Regular Session - March 28, 2023
1899
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
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7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 March 28, 2023
11 3:21 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
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16
17
18 SENATOR SHELLEY B. MAYER, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
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25
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The Senate
3 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 MAYER: Pastor
9 Greg Merriweather, Calvary Baptist Church of
10 Haverstraw, New York, will deliver today's
11 invocation.
12 Pastor.
13 PASTOR MERRIWEATHER: There's an
14 old proverb that says: If you want to go fast,
15 go alone; but if you want to go far, go together.
16 And it's in this spirit that we pray on today.
17 God in Heaven, we thank You for this
18 moment, this opportunity. Thank You for the
19 ability to gather together. And most of all, we
20 thank You for life, health and strength. Every
21 day is a gift. So on this day we celebrate the
22 gift of common minds, we celebrate the gifts of
23 thoughts and opposing opinions. We celebrate the
24 gifts of all of Your children that's gathered
25 here in Creation on today.
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1 We can take deep breaths because we
2 don't have to worry about much. Your word says
3 it true, that if You take care of the birds that
4 are in the trees, even such as a sparrow, we know
5 that You will watch over us.
6 So God, grant us the opportunity to
7 join together in unity. We pray for Your spirit,
8 that it would guide us, that it would give us
9 calm, that it would give us direction. And most
10 of all, it would give us protection.
11 We thank You again on today. Now
12 bless every person that's gathered, bless every
13 area that they represent, every home, every
14 household. Bless them as they come together to
15 do the business of the State of New York.
16 And it's in Your name, Jesus, that
17 we pray.
18 Let all God's children say amen.
19 (Response of "Amen.")
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Reading of
21 the Journal.
22 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Monday,
23 March 27, 2023, the Senate met pursuant to
24 adjournment. The Journal of Friday, March 24,
25 2023, was read and approved. On motion, the
1902
1 Senate adjourned.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Without
3 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
4 Presentation of petitions.
5 Messages from the Assembly.
6 Messages from the Governor.
7 Reports of standing committees.
8 Reports of select committees.
9 Communications and reports from
10 state officers.
11 Motions and resolutions.
12 Senator Gianaris.
13 SENATOR GIANARIS: Good afternoon,
14 Madam President. I move to adopt the
15 Resolution Calendar, with the exception of
16 Resolution 590.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: All those
18 in favor of adopting the Resolution Calendar,
19 with the exception of Resolution 590, please
20 signify by saying aye.
21 (Response of "Aye.")
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Opposed?
23 (No response.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
25 Resolution Calendar is adopted.
1903
1 Senator Gianaris.
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we begin by
3 taking up previously adopted Resolution 516, by
4 Senator May, read that resolution's title, and
5 recognize Senator May.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
7 Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
9 516, by Senator May, memorializing Governor Kathy
10 Hochul to proclaim April 2023 as Fair Housing
11 Month in the State of New York.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
13 May on the resolution.
14 SENATOR MAY: Thank you,
15 Madam President. I rise today to commemorate the
16 month of April as Fair Housing Month.
17 In 1934, my grandfather bought a
18 house for about $3,000 in a quiet neighborhood
19 walking distance from his job at UCLA. He was a
20 low-paid instructor, not even on tenure track,
21 but the bank was willing to give him a mortgage
22 because of a brand-new Depression-era federal
23 policy to back home loans with the full faith and
24 credit of the U.S. government.
25 My grandparents lived there for
1904
1 30 years until the neighborhood was overrun with
2 rowdy movie stars, at which point they bought a
3 house in a quieter neighborhood. But when they
4 finally sold their second house, in their
5 eighties, they were able to pay for years of
6 nursing care with enough left over to leave small
7 nest eggs to all five grandchildren, so we were
8 able to make down payments on homes of our own.
9 The federally backed mortgage
10 program was a spectacular success in promoting
11 home ownership and building equity for millions
12 of families like mine -- but only for families
13 that looked like mine.
