Regular Session - January 28, 2019
714
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 January 28, 2019
11 3:30 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR KATHLEEN C. HOCHUL, President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
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21
22
23
24
25
715
1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: 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 BENJAMIN: In the
9 absence of clergy, I ask everyone to bow their
10 head in a moment of silent reflection or prayer.
11 (Whereupon, the assemblage respected
12 a moment of silence.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
14 reading of the Journal.
15 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Sunday,
16 January 27, 2019, the Senate met pursuant to
17 adjournment. The Journal of Saturday,
18 January 26, 2019, was read and approved. On
19 motion, Senate adjourned.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Without
21 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
22 Presentation of petitions.
23 Messages from the Assembly.
24 Messages from the Governor.
25 Reports of standing committees.
716
1 Reports of select committees.
2 Communications and reports from
3 state officers.
4 Motions and resolutions.
5 Senator Gianaris.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 On behalf of Senator Kaplan, I move
9 that the following bills be discharged from their
10 respective committees and recommitted with
11 instructions to strike the enacting clause:
12 Senate Bills 2425, 2427, and 2428.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: It is
14 so ordered.
15 Senator Gianaris.
16 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you.
17 Would you please call on
18 Senator Griffo.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
20 Griffo.
21 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 I move, on behalf of Senator Ortt,
24 that Senate Bill 318 be discharged from its
25 respective committee and be recommitted with
717
1 instructions to strike the enacting clause.
2 And on behalf of Senator Ritchie,
3 relative to Senate Bill 1430, I also move that
4 the following bill be discharged from its
5 respective committee and be recommitted with
6 instructions to strike the enacting clause.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: It is
8 so ordered.
9 Senator Gianaris.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
11 there will be an immediate meeting of the
12 Rules Committee in Room 332 of the Capitol.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
14 is an immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
15 Room 332 of the Capitol.
16 The Senate will stand at ease.
17 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
18 at 3:32 p.m.)
19 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
20 3:41 p.m.)
21 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
22 come to order.
23 Senator Gianaris.
24 SENATOR GIANARIS: Welcome,
25 Madam President.
718
1 I believe there's a Rules Committee
2 report at the desk.
3 THE PRESIDENT: There is a
4 Committee on Rules report at the desk, and the
5 Secretary will read.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator
7 Stewart-Cousins, from the Committee on Rules,
8 reports the following bills:
9 Senate 101A, by Senator Kaminsky, an
10 act to amend the Penal Law;
11 Senate 712, by Senator Amedore, an
12 act to amend Chapter 218 of the Laws of 2009
13 amending the Tax Law;
14 Senate 720, by Senator Little, an
15 act to amend Chapter 327 of the Laws of 2006,
16 amending the Tax Law;
17 Senate 721, by Senator Little, an
18 act to amend Chapter 368 of the Laws of 2008,
19 amending the Tax Law;
20 Senate 839, by Senator Montgomery,
21 an act to amend the Labor Law;
22 Senate 959, by Senator Young, an act
23 to amend Chapter 98 of the Laws of 2009, amending
24 the Tax Law;
25 Senate 1414, by Senator Parker, an
719
1 act to amend the Penal Law and the
2 Criminal Procedure Law;
3 Senate 1891A, by Senator Kaminsky,
4 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law;
5 Senate 2374, by Senator Gianaris, an
6 act to amend the Penal Law and the General
7 Business Law;
8 Senate 2438, by Senator Kaplan, an
9 act to amend the Penal Law;
10 Senate 2440, by Senator Hoylman, an
11 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law;
12 Senate 2448, by Senator Sepúlveda,
13 an act to amend the Penal Law;
14 Senate 2449, by Senator Mayer, an
15 act to amend the Executive Law;
16 Senate 2450, by Senator Krueger, an
17 act to amend the Penal Law and the
18 General Business Law;
19 Senate 2451, by Senator Kavanagh, an
20 act to amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules and
21 the Penal Law; and
22 Senate 2523, by Senator Skoufis, an
23 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
24 All bills reported direct to third
25 reading.
720
1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Gianaris.
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: I now move to
3 accept the Rules Committee report.
4 THE PRESIDENT: All those in favor
5 of accepting the report of the Rules Committee
6 say aye.
7 (Response of "Aye.")
8 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed?
9 (No response.)
10 THE PRESIDENT: The Rules Committee
11 report is accepted.
12 Senator Gianaris.
13 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
14 if you could please now call on Senator Kennedy
15 for a brief introduction.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Kennedy.
17 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you,
18 Madam President.
19 I would just like to recognize some
20 dignitaries that are here with us in the chamber
21 this morning -- this afternoon, I'm sorry. From
22 the Ancient Order of Hibernians, New York State
23 President Victor Vogel; the Ladies Ancient Order
24 of Hibernians, New York State President
25 Jacqueline Clute; the AOH National Freedom for
721
1 All Ireland Chairman Martin Galvin; the LAOH
2 New York State Freedom for All Ireland Chairwoman
3 Dolores Desch; Irish American Heritage Museum
4 Executive Director Dr. Elizabeth Stack.
5 They are here with us today to
6 celebrate the 100th anniversary of the
7 independence of Ireland.
8 Thank you for the opportunity to
9 recognize them here this afternoon,
10 Madam President.
11 THE PRESIDENT: I'd like to extend
12 the privileges and courtesies of the house to our
13 special guests here today.
14 And as a granddaughter of immigrants
15 from Ireland, I also recognize the 100th
16 anniversary of Ireland's independence. So thank
17 you for joining us.
18 And thank you, Senator Kennedy.
19 (Applause.)
20 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Gianaris.
21 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
22 can we now take up the noncontroversial reading
23 of the calendar.
24 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary will
25 read.
722
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 43,
2 by Senator Benjamin, Senate Print 2041, an act to
3 amend the Public Authorities Law.
4 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
5 section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 THE PRESIDENT: Any members wish to
11 explain their vote?
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
14 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 44,
16 by Senator Gounardes, Senate Print 2042, an act
17 to amend the Civil Service Law.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
19 section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
21 act shall take effect on the same date and in the
22 same manner as a chapter of the Laws of 2018.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
723
1 results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
3 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 46,
5 by Senator Ritchie, Senate Print 2044, an act to
6 amend the Agriculture and Markets Law.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
8 section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect on the same date and in the
11 same manner as Section 1 of Chapter 399 of the
12 Laws of 2018.
13 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
16 results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
18 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
19 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
20 noncontroversial reading of today's calendar.
21 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
22 Madam President.
23 There is a Senate supplemental
24 calendar at the desk; we will be taking up a few
25 bills from that calendar.
724
1 And can we begin with Calendar
2 Number 85, by Senator Montgomery.
3 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary will
4 read.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 85,
6 by Senator Montgomery, Senate Print 839, an act
7 to amend the Labor Law.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
9 section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
11 act shall take effect one year after it shall
12 have become a law.
13 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Montgomery
16 to explain your vote.
17 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, thank
18 you, Madam President.
