Regular Session - April 10, 2019
3025
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 April 10, 2019
11 11:36 a.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR BRIAN A. BENJAMIN, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
20
21
22
23
24
25
3026
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, let us bow our heads in a
10 moment of silent reflection or prayer.
11 (Whereupon, the assemblage respected
12 a moment of silence.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Reading
14 of the Journal.
15 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Tuesday,
16 April 9, 2019, the Senate met pursuant to
17 adjournment. The Journal of Monday, April 8,
18 2019, was read and approved. On motion, Senate
19 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 14, Senator
3027
1 Comrie moves to discharge, from the Committee on
2 Corporations, Authorities and Commissions,
3 Assembly Bill Number 220 and substitute it for
4 the identical Senate Bill 1872, Third Reading
5 Calendar 105.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 substitution is so ordered.
8 THE SECRETARY: On page 20,
9 Senator Krueger moves to discharge, from the
10 Committee on Codes, Assembly Bill Number 6188 and
11 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 2605,
12 Third Reading Calendar 214.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
14 substitution is so ordered.
15 Messages from the Governor.
16 Reports of standing committees.
17 Reports of select committees.
18 Communications and reports from
19 state officers.
20 Motions and resolutions.
21 Senator Gianaris.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
23 I'm going to call an immediate joint meeting of
24 the Transportation and Corporations Committees in
25 Room 332.
3028
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
2 will be an immediate joint meeting of the
3 Transportation and Corporations Committees in
4 Room 332.
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now take
6 up previously adopted Resolution 995, by Senator
7 Breslin, read that resolution title only, and
8 call on Senator Breslin.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
10 Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
12 Number 995, by Senator Breslin, congratulating
13 the Albany Academy Boys Basketball team upon the
14 occasion of capturing the New York State
15 Federation Tournament of Champions.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
17 Breslin on the resolution.
18 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you very
19 much, Mr. President.
20 It's an honor for me to stand here
21 today to congratulate the Albany Academy
22 Basketball Team, who are seated in the gallery up
23 on my right with a number of officials from
24 Albany Academy.
25 Albany Academy, the school, has been
3029
1 in existence for over 200 years, but never came
2 to such basketball prominence until the last
3 number of years. And I think we can show how
4 talented they are because they became the
5 federation champions this year -- I believe it's
6 the fourth time in the last seven -- and included
7 in their last several wins was a win against a
8 perennial powerhouse from the Island, Long Island
9 Lutheran, a win against The Park School in
10 Buffalo -- I'm sure Tim Kennedy will have a lot
11 to say about that -- and then in the finals in
12 Glens Falls to beat -- and I notice that our
13 President is smiling now -- a school from his
14 district, and that would be the Douglass Academy.
15 And it was a game back and forth
16 against Douglass Academy. But then at halftime
17 when it was 44 to 13, Academy backed off a little
18 bit and let Douglass have some points, and it
19 ended up to be a lot closer than that. It was
20 only a 25-point victory.
21 But this year they've been led by a
22 number of kids that have really achieved such
23 greatness that they're now considered to be one
24 of the best teams in the history of our Capital
25 District. And they're led by a number of young
3030
1 kids. August Mahoney, who in the finals up -- in
2 the semis and the finals, in final had 11
3 three-pointers for two games, which is a new
4 record, and 8 out of 12, in one game,
5 three-pointers. Again, another record.
6 And then there's the two brothers,
7 Andre and Marcus Jackson. Andre's been recruited
8 by a number of schools, including Syracuse. And
9 I mentioned, I think, August Mahoney on his way
10 to Yale.
11 And Saif Ullah, who's a forward,
12 who's kind of the quiet guy in the crowd who --
13 apparently the quiet guy in the crowd, I see some
14 people smiling. Maybe he isn't so quiet. And
15 Rob Brown, who's beginning to come into his own
16 too. And they're just such a talented group.
17 I was able to see them twice. And
18 the responsibilities for success on a given night
19 really ebbed and flowed to different players,
20 including a number of the players on the rest of
21 the team.
22 And they were blessed to be coached
23 by Brian Fruscio, who comes from an extremely
24 talented group of athletic people in the Capital
25 District, and he's led them to victory. And he
3031
1 has a number of assistant coaches who have
2 assisted him in that. And he's here with those
3 assistant coaches, he's here with the entire
4 team, he's here with a number of officials from
5 Albany Academy, including their new head of
6 school, Chris Lauricella, who came actually from
7 The Park School, and Paul Gallucci, the athletic
8 director.
9 I am so honored to begin to look
10 forward to seeing Albany Academy here almost on
11 an annual basis. So to the state champions in
12 the Class A Federation, I say hats off to Albany
13 Academy.
14 Thank you, Mr. President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
16 resolution was previously adopted on April 9th.
17 To our guests, in spite of beating a
18 team from my district, I welcome you on behalf of
19 the Senate. We extend to you all the privileges
20 and courtesies of this house. Please rise and be
21 recognized.
22 (Standing ovation.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
24 Gianaris.
25 SENATOR GIANARIS: Senator Breslin
3032
1 would like to open that resolution for
2 cosponsorship, Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
4 resolution is open for cosponsorship. Should you
5 choose not to be a cosponsor of the resolution,
6 please notify the desk.
7 Senator Gianaris.
8 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now move
9 on to previously adopted Resolution 919, by
10 Senator Metzger, read the title only, and call on
11 Senator Metzger.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 Secretary will read.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
15 919, by Senator Metzger, recognizing April 7
16 through 13, 2019, as National Library Week.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
18 Metzger on the resolution.
19 SENATOR METZGER: Thank you,
20 Mr. President.
21 I'm proud to sponsor a resolution
22 recognizing this week, April 7th to 13th, as
23 National Library Week. This is the
24 61st anniversary of National Library Week.
25 And I want to recognize the American
3033
1 Library Association and the important work that
2 the association does to ensure that these vital
3 community institutions remain vibrant and
4 accessible.
