing
5 New Yorkers, two heroes from our nation, and that
6 is Peter DiPinto, firefighter, and Police Officer
7 Nash.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: So
9 Officer Nash, Firefighter DiPinto, thank you for
10 your bravery, thank you for your dedication to
11 our communities. And on behalf of the entire New
12 York State Senate, we open all the privileges of
13 the house to you.
14 If everyone would rise.
15 (Standing ovation.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Senator
17 DeFrancisco.
18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Both of those
19 resolutions are open for cosponsorship. If you'd
20 like to cosponsor, please notify the desk.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: So both
22 resolutions are open for cosponsorship. If you'd
23 like to be a cosponsor, please notify the desk.
24 Senator DeFrancisco.
25 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: In fact, all
2574
1 resolutions today are open for cosponsorship.
2 And if you want to cosponsor any of them, to save
3 some time, just please notify the desk.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Thank
5 you, sir.
6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Now can we
7 take up Resolution 4963, by Senator Robach, read
8 the title only, and call on Senator Robach to
9 speak.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
11 Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
13 Resolution Number 4963, by Senator Robach,
14 memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
15 proclaim May 8, 2018, as Domestic Violence
16 Awareness and Prevention Day in the State of
17 New York.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Senator
19 Robach.
20 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes, Madam
21 President, I'm very happy to sponsor this
22 resolution on Domestic Violence Prevention Day.
23 I think it's very important that we
24 first start out by saying, at least in my tenure
25 here in the Senate, working together, we have
2575
1 really changed how domestic violence is treated,
2 on everything from orders of protection, not
3 discriminating against people who have suffered
4 domestic violence in the workplace, in housing,
5 in so many other ways. And maybe most
6 importantly, in most communities we now have
7 places like Willow Domestic Violence Center in
8 Rochester, which allows women a place to go -- or
9 I shouldn't say women -- men, anyone suffering
10 from domestic violence, where they can get out of
11 that dangerous and caustic relationship, be
12 supported, and transition to a better life for
13 them and their families.
14 Literally in my 16 years in the
15 Senate, I really applaud everyone. I've watched
16 that change dramatically for the better. But our
17 work is not over. And we can certainly continue
18 to do more to really try and stamp out this
19 scourge.
20 And I've said it time and time
21 again, all violence is bad. But when you think
22 about it, what's even worse -- if you've been
23 jumped or robbed in a parking lot, you may never
24 go that way again. But to be assaulted by a
25 spouse, an intimate partner, somebody else that
2576
1 you rely on not only for companionship, finances,
2 living arrangements, it can even be more
3 challenging and certainly even more terrifying.
4 So all the merits for trying to
5 stamp this out are clearly there, and we're doing
6 that.
7 I want to take a moment -- I know
8 there's people all over the state that do that.
9 Today, Madam President, we have people joining us
10 from the New York State Coalition Against
11 Domestic Violence, who have helped with this
12 issue greatly, continue to push for policies and
13 support for people going through this.
14 And if I could just take a moment
15 before I ask you to welcome them, I'd like to
16 introduce Connie Neal, the executive director --
17 if you want to stand up, please do -- Joan
18 Gerhardt, Nasim Sarabandi, Jennifer Clark,
19 Jane Ni, and Aissata Ba.
20 I would hope, on behalf of all the
21 people that are combating domestic violence
22 across our state, you would welcome these
23 individuals representing everyone, welcome them
24 to the chamber and applaud their great work,
25 Madam President.
2577
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Great,
2 thank you.
3 So on behalf of the New York State
4 Senate, I welcome the New York State Coalition
5 Against Domestic Violence. Ladies, thank you for
6 your advocacy, and we open all the privileges of
7 the house to you. Thank you.
8 (Standing ovation.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
10 question is on the resolution. All in favor
11 signify by saying aye.
12 (Response of "Aye.")
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS:
14 Opposed, nay.
15 (No response.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
17 resolution is adopted.
18 Senator DeFrancisco.
19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, can we
20 now take up Resolution 5068, by Senator
21 Montgomery, title only, and call on Senator
22 Montgomery to speak.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
24 Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
2578
1 Resolution Number 5068, by Senator Montgomery,
2 commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Spanish
3 Speaking Elderly Council-RAICES, to be celebrated
4 on May 17, 2018.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Senator
6 Montgomery.
7 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, thank
8 you, Madam President.
9 I rise to honor this organization,
10 RAICES. It's the Spanish Speaking Elderly
11 Council of New York City. It's the 40th
12 anniversary of their existence, founded in 1978
13 by retired Hispanic senior citizens who saw the
14 need for an organization which would provide
15 services, educate and organize the Latino
16 minority and low-income aging community in the
17 borough of Brooklyn.
18 They have remained true to their
19 mission, which responds to unmet needs of these
20 communities, the Latino, African-American and
21 low-income community people, and seeks to improve
22 their quality of life through advocacy and the
23 direct provision of targeted services, with work
24 across the generations and a particular emphasis
25 on the needs of older adults.
2579
1 This organization has developed an
2 "ethnic ramp" concept towards improving access to
3 services for older adults of color. Currently,
4 RAICES operates nine direct service sites,
5 including seven senior centers, a case assistance
6 division, and a licensed outpatient mental health
7 clinic, the first geriatric outpatient mental
8 health clinic in Brooklyn.
9 So I rise today to give honor and
10 say thanks to the services that RAICES has
11 provided for the last 40 years to hundreds of
12 thousands of elderly seniors of color in
13 Brooklyn, especially in those senior services
14 where Brooklynites congregate each day to receive
15 healthy meals, information, services and support.
16 So it is my pleasure to be able to
17 honor them and to say, on behalf of the members
18 in this body, we thank them for their service in
19 the borough of Brooklyn.
20 Thank you, Madam President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Thank
22 you, Senator Montgomery.
23 The question is on the resolution.
24 All in favor signify by saying aye.
25 (Response of "Aye.")
2580
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS:
2 Opposed, nay.
3 (No response.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
5 resolution is adopted.
6 Senator DeFrancisco.
7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Next, if we
8 could please take up Resolution 5069, by Senator
9 Montgomery, read the title only, and call on
10 Senator Montgomery to speak.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
12 Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
14 Resolution Number 5069, by Senator Montgomery,
15 commending the YWCA of Brooklyn upon the occasion
16 of celebrating its 130th anniversary.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Senator
18 Montgomery.
19 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, thank you
20 again, Madam President.
21 I rise to celebrate what I have
22 called very often out of its name -- but its
23 function is very true -- I call this the Women's
24 House of Brooklyn. It's the YWCA of Brooklyn,
25 which is celebrating 130 years of existence. It
2581
1 was founded in 1888.
2 It is the only YWCA in the borough
3 of Brooklyn, and I believe it is the only YWCA in
4 the City of New York that offers residential
5 services.
6 The YWCA serves over 300 women; most
7 of them have been victims of domestic violence.
8 They actually live in the Y at the most
9 reasonable and affordable rents. And I say very
10 frequently, if it were not for that Y, many of
11 those women would be homeless.
12 The Y also provides spaces,
13 affordable spaces, and very often free space for
14 community organizations seeking to hold meetings
15 about issues and events in their community.
16 The Y also serves over 300 girls,
17 where they provide leadership and college access
18 preparation, and also helps those young women
19 prepare for college and in fact enter college.
20 The Y is the place in Brooklyn where
21 so much has happened over those 130 years -- and
22 even in the last 30 years, actually -- as it
23 relates to organizing around women's issues, both
24 culturally and politically, I should say, because
25 it's where we as women in Brooklyn always feel at
2582
1 home and are often meeting to say where do we fit
2 and what should we be doing.
3 And I want to especially acknowledge
4 that they have been very, very active in the
5 whole issue of domestic violence toward women in
6 our borough and in our state.
7 So I rise to thank them for their
8 service, for being there. And I thank the board,
9 and I thank the vision of the executive director,
10 Martha Kamber, who has decided not to turn the
11 Women's Building into luxury housing in the
12 borough of Brooklyn. It remains an important
13 place for women of all incomes and ethnicities
14 and means, but especially for women's services.
15 So thank you, Madam President, for
16 allowing me to stand today to honor the YWCA of
17 Brooklyn on their 130th anniversary this year.
18 Thank you.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Thank
20 you, Senator Montgomery, for acknowledging this
21 worthy institution.
22 The question is on the resolution.
23 All in favor signify by saying aye.
24 (Response of "Aye.")
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS:
2583
1 Opposed, nay.
2 (No response.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
4 resolution is adopted.
5 Senator DeFrancisco.
6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Can we now
7 take up previously adopted Resolution 4448, by
8 Senator Kennedy, title only, and call on
9 Senator Kennedy to speak.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: The
11 Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
13 Resolution Number 4448, by Senator Kennedy,
14 congratulating the St. Mary's School for the Deaf
15 Boys Basketball Team and Coach Kevin LeRoy upon
16 the occasion of capturing the Eastern Schools for
17 the Deaf Athletic Association Division II
18 Championship.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Senator
20 Kennedy.
21 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you, Madam
22 President.
23 I rise to welcome the boys
24 basketball team from St. Mary's School for the
25 Deaf, all the way from Buffalo, New York. They
2584
1 just arrived hot off the Thruway. Welcome to the
2 chamber, gentlemen.
3 (Applause.)
4 SENATOR KENNEDY: St. Mary's School
5 for the Deaf is one of Western New York's most
6 important and oldest educational institutions.
7 They're joined by Superintendent Tim
8 Kelly, Head Coach Kevin LeRoy, and Assistant
9 Coach Jim Carmody.
10 This past February, the St. Mary's
11 School for the Deaf Bisons took home the Eastern
12 Schools for the Deaf Athletic Association
13 Division II championship, held at Rhode Island
14 School for the Deaf, winning all three of its
15 games by a combined 84 points, capping an
16 incredible 11-3 season.
17 When the team won the title in their
18 impressive 43-27 win over Katzenbach School for
19 the Deaf, they were surrounded by friends and
20 family proudly donning their school's blue, gold,
21 and white colors. These young men have
22 demonstrated impressive athletic skill, teamwork
23 and tenacity as they defeated opponent after
24 opponent, and have rightfully earned their
25 championship.
2585
1 For those of you who don't know
2 St. Mary's School for the Deaf, they trace their
3 history back to 1853, when four Sisters of
4 St. Joseph from Missouri came to Buffalo to start
5 an institute for deaf education on a one-acre lot
6 in three small buildings in the heart of the City
7 of Buffalo.
8 One hundred sixty-five years later,
9 the school provides world-class educational
10 services to youth of all ages, from infant age
11 all the way until 21 years old, at their historic
12 campus on Main Street.
13 According to the school, they count
14 among their graduates college provosts and
15 professors, teachers, priests, deaf Olympians,
16 award-winning chefs, and many, many more.
17 I want to recognize each of these
18 students and coaches who achieved this impressive
19 accomplishment, many of whom made the long drive,
20 again, to Albany from Buffalo this morning:
21 Kassim Kassim, Nick Barrus, Dalton Planty, Ethan
22 Antone, Adnan Abdi, Christian Lawrence, Michael
23 Norris, Ryan Brzezinski, Isa Habeeb, Francis
24 Nguyen, Givon Blackwell, Jonathan Allen, Tyler
25 Burgard, Head Coach Kevin LeRoy, Assistant Coach
2586
1 Jim Carmody, and Manager Jack Kawalec.
2 Again, congratulations on your
3 well-deserved victory, and welcome to the
4 New York State Capitol.
5 (Applause.)
6 SENATOR KENNEDY: Madam President,
7 can you please extend all of the privileges and
8 courtesies of this chamber to these wonderful
9 young champions from Western New York. Thank you
10 very much.
11 And congratulations, gentlemen.
12 Welcome.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: So on
14 behalf of the entire New York State Senate, to
15 the St. Mary's School of the Deaf,
16 congratulations, boys. Keep up the hard work.
17 And we welcome you, and we offer all
18 the privileges of the New York State Senate to
19 you.
20 (Applause.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PHILLIPS: Senator
22 DeFrancisco.
23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, can we
24 now take up Resolution 4977, by Senator Hoylman,
25 title only, and call on Senator Hoylman to speak,
2587
1 please.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
3 Secretary will read.
4 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
5 Resolution Number 4977, by Senator Hoylman,
6 celebrating the life and accomplishments of Edith
7 Windsor, an American LGBT rights activist and
8 technology manager for IBM.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
10 Hoylman.
11 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Thank you,
12 Mr. President.
13 I rise to speak about the life and
14 accomplishments of Edie Windsor, a civil rights
15 trailblazer and the godmother of the gay marriage
16 movement here in New York State and across the
17 country and indeed the world.
18 I have brought forth a resolution
19 that is also being considered in the New York
20 State Assembly by my colleague Rebecca Seawright.
21 And I'm honored that we're in the
22 presence of LGBTQI advocates who have formed a
23 coalition under the auspices of the advocacy
24 groups, through Gabriel Blau and others, and have
25 come to the State Capitol in hundreds to speak to
2588
1 legislators about a number of bills that we
2 should be considering on the floor today in terms
3 of advancing the LGBTQI agenda, the gay agenda.
4 And Edie was at the forefront of
5 that, Mr. President. Edie was born Edith Schlain
6 in Philadelphia back in 1929. She was the
7 youngest of three children of Jewish immigrants.
8 And beginning in the '50s, after being a computer
9 research assistant at NYU, she started at IBM,
10 where she attained the highest technical rank and
11 won a competitive IBM Ph.D.
12 She was married early in her life to
13 a man but was jealous if she saw two women out
14 together. After a year of being with this man,
15 she said, quote: Honey, this is wrong. You
16 deserve more, and I need something else.
17 Well, Edie says they didn't talk
18 again until her 70th birthday. But when he
19 called her, he said "I still love you," and that
20 was great.