19 This is really a very, very exciting
20 vote today because we have had hundreds of young
21 people here today, as we have many hundreds more
22 that are not here, who are able to participate in
23 this program called YouthBuild. It is a program
24 that began 40 years ago here in the State of
25 New York. It serves young people who, for all
725
1 practical purposes, are in desperate need of a
2 second chance.
3 But this is not just a second
4 chance, this is an opportunity -- for many of
5 them, a first chance, because they can earn a
6 high school diploma if they need to, they are
7 able to receive training in the building trades.
8 Many of them who have never seen an electric saw
9 in their lives are now able to use one -- an
10 electric drill, rather.
11 So they leave the program with
12 skills. They can receive OSHA training in that
13 program. They do receive a stipend. It goes up
14 to young people up to age 24.
15 So this really is, for New York
16 State, the absolute best example of what we can
17 do for young people. Even when they start off on
18 the wrong path, we can pull them back, build them
19 into citizens who are going to be taxpayers, and
20 be proud of them.
21 They are here today, it's YouthBuild
22 Day. Many of us have been visited by them. And
23 I'm very happy that this bill will establish in
24 the State Department of Labor a YouthBuild line,
25 program, so we in New York State can for the
726
1 first time invest in this wonderful program.
2 It's been funded by the federal government but
3 now we will, as a state, be putting money into
4 that program.
5 So thank you very much, Madam Chair.
6 I vote aye.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Montgomery
8 to be recorded in the affirmative.
9 Senator Sanders to explain his vote.
10 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you,
11 Madam President.
12 I want to applaud my illustrious
13 Senator for really pushing this bill.
14 The YouthBuild program is arguably
15 one of the best programs that was ever created,
16 and I keep up with this stuff. One of the most
17 effective. Not only does it repair the youth,
18 it's repairing communities. They take an
19 abandoned building and they rebuild it and put it
20 into some public service. Perhaps it will be a
21 nursery. Perhaps be some type of public service.
22 So they're putting a building back on the lot, if
23 you wish, but at the same time they're building
24 every one of those young people.
25 So I just want to applaud my Senator
727
1 for sticking with this issue year after year
2 after year until finally this day has arrived.
3 Congratulations to you, congratulations to us,
4 and congratulations to all of the youth who will
5 be helped through YouthBuild.
6 Thank you, Madam President.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Sanders to
8 be recorded in the affirmative.
9 Senator Benjamin to explain your
10 vote.
11 SENATOR BENJAMIN: Thank you,
12 Madam President.
13 I also want to congratulate the
14 sponsor of this bill.
15 Before I was a Senator, I was
16 building affordable housing in New York and
17 New Jersey, and we hired in my company a number
18 of kids from the YouthBuild program, some who had
19 made a mistake maybe early on in life but needed
20 a second chance to turbocharge their career.
21 And I'm proud to say some of those
22 young people now have their own businesses, are
23 doing a lot of great things and have pride in who
24 they are and what they're about. And I'm glad
25 that in the State of New York we're going to
728
1 expand this program, and I want to commend the
2 sponsor for doing this.
3 This is the kind of thing that we
4 should be doing to help end recidivism, to help
5 end mass incarceration. Let's give people a
6 chance so that they can grow and they can be
7 their best selves. And this is a great program.
8 I vote in the affirmative.
9 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Benjamin to
10 be recorded in the affirmative.
11 Senator Amedore to explain your
12 vote.
13 SENATOR AMEDORE: Thank you,
14 Madam President.
15 I rise to explain my vote and also
16 want to thank the prime sponsor,
17 Senator Montgomery. I have had the good fortune
18 to work with her many years in this chamber on
19 this particular issue and topic.
20 And there's no question, I know
21 firsthand the importance of this great program,
22 YouthBuild. As an employer in the State of
23 New York in the construction industry, YouthBuild
24 is a great workforce development opportunity that
25 we need to continue to invest in year after year,
729
1 line item after line item in the State Budget.
2 And I hope this Majority will fight
3 hard to make sure that there's appropriate
4 funding for all YouthBuilds across all of the
5 State of New York -- upstate, downstate, Long
6 Island, everywhere in between. Because this is
7 about giving someone a second chance, it's about
8 teaching them a skill set, it's about building
9 affordable housing. And not only that, it's
10 about the families who purchase homeownership,
11 the best way to start building financial wealth.
12 I appreciate this great program, and
13 thank you, Senator Montgomery. I vote aye.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Amedore to
15 be recorded in the affirmative.
16 Any other members wish to be called
17 on to explain their vote?
18 Announce the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
20 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
21 Senator Gianaris.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
23 can we next take up Calendar Number 91, by
24 Senator Hoylman.
25 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary will
730
1 read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 91,
3 by Senator Hoylman, Senate Print 2440, an act to
4 amend the Criminal Procedure Law.
5 SENATOR GRIFFO: Lay it aside.
6 THE PRESIDENT: Lay it aside.
7 Senator Gianaris.
8 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now take
9 up Calendar Number 96, by Senator Skoufis.
10 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary will
11 read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 96,
13 by Senator Skoufis, Senate Print 2523, an act to
14 amend the Real Property Tax Law.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
16 section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect on the same date and in the
19 same manner as a chapter of the Laws of 2019
20 amending the Real Property Tax Law.
21 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 THE PRESIDENT: Any members wish to
24 explain their vote?
25 Announce the results.
731
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
2 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
3 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
4 noncontroversial reading of today's Senate
5 supplemental calendar.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
7 Madam President. Can we now move to the
8 controversial reading.
9 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary will
10 read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 91,
12 by Senator Hoylman, Senate Print 2440, an act to
13 amend the Criminal Procedure Law.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Griffo, why
15 do you rise?
16 SENATOR GRIFFO: Madam President, I
17 believe that there is an amendment at the desk.
18 I waive the reading of that amendment and ask
19 that you call upon Senator Young for an
20 explanation.
21 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator
22 Griffo.
23 Upon review of the amendment, in
24 accordance with Rule 6, Section 4B, I rule it
25 nongermane and out of order at this time.
732
1 SENATOR GRIFFO: Madam President, I
2 would appeal the ruling of the chair and ask that
3 you recognize Senator Young to be heard on that
4 appeal.
5 THE PRESIDENT: The appeal has been
6 made, and Senator Young has been recognized.
7 Senator Young.
8 SENATOR YOUNG: Thank you,
9 Madam President.
10 I would ask that you reconsider your
11 ruling. Not only do these amendments add vital
12 improvements to the bill, they are in fact
13 germane to the bill.
14 The first of the amendments would
15 eliminate the criminal statute of limitations on
16 all remaining sex offenses against children. The
17 language would amend the exact same section of
18 law as Section 1 of the bill. Instead of an
19 additional five years of time to bring certain
20 sex offenses, it would eliminate it altogether,
21 allowing victims and law enforcement the
22 opportunity to pursue all cases of sexual abuse
23 against a child.
24 Most child victims emotionally and
25 psychologically are not able to come to grips
733
1 with what happened to them until they're at least
2 in their 30s or 40s, and they do not report it
3 until that time. Sexual predators repeat their
4 abhorrent behavior over and over and over again.
