Regular Session - March 20, 2025

                                                                   1357

 1                NEW YORK STATE SENATE

 2                          

 3                          

 4               THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD

 5                          

 6                          

 7                          

 8                          

 9                  ALBANY, NEW YORK

10                   March 20, 2025

11                     11:15 a.m.

12                          

13                          

14                   REGULAR SESSION

15  

16  

17  

18  SENATOR ROXANNE J. PERSAUD, Acting President

19  ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary

20  

21  

22  

23  

24  

25  


                                                               1358

 1                P R O C E E D I N G S

 2                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   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 PERSAUD:  In the 

 9    absence of clergy, let us bow our heads in a 

10    moment of silent reflection or prayer.

11                 (Whereupon, the assemblage respected 

12    a moment of silence.)

13                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Reading 

14    of the Journal.

15                 THE SECRETARY:   In Senate, 

16    Wednesday, March 19, 2025, the Senate met 

17    pursuant to adjournment.  The Journal of Tuesday, 

18    March 18, 2025, was read and approved.  On 

19    motion, the Senate adjourned.

20                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Without 

21    objection, the Journal stands approved as read.

22                 Presentation of petitions.

23                 Messages from the Assembly.

24                 Messages from the Governor.

25                 Reports of standing committees.


                                                               1359

 1                 Reports of select committees.

 2                 Communications and reports from 

 3    state officers.

 4                 Motions and resolutions.

 5                 Senator Gianaris.

 6                 SENATOR GIANARIS:   Good 

 7    afternoon -- morning, Madam President.  

 8                 On behalf of Senator Stavisky, on 

 9    page 25 I offer the following amendments to 

10    Calendar 458, Senate Print 4892A, and ask that 

11    said bill retain its place on the Third Reading 

12    Calendar.

13                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The 

14    amendments are received, and the bill will retain 

15    its place on the Third Reading Calendar.

16                 Senator Gianaris.

17                 SENATOR GIANARIS:   Please take up 

18    previously adopted Resolution 493, by 

19    Senator Fernandez, read its title, and recognize 

20    Senator Fernandez.  

21                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The 

22    Secretary will read.  

23                 THE SECRETARY:   Resolution 493, by 

24    Senator Fernandez, memorializing Governor Kathy 

25    Hochul to proclaim March 2025 as Problem Gambling 


                                                               1360

 1    Awareness Month in the State of New York.

 2                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Senator 

 3    Fernandez on the resolution.

 4                 SENATOR FERNANDEZ:   Thank you, 

 5    Madam President.  

 6                 March is Problem Gambling Awareness 

 7    Month, and today we are passing this resolution 

 8    to memorialize the national awareness of this 

 9    concern.  As gambling has become more accessible 

10    through online gaming and with possible 

11    expansions of casinos, we need to make sure that 

12    we're very aware of the problems that still 

13    remain amongst those that may be harmed.  This 

14    includes young people, older people, anybody 

15    could be at the concern of problem gambling.  

16                 So I also want to identify that we 

17    have taken serious measures in the state as we've 

18    advanced online gambling.  One percent of those 

19    revenues goes towards gambling addiction 

20    services.  And in our one-house resolution we 

21    propose a 2 percent -- a 1 percent increase, 

22    making it a 2 percent to put further funds into 

23    the resources needed to help New Yorkers combat 

24    gambling addiction.  

25                 So I thank this body for bringing 


                                                               1361

 1    the resolution to the floor, and to support.

 2                 Thank you.

 3                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

 4    you, Senator.  

 5                 Senator Addabbo on the resolution.

 6                 SENATOR ADDABBO:   Good morning.  

 7    And thank you, Madam President.  Good morning, 

 8    all.  

 9                 I want to thank my good friend and 

10    colleague Senator Fernandez for this resolution 

11    on Problem Gaming Awareness Month for the month 

12    of March.  

13                 And I do want to highlight something 

14    that Senator Fernandez mentioned.  New Yorkers 

15    are gaming -- they are gambling, let's not be 

16    naive about this, they are gambling in other 

17    states.  But worse is that more and more so, they 

18    are gambling online illegally.  It's accessible.  

19    Sometimes it's targeted towards minors.  

20                 And so all the more reason why we 

21    deal with this issue as a body, that we regulate 

22    gaming in New York.  Because when you regulate 

23    gaming in New York, you make it safer for 

24    New Yorkers.  And you also put our state in a 

25    far, far better position to help an individual 


                                                               1362

 1    who not only has an addiction but, more 

 2    importantly, is on their way to having an 

 3    addiction.  

 4                 It is critical that we catch an 

 5    individual before they get an addiction.  

 6    Pre-addiction is critical.  And you only really 

 7    can do that if you regulate it.

 8                 I want to thank those that are in 

 9    our state providing these programs.  The New York 

10    Council for Problem Gambling, Safe Foundation.  

11    And others are gaming operators who operate their 

12    business in New York and have programs within 

13    their operation.  I want to thank the operators 

14    who do business in New York for helping us with 

15    the addiction issue.  

16                 But once again, I want to thank my 

17    good friend and colleague Senator Fernandez for 

18    this resolution, on which I'll be voting aye.

19                 Thank you, Madam President.

20                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

21    you.  