21 Fearing exposure as a lesbian, Edie
22 kept her sexuality secret from her employer and
23 her work colleagues. But back in 1963, she met
24 the first love of her life, Dr. Thea Spyer, at a
25 lesbian bar in the West Village.
2589
1 And back in the '60s, Edie got to
2 witness some amazing things, including the
3 rebellion at the Stonewall Inn in 1969. She and
4 Dr. Spyer were among the first to sign up for
5 New York City's Domestic Partnership Registry
6 back in 1993, which was so important because it
7 extended for the first time housing and health
8 insurance and other benefits to gays, lesbians
9 and even unmarried heterosexuals.
10 And finally, after living together
11 for 40 years -- and I don't know how many
12 straight couples can say that, but we should
13 honor all of them -- Edie and Thea were legally
14 married in Canada in 2007 by Canada's first
15 openly gay judge. And Edie talked about how
16 special it was to be married. She said marriage
17 is a magic word, and it's magic throughout the
18 world. It has to do with our dignity as human
19 beings to be who we are openly.
20 Well, sadly, Thea passed away, and
21 what ensued was an incredible injustice. Because
22 Edie applied for an estate tax exemption that any
23 spouse would have received, something that I
24 think this chamber talks about a lot. But the
25 Defense of Marriage Act, which was passed back in
2590
1 1996, made her ineligible for that.
2 She was thus required to pay
3 $363,053 in taxes to the federal government, and
4 $275,528 to New York State on her inheritance.
5 She would later say she wouldn't have owed the
6 government all those estate taxes if she had been
7 married to a man named Theo rather than a woman
8 named Thea.
9 In stepped a good friend of mine,
10 and a constituent, named Roberta Kaplan, who was
11 one of the top lawyers at the time at a big law
12 firm and took on Edie's case pro bono. She
13 represented her unsuccessfully in a marriage case
14 here in New York in 2006, and wanted to pursue it
15 further, all the way to the Supreme Court. But
16 LGBT advocates at the time didn't want her to go
17 any further. They actually refused to take
18 Edie's case, saying it was the wrong time for the
19 movement.
20 Well, Robbie Kaplan took that case
21 on. And she remembered the words of Reverend
22 Martin Luther King, Jr., who had said decades
23 earlier that there is no wrong time to seek
24 justice. So Roberta Kaplan, corporate lawyer,
25 takes on Edie's case, and it goes all the way to
2591
1 the Supreme Court.
2 At the heart of the case, which was
3 called Windsor vs. the United States of America,
4 was the principle that gay people have the
5 dignity and the Constitution mandates that this
6 dignity be respected equally under the law. And
7 they won that case.
8 And since Windsor, more than
9 40 federal district court opinions and four
10 circuit courts have held that the U.S.
11 Constitution requires that gay people be allowed
12 to marry. That demonstrates the remarkable
13 clarity of the Windsor case.
14 Now, Edie met her second wife, the
15 second love of her life, Judith Kasen-Windsor, at
16 a Hanukkah party in 2015. I think I was at that
17 Hanukkah party, but there is no photographic
18 evidence.
19 They were married on September 26,
20 2016, in New York's City hall. And it
21 encapsulates one of Edie's most famous mottos in
22 her life, which is don't postpone joy, and keep
23 it hot.
24 It was this relentless optimism of
25 Edie Windsor, this belief that we can do better,
2592
1 that has led us here today -- the belief that
2 government should champion the rights of all
3 people equally. Her fight, Mr. President, for
4 equal representation under the law has changed
5 the lives of LGBTQI Americans and people across
6 the world.
7 I am personally grateful for Edie
8 Windsor's courage and determination. And I am so
9 honored, Mr. President, to be here in the
10 presence of Edie's widow, Judith Kasen-Windsor,
11 who I'd like to introduce, as well as the
12 champions from Equality New York and other
13 advocacy groups in the chamber fighting for
14 LGBTQI rights.
15 Mr. President, could you please
16 recognize Judith Kasen-Windsor and bestow to her
17 all of the courtesies and privileges of this
18 house.
19 Thank you, Mr. President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: We
21 certainly welcome you to the New York State
22 Senate. Thank you for your courage and your
23 advocacy on behalf of New Yorkers. And we extend
24 to you the privileges and courtesies of this
25 house.
2593
1 I'd ask my colleagues to please
2 stand and recognize our distinguished guests.
3 (Standing ovation.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
5 question is on the resolution. All in favor
6 please signify by saying aye.
7 (Response of "Aye.")
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Opposed,
9 nay.
10 (No response.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
12 resolution is adopted.
13 Senator DeFrancisco.
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, on
15 page 62 I offer the following amendments to
16 Calendar 984, Senate Print 5924, by
17 Senator LaValle, and ask that said bill retain
18 its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: So
20 ordered.
21 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Now,
22 Mr. President, can we please take up the
23 noncontroversial reading of the calendar.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
25 Secretary will read.
2594
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 117, by Senator Ortt, Senate Print 249, an act to
3 amend the Correction Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
5 last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
7 act shall take effect on the 30th day.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
9 roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53. Nays, 1.
12 Senator Montgomery recorded in the negative.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 118, by Senator Ortt, Senate Print 399, an act to
17 amend the Correction Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
19 last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
21 act shall take effect immediately.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
23 roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54.
2595
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
2 is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 120, by Senator Serino, Senate Print 2170, an act
5 to amend the Correction Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53. Nays, 1.
14 Senator Rivera recorded in the negative.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
16 is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 121, by Senator Lanza, Senate Print 2638, an act
19 to amend the Correction Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
21 last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect on the first of November.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
25 roll.
2596
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53. Nays, 1.
3 Senator Montgomery recorded in the negative.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 130, by Senator Gallivan, Senate Print 1981, an
8 act to amend the Social Services Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
18 is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 173, by Senator Gallivan, Senate Print 2132, an
21 act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
2597
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Announce
5 the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar 173, those recorded in the negative are
8 Senators Comrie, Hoylman, Krueger, Montgomery,
9 Parker, Persaud and Rivera.
10 Ayes, 53. Nays, 7.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
12 is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 175, by Senator Ortt, Senate Print 4593A, an act
15 to amend the Mental Hygiene Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect on the 30th day.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
21 roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
25 is passed.
2598
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 267, by Senator Lanza, Senate Print 2600, an act
3 to amend the General Municipal Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
5 last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
9 roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 286, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 1006A, an
16 act to amend the Correction Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
18 last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
20 act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Announce
25 the result.
2599
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. Nays, 1.
2 Senator Montgomery recorded in the negative.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
4 is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 288, by Senator Helming, Senate Print 3030A, an
7 act to amend the Correction Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
9 last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
11 act shall take effect on the 30th day.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
13 roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Announce
16 the result.
17 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
18 Calendar 288, those recorded in the negative are
19 Senators Bailey, Comrie, Hoylman, Kavanagh,
20 Krueger, Montgomery, Parker, Rivera and Sanders.
21 Ayes, 53. Nays, 9.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
23 is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 290, by Senator Murphy, Senate Print 6548, an act
2600
1 to amend the Correction Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
3 last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
5 act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
10 Senator Montgomery recorded in the negative.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
12 is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 300, by Senator Addabbo, Senate Print 3674B, an
15 act to amend the Education Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect on the first of July.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
21 roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
25 is passed.
2601
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 336, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 33, an act
3 to amend the Social Services Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
5 last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
9 roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Announce
12 the result.
13 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
14 Calendar 336, those recorded in the negative are
15 Senators Comrie, Dilan, Parker, Persaud, Sanders
16 and Sepúlveda. Also Senator Montgomery. Also
17 Senator Kavanagh.
18 Ayes, 54. Nays, 8.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
20 is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 348, substituted earlier by Member of the
23 Assembly Nolan, Assembly Print 8485B, an act to
24 amend the Education Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
2602
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 11. This
3 act shall take effect on the 180th day.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
9 is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 483, by Senator Phillips, Senate Print 6420, an
12 act to amend the Public Officers Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
22 is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 517, by Senator Funke, Senate Print 962, an act
25 to amend the Correction Law.
2603
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
2 last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
4 act shall take effect on the 180th day.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
6 roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
9 Senator Montgomery recorded in the negative.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 714, by Senator Lanza, Senate Print 7836, an act
14 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
16 last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
24 is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2604
1 780, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 1009, an act
2 to amend the Correction Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
4 last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
12 is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 850, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 296, an act
15 to amend the Correction Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect on the 120th day.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
21 roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. Nays, 2.
24 Senators Comrie and Montgomery recorded in the
25 negative.
2605
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
2 is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 852, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 1635, an act
5 to amend the Correction Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect on the first of November.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
14 Calendar 852, those recorded in the negative are
15 Senators Montgomery and Rivera.
16 Ayes, 60. Nays, 2.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
18 is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 853, by Senator Ranzenhofer, Senate Print 2595,
21 an act to amend the Correction Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect on the first of November.
2606
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Announce
5 the result.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar 853, those recorded in the negative are
8 Senators Bailey, Comrie, Dilan, Hoylman,
9 Kavanagh, Krueger, Montgomery, Parker, Persaud,
10 Rivera, Sanders and Serrano.
11 Ayes, 50. Nays, 12.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 871, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 4821 --
16 SENATOR KLEIN: Lay it aside.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
18 will be laid aside.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 911, by Senator Akshar, Senate Print 11 --
21 SENATOR KLEIN: Lay it aside.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
23 is laid aside.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 943, by Senator Kennedy, Senate Print 7346, an
2607
1 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
3 last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
5 act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 945, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 7853, an
14 act to amend the Town Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
16 last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
24 is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2608
1 999, by Senator Parker, Senate Print 2348, an act
2 to amend the Penal Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
4 last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect on the first of November.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
11 Senator Montgomery recorded in the negative.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1024, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 3522, an
16 act to amend the Highway Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There is
18 a home-rule message at the desk.
19 The Secretary will read the last
20 section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2609
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
3 is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 1025, by Senator Stavisky, Senate Print 4174, an
6 act to amend the General Municipal Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
8 last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
12 roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
16 is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 1040, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 8343, an
19 act authorizing.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
21 last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
25 roll.
2610
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
4 is passed.
5 Senator DeFrancisco, that completes
6 the reading of the noncontroversial calendar.
7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would you now
8 please recognize Senator Sepúlveda for an
9 introduction.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
11 Sepúlveda.
12 SENATOR SEPÚLVEDA: Thank you for
13 allowing me to do this introduction.
14 Earlier today we passed Resolution
15 4960. Today we are being visited by Igor Kochan,
16 president of the Russian Youth of America;
17 Marina Ivannikova, Elena Yampolskaya, and
18 Evgeniya Bochkareva. Boy, that was a mouthful.
19 The Immortal Regiment March is an
20 international event held annually before the
21 Victory in Europe Day. People march with the
22 portraits of their ancestors who fought in
23 World War II against Nazi Germany and the
24 Axis Powers.
25 And this significant march, which
2611
1 started in Russia in 2011, has become an
2 international event. This year marks the fourth
3 annual march held in New York State. This past
4 Saturday, events consisted of more than 2,000
5 participants. The victory in World War II has
6 been achieved through an immense struggle, the
7 personal bravery, sacrifice and heroism of
8 millions of soldiers and citizens of diverse
9 nationalities. The victory and the sacrifices of
10 these soldiers prevented deaths and strife for
11 many more and stopped the Holocaust.
12 Over 400,000 American citizens died
13 in World War II. The Immortal Regiment March
14 helps to commemorate their glory. The Immortal
15 Regiment has a goal to preserve the memory that
16 Americans, British, Soviets, Chinese and other
17 countries of the Allied Powers fought together,
18 defeated Nazism, and won World War II.
19 Russian Youth of America provides
20 young people with an opportunity to contribute to
21 the Russian community while developing the skills
22 and the abilities they need to become successful
23 adults and engaged citizens of the United States.
24 A not-for-profit organization, the mission of the
25 Russian Youth of America is to enrich and
2612
1 preserve the cultural, spiritual and historical
2 values of Russian heritage, and to create a solid
3 foundation for its continuity.
4 Russian Youth of America has
5 organized many events in New York State, such as
6 Celebration of Victory in World War II; Russian
7 Santa's Parade; Day of Family, Love and
8 Faithfulness -- and that's to name a few. This
9 vital organization has been involved in social
10 work, helping veterans, feeding homeless people,
11 and visiting elderly people in hospitals.
12 Thank you.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
14 DeFrancisco.
15 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would you
16 please offer our guests the full privileges of
17 the house, please.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Ladies
19 and gentlemen, we welcome you and we extend to
20 you the courtesies and privileges of the New York
21 State Senate, and we congratulate you on your
22 work on behalf of the community and acknowledging
23 this very important day.
24 If you would please, colleagues,
25 rise to recognize our distinguished guests.
2613
1 (Standing ovation.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
3 DeFrancisco.
4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: There will be
5 an immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
6 Room 332.
7 And just for information, after the
8 Rules Committee meeting there will be a meeting
9 of Higher Education and then Aging, all in that
10 order, in Room 332.
11 So could we stand at ease until we
12 complete that.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There
14 will be an immediate meeting of the Rules
15 Committee in Room 332.
16 The Senate will stand at ease.
17 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
18 at 1:39 p.m.)
19 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
20 1:53 p.m.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
22 Senate will return to order.
23 Senator DeFrancisco.
24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: As was
25 announced earlier, there's an immediate meeting
2614
1 of the Higher Ed Committee in Room 332, to be
2 followed by an immediate meeting of the
3 Aging Committee in Room 332.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There
5 will be an immediate meeting of the Higher
6 Education Committee in Room 332. That will be
7 followed promptly by the Committee on Aging, also
8 in Room 332.