5 It is unbelievable to me today that
6 we are only raising the age of the criminal
7 statute to age 28. We should be eliminating it
8 altogether, so that victims can get justice but
9 also we can take these child predators off the
10 streets.
11 The second amendment deals directly
12 with the victims of these horrific offenses and
13 would establish a fund for those not wishing to
14 or unable to pursue a lawsuit. This fund would
15 run alongside the remedies provided in the
16 bill-in-chief and hopefully provide a much needed
17 remedy for the many, many victims for whom there
18 is no one left to sue.
19 The bill-in-chief today leaves
20 behind 80 to 90 percent of child victims, because
21 the vast majority of child victims are abused by
22 a family member, by a neighbor, by a babysitter,
23 by a stranger -- but people who do not have deep
24 pockets like institutions. So this second
25 amendment would deal with that and make sure that
734
1 every victim of child abuse gets the compensation
2 and justice that they need and deserve.
3 Next, the amendment would create a
4 sliding-scale cap limiting the fees paid to
5 attorneys, similar to the one established in
6 medical malpractice cases, limiting what
7 attorneys can collect in order to make sure that
8 victims are receiving the money and not the
9 lawyers.
10 And finally there are two
11 provisions that address the restoration of voting
12 rights and allowing predators to vote in schools.
13 It is well known that many perpetrators have many
14 victims. Like the provisions in this bill, these
15 amendments would continue to protect children
16 from acts of sexual abuse.
17 Thank you, Madam President.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator.
19 I want to remind the house that the
20 vote is on the procedures of the house and the
21 ruling of the chair.
22 Those in favor of overruling the
23 chair signify by saying aye.
24 (Response of "Aye.")
25 SENATOR GRIFFO: A show of hands
735
1 requested.
2 THE PRESIDENT: A show of hands has
3 been requested and so ordered.
4 (Show of hands.)
5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 20.
6 THE PRESIDENT: The ruling of the
7 chair stands, and the bill-in-chief is before the
8 house.
9 SENATOR GRIFFO: Madam President,
10 would you please recognize Senator Young on the
11 bill-in-chief.
12 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Young.
13 SENATOR YOUNG: Thank you,
14 Madam President. Will the sponsor yield?
15 THE PRESIDENT: Will the sponsor
16 yield?
17 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes.
18 THE PRESIDENT: The sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR YOUNG: Thank you,
20 Senator Hoylman.
21 We just had an amendment, and I just
22 would like to follow up on that, even though it
23 was voted down. Child sexual abuse is most often
24 committed by a family member or a trusted friend.
25 If the abuser is deceased or without means, what
736
1 remedy is available under this bill for those
2 victims?
3 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
4 Madam President. This legislation, the Child
5 Victims Act, is intended to address the crisis of
6 child sexual abuse in New York State by reforming
7 and modernizing our laws to make it easier for
8 survivors to seek both criminal and civil redress
9 against their abusers.
10 Madam President, a survey of state
11 laws nationwide shows that New York is among the
12 very worst for survivors when it comes to our
13 inadequate statute of limitations. That
14 disparity, my colleagues, means that if a child
15 is sexually abused, say in Poughkeepsie, the
16 clock runs out on their ability to sue their
17 abuser by age 21 in most instances. But if the
18 abuse happens, say, 40 miles to the southeast in
19 Danbury, Connecticut, they'd have until the age
20 of 48. Now, that's just wrong, and that's as a
21 result of these restrictive statutes of
22 limitations.
23 Child predators often remain hidden.
24 There were 1,990 cases of child abuse reported in
25 New York in 2015, but there are many, many more
737
1 cases that aren't even known about.
2 And as my colleagues know and have
3 heard from so many of the activists here in the
4 room today, survivors are predisposed to higher
5 rates of depression, PTSD, substance abuse,
6 alcoholism and suicide, among many other health
7 impacts. They bear the costs of the abuse by
8 themselves.
9 This legislation would shift that
10 cost to the perpetrator, whether it be an
11 individual or an institution, that was
12 responsible for the abuse -- not to a fund that
13 bears no responsibility for the harms caused to
14 the victims in child sexual abuse.
15 The Child Victims Act, to respond
16 directly to my colleague's question, would create
17 an avenue for justice. We are not, in this
18 chamber, predetermined about outcomes. We are,
19 in this chamber, opening the courthouse doors for
20 the thousands of survivors across this state,
21 both survivors moving forward and the thousands
22 of adult survivors who didn't get their chance to
23 have their case heard, and allow them to have
24 their case in a court of law with a jury of their
25 peers.
738
1 I can't imagine a more American
2 opportunity than that, Madam President.
3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Young.
4 SENATOR YOUNG: Thank you,
5 Madam President. Through you. I respect
6 somewhat what my colleague just said. However,
7 he did not answer the question.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Are you asking the
9 Senator to yield? Are you asking the Senator to
10 continue to yield?
11 SENATOR YOUNG: Yes.
12 THE PRESIDENT: Will the Senator
13 yield?
14 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Yes,
15 Madam President.
16 SENATOR YOUNG: He did not answer
17 the question.
18 And so what would a perpetrator be
19 able to pay if they didn't have any resources?
20 And that's the real crux of the problem. You
21 referenced the fund, and that's why the fund
22 legislation was actually introduced. But in so
23 many cases, 80 to 90 percent of the cases, the
24 victims are in the same situation as someone who
25 inspired me.
739
1 Last year I chaired the budget
2 hearings, and we had child victims who came in
3 and testified about what happened to them. So
4 for example, I have testimony right here from
5 Connie Altamirano, a child victim who started to
6 be raped repeatedly when she was 8 years old.
7 Later on she came to my office, and we had a
8 heart-to-heart talk, and she told me that her
9 rapist now lived in Ecuador and just gets $200 a
10 month in Social Security.
11 Under this bill, what justice, what
12 compensation would go to Connie Altamirano?
13 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Hoylman.
14 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Through you,
15 Madam President. As I said earlier, we can't
16 predict what a court will decide in terms of
17 justice for survivors, those survivors who
18 through this legislation will have a year to file
19 civil claims against their abusers and the
20 institutions that may have harbored them.
21 We have heard the stories of the
22 institutions, Madam President, who have literally
23 shuffled around abusers to avoid detection. Who
24 have literally used the auspices of their
25 institutional authority to hide predators -- not
740
1 just from the survivors, who we represent today,
2 but from law enforcement.
3 It is not our responsibility,
4 Madam President, to overrule a Supreme Court
5 decision, Stogner vs. California, which clearly
6 states that there is no ability for survivors to
7 bring criminal claims ex post facto.
8 I will say this, that our colleagues
9 across the aisle, Madam President, had the
10 opportunity last year to bring this very bill
11 forward to the floor for consideration, for
12 debate, and for a vote. Madam President, they
13 failed on all three counts.
14 So I find it rich that we're being
15 asked why is there no fund created, and what
16 would be the outcome for a survivor in that
17 instance. Well, I tell you what the outcome is.