5 This year's theme is "Libraries
6 Equal Strong Communities." Libraries play such
7 an important role, serving as community meeting
8 places, enabling access to computers and the
9 internet, providing practical and educational
10 programs, and of course a place to discover new
11 worlds and new ideas through books.
12 Libraries serve as a resource for
13 everyone: For parents hoping to instill the love
14 of reading in our children; for our seniors,
15 enriching their lives through programs and
16 activities; for English learners; for
17 entrepreneurs and students.
18 Libraries are there for everyone in
19 our community. They can provide a safe, quiet,
20 warm space when people need it. They can help
21 point people in the right direction in finding a
22 job or the right college or access to a community
23 service that they need.
24 And in the upcoming census, they can
25 help make sure that every member of our community
3034
1 is counted.
2 In New York, we're lucky to have an
3 extensive and accessible library system managed
4 and staffed by incredibly dedicated people. We
5 have wonderful libraries in small rural
6 communities like Grahamsville, in Sullivan
7 County, and a beautiful historic library in my
8 own town of Rosendale. It's important that we
9 support all of our libraries in our small rural
10 towns as well as in our cities.
11 I want to also recognize Jeremy
12 Johannesen, the executive director of the
13 New York Library Association, and Melinda Gates,
14 philanthropist and cofounder of the Gates
15 Foundation, who serves as the 2019 Honorary Chair
16 of National Library Week.
17 It's my great honor to recognize
18 this week as National Library Week, and I hope
19 that every New York resident will visit their
20 library this week and every week.
21 Thank you very much.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
23 Serino on the resolution.
24 SENATOR SERINO: Thank you,
25 Mr. President.
3035
1 You know, our libraries are so
2 important to our communities. I remember for a
3 portion of my life I was a single mom. And when
4 you look at the recession that we just went
5 through and people having to shut off their
6 resources, it's so vitally important.
7 And this year of course I was very
8 disappointed in the cut in bullet aid and how
9 that's going to affect our libraries, because I
10 can tell you, especially for the new members,
11 when you go to a library and you give them even a
12 thousand dollars, they can do so much with that
13 money, and they all say thank you.
14 You know, you think about it, they
15 have 3D printers, they have activities for
16 children. I was chair of Aging, so seniors are
17 so important to me, right? The senior
18 activities, they do. The brain games.
19 So I just hope going forward that
20 we're just going to remember this and always be
21 able to take care of our libraries, because
22 they're so important to our communities.
23 So thank you, Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 resolution was previously adopted on March 29th.
3036
1 Senator Gianaris.
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
3 on behalf of Senator Metzger, please open that
4 resolution for cosponsorship.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 resolution is open for cosponsorship. Should you
7 choose not to be a cosponsor of the resolution,
8 please notify the desk.
9 Senator Gianaris.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: Next we have
11 previously adopted Resolution 1022, by
12 Senator Bailey. Title only, please, and call on
13 Senator Bailey.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 Secretary will read.
16 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
17 1022, by Senator Bailey, memorializing Governor
18 Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim April 25, 2019, as
19 Take Our Children to Work Day, in conjunction
20 with the observance of National Take Your
21 Daughters and Sons to Work Day.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
23 Bailey on the resolution.
24 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
25 Mr. President.
3037
1 I rise to speak on this resolution,
2 which is very important to me as a father. I
3 spoke about it last year and how I was going
4 bring my daughter to work -- my daughters to
5 work. The youngest one called out, Carina called
6 out sick last year, so I expect her to be in
7 attendance this year. There's no excuses,
8 Carina, you will be at work this year. And she
9 is only two years old, but we start work early in
10 my family, Mr. president.
11 And the reason why we start work
12 early in my family and around this country is to
13 let children know of the importance of what it is
14 that we do as parents, and especially in this
15 Legislature as public servants. I think our
16 children deserve -- they have a right to know
17 what we do and they have the ability to see us do
18 some of the things that we do.
19 My oldest, Giada, she was with me
20 last year for Take Your Children to Work Day.
21 And aside from the 1 o'clock nap that she
22 unceremoniously took, the rest of the day was
23 actually really cool for her. She got to see
24 constituents coming in. She got to see us
25 handling things in the office. She actually took
3038
1 a meeting with me, Mr. President. And that gave
2 her a greater appreciation as to what it is that
3 I do on a daily basis. So she can understand the
4 connection, even at 4 years old now, that this is
5 what Dad does and this is how Dad helps people.
6 And I encourage my colleagues in
7 this chamber to bring your children to work,
8 however old they may be or may not be. Well, if
9 they're old enough to have their own job, make
10 sure they don't miss work. That's important.
11 But if you can bring your children
12 to work, please do so. I believe that as part of
13 their duties this year, I will have them calling
14 each and every individual district office,
15 Republican or Democrat, and asking some
16 questions. I think I might have my daughter
17 doing that so she can get a better feel about
18 what's happening around the state.
19 And I think it's really important,
20 once again, that we continue to show our children
21 that the future of the workforce -- they are the
22 future of the workforce, and to give them those
23 skills early, Mr. President.
24 And I thank you for the opportunity
25 to speak on the resolution.
3039
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 resolution was previously adopted on April 9th.
3 Senator Gianaris.
4 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
5 on behalf of Senator Bailey, please open that
6 resolution for cosponsorship.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
8 resolution is open for cosponsorship. Should you
9 choose not to be a cosponsor of the resolution,
10 please notify the desk.
11 Senator Gianaris.
12 SENATOR GIANARIS: Read previously
13 adopted Resolution 862, title only, and call on
14 Senator Tedisco, please.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
16 Secretary will read.
17 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
18 Number 862, by Senator Tedisco, recognizing
19 April 26, 2019, as Blue Friday.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
21 Tedisco on the resolution.
22 SENATOR TEDISCO: Thank you,
23 Mr. President and my colleagues.
24 As we move forward with this
25 resolution and a discussion of it, it does
3040
1 designate a Friday coming up, April 26th, as
2 Blue Friday. And it's the day where we
3 recognize, we salute, we support and we show our
4 appreciation to our men and women of law
5 enforcement, the individuals who every single
6 day, as they go about their duties, put their
7 lives on the line -- families understanding that,
8 loved ones understanding that -- for the rest of
9 the citizenry that we represent.
