Regular Session - March 19, 2025
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1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 March 19, 2025
11 4:00 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR JAMAAL T. BAILEY, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
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21
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25
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
3 Senate will come to order.
4 I ask everyone to please rise and
5 recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: His
9 Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, of the
10 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, will
11 deliver today's invocation.
12 His Eminence.
13 ARCHBISHOP ELPIDOPHOROS: May we
14 bow our heads in prayer.
15 In the name of the Father and the
16 Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.
17 O God, we offer our abundant thanks
18 and praise for gathering us together today in the
19 Senate Chamber of the great State of New York to
20 pray for the good estate of our government.
21 Bless all these servants who
22 represent the people, that they may always uphold
23 justice and the rule of law.
24 Grant unto them to fulfill their
25 duties, their responsibilities and obligations to
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1 people of New York with honor, with integrity,
2 and with faithfulness to their oath of office.
3 Bless them to love liberty, the same
4 freedom that we commemorate today in our
5 recognition of March 25th, the day of Greek
6 Independence, and the freedom enshrined in our
7 beloved state and nation.
8 Keep these lawgivers in Your loving
9 care, that they may ever serve with dignity and
10 grace in their high office and thus may they
11 render glory, reverence and honor to You, the
12 Source of Righteousness and the Law of Love.
13 Amen.
14 (Response of "Amen.")
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Reading
16 of the Journal.
17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Tuesday,
18 March 18, 2025, the Senate met pursuant to
19 adjournment. The Journal of Monday, March 17,
20 2025, was read and approved. On motion, the
21 Senate adjourned.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Without
23 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
24 Presentation of petitions.
25 Messages from the Assembly.
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1 Messages from the Governor.
2 Reports of standing committees.
3 Reports of select committees.
4 Communications and reports from
5 state officers.
6 Motions and resolutions.
7 Senator Gianaris.
8 SENATOR GIANARIS: Good afternoon,
9 Mr. President.
10 Let's begin by recognizing
11 Senator Gounardes for an introduction.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY:
13 Senator Gounardes for the purposes of an
14 introduction.
15 SENATOR GOUNARDES: Thank you,
16 Mr. President.
17 In a little while we will read a
18 resolution to commemorate the 204th anniversary
19 of Greece's independence and to declare March as
20 Greek-American Heritage Month.
21 Today the relationship between the
22 United States, Greece and our sister nation of
23 Cyprus is as strong as it's ever been. Anchored
24 in the shared values of democratic governance,
25 these three nations are joined together through
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1 mutual economic, political and security matters.
2 Souda Bay, in Crete, is home to the
3 U.S. Navy's base of operations in the Eastern
4 Mediterranean, and the enactment of the Eastern
5 Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act
6 in our own U.S. Congress has positioned Greece
7 and Cyprus to play leading roles in securing
8 energy independence for the entire European
9 continent.
10 The relationship between our
11 countries would not be possible but for the
12 persistent and engaged advocacy of the
13 Greek-American communities that can be found in
14 each and every one of our districts.
15 And so that's why it's my honor now
16 to recognize that we are joined in this chamber
17 by the Consul General of Greece in New York,
18 Mrs. Iphigenia Kanara. We want to welcome her
19 and thank her for her nation's friendship.
20 And, Mr. President, I ask that you
21 welcome our guest and bestow on her the full
22 privilege of our chamber.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: To the
24 Consul General, I welcome you on behalf of the
25 Senate. We extend to you all of the privileges
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1 and courtesies of this house.
2 Please rise and be recognized.
3 (Standing ovation.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
5 Gianaris.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's stick with
7 the theme, Mr. President, and take up previously
8 adopted Resolution 510, by Senator Gianaris, read
9 that resolution's title, and call on the esteemed
10 Senator Gianaris to speak.
11 (Laughter.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
13 Secretary will read.
14 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 510, by
15 Senator Gianaris, memorializing Governor Kathy
16 Hochul to proclaim March 2025 as Greek History
17 Month in the State of New York, in conjunction
18 with the commemoration of the 204th Anniversary
19 of Greek Independence.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
21 esteemed Senator Gianaris on the resolution.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
23 Mr. President.
24 First of all, I want to second my
25 colleague Senator Gounardes in welcoming
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1 His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros here today.
2 It is always a pleasure to have him join us in
3 the Senate chamber, and of course our friends
4 representing the Greek government. I know the
5 Cyprus Consul General was also here, and he had
6 to head back home. But he was here with us
7 earlier today at the luncheon where many of you
8 were.
9 This is the day of the year when I
10 stand up and I tell you how much credit the
11 Greeks deserve for everything that we experience
12 in Western civilization. I'm going to leave a
13 lot of that to Senator Gounardes, who's a better
14 student of history than I am, to go through.
15 What I want to spend my time on today, in
16 addition to all the wonderful things about the
17 arts and philosophy and science and mathematics
18 and our very democracy, which is under threat
19 even in this country, is a discussion of
20 architecture.
21 And I wanted to spend this time
22 talking about something that many of you may not
23 appreciate or understand.
24 So let's talk about ancient Greek,
25 even ancient Roman architecture. So when you
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1 think about that, when you see it depicted in the
2 movies, when you picture in your mind's eye what
3 it was like back then, you probably think of
4 those beautiful marble white buildings
5 everywhere.
6 In fact, that is not at all what
7 they looked like. Even our State Education
8 building, in attempting to emulate that classical
9 architecture, shows that.
10 Did you know that back then all
11 those buildings were painted, in very bright
12 colors. So even the Parthenon or any of the
13 other buildings you see would be red and blue and
14 gold, because they painted things the way we do.
15 It's just that over the thousands of years the
16 paint has worn off, and so they look -- when we
17 found the ruins, they looked to be white.
18 And so here we are in modern times,
19 like, That's what they were like, let's make them
20 all white. But in fact, not at all the case. I
21 just wanted to share that bit of trivia with all
22 of you. If you want to get a couple of buckets
23 and head over to the Education building, we can
24 make it look --
25 (Laughter.)
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1 SENATOR GIANARIS: -- more
2 representative of what it was like back then.
3 I think I'm going to do this every
4 year, is find a new bit of trivia to share with
5 you about our history.
6 But of course those of us who are of
7 Greek extraction -- my own parents are proud
8 immigrants from Greece; Senator Gounardes,
9 Senator Skoufis here also share our Greek
10 heritage -- are very, very proud of it, because
11 it is the ultimate immigrant story. The story of
12 Greeks in America is the story of people who came
13 here, and it sounds cliche, but it's true, with
14 very little in their pockets, very little in
15 terms of acquaintances or people they knew.
16 They'd often come to this country just because
17 they had a family friend or a cousin or someone
18 who came first, and they'd just show up at their
19 home and start a life.
20 And a generation or two later, their
21 children are senators or lawyers or doctors or
22 successful in so many different ways in the U.S.
23 because they sacrificed their lives for their
24 children and their children's children. And I,
25 for one, appreciate that so much. You know, I
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1 lost my father last year, and my mom, thank God,
2 is still with us. But I think about that often.
3 I think about, you know, we tend to be selfish --
4 too selfish, I would say.
5 But I think about that generation of
6 people who put themselves through pain, who put
7 themselves through suffering just so that we
8 could have it a little better. And that's the
9 Greek story. And that's the story of so many
10 people who have come to this country from
11 elsewhere. And I daresay to this day that is the
12 story of so many others who are trying to get
13 into this country and are facing obstacles
14 unnecessarily and unjustly. Some who are already
15 here and are being ejected unjustly and
16 unnecessarily.