18 The outcome is giving those survivors justice.
19 This is not about money. Speak to a
20 survivor. I'll read you a quote from one of
21 them, who said: "I turned the money down." This
22 is from an individual, Kevin Braney, sexually
23 abused as a boy in the Syracuse diocese. And he
24 plans to file a lawsuit, Madam President, after
25 the passage of the Child Victims Act. He said:
741
1 "I turned the money down, money that would be
2 really helpful. But that's not what this is
3 about. This is about my truth and my story being
4 told. And it's about accountability. I want a
5 jury of my peers," he says, "to hear what
6 happened to me and have them render me a
7 decision. We will be the first in line."
8 It's not about money, it's about
9 justice, Madam President.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Young.
11 SENATOR YOUNG: So through you,
12 Madam President, the answer is there is no
13 justice and there is not compensation for Connie
14 and the thousands and thousands of victims like
15 her.
16 Thank you, Madam President.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Any other Senators
18 wishing to be heard?
19 Seeing and hearing none, the debate
20 is closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
21 Read the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 12. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
742
1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Hoylman to
2 explain your vote.
3 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Thank you,
4 Madam President.
5 I'm gratified by the widespread
6 support on both sides of the aisle for the
7 Child Victims Act. I guess I have to ask the
8 question, as I explain my vote: What took you so
9 long?
10 But I'm very thankful that we have
11 come as a body to recognize that we are gathered
12 here for this historic opportunity to correct
13 this long-standing injustice.
14 As you know, Madam President, the
15 survivors of child abuse have looked to Albany
16 for justice for years, but their pleas have gone
17 unanswered. And New York did the same thing,
18 frankly, that other states had and other
19 institutions did for years. The Senate postponed
20 a reckoning and buried this legislation.
21 People in power across the state
22 have told our constituents, many of them abuse
23 survivors, that this wasn't a real issue, that it
24 was someone else's problem. It happened
25 somewhere else, just not here. But no longer can
743
1 we deny the truth. Child sexual abuse happens,
2 sadly, everywhere -- it happens in homes, in
3 doctors' offices, schools and churches, sports
4 teams, youth groups, Scout troops, with trusted
5 authority figures of all kinds.
6 And that's one of the most insidious
7 things about this crisis that we're trying to
8 confront today, the trust that is often built
9 between an abuser and the survivor. We've spoken
10 to many of the survivors here -- I know they've
11 met with so many of us over the last several
12 years -- and they tell us time and time again
13 about how that trust was developed, how the
14 process of grooming contributes to that insidious
15 relationship.
16 And how can you blame a child, who
17 doesn't understand their sexuality, who doesn't
18 know what might be different or correct, given
19 their age and inexperience? And we think about
20 survivors like Michael Meenan, who was abused by
21 his parish priest over the course of years. The
22 priest befriended his family, officiated at his
23 older sister's wedding and baptized her children.
24 He also took Michael out on dozens of overnight
25 trips, he plied Michael with alcohol, and he
744
1 abused him. The priest continued to serve as an
2 auxiliary bishop for decades, until Michael spoke
3 out.
4 But that wasn't Michael's only
5 experience. Shortly after he graduated from high
6 school, he was at a party with some of his fellow
7 students; they went back to a student's home to
8 sleep. One of Michael's teachers drove him to
9 the party and abused Michael while he slept.
10 I shared that story because I had
11 met Michael when I first took up this bill. And
12 in our discussion, I tried to console him. And
13 he said: "Senator, that's not the worst part of
14 my story." And I said, "What could be worse,
15 somebody violating your trust, the trust of your
16 family?" He said, "Senator, that teacher is
17 still at my high school, 33 years later."
18 And that's what we seek to address
19 with the Child Victims Act. Not only are we
20 flinging open the courthouse doors for survivors
21 to finally be heard before a jury of their peers,
22 but thanks to their persistence and activism,
23 thanks to their articulate description of this
24 pervasive problem, they will help us identify
25 predators like Michael's teacher, who still may
745
1 be in contact with children.
2 So I say this is a bill about
3 justice, but this is also a bill about public
4 safety. And I am so grateful to our colleagues
5 for recognizing this and for moving this bill
6 forward, to Andrea Stewart-Cousins, for her
7 leadership in making certain that the survivors
8 of child sexual abuse were heard in this chamber
9 and that they had a vote on this issue.
10 We have an opportunity now to
11 rectify many past wrongs. We can't fix what's
12 harmed so many of the survivors, but we can
13 pledge to do better. And that's what we do
14 today.
15 So Madam President, I join my
16 colleagues in supporting this important
17 legislation and urging us to stand up, once and
18 for all, for the survivors of child sexual abuse
19 and ensure that our children are safe everywhere
20 in the State of New York.
21 I vote aye. Thank you.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator.
23 Senator Hoylman to be recorded in
24 the affirmative.
25 Senator Carlucci to explain your
746
1 vote.
2 SENATOR CARLUCCI: Thank you,
3 Madam President.
4 And I want to thank Senator Hoylman
5 for sponsoring this legislation and shepherding
6 it through to passage.
7 This has been one of the
8 embarrassments of New York State, and a
9 disappointment that it's taken this long to pass
10 this important legislation. And I just want to
11 thank each and every one of the advocates and the
12 survivors that have spoken up and have had the
13 courage to speak out and talk about some of the
14 most horrible times in their life, but have done
15 it to shed light on what we can do to keep our
16 children safe.
17 So as a father, as a Senator, as
18 someone that's responsible for making changes in
19 New York State, this is a bright day in New York.
20 And I'm hopeful that it leads to fewer victims in
21 the future, and that today we can build upon
22 what's being done to make sure that all children
23 are safe.
24 So again, I just want to thank the
25 sponsor of this legislation, thank all the
747
1 advocates, and most importantly, everyone that
2 shared their story. I know it's not been easy,
3 but it's been so important to get to this day and
4 finally pass this important legislation.
5 So Madam President, I vote aye.
6 Thank you.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Carlucci to
8 be recorded in the affirmative.
9 Senator Harckham to explain your
10 vote.
11 SENATOR HARCKHAM: Thank you,
12 Madam President.
13 I'm really gratified to see the
14 bipartisan support for this litigation.
15 I simply just want to thank the
16 advocates, who are so brave and so courageous and
17 contacted all of us and told very painful
18 stories.
19 I think the line that Senator
20 Hoylman quoted was that someone just wanted their
21 truth, and they wanted that truth honored. And
22 every one of us in this room knows somebody who
23 was abused as a child, every single one of us.
24 We may not know it, but every one of us knows
25 someone.
748
1 And this bill will go a long way
2 giving the past generation justice, generations
3 moving forward justice.
4 So I want to thank Senator Hoylman
5 for his courage in pushing this and pushing this,
6 and our leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, for
7 bringing this to the floor so early. And I'm
8 really, really honored to vote with all
9 colleagues in the affirmative.
10 Thank you.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Harckham to
12 be recorded in the affirmative.
13 Senator Funke to explain your vote.
14 SENATOR FUNKE: Thank you,
15 Madam President.
16 Since I've been in the Senate, I've
17 always encouraged my staff to do the right thing,
18 to set politics aside and do the right thing.