10 They keep the peace in our
11 communities. They enforce the laws that we put
12 in place. They take an oath of office to protect
13 and to serve. But more importantly, when you
14 think about it and you think about our jobs and
15 any other job that someone undertakes, this is a
16 job that I think they look at as extremely
17 rewarding but also extremely challenging.
18 This is a job where men and women
19 get up in the morning, put on their uniform and
20 their badge, strap their weapon to their body,
21 walk out the door, and know in the back of their
22 mind that the reality is -- and their families
23 understand this and their loved ones understand
24 this -- that at some particular point during the
25 course of their duties, they are going to be the
3041
1 buffer, they are going to be the ones that are
2 between a perpetrator, a criminal, a predator who
3 wants to do violence against one of our
4 constituents.
5 They're the individuals that are
6 charged with being in between those individuals
7 to protect the health, safety and well-being of
8 all the constituents and citizenry and the
9 taxpayers we represent. And all too often in
10 that activity, in that involvement of getting in
11 between, they're the ones who are impacted,
12 they're the ones who are injured. And
13 unfortunately, they're the ones in many instances
14 who make the supreme sacrifice for protecting us
15 through the job they do by losing their lives.
16 These men and women, without a
17 doubt, are local heroes in every sense of the
18 term.
19 I'll give you some information here.
20 Sadly, each year on an average, about 140 to
21 160 police officers are killed in the line of
22 duty. And their families and coworkers and all
23 of us are left to cope with this tragic loss.
24 The mission of Blue Friday New York
25 is to help rebuild the lives of survivors of law
3042
1 enforcement officers killed in the line of duty
2 by serving as a clearinghouse for federal and
3 state benefits information, and resources that
4 may be available to families of our fallen police
5 officers.
6 Blue Friday is a reminder to pay
7 tribute to all those in law enforcement in that
8 community who protect and serve, particularly
9 those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
10 I certainly appreciate the role of
11 all members of law enforcement and the role they
12 play in the communities and the grief when we
13 lose a member of that thin blue line, because I
14 and my staff have experienced that. Last
15 July 4th -- one of my former staff members who
16 was an intern for me, and who I hired, had a
17 dream. His name was Dean Johnson. He was a kind
18 and wonderful young man who went on to pursue his
19 dream and become an Albany police officer. He
20 was a great staff person in my office. But his
21 only goal was to serve the public as a law
22 enforcement official.
23 He lost his life in an off-duty
24 motorcycle accident. We miss Dean very much
25 every day, and we remember his spirit and we
3043
1 remember all our fallen members of law
2 enforcement.
3 In the Capital Region, Radio Station
4 WGNA has joined forces with Blue Friday New York,
5 Hannaford Supermarkets, the 99 Restaurants, Frank
6 Gallo Florists, Saratoga Eagle, and R.C. Lacy
7 Ford Lincoln Subaru to recognize April 26, 2019,
8 as the 15th Annual Blue Friday.
9 Mr. President and my colleagues,
10 this recently adopted resolution dedicates this
11 important day in the State of New York, and I'm
12 proud to be its sponsor. I ask you to join me in
13 saluting all members of law enforcement and
14 recognizing and thanking the family members of
15 those who served in that thin blue line and who
16 have sacrificed everything for the protection of
17 New York's families and for all we hold dear.
18 Lastly, I would ask you to join me
19 in recognizing up in the gallery several members
20 of law enforcement who are here today to support
21 Blue Friday, including Pat Fox, right there, who
22 helped start Blue Friday many years in New York
23 and is the president of Blue Friday. Joining Pat
24 is Lou Somma, the vice president of Blue Friday
25 of New York, and Brandye Rivera from the
3044
1 99 Restaurants, one of several outstanding
2 corporate sponsors of Blue Friday.
3 Mr. President, I would ask you to
4 welcome them and, through them, remember and
5 appreciate and thank all those who are willing to
6 sacrifice so much for all of us and all of our
7 constituents who we represent here today.
8 Thank you.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
10 Akshar on the resolution.
11 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
12 thank you.
13 It's certainly a trying time to be a
14 member of law enforcement today. There are
15 people throughout this nation who disrespect the
16 uniform, who continuously look down upon people
17 who wear the uniform. And I rise today to salute
18 you and every single man or woman who wears the
19 uniform.
20 It was the greatest time in my life
21 having the opportunity to serve in that capacity.
22 I love this job, but I miss that job immensely.
23 I really do. I think it is one of -- outside of
24 the military, I think it's one of the most
25 noblest professions on the face of this earth.
3045
1 So I rise today to also salute you and to thank
2 you.
3 And despite all of the critics and
4 the pundits that exist in this world, I want you
5 all to know that there are still people who
6 support your every move. Despite what you may
7 see come from the halls of these buildings or
8 what people say out on the street, there are many
9 people who still support you because we believe
10 in the work that you do.
11 So to Pat and Lou, thank you to you
12 and your team for all that you do.
13 Mr. President, I will forever bleed
14 blue, and I am in full support of Senator
15 Tedisco's resolution. Thank you, Mr. President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
17 Jackson on the resolution.
18 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
19 Mr. President and my colleagues. I rise to
20 support this resolution.
21 My colleague Senator Tedisco, thank
22 you for putting forward the resolution.
23 And to those individuals that are up
24 there that are involved in making sure this
25 continues, I believe that 99.9 percent of the
3046
1 people of our great state want to respect and
2 honor all of those police officers and people
3 involved in our safety and security. There's
4 always going to be a small percentage that may
5 disagree.
