Regular Session - June 10, 2020
1944
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
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6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 June 10, 2020
11 11:56 a.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR BRIAN A. BENJAMIN, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
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25
1945
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 recite 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: The
14 reading of the Journal.
15 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Tuesday,
16 June 9, 2020, the Senate met pursuant to
17 adjournment. The Journal of Monday, June 8,
18 2020, 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: Senator Helming
1946
1 moves to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
2 Assembly Bill Number 8666A and substitute it for
3 the identical Senate Bill 8522, Third Reading
4 Calendar 752.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
6 substitution is so ordered.
7 Messages from the Governor.
8 Reports of standing committees.
9 Reports of select committees.
10 Communications and reports from
11 state officers.
12 Motions and resolutions.
13 Senator Gianaris.
14 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
15 on behalf of Senator Rivera, on page 28 I offer
16 the following amendments to Calendar 555, Senate
17 Print 6492A, and ask that said bill retain its
18 place on Third Reading Calendar.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
20 amendments are received, and the bill shall
21 retain its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: On behalf of
23 Senator Hoylman, on page 31 I offer the following
24 amendments to Calendar 589, Senate Print 3923,
25 and ask that said bill retain its place on
1947
1 Third Reading Calendar.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
3 amendments are received, and the bill shall
4 retain its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: At this time,
6 Mr. President, I would ask if there is a report
7 of the Finance Committee at the desk.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
9 is a report of the Finance Committee at the desk.
10 The Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Krueger,
12 from the Committee on Finance, reports the
13 following nominations.
14 To the Metropolitan Transportation
15 Authority: Jamey Barbas, Frank Borelli Jr.,
16 Victor Calise, Michael Fleischer, and Lorraine
17 Cortes-Vazquez.
18 To the Dormitory Authority of
19 New York State: Reuben McDaniel.
20 To the Adirondack Park Agency: Mark
21 Hall, Andrea Hogan, Arthur Lussi, Kenneth Lynch,
22 Zoe Smith, Daniel Wilt, and John Ernest.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
24 Gianaris.
25 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please recognize
1948
1 Senator Krueger.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
3 Krueger.
4 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you very
5 much.
6 We completed a joint meeting of the
7 Transportation Committee, the Committee on
8 Corporations, and the Senate Finance Committee,
9 and all of the nominees you just heard the names
10 of were recommended to the floor of the Senate
11 for confirmation.
12 I want to just not necessarily talk
13 on any of them, I just want to highlight that in
14 these very difficult times for the State of
15 New York, we are very appreciative of people with
16 special skills and also demands on them being
17 willing to, in almost all cases today, volunteer
18 for very challenging positions. One of these
19 positions is a paid employee position; everyone
20 else is a volunteer position.
21 I want to just highlight also the
22 five new members of the MTA Board. People who
23 are living in the MTA region understand the true,
24 true challenges facing the MTA. We have to get
25 past COVID, we have to get people willing to
1949
1 trust that they can get back on our subways and
2 buses. We were already dealing literally at
3 crisis level with infrastructure problems through
4 the MTA before we were hit with COVID and an
5 economic downturn.
6 So I think we're particularly
7 appreciative of the people willing to join the
8 challenge facing the MTA as an organization, that
9 we need -- the whole State of New York needs to
10 make sure we come through successfully and
11 perhaps come up with new models of mass transit
12 that are going to be more appropriate for us in
13 the 21st century.
14 So we are recommending yes votes on
15 all of these confirmations and appreciate the
16 Governor moving them through.
17 Thank you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 question is on the nominations. All in favor say
20 aye.
21 (Response of "Aye.")
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
23 Opposed?
24 (No response.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
1950
1 nominees are confirmed.
2 Senator Gianaris.
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: Okay.
4 Mr. President, at this time there will be an
5 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
6 Room 332.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
8 will be an immediate meeting of the
9 Rules Committee in Room 332.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: The Senate will
11 stand at ease.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
13 Senate will stand at ease.
14 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
15 at 12:01 p.m.)
16 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
17 12:24 p.m.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
19 Senate will return to order.
20 Senator Gianaris.
21 SENATOR GIANARIS: At this time,
22 Mr. President, can we take up the reading of the
23 calendar.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 Secretary will read.