19 And today we're doing the right thing.
20 My only regret is that we couldn't
21 have incorporated some of the aspects of
22 Senator Young's bill into this legislation and
23 compromised on that, and I think we would have
24 gotten it done quicker.
25 Victims of childhood sexual abuse
749
1 and assault have spent years in pain because of
2 the actions first of their abusers, and later
3 because due to the efforts to cover up that abuse
4 by those in powerful positions. Today we send a
5 message that no one, regardless of their title or
6 status, is above the law. That concept, namely
7 that our country is a nation of laws, is one of
8 the bedrock principles of our democracy.
9 I've always felt sympathy and
10 compassion for the victims, but personally I
11 remained troubled by the implications of the
12 one-year lookback window and what it might mean
13 for schools and churches around the state. And
14 then last year I read the horrific grand jury
15 report about abuse in the Catholic diocese in
16 Pennsylvania. And this was followed by still
17 more revelations in Buffalo and in my hometown of
18 Rochester, New York.
19 Those cases, most of which happened
20 too long ago to be prosecuted, and many of which
21 included perpetrators and accomplices who had
22 passed away, changed my view. At that moment I
23 understood that perhaps the only solace and
24 justice that many victims would ever be able to
25 achieve lay in their ability to file suit in a
750
1 court of law.
2 The church has withdrawn its
3 opposition, and this bill rightly covers both
4 public and private institutions. And so today I
5 rise to strongly support this legislation and to
6 salute the advocacy, the bravery, and the
7 tenacity of the victims whose efforts have made
8 this day possible. And in particular I want to
9 acknowledge the hard work of organizations like
10 Safe Horizons and, in the Rochester area, the
11 Bivona Child Advocacy Center.
12 Thank you, Madam President. I vote
13 aye.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Funke to be
15 recorded in the affirmative.
16 Senator Kaplan to explain your vote.
17 SENATOR KAPLAN: Thank you,
18 Madam President.
19 I'd like to start by thanking
20 Senator Hoylman for his tireless work in trying
21 to bring this legislation to the floor.
22 I also would like to thank all the
23 advocates who are here today with us for all the
24 work that you have done.
25 For far too long, survivors of
751
1 childhood sex abuse have been denied justice in
2 our state. They have been denied the opportunity
3 for healing. They have been revictimized
4 repeatedly by laws that don't take into
5 consideration the complicated decision one must
6 make before coming forward and speaking out about
7 abuse. The Child Victims Act will give survivors
8 an opportunity to have their day in court,
9 confront their abusers, and hopefully find
10 closure.
11 This legislation would also help us
12 to finally hold accountable those unpardonable
13 individuals who have committed crimes against
14 children. That is why I'm so proud to stand here
15 as a cosponsor of this legislation and why I vote
16 in the affirmative.
17 Thank you.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Kaplan to
19 be recorded in the affirmative.
20 Senator Sepúlveda to explain your
21 vote.
22 SENATOR SEPÚLVEDA: Thank you,
23 Madam President, for allowing me to explain my
24 vote.
25 There is nothing more reprehensible
752
1 in society, nothing more heinous, nothing more
2 disgraceful and disgusting than abusing a child.
3 I have two children, a 27-year-old and a
4 7-year-old, and I don't know what I'd be capable
5 of doing if I ever discovered that anybody abused
6 them.
7 So my heart goes out in so many
8 different ways to those individuals who were
9 abused as children. You are incredible human
10 beings. The fact that you never gave up, the
11 fact that you continued to advocate for this law
12 is something that we should all admire.
13 I want to thank Senator Hoylman for
14 being such a tireless advocate for this bill, and
15 people who fought before him, like former
16 Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, Assemblywoman
17 Linda Rosenthal.
18 And a special thanks to someone who,
19 when I first got elected to the Senate, had
20 multiple conversations with me about his pain,
21 but who was a strong advocate, dedicated a good
22 part of his life to making sure that this bill
23 passed, and that's Gary Greenberg. Gary did an
24 amazing job, and he should be commended, and many
25 victims owe him a debt of gratitude. In fact,
753
1 the state owes him a debt of gratitude.
2 I am proud today -- once again, the
3 last couple of weeks have been proud moments in
4 my life as a legislator, but I'm extremely proud
5 today of what's happening, by the fact that we're
6 going to pass this act.
7 I want to thank again our leader,
8 who again in two weeks has demonstrated time and
9 again that she governs for the entire State of
10 New York.
11 But this is a great day for this
12 state, and we should all be grateful to the
13 advocates, we should all be grateful to my
14 colleagues on the other side for the wonderful
15 support they've given. And I want to thank
16 everyone for making this day a reality. I vote
17 in the affirmative.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Sepúlveda
19 to be recorded in the affirmative.
20 Senator Metzger to explain your
21 vote.
22 SENATOR METZGER: Thank you,
23 Madam President.
24 Two weeks ago, survivors of
25 childhood sexual assault and abuse came to this
754
1 building and shared their stories. They were
2 shocking, harrowing, and heartbreaking. Despite
3 their own personal devastation, they have fought
4 tirelessly, with bravery and great resolve, for
5 justice. And I am proud to stand here with them
6 and cosponsor the Child Victims Act that will
7 finally give them and all survivors of childhood
8 sexual abuse in the State of New York the justice
9 that they deserve.
10 For too long adults who have caused
11 devastating harm to children have used their
12 power and connections to avoid the legal
13 repercussions of their abhorrent actions. And
14 because of this, abusers have been the ones
15 protected. But let's be clear, no one, no matter
16 their title or connections, are above the law.
17 The Child Victims Act will hold
18 perpetrators accountable while survivors will
19 finally have the opportunity for justice. We
20 cannot take their pain away, but by passing this
21 bill we can ensure that those responsible for it
22 are held responsible.
23 Thank you, and I vote aye.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Metzger to
25 be recorded in the affirmative.
755
1 Senator Biaggi to explain your vote.
2 SENATOR BIAGGI: Thank you,
3 Madam President.
4 I rise today in support of this
5 bill, and I want to commend my colleague
6 Senator Brad Hoylman for championing this and
7 making sure that it made its way onto the floor,
8 not only today, but into our discussions as a
9 conference, and quite frankly as a state.
10 I am a sexual abuse survivor, and
11 this bill is incredibly important to me. The
12 shame that abuse creates turns oftentimes into
13 silence. And without a system that encourages
14 and protects victims who share their experiences,
15 the trauma manifests into many different forms.
16 For me, that silence lasted for
17 25 years. And it is almost unthinkable that I
18 could stand here as a New York State Senator to
19 speak about something that I thought I would
20 probably take to my grave.
21 Our political climate necessitates a
22 responsibility that really means that this issue
23 is no longer a him or her problem, but it is an
24 us problem. Many people have come forward, but
25 millions, we know, will remain and suffer in
756
1 silence. In fact -- this is an incredible
2 statistic -- one in 10 children will be sexually
3 abused before they turn 18. That means in this
4 legislative body, if you just count every 10, at
5 least six of us would likely have been abused
6 before we turned 18.