9 First, Higher Ed, please report to
10 Room 332, members of the Higher Education
11 Committee. Aging Committee members, be prepared.
12 Senator DeFrancisco.
13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Is there a
14 report of the Rules Committee at the desk?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There is
16 a report at the desk, and the Secretary will
17 read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Flanagan,
19 from the Committee on Rules, reports the
20 following bills:
21 Senate Print --
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Please,
23 can I have some order in the house.
24 The Secretary will continue.
25 THE SECRETARY: -- Senate Print
2615
1 248, by Senator Ortt, an act to amend the
2 Correction Law;
3 Senate Print 968, by Senator Murphy,
4 an act to amend the Correction Law;
5 Senate 1014, by Senator Robach, an
6 act to amend the Correction Law;
7 Senate 2173, by Senator Serino, an
8 act to amend the Correction Law;
9 Senate 2410A, by Senator Golden, an
10 act to amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules;
11 Senate 3027, by Senator Ranzenhofer,
12 an act to amend the Correction Law;
13 Senate 4059, by Senator Lanza, an
14 act to amend the Correction Law;
15 Senate 5201, by Senator Croci, an
16 act to amend the Correction Law;
17 Senate 5348, by Senator Murphy, an
18 act to amend the Correction Law;
19 Senate 5386, by Senator Murphy, an
20 act to amend the Correction Law;
21 Senate 5988A, by Senator Lanza, an
22 act to amend the Penal Law;
23 Senate 6189, by Senator Lanza, an
24 act to amend the Executive Law;
25 Senate 6211, by Senator Lanza, an
2616
1 act to amend the Penal Law.
2 All bills reported direct to third
3 reading.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
5 DeFrancisco.
6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I move to
7 approve the report of the Rules Committee.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: All in
9 favor of accepting the Rules Committee report say
10 aye.
11 (Response of "Aye.")
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Opposed?
13 (No response.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The Rules
15 Committee report is accepted and before the
16 house.
17 Senator DeFrancisco.
18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: There's a
19 supplemental calendar at the desk, 40A. Can we
20 take up the noncontroversial reading of
21 Supplemental Calendar 40A, please.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
23 Secretary will commence the reading,
24 noncontroversial, of Senate Supplemental Calendar
25 40A, which is at your desks.
2617
1 Senator DeFrancisco, good?
2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: No. One
3 moment. (Pause.) Continue, please.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
5 Secretary will read Calendar Number 1054.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1054, by Senator Ortt, Senate Print 248, an act
8 to amend the Correction Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
12 act shall take effect on the 60th day.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
17 Senator Montgomery recorded in the negative.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Oops, excuse me.
21 Also Senator Rivera.
22 Ayes, 60. Nays, 2.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
24 is still passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2618
1 1055, by Senator Murphy, Senate Print 968, an act
2 to amend the Correction Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
4 last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect on the 180th day.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
11 Senator Montgomery recorded in the negative.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 1056, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 1014, an
16 act to amend the Correction --
17 SENATOR KLEIN: Lay it aside.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Lay it
19 aside.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 1057, by Senator Serino, Senate Print 2173, an
22 act to amend the Correction Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
24 last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
2619
1 act shall take effect on the first of January.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
6 Calendar 1057, those recorded in the negative are
7 Senators Comrie, Kavanagh, Montgomery and Rivera.
8 Also Senator Hoylman.
9 Ayes, 57. Nays, 5.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
11 is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 1058, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 2410A, an
14 act to amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
16 last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This
18 act shall take effect on the first of January.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Announce
23 the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
25 Calendar 1058, those recorded in the negative are
2620
1 Senators Bailey, Comrie, Dilan, Gianaris,
2 Hoylman, Kavanagh, Montgomery, Peralta, Persaud,
3 Rivera and Sanders.
4 Ayes, 51. Nays, 11.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
6 is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 1059, by Senator Ranzenhofer, Senate Print 3027,
9 an act to amend the Correction Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
18 DeFrancisco.
19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: As soon as
20 he's taken the vote and announced it, please
21 recognize me.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Announce
23 the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
25 Calendar Number 1059, those recorded in the
2621
1 negative are Senators Bailey, Comrie, Dilan,
2 Hoylman, Kavanagh, Montgomery, Persaud, Rivera
3 and Sanders.
4 Ayes, 53. Nays, 9.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
6 is passed.
7 Senator DeFrancisco.
8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO:
9 Mr. President, can we take off the lay-aside of
10 1056, please.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 1056
12 lay-aside has been removed and is before the
13 house.
14 The Secretary will read.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 1056, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 1014, an
17 act to amend the Correction Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
19 last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
21 act shall take effect on the 90th day.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
23 roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
2622
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
2 is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1060, by Senator Lanza, Senate Print 4059, an act
5 to amend the Correction Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect on the 90th day.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
14 Calendar 1060, those recorded in the negative are
15 Senators Hoylman, Kavanagh, and Montgomery.
16 Ayes, 59. Nays, 3.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
18 is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 1061, by Senator Croci, Senate Print 5201, an act
21 to amend the Correction Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
25 act shall take effect on the 60th day.
2623
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
5 Senator Rivera recorded in the negative.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
7 is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 1063, by Senator Murphy, Senate Print 5348, an
10 act to amend the Correction Law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
12 last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect on the first of November.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
16 roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
19 Senator Montgomery recorded in the negative.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
21 is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 1064, by Senator Murphy --
24 SENATOR KLEIN: Please lay it
25 aside.
2624
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Lay it
2 aside.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 1065, by Senator Lanza, Senate Print 5988A, an
5 act to amend the Penal Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 25. This
9 act shall take effect on the 90th day.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
15 is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 1066, by Senator Lanza, Senate Print 6189, an act
18 to amend the Executive Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2625
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
2 Hoylman to explain his vote.
3 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Thank you,
4 Mr. President.
5 I'll be voting in the affirmative,
6 but I did want to point out -- and thank our
7 colleague from across the aisle for this
8 legislation -- that this is the 27th bill
9 restricting the rights of certain sex offenders
10 for crimes.
11 A worthy goal, but we should also
12 keep in mind that we have not passed what I
13 believe to be the most important legislation that
14 deals with sex offenses, which is the Child
15 Victims Act, which would lift the statute of
16 limitations for crimes of child sexual abuse and
17 allow adult survivors one year to file claims
18 against their abusers -- which would identify
19 hundreds of sex abusers across the State of
20 New York that have been harbored by institutions,
21 families and others, and kept them from the law.
22 So I vote in the affirmative,
23 Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
25 Hoylman to be recorded in the affirmative.
2626
1 Announce the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
3 Senator Montgomery recorded in the negative.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 1067, by Senator Lanza, Senate Print 6211, an act
8 to amend the Penal Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
12 act shall take effect on the 60th day.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Announce
17 the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
19 Calendar 1067, those recorded in the negative are
20 Senators Bailey, Comrie, Dilan, Gianaris,
21 Hoylman, Kavanagh, Montgomery, Peralta, Persaud,
22 Rivera, Sanders and Serrano.
23 Ayes, 50. Nays, 12.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
25 is passed.
2627
1 And Senator DeFrancisco, that
2 completes the noncontroversial reading of today's
3 Senate Supplemental Calendar 40A.
4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you.
5 Can we now go to today's active list on the
6 controversial reading and take up Calendar 911,
7 by Senator Akshar.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
9 Secretary will ring the bell, and the Secretary
10 will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 911, by Senator Akshar, Senate Print 1126A, an
13 act to amend the Executive Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
15 Sanders -- can I have some order, please, in the
16 chamber. There's a lot of movement here and we
17 want to let the members be able to hear each
18 other in exchange.
19 Senator Sanders.
20 SENATOR SANDERS: Will the sponsor
21 yield for a couple of questions?
22 SENATOR AKSHAR: Absolutely.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
24 Senator yields.
25 SENATOR SANDERS: Mr. President, is
2628
1 it also -- just a point of order. Is it
2 permissible for me to say how much I respect the
3 sponsor and his desire to put these things
4 forward? Is this permissible to do this in this
5 body?
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: It is
7 permissible and allowed at this point.
8 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you, sir.
9 Then I will say that I respect the sponsor
10 greatly. What he's trying to do has a lot of
11 validity, but the way he's going about it I fear
12 will do much damage.
13 Will the sponsor yield for a
14 question, sir?
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
16 sponsor has agreed to yield.
17 SENATOR AKSHAR: Yes.
18 SENATOR SANDERS: Mr. President,
19 through you. Is the sponsor familiar with the
20 Crosson decision?
21 SENATOR AKSHAR: I am not,
22 Mr. President.
23 SENATOR SANDERS: Okay.
24 Mr. President, through you, may I read the
25 sponsor the Crosson decision of the Supreme Court
2629
1 so that he doesn't have to dig it out and I don't
2 have to --
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
4 Akshar, without objection?
5 SENATOR AKSHAR: No objection,
6 thank you.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
8 Sanders, you may read.
9 SENATOR SANDERS: Without reading
10 the entire thing, which would take us three or
11 four hours at least, the City of Richmond,
12 Virginia, was sued by a businessperson named
13 Crosson who said that their MWBE plan was
14 incorrect. The Supreme Court ruled on this and
15 said that the plan was not good, the plan of
16 Virginia was not good, and gave reasons why you
17 can have an MWBE program. And it basically is
18 saying strict stru -- mm. Let's try that again
19 with water. Thank you.
20 With water, it says strict scrutiny
21 requires that a government entity prove both
22 there is, quote, compelling interest in remedying
23 identified discrimination based upon, quote,
24 strong evidence. And that the measures adopted
25 to remedy the discrimination are, quote, narrowly
2630
1 tailored to that evidence.
2 And this is the basic basis of what
3 you can do. It has passing muster that the
4 Supreme Court has come up with, and it has been
5 narrowly tailored, it can't be something for
6 everywhere.
7 So with that as an understanding --
8 and if I had a way, I would give you a copy of
9 all of this -- I'll give you at another moment a
10 copy of everything that I have.
11 So the court struck down the City of
12 Richmond's Minority Business Enterprise plan, and
13 they have given us what we now know as the MWBE
14 program, which has a strict scrutiny.
15 Through you, Mr. President, is the
16 sponsor knowledgeable of the need for a disparity
17 study when we do these things?
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
19 Akshar.
20 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
21 through you. I agree, we should do a disparity
22 study that is based on real data. I would argue
23 that the recent disparity study done by the
24 Governor, while it may have used some data to
25 arrive at the number in which they speak of, I
2631
1 would like to say to you of course that it's good
2 data, right, that the numbers that this disparity
3 study comes up with are in fact correct.
4 But they haven't made that data
5 public. I think that we should have all had an
6 opportunity to see that.
7 I just want to make a point, if I
8 may. I don't want you to think for one moment --
9 and I don't think you do, based on the way you
10 started this conversation -- that I disagree with
11 this program. I don't. I think it's a very
12 well-intended program. I think this is a program
13 in which both Republicans and Democrats should
14 work together to find a solution.
15 I think right now there isn't strict
16 scrutiny. I think we have arbitrarily come up
17 with a number and suggested that this number is
18 good for everyone. And the number I'm speaking
19 of, of course, is the 30 percent.
20 But what I'm offering by way of this
21 legislation is to look specifically at the
22 regions of the state and see what those regions
23 can support.
24 And Senator, quite frankly, if the
25 goal of course is to get to 30 percent, maybe
2632
1 that would force ESDC to do a better job, maybe
2 do their job better than what they're currently
3 doing. I would respectfully offer to you they're
4 not. They're not certifying people quick enough,
5 they're not dealing with the waiver process quick
6 enough. I think there's room to make improvement
7 on the program.
8 SENATOR SANDERS: Mr. President,
9 through you, will the sponsor -- let me try a
10 different tack. Since the sponsor had already,
11 even before we started this, said to me that he
12 wanted to sit down with me and go over what would
13 work, which shows a type of goodwill that needs
14 to happen more and more in this body, perhaps if
15 I started by hearing what the sponsor wants to
16 do. Will the sponsor briefly say what you're
17 attempting to do, sir?
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
19 Akshar.
20 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
21 through you. By way of this legislation, what I
22 am effectively trying to do is to look at the
23 Regional Economic Development Councils -- the
24 districts, if you will, throughout the state --
25 look at the amount of certified MWBEs in that
2633
1 respective jurisdiction, if you will, and then
2 allow that to be the number. So the goal would
3 be driven by the data that actually exists.
4 Right?
5 MWBEs that are certified by way of
6 the ESDC, on their website, if in the Southern
7 Tier -- I'll use that, right, because that's
8 where I'm from -- if the number is 15 percent,
9 why then that should be the goal that you have to
10 obtain if you're working on projects that have an
11 MWBE requirement.
12 Now, that may change in the North
13 Country, that may change out in Western New York.
14 I'll share this with you, but I have a map here
15 specific to construction-related MWBEs. But it's
16 telling, Senator, that where I'm from, there are
17 very limited MWBEs. And to have to reach this
18 goal of 30 percent, it's making life incredibly
19 difficult.
20 Now, I would offer to you, by way of
21 this map, it's much easier -- I would argue it's
22 much easier in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, the
23 Capital Region and New York City, to attain those
24 goals. So I'm pontificating and going on, but
25 we're basically looking at geographical regions
2634
1 throughout the state and allowing that number to
2 be set based on specific data within that
3 jurisdiction.
4 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
5 Mr. President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
7 Sanders.
8 SENATOR SANDERS: Of course the
9 sponsor is aware that MWBEs include women. So
10 even if there are not people of color in these
11 different areas, there are women there, and
12 therefore they should be taken into account. The
13 sponsor is aware that MWBE includes women?
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
15 Akshar.
16 SENATOR AKSHAR: Yes,
17 Mr. President.
18 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
19 Mr. President, let me see if I can't do it fast.
20 Were it possible, Mr. President, that if the
21 sponsor could withdraw the bill, I will work with
22 him -- I too have doubts and problems on how MWBE
23 is being done. But I also want to make sure that
24 we don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.