14 Black and brown families were
15 explicitly excluded, which meant they were frozen
16 out of the opportunity to build home equity, the
17 major source of generational wealth.
18 It is the main reason why
19 Black Americans, who make up 13 percent of the
20 U.S. population, hold only 4 percent of the
21 wealth. It is also the main factor that has
22 driven housing segregation in this country.
23 Wherever you live -- village, town,
24 neighborhood -- your community has been shaped by
25 our shameful national history of housing
1905
1 discrimination.
2 Fifty-five years ago,
3 President Johnson worked with members of Congress
4 to pass the Fair Housing Act, a landmark federal
5 law that prohibits discrimination in the
6 provision of housing. Access to safe, affordable
7 and quality housing is critical to every single
8 person in this state.
9 And at the state level we have
10 expanded the principles of the Fair Housing Act
11 to prohibit discrimination in housing based on
12 things like age, sexual orientation, or source of
13 income.
14 In observing Fair Housing Month in
15 1984, President Reagan said: "This April, let us
16 once again dedicate ourselves to the great work
17 of assuring fair housing for all, and let us
18 continue that work until fair housing becomes a
19 permanent reality in our national life."
20 In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled
21 that policies segregating minorities in poor
22 neighborhoods, even unintentionally, are against
23 the law. As President Obama said in his remarks
24 that year on Fair Housing Month, "The Court
25 recognized what many people know to be true from
1906
1 their own lives, that too often where people live
2 determines what opportunities they have in life."
3 He also emphasized the important
4 role of local governments in both creating and
5 solving the problem, and his administration began
6 the work of helping local governments meet that
7 need by gathering data on housing and
8 neighborhood conditions to help inform
9 policymakers.
10 The Fair Housing Act was signed in
11 1968. We've made tremendous progress in
12 addressing discrimination through the tools it
13 provides, but we all know there is much more to
14 be done. Too often the same families who lost
15 out on the opportunities that my family benefited
16 from are the ones disproportionately hurt by the
17 lack of housing, lack of affordable housing, the
18 lack of credit and equity, inadequate code
19 enforcement, arbitrary evictions, and quiet
20 discrimination by realtors and lenders and zoning
21 boards.
22 We are joined today by the leader of
23 CNY Fair Housing, Sally Santangelo. Her
24 organization is leading the way in providing
25 information to help policymakers and public
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1 defenders help us realize the goals of the
2 Fair Housing Act.
3 As we enter Fair Housing Month here
4 in the State of New York, I urge all of us to
5 keep the spirit of the Fair Housing Act alive.
6 Thank you.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you,
8 Senator May.
9 To our guest, I welcome you to the
10 Senate chamber. We extend to you the privileges
11 and courtesies of the house. Please rise and be
12 recognized.
13 (Standing ovation.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
15 resolution was previously adopted on March 15th.
16 Senator Gianaris.
17 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now move
18 to Resolution 590, by Senator Cooney, read that
19 resolution's title, and recognize Senator Cooney.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
21 Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution
23 590, by Senator Cooney, commending Dan DiClemente
24 for his many years of dedicated service to the
25 Rochester City School District.
1908
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
2 Cooney on the resolution.
3 SENATOR COONEY: Thank you,
4 Madam President.
5 I'm sure that our colleagues in this
6 chamber will agree that the best part of this job
7 is that we're granted with opportunities to
8 recognize and uplift individuals in our
9 communities who go above and beyond in the
10 service of their neighbors.
11 You would be hard-pressed to find an
12 individual more deserving of this recognition
13 than Dan DiClemente. His biography speaks for
14 itself.
15 After working nearly a decade in the
16 Rochester City School District, he was elected
17 president of BENTE Local 2419, charged with
18 representing more than 1200 nonteacher RCSD
19 employees. And as president, Dan has not only
20 negotiated the past five collective bargaining
21 agreements, he's led demonstrations, spoken in
22 front of the school board and members of the
23 State Legislature. And he founded a scholarship
24 program for our students.