1951
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 676, Senate Print 2574C, by Senator Bailey, an
3 act to amend the Executive Law.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
5 the last section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
7 act shall take effect April 1, 2021.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
9 the roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
12 Senator Bailey to explain his vote.
13 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 I rise today in appreciation of the
16 historic package that we've been able to put
17 forth.
18 And again, I have to make sure I
19 lend my voice and gratitude for our Leader,
20 Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who has always stood up
21 for what's right. Martin Luther King famously
22 said the time is always right to do what's right.
23 And Leader, you have always done what's right --
24 not just by us in this body, regardless of what
25 side of the aisle you sit on, but by the state.
1952
1 Today is one of the final pieces of
2 legislation that we're passing in terms of police
3 reforms. And this is codifying the executive
4 order that the Governor put forth a few years
5 back when members of the community who had been
6 so stricken by violence requested that they have
7 an impartial special prosecutor to be able to
8 adjudicate these cases.
9 And I'm glad today that we're able
10 to take these steps towards codifying this. It's
11 a long way coming. And I thank everybody. I
12 thank the Governor for speaking about this. I
13 thank our leader. I thank the Speaker of the
14 Assembly and the caucus and our colleagues for
15 making this happen.
16 But I want to thank the family
17 members again for having the courage to go
18 forward. I speak about my experiences as a
19 parent, and they often help to shape and drive
20 the way that I legislate. And I think about my
21 two daughters, Giada and Carina -- and I
22 mentioned it yesterday in passing, I become
23 apoplectic if they scrape their knee or something
24 minor happens to them.
25 Families that have been affected by
1953
1 significant police violence, significant
2 brutality and murders and killings, have not only
3 raised up triumphantly, they have continued to
4 advocate even stronger in the face of such
5 adversity.
6 So I just wanted to lift up the
7 names of a few other families and ensure that I
8 let them know that we appreciate their voices.
9 Because it was mentioned yesterday in the floor
10 debate about who is the driving force behind the
11 legislation. And I will simply say, as I said
12 yesterday, the people.
13 Iris Baez, the mother of Anthony
14 Baez. Margarita Rosario, the mother of Anthony
15 Rosario and the aunt of Hilton Vega. Kadiatou
16 Diallo, the mother of Amadou Diallo. Cynthia
17 Howell, the niece of Alberta Spruill. Valerie
18 Bell and William Bell, the mother and father of
19 Sean Bell, and Kisha Walker, his godsister.
20 Nancy Pacheco, the sister-in-law of Jayson
21 Tirado. Jennifer Gonzales, the mother of Kenny
22 Lazo's son. Joshua Lopez, nephew of John
23 Collado. Constance Malcolm, the mother of
24 Ramarley Graham. Natasha Duncan, the sister of
25 Shantel Davis, and Angie Hicks, the aunt of
1954
1 Shantel Davis. Hawa Bah, the mother of Mohamed
2 Bah. Carol Gray, the mother of Kimani Gray.
3 Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner. Hertencia
4 Peterson, the aunt of Akai Gurley. Victoria
5 Davis, the sister of Delrawn Small. Olga Negron,
6 the mother of Iman Morales. Joyce Huang, the
7 sister of Yong Xin Huang. Tsukasa Oyamada, the
8 father of Ryo Oyamada, and Tomo Oyamada, the
9 sister of Ryo Oyamada.
10 These names are people who have
11 decided to take significant pain that they faced,
12 and significant adversity, and channel it not
13 into just something good, but something
14 long-lasting.
15 I am incredibly proud to be part of
16 this body today and all days. This package of
17 legislation has been something that I will never
18 forget, especially in the time of crisis and
19 COVID that we're in. People often forgot about
20 their own health infirmities and their own
21 concerns about contracting COVID because it was
22 that important to make sure that they were in the
23 streets to make sure their voices were heard,
24 that enough is enough.
25 Your voices have been heard. And no
1955
1 one piece of legislation can change the world,
2 but if we continue to chip away, if we continue
3 to act accordingly, we're going to continue to
4 make the impact that we need to make as
5 legislators and, most importantly, as people.
6 Mr. President, I vote aye. And I
7 appreciate the opportunity to speak on this
8 important package of legislation.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
10 Senator Bailey to be recorded in the affirmative.
11 Senator Kavanagh to explain his
12 vote.
13 SENATOR KAVANAGH: Thank you,
14 Mr. President and distinguished colleagues both
15 here in this chamber and participating in today's
16 proceedings remotely.