22                 The resolution was adopted on 

23    March 18th.

24                 Senator Gianaris.  

25                 SENATOR GIANARIS:   Next up is 


                                                               1363

 1    previously adopted Resolution 496, by 

 2    Senator Hinchey.  Please read that resolution's 

 3    title and recognize Senator Hinchey.

 4                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The 

 5    Secretary will read.

 6                 THE SECRETARY:   Resolution 496, by 

 7    Senator Hinchey, memorializing Governor 

 8    Kathy Hochul to proclaim March 17-23, 2025, as 

 9    Agriculture Week in the State of New York.

10                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Senator 

11    Hinchey on the resolution.

12                 SENATOR HINCHEY:   Thank you, 

13    Madam President.  

14                 Happy Agriculture Week.  It's 

15    impossible to overstate the importance of 

16    agriculture to New York and our world.  But as 

17    chair of the Senate Agriculture and Food 

18    Committee, I'll give it a try.  

19                 Every part of our lives connects 

20    back to agriculture.  The food we eat and the 

21    drinks we enjoy, that's agriculture.  The clothes 

22    we wear, that's agriculture.  The furniture we 

23    use, that's agriculture.  Footballs and 

24    baseballs, those are agricultural products.  The 

25    music we listen to; many of those instruments 


                                                               1364

 1    come from agriculture.  

 2                 For an industry that sustains so 

 3    much of what we love and need to survive, 

 4    agriculture deserves our continuous support and 

 5    protection.

 6                 New York is unique in the sense that 

 7    our farmers grow and produce what's called the 

 8    full plate -- from fruits and vegetables to 

 9    grains, meat and dairy, we lead the Northeast in 

10    ag production, generating $85.8 billion in 

11    economic impact, and we have over 30,000 farms, 

12    mostly small and family-run.  Because of their 

13    work, we are number one in yogurt, sour cream and 

14    cottage cheese, number two in maple syrup, apples 

15    and cabbage, number three in grapes and snap 

16    beans, and number four in squash.  

17                 For most New York farmers, the job 

18    is about continuing a legacy passed down through 

19    generations.  It runs in their blood, and they 

20    want to see that legacy continue for generations 

21    to come.  

22                 From the Hudson Valley to 

23    Long Island, from Buffalo to Brooklyn, and the 

24    North Country to the Southern Tier, I've seen the 

25    love that goes into growing food, caring for 


                                                               1365

 1    livestock, stewarding the land, and feeding 

 2    people.  

 3                 That economic impact number I 

 4    mentioned earlier is significant, but I want to 

 5    clear up any misconceptions.  No farmer in 

 6    New York is in this business to get rich.  Our 

 7    local farms are small operations, not corporate 

 8    giants.  They don't control the prices of what 

 9    they grow, because farmers are price takers, not 

10    price makers.  

11                 I have a local farm that was 

12    actually offered to grow fresh strawberries for 

13    one of the large grocery chains in our state.  

14    But when the grocery chain told them what they 

15    would pay for those strawberries, that didn't 

16    even cover the cost of production.  That grocery 

17    store chain found cheaper options in other 

18    states, and that farm actually no longer sells 

19    fresh strawberries.  

20                 Our farmers take on all the risks 

21    and have to accept whatever price the market 

22    dictates, even if it's a loss.  Farming can be a 

23    difficult, labor intensive, and an often 

24    thankless job.  Yet farmers and farmworkers press 

25    on because they believe in what they do.  


                                                               1366

 1                 I couldn't be more proud of the work 

 2    that we are doing in the Legislature to fight for 

 3    our farmers and farmworkers and to help get fresh 

 4    food into the hands of more New Yorkers.  This 

 5    work has been more important.  Last week our 

 6    federal administration told our country that 

 7    supporting American farmers and feeding hungry 

 8    kids are not important under this new 

 9    administration.  They canceled $1 billion from 

10    USDA programs that provide fresh local food to 

11    schools, childcare centers, and food banks.  

12                 Then the House proposed cutting 

13    $12 billion from CEP, the Community Eligibility 

14    Program, which is the program we've been 

15    bolstering to help get universal school meals 

16    across our state.  That's right, the federal cut 

17    could jeopardize school meals for over 900,000 

18    New York students.  

19                 But we run things differently in 

20    New York, and we should be proud of that.  In our 

21    state, few initiatives have such strong 

22    bipartisan support as our food programs -- 

23    specifically, programs that connect local 

24    farmers, students and families.  We see the 

25    positive impacts of these initiatives every day, 


                                                               1367

 1    including our "farm to food bank" program, 

 2    Nourish New York.  

 3                 At the height of the pandemic we saw 

 4    the lines at local food banks grow exponentially, 

 5    with people newly dependent on food across the 

 6    state and others who were already struggling.  

 7    During that time many farmers lost up to 50 

 8    percent of their markets as schools, restaurants 

 9    and hotels shut down.  Tragically, produce was 

10    left to rot in the fields, fruit dying on the 

11    vine, and milk was dumped because supply chains 

12    were shattered.  

13                 This loss has a domino effect on 

14    their ability to take care of their employees and 

15    their families.  But during this dark time, 

16    Nourish New York emerged as a beacon of 

17    bipartisan state support, addressing food 

18    insecurity while providing critical revenue for 

19    farmers.  We codified this program in state law 

20    with unanimous support from both legislative 

21    houses.  