25 In 2017, Dan was elected president
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1 of AFSCME Council 66, representing 8,500 public
2 and nonprofit-sector workers in upstate New York
3 and the Hudson Valley.
4 And on a personal note, as the first
5 Rochester City School District graduate to be
6 elected to the State Legislature in decades, I've
7 had a personal connection to all those who work
8 in service of our city's children, including our
9 AFSCME members.
10 Dan has been a trusted voice, a
11 fierce advocate, and a relentless defender of
12 workers' rights in the Rochester community not
13 only for his members, but for members across
14 upstate New York.
15 It's an honor and privilege to
16 welcome Dan and his family and many colleagues
17 and friends to Albany this afternoon, and it is
18 my hope that we walk away not only with a deep
19 appreciation for his contributions to our
20 collective labor community, but may we be
21 inspired by his integrity, his leadership in the
22 movement, and his unshakeable commitment to fight
23 for those who may otherwise be voiceless.
24 Thank you, Madam President.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you,
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1 Senator Cooney.
2 Senator Brouk on the resolution.
3 SENATOR BROUK: Thank you,
4 Madam President.
5 I'm honored to stand here with my
6 fellow Rochester Senator, Senator Cooney, as we
7 welcome Dan DiClemente today and recognize him
8 with this resolution.
9 Dan is a beloved member of our
10 Rochester community, recognized for his steadfast
11 championing of workers' rights in the Rochester
12 City School District, through BENTE Local 2419,
13 as well as for AFSCME New York Council 66 and the
14 Rochester Area Labor Council Executive Board.
15 Over the past few years, Dan has
16 been a steady hand while leading his fellow union
17 members through incredibly tumultuous times. I
18 remember August 2020 we stood together with BENTE
19 members as they were losing their health benefits
20 in the midst of a global pandemic. Even before I
21 had the privilege of sitting in this seat, we
22 pleaded with the school district to support
23 workers in this massive time of need.
24 And at a time when it was so hard to
25 feel hopeful and the challenges were mounting,
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1 Dan not only supported his members who were
2 scared of how they'd protect their own families,
3 but he reached out to the larger community and
4 ensured that these stories were being told and
5 that we came together to help.
6 Dan is a tireless champion for our
7 school community, and I have been moved and
8 inspired by his sacrifice and dedication to
9 others. My work here in Albany to increase
10 school budgets, champion our public schools, is
11 all a direct response to the advocacy I have seen
12 back home from Dan.
13 To Dan, I want to say how grateful I
14 am to have you as a community member, as a labor
15 leader, and as a fierce partner in the work we do
16 to improve this state for all New Yorkers.
17 Thank you, and welcome.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you,
19 Senator Brouk.
20 To Mr. DiClemente and your friends
21 and family, please be welcome to the Senate.
22 It's an honor to have you here today.
23 Please rise and be recognized.
24 (Standing ovation.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
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1 question is on the resolution. All in favor
2 signify by saying aye.
3 (Response of "Aye.")
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Opposed?
5 (No response.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
7 resolution is adopted.
8 Senator Gianaris.
9 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
10 Senators May and Cooney would like to open their
11 resolutions for cosponsorship.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
13 resolutions are open for cosponsorship. Should
14 you choose not to be a cosponsor on the
15 resolutions, please notify the desk.
16 Senator Gianaris.
17 SENATOR GIANARIS: There will be an
18 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
19 Room 332.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: There will
21 be an immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
22 Room 332.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: The Senate will
24 stand at ease.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The Senate
1913
1 will stand at ease.
2 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
3 at 3:36 p.m.)
4 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
5 3:44 p.m.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The Senate
7 will return to order.
8 Senator Gianaris.
9 SENATOR GIANARIS: There's a report
10 of the Rules Committee at the desk.
11 Can we take that up, please.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
13 Secretary will read.
14 THE SECRETARY: Senator
15 Stewart-Cousins, from the Committee on Rules,
16 reports the following bills:
17 Senate Print 1319, by
18 Senator Rivera, an act to amend the Public Health
19 Law and the Insurance Law;
20 Senate Print 5818A, by Senator
21 Myrie, an act to amend the Election Law;
22 Senate Print 6061, by Senator
23 Hoylman-Sigal, an act to amend the Judiciary Law.
24 All bills reported direct to third
25 reading.