7 People paying attention to this
8 discussion today should ask themselves why on
9 earth anybody would be opposed to this bill
10 unless they had something to hide. This is truly
11 the least that we can do.
12 And finally, to the survivors and to
13 the advocates, but mainly to the survivors of
14 these heinous acts, the acts of terror that you
15 have endured does not make you less human. You
16 are worthy of a world that respects your body and
17 your being and at the very least includes legal
18 redress for what you have endured.
19 As a member of this body, of the
20 New York State Senate, I am proud to vote aye.
21 Madam President, thank you very much.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Biaggi to
23 be recorded in the affirmative.
24 Senator Serino to explain your vote.
25 SENATOR SERINO: Thank you,
757
1 Madam President.
2 And thank you, Senator Biaggi, for
3 sharing your personal story.
4 I rise today to explain my vote in
5 support of this legislation, and I'd like to say
6 thank you to Senator Hoylman as well.
7 As I've said since day one, these
8 survivors absolutely deserve justice. And I
9 commend each and every advocate who has garnered
10 the courage necessary to share their stories with
11 all of us here. Every time one of these brave
12 individuals speaks out, we are one step closer to
13 getting these heinous monsters off our streets.
14 However, I do believe that we can do
15 more when it comes to expanding the criminal
16 statute of limitations season and holding
17 perpetrators criminally responsible for their
18 despicable acts. So it is my hope that this is
19 only the first step in this regard.
20 If there is one thing that this
21 process of meeting with and hearing from
22 countless victims has taught me, it's that there
23 are far, far too many children being victimized
24 and being scared into silence. Enough is enough.
25 Clearly our laws aren't doing a good enough job
758
1 of protecting these children to begin with.
2 That's why in recent years I have
3 introduced legislation to help better protect
4 children and prevent them from being victimized
5 by making every adult who works with them -- and
6 I'm going to repeat that -- by making every adult
7 who works with them, whether they are paid or in
8 volunteer positions, mandated reporters. I think
9 many New Yorkers would be shocked to learn that
10 this isn't law already.
11 As parents we put great faith in
12 those whom we entrust our children to. It's
13 unfortunate that we even have to write laws
14 forcing people to do the right thing when the
15 right thing would undoubtedly protect vulnerable
16 children.
17 But I introduced this legislation in
18 response to a horrible case in my district where
19 two young boys were victimized by a local county
20 legislator. The boys did the right thing and
21 bravely reported the crime to those they trusted,
22 those in positions of power who could have
23 stopped the abuse -- here's the clincher --
24 people that instead chose not to report the abuse
25 to law enforcement, because under current law
759
1 they were not required to.
2 This bill will go a long way in
3 protecting New York's children, and I am willing
4 to work with anyone on either side of the aisle
5 to get it passed this year. The bill passed
6 unanimously in this chamber last year, and it is
7 my hope that the new majority will recognize its
8 importance and make it a priority this
9 legislative session.
10 Thank you, Madam President, and I
11 vote aye.
12 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Serino to
13 be recorded in the affirmative.
14 Senator Kennedy to explain your
15 vote.
16 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you,
17 Madam President.
18 First of all let me recognize the
19 bill's sponsor, Senator Hoylman, for his
20 advocacy, his diligence, and his continued
21 aggressive focus on ensuring justice all across
22 the state and human rights are satisfied across
23 this state.
24 I want to thank our leadership of
25 this conference, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins,
760
1 for bringing this bill to the floor. It has
2 languished for far too long. Today in New York
3 State we're making history once again.
4 This day and this moment has been
5 years in the making -- years of fighting, years
6 of demanding better, years of saying enough is
7 enough. For years this legislation was unfairly
8 blocked from coming to the Senate floor for a
9 vote despite the overwhelming support from
10 New Yorkers statewide. And I often said bring
11 this to the floor for a vote, and I'd be
12 hard-pressed to find anyone that would be against
13 it -- and the unanimity of this vote today proves
14 that correct.
15 For years childhood sexual abuse
16 victims were deprived of the opportunity to
17 pursue the justice they rightfully deserve, and
18 that changes here today. Today is for New York
19 survivors, survivors of childhood sexual abuse,
20 many of whom have opened their hearts and shared
21 their stories of personal trauma with the hope
22 that their words would inspire real, monumental
23 change. Today their courage is rewarded.
24 As we look up into the gallery, we
25 see the faces of so many survivors who have
761
1 played an integral part in moving the Child
2 Victims Act forward. People like Michael Whelan,
3 Melanie Blow, Tom Travers and Rick Brownell --
4 all survivors from Western New York that are here
5 with us in the gallery, and all folks who never
6 gave up on demanding the opportunity for justice.
7 There are so many survivors here
8 with us today that it drove this agenda forward.
9 We're here because of people like you. I'm
10 honored to have you join with us here today to
11 see in this chamber this long-overdue historic
12 vote.
13 I also want to thank the people who
14 are there for New York survivors day in and day
15 out in the most critical moments of need, our
16 advocates. To agencies in Western New York such
17 as Crisis Services, the Child Advocacy Center and
18 the Stop Abuse Campaign. It's with your support
19 and your tireless passion for helping people that
20 we move this bill forward here today.
21 And to those who fight for justice
22 every day for victims of abuse, people like our
23 Erie County District Attorney John Flynn, who
24 stands with us in this chamber here today. Your
25 support has sent a strong message that we can and
762
1 we will do better, because giving these survivors
2 their day in court should be an easy decision.
3 Lastly, to the many survivors that
4 are still processing trauma and have yet to come
5 forward, we are here for you. We stand with you.
6 While each story of abuse is different and each
7 person heals in their own way, we as New Yorkers
8 want the victims of childhood sexual abuse to
9 know that they no longer have to suffer in
10 silence. There are resources for individuals
11 that are available to be helpful. And when an
12 individual gets that courage to come forward, now
13 they have an opportunity to rightfully seek
14 justice because of the legislation that we pass
15 here today on this floor.
16 On behalf of all of New York's
17 survivors, Madam President, I vote aye.
18 Thank you.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Kennedy to
20 be recorded in the affirmative.
21 I call on Senator Gaughran to
22 explain his vote and to remind all of our members
23 that explanation of your vote is limited to
24 two minutes.
25 Senator Gaughran.
763
1 SENATOR GAUGHRAN: Thank you,
2 Madam President.
3 You know, during my campaign last
4 year I met a lot of survivors, and a lot of them
5 were advocates, and I congratulate the advocates
6 here today and my colleague Senator Hoylman, who
7 fought long and hard for this.
8 But some of them were not advocates.
9 We'd knock on their door and they would say to
10 me, often quietly, "Please support that bill,"
11 and then would tell me privately their story, and
12 just about each and every one of them. It was
13 not about lawyers, it was not about compensation.
14 Some of them explained to me that it's probably
15 going to be difficult for these cases to be won
16 because of the many years that have passed and
17 some of the difficulties with evidence. They all
18 said the reason they wanted this bill passed is
19 because they still see their abuser walking
20 around their neighborhood with children.