17 But I don't want to diverge too far
18 from the importance of Greek History Month. As a
19 proud American of Greek descent, I thank my
20 colleagues for giving us a moment to talk about
21 this on the floor today. And thank you,
22 Mr. President for the time to discuss the
23 resolution.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
25 you, Senator Gianaris.
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1 Senator Gounardes on the resolution.
2 SENATOR GOUNARDES: Thank you,
3 Mr. President.
4 And thank you, Senator Gianaris, and
5 Senator Skoufis.
6 We think and feel differently
7 because of what a little Greek town did during a
8 century or two 2400 years ago. That's how
9 esteemed classicist Edith Hamilton described the
10 impact that Greece and the Greek people have had
11 on the world for two-and-a-half millennia. And
12 like Senator Gianaris, I'll spare you the litany
13 of ways in which Greece has shaped our world
14 today, but it's objectively true that
15 Professor Hamilton's statement is 100 percent
16 fact. That's why I'm incredibly proud, as a
17 fourth-generation Greek-American, to stand here
18 today and recognize March as Greek Heritage
19 Month.
20 But it's not just what happened in
21 the days of Socrates and Pericles that inspire us
22 to celebrate Greek heritage. Indeed, it's the
23 vast span of history over the last 2500 years and
24 the collective impact of that history on our
25 world today that gives Greeks and philhellenes a
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1 a swell of pride and jubilee.
2 The rich glory of the Byzantine
3 Empire that lasted for a thousand years; the
4 tenacious resilience that survived 400 years of
5 Ottoman oppression and enslavement; the fierce
6 courageousness of the war for independence that
7 sparked revolutionary change across the European
8 continent; the determined resistance that stymied
9 Nazi occupiers and bought enough time for Allied
10 forces to shift the balance of war along the
11 Eastern Front of World War II; and the soaring
12 heights of success that Greeks in the diaspora
13 have achieved throughout the world today -- these
14 are all reasons why Greeks and people of Greek
15 heritage have enormous pride in who we are.
16 This year -- next week -- we'll be
17 celebrating 204 years of Greece's independence.
18 On March 25, 1821, revolutionary fighters
19 gathered together with Metropolitan Germanos in
20 the Monastery of Agia Lavra, in the village of
21 Kalavryta -- which is where Senator Gianaris's
22 family is from -- and declared independence
23 against Ottoman occupation and enslavement.
24 The war was hard-fought, resulting
25 in countless acts of devastation and atrocities,
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1 as war so often brings, including the Massacre of
2 the Island of ChÃos, the island where my family
3 is from, where nearly 100,000 people were killed
4 or expelled from the island forcibly.
5 And much like our own Revolutionary
6 War here in America, seven years after declaring
7 independence, the people of Greece -- the
8 farmers, the sailors, the merchants, the
9 shepherds who lived in towns and villages all
10 across the Greek countryside won the war and
11 formed their own Hellenic republic.
12 Today we celebrate this history and
13 reflect on the rich contributions that the
14 Greek-American community has made to our own
15 nation's history. We cheer the incredible
16 success that Greek-Americans have achieved in
17 law, media, business, science, medicine, politics
18 and other fields.
19 But it should not be forgotten by us
20 that at one time our forefathers were unwanted in
21 this country. And at one time it was not
22 uncommon to see crosses burning on the lawns of
23 Greek houses.
24 We cherish the personal stories of
25 our own families who came to this country to seek
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1 their American dream and to create a better life
2 for themselves. But it should not be forgotten
3 by us that there was a time when this country
4 would not accept more than 100 immigrants a year
5 from Greece. And yet we still smuggled ourselves
6 in by the thousands and tens of thousands.
7 We applaud at the remembrance of
8 Archbishop Iakovos boldly standing beside
9 Dr. King at the funeral of Reverend Reeb and then
10 crossing the Pettus Bridge. Or even our own
11 Archbishop Elpidophoros, who is here with us
12 today, marching in the streets for Black lives.
13 But it should not be forgotten by us that there
14 were many, even in our own community, who did not
15 and still do not see value in the struggle for
16 civil rights and equality and condemned the
17 actions of our own leaders.
18 So as I reflect on today's
19 commemoration of Greek heritage and I think about
20 the moment that we are living in right now, I
21 find wisdom and guidance in the totality of the
22 Greek-American experience. I draw inspiration
23 from the high points of our stories as well as
24 the trials our community has faced. And I remain
25 ever hopeful that we as a community will remember
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1 the struggles our ancestors faced and we open our
2 hands and we open our hearts to all those whose
3 stories mirror our own and embrace our fellow
4 human beings as true brothers and sisters.
5 And so with that, Mr. President, I
6 say with great pride: Happy Greek independence
7 Day. Zhtw h Ellas!
8 Thank you.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
10 you, Senator Gounardes.
11 The resolution is adopted on
12 March 18th.
13 Senator Gianaris.
14 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we now take
15 up privileged Resolution 529, by
16 Leader Stewart-Cousins. This is the resolution
17 honoring the Legislative Women's Caucus. We have
18 agreed that there will be one Senator from each
19 side of the aisle speaking on this, only so we
20 don't spend the whole afternoon on it.
21 So please call on Senator Webb after
22 we have take up this resolution, and then
23 Senator Helming.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: There's a
25 privileged resolution at the desk.
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1 The Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 529, by
3 Senator Stewart-Cousins, recognizing the honorees
4 of the New York State Legislative Women's Caucus,
5 in conjunction with the observance of
6 Women's History Month.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
8 Webb on the resolution.
9 SENATOR WEBB: Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 I rise, as the proud chair of our
12 Women's Issues Committee, with the distinct honor
13 and privilege to recognize all of our honorees
14 who have come from all over the state as part of
15 our Legislative Women's Caucus Women's History
16 Month celebration.
17 New York's history as the birthplace
18 of the suffrage movement, the home of
19 change-makers and glass-ceiling breakers -- and,
20 in most cases, especially for women of color,
21 brick-ceiling breakers -- like Shirley Chisholm,
22 Constance Baker Motley, Ida Sammis, Ruth Bader
23 Ginsburg, and countless others, makes today
24 particularly auspicious.
25 We all stand on the great shoulders
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1 of women who have come before us, some walking
2 through these very doors, with the responsibility
3 to pass the torch forward and continue blazing a
4 a path forward for our collective change and
5 progress.
6 There is hardly a more urgent time
7 and moment for us to continue this fight, as we
8 are seeing and experiencing firsthand the
9 systemic and deliberate erasure of women's
10 excellence from both public records and
11 commemorations, in a backwards purge of our own
12 history by the federal government.
13 Some people falsely believe that if
14 we are out of sight, we will be out of mind and
15 our indelible contributions as women can be
16 chipped away, that our existence will be subdued,
17 relegated, and in some cases subjugated to a
18 point where we are considered less than human.
19 I am here as proof, along with my
20 follow colleagues who broke their own glass
21 ceilings and served as firsts in their own ways,
22 that those hard battles won can never be undone
23 because we all benefit from it.
24 Together, we have made the New York
25 State Senate a more representative body and
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1 advanced transformational policies around women's
2 healthcare, antidiscrimination, maternal
3 well-being, equal opportunity, that help to shape
4 a much wider path for all of us to follow. And
5 we will continue our work in this great state in
6 the face of any opposition that may come our way
7 or challenges that present themselves in our
8 path, just like those who came before us and just
9 like those who will inevitably follow behind us.
10 Being in Albany today with other
11 Women of Excellence from across our state only
12 reaffirms this truth that the talent, the
13 tenacity, the prestige that fills every corner of
14 New York in numbers far greater than any who wish
15 to diminish our contributions. Adjectives like
16 trailblazer, visionary, determined,
17 legacy-builder, change-maker and others are just
18 a few of the many ways that our honorees who are
19 here today not only represent the best of our
20 communities, but they are working to improve our
21 collective lives.
