Regular Session - February 28, 2019
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1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
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4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
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9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 February 28, 2019
11 12:13 p.m.
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14 REGULAR SESSION
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18 SENATOR BRIAN A. BENJAMIN, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
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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 that everyone 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,
16 Wednesday, February 27, 2019, the Senate met
17 pursuant to adjournment. The Journal of Tuesday,
18 February 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 The Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: On page 9,
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1 Senator Martinez moves to discharge, from the
2 Committee on Codes, Assembly Bill Number 5981 and
3 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill
4 1719C, Third Reading Calendar 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 substitution is so ordered.
7 THE SECRETARY: On page 14,
8 Senator Rivera moves to discharge, from the
9 Committee on Health, Assembly Bill Number 976 and
10 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 1820,
11 Third Reading Calendar 144.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 substitution is so ordered.
14 Messages from the Governor.
15 Reports of standing committees.
16 Reports of select committees.
17 Communications and reports from
18 state officers.
19 Motions and resolutions.
20 Senator Gianaris.
21 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 On behalf of Senator Krueger, on
24 page 11 I offer the following amendments to
25 Calendar Number 94, Senate Print 2450, and ask
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1 that said bill retain its place on Third Reading
2 Calendar.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4 amendments are received, and the bill shall
5 retain its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
6 Senator Gianaris.
7 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now take
8 up the reading of the calendar.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
10 Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 53,
12 Senate Print 1632A, by Senator Skoufis, an act to
13 amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
17 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
18 shall have become a law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
23 Announce the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
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1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 61,
3 substituted earlier by Member of the Assembly
4 Braunstein, Assembly Print 5981, an act to amend
5 the Penal Law, the Criminal Procedure Law, the
6 Family Court Act, and the Civil Rights Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
8 the last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
10 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
11 shall have become a law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
13 the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
16 Martinez to explain her vote.
17 SENATOR MARTINEZ: Good afternoon
18 and thank you, Mr. President.
19 I stand here today proud and honored
20 to pass this vitally important legislation that
21 will establish protections for those who have
22 been victims of nonconsensual distribution of
23 intimate images. As a county legislator I
24 co-spearheaded the initiative to criminalize this
25 reprehensible act in Suffolk, and now as a
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1 State Senator I am determined to establish these
2 protections for all New York State residents.
3 According to a 2016 study, an
4 estimated 10 million Americans have been the
5 victim of revenge porn or threatened with the
6 release of personal intimate images. Forty-nine
7 percent of revenge porn victims say they have
8 been threatened or stalked by users who have seen
9 their contents online. Thirty percent of victims
10 report being harassed offline, meaning in person
11 or over the phone, due to the fact that roughly
12 60 percent of revenge porn photos are accompanied
13 by the woman's full name, and 16 percent list the
14 woman's full address.
15 Today in New York we take a stand
16 and we say enough is enough. This legislation is
17 long overdue. Today New York becomes the 42nd
18 state in our nation to outlaw revenge porn, and
19 the first to pass comprehensive anti-revenge porn
20 legislation that provides a true pathway for
21 civil recourse.
22 As a school administrator, I
23 witnessed firsthand the harmful and long-lasting
24 effects that these actions have not only on
25 adults, but on our children -- children who
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1 should be learning and enjoying their youth but
2 instead are forced to suffer from humiliation,
3 harassment, depression and sometimes threats.
4 Unfortunately, under our current law, it is often
5 the victim who suffers while the violator remains
6 unpunished. It is the victim who has to change
7 schools or a victim who has to lose their job.
8 However, the real reason I am
9 standing here today is to give a voice to all
10 those who have endured the painful and oftentimes
11 devastating effects of revenge pornography.
12 Today we send a strong message, an
13 unequivocal message that New Yorkers will no
14 longer tolerate such egregious transgressions and
15 that we will no longer stand by while individuals
16 share private and personal intimate images of
17 others without consequences.
18 We will establish justice and
19 accountability by empowering the victims to take
20 back control of their own online reputation by
21 giving all who have suffered a voice, and by
22 giving prosecutors the tools to punish those who
23 commit these crimes.
24 I'd like to thank our leader, Andrea
25 Stewart-Cousins, co-prime sponsor Senator Phil
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1 Boyle, and Assemblymember Braunstein for their
2 support to bring this crucial legislation over
3 the finish line. To Senator Bailey, thank you
4 for taking this out of Codes Committee.