22                 Regardless of where you live or what 

23    side of the aisle you're on, there are some 

24    things we all know to be true.  If farmers keep 

25    losing markets, they can't stay in business.  


                                                               1368

 1    Teachers can't teach hungry kids when they can't 

 2    focus.  And no parent should have to choose 

 3    between feeding their family and keeping the 

 4    lights on.  

 5                 While Washington abandons farmers, 

 6    we are forging new local markets, like expanding 

 7    the Farm to School program so students can get 

 8    fresh, local food at breakfast, lunch, and snack 

 9    time.  As federal cuts threaten school meal 

10    programs, New York is on the verge of becoming a 

11    true universal school meal state.  

12                 While the USDA freezes grants and 

13    loans already contracted with farmers for 

14    conservation and energy projects, we're working 

15    to increase capital funding to help farmers keep 

16    their operations resilient and cost-effective.  

17                 While Washington pushes policies 

18    that benefit large corporate farms, New York is 

19    fighting for our small family farms.  We're 

20    helping new farmers start new businesses, helping 

21    longstanding farmers lower their costs, providing 

22    workforce support and protecting farmland.

23                 In New York, we know that if we do 

24    right by our farmers, we protect one of our 

25    greatest strengths, a stable local food supply 


                                                               1369

 1    and local businesses that actually care about the 

 2    communities that they operate in.

 3                 This work, as I said before, has 

 4    never been more important, and I want to thank 

 5    all of my colleagues for joining me in standing 

 6    up for New York agriculture, which supports all 

 7    of our communities.  

 8                 Thank you, and Happy Agriculture 

 9    Week.

10                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

11    you, Senator.

12                 Senator Borrello on the resolution.

13                 SENATOR BORRELLO:   Thank you, 

14    Madam President.  

15                 I certainly was going to rise to 

16    talk about Ag Week and what a wonderful thing it 

17    is, and we do good bipartisan things here.  But, 

18    you know, I can't let this discussion go 

19    unanswered when we start talking about how 

20    New York does things differently.  We do.  

21                 We send damaging legislation not 

22    through the Agriculture Committee, but through 

23    the Environmental Committee or the Labor 

24    Committee, that harms our farmers.  We do things 

25    like, you know, incentivize them to grow solar 


                                                               1370

 1    panels instead of food to feed New Yorkers.  We 

 2    do that right here in this chamber by supplying 

 3    more and more subsidies, taxpayer subsidies, to 

 4    do things that ultimately are bad for farmers 

 5    because it eats up valuable farmland.  That's how 

 6    we do things differently here in New York State.  

 7                 So what do we do for our farmers?  

 8    Well, we told them, You can't buy these seeds -- 

 9    even though these seeds are pretty much safe 

10    according to everybody else -- but you're going 

11    to have to buy these seeds, which are more 

12    expensive.

13                 We tell them a lot of things:  How 

14    they're going to deal with labor, overtime.  Did 

15    that go through the Ag Committee?  It did not.  

16                 New York is an ag state.  I grew up 

17    on farms.  My grandfathers farmed the land.  I 

18    grew up thinking that New York State was an 

19    agriculture state.  I learned, when I went other 

20    places, that people think of New York State as 

21    New York City.  They don't understand that we 

22    have hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland.  

23    And those things are under threat here in 

24    New York State -- invasive species, all the other 

25    things that have had a negative impact on 


                                                               1371

 1    agriculture.  

 2                 But the biggest threat to New York 

 3    agriculture is what happens right here in Albany.  

 4    That's why we're losing farms at a record pace 

 5    here in New York State, twice the rate of the 

 6    national average.  

 7                 I'm here to support agriculture.  I 

 8    don't like when I see interference in what is 

 9    basic business, being able to feed people.  But I 

10    also believe that our hands are not clean here.  

11    And to point fingers when we're celebrating 

12    agriculture is counterproductive.  

13                 So I stand with agriculture, I stand 

14    with farmers, I stand with those folks that 

15    actually lose money to provide food.  But I don't 

16    stand with politics that makes it impossible for 

17    farmers to do the job that they need to do, which 

18    is provide food.  

19                 No farms, no food.  New York State 

20    is an ag state.  And I am proud to have an 

21    agriculture heritage in my family.  

22                 Thank you, Madam President.

23                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

24    you, Senator.  

25                 Senator Tedisco on the resolution.


                                                               1372

 1                 SENATOR TEDISCO:   Well, I'm proud 

 2    to stand up today with my colleagues publicly, 

 3    with this resolution, to salute our family farms, 

 4    small, middle, large farms in New York State.  As 

 5    has been said, they have a number of challenges 

 6    in this state, which all of us should be 

 7    cognizant of trying to overcome in many ways.  

 8                 They're doing more with less.  And 

 9    there are a lot of regulations, a lot of 

10    mandates.  But they put the food on the table for 

11    us, which is so important.  This is something we 

12    do today, salute Agriculture Day, salute our 

13    family farms.  Probably something we should say 

14    when we say our prayers either in the morning 

15    when we get up, or before we go to bed:  Please, 

16    help these farmers, the family farmers who 

17    provide this food and serve us so well in this 

18    state, to be able to continue.  I mean, they're 

19    being challenged by industries where they want to 

20    develop their land and put solar up.  