22 I am proud to be joined here today
23 with my own Women's History Month honoree,
24 Dr. Leslyn McBean Clairborne, who served for more
25 than 20 years on the Tompkins County Legislature,
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1 who was the first woman of color to serve as the
2 chair. As an accomplished academic, highly
3 decorated activist, and prolific member of our
4 community, Leslyn makes our community very proud.
5 And she is joined by many other
6 incredible women here in our chamber from across
7 the state that my colleagues have chosen to honor
8 this particular month, but honor them every
9 single day, to be clear.
10 They are lifelong advocates,
11 educators, electeds, leaders who hold many
12 titles, some that are paid and, most often, some
13 that are not. But they are committed to ensuring
14 that our state continues to thrive. And they
15 make us better.
16 You bring us all great pride, and we
17 thank you all for the work that you have done and
18 the work that you will continue to do on behalf
19 of all of our communities that make us the
20 Empire State.
21 I want to thank our Majority Leader,
22 who continues to shatter barriers every single
23 day, our Senate Majority Leader Andrea
24 Stewart-Cousins.
25 Also, all of our members of the New
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1 York State Legislative Women's Caucus for
2 elevating this year's honorees and once again
3 commemorating this important month this year and
4 for many more months and years to come.
5 Mr. President, I proudly vote aye
6 and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.
7 Happy Women's History Month.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
9 you, Senator Webb.
10 (Applause from gallery.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: There
12 will be opportunity for more applause later.
13 Senator Helming on the resolution.
14 SENATOR HELMING: I thought it was
15 for me!
16 (Laughter.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Yes,
18 indeed.
19 SENATOR HELMING: Thank you,
20 Mr. President. And thank you, Senator Webb, for
21 those wonderful words.
22 I'm so honored to stand before this
23 body to commemorate Women's History Month and our
24 Legislative Women's Caucus honorees. There's a
25 saying that I think probably all of us are
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1 familiar with: In order to know where you're
2 going, it's important to know where you've been.
3 By understanding the challenges
4 women have endured throughout our state and our
5 nation's history and, importantly, the
6 contributions they have made, we not only deepen
7 our understanding of the past but we heighten our
8 collective determination to keep going, to
9 achieve the progress that we need and, honestly,
10 the progress that we deserve.
11 This year's Women's History Month
12 theme is "Moving Forward Together: Women
13 Educating and Inspiring Generations." We are
14 celebrating women who have dedicated their lives
15 to education, mentorship, and to leadership.
16 So it's fitting that my Women's
17 History Month honoree this year is Amy West.
18 Amy is a wonderful person. She's an
19 entrepreneur, she's a leader in the education
20 field. She serves as a Monroe County BOCES No. 1
21 school board member. She had been a past school
22 board president for the Honeoye Falls-Lima School
23 District. She is a small businesses owner. She
24 owns two grocery stores, and she is a mentor.
25 And just as importantly, she is a mother.
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1 I'd like to congratulate Amy and all
2 of the Women's History Month honorees. I have to
3 say it was such a treat at the luncheon this
4 afternoon hearing about these incredible women.
5 All across the state women are leading
6 courageously, fiercely -- sometimes quietly, but
7 oftentimes fiercely -- for equal rights, for
8 equal pay, equal protection, and equal
9 opportunity.
10 My Senate district, the
11 54th District, is home of the Ontario County
12 Courthouse, where in 1873 Susan B. Anthony was
13 tried and convicted of voting illegally as a
14 woman. This year we proudly mark the
15 105th anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting
16 women the right to vote.
17 As the saying goes, we've come a
18 long way. Yet we recognize the ways in which we
19 must still go. And we have so far to go.
20 And, you know, I was reminded of
21 that downstairs, on display as part of the
22 Women's History Month, there are a number of
23 banners and there's one that really, it grabbed
24 me. First of all, because the quote is from
25 Clara Barton. Many of us know her as the founder
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1 of the American Red Cross. But the quote reads:
2 "I shall never do a man's work for less than a
3 man's pay."
4 That resonates with me today
5 because, you know what, women are still not being
6 paid equally. The United States Census data
7 shows that women are earning, in equal jobs,
8 84 cents to a man's $1. We've got to continue to
9 fight, push back against that, for equal pay.
10 To all the women who are here today,
11 to the female leaders everywhere who inspire all
12 of us and, most importantly, to our young girls
13 and our young women, we see you, we celebrate
14 you, and we thank you.
15 In order to know where you're going,
16 like I said, it's important to know where you've
17 been. Together, we are going to keep going for
18 our daughters and our granddaughters and for the
19 good of our great Empire State.
20 Mr. President, I vote yes on this
21 resolution and urge my colleagues to do the same.
22 Thank you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
24 you, Senator Helming.
25 To our guests, our phenomenal
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1 honorees, I welcome you on behalf of the Senate.
2 We extend to you all of the privileges and
3 courtesies of this house.
4 Please rise and be recognized.
5 (Standing ovation.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
7 question is on the resolution. All in favor
8 signify by saying aye.
9 (Response of "Aye.")
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Opposed,
11 nay.
12 (No response.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
14 resolution is adopted.
15 Senator Gianaris.
16 SENATOR GIANARIS: At this time,
17 Mr. President, please call on Senator Cleare for
18 an introduction.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
20 Cleare for the purposes of an introduction.
21 SENATOR CLEARE: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 I'm excited to rise today. It is my
24 honor to welcome SkillSpring to Albany today. I
25 appreciate your indulgence as you allow me to
1304
1 brag about a program that is equal parts
2 healthcare, workforce, education, empowerment and
3 economic development all at the same time.
4 The New Jewish Home's SkillSpring
5 program reaches out to high school students,
6 often from public housing, and pays them to
7 become certified nurse assistants, while
8 guaranteeing permanent job placement at the end.
9 SkillSpring is an initiative that
10 has major intergenerational effects. Our youth
11 learn a valuable skill, responsibility, and
12 compassion, and our older New Yorkers have
13 someone to pass along their wisdom, insight and
14 share life experiences with. Lifetime bonds are
15 often formed.
16 To date, SkillSpring has created
17 healthcare career pathways for over 1100 young
18 people, providing them the mentoring, training
19 and allied health accreditation that leads to
20 good-paying jobs, career pathways, and the
21 rewards of a profession well pursued.
22 I've never missed an opportunity to
23 attend a graduation, and I hope that I never do.
24 Every time I attend, I see the work that's being
25 done. I see our money pay off in our young
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1 people. I see pride, I see purpose. And I think
2 that is something that we have to do much, much
3 more for our young people, and also build our
4 workforce.
5 So today I just want to thank you
6 for all that you do. I know some of the students
7 had to leave, they had a train to catch. But
8 today I'm going to welcome -- well, he was
9 here -- SkillSpring alumni Christopher Kelly
10 Davis and Damian Harvey. SkillSpring staff
11 Alyssa Herman, Tanya Isaacs, Alita Maristany.
12 Sarah Daly from LeadingAge, thank you for your
13 support. Laura Niland from the Metropolitan
14 Jewish Health System, and ArchCare.
15 Mr. President, please recognize them
16 and afford them all the cordialities of the
17 Senate. Thank you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
19 you, Senator Cleare.
20 To our guests, I welcome you on
21 behalf of the Senate. We extend to you all of
22 the privileges and courtesies of this house.
23 Please rise and be recognized.
24 (Standing ovation.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
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1 Gianaris.