6 But I say to you as someone that's
7 from Manhattan in New York City, representing
8 330,000 constituents, 13 miles of Manhattan, we
9 depend on men and women in uniform to protect us.
10 That's said loud and clear. When we're in
11 trouble, we dial 911. And let me say to you that
12 with all due respect, I respect all police
13 officers and expect the same from them.
14 And to my colleague who said that
15 there may be people in this hall, in this
16 chamber, that may not agree with that, I disagree
17 with him. I don't think that anyone here will
18 stand up and say that they agree with what he
19 said as far as from the perspective of some
20 people here may not agree with that.
21 So I honor you today and say to you
22 that you have my individual support and the
23 support of the people that I represent in the
24 City of New York.
25 Thank you very much.
3047
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 resolution was previously adopted on March 29th.
3 To our guests, I welcome you on
4 behalf of the Senate. We extend to you all of
5 the privileges and courtesies of this house.
6 Please rise and be recognized.
7 (Standing ovation.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
9 Gianaris.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please open that
11 resolution for cosponsorship, Mr. President.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 resolution is open for cosponsorship. Should you
14 choose not to be a cosponsor of the resolution,
15 please notify the desk.
16 Senator Gianaris.
17 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can you please
18 call on Senator Serino for an introduction.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
20 Serino for an introduction.
21 SENATOR SERINO: Thank you,
22 Mr. President. I'll be brief because I know we
23 have a lot of resolutions.
24 But I just want to take a moment to
25 thank Marist College for being here today.
3048
1 They're up in the gallery, and we have one of our
2 interns, Paul, here.
3 A couple of years ago I was a guest
4 coach at the Girls Basketball Team, and if
5 anybody knows me, I can't play basketball to save
6 my life or yours, but it was a lot of fun.
7 So thank you, and I hope you enjoy
8 your day today.
9 Thank you, Senator, and thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: To our
12 guests, I welcome you on behalf of the Senate.
13 We extend to you all the privileges and the
14 courtesies of this house. Please rise and be
15 recognized.
16 (Standing ovation.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
18 Gianaris.
19 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can you now
20 please recognize Senator Gounardes for an
21 introduction.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
23 Gounardes for an introduction.
24 SENATOR GOUNARDES: Thank you,
25 Mr. President.
3049
1 I want to offer a warm welcome to
2 the students we have joining us here today from
3 Fort Hamilton High School in my home neighborhood
4 of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
5 I am a proud graduate of Fort
6 Hamilton High School, as is my sister, my brother
7 and my mother. So almost my entire family
8 graduated Fort Hamilton High School. And it is a
9 school that helped shape who I am today as an
10 individual, as I know it is for the thousands of
11 kids who graduate from there and go through those
12 school doors every single year.
13 So welcome. It's great to see you
14 here. It's great to have you up here in Albany.
15 I'm incredibly proud to have this connection
16 between us that you can come and see what happens
17 in this chamber and the decisions that we make in
18 this chamber, how it affects not only our
19 neighborhood but it affects our school system, it
20 affects -- we just had a hearing approving MTA
21 board members -- how it affects our subway
22 service, our bus service, everything. This is
23 where it all happens.
24 So I'm really excited to have you
25 all here. I wish I could say I was the most
3050
1 illustrious or famous alum of Fort Hamilton High
2 School, but thankfully our Attorney General here
3 in the State of New York is also a graduate of
4 Fort Hamilton High School. Attorney General
5 Letitia James is one of our proud alums.
6 So we have a lot of reasons to
7 celebrate. Thank you for being here. And I hope
8 that the President would welcome our guests.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: To our
10 guests from Fort Hamilton High School, I welcome
11 you on behalf of the Senate. We extend to you
12 all the privileges and the courtesies of this
13 house. Please rise and also be recognized.
14 (Standing ovation.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
16 Gianaris.
17 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
18 can we now take up the reading of the calendar.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
20 Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 105, Assembly Print 220, substituted earlier by
23 Assemblymember Paulin, an act to amend the Public
24 Authorities Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
3051
1 the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
4 shall have 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, 58.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
12 bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 174, Senate Print 2959A, by Senator Skoufis, an
15 act to amend the Public Officers Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
17 the last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
21 the roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
24 Announce the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
3052
1 Calendar Number 174, those Senators voting in the
2 negative are Senators Akshar, Amedore, Antonacci,
3 Flanagan, Griffo, Jacobs, Jordan, Ortt, Ritchie,
4 Serino and Tedisco. Also Senator Little. Also
5 Senator Helming. Also Senator Funke.
6 Ayes, 44. Nays, 14.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
8 bill is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 214, Assembly Print Number 6188, substituted
11 earlier by Assemblymember Lentol, an act to amend
12 the Penal Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
14 the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
16 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
17 shall have become a law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
19 the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
22 Announce the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
24 Calendar Number 214, those Senators voting in the
25 negative are Senators Akshar, Amedore, Antonacci,
3053
1 Flanagan, Funke, Griffo, Jacobs, Jordan, LaValle,
2 Little, Ortt, Ranzenhofer, Ritchie, Robach,
3 Serino and Tedisco. Also Senator Helming.
4 Ayes, 41. Nays, 17.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 bill is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 269, Senate Print 1630B, by Senator Skoufis, an
9 act to amend the Public Officers Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
11 the last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
13 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
14 shall have become a law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
16 the roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
19 Announce the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
21 Calendar Number 269, those Senators voting in the
22 negative are Senators Akshar, Amedore, Antonacci,
23 Flanagan, Funke, Helming, Jordan, Ortt, Ritchie,
24 Serino and Tedisco. Also Senator Lanza.
25 Ayes, 47. Nays, 12.
3054
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
2 bill is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 271, Senate Print 3793, by Senator Carlucci, an
5 act to amend the Public Officers Law.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: Lay it aside for
7 the day, please.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Lay it
9 aside for the day.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 297, Senate Print 3806, by Senator Ramos, an act
12 to establish a Latina suicide prevention task
13 force.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect on the 60th 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: Senator
23 Flanagan to explain his vote.
24 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank you,
25 Mr. President.
3055
1 You know, like everybody else, we
2 take a look at the legislation that comes before
3 the body, get a chance to conference on issues
4 and look through what may be beneficial or not.