21                 And, you know, it's a temptation 

22    because they're breaking even sometimes, they're 

23    not even making a profit sometimes.  But they 

24    love what they do.  They love the history.  

25                 And I couldn't be prouder today to 


                                                               1373

 1    know -- and several of my colleagues on our side 

 2    of the aisle who are sponsoring the bill that 

 3    we -- I authored and we sponsored, several of my 

 4    colleagues, in a bipartisan way with one of our 

 5    other colleagues and several of the colleagues in 

 6    the New York State Assembly.  

 7                 You know, we have this tax credit 

 8    that we've provided and put in place, and it's 

 9    fantastic for their machinery, the tractors, the 

10    fertilizers, all the equipment they need to 

11    develop the products, to get it to market so they 

12    can sustain the work they do.

13                 What we didn't provide is the 

14    workers that could help them do that, an 

15    incentive for them, because a lot of people look 

16    at a farm and say, Jeez, that's a tremendous 

17    amount of hard work.  I'm looking for a job, but 

18    I'm not sure I want to work on a farm because I 

19    see the challenges they have.  

20                 Well, when we open that particular 

21    tax credit up to our farmers, which is the bill 

22    that I authored, several of my colleagues 

23    sponsored here, it's sponsored in the Assembly, 

24    and we provide an incentive for a tax credit for 

25    housing development for our small family farms 


                                                               1374

 1    and our farmers in New York State.  I'm proud we 

 2    took the initiative to put that into legislation, 

 3    to have it in both houses.  

 4                 And I'm almost as proud that the 

 5    Governor, who didn't put it in, but this house 

 6    put it this, and the house on the other side put 

 7    it in the budget.

 8                 Holistically, I can't say a lot for 

 9    the size in the budget itself.  It's not going to 

10    solve that problem of affordability.  But I'm  

11    proud you took our legislation and put it into 

12    this budget to provide that tax credit for small 

13    businesses, medium businesses, large farm 

14    businesses in the State of New York so they can 

15    continue to get the workers that can try to 

16    overcome all the things Senator Borrello was 

17    talking about, and Senator Hinchey was talking 

18    about, so we can help them overcome it.  Because 

19    if you don't bring the workers onto the farms, 

20    you don't get the product and the produce out to 

21    the market, they don't survive.  

22                 And it's a real challenge for them.  

23    They wouldn't have brought it to this body and 

24    said, Help us have an incentive to get workers to 

25    want to work on our farms so we can get that 


                                                               1375

 1    product to the public and we can sustain 

 2    ourselves.  

 3                 We reacted to that.  We put the bill 

 4    in place.  And I'm proud that it's in the Senate 

 5    budget and it's also in the Assembly budget.  If 

 6    there's anything we fight for in this body before 

 7    this budget becomes actuated and in place, it's 

 8    to keep that tax credit so they can have the 

 9    workers in place to get that food to the 

10    market and they can rejoice in the fact that they 

11    can keep a family farm and the great history 

12    they've had in this important agricultural system 

13    that we have in this state.  

14                 So I'm very proud that it's in the 

15    budget right now, that we authored it.  And I 

16    salute all those farmers out there, all the 

17    family farms, all the individuals who work on 

18    those farms.  And when it gets in place, I urge 

19    you out there, if you're looking for a job that 

20    makes a difference in New York State, go to work 

21    for one of our family farms.  It would be 

22    fantastic.

23                 Thank you, Madam President.

24                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

25    you, Senator.  


                                                               1376

 1                 Senator Gianaris.

 2                 SENATOR GIANARIS:   I remind my 

 3    colleagues, Madam President, that this is a 

 4    resolution to celebrate Agriculture Week.  There 

 5    will be plenty of opportunity for policy debates 

 6    as we going through the session.  But let's try 

 7    and keep our comments on the resolution.

 8                 Thank you.  

 9                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

10    you.  

11                 Senator Bailey on the resolution.

12                 SENATOR BAILEY:   Thank you, 

13    Madam President.  

14                 Who knew that this type of 

15    discussion would grow out of a resolution for 

16    Agriculture Week? 

17                 (Laughter.)

18                 SENATOR BAILEY:   But in all 

19    seriousness, if -- I know we're not debating the 

20    policy, but no majority has been more responsible 

21    and responsive to the needs of making sure that 

22    we continue the growth -- no pun intended, I 

23    promise you this time -- of agriculture in this 

24    state.

25                 But when I originally raised my 


                                                               1377

 1    hand, and I will go back to that point, I wanted 

 2    to talk about how important food is to everything 

 3    that we do.  And there was something that 

 4    Senator Hinchey said, that Senator Murray has 

 5    alluded to, that many of our colleagues have 

 6    alluded to about food and hungry children.  

 7                 I'm going to use my time to talk 

 8    about if we don't feed our kids, if our children 

 9    are not nourished, they cannot function.  If you 

10    cannot drive a car without gas or an electric 

11    vehicle without a charge, how can you expect a 

12    child to learn, how can you expect a child to 

13    reach the levels that we want them to reach in 

14    society?  