25 Is the sponsor willing to withdraw this for the
2635
1 moment or -- that we can work on this bill
2 together?
3 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
4 through you. It's my intention to not withdraw
5 the bill. It is my intention, though, to have a
6 meaningful and reasonable conversation with all
7 involved.
8 As you and I discussed the other
9 day, it is the intention of the workgroup, the
10 Senate's workgroup to deal with the MWBE issue,
11 to hold statewide hearings. And I will take back
12 to the other cochair of that task force or
13 workgroup, you know, your message today about
14 wanting to be involved in that. And quite
15 frankly, I think you should be. I know that
16 you're passionate about this issue. I know that
17 you're very well versed about this issue. And I
18 think that we would be doing ourselves a
19 disservice if we didn't listen to what you had to
20 say on this issue.
21 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you.
22 Through you, Mr. President, is the
23 sponsor aware that before we can do anything to
24 change these rules, that of course we must do a
25 disparity -- in fact, he did say that he was
2636
1 aware of that, that disparity report -- is the
2 sponsor aware that the disparity report this time
3 around took a year and a half to put together?
4 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
5 through you, I'm keenly aware of that.
6 And I think that the disparity study
7 that we're using currently is -- I say this with
8 respect -- a piece of garbage. There is zero
9 transparency, no data has been shared with the
10 public, with the Legislature. I think we should
11 go back at it, quite frankly. I think we should
12 all have a voice.
13 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
14 Mr. President. Is the sponsor aware that the
15 disparity study is on the web and has been for at
16 least six months?
17 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
18 through you, I'm keenly aware of the disparity
19 study. I'm just respectfully offering to you,
20 Senator, that I think it was -- it was -- while
21 we may have this discussion about it took X
22 amount of days to get to this conclusion, I think
23 the way that it was done, it was not done
24 effectively. And I don't think that -- unless
25 you -- unless somebody can prove otherwise, I
2637
1 don't think that the numbers that they arrived at
2 are really a reflection of what is happening
3 throughout the state. And quite frankly, if the
4 number should be 53 percent, why do we even have
5 an MWBE program, as suggested by the disparity
6 study?
7 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
8 Mr. President.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
10 Sanders.
11 SENATOR SANDERS: Is the sponsor
12 aware that the firm that did the disparity study
13 is the number-one rated firm in the nation and
14 they have done approximately 120 disparity
15 studies, they have been sued roughly 20 times and
16 have never lost a case on their data? Is the
17 sponsor aware of those things?
18 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
19 through you. Senator, with all due respect, I
20 don't care who the company is, how good a company
21 you think they are, how many lawsuits they've
22 won. I think the way that they went about
23 conducting the disparity study was not the
24 appropriate way.
25 I think that we could do a much
2638
1 better job at being more transparent in the
2 process. Show us the data. At least allow us
3 the opportunity to see the data that they used to
4 arrive at this particular number. Maybe it's
5 great. Maybe I would come back to you after
6 having an opportunity to look at all that
7 information and say, you know what, Senator
8 Sanders, I was wrong when you and I spoke
9 on May -- is it the 8th today? -- May the 8th. I
10 was wrong, I shouldn't have spoke the way I spoke
11 about the disparity study.
12 But right now, not having an
13 opportunity to review the data that they used,
14 I'm going to stick with my position that we
15 should probably do a new disparity study.
16 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
17 Mr. President. Has the sponsor ever reached out
18 to the firm that did the study to begin with and
19 raised questions to them? I actually have their
20 telephone number and can put you in touch with
21 them. Has the sponsor ever reached out to the
22 firm with any question that he had?
23 SENATOR AKSHAR: No, I have not,
24 Mr. President.
25 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
2639
1 Mr. President, I offer that as one of the ways.
2 Just as a point of information, what is typical
3 in these cases is that you would have the firm --
4 the hiring body would have the firm defend the
5 results. The Governor chose not to do that. So
6 of course the firm could not speak for itself,
7 because they were not a party. But if they were
8 called up, I'm sure they would be more than
9 willing to answer any questions.
10 But going back to what makes up one
11 of these programs --
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
13 Sanders, are you on the bill now or are you still
14 asking questions?
15 SENATOR SANDERS: No, no, no, I
16 still have a question or two or three or four for
17 our sponsor.
18 I'm just trying to figure -- I'm
19 trying to do this in a way that it brings more
20 light than heat. Although it's kind of chilly in
21 here and we certainly could use a little heat,
22 from my point of view. But I'm not going to give
23 it. Instead, I'm going to --
24 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President, if
25 I may.
2640
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
2 Akshar.
3 SENATOR AKSHAR: I have a deep
4 respect and admiration for you, and in the
5 interest of everybody's time, which I know is
6 incredibly valuable, you won't offend me. So if
7 you want to just get directly to the point, I
8 respect you, and, you know, I want you do that.
9 SENATOR SANDERS: Well,
10 Mr. President, this is an admiration society.
11 But I will ask a question or two.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: It's a
13 good bromance.
14 (Laughter.)
15 SENATOR SANDERS: Well, I play one
16 on TV, sir.
17 I have a -- oh, here's an
18 interesting one. One of the points that I've
19 heard mentioned from the critics of the disparity
20 study is that it forces -- the numbers are too
21 high. In fact, I believe that the sponsor said
22 it also. And that it forces the companies to
23 shoot and try to get goals that they can't
24 accomplish.
25 Is the sponsor aware, Mr. President,
2641
1 that in fiscal year 2014 through 2015 there were
2 1098 waivers from the MWBE goals that were
3 requested? And of those goals -- of those
4 waivers requested, 79 percent were granted.
5 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
6 through you, I was not aware of that particular
7 number.
8 What I do know is that many folks
9 that I speak with, regardless of where I am,
10 complain about the waiver process simply taking
11 too long. They also, Senator, as I'm sure you
12 know, complain about the certification process
13 taking entirely too long.
14 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
15 Mr. President, I will agree that the
16 certification process is, from my point of view,
17 horrendous. And why we have several forms for
18 one state, when it seems that we should have one
19 form for an entire state seems to make sense.
20 But I do want to draw your attention
21 to the significance of the 79 percent of the
22 waivers that were granted. The significance that
23 I understand from this is just about everybody
24 who felt that the number was too high to get to
25 was given a waiver, meaning that anybody who made
2642
1 a good-faith attempt and needed a way out -- or
2 made a good-faith attempt was granted a waiver.
3 So under those conditions, it
4 doesn't seem that the number is a bad number, if
5 every time that you -- if you make a good-faith
6 attempt, you're granted a way out. Does the
7 sponsor still see a problem with that process?
8 SENATOR AKSHAR: No, but I would --
9 Mr. President, through you, I would respectfully
10 offer that if the number was accurate -- and
11 again, whatever that number is -- we wouldn't
12 need the waiver process. Right?
13 So you're talking specifically about
14 there were X amount of waivers, and we did a
15 great job because we attained -- 79 percent of
16 those folks who wanted waivers got them through
17 the appropriate process.
18 I would respectfully offer to you,
19 if we were using appropriate numbers based on
20 what the regions of the state could handle, we
21 wouldn't have to go through the waiver process.
22 Now, with that said, I still believe
23 in my heart that the waiver process is broken.
24 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
25 Mr. President, has the sponsor done a
2643
1 cost-benefit analysis? Has the sponsor cost out
2 what his program may cost the taxpayers of
3 New York?
4 SENATOR AKSHAR: No, I haven't
5 thought about what it would cost the taxpayers of
6 New York. Mr. President, through you, I haven't
7 thought about that.
8 What I have thought about is that if
9 we took a regional approach, it would make a very
10 well-intended program much better. It would make
11 a program in which people didn't have to seek out
12 waivers. It would make a program such that if we
13 truly want to get to 30 percent in each of the
14 regions of the state, if we want to get to
15 40 percent in each of the regions of the state,
16 it would force ESDC to do a much better job,
17 employ the appropriate amount of people to get
18 these businesses certified.
19 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
20 Mr. President. Has the -- on the same issue of
21 the waivers, is the -- let me try a different
22 approach instead of staying on the waivers so
23 much.
24 Let's go to the issue of -- through
25 you, Mr. President, has the sponsor found any
2644
1 place in the U.S. that is using a similar method
2 that he is advocating? Is there any place that
3 is using the method that you're speaking of, sir?
4 SENATOR AKSHAR: Senator, we're
5 pioneers here in the State of New York. We're
6 progressives, we're forward-thinking, we're
7 leaders. That's why I put forward this piece of
8 legislation, because clearly the program in its
9 current form is not working. It's creating too
10 many issues. So allow us to work together and
11 pioneer and be the first in the nation.
12 SENATOR SANDERS: Mr. President, he
13 makes it very difficult to have a harsh argument
14 with him. Through you Mr. President --
15 SENATOR AKSHAR: Senator Krueger
16 said that too.
17 (Laughter.)
18 SENATOR SANDERS: Well, if she
19 agrees with you, then I'm going to go hard
20 against you, sir.
21 Mr. President, if this has not been
22 done anywhere in the nation, does that not --
23 yes, we are a pioneering state. But would this
24 not put us running afoul of the Crosson decision?
25 Which may mean that the whole program is kicked
2645
1 out; we're not meeting the muster, we're not
2 meeting the Supreme Court's strict scrutiny.
3 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
4 through you, I guess that's where I'm a little
5 confused. Because I guess what we're trying to
6 effectively do by way of this legislation is make
7 the program better and make it reflective of what
8 currently exists in each of the regions of the
9 state.
10 You know, if it is the collective
11 wisdom of this body and other house and the
12 Governor, you know, to really set a number, I
13 would just respectfully offer that we need to do
14 a much better job than we're currently doing on
15 getting certified MWBEs in the system.
16 I mean, it's amazing, Senator, if
17 you look at -- are you familiar with the -- or,
18 excuse me, would the Senator yield to a question
19 of mine?
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
21 Sanders, do you yield?
22 SENATOR SANDERS: Absolutely.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
24 Senator yields. Go ahead and pose the question.
25 SENATOR SANDERS: The admiration
2646
1 society continues.
2 SENATOR AKSHAR: Thank you.
3 Senator, I'm not sure if you've seen
4 the General Contractors Association report on
5 MWBEs, but they did a review of the directory
6 kept by ESDC. And the amount of mistakes and
7 misrepresentations that are currently being kept
8 in this database by ESDC is -- it's alarming.
9 There's some 55 percent of the information about
10 the firms that is wrong.
11 So if that doesn't -- if we
12 shouldn't be shining a light on that and fixing
13 that, I'm not sure what we should be doing.
14 SENATOR SANDERS: Mr. President, to
15 answer that, yes, I'm very familiar with the
16 report that was done by the economist Thomas
17 Boston, who teaches now out of Georgia Institute
18 of Technology. I actually have the report -- the
19 whole report, not the one that the GCA or AGC is
20 putting around; those are the summary. I've read
21 the whole report that he's put out.
22 As a matter of fact, sir, there are
23 those who are questioning the usefulness of that
24 very report that you're speaking of. But even if
25 we accepted what that report is saying -- which I
2647
1 do not. But even if we accepted it, the
2 ultimate -- it's calling for more staff around
3 the issue of MWBE.
4 I want -- Mr. President, I want to
5 see if my friend has finished -- oh, I can't --
6 can I call him my friend here, sir? Is that
7 permissible?
8 SENATOR AKSHAR: Yes, sir,
9 Mr. President.
10 SENATOR SANDERS: All right. Is he
11 finished questioning me so I can return to
12 questioning him?
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Yes,
14 Senator Akshar yields. You may pose your
15 question, Senator Sanders.
16 SENATOR SANDERS: Well, thank you
17 very much, sir.
18 Let me go back to the report that
19 you raised, sir. You know, let me not do that
20 because I don't want to just stay in the weeds
21 speaking of esoteric matters when there are
22 things better that we can do.
23 Both of us agree, Mr. President --
24 Mr. President, through you. Both of us agree
25 that the system absolutely needs work, that
2648
1 there's no question there. Mr. President,
2 through you, has the sponsor considered that we
3 need to look into the issue of bonding for these
4 MWBEs and/or has the sponsor looked at the
5 financing of these MWBEs to see if they can
6 compete? Or has the sponsor even looked at the
7 payment, how soon does the government give money
8 back to the MWBEs? That may be a more effective
9 way of getting competition into this. Has the
10 sponsor considered any of those methods?
11 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
12 through you. Senator, what I've recognized is
13 that there is a whole host of issues that we must
14 pay attention to -- not just from the business
15 point of view, if you will, but actually from the
16 point of view of an MBE or a WBE.
17 To your point, I think you raise a
18 very valid point about making life a little bit
19 easier in the event that you are an MBE or a WBE.
20 I think there are a whole host of issues that we
21 need to focus on moving forward by way of this
22 task force or workgroup.
23 SENATOR SANDERS: Mr. President,
24 through you. I believe that -- in fact, we
25 should have just done some very basic stuff
2649
1 first. I should have just questioned or stated
2 that we all in this chamber, I believe, believe
3 that competition is not only an American value
4 but one of the things that has made our country
5 great and that adding to competition is a good
6 thing. I should have asked that to begin with.
7 I know that you agree with me, but -- of course
8 you agree with that, sir.
9 SENATOR AKSHAR: I do.
10 Mr. President, through you, yes, I do.
11 SENATOR SANDERS: So,
12 Mr. President, isn't the idea to increase the
13 amount of businesses that are struggling and
14 trying to get these contracts and, by doing so,
15 it gives us a better price? A price where five
16 or six people are competing for the same
17 contract; therefore, there must be a better price
18 than if there was simply one or two contracts,
19 people competing for the same price, same
20 merchandise. Would you not agree with me, sir?
21 SENATOR AKSHAR: I do agree with
22 you.