17 I rise to explain my vote on Senate
18 Bill S2574C, which would establish an Office of
19 Special Investigation in the Office of the
20 New York State Attorney General, empowered to
21 conduct an investigation when someone dies as a
22 result of an act or omission of a police officer,
23 and to prosecute such cases when the evidence
24 warrants it.
25 Let me begin by thanking Senator
1956
1 Bailey for sponsoring this bill and for his
2 leadership as chair of the Codes Committee, on
3 which I proudly sit, on the entire package of
4 policing reform legislation that we're passing
5 this week.
6 I also want to thank the sponsors of
7 the other bills in the package, Senators Parker,
8 Benjamin -- Mr. President, yourself -- and
9 Hoylman. And I'd also like to acknowledge
10 Senator Myrie, as I did in our Codes Committee
11 meeting the other day, who's been called upon not
12 only for principled leadership but for physical
13 courage in the past two weeks.
14 And I'd like to thank the staff of
15 the Senate, led by Shontell Smith, who's here
16 with us today, and my own staff, who's had some
17 very important conversations about how to respond
18 to the calls for change that we've been hearing.
19 Finally, of course, I'd like to
20 thank the hundreds and thousands of New Yorkers
21 who have protested peacefully and resolutely and
22 those who have contacted our offices to express
23 their strong support for all the bills we're
24 passing this week, and to express their broader
25 commitment to promoting justice and bringing
1957
1 about the profoundly important changes that we
2 need to make if our state and our country are
3 going to live up to our highest ideals.
4 Mr. President, I'm proud of what
5 we're doing here today. As you know, local
6 prosecutors often rely on local police
7 departments to gather evidence and testimony when
8 they need to successfully prosecute those accused
9 of crimes. This makes it hard for them to
10 investigate cases where the police -- the same
11 police -- are accused of those crimes and to
12 carry out prosecutions when warranted.
13 This bill before us seeks to
14 eliminate this potential conflict of interest
15 from those cases and ensure a fair and impartial
16 investigation.
17 Recent incidents illustrate why this
18 legislation is so important. It took prosecutors
19 four days before filing charges against the first
20 officer involved in the George Floyd case, and
21 more than a week since the incident occurred
22 before charging the remaining three officers.
23 That delay in justice was likely a contributing
24 factor to the unrest that has followed.
25 Here in New York, the world watched
1958
1 in horror as Eric Garner gasped "I can't breathe"
2 in July 2014. But despite the New York City
3 Medical Examiner ruling the death a homicide, it
4 wasn't until late August that the local
5 prosecutor convened a grand jury. On
6 December 3rd, that grand jury decided not to
7 bring forth any indictments. Under our law, the
8 grand jury proceedings were kept secret,
9 including the exact charges sought by the
10 prosecutor, the autopsy report, and the
11 transcripts of testimony.
12 Is it any wonder, Mr. President,
13 that many in the black community and many other
14 New Yorkers have little faith that our justice
15 system will handle these cases appropriately?
16 For too long communities of color have watched in
17 frustration as police officers have committed
18 atrocities against them with impunity.
19 As I said before, the protests
20 across the nation have been a call to action. Of
21 course this is not the first time we've heard
22 such a call, but this time is different. The
23 anger, pain and frustration that have been
24 expressed in the past two weeks, and the calls
25 for real change, are finally being heeded.
1959
1 In order to regain the public trust,
2 we must eliminate the perception that our police
3 operate under a cloak of secrecy that protects
4 officers who engage in wrongdoing and sometimes
5 violence. This bill, along with the repeal of
6 50-a we passed yesterday, will help achieve that.
7 I firmly believe that we'll only
8 achieve the goals of effective policing when we
9 succeed in resolving the disconnect between our
10 police and our communities. So in that sense,
11 Mr. President, this bill is not, as some of the
12 union officials have said, a bill that is passed
13 out of disrespect for our police officers or to
14 make their jobs more difficult. On the contrary,
15 it will bring about the necessary level of
16 communication and respect between our communities
17 that is going to be necessary if police
18 departments are going to perform their important
19 function.
20 I just want to end by saying, you
21 know, it's -- it's -- we've heard again and again
22 over the many years now, and over the past few
23 weeks, that black lives matter. But I want to
24 say that this package that we're doing today in
25 this chamber and in the Assembly is testament to
1960
1 another truth. And that is, Mr. President, that
2 black leadership matters as well.