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
3 let's move on to previously adopted
4 Resolution 487, by Senator John Liu, read that
5 resolution's title, and recognize Senator Liu.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
7 Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 487, by
9 Senator Liu, memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul
10 to proclaim March 23, 2025, as Pakistan-American
11 Heritage Day in the State of New York.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
13 Liu on the resolution.
14 SENATOR LIU: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 I am so happy and excited to be
17 joined by many friends from the very proud
18 Pakistani-American community. We have many
19 friends and leaders in the Senate gallery. And
20 we are joined on the floor by none other than the
21 Bangladesh ambassador to the United States,
22 Rizwan Saeed -- we are joined by the Pakistan
23 ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed
24 Sheikh. Thank you, Your Excellency, for joining
25 us on the Senate floor.
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1 We're also joined by the
2 Consul General from Bangladesh to New York,
3 Mr. Aamer Ahmed Atozai, thank you very much. And
4 of course our friend and brother Ali Rashid, who
5 is the head of the American Pakistani Advocacy
6 Group. Thank you so much.
7 You know, a lot's been said about
8 different communities today already, but the
9 Pakistani-American community is one that's very
10 proud that boasts all parts of our American
11 society and economy. They are accomplished in
12 their small businesses, whether it be in stores
13 or restaurants or transportation services, as
14 well as the most professional endeavors,
15 including physicians, attorneys, engineers and
16 the like.
17 And we would not be the State of
18 New York today if not for this very important and
19 influential Pakistani-American community that we
20 celebrate with the designation of
21 Pakistani-American Day on March 23rd.
22 So, Mr. President, please accord our
23 distinguished guests all the celebration and
24 valor of this chamber.
25 Thank you.
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
2 you, Senator Liu.
3 To our distinguished guests, I
4 welcome you on behalf of the Senate. We extend
5 to you all of the privileges and courtesies of
6 this house.
7 Please rise and be recognized.
8 (Standing ovation.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
10 resolution was previously adopted on March 11th.
11 Senator Gianaris.
12 SENATOR GIANARIS: Next up is
13 previously adopted Resolution 497, by
14 Senator Sean Ryan. Please read that resolution's
15 title and recognize Senator Ryan, comma, S.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
17 Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 497, by
19 Senator Sean Ryan, memorializing Governor
20 Kathy Hochul to proclaim March 19, 2025, as
21 Small Business Development Centers Day in the
22 State of New York.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
24 Sean Ryan on the resolution.
25 SENATOR SEAN RYAN: Thank you,
1309
1 Mr. President. I rise today to celebrate the
2 Small Business Development Centers Day in
3 New York State.
4 Small businesses make up
5 90 percent -- 96 percent of New York State
6 businesses and employ half of our workforce.
7 They're the backbone of our economy. When
8 they're thriving, New York's thriving.
9 As a legislature, it's our job to
10 make sure they're getting the support that they
11 need. We do that by funding things with a proven
12 track record of helping small businesses, things
13 like investing in proven infrastructure,
14 broadband deployment, cheap hydropower,
15 supporting programs to grow our state workforces,
16 like universal pre-K and childcare, and funding
17 Small Business Development Centers.
18 Small Business Development Centers
19 provide advice, training and research that helps
20 New York's budding entrepreneurs to start and
21 grow their businesses. They're affiliated with
22 13 SUNY and five CUNY campuses, as well as
23 St. Thomas Aquinas and Pace University. It's a
24 connection that makes them a pipeline between our
25 colleges, universities, communities and small
1310
1 businesses that rely on them to educate the
2 workforce.
3 They're a huge help to individual
4 businesses, and they're an important economic
5 development tool.
6 I know firsthand; there's a Small
7 Business Development Center at Buffalo State. I
8 go there several times a year, and each time I'm
9 blown away by the creativity, the
10 stick-to-it-iveness of the entrepreneurs there,
11 and the stick-to-it-iveness of the trainers, led
12 by Sue McCartney, who runs that program.
13 But there's a lot of Sue McCartneys
14 all around New York State who are doing this
15 work. This is their 41st year. They've provided
16 over $8 billion in direct financial impact and
17 helped create hundreds and thousands of jobs. In
18 2024 alone, they helped over 31,000 small
19 businesses to create an economic impact of over
20 $240 million.
21 As chair of the Economic Development
22 Committee, I'm proud to support their work, and
23 I'll continue to do my part to make sure that
24 they have the support they need from this
25 legislative body.
1311
1 And today I recognize them by
2 celebrating Small Business Development Centers
3 Day.
4 Thank you, Mr. President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
6 you, Senator Ryan.
7 The resolution was previously
8 adopted on March 18th.
9 Senator Gianaris.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
11 next up, previously adopted resolution --
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Wait,
13 wait, hold on.
14 SENATOR SEAN RYAN: Mr. President,
15 I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have several
16 people here from Small Business Development
17 Centers --
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: I was
19 wondering if you had guests, yes.
20 SENATOR SEAN RYAN: -- around the
21 state. They're our guests today.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: To our
23 guests, we welcome you on behalf of the Senate.
24 We extend to you extra privileges, because I
25 forgot you the first time --
1312
1 (Laughter.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: -- and
3 courtesies of this house.
4 Please rise and be recognized.
5 (Standing ovation.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
7 resolution was previously adopted on March 18th.
8 Senator Gianaris.
9 SENATOR GIANARIS: And now,
10 Mr. President, let's take up previously adopted
11 Resolution 442, by Senator Hinchey, read that
12 resolution's title, and recognize
13 Senator Hinchey.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
15 Secretary will read.
16 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 442, by
17 Senator Hinchey, commending New York Maple
18 Producers during the Annual Maple Weekends on
19 March 22-23, 2025, and March 29-30, 2025.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
21 Hinchey on the resolution.
22 SENATOR HINCHEY: Thank you,
23 Mr. President.
24 I rise in honor of Maple Weekends.
25 The first Maple Weekend began as Maple Sunday in
1313
1 1995, a single-day event to celebrate the maple
2 harvest and connect the public with local
3 producers.
4 2025 marks the 29th year of Maple
5 Weekends, now spanning four days across two whole
6 weekends, starting this weekend, actually.
7 Maple Weekends is an incredible
8 thing connecting our community to the producers
9 who farm and produce our food. One of the things
10 I love about driving around my district is being
11 able to see the blue lines, knowing that in those
12 woods something that looks just like a tree lot
13 is actually a working farm that's connecting
14 people to the land and creating something
15 incredibly delicious that we all get to
16 participate with.
17 One of my favorite uses for maple is
18 sweetening my coffee. But there are many, from
19 maple doughnuts to maple cronuts and all kinds of
20 things.
21 I encourage everyone this coming
22 weekend to get outside, find a maple farm, either
23 in your community or around the state, and visit
24 and talk with some of these producers. They're
25 all small farms, and we're so lucky to have them
1314
1 in our communities.
2 Thank you very much, Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
4 you, Senator Hinchey.
5 Senator Borrello on the resolution.
6 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
7 Mr. President. I don't know how to follow up
8 maple cronuts, but I'll try.
9 Maple Weekends has been an amazing
10 opportunity to recognize that New York State is
11 the number-two maple producer in the country.
12 And in fact, last year, in 2024, the maple
13 production was 846,000 gallons, up a hundred
14 thousand gallons from the year before.
15 And I'm told this is going to be
16 another great year as we start to close out
17 tapping of the maple trees around New York State.
18 And this weekend is our time to
19 celebrate that. In my district I am proud to
20 have several legendary places where you can come
21 and experience maple weekend -- places like
22 Sprague's Maple Farms, Sweet Time Maple,
23 Ulinger's Maple Farm, Wright Farms. And then I
24 myself will be down at Merle Maple.
25 Come on out to one of the many
1315
1 places that we have here in New York State. This
2 is a great opportunity to celebrate all the sweet
3 things that make up Maple Weekend.