15                 So when you're talking about 

16    agriculture, it's more than just, you know, the 

17    upstate trip that my -- like as far -- like when 

18    I was younger, the furthest we ever went was 

19    apple picking, Madam President.  I thought that 

20    Newburgh, New York, was the North Country.  

21                 (Laughter.)

22                 SENATOR BAILEY:   I thought it was 

23    the outpost of America.  I thought it was as far 

24    as you can go in New York.  

25                 But being a member in this body has 


                                                               1378

 1    taught me one great thing about this great state, 

 2    is that there's a great state everywhere in 

 3    New York.  And there are so many great different 

 4    small family farms, large farms, in agriculture 

 5    that we rely upon in this great state.

 6                 And so apples to apples, oranges to 

 7    oranges, I'm grateful to be in this state and 

 8    having been a part of this majority that is 

 9    really showing the focus that, like, food is 

10    essential to the way that we live.  I know that 

11    sounds cliche, and it sounds like something 

12    rather perfunctory to say.  But you ever talk to 

13    a really hungry kid?  You ever seen a really 

14    hungry kid, a really hungry person in their 

15    inability to function in their job, in their 

16    school, in life and in general?  

17                 We have to make sure we continue to 

18    feed New York.  And this is the reason why 

19    Agriculture Week is important, Agriculture Month 

20    is important, anything agriculture-related is 

21    important.  And I salute our chair and the 

22    sponsor of this resolution and all of my 

23    colleagues.  Regardless of whatever you believe, 

24    if you believe in food and families and farms, I 

25    stand with you today.


                                                               1379

 1                 I vote aye on the resolution, 

 2    Madam President.

 3                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

 4    you, Senator.  

 5                 Senator Stec on the resolution.

 6                 SENATOR STEC:   Thank you, 

 7    Madam President.  

 8                 This resolution certainly goes to 

 9    speak to our love and affection for our 

10    agriculture sector in this state, obviously one 

11    of the most important and largest contributors to 

12    our state's economy.  

13                 However, as some of my colleagues 

14    have pointed out, we are sending mixed messages 

15    and the activities that we're doing here are not 

16    benefiting our farms.  When I was a kid growing 

17    up, on the occasions of Christmas, my dad's 

18    birthday or Father's Day, my sister and I would 

19    run in:  "Dad, Dad, we love you, we love you."  

20    And he used to say something I thought was a 

21    little odd as a kid, but the older I get, the 

22    more I appreciate his wisdom.  He said, "Don't 

23    tell me you love me, show me you love me."

24                 So it's nice that we're pausing 

25    today to tell our farmers that we love them, but 


                                                               1380

 1    then when we look at the legislation that comes 

 2    out of Albany, it certainly doesn't show that 

 3    love.  We're piling on costs to our farmers.  A 

 4    lot of our farmers are dairy farmers.  It's 

 5    important for us to remember, they are price 

 6    takers, not price makers.  They don't get to pass 

 7    along the costs that we pass on to them onto the 

 8    consumer.  They eat it, or they lose it, and they 

 9    go under.  Workers' comp, minimum wage, 

10    unemployment insurance, exorbitant and rising 

11    energy costs, telling them what seeds they can't 

12    use despite the fact that the rest of the planet 

13    is using these seeds but they're not good enough 

14    in New York State.  Or certain pesticides that 

15    are widely used everywhere else on the planet and 

16    tested in other very blue and environmentally 

17    minded states, yet not good enough in New York 

18    State.  

19                 All these things, it's a death of a 

20    thousand cuts that we are risking with our farms.  

21    Again, in particular the dairy industry, they are 

22    price takers, not price makers.  They can't pass 

23    these costs along.  They're competing with the 

24    Midwest.  And the Midwest, if they don't pile 

25    these costs on, then guess what?  Our farmers 


                                                               1381

 1    aren't competitive.  Our farmers lose money, our 

 2    farmers close. 

 3                 And the last thing that I think any 

 4    of us want to see happen to an industry that we 

 5    say we love is to see those beautiful 

 6    agricultural fields get turned over to solar 

 7    farms.  

 8                 So again, while it's important to 

 9    thank and honor our agriculture sector here 

10    today, we need to look in the mirror.  And are we 

11    telling them that we love them or are we showing 

12    them that we love them?  

13                 Thank you, Madam President.

14                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

15    you.

16                 Senator Fahy on the resolution.

17                 SENATOR FAHY:   Thank you.  

18                 I'd be remiss if I didn't stand 

19    today as the daughter of two farmers in some ways 

20    who never really recovered from leaving the farm.  

21                 And I'm reminded that if I learned 

22    anything from them, it was this profound, 

23    profound respect and love for the land.  Land and 

24    water, and as well as learning hard work from 

25    them and a dedication to the land.


                                                               1382

 1                 I'm very proud to be a new committee 

 2    member of the Ag Committee and am proud to 

 3    represent many amazing farms in the 

 4    46th District.  The -- one of them, I was 

 5    speaking to one of the farms, the manager I was 

 6    speaking to just a week or so ago, and that is a 

 7    beloved and renowned farm, Indian Ladder Farm.  

 8                 There's a lot of nervousness and a 

 9    lot of apprehension about what is going on right 

10    now despite the investments that I'm so proud of 

11    that have helped fuel Nourish New York, helped 

12    grow our school lunch and breakfast programs.  