3 I already mentioned the leadership
4 of Senators Bailey, Myrie and Parker. And we've
5 heard the eloquent calls for justice from
6 Senators Benjamin -- yourself -- Comrie, Jackson,
7 Montgomery and Sanders, and from other members of
8 this house.
9 And, Mr. President, the leadership
10 of our Majority Leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins,
11 and Carl Heastie have in many ways been called
12 historic, and indeed they are. But the
13 significance of their leadership and of the
14 diversity of the majority conference in both
15 houses has never been more apparent than it is in
16 the decisive action we're taking this week.
17 With that, Mr. President, I vote
18 aye.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
20 Kavanagh to be recorded in the affirmative.
21 Announce the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
23 Calendar Number 676, those Senators voting in the
24 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
25 Flanagan, Funke, Gallivan, Griffo, Helming,
1961
1 Jacobs, Jordan, Lanza, LaValle, O'Mara, Ortt,
2 Ritchie, Seward and Tedisco.
3 Ayes, 45. Nays, 17.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
5 bill is passed.
6 Calendar Number 679, Senate Print
7 3595C, by Senator Parker, an act to amend the
8 Executive Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
10 the last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
12 act shall take effect on the first of April.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
14 the roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
17 Senator Sanders to explain his vote.
18 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you,
19 Mr. President.
20 As I get used to speaking in a mask,
21 let's see what I can do here.
22 I want to dedicate my vote to two
23 victims that I grew up with when I was a younger
24 man: Lance, of my community youth, and Philip
25 Satler, two victims of police brutality that
1962
1 ended fatally for them.
2 I want to thank the leader of the
3 Majority Conference, Senator Andrea
4 Stewart-Cousins, for her leadership, and
5 Senator Parker for putting forth the bill, this
6 worthy bill.
7 We need to do these things, but we
8 need to do more. We need to figure out how are
9 we going to level the playing fields of America,
10 how are we going to take this moment and go
11 further.
12 We all saw what we saw in
13 Minneapolis. When we saw the now-disgraced
14 police officer put his knee on the helpless
15 George Floyd, we saw the banality of evil. You
16 kind of want a person to have a tail and --
17 something to say that this is an evil person.
18 But when you looked at the face of such a person,
19 you did not see that. You saw your neighbor.
20 You saw someone who, in another time and place,
21 you could go to church with, or maybe the social
22 club. He didn't appear troubled, and he wasn't
23 rushed to move his knee. And this is what we're
24 talking about when we say the banality of evil,
25 where too many people have stood by watching this
1963
1 type of stuff.
2 America has now been exposed to this
3 in such a fashion that it is almost impossible to
4 not see the veil has been rended. America cannot
5 claim, like the good Germans of the Nazi era,
6 that they didn't smell the smoke, that they did
7 not see the graves. You saw it. We saw it. We
8 saw what it looks like where oppression was in
9 its rawest form.
10 Now, we need to seize this historic
11 moment. We need to meet the urgent urgency --
12 the fierce urgency of now, if you wish to use
13 President Obama's phrase. We need to see that
14 there are hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions
15 of America's best people -- youth, old, everyone
16 is out there trying to find justice. They
17 instinctively know that this is a historic
18 moment. They know that this is not simply a
19 historic moment -- that this is a moment once in
20 several generations, not just once in a
21 generation.
22 And we need to meet and finally call
23 this -- and not just deal with the symptoms of
24 the thing, but to deal with the thing itself.
25 The symptoms, of course -- if we were to use
1964
1 COVID-19, the symptoms are a fever and other
2 things. The police brutality is but a fever of
3 the thing itself. The thing is a structural
4 thing that can only be -- its roots go back to
5 slavery, and can only be solved by reparations.
6 We need to use the balm of
7 reparations, or else we're going to be here again
8 and again and again -- coming up with very worthy
9 bills, but as long as it deals with just the
10 symptoms, the fever rather than the thing that
11 provokes it.
12 New York State must lead the nation,
13 and we have to examine how we in the Empire State
14 can help resolve this issue. We need to look at
15 the issue of reparations. There is a worthy
16 reparations bill that we have to study the issue,
17 to study, my friends, the issue and see how we
18 can resolve it.
19 You've heard some of the greatest
20 speeches that could ever be delivered on this
21 floor in the last several days, mine excluded.