4 Thank you, Mr. President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
6 you, Senator Borrello.
7 The resolution was previously
8 adopted on March 11th.
9 Senator Gianaris.
10 SENATOR GIANARIS: Last but not
11 least, previously adopted Resolution 460, by
12 Senator Ashby. Please read that resolution's
13 title and recognize Senator Ashby.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
15 Secretary will read.
16 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 460, by
17 Senator Ashby, commemorating the Third Annual
18 Honor Flight Day in the State of New York.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
20 Ashby on the resolution.
21 SENATOR ASHBY: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 Today we celebrate our third annual
24 Honor Flight Day in our State Capitol. Honor
25 Flight is a national organization with more than
1316
1 100 hubs across America. These Honor Flight hubs
2 provide all-expense-paid trips for our veterans
3 and their families to Washington, D.C., where
4 they visit memorials that are erected in their
5 honor.
6 Many veterans and organizers call it
7 a flight of a lifetime. It's my honor, as the
8 ranking member of the Veterans, Homeland Security
9 and Military Affairs Committee, to introduce our
10 Honor Flight veterans and organizers.
11 We have dozens of veterans here with
12 us today representing 10 Honor Flight hubs
13 throughout the State of New York, to include
14 Long Island Honor Flight, Big Apple Honor Flight,
15 Hudson Valley Honor Flight, Patriot Flight
16 Albany, Leatherstocking Honor Flight, Honor
17 Flight Syracuse, Honor Flight Rochester, Twin
18 Tiers Honor Flight, Buffalo-Niagara Honor Flight,
19 and North Country Honor Flight.
20 We are also joined by veterans of
21 the Vietnam War, the Korea conflict, World War II
22 veterans, and Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, to
23 include 99-year-old Arthur Grabiner, I believe a
24 constituent of Senator Liu, a Navy Pacific
25 Theater veteran who was in the Philippines just
1317
1 last month commemorating the 80th anniversary of
2 the Battle of Manila. He will be receiving the
3 Congressional Gold Medal next month and will be
4 turning 100 in September.
5 Please welcome them and honor their
6 service.
7 (Applause from gallery.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
9 you, Senator Ashby.
10 Senator Scarcella-Spanton on the
11 resolution.
12 SENATOR SCARCELLA-SPANTON: Thank
13 you, Mr. President.
14 And thank you to my colleague
15 Senator Ashby, who's a wonderful ranking member
16 on this committee, for introducing this
17 resolution today.
18 It's important to mention each year
19 the Honor Flight Network helps make it possible
20 for about 22,000 veterans to travel to
21 Washington, D.C. And since its inception,
22 approximately 275,000 veterans from all services,
23 from more than 130 locations across the country,
24 have taken this flight.
25 In New York State alone, over
1318
1 5,000 members of the armed services have
2 fulfilled their wish to visit our nation's
3 capital and all its sites and memorials honoring
4 our country's great history.
5 Once again, our nation's veterans
6 deserve to be recognized, commended and thanked
7 by the people of the State of New York.
8 And it was wonderful to meet so many
9 of you this morning. Thank you again to my
10 colleague Senator Ashby for introducing this.
11 I proudly vote aye.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
13 you, Senator Scarcella-Spanton.
14 To our guests, we thank you for your
15 sacrifice and we appreciate and applaud your
16 service. I welcome you on behalf of the Senate.
17 We extend to you all of the privileges and
18 courtesies of this house.
19 Please be recognized.
20 (Cheers; lengthy standing ovation.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
22 resolution was previously adopted on March 11th.
23 Senator Gianaris.
24 SENATOR GIANARIS: At the request
25 of the sponsors, today's resolutions are all open
1319
1 for cosponsorship.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: These
3 resolutions are open for cosponsorship. Should
4 you choose not to be a cosponsor, please notify
5 the desk.
6 Senator Gianaris.
7 SENATOR GIANARIS: I have a motion
8 here, Mr. President.
9 On behalf of Senator Stavisky, on
10 page 27 I offer the following amendments to
11 Calendar 458, Senate Print 4892, and ask that
12 said bill retain its place on the Third Reading
13 Calendar.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
15 amendments are received, and the bill will retain
16 its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
17 Senator Gianaris.
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's take up
19 the calendar now, please.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
21 Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 130, Senate Print 1926, by Senator Persaud, an
24 act to amend the Social Services Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
1320
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
3 act shall take effect October 1, 2026.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
8 the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
10 Calendar 130, voting in the negative are
11 Senators Borrello, Oberacker and Walczyk.
12 Ayes, 57. Nays, 3.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 289, Senate Print 568, by Senator May, an act to
17 amend the Election Law.
18 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Lay it
20 aside.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 293, Senate Print 1809, by Senator Fernandez, an
23 act to amend the Election Law.
24 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Lay it
1321
1 aside.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 378, Senate Print 4980, by Senator Martinez, an
4 act to amend the General Municipal Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
6 last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
10 roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
13 the results.
14 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
15 Calendar 378, voting in the negative are
16 Senators Ashby, Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick,
17 Chan, Gallivan, Griffo, Lanza, Martins, Murray,
18 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec,
19 Tedisco, Walczyk and Weber.
20 Ayes, 42. Nays, 18.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
22 is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 433, Senate Print 4852, by Senator Skoufis, an
25 act to amend the Executive Law.
1322
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
2 last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
4 act shall take effect immediately.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
6 roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
9 the results.
10 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
11 Calendar 433, voting in the negative are
12 Senators Ashby, Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick,
13 Chan, Griffo, Helming, Murray, Oberacker, O'Mara,
14 Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec, Tedisco,
15 Walczyk, Weber and Weik.
16 Ayes, 42. Nays, 18.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
18 is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 460, Senate Print Number 5392, by
21 Senator Scarcella-Spanton, an act to amend
22 the Education Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
24 last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
1323
1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
6 the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
8 Calendar 460, voting in the negative are
9 Senators Borrello, Griffo, Helming, O'Mara,
10 Rhoads, Tedisco, Walczyk, Weber and Weik.
11 Ayes, 51. Nays, 9.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Also Senator
15 Martinez.
16 Ayes, 50. Nays, 10.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
18 is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 483, Senate Print 4911, by Senator Hinchey, an
21 act to amend the Agriculture and Markets Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
1324
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
5 the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 487, Senate Print 1287A, by Senator Persaud, an
11 act to amend the Public Health Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
13 last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
15 act shall take effect on the 30th day after it
16 shall have become a law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
21 the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
24 is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
1325
1 528, Senate Print 2011, by Senator Parker, an act
2 to direct the Department of State and
3 Public Service Commission to jointly study and
4 report upon the disclosure to consumer credit
5 reporting agencies.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
14 the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
16 Calendar 528, voting in the negative are
17 Senators Martins, O'Mara and Ortt.
18 Ayes, 57. Nays, 3.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
20 is passed.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 529, Senate Print 2587, by Senator Mayer, an act
23 to amend the Executive Law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
25 last section.
1326
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
2 act shall take effect immediately.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
4 roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
7 Mayer to explain her vote.
8 SENATOR MAYER: Thank you,
9 Mr. President. I rise to vote aye on this
10 legislation.
11 By establishing January 30th as
12 Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the
13 Constitution, we are affirming New York's
14 commitment to learning and teaching about the
15 difficult history of the United States' shameful
16 treatment of Japanese and Japanese-Americans
17 during World War II. We recognize Fred
18 Korematsu's contributions to helping us reckon
19 with this history, and we recommit to the ongoing
20 fight for civil and constitutional rights for
21 all.
22 In 1942, the United States forced
23 West Coast residents of Japanese descent to leave
24 their homes and communities to be sent to
25 internment camps for the duration of the war.