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1 SENATOR GIANARIS: Move to accept
2 the report of the Rules Committee.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: All those
4 in favor of accepting the report of the
5 Rules Committee signify by saying aye.
6 (Response of "Aye.")
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Opposed?
8 (No response.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The report
10 of the Rules Committee is accepted.
11 Senator Gianaris.
12 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please take up
13 the reading of the calendar.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The
15 Secretary will read.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 356, Senate Print 717, by Senator Cleare, an act
18 to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
1915
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
2 Cleare to explain her vote.
3 SENATOR CLEARE: Thank you,
4 Madam President.
5 The Senior Citizens Rent Increase
6 Exemption program, SCRIE, is one of the most
7 important tools that we have to freeze rents for
8 older New Yorkers, who are often on a very fixed
9 income but wish and deserve to age in the
10 community they have lived in all their lives.
11 In New York City it applies to well
12 over 100,000 households but, like so many
13 benefits, has hard caps and cliffs that lock
14 people out far too hastily. The purpose of this
15 bill is to expand the population eligible to take
16 advantage of SCRIE by excluding all medical and
17 prescription drug expenses not reimbursed or paid
18 for by insurance from the definition of "income,"
19 for the purpose of determining eligibility for
20 the program.
21 By allowing those essential costs to
22 be deducted, fewer individuals will exceed the
23 income cap and will thus remain and/or become
24 eligible for the SCRIE program and its many
25 benefits.
1916
1 I wish to thank my beloved seniors
2 at A. Philip Randolph Senior Center in my
3 district for their advocacy and work on this bill
4 and for lobbying me to pass it. And I just want
5 to read a small portion of what they sent me
6 about this bill.
7 They said: "We, the members of the
8 A. Philip Randolph Senior Center located in the
9 30th Senatorial District would like to express
10 our heartfelt appreciation for your efforts to
11 improve the lives of older adults in our state.
12 "Today we hosted an Advocacy Day in
13 support of a few of your Aging legislative
14 priorities, particularly Senate Bill S717, which
15 proposes a new definition of income to allow more
16 people to be eligible for the Senior Citizen Rent
17 Increase Exemption program.
18 "This important legislation will
19 assist seniors like us and people across our
20 state in affording their housing costs and
21 enabling them to live more independently."
22 I proudly vote aye and hope that
23 everyone else does the same.
24 Thank you.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
1917
1 Cleare to be recorded in the affirmative.
2 Announce the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar Number 356, voting in the negative:
5 Senator Walczyk.
6 Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 391, Senate Print 4967, by Senator Jackson, an
11 act to amend the Administrative Code of the City
12 of New York.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Announce
21 the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
23 Calendar 391, those Senators voting in the
24 negative are Senators Ashby, Borrello,
25 Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Felder, Gallivan, Griffo,
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1 Helming, Lanza, Martins, Mattera, Murray,
2 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads,
3 Rolison, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk, Weber and Weik.
4 Ayes, 40. Nays, 22.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
6 is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 394, Senate Print 1172, by Senator Harckham, an
9 act to amend the Executive Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Announce
18 the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
20 Calendar 394, those Senators voting in the
21 negative are Senators Borrello,
22 Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Griffo, Helming, Martins,
23 Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo,
24 Rhoads, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk and Weik.
25 Ayes, 47. Nays, 15.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
2 is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 475, Senate Print 1468, by Senator Breslin, an
5 act to amend the Insurance Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Announce
14 the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 506, Senate Print 4266A, by Senator Webb, an act
20 to establish a task force on missing women and
21 girls who are Black.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
25 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
1920
1 shall have become a law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
6 Webb to explain her vote. Thank you.
7 SENATOR WEBB: Thank you,
8 Madam President. I rise to explain my vote.
9 This legislation will address the
10 discrepancies and disparities for missing and
11 murdered Black, Indigenous women and girls of
12 color by instituting a task force on missing
13 BIPOC women and girls in New York State.
14 I just want to share a couple of
15 statistics that demonstrate why this task force
16 is necessary and why I hope my colleagues will
17 support it.