13    But they're nervous with the cuts, the 

14    billion-dollar cut on food purchases, the 

15    threats -- the $12 billion threat on the 

16    community eligibility program, the CEP, the 

17    threats with the tariffs on the potash tariff on 

18    just even one, one item that is threatened, which 

19    is the potash fertilizer that we import from 

20    Canada.  So threats on what that will do to the 

21    price of food.  

22                 So there is a tremendous nervousness 

23    out there.  And yet we have to remind ourselves 

24    that despite that nervousness, we have to 

25    continue to invest in our farms, we have to 


                                                               1383

 1    continue to expand good healthy clean food and 

 2    clean water, especially in our schools.  Well 

 3    before I ever heard of Nourish New York, my 

 4    father was a little obsessed with fresh foods, 

 5    fresh vegetables and fresh fruit.  

 6                 So it is important that we continue 

 7    to grow those farmers' markets, continue to 

 8    expand despite the head winds that we are facing 

 9    every single day at the national level.  And I 

10    think it's important to remind ourselves of that 

11    today as we celebrate Ag Week.

12                 Farms do matter.  And I learned this 

13    the hard way, I'm afraid:  Good food is good 

14    medicine.  So when we promote good food, when we 

15    expand access to good food, we are by definition 

16    providing good medicine.

17                 Thank you.

18                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

19    you, Senator.

20                 Senator Murray on the resolution.

21                 Senator Martins on the resolution.

22                 SENATOR MARTINS:   Thank you, 

23    Madam President.

24                 You know, there is one fact -- and I 

25    think we can all agree on that -- it's that the 


                                                               1384

 1    greatest environmentalists in the state and in 

 2    the world are our farmers, who care deeply about 

 3    the soil and deeply about the tradition of 

 4    farming in our state.  

 5                 As many of my colleagues have said, 

 6    I'm also one generation removed from farming.  

 7    It's tradition in my family going back, frankly, 

 8    for many generations.

 9                 But I wanted to dispel some myths 

10    here in the room, because I heard about farming 

11    in upstate New York and the Hudson Valley and 

12    Western New York and the North Country.  Well, 

13    ladies and gentlemen, my colleagues, the reality 

14    is nowhere is farming more vibrant, alive and 

15    more of a contributor to our state economy than 

16    right on Long Island, certainly on the East End 

17    of Long Island, with the farms that we have 

18    there.  

19                 And I want to take the opportunity 

20    not only to celebrating Agriculture Day and 

21    understand how important that is, but also remind 

22    everyone that we find agriculture everywhere in 

23    all four corners of this state, and that's 

24    something that we should celebrate.  Because it 

25    is critical to the DNA of our state, farming is.  


                                                               1385

 1    And we should embrace -- all of us, both sides of 

 2    the aisle, when we decide policies, also 

 3    prioritize those policies that actually make 

 4    it -- frankly, make it so that our farmers are 

 5    multigenerational farmers, can continue to 

 6    survive in a state that is ever more difficult 

 7    for people to do business in.  

 8                 Madam President, I vote aye.

 9                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

10    you, Senator.

11                 Senator Rhoads on the resolution.

12                 SENATOR RHOADS:   Thank you, 

13    Madam President.  

14                 And I rise in support of this 

15    resolution.  I thank the sponsor for introducing 

16    it.  To dovetail off of Senator Martins' 

17    comments, while Long Island is often viewed as 

18    Albany's ATM, it is also well known -- it should 

19    be well known that Long Island is one of our 

20    primary farming regions.  

21                 And just some of the numbers.  

22    Long Island is actually the home of 592 farms, 

23    89 percent of which are family-owned.  There's 

24    over 31,000 acres of farmland right in Nassau and 

25    Suffolk County.


                                                               1386

 1                 And as we pause today to celebrate 

 2    our farmers and the amazing work that they do in 

 3    providing for all of us, we do have to -- and by 

 4    the way, I want to mention Long Island farms, 

 5    number one in aquaculture, number one in 

 6    horticulture, number one in wineries -- we 

 7    actually have 69 wineries on Long Island.  

 8                 But as we pause today to celebrate 

 9    our farmers, instead of turning our eyes down to 

10    Washington, let's focus on what we're doing right 

11    here in this chamber to make it more difficult 

12    for these farmers to be able to do their job, 

13    stay in business.  And let's rededicate ourselves 

14    to promoting the cause of farming.  

15                 Happy Ag Week, Madam President.

16                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

17    you, Senator.

18                 Senator May on the resolution.

19                 SENATOR MAY:   Thank you, 

20    Madam President.  

21                 I rise, first of all, to thank the 

22    sponsor for this resolution and our -- and the 

23    Senate for supporting agriculture in as many ways 

24    as it does.  

25                 I also represent Cayuga County, 


                                                               1387

 1    which is the largest producer of agricultural 

 2    products in the state.  And I'm very proud to 

 3    represent this county.  I wanted to -- and also 

 4    I'm proud to be the mother of an aspiring farmer, 

 5    one of the young farmers coming up to try to 

 6    rejuvenate agriculture in this state.