22 You have heard those -- they have given you a
23 clear way forward. I urge us to live up to this
24 once-in-several-generations moment and grapple
25 with the real thing itself and not simply with
1965
1 the symptoms.
2 This is a great bill. The others
3 are great bills. I'm absolutely for all of them.
4 But I urge us to go further.
5 Thank you, Mr. President. I thank
6 the leadership of this great conference for
7 bringing us to this point, and I urge us forward.
8 Thank you very much.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
10 Senator Sanders to be recorded in the
11 affirmative.
12 Majority Leader Andrea
13 Stewart-Cousins to explain her vote.
14 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Thank
15 you, Mr. President.
16 Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. Amadou
17 Diallo. Sean Bell. Anthony Baez. DJ Henry.
18 Eric Garner. Tony McDade. Sean Reed. Breonna
19 Taylor. George Floyd. Sadly, Mr. President, I
20 could go on for hours.
21 But I stand here today heartbroken,
22 frustrated, angry, sad -- but not without hope.
23 You know, it would have been enough for our
24 nation to battle one pandemic. But as we recover
25 from COVID-19, we do so while continuing our
1966
1 centuries-long fight against the virus of racism.
2 Over the past three days, we've
3 passed a package of bills. My incredible
4 colleagues who have spent so long laboring over
5 how to do this, how to get this right, and when
6 to do it -- and as Senator Sanders says, there
7 have been so many eloquent speeches here, so much
8 to be said.
9 And as I was listening yesterday,
10 Senator Bailey -- you know, again, young,
11 talented Senator Bailey -- was talking about his
12 bill, and while doing so he quoted Tupac Shakur.
13 And I was listening to that, and I said, you
14 know, I'm going to speak in my closing remarks to
15 another demographic.
16 Because over the last few weeks,
17 over the last few days, Bruce Springsteen's
18 song -- he did it in 1999: "American Skin
19 (41 Shots)." It was a haunting song that spoke
20 to the tragic moments as Amadou Diallo's life
21 ebbed from his body. And it was a song that
22 talked about the talk that black parents have to
23 give to their black children.
24 And it's a song that has a haunting
25 refrain. It said: "It ain't no secret, no
1967
1 secret my friend, you can get killed just for
2 living in your American skin." That line says it
3 all. You can get killed just for the color of
4 your skin.
5 What was interesting about when he
6 released that song, it was a big deal. And when
7 he said those lines, he knew what he was saying,
8 but he said it anyway. And even Bruce
9 Springsteen, when he said it -- that working
10 class hero, Bruce -- was ostracized, he was
11 demonized. He was boycotted.
12 But he said it. And those words, as
13 you can see, have stuck with me. Why? Because
14 I'm a mother, a mother of black children. I'm a
15 grandmother of black children. And quite
16 honestly, like all of us who are the parents of
17 black children, we have and we live with this
18 worry.
19 And you know, Senator Bailey, you
20 mentioned so many of the families. You know, I
21 think of Gwen Carr and I think of Valerie Bell
22 and Sybrina Fulton, Lesley McSpadden, and so many
23 others whose reality of those fears came true in
24 so many terrible ways.
25 And I also know, as we all know,
1968
1 that if you're black in this country, you face
2 racism. And I was talking to a friend of mine
3 and I was saying, you know, just like everybody I
4 know knows somebody who's been stricken with
5 cancer or themselves have dealt with it, in black
6 America, everyone I know knows someone that has
7 had a bad interaction with law enforcement.
8 That's just the way it is.
9 And the reality is no matter who you
10 are, no one is immune. It doesn't matter about
11 your economic status, it doesn't matter about
12 your educational level, it doesn't even matter if
13 you're a New York State Senator. Just ask
14 Senator Zellnor Myrie.
15 And, you know, that reality hits you
16 deep inside, and it stays with you in everything
17 that you do. And even as I stand here, I think
18 about what's happened in my life, because my
19 family has been part of this sad reality. You
20 know, when I stand on the floor I've often talked
21 about my dad, you know, the World War II veteran
22 who served in the segregated army. I've
23 mentioned what he went through.
24 But I don't often mention my brother
25 Bobby. Bobby also is a veteran, a Marine. He
1969
1 served in Vietnam. And when he came home, after
2 having an interim job, he went to New York City
3 Transit as a cop. Bobby was 24.
4 And I was talking to him last night
5 about what we were doing, and he told me two
6 things. He said: "Andrea, I went to the police
7 force because I wanted to help our community."