18 According to a 2020 report by the
19 Women's Media Center, there are approximately
20 75,000 missing Black women and girls across the
21 United States.
22 Another report released by the
23 Sovereign Bodies Institute documents that there
24 are over 2,306 missing Indigenous women and girls
25 in the U.S. Nationally, more than 250,000 women
1921
1 and girls were reported missing in 2020, and at
2 least 40 percent were women and girls of color,
3 despite making up less than 15 percent of the
4 population. And this came from the National
5 Crime Information Center, NCIC, missing person
6 and unidentified persons statistics.
7 In addition, in a two-year review of
8 all suspected national human trafficking
9 incidents, 40 percent of sex trafficked women
10 were identified as Black women.
11 From 2016 to 2020, there was a
12 38 percent increase in the number of missing
13 children -- 31 percent of that increase was for
14 Black children. And in 2020, the New York State
15 Missing Persons Clearinghouse Annual Report
16 shared that 59.8 percent of children reported
17 missing were female, and 29.2 percent of them
18 were Black.
19 And so when you think about these
20 stats, right -- and included among the tens of
21 thousands of these missing BIPOC women and girls
22 are abductees, the sex trafficking victims, and
23 runaways that get grouped disproportionately, and
24 that this thus impacts the intersection of both
25 racism and sexism, and it is subjective to
1922
1 pervasive social and economic barriers.
2 For these reasons, missing BIPOC
3 girls are often categorized as runaways, which
4 makes it more likely that their cases will be
5 pushed aside and treated with a lack of urgency.
6 This is an epidemic that
7 unfortunately is being rendered silent, and we as
8 a state owe it to these women and their families
9 to do better. This task force will develop
10 policy changes within New York State government
11 agencies to address the lack of care and concern
12 for missing and murdered BIPOC women and girls,
13 including that our first responders are also
14 culturally competent.
15 This task force will ensure that
16 there's transparency when it comes to the numbers
17 of missing and murdered BIPOC women and girls so
18 that communities understand the scale of this
19 problem.
20 This task force will also make sure
21 that communities are educated and trained on the
22 prevention, protection and protocols relating to
23 missing BIPOC women and girls as relates to
24 social media, and will recommend preventative
25 programming and ideas to protect vulnerable women
1923
1 and girls.
2 Madam President, this legislation
3 will take a crucial step to make visible missing
4 BIPOC women and girls in the public discussion.
5 By developing this task force on this crisis,
6 New York has an opportunity to not only take
7 charge but also acknowledge the work that
8 has to be done to bring justice for missing BIPOC
9 women and girls.
10 I would like to thank our Majority
11 Leader for her support on this initiative, and I
12 will be voting aye and I encourage my colleagues
13 to do the same.
14 Thank you.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you.
16 Senator Webb to be recorded in the affirmative.
17 Senator Ramos to explain her vote.
18 SENATOR RAMOS: Thank you.
19 I want to begin by thanking
20 Senator Webb for being a chair that truly values
21 intersectionality and for this very thoughtful
22 bill.
23 You know, when we speak about
24 Indigenous people, we often think of them as
25 human beings from the past, some sort of relic --
1924
1 and that couldn't be farther from the truth.
2 Indigenous people are part of our communities,
3 particularly in mine. And I of course always
4 share how proud I am of my own Indigenous
5 heritage.
6 And that's why I want to point out
7 that, you know, the genocide that started with
8 Christopher Columbus has never actually really
9 ended. I have a few stats to share myself.
10 Native women face murder rates more than 10 times
11 the national average. Homicide is the third
12 leading cause of death among Native girls and
13 women aged 10 to 24 and the fifth leading cause
14 of death for Native women aged 25 to 34.