1327
1 Fred Korematsu, who was born to Japanese
2 immigrant parents, refused to go when his family
3 was ordered. He was arrested, convicted in
4 federal court, and sent to an internment camp.
5 He appealed his conviction, but the
6 United States Supreme Court ultimately affirmed
7 it in Korematsu versus the United States. After
8 the war, when he was released, he began his life
9 as a civil rights advocate, fighting for those
10 who were deeply wronged during the war, to ensure
11 that this did not happen to any other group.
12 In 1984, his case was reopened and
13 his conviction overturned on the basis of
14 government misconduct. He was awarded the
15 Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998.
16 As New York State and the
17 United States see a rise in anti-Asian hate and
18 other forms of hate and discrimination, we must
19 stand united and continue to acknowledge the
20 painful history of discrimination and
21 mistreatment of Japanese-Americans.
22 Let us ensure that the words of the
23 Constitution, which we swore to when we took our
24 oath, remain our guiding light.
25 I would like to thank
1328
1 Assemblymember Grace Lee, who sponsors this bill
2 in the Assembly.
3 And I'm grateful for the work of
4 Koji Sato and Takeshi and Carolyn Furumoto, who
5 brought this issue to me and have dedicated their
6 lives to advocating for the recognition of
7 Japanese-American history and the contributions
8 of Japanese-Americans to the United States.
9 I vote aye.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
11 Mayer to be recorded in the affirmative.
12 Announce the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
15 is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 544, Senate Print 5105, by Senator Harckham, an
18 act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
23 shall have become a law.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
25 roll.
1329
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
3 the results.
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
6 is passed.
7 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
8 reading of today's calendar.
9 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's move to
10 the controversial calendar, please.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
12 Secretary will ring the bell.
13 The Secretary will read.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 289, Senate Print 568, by Senator May, an act to
16 amend the Election Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
18 Walczyk, why do you rise?
19 SENATOR WALCZYK: Mr. President, I
20 rise hoping that the sponsor will yield for some
21 questions.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
23 sponsor yield?
24 SENATOR MAY: I will.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
1330
1 sponsor yields.
2 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
3 Mr. President. This bill will allow new portable
4 polling sites during early voting, even two weeks
5 before Election Day.
6 Will private businesses be eligible
7 to be a location for polling sites?
8 SENATOR MAY: Through you,
9 Mr. President, I believe, for example, that a
10 mall would be an eligible site for this.
11 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
12 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
13 yield.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
15 sponsor yield?
16 SENATOR MAY: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
18 sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR WALCZYK: So shopping
20 malls. Any other private businesses? Would any
21 private business be eligible to be a polling site
22 for early voting?
23 SENATOR MAY: Through you,
24 Mr. President. When this has been implemented in
25 Idaho, for example, it sometimes happens -- the
1331
1 Board of Elections will sometimes set up a mobile
2 site in a parking lot of, say, a Walmart or
3 something like that, where part of the idea is to
4 reach especially rural areas where they may have
5 difficulty getting to early voting sites if
6 there's just one site in their county. So trying
7 to bring the polling to where the people are.
8 So yes, you could -- at least the
9 parking lot of a major employer or of a major
10 business might be a location for this.
11 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
12 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
13 yield.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
15 sponsor yield?
16 SENATOR MAY: I will.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
18 sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR WALCZYK: What about
20 colleges, would they be eligible to be a pop-up
21 or a portable polling site if this bill is passed
22 into law?
23 SENATOR MAY: Through you,
24 Mr. President. On the same principle, bringing
25 it to people where they are, that would be also a
1332
1 possibility.
2 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
3 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
4 yield.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
6 sponsor yield?
7 SENATOR MAY: I will.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
9 sponsor yields.
10 SENATOR WALCZYK: We've taken up
11 legislation talking about the conflict of
12 interest for certain polling locations recently
13 in this chamber. Any prohibition if it's a
14 state-funded college or a college that gets a lot
15 of state or federal funding? Is there any
16 prohibition in this legislation?
17 SENATOR MAY: Through you,
18 Mr. President, no.
19 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
20 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue to
21 yield.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
23 sponsor yield?
24 SENATOR MAY: I will.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
1333
1 sponsor yields.
2 SENATOR WALCZYK: How about
3 businesses, private businesses, like Micron
4 that's coming to CNY? New York State is
5 investing $100 million. The Federal CHIPS Act,
6 $6 billion. Would they be prohibited from having
7 a portable polling site on location there?
8 SENATOR MAY: Through you,
9 Mr. President. The purpose of this bill is to
10 bring the voting to where the voters are. So if
11 that was a logical place and both the Republican
12 and the Democratic elections commissioner for the
13 county decided that that was a logical place to
14 put a three-day polling site, that could happen.
15 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
16 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue to
17 yield.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
19 sponsor yield?
20 SENATOR MAY: I will.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
22 sponsor yields.
23 SENATOR WALCZYK: This bill says a
24 polling site would have to be announced 14 days
25 before Election Day, is that right?
1334
1 SENATOR MAY: I believe it's --
2 yeah, 14 days before early voting begins, is my
3 understanding.
4 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
5 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue to
6 yield.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
8 sponsor yield?
9 SENATOR MAY: Yes.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
11 sponsor yields.
12 SENATOR WALCZYK: Looking at lines
13 8, 9 and 10 of your bill, the designation -- and
14 State Board of Elections, based on pop -- the
15 designation and location of any portable polling
16 place shall be made no later than 14 days before
17 an election. I would take that to be 14 days
18 before Election Day.
19 Am I reading your legislation wrong,
20 it's 14 days before early voting starts?
21 SENATOR MAY: Through you,
22 Mr. President, it doesn't specify in the bill,
23 but my understanding is that it would be when the
24 election begins, which would be the first day of
25 early voting.
1335
1 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
2 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue to
3 yield.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
5 sponsor yield?
6 SENATOR MAY: I will.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
8 sponsor yields.
9 SENATOR WALCZYK: We've asked about
10 security in the past on this legislation. I know
11 you've brought this bill up a number of times.
12 But given that a polling site in your district
13 was broken into this past election, how has that
14 informed any changes to this legislation when it
15 comes to securing polling sites or the pop-up
16 portable polling sites you're proposing here?
17 SENATOR MAY: Through you,
18 Mr. President. As I have explained in the past,
19 the security -- the protocols for setting up one
20 of these sites would be exactly the same as for
21 setting up any early voting site or Election Day
22 site.
23 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
24 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
25 yield?
1336
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
2 sponsor yield?
3 SENATOR MAY: I would.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
5 sponsor yields.
6 SENATOR WALCZYK: So no changes, no
7 consideration for securing those portable polling
8 sites?
9 SENATOR MAY: Through you,
10 Mr. President. They are the same considerations
11 for all polling sites.
12 SENATOR WALCZYK: Thank you.
13 Mr. President, on the bill.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
15 Walczyk on the bill.
16 SENATOR WALCZYK: A bipartisan
17 group of election commissioners, each year they
18 meet at the beginning of our legislative session.
19 They actually -- they've given pretty clear
20 direction to us as legislators. Sometimes this
21 body and the Assembly have passed as many as
22 270 different changes to Election Law. They've
23 asked us to really back off on how many times we
24 change the rules for how we run elections in
25 New York State.
1337
1 But they have supported 19 measures
2 in this legislative session. However, this is
3 not one of the measures that they support.
4 This bill would allow portable
5 polling locations for early voting to be
6 announced and then, by my read, start operating
7 on early voting just two weeks before
8 Election Day, to be announced and then begin
9 immediately.