21 So Madam President, I vote aye.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Gaughran to
23 be recorded in the affirmative.
24 Senator Bailey to explain your vote.
25 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
764
1 Madam President.
2 Senator Hoylman, I would like to
3 thank you for your dogged advocacy of this.
4 I recall, last year and the year
5 before that, anytime legislation came before the
6 house that was related to the matter of children
7 being abused, you had a running count, Brad,
8 about how many bills we passed in this house
9 without even taking this bill up.
10 And that's something that stuck with
11 me. As legislators we're supposed to be -- we
12 endeavor to impact the lives of others. But to
13 the victims of sexual abuse, you've impacted my
14 life. As somebody who has never encountered
15 this, as somebody who in my family we've been
16 lucky enough for that not to happen, hearing your
17 stories and seeing your courage and strength has
18 done nothing short of inspired me.
19 I associate myself with the remarks
20 of Senator Sepúlveda. As a father I would not
21 know how to control myself if something like that
22 happened to my children. Yet day after day, you
23 come and advocate, and your strength has carried
24 to us this day.
25 So I'm grateful to all of my
765
1 colleagues for voting for this legislation. This
2 is a no-brainer. I don't know how you can vote
3 against this, and thankfully nobody has.
4 And I want to make sure that -- one
5 of the victims that I wanted to recognize is a
6 friend of mine by the name of Ron Savage who's
7 here today. And I never knew about Ron's abuse
8 until it was in the Daily News, all the things
9 that he encountered as a young man. And you
10 know, Ron, today you and many others here in this
11 chamber finally have your say.
12 Audre Lorde famously once said:
13 "Your silence will not protect you." But for too
14 long, New York State has protected those who have
15 silenced victims. Today, no longer.
16 I vote aye, Madam President.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bailey to
18 be recorded in the affirmative.
19 Senator Savino to explain your vote.
20 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you,
21 Madam President.
22 I also want to congratulate
23 Senator Hoylman for bringing this bill across the
24 finish line.
25 I have been in the Senate now
766
1 14 years. I got elected in 2004, and I came into
2 this chamber in 2005. And one of the first
3 pieces of legislation I introduced, along with
4 the former chair of the Codes Committee, Dale
5 Volker, was a bill to close the incest loophole
6 in child sexual abuse cases. I started my career
7 as a caseworker in the child welfare system. And
8 while the vast majority of the cases I dealt with
9 were abuse and neglect cases, the ones that were
10 the most heartbreaking were those where children
11 who had been victimized by a family member,
12 sexually assaulted. And in an effort to get an
13 easy conviction, the district attorneys would use
14 the incest loophole, which really didn't address
15 child sexual abuse. So those children were
16 doubly victimized and most of the time put into
17 foster care, again traumatized by separation from
18 their mothers. We closed that loophole.
19 A year later, finally, after years
20 of talking about it, we repealed the five-year
21 statute of limitations on first-degree rape and
22 sodomy. But we didn't address the issue of child
23 victims.
24 So today we're closing that. We're
25 providing justice to people who have been
767
1 victimized and lived with it for many, many years
2 and have been forced to tell their story over and
3 over to people like me, to get us to do the right
4 thing by them. And while, yes, the vast majority
5 of victims are victimized by family members, and
6 maybe they won't get a compensation from the
7 courts, what they will get is recognition, they
8 will get justice, they will get an
9 acknowledgement of their pain and their
10 victimhood.
11 And that is what we're doing. We're
12 saying that what happened to them was real and
13 society recognizes it, and it was wrong, and we
14 can do something about that.
15 And more importantly, we're in the
16 midst of the state budget. One of the things we
17 need to make sure of is that we provide mental
18 health counseling for anybody who comes forward,
19 regardless of their ability to pay. People are
20 living with this their entire lives. We can help
21 them find some closure in the courthouse and in
22 the clinic.
23 So I vote aye, Madam President.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Savino to
25 be recorded in the affirmative.
768
1 Senator May to explain your vote.
2 SENATOR MAY: Thank you,
3 Madam President.
4 I proudly vote aye on behalf of the
5 many, many adults among us, the many adults in
6 New York who not only experienced abuse as
7 children from people they trusted, but then were
8 told never to speak of this or something terrible
9 would happen to them.
10 I vote aye to honor the enormous
11 courage it takes to step forward when you've been
12 living with that. And not just to step forward,
13 but to find your voice and to believe in
14 yourself. I vote aye because I believe in you.
15 Thank you.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Senator May to be
17 recorded in the affirmative.
18 Senator Boyle to explain your vote.
19 SENATOR BOYLE: Madam President, to
20 explain my vote.
21 I'd like to thank Senator Hoylman
22 and the Democratic leadership for bringing this
23 bill, long overdue, to the floor to protect the
24 victims of abuse in New York State.
25 And I particularly stand here for my
769
1 friend Penny, who started being abused by a
2 friend of hers father at the age of 7. To her
3 abuser, who's still around, your day is coming.
4 I vote aye.
5 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Boyle to be
6 recorded in the affirmative.
7 Senator Skoufis to explain your
8 vote.
9 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you,
10 Madam President.
11 First I want to express how proud I
12 am of the sponsor for his relentless pursuit of
13 justice, not just on this bill but only the
14 latest of a series of bills to that end already,
15 and we're not even completed in January.
16 If there were ever a nonpolitical
17 issue, my colleagues, this would be it. So
18 nonpolitical, in fact, that during the campaign I
19 stood with one of the two Republican opponents of
20 mine in trying to champion and advocate for this
21 bill.
22 And so this is a happy day. This is
23 a great day in the State Senate. And I'm
24 emotional on this day. I can only imagine how
25 the survivors, the victims feel after so many
770
1 years.
2 I come from the Assembly. We've
3 passed this year after year. And speaking of not
4 being able to imagine, I cannot imagine the
5 survivors who over that time, after enduring the
6 physical trauma, the emotional trauma, the
7 psychological trauma from many years ago, having
8 to endure the political trauma over these past
9 many years, coming up to Albany in 2016, 2017,
10 2018, seeing the Assembly pass this bill and only
11 to be turned away from this chamber every single
12 time they came up to Albany. I can't imagine how
13 they feel. Today is a happy day.
14 And let me just end, I think it's
15 important to remember what predated this moment,
16 in addition to what I just mentioned. The
17 hostile amendment that was presented today, you
18 know, to put it kindly, really just a
19 disingenuous political move that after all of
20 these years of turning away those survivors,
21 after all of those years, now we need longer
22 statute of limitations. Now, even if you wanted
23 the fund -- that's public money, by the way -- to
24 protect the perpetrators, shield the
25 perpetrators -- even if you wanted all these
771
1 things, where was the bill?
2 Today is a happy day. We right that
3 wrong, and we deliver the justice and the
4 accountability that's long overdue.
5 I vote yes.
6 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skoufis to
7 be recorded in the affirmative.