15 The median age for missing and
16 murdered Indigenous women and girls is 29. And
17 unfortunately we have to note that the condition
18 that makes women most vulnerable to violence is
19 poverty. Native American women are typically
20 paid only 60 cents for every dollar paid to a
21 white non-Hispanic man. And that pay gap is
22 typically around $2,055 every month, or nearly
23 $25,000 every year.
24 And as we know, especially, you
25 know, on our side of the aisle, poverty makes
1925
1 everybody unsafe. And here we're sharing that it
2 particularly makes Indigenous women unsafe.
3 So I of course want to use this
4 opportunity to implore you all to support our
5 Raise the Wage Act, as we're closing in on budget
6 negotiations.
7 And I vote aye, Madam President.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
9 Ramos to be recorded in the affirmative.
10 Senator Fernandez to explain her
11 vote.
12 SENATOR FERNANDEZ: Thank you so
13 much, Madam President.
14 I truly want to thank the sponsor
15 for putting this bill forward and to initiate the
16 creation of this task force.
17 It really can't be stressed enough
18 the crisis that is in our communities, in
19 everyone's district here and especially like mine
20 in the Bronx, where every other 99-cent store,
21 grocery store, the 5 by 5 bulletin, is covered
22 with missing girls, missing kids. And it is a
23 crisis.
24 This task force, as it was detailed,
25 is going to do so much to empower our young
1926
1 people, our old people, those that are vulnerable
2 to this crime, to this evil that is human
3 trafficking. And we really need to get to the
4 bottom of it. We need to find the solutions. We
5 need to stop the trafficking. We need to stop
6 whatever is incentivizing girls to go missing and
7 to fall into these terrible hands.
8 So thank you for bringing this to
9 the floor. Thank you for highlighting something
10 that doesn't get highlighted often. Every time
11 we see of a missing person, a young person, a
12 young woman, it's never to the extent that we see
13 of a young white woman given to a young Black or
14 brown woman. It's just not the same, the
15 attention is not the same.
16 And we need to start making it the
17 same. We need to start really getting to the
18 bottom of how this is happening, why it's
19 happening, and empowering and educating our
20 communities to prevent it from happening.
21 So I really thank you for this. I
22 encourage everyone, please vote aye, because
23 lives are being lost, lives are disappearing, and
24 it's time that we put a stop to it.
25 Thank you. I vote aye.
1927
1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
2 Fernandez to be recorded in the affirmative.
3 Senator Cleare to explain her vote.
4 SENATOR CLEARE: I want to thank
5 Senator Webb for this important bill.
6 As a Black woman, in my community I
7 have seen many women go missing. And often I've
8 accompanied families to law enforcement, and the
9 same energy is not put behind finding them -- the
10 same regard, the same care.
11 We're all members of somebody's
12 family. This is somebody's sister, somebody's
13 daughter, maybe even somebody's mother. And in
14 some cases I have even had to look for people who
15 were somebody's mother.
16 Until we respect and protect every
17 single woman, then we are not doing our job, we
18 are not serving justice to females. And I
19 just -- I can't tell you enough how much this
20 bill means to me and many other families. We're
21 simply written off as runaways or written off as
22 it doesn't matter, it's not worth looking for
23 them.
24 And this is so important. I
25 encourage every one of my colleagues to vote aye
1928
1 on this today. There are so many families who
2 have suffered. We have had missing children that
3 have never been found. If you know the impact
4 that that could have -- think about your own
5 child and never, ever finding that child again.
6 It's horrific. But on top of that, to feel as if
7 no one's even looking is even worse.
8 So I thank you for this bill today,
9 and I proudly vote aye.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
11 Cleare to be recorded in the affirmative.
12 Senator Brouk to explain her vote.
13 SENATOR BROUK: Thank you,
14 Madam President.
15 And I want to congratulate and thank
16 my colleague Senator Webb for really being
17 deliberate in her advocacy as she has progressed
18 with this bill, to make sure that we are taking
19 into account many different perspectives and
20 create the most sound bill possible.