10 They could be at a location where
11 the Governor or a State Senator or a
12 Congressmember had stood just weeks before with a
13 big government check announcing for that
14 business, for that college, for whatever it is, a
15 portable polling location could be at that same
16 location where one of those politicians that's on
17 the ballot was standing with a check just weeks
18 before.
19 If you want more people to vote, you
20 don't have to buy their votes. Don't ignore
21 elections commissioners and don't do more
22 gimmicks to help one party over the other.
23 There's some things that you could do. You can
24 secure our elections. You could eliminate
25 fraud -- all of it. You could require voter
1338
1 I.D., listen to our elections commissioners, and
2 you could stop constantly changing the rules for
3 how our elections run in New York State.
4 This bill will only result in more
5 confusion and skepticism about our electoral
6 process. It will do nothing to change turnout or
7 faith in our democratic process in the State of
8 New York, and I'll be voting no.
9 Thank you.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
11 Borrello. On the bill?
12 SENATOR BORRELLO: On the bill,
13 please.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
15 Borrello on the bill.
16 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 Thank you very much,
19 Senator Walczyk, for summarizing what we've
20 talked about before on this bill.
21 I get it. We want to make sure that
22 anybody and everybody gets to vote. But we can't
23 do it at the expense of security and ensuring
24 that people have faith that our elections are
25 fair and secure.
1339
1 And unfortunately, this does none of
2 that. We've asked in the past what kind of
3 security, and the answer was, Well, the same kind
4 of security that we have for other polling sites.
5 I don't know, I'm not a hundred
6 percent sure, but I don't think any polling site
7 is located inside of an RV somewhere on the road.
8 We have to have specific measures to secure these
9 places.
10 You know, the -- always when we do
11 these things the answer I always hear from my
12 colleagues on the other side of the aisle, when
13 we start talking about how these things will be
14 done fairly is that don't worry, we have
15 bipartisan boards of elections throughout
16 New York State. However, they are actively
17 engaged in removing that bipartisanship and
18 turning -- what they term as professionalizing
19 our boards of elections.
20 Which means no more bipartisanship.
21 It means the party in power in that particular
22 county, municipality, city, whatever it is, is
23 going to decide who works at the Board of
24 Elections. So that's going to go out the window
25 too.
1340
1 You know, I've referred to these
2 things as "voter food trucks" and kind of made
3 fun of the fact that, you know, we need to put
4 these things on wheels and move them around. But
5 the reality is we need to make sure there is
6 security. I heard earlier today that democracy
7 in our country is under assault and we have a
8 threat to democracy. I hear "threat to
9 democracy" often.
10 I can't think of a greater threat to
11 the democracy of the United States than people
12 losing faith that our elections are fair and
13 secure and that their vote actually counts. And
14 gimmicks like this will move us in the wrong
15 direction to securing the most important part of
16 democracy, which is ensuring that everyone has
17 faith that our elections are fair, honest and
18 secure.
19 So I will continue, for I think the
20 fifth time now, to vote no on this bill.
21 Thank you, Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Are there
23 any other Senators wishing to be heard?
24 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
25 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
1341
1 Read the last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect on the first of January.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
8 May to explain her vote.
9 SENATOR MAY: Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 I want to start by saying that the
12 initial questioning about where these locations
13 could be was deeply disingenuous. Because as it
14 is right now, polling places are located at
15 schools, at colleges, at workplaces of various
16 kinds, and any of the supposed conflicts of
17 interest that my colleague was raising could have
18 been happening for centuries at those locations.
19 There's nothing different about
20 these particular locations, which aren't
21 necessarily in a mobile site, but they would be
22 only for three days instead of 10 days and
23 allowing the Board of Elections to be a little
24 more nimble about trying to site polling places
25 where the people are.
1342
1 That's all this is doing. And it
2 grew out of a hearing in 2019 that identified one
3 of the problems with early voting. The first
4 time we experienced it in New York was that rural
5 New Yorkers were struggling to get to early
6 voting sites. So the purpose of this was to help
7 rural voters in particular.
8 But let me push back even more about
9 the accusations about fraud and insecure
10 elections and undermining voter confidence in our
11 elections. Because every time my colleagues
12 raise some of these issues about -- earlier this
13 week we heard about noncitizen voting. This time
14 we heard about voter fraud.
15 Every time you raise these issues,
16 knowing full well that voter fraud is extremely
17 rare and it would be extremely hard to find an
18 instance of an election in New York State that
19 had been swayed by voter fraud.
20 The problem with that is every time
21 you use those phrases you chip away at voter
22 confidence in our elections. And the darkest
23 secret about American elections is that our
24 elections depend, above all, on voter confidence.
25 Yes, we need good voting laws. Yes,
1343
1 we need competent and careful election workers
2 and law-abiding voters. But we cannot have a
3 democracy unless we have patriotic citizens who
4 will accept the result of the elections, even if
5 the elections don't go their way.
6 And it's that kind of patriotism,
7 it's that kind of faith in our elections that's
8 being eroded by this kind of rhetoric, day after
9 day, here in this chamber, in chambers all over
10 the country and social media all over the
11 country.
12 And I for one can't just sit by and
13 let that happen, so I will speak up about it
14 every time I hear it.
15 I vote aye on this bill. Thank you.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
17 May to be recorded in the affirmative.
18 Announce the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
20 Calendar 289, those Senators voting in the
21 negative are Senators Ashby, Borrello,
22 Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Chan, Gallivan, Griffo,
23 Helming, Lanza, Martins, Mattera, Murray,
24 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads,
25 Rolison, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk, Weber and Weik.
1344
1 Ayes, 38. Nays, 22.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
3 is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 293, Senate Print 1809, by Senator Fernandez, an
6 act to amend the Election Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
8 Walczyk, why do you rise?
9 SENATOR WALCZYK: Mr. President,
10 would the sponsor yield.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
12 sponsor yield?
13 SENATOR FERNANDEZ: Yes,
14 Mr. President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
16 sponsor yields.
17 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
18 Mr. President. Are college students currently
19 prohibiting from being elections inspectors or
20 poll workers in the State of New York?
21 SENATOR FERNANDEZ: No. Through
22 you.
23 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
24 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue to
25 yield.
1345
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
2 sponsor yield?
3 SENATOR FERNANDEZ: Yes.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
5 sponsor yields.
6 SENATOR WALCZYK: Currently they
7 can only be elections inspectors in the county in
8 which they're registered to vote, is that --
9 SENATOR FERNANDEZ: Currently.
10 SENATOR WALCZYK: And through you,
11 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
12 yield.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
14 sponsor yield?
15 SENATOR FERNANDEZ: I'm not sure.
16 No, I will, yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
18 sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR WALCZYK: So this bill will
20 allow nonresidents of a county to be elections
21 inspectors as long as they go to college in that
22 county, is that --
23 SENATOR FERNANDEZ: Well, through
24 you, Mr. President, you must be a full-time
25 registered student within a university in the
1346
1 county. That means that you must be 18 years and
2 older, you must be a New York State-registered
3 voter. And as a college student living in that
4 town, that county, they are technically a
5 resident.
6 SENATOR WALCZYK: Through you,
7 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue to
8 yield.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Will the
10 sponsor yield?
11 SENATOR FERNANDEZ: Yes.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
13 sponsor yields.
14 SENATOR WALCZYK: Does this bill
15 that you're presenting today require elections
16 inspectors and poll clerks to be citizens of the
17 United States?
18 SENATOR FERNANDEZ: Well, you must
19 be a citizen to be registered, Mr. President,
20 through you.
21 SENATOR WALCZYK: Thank you.
22 Mr. President, on the bill.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
24 Walczyk on the bill.
25 SENATOR WALCZYK: As I stated
1347
1 earlier, there's a bipartisan group of elections
2 commissioners. Each year they put together some
3 proposals that they want this Legislature to
4 consider. There were 19 of them this year. This
5 isn't on that list.