8 Senator Brooks to explain your vote.
9 SENATOR BROOKS: Thank you,
10 Madam President.
11 In this chamber right now all of us
12 have had the obligation to speak to victims, to
13 hear their pain, to see in their eyes and in
14 their voice the pain that they've had for years
15 and years. And there never were right words to
16 say.
17 Today, in unison, we say to the
18 survivors, to the activists, to the sponsor, to
19 our leadership, in unison we say aye. It's time
20 to change the laws in this state and put an end
21 to this horrific behavior.
22 I vote aye.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Brooks to
24 be recorded in the affirmative.
25 Senator Young to explain your vote.
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1 SENATOR YOUNG: Thank you,
2 Madam President.
3 The amendment that was introduced
4 today actually was developed last year in
5 conjunction with actual victims that will not be
6 helped by this bill that is being passed today.
7 I support this bill. But I also
8 support making sure that every victim gets the
9 help and the justice that they so much need.
10 Senator Hoylman gave the example of a teacher
11 still in a classroom 30 years later that sexually
12 abused a child. That is exactly why we need to
13 lift the criminal statute of limitations, so that
14 that person can be removed from the classroom,
15 taken out in handcuffs, prosecuted and put in
16 jail where they can never victimize another
17 innocent child again.
18 We also need to make sure that all
19 victims get the help they need. Senator Savino,
20 you're right, most of them are by family members.
21 And most of those family members do not have any
22 kinds of means to be able to compensate those
23 victims.
24 And while this may be a pyrrhic
25 victory today, I would say that our work is not
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1 done. Because we should use the nearly $1
2 billion in criminal asset seizure funds that the
3 Manhattan DA has. That's not public money.
4 That's not taxpayer dollars. That's money that
5 was gotten through criminal activity that should
6 go back out the door to victims. So our work is
7 not done today.
8 Today is a major step forward, but
9 let's continue to work. Let's get over this
10 partisanship that I heard today, and let's work
11 together, taking the best part of both bills and
12 finally, finally getting something done that
13 helps every single victim in this state.
14 I vote aye.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Young to be
16 recorded in the affirmative.
17 Senator Lanza to explain your vote.
18 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you,
19 Madam President.
20 I rise in support of this
21 legislation.
22 Senator Hoylman, I want to thank
23 you. You and I have wrangled this issue for a
24 number of years here together in the Senate, and
25 I've always appreciated the perspective you
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1 brought to the issue.
2 Let me tell you what's really
3 disingenuous, if you want to talk about what's
4 disingenuous. I've heard that this legislation
5 has been blocked for years by one party, or what
6 took so long? Why did it take until today to get
7 here?
8 This legislation didn't exist until
9 right now. People who know me, I've worked on
10 this legislation the 10 years I've been here,
11 countless hours with advocates, with members of
12 the Assembly, in the Senate.
13 The legislation that has existed in
14 the Assembly for many years only cared about the
15 victims if the perpetrators were part of a
16 religious institution. Period. And we asked and
17 we begged to make it even, to include as many of
18 the institutions -- like the Board of Education,
19 like state agencies, city agencies, private
20 organizations. We asked. And year after year
21 after year, the Assembly said no. This is what
22 we'll support, take it or leave it.
23 And it leads you, Madam President,
24 to question the true motives of people who would
25 say that about victims, and given the things that
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1 have been said about those victims today, which I
2 know are said with earnest.
3 So this is a different piece of
4 legislation. It is more even-handed. As has
5 been said, it's only the beginning. We need to
6 go further.
7 But again, thank you, Senator
8 Hoylman.
9 I vote in the affirmative,
10 Madam President.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Lanza to be
12 recorded in the affirmative.
13 Seeing and hearing no other Senators
14 who wish to explain their vote, Majority Leader
15 Andrea Stewart-Cousins to close.
16 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Thank you
17 so much, Madam President.
18 I also rise to thank Senator Hoylman
19 because of the incredible work that you continue
20 to put in, talking to everyone all the time,
21 including me, because just what you said, Senator
22 Lanza, we needed to make that change. And we
23 did. And -- but we did it a couple of years ago.
24 (Laughter.)
25 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Just
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1 saying.
2 (Applause from the galleries.)
3 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: But you
4 know what? Here we are. And we are taking a
5 step that is so important to so many people who
6 have been, yes, fighting, some too afraid even to
7 come out of the shadows because of the shame.
8 And again, I thank you, Senator Biaggi, for
9 sharing that pain.
10 I was almost thinking of the
11 exercise, you know, raise your hand if you don't
12 know someone who was abused. And I'm sure,
13 without having this exercise, that nobody would
14 raise their hand. That's the critical nature of
15 what it is we are addressing.
16 And you would have thought that
17 because government protects the vulnerable, if
18 nothing else, that this would not have taken so
19 long. That children were being hurt. That
20 people were being allowed to escape any sort of
21 justice. You would have thought it would not
22 have taken so long. But it did.
23 And you persisted. And this morning
24 the Governor said he was so happy and he was
25 going to sign this bill. We are so happy to
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1 provide it.
2 And when I stood in the press
3 conference with my colleagues, while we were
4 talking about finally justice would be served, do
5 you know what? There was sobbing. There was
6 crying. There was some applause, but basically
7 grownups reduced to tears just because somebody
8 said: I hear you. Not only do we hear you, that
9 you deserve justice, and today is the day that
10 you'll have it. And on that bittersweet moment
11 that that declaration was made, instead of the
12 applause, I heard sobs.
13 We apologize. We apologize. We
14 apologize for the people who did these things.
15 We apologize for not hearing you soon enough. We
16 apologize for making you show up every single day
17 to bare your emotional scars, to make sure that
18 we got it. We apologize for making you wait so
19 long. In this chamber, we made you wait too
20 long.
21 I want to say to the Assembly, who
22 passed it over and over again, thank you, to
23 Marge Markey, who was the Assemblywoman who
24 carried it there before. Linda Rosenthal was
25 here at the press conference as well.
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1 This is a bittersweet victory. But
2 it is an end to a very, very long and arduous
3 journey. But it is our way, this passage, this
4 unanimous passage -- the thoughtful points that
5 were made on both sides of the aisle of the aisle
6 I think sends a message. It's been a long wait.
7 The wait is over. We apologize, and we will
8 continue to make sure that children are
9 protected, children are heard, and that justice
10 is speedy.
11 Thank you again. I vote aye.
12 THE PRESIDENT: Majority Leader
13 Stewart-Cousins recorded in the affirmative.
14 (Applause from the galleries.)
15 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
16 results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
18 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
19 (Cheers; sustained standing
20 ovation.)
21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Gianaris,
22 that completes the controversial reading of the
23 calendar.
24 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
25 Madam President.
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1 Is there any further business at the
2 desk?
3 THE PRESIDENT: There is no further
4 business at the desk.
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: That being the
6 case, I move to adjourn until tomorrow, Tuesday,
7 January 29th, at 11:00 a.m.
8 THE PRESIDENT: On motion, the
9 Senate stands adjourned until Tuesday,
10 January 29th, at 11:00 a.m.
11 (Whereupon, at 5:04 p.m., the Senate
12 adjourned.)
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