23 However, as you're well aware,
24 there's a 10 percent preference in these MWBE
25 contracts. So even if another company that
2650
1 wasn't an MBE or a WBE was, you know, 9 percent
2 lower, 9.5 percent lower, the M or the WBE is
3 still going to get that work. So I think that
4 that is problematic.
5 But I do agree with you, I think
6 that the more people who are involved in the
7 process really drives -- really drives price.
8 SENATOR SANDERS: Mr. President,
9 through you. We are just -- you did point out
10 the 10 percent preference, but may I remind you
11 that 85 to 90 percent of the contracts that are
12 not covered by MWBE are white-majority-dominant
13 firms that have been -- the old boys' network
14 that's been doing this for years.
15 So even with a 10 percent
16 preference, if this was true, over such a small
17 subset of the contracts you're certainly not
18 going to change much in this.
19 Mr. President, through you. What --
20 what -- I'm going back to your idea of this
21 regional look, and I'm trying to figure out how
22 do we make it work. You would have to -- if
23 they're having trouble getting a contract and
24 moving it now with the staff that they have, how
25 many regions are you thinking of, just to start
2651
1 with that. Perhaps we'll start there.
2 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
3 through you. Senator, I may misspeak here. I
4 believe that there are nine Regional Economic
5 Development Council districts throughout the
6 state. If I misspoke, I ask that you forgive me,
7 of course.
8 But that's what we would be doing.
9 We would be using the boundaries of the Regional
10 Economic Development Councils to look at the
11 numbers of MWBEs contained within those
12 respective jurisdictions, if you will.
13 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
14 Mr. President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
16 Sanders.
17 SENATOR SANDERS: Has the sponsor
18 thought of how many people in addition that we
19 would need to put on that staff to deal with
20 those nine different regional bodies?
21 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
22 through you. Here's what I know, Senator, that
23 the ESDC is doing a terrible job managing the
24 program right now. And I think if we took a much
25 better look or an in-depth look at this
2652
1 particular program, we may find over the next
2 year, as we work together as a task force, that
3 the ESDC needs to bolster their ranks by X amount
4 of employees.
5 And I would offer to you as I stand
6 here today, without having held a single public
7 hearing -- which we intend to do, and I hope that
8 you're part of -- that we should in fact be
9 increasing the staff. Even if we made no changes
10 to the program as we are proposing here today by
11 this legislation, I would respectfully offer to
12 you that we in fact should be increasing ESDC
13 staff surrounding this particular program,
14 because they are doing a terrible job managing
15 the program.
16 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
17 Mr. President. Are you aware that in the
18 Governor's budget that they have increased their
19 staff? I will concede by five, and that
20 shouldn't even deal with the backlog. Are you
21 aware that they too see a problem and they are
22 trying to increase their staff?
23 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
24 through you. I'm aware of that, but that effort
25 falls far too short.
2653
1 (Pause.)
2 SENATOR SANDERS: Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: How's the
4 bromance going?
5 (Laughter.)
6 SENATOR AKSHAR: I was a little
7 concerned because Senator Sanders crossed his
8 arms a little while ago, so -- in the world of
9 law enforcement, that's a problem.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: And I
11 heard the sigh too.
12 Senator Sanders.
13 SENATOR SANDERS: Well, I am trying
14 to -- you see, what is easiest, Mr. President, is
15 to come in some bulldog attack process, which
16 although it's colorful, it really doesn't solve a
17 problem, I would argue. It's colorful, it may
18 have us attack one another and be an interesting
19 spectacle, but these are issues that, as the
20 sponsor is pointing out, are so serious that it
21 requires more than that. It requires people
22 sitting down.
23 Through you, Mr. President --
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
25 point's well-taken.
2654
1 So, Senator Sanders, do you want the
2 sponsor to continue to yield?
3 SENATOR SANDERS: Yes, sir.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
5 Akshar, do you continue to yield?
6 SENATOR AKSHAR: Yes,
7 Mr. President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
9 Senator yields. Senator Sanders, you may
10 continue.
11 SENATOR SANDERS: Has the sponsor
12 sat down with anyone from a different point of
13 view before he started coming up with his ideas?
14 SENATOR AKSHAR: Senator, would you
15 be so kind as to repeat your question?
16 SENATOR SANDERS: Sure.
17 SENATOR AKSHAR: Thank you, sir.
18 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
19 Mr. President. Did the sponsor speak to anybody
20 outside of his comfort zone, for lack of a
21 better -- political position, whatever we want to
22 call it, the other side, when you were sitting
23 down and coming up with these ideas?
24 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
25 through you. If you'd be so kind, Senator, when
2655
1 you say "the other side," can you just qualify
2 that, just so I can give you a reasonable answer?
3 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
4 Mr. President, the AGC has come up with a
5 position and I'm sure that they have sat down
6 with so many people, and many people have taken
7 their position and gone, I would argue, running.
8 Has the sponsor spoken to anyone who was willing
9 to dispute the findings that the AGC brought up
10 before putting your information on paper?
11 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
12 through you. Senator Sanders, last year I spoke
13 with a group out of New York City about MWBE
14 reform. I'll give you an example -- I don't know
15 if this qualifies as the other side.
16 And you're right, I don't think I've
17 made any bones about it as I stand in this
18 chamber and talk about a lot of the things that
19 we are advancing. Generally speaking, you would
20 suggest maybe -- or you would think that I am
21 only pro-business, right? I rail against
22 economic development policies and programs and
23 about creating a better business climate. I do
24 do that.
25 But on this issue, as you'll note
2656
1 the way I started, that I agree with you, this
2 issue is so important that it requires us to take
3 a thoughtful prospective and work together as
4 Republicans and Democrats to fix, again, a very
5 well-intended program.
6 I'll give you an example. A young
7 girl in my district, she's probably in her
8 mid-20s, Angela Barta is her name, she entered
9 the process of becoming a WBE and -- in the
10 concrete business. Her father owns a pool
11 company. She was going to go into the concrete
12 business, so on and so forth.
13 Nearly a year ESDC dragged her
14 through the process. And just recently she's
15 been told with no explanation that no, you don't
16 qualify and we're not going to let you into the
17 program.
18 So I don't know as though I've met
19 with maybe a group that you consider the other
20 side of this issue, but I would offer this to
21 you. I think I have taken a very measured
22 approach since I walked into this city on dealing
23 with issues, and I've never shied away from
24 meeting with a group that I may disagree with
25 philosophically. I've always had a willingness
2657
1 to listen to the other side of the issue so I can
2 be fully educated as we make decisions.
3 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
4 Mr. President. Will the sponsor allow me to give
5 him the name of at least three worthy
6 organizations that he may want to speak to if he
7 is going to go about this effort?
8 SENATOR AKSHAR: Through you,
9 Mr. President, absolutely. I'm happy to take
10 them.
11 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
12 Mr. President, there's a group called the
13 Association of Minority Enterprises of New York.
14 AMENY, Association of Minority Enterprises of
15 New York. There's the Women's Builders Council.
16 There's the Minority Builders Council.
17 These are three worthy organizations
18 that don't always see eye to eye on different
19 matters, but may be very useful if one is going
20 to go into these waters.
21 Another question, Mr. President,
22 through you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: You may
24 continue. The sponsor yields.
25 SENATOR AKSHAR: Yes.
2658
1 SENATOR SANDERS: If you were
2 successful in doing your regional councils, how
3 soon do you believe that you would begin this
4 process? How soon would these councils take up
5 the mantle and start doing this regional
6 exploration that you speak of, sir?
7 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
8 through you. I'm not suggesting for a moment
9 that those who run the respective Regional
10 Economic Development Councils would oversee the
11 program.
12 What I'm suggesting to you is right
13 now we have this arbitrary number that the
14 Governor would have you believe it's a goal,
15 right? And it's 30 percent. Quite frankly, I
16 think it's a mandate based on waivers not
17 happening fast enough and the process being just
18 bogged down in bureaucracy. But I want to make
19 my point clear. I'm not suggesting for a moment
20 that those who run the Regional Economic
21 Development Councils would oversee the program.
22 I'm simply saying the program that
23 is being run by ESDC would look at the numbers
24 contained within each respective Regional
25 Economic Development Council and allow that to be
2659
1 the goal. Right?
2 So again in the Southern Tier, say
3 it's 15 percent. If we are suggesting that we
4 want to get to this number of 30 percent, allow
5 us to start with 15 percent in the Southern Tier.
6 Because that's what the Southern Tier can manage,
7 MWBEs that are currently certified within that
8 jurisdiction. And then allow us to do a better
9 job by way of ESDC getting more people, more
10 staff that can help minorities and women get
11 certified in that respective jurisdiction to
12 bring that number up to 30.
13 Because right now, Senator, with all
14 due respect, we can't do that in the Southern
15 Tier, can't do that in the North Country, can't
16 do that in parts of Western New York and the very
17 deep Southern Tier.
18 So I hope I've clarified your
19 question.
20 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
21 Mr. President, is the sponsor -- if we were to go
22 about the process that you speak of, you actually
23 could be in a position where you're saying that
24 in some areas you may have 60 percent MWBEs,
25 70 percent MWBEs. You may have a situation where
2660
1 you can be sued by a contractors who are saying
2 wait a minute, it's unfair to them.
3 Have you thought of the -- what
4 would happen if you were successful?
5 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
6 through you. Those other groups that you speak
7 of on this side of the issue, they should have
8 thought about that before they came and made
9 their arguments about this program, about how,
10 Senator Akshar, I think we could support you in
11 your effort to regionalize this until we can get
12 a better handle on the program.
13 So, you know, what's good for the
14 goose is good for the gander, I would say. So
15 don't complain if it doesn't work -- if the
16 number -- if -- look, I'm looking at the map, and
17 I'm going to share this with you. It sounds like
18 we're exchanging information today --
19 SENATOR SANDERS: Absolutely.
20 SENATOR AKSHAR: -- I share this
21 map with you. If you're in Buffalo, and I'm
22 assuming there's probably some issues in Buffalo
23 with the program, it looks like it's a hell of a
24 lot easier to find an MWBE.
25 But to my point, if the number is
2661
1 higher than 30 percent in that particular area,
2 so be it.
3 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
4 Mr. President. Wouldn't it be expedient, a
5 faster, better way to even as we try to figure
6 out whether these regional councils are legal,
7 wouldn't it be wise to start fixing the problem
8 that there exists now? Putting more people into
9 these offices, working on one, one form instead
10 of the four or five, six, seven, whatever amount
11 of forms that there are that people have to fill
12 out -- to have one form for the entire state.
13 To make sure that the program is
14 adequately funded.
15 To cut down on how long it takes
16 small-business people, period, to get their
17 checks, to get their money from the government.
18 Small-business people throughout the state should
19 not have to wait the same amount of time as
20 perhaps larger businesses that can afford this
21 process.
22 Wouldn't it be wiser to work on
23 those things now, while we are waiting -- while
24 we are attempting to do these other things?
25 SENATOR AKSHAR: Here's what's
2662
1 great about this particular piece of legislation,
2 in my humble opinion. It's forcing us to have a
3 conversation and recognize that we agree, it
4 sounds like, that this is a broken program. A
5 very well-intended program that does in fact have
6 areas that need to be fixed.
7 And look, there was a discussion, as
8 you well know, surrounding MWBE during the budget
9 process. And there was a discussion about can we
10 fix all of these particular issues in the period
11 of three weeks and four weeks. That's not
12 reasonable, right? I honestly think, Senator,
13 that we got the next best thing: A one-year
14 extension of the current program to allow us, all
15 of us collectively, to have that reasonable
16 conversation about ways that we can work together
17 to fix the program.
18 Because while I am raising some
19 valid points and some valid issues within the
20 program, I too am hearing you. You too are
21 raising some very valid points with problems in
22 the program. And I think we've afforded
23 ourselves a little bit of time in which we can
24 correct the problems of the program.
25 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
2663
1 Mr. President. Even as we've been joined by
2 ladies in pink and green, I would have to say to
3 you, sir, that I don't believe that the program
4 is broken, I believe that the program certainly
5 needs to be mended. It's not -- it's not not
6 working. It's not working as well as I would
7 like it to.
8 SENATOR AKSHAR: Sure.
9 Mr. President, through you. I don't think the
10 wheel fell off the program, I think it's wobbling
11 significantly on the program. If we don't want
12 to call it broken, fine. Again, a well-intended
13 program that on its merits is very, very
14 important.
15 However, I think that there are
16 pieces within the program that need to be fixed
17 to make it more effective.
18 SENATOR SANDERS: Through you,
19 Mr. President. So we are speaking about the MWBE
20 program, of course, of New York State. And here
21 it is known as 15A. And we are speaking of an
22 idea of changing it into regional areas where we
23 can look at it in a regional fashion.
24 I would be remiss if I did not --
25 SENATOR AKSHAR: Senator, who is in
2664
1 the chair next to you? I want that man to sit
2 next to me.
3 SENATOR SANDERS: Huh? Well, you
4 see, I don't mind you having yours sit back. I'm
5 going to see if we're doing anything -- there are
6 some remarkable women in the hall today, and I
7 want to make sure that we respect that.
8 SENATOR AKSHAR: Of course.
9 SENATOR SANDERS: Without taking
10 away from the great argument that you have made
11 for your position.
12 I will look to my floor leader --
13 (Senator Klein makes a "cut it
14 short" gesture; laughter.)
15 SENATOR SANDERS: I believe that he
16 said I should go on for another two hours.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
18 Sanders, if I may help to bring more information
19 to this, in accordance with Senate rules, you
20 have up to four hours to debate, but two hours
21 could be -- debate can be closed after two. But
22 no single member of the Senate has more than
23 30 minutes. You have exceeded that by about
24 15 minutes, but I have used discretion because it
25 has been such a happy exchange here today.
2665
1 (Laughter.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: So I'll
3 ask you if you can just maybe come close to
4 closing, and then we can also respect the guests
5 of Senator Comrie who are present.