 7                 But I wanted to raise one additional 

 8    way that we're supporting agriculture that 

 9    Senator Hinchey didn't mention, but I think we 

10    need to lift it up, and that is agricultural 

11    research.  We do a lot in our one-house budget to 

12    support research, to support Cornell Cooperative 

13    Extension and the many university research 

14    programs around this state.  Again, at a time 

15    when they are under threat from cuts from the 

16    federal government, I'm proud that we're 

17    supporting them.

18                 This research is critical to 

19    agriculture.  It includes developing new seed 

20    varieties that can withstand a rapidly changing 

21    climate, new ways to deal with biosolids and 

22    runoff from farms so that farmers can do their 

23    jobs and not be in conflict with the health of 

24    our lakes and waterways.  New grape varieties 

25    that are resistant to various pests and other 


                                                               1388

 1    threats, so that farmers don't have to use as 

 2    many pesticides on them.

 3                 New ways of storing and preserving 

 4    milk products.  Cayuga Milk is a cooperative milk 

 5    processing concern that is very successful.  But 

 6    it depended on a lot of research to get where it 

 7    is.  

 8                 Fiber production.  We are figuring 

 9    out through research a number of ways to take 

10    New York State fiber and really create a 

11    scaled-up industry that can produce fabrics and 

12    other materials from the fibers we produce.  

13                 And then, finally, agrivoltaics, 

14    which is a way that we can both be generating 

15    green energy and generating food on the same 

16    land.

17                 So I salute our agriculture in 

18    general in this state, but agricultural research 

19    as well, and hope that we can preserve a lot of 

20    these important programs.  

21                 I vote aye.

22                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

23    you, Senator.

24                 The resolution was adopted on 

25    March 18th.


                                                               1389

 1                 Senator Gianaris.

 2                 SENATOR GIANARIS:   Senator Hinchey 

 3    and Senator Fernandez would like to open the 

 4    resolutions we took up today for cosponsorship.  

 5                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The 

 6    resolutions are open for cosponsorship.  Should 

 7    you choose not to be a cosponsor on the 

 8    resolutions, please notify the desk.

 9                 Senator Gianaris.

10                 SENATOR GIANARIS:   Please take up 

11    the calendar.

12                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The 

13    Secretary will read.

14                 THE SECRETARY:   Calendar Number 

15    190, Senate Print 1837, by Senator Hinchey, an 

16    act to amend the Public Service Law.

17                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Read the 

18    last section.

19                 THE SECRETARY:   Section 2.  This 

20    act shall take effect immediately.  

21                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Call the 

22    roll.

23                 (The Secretary called the roll.)

24                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Announce 

25    the results.


                                                               1390

 1                 THE SECRETARY:   Ayes, 59.

 2                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The bill 

 3    is passed.

 4                 THE SECRETARY:   Calendar Number 

 5    253, Senate Print 1673, by Senator Gounardes, an 

 6    act to amend the Labor Law.

 7                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Read the 

 8    last section.  

 9                 THE SECRETARY:   Section 2.  This 

10    act shall take effect on the 180th day after it 

11    shall have become a law.

12                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Call the 

13    roll.

14                 (The Secretary called the roll.)

15                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Announce 

16    the results.

17                 THE SECRETARY:   In relation to 

18    Calendar 253, voting in the negative are 

19    Senators Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Chan, 

20    Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Lanza, Martins, 

21    Murray, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads, 

22    Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk and Weik.

23                 Ayes, 41.  Nays, 18.

24                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The bill 

25    is passed.


                                                               1391

 1                 THE SECRETARY:   Calendar Number 

 2    477, Senate Print Number 2073, by 

 3    Senator Scarcella-Spanton, an act to amend 

 4    the Vehicle and Traffic Law.

 5                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Read the 

 6    last section.

 7                 THE SECRETARY:   Section 3.  This 

 8    act shall take effect immediately.

 9                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Call the 

10    roll.

11                 (The Secretary called the roll.)

12                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Announce 

13    the results.

14                 THE SECRETARY:   Ayes, 59.

15                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The bill 

16    is passed.

17                 THE SECRETARY:   Calendar Number 

18    511, Senate Print 397, by Senator Myrie, an act 

19    to amend the General Business Law.

20                 SENATOR LANZA:   Lay it aside.  

21                 SENATOR GIANARIS:   Lay it aside for 

22    the day, please.  

23                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The bill 

24    is laid aside for the day.

25                 THE SECRETARY:   Calendar Number 


                                                               1392

 1    513, Senate Print 5599, by Senator May, an act to 

 2    amend the General Business Law.

 3                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Read the 

 4    last section.

 5                 THE SECRETARY:   Section 3.  This 

 6    act shall take effect immediately.

 7                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Call the 

 8    roll.

 9                 (The Secretary called the roll.)

10                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Announce 

11    the results.

12                 THE SECRETARY:   In relation to 

13    Calendar 513, voting in the negative:  

14    Senator Walczyk.

15                 Ayes, 58.  Nays, 1.

16                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The bill 

17    is passed.

18                 THE SECRETARY:   Calendar Number 

19    521, Senate Print 118, by Senator Cleare, an act 

20    to amend the Elder Law.

21                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Read the 

22    last section.

23                 THE SECRETARY:   Section 2.  This 

24    act shall take effect one year after it shall 

25    have become a law.