5 And I am proud to stand here as the
6 sponsor of this critical legislation and stand up
7 for all victims across the State of New York.
8 Thank you. And Mr. President, I
9 vote wholeheartedly in the affirmative.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
11 Martinez to be recorded in the affirmative.
12 Senator Boyle to explain his vote.
13 SENATOR BOYLE: Thank you,
14 Mr. President, to explain my vote.
15 This is truly a historic day here in
16 Albany. After a long fight we're going to pass
17 anti-revenge porn legislation to ban this
18 horrific practice that has caused psychological
19 harm, emotional harm, financial harm, and even
20 caused some people to commit suicide.
21 I'd just like to point out that
22 unlike some of the other bills that we've seen
23 over here in the Senate in the last couple of
24 months, this was a bill that started here, with
25 leadership from my side of the aisle. Six years
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1 in a row we passed this revenge porn legislation.
2 It was the New York State Assembly who did not
3 take it up.
4 And some of the news reports I'm
5 reading now they are saying that it was Google or
6 the Internet groups that stopped this; it was
7 not. It was the staff in the New York State
8 Assembly that held this up for six years.
9 We're finally here. That's the
10 past. Now we're going to move forward, protect
11 victims of revenge porn, mostly women in this
12 state.
13 I'd like to thank a few people.
14 Senator Joe Griffo, Joe was the first person to
15 introduce revenge porn legislation in the State
16 Senate seven years ago.
17 Of course the other people are
18 women. Senator Monica Martinez, thank you for
19 your leadership on this. I believe this may be
20 your first bill, but a lot of us have had our
21 first bill passed, but none of us have had major
22 pieces of legislation like this.
23 Congratulations, Monica.
24 And also, Monica, I think -- I'd
25 point out that you have done in about six weeks
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1 what it took me six years to do, get this bill
2 actually passed into law. That's very
3 impressive.
4 Another person I'd like to
5 congratulate is Deanna Schneider. She was my
6 legislative director, now she's Senator
7 Martinez's legislative director. Countless hours
8 and meetings on this. Deanna, you did a great
9 job. I'm so happy it's going to finally become
10 law.
11 And two very special women, Lisa
12 Bloom, who many of you know is a famed civil
13 rights attorney, and her daughter Sarah, who's a
14 lawyer in her law firm. Lisa and Sarah traveled
15 here last year, as you recall, at the end of
16 session. Lisa came from California, Sarah came
17 from Australia to advocate for this bill, talked
18 to legislative leaders and explained how they
19 represented victims of revenge porn in California
20 versus New York State. They showed us why we
21 needed it, and we're here very much in large part
22 because of them. I don't think this bill would
23 be here today without Lisa and Sarah Bloom.
24 Thank you, and I proudly vote in
25 favor.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
2 Boyle to be recorded in the affirmative.
3 Senator Harckham to explain his
4 vote.
5 SENATOR HARCKHAM: Thank you,
6 Mr. President.
7 I want to thank Senator Martinez for
8 sponsoring this measure and for her leadership.
9 This is such an important bill. As
10 the father of two daughters, I've been hearing
11 about revenge porn since they were in junior
12 high. I think one of them was 12 or 13 when I
13 first heard of the first incidence like this
14 within their circle of friends.
15 And that's just tragic, that it
16 starts that young, this vile form of stalking.
17 And we've just got to say this is not acceptable
18 behavior. It's not acceptable when someone is
19 45; it's not acceptable when they're 15.
20 And so along with this legislation,
21 this vital legislation, we need to continue the
22 education piece, especially at the young level,
23 at the middle school level where this starts, and
24 say this is not an acceptable way to treat your
25 fellow human beings. This is not an acceptable
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1 way to treat women.
2 I thank you today for this bold bill
3 and for your leadership. I vote in the
4 affirmative.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
6 Harckham to be recorded in the affirmative.
7 Senator Sanders to explain his vote.
8 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you,
9 Mr. President.
10 I want to thank the author -- the
11 authors, everyone who had a hand in making this
12 day happen. I think it is a great day.
13 I think it's important that men have
14 to stand against this violence against women
15 also, that we can't have any silence, let anyone
16 hide behind us, that this is not manly, that this
17 is unmanly, and this is the type of violence --
18 this violence seeks to cripple the soul. It
19 seeks to take the dignity of the victim away from
20 a person.