6 This bill would allow college kids
7 with no other connection to a community to be an
8 inspector overseeing integrity of our democratic
9 process at any poll site in that college's
10 county. So a kid that goes to Syracuse
11 University will be paid by Board of Elections to
12 inspect a poll site in the Town of Cicero. Or a
13 student at Potsdam will be paid by St. Lawrence
14 to check in residents in the Town of Rossie.
15 The Board of Elections has no
16 mechanism to see the citizenship of someone,
17 whether they're registered to vote. And New York
18 City we all know is attempting to register
19 noncitizens by local law. In fact, commissioners
20 receive calls from immigration lawyers asking
21 them to remove registered voters from the rolls
22 because, as was pointed out by the sponsor, it is
23 illegal to register to vote in the State of
24 New York as a noncitizen.
25 However, that very function, when
1348
1 immigration lawyers are calling Board of
2 Elections to remove their client from our voter
3 rolls, shows that noncitizens are registering to
4 vote in the New York State.
5 You want to win? Do better policy,
6 work hard, get results. Not this.
7 I'll be no.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Are there
9 any other Senators wishing to be heard?
10 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
11 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
12 Read the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
16 roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
19 Fernandez to explain her vote.
20 SENATOR FERNANDEZ: Thank you. I
21 stood up early because I'm so ready to explain my
22 vote here.
23 I need my fellow colleague to
24 understand that college students are not just a
25 stranger in your town, a stranger in your
1349
1 community. They live there. They invest their
2 time there. As a college student, you do explore
3 your town. You do pay taxes and support
4 businesses in that town. So they are -- there is
5 a connection for a college student to where they
6 go to college.
7 And there is a crisis we have a
8 shortage of poll workers, of poll inspectors.
9 This is a fair effort to allow someone who wants
10 to get engaged early -- and I think we want young
11 people to be engaged early and understand the
12 democratic process to be able to give back in
13 that sense.
14 There is no gotcha moment here that
15 a noncitizen is going to register and then become
16 a poll worker and then do something to the polls.
17 There are strict rules that already exist in
18 Election Law that you cannot infiltrate or -- not
19 infiltrate. But you cannot engage with voters to
20 sway a vote. You can't do that already.
21 So if there's fear that maybe a
22 young person that is in an Ivy League school
23 might have an opinion at the poll site, they have
24 to keep that to themselves. But this offers an
25 opportunity for that young person to get an extra
1350
1 income; again, to be engaged in the political
2 process much earlier in their life; and to help
3 the crisis that is with the lack of poll workers
4 and poll coordinators.
5 So I proudly vote for this bill
6 because we should be allowing people that want to
7 help our election system do that and to relieve
8 the crisis that is with poll workers, thus
9 probably limiting polling sites.
10 So I vote aye, and I thank everyone
11 here for voting aye.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
13 Fernandez to be recorded in the affirmative.
14 Senator Gounardes to explain his
15 vote.
16 SENATOR GOUNARDES: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 I really want to thank
19 Senator Fernandez for this.
20 I'm just baffled why anyone would
21 take objection to the notion that we should allow
22 college students to experience democracy
23 firsthand, the administration of our elections,
24 which are a complicated thing. Let them see it,
25 learn it, appreciate it, engage with it, and then
1351
1 maybe it will spark an interest in them to want
2 to pursue some type of path in public service.
3 It just baffles my mind that we're
4 going to discriminate and that we hear people on
5 the other side say kids who go to college are not
6 worthy enough to be poll watchers or poll
7 inspectors during an election. That just boggles
8 my mind.
9 The State of Oklahoma is now
10 mandating that students have to learn about
11 election irregularities, right? What better way
12 to actually show people how elections are run and
13 administered than by training college students
14 who want to do this work to learn about how their
15 local elections happen, and then give them the
16 opportunity to do so.
17 Mr. President, every year for the
18 last couple of years I teach a class on voting
19 rights at Hunter College. And every year when we
20 have an election, I make an opportunity for my
21 students to apply for the Board of Elections so
22 that they can be poll watchers in their district.
23 You know how many jump at that
24 opportunity? Every single time I've taught that
25 class, Mr. President, more than half of my class
1352
1 has jumped at that opportunity because they want
2 to learn.
3 This body should not stand in their
4 way. And for that, I proudly vote aye.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
6 Gounardes to be recorded in the affirmative.
7 Senator Martins to explain his vote.
8 SENATOR MARTINS: Thank you,
9 Mr. President.
10 You know, look, I don't understand
11 why it's always college students and we always
12 focus on college students. If you want to make
13 it more available to people to work polls, let's
14 talk about commuters. I've got plenty of people
15 in my district who commute to work every day,
16 they commute to work in New York City, they go
17 down into Manhattan, they go up into Westchester,
18 different parts of the state. They do support
19 the local economy, they pay local sales tax.
20 You know, we always talk about
21 college students. But if we want to make it
22 available, let's make it available to everybody.
23 So if somebody is commuting and they're working
24 in a certain area, let's allow them to work the
25 polls.
1353
1 But we don't. And there's a reason
2 we don't, because we want to make sure that
3 people who are working the polls have
4 historically been people who live in the area,
5 know the area, know their constituents and their
6 neighbors and are able to properly service them.
7 That's always been the case.
8 And then we make exceptions. But if
9 we're going to be consistent, if we're going to
10 just allow it and allow the door to swing wide
11 open, then let's consider the idea of allowing
12 more than just colleges and college students.
13 Let's consider the idea that people who are
14 commuting, that people who are not there and
15 living there and sleeping there but actually
16 working there, and give them the opportunity to
17 do so as well.
18 But you know what? That never comes
19 to the floor in this house. That's never a
20 consideration. But yet time and again we're
21 always talking about colleges and college
22 students.
23 Mr. President, I vote no.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
25 Martins to be recorded in the negative.
1354
1 Senator Krueger to explain her vote.
2 SENATOR KRUEGER: I want to thank
3 Senator Martins. I think we should do exactly
4 that, along with having college students being
5 able to be poll workers at their schools or
6 wherever, because we need more people to be
7 involved in democracy, as my colleague so
8 eloquently pointed out, and what better training
9 ground than actually working in an election?
10 And for the record, I come from
11 New York City. No one knows the people walking
12 into the poll sites. The poll workers do not
13 know who -- they know who I am, happily. They're
14 very happy to see me each time. But they don't
15 know who's coming and going. The population
16 changes constantly. The population is enormous.
17 And we keep moving our poll sites every election,
18 so it's not even the same location as the last
19 time time.
20 So I'm not worried about that
21 reality. But I think if more people want to be
22 poll workers in a broader distribution of areas,
23 I say yes, we need poll workers. And we only pay
24 them $300 a day, but they have to get there at
25 6 a.m., to like 10 p.m. So talk to your
1355
1 neighbors about that too.
2 Thank you.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
4 Krueger to be recorded in the affirmative.
5 Announce the results.
6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
7 Calendar 293, voting in the negative are
8 Senators Ashby, Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick,
9 Chan, Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Martins,
10 Mattera, Murray, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
11 Palumbo, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk,
12 Weber and Weik.
13 Ayes, 39. Nays, 21.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
15 is passed.
16 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
17 reading of the controversial calendar.
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: Is there any
19 further business at the desk?
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: There is
21 no further business at the desk.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: I move to
23 adjourn until tomorrow, Thursday, March 20th, at
24 11:00 a.m.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: On
1356
1 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
2 Thursday, March 20th, at 11:00 a.m.
3 (Whereupon, at 5:12 p.m., the Senate
4 adjourned.)
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