21 And I also -- as so many of my women
22 of color colleagues have pointed out, this
23 country has a very long history of discounting,
24 forgetting, disrespecting Black women and women
25 of color. We're left out of history books.
1929
1 We're not considered in a lot of policymaking
2 decisions -- although in this body that doesn't
3 happen anymore.
4 And this bill is a way to not just
5 correct some of those historical wrongs, but also
6 to tell, as Senator Cleare said, to tell our
7 young girls that they matter. I'm sitting here
8 getting ready to celebrate the first birthday --
9 that's why we need an on-time budget --
10 (Laughter.)
11 SENATOR BROUK: -- to celebrate the
12 first birthday of my little Black baby girl. And
13 I think about how she is the world to me. And to
14 think that there are mothers out there who don't
15 believe law enforcement or those in charge care
16 that their child is missing is heartbreaking to
17 me.
18 So thank you again to Senator Webb,
19 because these things need to get attention.
20 These things need to be talked about. These
21 things need to be acted upon. And that's why I
22 proudly stand with my colleague and so many of
23 our colleagues who have voted aye on this bill.
24 And I hope that it is not the end of
25 the work that we do to better recognize these
1930
1 wrongs in our society, but the beginning.
2 Thank you.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
4 Brouk to be recorded in the affirmative.
5 Announce the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 508, Senate Print 2103A, by Senator Harckham, an
11 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Read the
13 last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Call the
17 roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Announce
20 the results.
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
23 is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 520, Senate Print 1839, by Senator Sanders, an
1931
1 act to amend the Public Health Law.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Read the
3 last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
5 act shall take effect immediately.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Announce
10 the results.
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 524, Senate Print 3131, by Senator Mannion, an
16 act directing the Commissioner of Health to
17 conduct a study on the rates of reimbursement
18 made through the New York State Medicaid Durable
19 Medical Equipment.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Read the
21 last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Call the
25 roll.
1932
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Announce
3 the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
6 is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 540, Senate Print 1250, by Senator Salazar, an
9 act to establish an LGBTQ youth and young adult
10 suicide prevention task force.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Read the
12 last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
15 shall have become a law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Call the
17 roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
20 Brisport to explain his vote.
21 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
22 Madam President.
23 And I really want to thank Senator
24 Salazar for bringing this bill to us.
25 I'm a former public school teacher,
1933
1 and I recall a time I had to ride in an emergency
2 vehicle with a student who had expressed they
3 wished to take their own life. I've also had to
4 experience making a call to a mother to let her
5 know that her 11-year-old son was considering
6 taking his own life, which is a call that no
7 parent wants to receive.
8 I'm mostly an openly gay legislator,
9 proudly gay -- and I say open and proud because
10 too many people in the community are told not to
11 be open and proud. Too many of our youth are
12 told not to be open and proud. And too many
13 youth take their lives. The rates among LGBTQ+
14 youth are even higher, and I want these kids to
15 live.
16 So I proudly vote aye, and thank
17 you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
19 Brisport to be recorded in the affirmative.
20 Senator Hoylman-Sigal to explain his
21 vote.
22 SENATOR HOYLMAN-SIGAL: Thank you,
23 Madam President.
24 And thank you to my colleague
25 Senator Brisport, and mostly thank you to
1934
1 Senator Salazar for this important bill.
2 You know, a war is being waged
3 against LGBTQ kids in nearly half the states in
4 this country. According to the ACLU, there are
5 434, 434 anti-LGBTQ bills in statehouses like
6 this across the country -- 434 and counting.
7 Government officials are signaling to the general
8 public that it's acceptable to discriminate
9 against and fear LGBTQ people, and the hatred too
10 often falls on our kids.
11 In our schools, nine out of 10 LGBTQ
12 students reported being harassed and bullied last
13 year. And over a third of LGBTQ students
14 reported being physically assaulted at school
15 because of their sexual orientation and gender
16 identity. And really as a result of this
17 vitriol, this nationwide vitriol that is being
18 magnified and amplified by state legislatures,
19 many of our LGBTQ youth are suffering mentally.