21 So I think that we all need to stand
22 against this. I'm really glad that we are -- I
23 trust we're going to do this in a unanimous
24 fashion to send a clear message to anyone, male
25 or female, that wants to do this type of stuff,
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1 that we're just going to stand against it and
2 we're going to do everything in our power to
3 ensure that if you do this, you're going to have
4 to answer for your crime.
5 Thank you again. And thank you,
6 Mr. President.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
8 Sanders to be recorded in the affirmative.
9 Senator Bailey to explain his vote.
10 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
11 Mr. President.
12 I just wanted to congratulate
13 Senator Martinez on her passage of such an
14 important first bill, as Senator Boyle mentioned.
15 From the moment you walked into the Senate, you
16 spoke to me about how important this bill was to
17 you, Senator Martinez, and how imperative it was
18 that we put it on the Codes agenda immediately,
19 and that's what we did. We wanted to make sure
20 that we in this conference in the State Senate,
21 that the state knows that the Senate Democratic
22 Conference is committed to protecting the rights
23 victims of crimes statewide.
24 So I wanted to make sure that we
25 make that very clear in the passage of this
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1 legislation. And as times change, as we go more
2 with social media and the sharing of images and
3 the ability to do that, we need to make sure that
4 we evolve with the times.
5 So I'm proud of this legislative
6 body, conference aside, for taking steps forward.
7 And Senator Boyle, thank you for your leadership
8 and discussion about this last year as well.
9 This is something that cannot be
10 partisan. We must protect the sanctity of
11 individuals and their right to privacy.
12 So I proudly vote aye,
13 Mr. President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
15 Bailey to be recorded in the affirmative.
16 Senator Hoylman to explain his vote.
17 SENATOR HOYLMAN: Thank you,
18 Mr. President.
19 I wanted to congratulate the sponsor
20 too, and all of our colleagues, for finally
21 getting this bill to the floor for a vote. It
22 took far too long, but thanks to Senator
23 Martinez's support and Andrea Stewart-Cousins, we
24 are bringing it to a vote.
25 I just wanted to point out the fact
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1 that in many cases, if not most, revenge porn is
2 actually a misnomer, it's really nonconsensual
3 pornography. Oftentimes the motive is not
4 revenge, and many times the victim doesn't even
5 know the person who distributed it.
6 Also to point out that there are
7 something like 3,000 websites currently that post
8 nonconsensual pornography, and 90 percent of
9 those victims are in fact female.
10 So congratulations, Senator
11 Martinez. I'm glad to see this bill coming up
12 for a vote and the passage of a ban on this
13 terrible practice.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
15 Hoylman to be recorded in the affirmative.
16 Announce the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 bill is passed.
20 Senator Gianaris.
21 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 I think as was referenced during the
24 discussion of that bill, that incredibly
25 important legislation was Senator Martinez's
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1 first in this chamber. So congratulations.
2 (Standing ovation.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 109, Senate Print 2625, by Senator Lanza, an act
5 to amend the Social Services Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
7 the last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
11 the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
14 Announce the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. Nays, 1.
16 Senator Salazar recorded in the negative.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
18 bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 135, Senate Print 2714, by Senator Savino, an act
21 to amend the Social Services Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
23 the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
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1 shall have become a law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
3 the roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
6 Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 144, substituted earlier by Member of the
12 Assembly Gottfried, Assembly Bill 976, an act to
13 amend Part B of Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2018
14 amending the Public Health Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
16 the last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
20 the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
23 Announce the results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
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1 bill is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 150, Senate Print 2497, by Senator Kennedy, an
4 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
6 the last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect on the first of November
9 next succeeding the date on which it shall have
10 become a law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
12 the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
15 Announce the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
17 Calendar Number 150: Ayes, 59. Nays, 1.
18 Senator Krueger recorded in the negative.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
20 bill is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 158, Senate Print 3291, by Senator Comrie, an act
23 to amend the Elder Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
25 the last section.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect on the first of September
3 next succeeding the date on which it shall have
4 become a law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
6 the roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
9 Announce the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
12 bill is passed.
13 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
14 reading of today's calendar.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
16 Mr. President.
17 Is there any further business at the
18 desk?
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
20 is no further business at the desk.
21 SENATOR GIANARIS: That being so, I
22 move to adjourn until Monday, March 4th, at
23 3:00 p.m., intervening days being legislative
24 days.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: On
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1 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until Monday,
2 March 4th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening days being
3 legislative days.
4 (Whereupon, at 12:31 p.m., the
5 Senate adjourned.)
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