5 A bill like this, my inclination was to say no,
6 I'm not going to support this. Not because I
7 don't care about suicide, not because I don't
8 care about Latina women, but because this is a
9 carve-out.
10 And for the life of me, I can't
11 understand why we would differentiate on an issue
12 of such dire proportions, an issue that's so
13 important to people all across the State of
14 New York. If there's an acute problem in the
15 Latina or Latino community or there's a
16 particular problem in the African-American
17 community or the Muslim community or the Jewish
18 community, it strikes me that our obligation is
19 to not be doing carve-outs but focusing on the
20 broader issue of suicide prevention for everyone,
21 especially for children.
22 OMH is already charged with that
23 responsibility. And I actually did some checking
24 to look at things that we had done in law. It is
25 their contention, and they do have programs right
3056
1 now for adolescent suicide prevention which are
2 still in law, and they are working on that issue.
3 I am going to support this bill.
4 And I'm going to support Senator Carlucci's bill,
5 which is the next bill to come before the body.
6 But I do so with some reservation. The issue is
7 too important to ignore. And it really doesn't
8 matter how old someone is. But if there is a
9 particular problem in the adolescent community,
10 that is being addressed and it should be
11 addressed. And there have been efforts made by
12 the Governor that we have passed into law.
13 I will support this bill. I will
14 support the next bill. But I think we have to be
15 exceedingly careful to make sure that we're
16 addressing this problem for everyone. Suicide is
17 a problem that no one ever wants to know about or
18 experience in their family. God forbid it should
19 happen to anyone. In my opinion, the better way
20 to approach this is with everyone being taken
21 equally into consideration.
22 I do vote yes.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
24 Flanagan to be recorded in the affirmative.
25 Senator Little to explain her vote.
3057
1 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 And I agree with Senator Flanagan's
4 comments, certainly.
5 But I want to express my support for
6 both of these bills by Senator Ramos and
7 Senator Carlucci, because this is a rising cause
8 of death of young people who take their life with
9 suicide.
10 And I have been to -- we all know
11 people and families who have been affected by
12 this. And these families are affected by this
13 for the rest of their life. I've been to walks
14 where the cause is in memory of someone who took
15 their life in suicide. And you look around and
16 the people there all have the same look on their
17 face: What could I have done? How could I have
18 prevented this? Something -- something must have
19 happened, maybe it was my fault. And you just
20 feel so badly for all the people, and they carry
21 that with them for the rest of their lives.
22 There are many causes of a person
23 taking their own life -- through depression,
24 through bullying, through medication effects. So
25 I really implore all of us to put more money into
3058
1 these programs and make them for everyone,
2 because there's a tremendous need.
3 In the past we've had money that we
4 have had in the North Country, and I will tell
5 you our mental health organizations -- Behavioral
6 Health North has made every dollar in the money
7 that they have received go -- by prevention
8 programs, education programs, peer-to-peer
9 programs. And the more we can do, the better.
10 I vote aye.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
12 Little to be recorded in the affirmative.
13 Senator Helming to explain her vote.
14 SENATOR HELMING: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 Over the past 10 years, suicide
17 rates in New York State have climbed by
18 30 percent. I find this to be unacceptable. And
19 this body is taking a number of steps to address
20 that issue and to save the lives of New Yorkers.
21 Earlier this year we passed a rural suicide
22 prevention -- we created a rural suicide
23 prevention council. Today we're establishing the
24 task forces to study suicide prevention for
25 Latina adolescents and black youth.
3059
1 And while I believe that the
2 establishment of these three task forces are
3 steps in the right direction, I think there is
4 much more work to be done to ensure that we're
5 doing everything possible to address the suicide
6 crisis that impacts families and individuals
7 across the entire State of New York.
8 I think about the implementation of
9 the recommendations of the task force and I
10 wonder how are those task forces going to
11 implement whatever the recommendations are? They
12 need funding. And I find it very, very
13 unfortunate and discouraging that new funding for
14 suicide prevention was not included in the
15 budget. It was not a priority of this body.
16 So Mr. President, I am supporting
17 this legislation. I am supporting the next piece
18 of legislation, Senator Carlucci's bill. But I'm
19 also imploring this body to do all they can to
20 get more funding to allow for the implementation
21 of actual real goals that will allow us to save
22 New Yorkers and to reduce the suicide rates in
23 the state.
24 Thank you, Mr. President.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
3060
1 Helming to be recorded in the affirmative.
2 Senator Rivera to explain his
3 vote -- Senator Rivera to not explain his vote.
4 Senator Serino to explain her vote.
5 SENATOR SERINO: Thank you,
6 Mr. President.
7 I'd like to thank both of the
8 sponsors. This is a step in the right direction.
9 But as someone who's lost a brother
10 to suicide and had to watch her parents and what
11 they've gone through, and now seeing some of the
12 results -- watching the news yesterday, I saw
13 that suicides have doubled for our youth.
14 So last year we had a great bill
15 that would have provided funding for mental
16 health in schools. I don't know if -- you know,
17 when you go to visit your schools -- right,
18 Senator Carlucci -- the kids are crying out for
19 help. And that bill was awesome. Unfortunately,
20 it got lost in politics.
21 This is a place where we need to set
22 politics aside and really provide for our youth.
23 In my brother's situation, he was 47. That's
24 actually the average age.
25 But there's just so much more that
3061
1 we need to do, and to do it better. So thank you
2 very much. These are two bills that I support
3 and they're a step, like I said, in the right
4 direction.