8 And he said he left -- and he left ultimately
9 when he was 30 years old -- that he left because
10 he was convinced that the system was created to
11 give young black men a record.
12 He told me, you know, an example,
13 that he saw like two white kids fighting, they
14 would be brought down to the station and their
15 families would be called. And that he saw two
16 black kids fighting, they'd be brought down to
17 the station and they'd be booked for assault.
18 He couldn't understand how this
19 system was designed to do anything other than
20 what he saw too many times. You know that those
21 assault records follow those kids for their
22 lives. And that's what we're up against.
23 And Bobby, like so many, was a good
24 cop. And Bobby worked with a lot of good cops.
25 But Bobby himself did not believe that he could
1970
1 change the system. Nor did he believe that the
2 system would change itself.
3 The other thing a lot of people
4 don't know -- because I have three kids -- my
5 youngest son, when he was only 18, was with three
6 other friends on the other side of town. And
7 when they were stopped, they were frisked. And
8 at the time, you know, there was nothing -- you
9 know, nothing was found and so on and so forth.
10 But by the end of that interaction, I met Steven
11 in the emergency room, with a fractured nose.
12 Anybody knew that Steven would never have
13 resisted.
14 And here I am now with four
15 grandsons. And I worry the same way I've had to
16 worry all the time I've been a parent.
17 But despite that worry, I have hope.
18 Because remarkably, in this historic time, I'm in
19 this historic position with so many incredible
20 colleagues who understand the gravity and the
21 importance of this moment -- who, as a result of
22 the blatant and horrific murder of George Floyd,
23 understood that we must act, we can't wait. My
24 Assembly colleague, Speaker Heastie. The
25 Governor is ready to sign these bills. The
1971
1 important momentum of what's been happening in
2 our streets. People, many who look like me --
3 many, many who don't -- united, calling for us to
4 make some changes. How do I not have hope?
5 This past week -- and all of you
6 know the diversity of my district -- I've
7 traveled throughout the district. I've gone to
8 Black Lives Matter rallies in every area of my
9 community, places that I never thought would
10 embrace that simple rallying cry. And that gives
11 me hope.
12 And just as we're sitting in our
13 chambers here in New York, there are elected
14 leaders of all races and backgrounds standing
15 together and taking action to answer the call of
16 the day against racial injustice and to curb
17 police brutality. And that gives me hope, and
18 that gives me faith.
19 But we know, as scripture says,
20 faith without work is dead. And so ultimately
21 that's why we stand here and we take this action
22 this week. Make no mistake: We know that what
23 we did is not a cure. We know it's a first step.
24 It acknowledges that laws alone are important,
25 but they can't fix racism in America. You know,
1972
1 Senator Sanders is always reminding us of that.
2 But as Senator Kavanagh was just
3 saying, it begins to root out injustice and to
4 bring justice to our justice system. It is a
5 step and it is a path to equality.
6 Sadly, we all know that there will
7 be more moments that will shake us all to our
8 core. But in this chamber we also understand
9 that our response to those moments will make all
10 the difference.
11 Mr. President, I vote aye.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
13 Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins to vote in the
14 affirmative.
15 Announce the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
17 Calendar 679, those Senators voting in the
18 negative are Senators Akshar, Amedore, Borrello,
19 Boyle, Flanagan, Funke, Gallivan, Griffo,
20 Helming, Jacobs, Jordan, Lanza, LaValle, Little,
21 Ortt, Ranzenhofer, Ritchie, Robach, Serino,
22 Seward and Tedisco.
23 Ayes, 41. Nays, 21.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 bill is passed.
1973
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 721, Senate Print 7901B, by Senator Martinez, an
3 act in relation to authorizing the Village of
4 Patchogue to file an application for exemption
5 from real property taxes.
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: In relation to
16 Calendar 721, voting in the negative:
17 Senator Akshar.
18 Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
20 bill is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 739, Senate Print 8344A, by Senator O'Mara, an
23 act authorizing the alienation of certain
24 reforested lands in the County of Yates.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
1974
1 is a home-rule message at the desk.
2 Read the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
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: In relation to
11 Calendar 739, voting in the negative:
12 Senator Martinez.
13 Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
15 bill is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 743, Senate Print 8409A, by Senator Little, an
18 act to amend Item A of Subpart B of Part 30 of
19 Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2020.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
21 the last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
25 the roll.