6 SENATOR SANDERS: Well, let the
7 record show that I never would stand in front of
8 my colleague Senator Comrie.
9 On the bill, Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
11 Sanders on the bill.
12 SENATOR SANDERS: Of course I want
13 to thank the sponsor of the bill for not only
14 seeing a problem, but trying to address it.
15 Yes, it is true that there are
16 problems on MWBE that need to be addressed, as
17 long as we understand that we do not throw out
18 the baby with the bathwater. That as long as we
19 understand that we just can't fix a thing any way
20 that we want to, because there's a small thing
21 known as the Supreme Court, and they have ruled
22 and they have said that you can have these
23 programs but you have to have a very strict
24 interpretation of this.
25 And with that in mind, my colleague
2666
1 had said that he would love to work with me, and
2 I will take him up on that. I believe that he is
3 an honorable man saying honorable things. So
4 under those conditions, I will struggle with him.
5 I do, however, encourage everyone to
6 vote no on this. That sadly, it puts us into
7 harm's way with the Supreme Court no matter how
8 worthy the goal that the sponsor has.
9 So having said that, Mr. President,
10 I want to thank you also for your extra minutes
11 there, as you call them. I want to thank you for
12 that and thank you for being such a good
13 president who would give me those minutes. Thank
14 you very much, sir.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
16 you, Senator Sanders.
17 Seeing and hearing no other Senator
18 that wishes to be heard, debate is closed and the
19 Secretary will ring the bell.
20 The Secretary will read the last
21 section.
22 I will remind members who wish to
23 explain votes to please keep within the
24 two-minute explanation allowed under Senate
25 rules.
2667
1 Can I have some order, please, in
2 the chamber.
3 The Secretary will read the last
4 section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect immediately.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
11 Little to explain her vote.
12 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you,
13 Mr. President.
14 Certainly I would like to thank
15 Senator Akshar for putting forth this piece of
16 legislation and note how important it is to
17 certain parts of the state.
18 In New York City and downstate,
19 Long Island, you have businesses growing, new
20 businesses and all. In upstate New York, we
21 don't have that advantage. And what happens is
22 when you cannot find any certified MWOB
23 businesses to contract with, you end up having to
24 go out of the area --
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Excuse
2668
1 me. Can I have some order, please.
2 I'm sorry, Senator Little, you may
3 continue.
4 SENATOR LITTLE: You end up having
5 to go out of the areas, and that's where the jobs
6 are, that's where the money goes when you have
7 those contracts. So it does not help the
8 North Country until we have enough certified
9 businesses, minority and women.
10 The certification process takes too
11 long. I've spent a lot of time helping
12 businesses try to get that certification. The
13 people that they're dealing with are usually in
14 New York City. We need some local people. And
15 we have an economic development office in all of
16 the 10 regions, so there is one serving the
17 North Country. We need someone in that office
18 that specializes and helps and mentors businesses
19 trying to become MWOBs. And we don't have that
20 at this time.
21 I've had several in Tupper Lake. I
22 had an ARC in Plattsburgh -- this is when this
23 first began -- and they could not find people,
24 businesses certified to deal with. They were
25 told to go to Albany, go to New York City, buy
2669
1 everything wherever they could buy it.
2 So I'm glad to see this. We need
3 some kind of assistance when we do not have
4 enough businesses, so -- and make the waiver
5 process easier. Thank you, I vote aye.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
7 Little to be recorded in the affirmative.
8 Senator DeFrancisco to explain his
9 vote.
10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: First I would
11 like to recognize and greet Senator Paulin, who
12 apparently is now part of our body.
13 (Laughter.)
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: There was a
15 long debate, and I just want to say it as
16 succinctly as I can say it.
17 And that is for people upstate, when
18 there aren't enough minority- and women-owned
19 businesses, primarily because we can't get
20 anybody certified with the incompetence of the
21 administration in that department, what happens
22 is I have people in my district that have to go
23 outside my district, and mostly closer to New
24 York City, to find the minority- and women-owned
25 businesses that have been certified.
2670
1 And I have a responsibility to
2 people in my district, because we would like to
3 have them make some money. We would like to have
4 economic vitality in upstate New York as well.
5 And that's wrong. That's simply wrong.
6 So all this bill is doing is if
7 there is a problem, whether it's the Governor's
8 office in certifications or what, or whether it's
9 simply because there aren't enough to find in
10 these categories, there should be a regional
11 determination -- not some broad statewide
12 determination of what the number should be, but a
13 regional one. Because maybe you don't know it,
14 but certain regions of the state are economically
15 deprived. Other regions of the state are just
16 doing great economically.
17 And those of us who are in those
18 districts that are struggling would love to be in
19 a position to get businesses and contractors
20 working, making money and creating jobs.
21 I vote aye.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
23 DeFrancisco in the affirmative.
24 Senator Sanders to explain his vote.
25 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you,
2671
1 Mr. President.
2 Just as we don't have regional laws
3 for the state and we make a law that is good for
4 one part of the state as well as good for another
5 part of the state, it is -- perhaps we may not be
6 able to do a regional goal, but it is worth
7 trying. It's worth exploring.
8 But I caution that where does the
9 region stop? I want people on my block to make
10 money. I would love people in my house to make
11 money. You can't -- you have to make a law for
12 the state.
13 I vote no. Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
16 Sanders to be recorded in the negative.
17 Senator Boyle to explain his vote.
18 SENATOR BOYLE: Mr. President, to
19 explain my vote.
20 I'd like to thank Senator Akshar for
21 his leadership on this issue. I don't know
22 whether you say it's broken, needs to be
23 modified, but this program needs serious help.
24 And we need to do it together. And I commend
25 this first step in this regard.
2672
1 I can tell you that I hear from
2 local businesspeople all the time, they're trying
3 to get certified and they cannot.
4 This is the one area -- I cannot
5 believe I'm saying this -- that the City of
6 New York administration is more efficient than
7 the state government. I hear it all the time.
8 De Blasio's MWBE office gets certification
9 quicker, they're more efficient. And we should
10 not be allowing them to be more efficient than
11 the state in this regard.
12 I have businesspeople who are
13 actually going to New York City to get certified
14 so they get reciprocity with the state. It makes
15 no sense.
16 I vote aye. It's just a first step.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
18 Boyle to be recorded in the affirmative.
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
21 Calendar Number 911, those recorded in the
22 negative are Senators Addabbo, Alcantara, Avella,
23 Bailey, Benjamin, Breslin, Brooks, Carlucci,
24 Comrie, Dilan, Gianaris, Hamilton, Hoylman,
25 Kaminsky, Kavanagh, Kennedy, Klein, Krueger,
2673
1 Mayer, Montgomery, Parker, Peralta, Persaud,
2 Rivera, Sanders, Savino, Sepúlveda, Serrano,
3 Stavisky, Stewart-Cousins and Valesky.
4 Ayes, 32. Nays, 31.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
6 is passed.
7 Senator DeFrancisco.
8 Can I have some order, please, in
9 the house.
10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO:
11 Mr. President, could you please recognize
12 Senator Parker for a very brief introduction.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
14 Parker.
15 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you very
16 much, Mr. President. For a brief introduction.
17 Four score and seven years ago --
18 (Laughter.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: That was
20 a very brief speech, you know.
21 SENATOR PARKER: No, today I just
22 really want to take a real, real -- a moment -- I
23 appreciate everybody's indulgence on this -- to
24 welcome some very special guests to the New York
25 State Senate chamber. And those are a number of
2674
1 groups that have come here to advocate on the
2 issue of voter reform.
3 We have Onida Coward, the head of
4 NYC Votes.
5 We also have the regional director,
6 Meredith Henderson, who is no stranger to this
7 chamber, who is the regional director of Alpha
8 Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. And many of the women
9 who are doing the work with Alpha Kappa Alpha are
10 here in the gallery with us.
11 As well as sitting to my left, a
12 member of that fine sorority is no other than
13 Senator Velmanette Montgomery. And we thank her
14 for her service, both to the people of her
15 district and to the people of the State of
16 New York.
17 We're also joined by New York City
18 Veterans Alliance, as well as Generation Z.
19 NYC Votes and the Voter Outreach
20 Engagement Campaign of the New York City Campaign
21 Finance Board is part of their Voter Assistance
22 Advisory Committee. And I just really wanted to
23 recognize them, thank them for coming up.
24 And those of you who do not know
25 about Alpha Kappa Alpha, one, you should just
2675
1 come see Senator Montgomery and she'll let you
2 know when they have rush information.
3 But more importantly, the AKAs have
4 a very long and distinguished history of service
5 throughout the state and nation. They were
6 founded on the campus of Howard University in
7 1908, with the mission of service to all mankind.
8 New York City Votes and Alpha Kappa
9 Alpha are here today around a number of issues,
10 but for five years straight they have been coming
11 up here talking about the franchise, talking
12 about voter disenfranchisement, and really
13 raising awareness around the attempts to suppress
14 voter turnout throughout the state and the
15 nation. It's unacceptable. Our job as leaders
16 is to make sure that that --
17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO:
18 Mr. President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
20 DeFrancisco.
21 SENATOR PARKER: -- and so we
22 recognize them and thank them for being here.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
24 Parker, I believe the Gettysburg Address was
25 briefer.
2676
1 SENATOR PARKER: Yes, thank you.
2 (Laughter; scattered applause.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: So let me
4 extend a warm welcome to our guests. I know
5 there are other members who also want to say
6 that, including Senator Comrie, I think, who
7 wanted to acknowledge his greetings. So on
8 behalf of all the members, we extend a warm
9 welcome to you, thank you for your presence here
10 today, and extend the courtesies of the house.
11 (Standing ovation.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
13 DeFrancisco.
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Can we now
15 take up Calendar 871, by Senator LaValle, on the
16 controversial calendar.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
18 Secretary will ring the bell.
19 The Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 871, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 4821, an
22 act to amend the Executive Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
24 Klein.
25 SENATOR KLEIN: Thank you,
2677
1 Mr. President.
2 Would the sponsor yield for a couple
3 of questions?
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
5 LaValle, do you yield?
6 SENATOR LaVALLE: Yes.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: I know we
8 have a lot of visitors in the chamber, so I'd ask
9 to please exit quietly, to allow the members to
10 be able to hear each other as they discuss the
11 proposed bill before the house.
12 Senator Klein.
13 SENATOR KLEIN: Through you,
14 Mr. President, can the sponsor please explain, I
15 guess, the purpose or the genesis of this
16 legislation?
17 SENATOR LaVALLE: Yeah. So if you
18 look at this section of law, it provides for the
19 kinds of things that an individual should have
20 upon release -- certain educational
21 opportunities, other kinds of things. But here
22 we zero in and indicate that an individual has to
23 have an acceptable residence that that individual
24 is going to.
25 SENATOR KLEIN: Again through you,
2678
1 Mr. President, would the sponsor agree to yield
2 for another question?
3 SENATOR LaVALLE: Sure.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
5 sponsor yields.
6 SENATOR KLEIN: Can the sponsor
7 define what an acceptable residence would be?
8 Because I think the sponsor understands the
9 purpose of parole is to gauge one's ability to
10 determine whether or not they're going to be a
11 threat to society, whether they can move forth
12 and not harm others.
13 So I really don't understand what
14 the definition -- and I guess what the purpose of
15 even defining "acceptable residence" would be in
16 this legislation.
17 SENATOR LaVALLE: Well, when you --
18 Senator, when you look at, on page 2, that we
19 don't view a temporary shelter or a homeless
20 shelter as an acceptable place for the
21 individual. And as you well know, because you
22 represent communities that pay high taxes and
23 view a community as a place where people interact
24 with one another, they have a sense of
25 permanency, they're there for a long time --
2679
1 generations -- and pay taxes, high property
2 taxes.
3 So a permanent residence is not
4 something that's temporary, it's not something
5 that is a shelter. And that would define it.
6 SENATOR KLEIN: Again, would the
7 sponsor again continue to yield?
8 SENATOR LaVALLE: Sure. Yes.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
10 sponsor yields.
11 SENATOR LaVALLE: Yes, I will.
12 SENATOR KLEIN: You know, there's
13 certain programs -- I know one of them, offhand,
14 is called the Fortune Society, which actually
15 provides temporary residence for individuals on
16 parole, getting out of prison, helping them find
17 jobs, things of that nature.
18 I guess under your definition these
19 programs, which have proven to be quite effective
20 in not only getting someone a residence who's on
21 parole, but helping sort of get their life on
22 track, would not be defined as temporary shelter
23 or permanent residence under your definition.
24 SENATOR LaVALLE: I'm not sure if
25 that provides a stable place for them where
2680
1 they're being educated, that that would be --
2 it's not a shelter, it's a place -- you know,
3 sometimes you could go on and on, but --
4 SENATOR KLEIN: Again -- sorry,
5 through you again, if we go to page 5 of the
6 bill, when you actually talk about such
7 residences shall be a permanent residence and not
8 a temporary shelter, including but not limited
9 to -- and you really define a temporary shelter
10 as -- I'm sorry, a permanent shelter as something
11 that I think under most of these cases of these
12 very, very good programs wouldn't meet that
13 definition.
14 So in other words, let's say an
15 individual is accepted, they're a low-level
16 offender, they don't commit a heinous or violent
17 crime, and they're going into one of these
18 programs like the Fortune Society, which isn't
19 going to be their permanent residence forever.
20 I'm afraid that under your definition a program
21 like that wouldn't qualify.
22 Do you agree?
23 SENATOR LaVALLE: I'm uncertain. I
24 am. Because as long as it's -- when you look at
25 page 2 and -- and that's what I first said, if
2681
1 you look at what it can't be, a temporary shelter
2 or a homeless shelter, motel, hotel, trailer,
3 then is your program any one of those things?
4 SENATOR KLEIN: Well, it says not a
5 temporary shelter. These programs, you know, are
6 actually -- you know, they move -- they move in
7 and out every six months, every month.