20 And I'll end with this. The Trevor
21 Project found that 45 percent of LGBTQ youth
22 seriously considered attempting suicide in the
23 past year, including half of transgender and
24 nonbinary youth in New York State. Half in our
25 state.
1935
1 So I really do thank Senator Salazar
2 for this important legislation to get a handle on
3 suicide among LGBTQ youth and take steps to
4 prevent it. I vote aye.
5 Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
7 Hoylman-Sigal to be recorded in the affirmative.
8 Senator Scarcella-Spanton to explain
9 her vote.
10 SENATOR SCARCELLA-SPANTON: Thank
11 you, Madam Chair.
12 And thank you, Senator Salazar, for
13 pushing this legislation forth.
14 I just wanted to really commend this
15 legislation. It's so incredibly important. Just
16 this weekend on Staten Island we had a
17 20-year-old young man who took his own life for
18 being bullied for his sexual preference. This is
19 unacceptable and we have so much work to be done.
20 And I want to highlight that on
21 Staten Island, it's one of the first places left
22 in our St. Patrick's Day Parade where our Pride
23 Center isn't allowed to march. Having that out
24 there in public, having these young men and women
25 who don't feel accepted by their own community,
1936
1 is harmful.
2 And I really just wanted to thank
3 you, and I proudly vote aye.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
5 Scarcella-Spanton to be recorded in the
6 affirmative.
7 Senator Salazar to explain her vote.
8 SENATOR SALAZAR: Thank you,
9 Madam President.
10 And thank you to my colleagues for
11 supporting this legislation. Suicide among LGBTQ
12 teenagers and young people in New York is a
13 crisis. Suicide is the third leading cause of
14 death among young people ages 15 to 24 years old
15 in New York City, and LGBTQ youth face especially
16 high risks of suicide or self-harm.
17 One out of every three transgender
18 young people in New York City have seriously
19 thought about taking their lives, and two out of
20 every five report having made a suicide attempt.
21 During a time when LGBTQ young
22 people and transgender youth in particular are
23 being targeted across the country with harmful
24 laws intending to erase trans existence, it
25 should come as no surprise to us that these
1937
1 children are experiencing alarming levels of
2 suicidal ideation and self-harm. This is a
3 moment for New York to respond with unequivocal
4 support and love for queer and trans youth in the
5 face of bigotry.
6 This task force will help us better
7 understand the specific causes and factors that
8 lead to higher risk of suicide among young
9 people, such as trauma and oppression based on
10 their sexuality and gender identity, so our state
11 can take meaningful action to prevent suicide and
12 self-harm.
13 Madam President, I vote aye.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Senator
15 Salazar to be recorded in the affirmative.
16 Announce the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 548, Senate Print 4131, by Senator Mannion, an
22 act to amend the Tax Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Read the
24 last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
1938
1 act shall take effect on the first of January.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Announce
6 the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
9 is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 552, Senate Print 2691, by Senator Breslin, an
12 act to amend the General Municipal Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
16 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
17 shall have become a law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Call the
19 roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Announce
22 the results.
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
25 is passed.
1939
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 558, Senate Print 5176, by Senator Thomas, an act
3 authorizing the World Restoration Center Inc. to
4 receive retroactive real property tax exempt
5 status.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Announce
14 the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
16 Calendar Number 558, voting in the negative:
17 Senator O'Mara.
18 Ayes, 61. Nays, 1.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: The bill
20 is passed.
21 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
22 reading of today's calendar.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: Is there any
24 further business at the desk?
25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: There is
1940
1 no further business at the desk.
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: I move to
3 adjourn until tomorrow, Wednesday, March 29th, at
4 3:00 p.m.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: On motion,
6 the Senate stands adjourned until Wednesday,
7 March 29th, at 3:00 p.m.
8 (Whereupon, at 4:09 p.m., the Senate
9 adjourned.)
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