5 Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
7 Serino to be recorded in the affirmative.
8 Senator Ramos to explain her vote.
9 SENATOR RAMOS: Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 I introduced this bill because I
12 understand what it's like to grow up with an
13 identity crisis. Which is very common,
14 particularly for anyone who's in the
15 middle-school age. We all go through it. But
16 growing up in New York, especially when your
17 parents are immigrants, you often question
18 yourself: Just how American am I, how Latina am
19 I? How do I reconcile all of these things, all
20 of the different components that make me, me?
21 And these are often the things that lead Latinas
22 in particular to question whether it's worth
23 living their life or not.
24 The difference here is that for
25 young Latinas, suicide is the second leading
3062
1 cause of death in New York State. So while we
2 have here, as a New York State government, taken
3 some steps to address suicide as a whole, the
4 state lacks an actual mental health plan. We do
5 not have a comprehensive mental health plan. And
6 for the past few years and the last decade when
7 leadership in this body was different, under the
8 current Governor, nothing has been done to
9 address an actual epidemic.
10 So this particular task force zeroes
11 in, focuses in on a group of individuals that are
12 facing a serious crisis. And that is why this
13 bill is necessary.
14 This bill will save lives because
15 creating a task force will allow for us to
16 understand the problems at hand, why it is that
17 so many young Latinas are attempting suicide, and
18 how it is that we as a government can remedy this
19 issue.
20 So I want to say thank you -- well,
21 first of all, to my Assembly colleague, Nathalia
22 Fernandez, who's the champion of this bill in
23 that body, but also to all of my colleagues who
24 will be voting for it alongside with me. This is
25 only the beginning. This is an issue that I plan
3063
1 to take very seriously. And this is not the last
2 time I'll be talking about this on the floor.
3 Thank you, Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
5 Ramos to be recorded in the affirmative.
6 Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
8 Calendar Number 297, those Senators voting in the
9 negative are Senators Antonacci, Jordan and Ortt.
10 Ayes, 56. Nays, 3.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
12 bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 300, Senate Print 4467, by Senator Carlucci, an
15 act to establish a black youth suicide prevention
16 task force.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
18 the last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
20 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
21 shall have become a law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
23 the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
3064
1 Carlucci to explain his vote.
2 SENATOR CARLUCCI: Thank you,
3 Mr. President.
4 I want to thank my colleagues for
5 supporting this important legislation. I want to
6 thank Senator Ramos for the previous bill that we
7 just passed and for all the dialogue that we've
8 heard on the floor.
9 We have to recognize, like Senator
10 Ramos had said, that for our teenagers the second
11 leading cause of death is suicide. The Journal
12 of American Medicine just this Monday released a
13 report that showed that hospitalization for
14 children between the ages of five and 18 has
15 doubled in the past 10 years. Over 1.2 million
16 emergency room visits because of suicidal
17 thoughts or suicidal attempts. We're talking
18 about children.
19 So this is a real epidemic, and we
20 have to get to the bottom of it. That's why
21 we've introduced this legislation. We were
22 fortunate in the Mental Health Committee to have
23 Dr. Lindsay from NYU come and really testify on
24 the work that he's done to show the rate of
25 suicide for black youth go up by 77 percent in
3065
1 the last ten years, doubling that, and really
2 being a statistical anomaly compared to other
3 races.
4 So we have to figure out what's
5 going on. We don't quite understand it. That's
6 why we're putting forth this task force, to come
7 up with recommendations to figure out how we do
8 that. And to talk about the issue that was
9 brought up about isolating and carving out for
10 individual groups, the reason why we're moving
11 forward with this is because we've recognized --
12 and we did past legislation earlier this session
13 to deal with this exact issue -- that the Office
14 of Mental Health and the Office of Suicide
15 Prevention has to recognize the cultural
16 differences within New York State.
17 We have 19 million people from every
18 corner of the globe. We live together with very
19 diverse communities and very different cultures.
20 And we have to make sure, when we talk about
21 mental illness, particularly when we are working
22 on suicide prevention, that we're actually
23 getting to the people that we need. And that's
24 why we have to put together what we're doing.
25 The Mental Health Committee is
3066
1 looking forward to having hearings on suicide and
2 suicide prevention. So I look forward to all my
3 colleagues joining us there so we can get a
4 handle on this and we can really lead the nation
5 here in New York State and be an example for
6 other states to follow.
7 So I look forward to the passage of
8 this legislation. I want to thank my colleagues
9 for voting for it. I'll be voting in the
10 affirmative.
11 Thank you, Mr. President.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
13 Carlucci to be recorded in the affirmative.
14 Senator Bailey to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
16 Mr. President.
17 I wanted to thank Senator Carlucci
18 and Senator Ramos for the previous bills.
19 In response to other additional
20 comments that were made, I think that it is
21 really important that we do hyperfocus on certain
22 communities and the reason why certain things
23 happen.
24 So in communities of color, and
25 specifically in black communities, sometimes even
3067
1 discussing the idea of mental health and suicide
2 is taboo. People are often told, Pray it away.
3 Go to church and talk to your pastor instead of
4 talking to a mental health professional because
5 you're facing real issues and concerns.
6 These are things that need to be
7 targeted to certain individuals, and these are
8 vitally important issues. I am grateful that I
9 grew up in a family where my grandmother was a
10 nurse -- both of my grandmothers were nurses, and
11 they stressed the importance of going to medical
12 professionals for the things that you needed to
13 go to medical professionals for. Everybody in my
14 community doesn't have that same luxury,
15 Mr. President.
16 And this is the reason why these
17 bills are very important, and I support them and
18 I vote aye, Mr. President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
20 Bailey to be recorded in the affirmative.
21 Senator Akshar to explain his vote.
22 SENATOR AKSHAR: Yeah, I just want
23 to respectfully disagree with my colleague.
24 The issue is important to everyone.
25 And I don't think we have to hyperfocus on any
3068
1 one community. I think we need to be
2 hyperfocused on the issue. Right?
3 And here I just want to make a point
4 and remind all of my colleagues, in 2017 the
5 Governor formed a suicide prevention task force.
6 He announced it in the State of the State. And
7 to date, not one report has been put forth on
8 that suicide prevention task force.