8 And also if somebody is released,
9 you know, on parole, our State Constitution does
10 give them a right to shelter, they even can be in
11 a homeless shelter if they choose.
12 I just feel that this is not
13 allowing individuals who are rightfully being
14 able to go on parole and putting a stumbling
15 block in the way that they have to have what you
16 deem an acceptable residence.
17 SENATOR LaVALLE: Senator, I think
18 what we're doing with this bill is we're trying
19 to balance -- we're trying to provide the parolee
20 with a stable environment to live in. And also
21 recognize that communities have certain
22 boundaries, certain parameters. And you
23 represent those communities, and people want to
24 maintain -- that's why it says shelters. People
25 in communities, where people live, you know, for
2682
1 years and years or, as I said, for generations,
2 don't want temporary shelters. They don't want
3 motels that have become havens for individuals to
4 be placed by welfare or by parole or any one of
5 those things.
6 So I think we're trying to help,
7 because if you look at the front side where we
8 say individuals should have education and
9 training, work assignments, therapy, all those
10 things --
11 SENATOR KLEIN: That's part of the
12 existing law, right.
13 SENATOR LaVALLE: That's part of
14 the existing law. And that gives to the parolee
15 a certain sense of stability. And what we're
16 adding here is an acceptable residence. I think
17 every person's entitled to an acceptable
18 residence.
19 SENATOR KLEIN: Again through you,
20 Mr. President, would the sponsor agree to yield
21 for another question?
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Sponsor,
23 do you yield? The sponsor yields.
24 SENATOR KLEIN: Again,
25 Mr. President, through you, again, I understand
2683
1 what the sponsor, though, was talking about an
2 acceptable residence. But at the same time, I
3 think it's that's a very, very high standard for
4 people to meet who are merely trying to get on
5 parole, especially leaving out programs that I
6 think may be temporary but would be excluded, you
7 know, under this definition.
8 The next question is, is there any
9 type of crime that we're sort of attaching to the
10 individual who's now on parole? Because again, I
11 understand there's problems with more serious
12 crimes where, you know, you may not want them in
13 a homeless shelter, in a motel or, you know, near
14 other community members or family members or even
15 in a homeless shelter.
16 But at the same time, there doesn't
17 seem to be any specific reason why someone who,
18 let's say, commits a nonviolent crime, they're
19 now on parole, they got the education program
20 that they need, they have the training program,
21 they're ready to go, but now they face this
22 hurdle that they need an acceptable residence.
23 So is there anything in this legislation that
24 actually is sort of at least weeding out more
25 dangerous crimes?
2684
1 SENATOR LaVALLE: We're not
2 creating any new category of crime here in this
3 language.
4 SENATOR KLEIN: So now -- and
5 again, through you, so no matter what the offense
6 that this person committed who is now eligible
7 for parole, they're all treated the same way
8 under this legislation.
9 SENATOR LaVALLE: Yes.
10 SENATOR KLEIN: Okay. On the bill.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
12 Klein on the bill.
13 SENATOR KLEIN: You know, I kind
14 of, I think, understand the sponsor's attempt,
15 you know, in this piece of legislation, but I
16 think it's really overly broad, and I think for
17 two reasons.
18 First of all, a lot of thought went
19 into the original law that actually talks about
20 the various reasons why someone should meet
21 certain hurdles if they're going to go on
22 parole -- it's a participant in a program, do
23 they have release plans, are they going to be in
24 a job training program or get some work. You
25 know, I understand that, because we want to make
2685
1 sure that someone who is on parole can once again
2 contribute to society.
3 But to turn around and now say they
4 need an acceptable residence I think puts a major
5 hurdle in the way of someone who wants to leave
6 the prison system, get their life on track, get
7 back into society. And I'm really concerned that
8 there's a lot of programs that are out there
9 that, under the definition of temporary shelter,
10 it would be just that, it would be temporary
11 shelter. And I think they would be excluded, you
12 know, under this legislation.
13 The next piece is that it doesn't
14 seem to actually explain how serious the crime
15 that the person committed who's now on parole. I
16 understand -- because I know you had attached to
17 the bill, but it doesn't seem to register, about
18 registered sex offenders.
19 You know, I understand that
20 registered 2 and 3 sex offenders under present
21 law cannot live within a thousand feet of a
22 school. I also understand that I have
23 legislation to also require that they not live
24 within a thousand feet of a daycare center or a
25 UPK. And at the same time, I have legislation
2686
1 which would prohibit them from living in a family
2 shelter. They can live in a single male shelter,
3 but not a family shelter.
4 But this doesn't just talk about
5 sexual predators. I guess if this legislation
6 would say that a sexual predator needs an
7 acceptable residence, meaning you can't pile them
8 into a hotel or a shelter with other family
9 members, you know, maybe this bill would pass
10 muster. But right now I think it's just going to
11 serve as a way to prevent individuals who really
12 should be on parole, who meet various tests --
13 that they have a certain hurdle that just can't
14 be met.
15 I urge a no vote on this
16 legislation, Mr. President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Seeing
18 and hearing no other Senator that wishes to be
19 heard, debate is -- Senator Krueger.
20 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you,
21 Mr. President. Would the sponsor please yield to
22 some questions?
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
24 LaValle, do you yield?
25 SENATOR LaVALLE: Yes.
2687
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
2 Senator yields.
3 SENATOR KRUEGER: So does the --
4 can the Senator show me the section of the bill
5 where the Department of Criminal Justice or the
6 Department of Parole --
7 SENATOR LaVALLE: I can't hear you,
8 Senator.
9 SENATOR KRUEGER: Maybe my mic
10 isn't working. Can you hear me better now?
11 SENATOR LaVALLE: Yes.
12 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.
13 Through you, Mr. President, the sponsor I believe
14 said yes to answering. Thank you.
15 What section of the bill mandates
16 that the Department of Corrections or the
17 Department of Parole provide the permanent
18 housing for the person eligible for the parole?
19 SENATOR LaVALLE: Senator, it's my
20 understanding that there is some involvement of
21 the Department of Corrections, but we're not
22 mandating that they have to be directly involved
23 in finding, in quotes, an acceptable residence.
24 SENATOR KRUEGER: On the bill,
25 Mr. President.
2688
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
2 Krueger on the bill.
3 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.
4 I want to thank the sponsor for his
5 answer. I think it really narrows down the
6 reasons why I don't understand how we could
7 support this bill.
8 Because basically it's saying you,
9 the person in prison, would be obligated to be
10 able to find and have and prove you've got
11 permanent housing before you could have parole.
12 The Department of Corrections wouldn't be
13 obligated to ensure you could have that, or help
14 you find it. The Department of Probation
15 wouldn't be obligated to provide you that --
16 although I believe once you have parole, they are
17 supposed to help you with employment, services,
18 housing, but that's after you're already out on
19 parole.
20 So basically with this law we would
21 be saying if you're in prison and are lucky
22 enough to have a family who will take you back or
23 you have large sums of money, you're probably
24 okay. And if you're in prison and you're poor or
25 don't have a family who can take you back, sorry,
2689
1 you just don't get out.
2 I don't think that's what we meant
3 when we created a system of parole in the State
4 of New York. And I think all it does is
5 guarantee us larger numbers of people staying in
6 jail for longer periods of time when a court has
7 already dictated, through the penalties they were
8 given, that they meet the standards for being
9 released back in the community. So sorry, if
10 you're poor or famililess, that standard doesn't
11 apply to you.
12 If this bill said we must provide
13 you with permanent housing and/or we must provide
14 you the money to pay for the permanent housing
15 upon release, I might be fine with this bill.
16 But as it is, I think it is extremely
17 discriminatory, and I cannot support this bill.
18 I vote no, Mr. President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
20 Rivera.
21 SENATOR RIVERA: Thank you,
22 Mr. President. On the bill.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
24 Rivera on the bill.
25 SENATOR RIVERA: I will be brief,
2690
1 because my colleagues have already talked about
2 many of these points.
3 I think that what needs to be talked
4 about here is that there are certain things that
5 sound like a commonsense solution. There are
6 certain rules that sound on the face of it like,
7 well, of course that's something that we should
8 be doing because it sounds like a commonsense
9 thing.
10 Take voting reform, for example.
11 Some folks want to say that we should require an
12 I.D. so that people can vote, without really
13 looking into the fact that imposing such a rule,
14 which sounds commonsensical, would actually have
15 a discriminatory effect and has had -- there's
16 plenty of evidence to establish that it has a
17 discriminatory effect.
18 So in this case the idea of saying,
19 well, someone that is going to be let out of
20 prison should have an acceptable home or
21 acceptable place to live in certainly sounds like
22 a commonsensical thing. But one only has to go a
23 little bit deeper -- and I think that Senator
24 Krueger certainly hit on this, when we talk about
25 the fact if you are poor and do not have a
2691
1 permanent house to go back to, yet you have
2 already served your time and do not pose a danger
3 to society, well, all of a sudden you should
4 remain inside.
5 So ultimately, sadly, what this
6 would do is it would criminalize poverty. I
7 should say it would criminalize poverty further.
8 So the bottom line is that this is
9 not a piece of legislation that ultimately would
10 give us a good product of public policy. It
11 sounds like a good thing, it sounds like a
12 commonsense type of rule, but ultimately it would
13 have an impact which is discriminatory and which
14 would impact many individuals who ultimately have
15 already served their time, should be able to come
16 back home and be productive members of society.
17 And it's just another attempt,
18 sadly, by some of my colleagues on the other side
19 of the aisle to keep folks in prison for as long
20 as humanly possible, and I have to vote in the
21 negative on this piece of legislation.
22 Thank you, Mr. President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Seeing
24 and hearing no other Senator that wishes to be
25 heard, debate is closed.
2692
1 The Secretary will ring the bell.
2 Read the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
6 roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
9 Sanders to explain his vote.
10 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you,
11 Mr. President.
12 In England of many years ago, there
13 were things known as debtor's prisons, prisons
14 where if you didn't have enough money, you'd
15 never get out of debt. In fact, that became
16 known as the poorhouse, that people were sent to
17 the poorhouse. We joke about it now, but you
18 really could not get out of prison, because you
19 did not have the money or the wherewithal.
20 In the U.S., we had a system known
21 as serfdom, or actually it was sharecropping. I
22 know a little of this; my father was one. And it
23 too was a place where you simply couldn't get
24 out, no matter what you did.
25 This legislation reminds me of that
2693
1 too much. So under those conditions, I'm going
2 to vote no on behalf of my father.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
4 Sanders to be recorded in the negative.
5 Announce the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar 871, those recorded in the negative are
8 Senators Addabbo, Alcantara, Avella, Bailey,
9 Benjamin, Breslin, Brooks, Carlucci, Comrie,
10 Dilan, Gianaris, Hamilton, Hoylman, Kaminsky,
11 Kavanagh, Kennedy, Klein, Krueger, Mayer,
12 Montgomery, Parker, Peralta, Persaud --
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
14 DeFrancisco to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I hate
16 to interrupt, but I have to explain my vote,
17 because the poorhouse and people in prison
18 because they couldn't pay their debt were two
19 different things. The poorhouse was sort of the
20 welfare program in England back in the good old
21 days, when they did provide housing and the like
22 for the poor.
23 So I just wanted to make sure the
24 record is clear because I would hope you would
25 not want to be misquoted for the rest of your
2694
1 life for some comments that were just a minor
2 mistake today.
3 But for that reason, I'm going to
4 vote yes.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
6 DeFrancisco in the affirmative.
7 Finalize the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: -- Persaud, Rivera,
9 Sanders, Savino, Sepúlveda, Serrano, Stavisky,
10 Stewart-Cousins and Valesky.
11 Ayes, 32. Nays, 31.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
13 is passed.
14 Senator DeFrancisco, that completes
15 the controversial reading of today's active-list
16 calendar that was before the house.
17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO:
18 Mr. President, I believe there's a resolution
19 that we haven't dealt with yet, previously
20 adopted Resolution 4440.
21 So if we can go back to motions and
22 resolutions and please call up Senator Comrie's
23 resolution, read the title only, and call on
24 Senator Comrie to speak.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: We will
2695
1 return to motions and resolutions.
2 The Secretary will read, title only,
3 on Resolution Number 4440.
4 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
5 Resolution Number 4440, by Senator Comrie,
6 memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
7 proclaim May 6-12, 2018, as Nurses Week in the
8 State of New York.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
10 Comrie.
11 SENATOR COMRIE: Thank you,
12 Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Floor Leader.
13 I'm honored today to carry a
14 resolution that recognizes the prime importance
15 of some of the finest caregivers in New York
16 State, our nurses.
17 Our nurses are some of the most
18 unique, essential and critical to our society --
19 to help care, to make well, to empathize and to
20 reassure and to help individuals and families
21 follow a path to wellness.
22 Today, as you know, we are inundated
23 with nurses that are here in the Capitol trying
24 to advocate for safe staffing and for other
25 needs, to make sure that the nursing profession
2696
1 is respected and honored. New York is blessed to
2 have over 250,000 nurses that are serving our
3 communities with care and precision each and
4 every day.
5 They are on the front lines for
6 their patients and also on the vanguard of
7 revolutionizing the profession to focus on
8 prevention and the prioritization of patients
9 over profits. When you step back and reflect
10 upon it, each of our lives has been shaped by a
11 nurse, changed by a nurse, and possibly even
12 saved by a nurse.
13 Some of the greatest Americans in
14 history have been nurses: Sojourner Truth,
15 Margaret Sanger, Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman,
16 Florence Nightingale, and Hazel Johnson Brown.
17 Those who pursue the profession of
18 nursing today follow in the footsteps of these
19 trailblazing and inspiring forerunners, always
20 inspiring, innovating and influencing.