1975
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
3 Announce the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
5 Calendar 743, voting in the negative:
6 Senator Martinez.
7 Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
9 bill is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 752, Assembly Print Number 8666A, substituted
12 earlier by Assemblymember Lifton, an act to amend
13 the Environmental Conservation Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
15 the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
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 752, voting in the negative: Senator
25 Martinez.
1976
1 Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
3 bill is passed.
4 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
5 reading of today's calendar.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: Is there a
7 report of the Rules Committee at the desk,
8 Mr. President?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
10 is a report of the Rules Committee at the desk.
11 The Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Senator
13 Stewart-Cousins, from the Committee on Rules,
14 reports the following bills:
15 Senate Print 3466, by Senator
16 Griffo, an act to amend the Highway Law;
17 Senate Print 6759, by Senator
18 Jordan, an act to amend the Public Officers Law;
19 Senate Print 8539, by
20 Senator Parker, an act to amend the Executive
21 Law;
22 Senate Print 8483, by
23 Senator Martinez, an act to authorize the Village
24 of Patchogue, Town of Brookhaven, County of
25 Suffolk, to alienate and discontinue the use of
1977
1 certain parklands.
2 All bills reported direct to third
3 reading.
4 SENATOR GIANARIS: Move to accept
5 the report of the Rules Committee.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: All in
7 favor of accepting the Committee on Rules report
8 signify by saying aye.
9 (Response of "Aye.")
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
11 Opposed, nay.
12 (No response.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
14 report is accepted and before the house.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please take up
16 the reading of the supplemental calendar.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
18 Secretary will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 753, Senate Print 3466, by Senator Griffo, an act
21 to amend the Highway Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
23 the last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
1978
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Call
2 the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
5 Announce the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar 753, voting in the negative:
8 Senator Martinez.
9 Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
11 bill is passed.
12 There is a substitution at the desk.
13 The Secretary will read.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Jordan
15 moves to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
16 Assembly Bill Number 8609 and substitute it for
17 the identical Senate Bill 6759, Third Reading
18 Calendar 754.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
20 substitution is so ordered.
21 The Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 754, Assembly Print Number 8609, by
24 Assemblymember Woerner, an act to amend the
25 Public Officers Law.
1979
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Read
2 the last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
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: In relation to
11 Calendar 754, those Senators voting in the
12 negative are Senators Biaggi, Jackson, Krueger,
13 Liu, Martinez, May, Ramos and Sepúlveda.
14 Ayes, 54. Nays, 8.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
16 bill is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 755, Senate Print 8539, by Senator Parker, an act
19 to amend the Executive Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: Senator
21 Gianaris.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: Is there a
23 message of necessity at the desk?
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
25 is a message of necessity at the desk.
1980
1 SENATOR GIANARIS: Move to accept
2 the message of necessity.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: All in
4 favor of accepting the message of necessity
5 signify by saying aye.
6 (Response of "Aye.")
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN:
8 Opposed?
9 (No response.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
11 message is accepted, and the bill is before the
12 house.
13 The Secretary will read the last
14 section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
16 act shall take effect on the same date and in the
17 same manner as a chapter of the Laws of 2020.
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 755, those Senators voting in the
25 negative are Senators Akshar, Amedore, Borrello,
1981
1 Boyle, Flanagan, Funke, Gallivan, Griffo,
2 Helming, Jacobs, Jordan, Lanza, LaValle, Little,
3 Ortt, Ranzenhofer, Ritchie, Robach, Seward and
4 Tedisco.
5 Ayes, 42. Nays, 20.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
7 bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 756, Senate Print 8483, by Senator Martinez, an
10 act to authorize the Village of Patchogue, Town
11 of Brookhaven, County of Suffolk, to alienate and
12 discontinue the use of certain parklands.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
14 is a home-rule message at the desk.
15 Read the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
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: Ayes, 62.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: The
25 bill is passed.
1982
1 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
2 reading of the supplemental calendar.
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: Is there any
4 further business at the desk?
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: There
6 is no further business at the desk.
7 SENATOR GIANARIS: I move to
8 adjourn subject to the call of the Temporary
9 President, with intervening days being
10 legislative days.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BENJAMIN: On
12 motion, the Senate stands adjourned subject to
13 the call of the Temporary President, intervening
14 days being legislative days.
15 (Whereupon, the Senate adjourned at
16 1:02 p.m.)
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