9 I would certainly hope -- and I'm
10 going to support both of these bills, I am,
11 because I believe in it. I believe that we need
12 to have a global conversation about this
13 particular issue. But I would hope that the
14 sponsors of both of these respective bills would
15 ensure that we see an actual report from these
16 task forces, we actually see a path forward to
17 ensure that we change the lives of people and
18 that it just doesn't get pushed by the wayside.
19 So Mr. President, I'm supporting
20 both of these, but I would ask everybody in this
21 house, both sides of the aisle, that we look at
22 this issue globally and we address it that way.
23 Thank you, Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
25 Akshar to be recorded in the affirmative.
3069
1 Senator Rivera to explain his vote.
2 SENATOR RIVERA: Yeah,
3 Mr. President, quickly.
4 I will be supporting both pieces of
5 legislation. I thank Senator Ramos as well as
6 Senator Carlucci for bringing them up.
7 I will also say that far be it from
8 me to say anything -- to ask the Governor to do
9 something. I will absolutely agree with you,
10 sir, that we need to make sure that task forces
11 produce -- if there's going to be some task
12 force, they should produce some sort of result.
13 So far be it from me to say that you are not
14 correct there. You are correct there.
15 But I just want to point out
16 something very quickly. It is -- it seems -- and
17 I'm glad that my colleagues are supporting this,
18 but it seems to me that we are suffering -- that
19 some folks might be a little confused here.
20 We're trying to create both of these specifically
21 to deal with issues of -- whether it is young
22 Latina women committing suicide, or young black
23 men and women committing suicide, because the
24 rates are higher in those communities, in those
25 populations.
3070
1 It is -- when you say let's -- if
2 you have five houses and one of them is on fire,
3 you don't pour water on the four that are not on
4 fire.
5 It is -- sadly, you know, some folks
6 when the expression Black Lives Matter came to
7 the forefront, the response from some folks was
8 like, all lives matter. Well, of course all
9 lives matter. But we focus on those that are
10 being attacked. We focus on those that are --
11 that are -- that need to be -- we focus on the
12 problems that need to be solved.
13 So both of these -- while certainly
14 I agree that suicide prevention is something that
15 should be done across the board, when you have
16 particular populations, Mr. President, where
17 rates are sky-high, then we need to figure out
18 why that is. And so both of these pieces of
19 legislation are positive. I'm glad that I was
20 able to move them through my committee, and I'm
21 glad that we're voting on them today. I vote in
22 the affirmative.
23 Thank you, Mr. President.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
25 Rivera to be recorded in the affirmative.
3071
1 Senator Jackson to explain his vote.
2 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
3 Mr. President and my colleagues.
4 The discussion is clearly
5 appropriate. And I agree with Senator Akshar
6 with respect to if this was a committee or a
7 commission established in 2017 that has not come
8 out with a report, that's terrible. I mean, why
9 are we forming commissions and committees in
10 order to come out with a report and nothing's
11 being done?
12 And in fact yesterday's piece of
13 legislation, which was my first, was about radon
14 gas, a commission that was established over a
15 year ago. And it was supposed to come out with a
16 report April 1, 2019. Nothing has been done.
17 And so we extended that.
18 We should not be forming
19 commissions that are going to do nothing. And
20 clearly if in fact that commission, I believe it
21 was a commission to report on suicides in
22 New York State -- they may have come up to the
23 same conclusion that Latino teenagers and black
24 youth are like the second highest or the first
25 highest in order to take action, where this
3072
1 legislation may not have been appropriate to
2 introduce.
3 And so we collectively, we need to
4 get our act together and to ensure and force the
5 issue of these commissions to take action and do
6 the reports so that we can then take action on
7 their conclusions.
8 And I thank all of you for chiming
9 in on this. But it talks about the issue, the
10 concerns. And I'm glad that my colleagues, my
11 Republican colleagues, are approving this and
12 saying how important it is overall from a
13 holistic report, because suicide affects
14 everyone. Young, old, black, white, yellow,
15 green or blue.
16 And I know that because I have a
17 family member that has threatened suicide. I've
18 gone to the emergency room on many occasions.
19 And I say to you that even when my kids were
20 young, the impact is devastating. It's always in
21 your mind that something could happen.
22 So I agree with all of you, let's
23 move forward and make sure that a report comes
24 out and we take action and put the funds there in
25 order to have the mental health that is necessary
3073
1 to deal with this.
2 Thank you.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
4 Jackson to be recorded in the affirmative.
5 Announce the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar Number 300, those Senators voting in the
8 negative are Senators Antonacci, Jordan and Ortt.
9 Ayes, 56. Nays, 3.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
11 bill is passed.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 323, Senate Print 4001A, by Senator Krueger, an
14 act to amend the Legislative 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: In relation to
25 Calendar Number 323, those Senators voting in the
3074
1 negative are Senators Akshar, Antonacci,
2 Flanagan, Funke, Helming, Jordan, Ortt and
3 Ritchie.
4 Ayes, 51. Nays 8.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 bill is passed.
7 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
8 reading of today's calendar.
9 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
10 can we return to motions and resolutions for a
11 moment.
12 On behalf of Senator Sanders, on
13 page 14 I offer the following amendments to
14 Calendar 75, Senate Print 2139A, and ask that
15 said bill retain its place on the Third Reading
16 Calendar.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
18 amendments are received, and the bill shall
19 retain its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
20 SENATOR GIANARIS: At this point,
21 Mr. President, the Transportation and
22 Corporations Committees have concluded their
23 work, so I'd like to call an immediate meeting of
24 the Finance Committee in Room 332.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
3075
1 will be an immediate meeting of the Finance
2 Committee in Room 332.
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: And can we
4 please stand at ease while we wait for the
5 Finance Committee to complete its work.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 Senate will stand at ease.
8 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
9 at 12:30 p.m.)