21 To all of our nurses in New York
22 State, I extend to you the humble gratitude of
23 this Senate body and say thank you on behalf of
24 all of the New Yorkers who depend on nursing to
25 help them, to assist them and to guide them when
2697
1 they're in the most need.
2 Thank you, Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
4 you, Senator Comrie.
5 Senator Alcantara.
6 SENATOR ALCANTARA: Thank you. On
7 the resolution.
8 I want to thank my colleague Senator
9 Leroy Comrie for commemorating Nurses Week.
10 I also want to give a shout out to
11 the 42,000 nurses from the New York State Nurses
12 Association, many of them that are up in the
13 balcony today. We want to apologize, because if
14 it was up to us, you would be sitting here
15 amongst all of us.
16 Just to recognize that nurses do
17 some of the most important work in the nation and
18 in our hospitals, often working 24 hours a day
19 without the opportunity to take a break or a
20 lunch period, or with punching in, whatever time
21 you come in, but not knowing when you can punch
22 out because of all the work that you do.
23 We want to thank you for taking care
24 of our neighbors, our families, and for doing the
25 work. And it's so appropriate that over
2698
1 90 percent of nurses are female. Most of them
2 immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean, the
3 Philippines and other places, just adding to what
4 New York is all about. And thank you for
5 bringing more diversity to the State of New York
6 and for demonstrating with your skills and your
7 knowledge that New York is an immigrant state.
8 Thank you for coming out here and
9 fighting for patient care, fighting for safe
10 staffing -- yes, we're going to repeat that over
11 and over again -- fighting for a safety net. And
12 especially thank you to all the public-sector
13 nurses in the City of New York. Thanks to you
14 guys, we have one of the best public health
15 systems in the country.
16 So we want to thank you, and we want
17 to join you in celebrating National Nurses Week.
18 Thank you, NYSNA.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
20 Bailey.
21 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
22 Mr. President. On the resolution.
23 I would like to commend Senator
24 Comrie for bringing this resolution to the floor
25 to commemorate Nurses Week. You know, I am the
2699
1 grandson of two nurses, so it's personal for me
2 when I hear the stories from them about the
3 patients that they cared for when sometimes their
4 families couldn't care for them.
5 It becomes personal when you realize
6 that when we go seek care in hospitals and urgent
7 care facilities, that we are not at our best, and
8 somebody has to help us along the way. And by
9 and large, you see the doctor for five minutes,
10 but you see the nurse for 20. The nurse is there
11 for you. They continue to work.
12 They do so many things that it's
13 hard to quantify in the job description what a
14 nurse is. You couldn't fit it on a page, you
15 couldn't fit it in a book, because they do so
16 many different things to make sure that the
17 patient's taken care of. And as Senator
18 Alcantara put it, it's about patient care. That
19 is what it's about, and nurses serve that.
20 And in my district, I have a
21 significant population of Caribbean-American
22 nurses. The Caribbean American Nurses
23 Association, CANA, is very influential in my
24 district, and they continue to fight for what's
25 right, such as safe staffing and ensuring that we
2700
1 fund our hospitals and that we fund, you know,
2 nurses so that they can continue the great work
3 that they do.
4 And once again, happy Nurses Week.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
6 Kennedy.
7 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 I just want to take this opportunity
10 first of all to recognize Senator Comrie for
11 bringing this important resolution to the floor.
12 We recognize our nurses across this
13 great state and across the nation. On this week,
14 something that we should always keep in mind:
15 the healthcare practitioners out there working
16 hard on behalf of all of our communities.
17 I have the honor and privilege to
18 call myself the grandson of a nurse, Dashantel
19 O'Brien Kennedy Rafferty, and the son of a nurse,
20 Mary Katherine Wilson Kennedy. I also have the
21 privilege of being the husband of a wife whose
22 great aunt was a nurse in World War II and worked
23 her way up on a hospital ship across the oceans
24 in various wars, Alene Duerk, who became the
25 first female rear admiral in the United States
2701
1 Navy. She is in her late 90s, but she's still
2 ticking and still strong.
3 And I know Senator Comrie talked
4 about so many historic figures from the great
5 State of New York. There's another figure in
6 Western New York, Mary B. Talbert, who was with
7 the black Red Cross nurses in World War I on the
8 front lines in 1917.
9 Our nation is built on the lifeblood
10 of nurses, those who are always putting others
11 before themselves. As a matter of fact, as a
12 healthcare practitioner myself and as an
13 occupational therapist, I have seen nurses work
14 on the front lines and often to the detriment of
15 their own health. They're always putting others
16 first. They're always working the long hours.
17 They're always doing the work that many others
18 would shy away from.
19 And they are saving lives, they are
20 helping others at work and outside of work. How
21 many nurses do we all know, each and every one of
22 us, that work their tails off to provide for
23 their families and communities, but then they go
24 above and beyond and they volunteer in so many
25 different capacities, whether it's with community
2702
1 organizations or church groups or just things
2 happening in the neighborhood.
3 Nurses are always there for us, no
4 matter what the situation, no matter what our
5 time of need. And it's incumbent upon us in this
6 chamber to be there for them as well. And so we
7 stand with them as they're here lobbying today
8 for things like safe staffing and other
9 initiatives that are important to allowing them
10 to do their work. And we look forward to
11 advancing initiatives to give them the resources
12 necessary to do their job and to continue to do
13 their job as effectively as possible.
14 I want to thank, from the bottom of
15 my heart, and on behalf of a grateful community
16 in Buffalo and Western New York, and of course of
17 a grateful Empire State of New York, for all of
18 the nurses, the great work that they do, the
19 sacrifices that they make each and every day on
20 behalf of all of us.
21 Thank you, Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
23 Murphy.
24 SENATOR MURPHY: Thank you,
25 Mr. President.
2703
1 I'd just like to thank Senator
2 Comrie for bringing this up.
3 I am very, very partial to the
4 nurses. My wife has been one for 26 years. And
5 I didn't have to -- Senator Alcantara, I'm not
6 sure if you're still here, but I didn't have to
7 go too far, I went right to the Bronx and
8 Woodlawn, found my wife, who's a nurse, and we've
9 been married and have three beautiful kids.
10 But to Senator Kennedy's point, the
11 long hours that these nurses put in, and the
12 empathy in their heart when someone comes out of
13 surgery and goes into the PACU and they hold
14 their hand and recover them from the anesthesia,
15 and then go out and talk to the parents or the
16 kids outside to let them know how their loved one
17 is doing and how surgery went -- that stuff is
18 unwritten. That stuff comes from the heart.
19 And I'd just like to thank you,
20 Senator Comrie, for bringing this up.
21 And to all the nurses out there, you
22 rock. Thank you for what you do.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
24 Stavisky.
25 SENATOR STAVISKY: Thank you,
2704
1 Mr. President.
2 And thank you, Senator Comrie, for
3 sponsoring this resolution.
4 When Senator Bailey mentioned CANA,
5 I have a CANA in my district, the Chinese
6 American Nurses Association. They're getting
7 together Friday night in Flushing to celebrate
8 another year of service to the community.
9 And it really points out the fact
10 how the face of nursing has changed, and we have
11 so many immigrant communities filled with nurses.
12 And we certainly appreciate everything they do.
13 And I too want to pay tribute to the
14 Chinese American Nurses Association for what they
15 do in the everyday work that's been described
16 here.
17 Thank you, Mr. President.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
19 DeFrancisco.
20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, thank
21 you, Mr. President.
22 I just want to rise and thank
23 Senator Comrie for this resolution.
24 I think anybody who's ever been in
25 the hospital for an operation or to stay for any
2705
1 period of time realizes, when they first regain
2 consciousness and thereafter, it's like seeing an
3 angel, because that nurse is already around your
4 bedside -- at a time when you're confused, you're
5 disoriented, and you're trying to cope with what
6 you've just been through. And when you think of
7 a nurse, that's what I think about.
8 And also the competence of nurses is
9 just absolutely incredible. And I'll give one
10 last example. When my father was in his last
11 illness in the hospital, he was for a short time
12 in a room with another heart patient. And the
13 other heart patient unfortunately didn't have any
14 advocates on his behalf. There were people that
15 came in to see my father all the time, including
16 myself.
17 And I watched carefully as the
18 patient in the next bed was trying to understand
19 what in God's name the doctor was talking about.
20 And he couldn't. And the nurse was interpreting
21 what the doctor meant and what the doctor was
22 telling the patient in layman's terms so he
23 clearly understood and could feel much better
24 about himself.
25 In fact, on a couple of occasions
2706
1 during that discussion that I saw, the nurse made
2 a point to the doctor: Shouldn't you check this
3 out? How about looking at this? How about
4 looking at that? Whereas she was more thorough
5 than the doctor was in that case.
6 So we owe a great debt of gratitude
7 to nurses and the nursing profession. And it's
8 only fitting that we have this wonderful
9 resolution today to show our respect and
10 admiration for the nursing profession and all
11 nurses.
12 Thank you.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: As
14 indicated, the resolution was previously adopted
15 on April 17th of this year.
16 We extend our sincere appreciation
17 to all the nurses and recognize many of them who
18 have been in the chamber throughout the day today
19 in the galleries.
20 So the resolution, at the request of
21 Senator Comrie, is open for cosponsorship.
22 Should you choose to be a cosponsor, please
23 notify the desk.
24 Senator DeFrancisco.
25 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO:
2707
1 Mr. President, there's a couple of items that
2 have to be dealt with, a specific resolution or
3 two is not completed yet. So what we're going to
4 do is stand at ease until 5 o'clock.
5 In the meantime, there will be a
6 Republican conference at 4:30 p.m., and we'll be
7 back here promptly at 5:00 to deal with those
8 resolutions, if they're ready. And if they're
9 not, we will gavel out expeditiously.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There
11 will be a Republican conference at 4:30 in
12 Room 332.
13 The Senate will stand temporarily at
14 ease until 5:00 p.m.
15 The Senate is at ease.
16 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
17 at 3:43 p.m.)
18 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
19 6:06 p.m.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
21 Senate will come to order.
22 The chair recognizes Senator
23 DeFrancisco.
24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It's my
25 understanding that there are two resolutions at
2708
1 the desk.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: That is
3 accurate. There are two privileged resolutions
4 presented to the desk.
5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: And there's
6 been inquiries by members. Are those resolutions
7 on the computer? And, if so, where?
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: It is my
9 understanding, in consultation with the desk
10 staff at this time, because the resolutions by
11 their very nature are privileged, until they are
12 actually adopted, they will not be on that
13 software.
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Well, do we
15 have a printed copy that we could distribute?
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Copies
17 are being assembled, Senator DeFrancisco.
18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Okay, then we
19 can remain at ease.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
21 Senate will be temporarily at ease.
22 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
23 at 6:08 p.m.)
24 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
25 6:15 p.m.)
2709
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
2 Senate will return to order.
3 Senator DeFrancisco.
4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes,
5 Mr. President, it's my understanding that there
6 are two resolutions at the desk. Could we take
7 up the privileged resolution dealing with aid to
8 education.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Both
10 privileged resolutions are before the desk.
11 The Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
13 by Senator Flanagan, establishing a plan setting
14 forth an itemized list of grantees for certain
15 appropriations for the 2018-2019 state fiscal
16 year for additional grants-in-aid to certain
17 school districts, public libraries, and
18 not-for-profit institutions.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
20 roll on the resolution.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Announce
23 the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
25 Senator Sanders recorded in the negative.
2710
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
2 resolution is adopted.
3 The Secretary will continue.
4 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
5 by Senator Flanagan, establishing a plan setting
6 forth the methodology for allocating a certain
7 appropriation for the 2018-2019 state fiscal
8 year, for additional grants-in-aid to certain
9 school districts, public libraries, and
10 not-for-profit institutions.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
12 roll on the resolution.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Announce
15 the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in
17 the negative are Senators Addabbo, Alcantara,
18 Avella, Bailey, Benjamin, Breslin, Brooks,
19 Carlucci, Comrie, Dilan, Gianaris, Hamilton,
20 Hoylman, Kaminsky, Kavanagh, Kennedy, Klein,
21 Mayer, Montgomery, Parker, Peralta, Persaud,
22 Rivera, Sanders, Savino, Sepúlveda, Serrano,
23 Stavisky and Stewart-Cousins.
24 Absent from voting: Senators
25 Krueger and Valesky.
2711
1 Ayes, 32. Nays, 29.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
3 resolution is adopted.
4 Senator DeFrancisco.
5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO:
6 Mr. President, can we return to messages from the
7 Assembly.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: We will
9 return to messages from the Assembly.
10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It's my
11 understanding that there's a hand-down from the
12 Assembly.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
14 Secretary will read.
15 THE SECRETARY: The Assembly sent
16 for concurrence the following bill. On motion by
17 Senator Flanagan, the rules were suspended and
18 said bill ordered to third reading: Assembly
19 Bill 9534.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: So
21 ordered.
22 The Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 1121, by Member of the Assembly Paulin, Assembly
25 Print 9534, an act to amend the Tax Law.
2712
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
2 last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
6 roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Announce
9 the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
11 Senators Brooks and Kaminsky recorded in the
12 negative.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
14 is passed.
15 Senator DeFrancisco.
16 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I
17 understand, if we can go back to Senate
18 Supplemental Calendar 40A, there was one bill
19 that was laid aside.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: That is
21 correct.
22 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: And could you
23 give me the calendar number?
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Calendar
25 Number 1064.
2713
1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I would like
2 to lay that bill aside for the day.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
4 is laid aside for the day.
5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Is there any
6 further business at the desk?
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There is
8 no further business at the desk.
9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I move to
10 adjourn till Wednesday, May 9, at 11:00 a.m.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: On
12 motion, the Senate will stand adjourned until
13 Wednesday, May 9th, at 11:00 a.m.
14 The Senate is adjourned.
15 (Whereupon, at 6:21 p.m., the Senate
16 adjourned.)
17
18
19
20
21
22
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25