10 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
11 1:13 p.m.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 Senate will return to order.
14 Senator Gianaris.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
16 can we go back to reports of standing committees
17 and take up the report of the Finance Committee.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: We will
19 return to reports of standing committees.
20 There is a report of the Finance
21 Committee at the desk.
22 The Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Krueger,
24 from the Committee on Finance, reports the
25 following nominations to the Board of the
3076
1 Metropolitan Transportation Authority:
2 Rhonda Herman, of White Plains;
3 Kevin Law, of St. James; and Haeda Mihaltses, of
4 Bayside.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
6 Gianaris.
7 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
8 can you please recognize Senator Krueger on the
9 nominations.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
11 Krueger.
12 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you very
13 much, Mr. President.
14 The Governor has sent us three
15 excellent and qualified nominees to join the MTA
16 Board. They have completed questioning by the
17 Transportation Committee, the Corporations
18 Committee and the Finance Committee. They are
19 all with us today up in the gallery, but many of
20 our colleagues actually have to be somewhere
21 else.
22 Each of them, in their own right,
23 actually showed themselves to be extraordinarily
24 qualified to take on the responsibilities which
25 they know are very serious and very important.
3077
1 And so on behalf of the Senate, we'd
2 like to thank the Governor for making these
3 nominees and officially vote them in as three new
4 members of the MTA Board.
5 Thank you, Mr. President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
7 Comrie on the nominations.
8 SENATOR COMRIE: Thank you,
9 Mr. President.
10 I rise to also echo the comments of
11 Senator Krueger and congratulate the three
12 nominees, Rhonda Herman, Kevin Law, and Haeda
13 Mihaltses, who are going to be serving on the MTA
14 Board. I think that these are three excellent
15 nominees. Having questioned them, understanding
16 their dedication for public service, they've all
17 served in some capacity dealing with issues to
18 try to improve our state, dealing with
19 opportunities to actually be active -- two of
20 them active riders on the MTA system, the third
21 person is an active advocate for issues
22 throughout Long Island -- I think that they will
23 be excellent additions to a board that is in need
24 of revamping and rebuilding the public trust.
25 They've all expressed their desire
3078
1 to make sure that they are part of that
2 rebuilding and the reestablishing of the public
3 trust and will be working with us to have
4 meetings to ensure that the MTA will be more
5 transparent and be more acceptable to the rider
6 public, who is in doubt that the MTA can ever be
7 improved.
8 But I think that these three
9 candidates, especially Haeda Mihaltses, who I've
10 known in my public career for many years, since
11 she was a staff person -- since I was a staff
12 person, we were staff together. She's risen up
13 through many opportunities in public service.
14 She's dedicated to improving this city. She's
15 dedicated to taking on challenges. She has
16 always been a straight shooter and a person that
17 I have a lot of faith in. As I was teasing her
18 earlier, I'm always right, so she always listened
19 to what I said. But she was always able to come
20 back with a consensus opinion and diverse
21 entities to try to get to something that could
22 benefit the city.
23 And with the other nominees as well,
24 I think they both have that same ability. So
25 this will be an excellent sea change of the board
3079
1 that we need to make more transparent for our
2 public. We need to make sure that their
3 procurement rules are changed, how they do
4 contracting is improved, and how they make sure
5 that they handle the ridership is done in a more
6 transparent way.
7 These are three excellent nominees,
8 and I encourage everybody to vote aye. Thank
9 you, Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
11 Gianaris on the nomination.
12 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
13 Mr. President.
14 I too want to rise in support of
15 those distinguished nominees, who I have known
16 for quite some time.
17 Rhonda Herman and I actually served
18 together on the MTA Sustainability Workgroup that
19 issued recommendations just at the end of last
20 year, many of which were adopted as part of our
21 budget last week.
22 Kevin Law has served Long Island in
23 many capacities and certainly understands the
24 needs of that part of the state.
25 And Haeda Mihaltses, who in addition
3080
1 to her many assets is a resident of Queens
2 County, is not only someone who works for the
3 Mets but is a fan of the Mets as well, which is
4 an asset in my book. But she is someone I have
5 known since long before my time in public
6 service, a dear friend, and someone who has
7 served in many levels of government, both
8 legislative and executive, and is known as a
9 problem-solver who is focused on getting things
10 done, and that's exactly what we need at the MTA.
11 I have also been asked, due to my
12 elite ability to pronounce Greek names, to
13 recognize that she is accompanied by her sister,
14 Olympia Daskalakis, who is here with her today.
15 And so please, Mr. President, when
16 we call the vote, let's recognize the
17 distinguished service of these people and their
18 willingness to put themselves on the line in a
19 very difficult job, which is getting our mass
20 transit system back on the right direction.
21 Thank you.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
23 question is on the nominations of Haeda
24 Mihaltses, Rhonda Herman, and Kevin Law as
25 members of the Board of the Metropolitan
3081
1 Transportation Authority. All in favor say aye.
2 (Response of "Aye.")
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
4 Opposed?
5 (No response.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Haeda
7 Mihaltses, Rhonda Herman, and Kevin Law have been
8 confirmed as members of the Board of the
9 Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
10 (Standing ovation.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
12 Gianaris.
13 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
14 at the conclusion of this session there will be a
15 meeting of the Democratic Conference in Room 332.
16 And with that, is there any business
17 at the desk?
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
19 will be an immediate meeting of the Democratic
20 Conference in Room 332.
21 There is no further business at the
22 desk.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: I move to
24 adjourn until Monday, April 29th, at 3:00 p.m.,
25 intervening days being legislative days.
3082
1 And please wish our colleagues who
2 are observing a happy holiday during the break.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: To our
4 colleagues who are observant, we wish you a happy
5 holiday.
6 On motion, the Senate stands
7 adjourned until Monday, April 29th, at 3:00 p.m.,
8 intervening days being legislative days.
9 (Whereupon, the Senate adjourned at
10 1:20 p.m.)
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25