                                                               1393

 1                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Call the 

 2    roll.

 3                 (The Secretary called the roll.)

 4                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Senator 

 5    Cleare to explain her vote.

 6                 SENATOR CLEARE:   Thank you, 

 7    Madam President.  

 8                 There are over 400,000 New Yorkers 

 9    living with Alzheimer's, and this number is sadly 

10    on the rise and expected to increase with each 

11    passing year.  Alzheimer's is a type of dementia 

12    that does not just affect the individual, but it 

13    affects the whole family and caregiver systems.  

14                 There are over 540,000 individuals 

15    and caregivers who are actively taking care of 

16    those afflicted, many on a full-time basis.  We 

17    must do everything within our power to make sure 

18    that family members and caregivers have positive, 

19    proactive and empowering support to optimally 

20    care for their loved ones.

21                 This bill requires a state-level 

22    centrally located database of successful dementia 

23    and Alzheimer's disease programs to be made 

24    available on the State Office for the Aging, 

25    SOFA's website.  


                                                               1394

 1                 In a state as vast as New York, with 

 2    the number of local community-centered 

 3    approaches, it is wise to have all best practices 

 4    collected in one place so they may be replicated.  

 5                 It's also essentially to collect and 

 6    centralize proven approaches so family members 

 7    have a place to turn with confidence for 

 8    strategies, ideas, and interventions to improve 

 9    everyone's collective quality of life.

10                 I proudly vote aye.  

11                 Thank you, Madam President.

12                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Senator 

13    Cleare to be recorded in the affirmative.

14                 Announce the results.

15                 THE SECRETARY:   Ayes, 59.

16                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The bill 

17    is passed.

18                 THE SECRETARY:   Calendar Number 

19    532, Senate Print 5177, by Senator Comrie, an act 

20    to amend the Executive Law.

21                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Read the 

22    last section.  

23                 THE SECRETARY:   Section 6.  This 

24    act shall take effect immediately.

25                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Call the 


                                                               1395

 1    roll.

 2                 (The Secretary called the roll.)

 3                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Senator 

 4    Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick to explain her vote.

 5                 SENATOR CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK:   

 6    Thank you, Madam President.  

 7                 As an attorney practicing law for 

 8    30 years, I'm sad to say -- I can't believe I've 

 9    reached that milestone -- but in the course of my 

10    practice, I've notarized thousands of deeds.  I 

11    handle real estate matters, I handle estate 

12    matters, and this is an area that I'm familiar 

13    with.  

14                 I understand the purpose of this 

15    bill is to combat the fraud that we're seeing 

16    where people are losing their homes by fraudulent 

17    deeds.  However, I don't think, in my opinion, 

18    that this bill is going to address that issue 

19    properly.  It's simply going to burden the 

20    notaries who are doing their job, keeping the 

21    records, asking for I.D. 

22                 The people that are accomplishing 

23    these fraudulent transfers are sophisticated 

24    enough to also, you know, forge the notary's 

25    signature, steal their identity, and try to 


                                                               1396

 1    notarize a deed that is not legitimate.  

 2                 And I've unfortunately incurred that 

 3    in my practice, where we've been contacted to say 

 4    did you notarize this deed, and realize that it's 

 5    not a true notary.

 6                 So I also want to comment that the 

 7    New York State Bar Association issued a report, 

 8    and that report was focused on the notary 

 9    recordkeeping requirements and specifically 

10    stated that putting more burdens on our notaries 

11    is not going to address this problem.

12                 So while I understand that we have 

13    an issue that we need to address, I don't believe 

14    this bill does it.  And therefore, 

15    Madam President, I'm voting in the negative.  

16                 Thank you.

17                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Senator 

18    Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick to be recorded in the 

19    negative.

20                 Senator Comrie to explain his vote.

21                 SENATOR COMRIE:   Thank you, 

22    Madam President.  

23                 I rise today to just try to 

24    enlighten my colleagues as to why we're doing 

25    this.  


                                                               1397

 1                 Deed theft has become a major 

 2    problem within the state and within this country.  

 3    It has required that we try to do everything we 

 4    can to close the gaps to prevent fraudulent 

 5    actors from utilizing the notaries and the notary 

 6    stamps, to prevent deed theft.  

 7                 We have -- and I could read you just 

 8    something that was released by District Attorney 

 9    Melinda Katz yesterday dealing with a fraud -- 

10    deed fraud scheme that included falsifying 

11    documents filing false deeds with the city 

12    register's office.  This is happening throughout 

13    the state.  Property ownership is a problem for a 

14    lot of people in our communities, older people, 

15    people that don't understand lawyers or people 

16    that are moving into their house.  

17                 We have actually, in Queens, cases 

18    where people moved into seniors' homes, 

19    threatened them, and took over their deeds.

20                 We have to find every way possible 

21    to stop this.  Making sure that a person that is 

22    a notary has a responsible record, has paperwork 

23    that can prove that they -- what they signed and 

24    how they signed it, makes it easier for the 

25    district attorneys to follow through and go after 


                                                               1398

 1    folks that are acting fraudulently.  

 2                 But unfortunately there's too many 

 3    people that have now taken up this deed theft as 

 4    a way of doing business and making money, and we 

 5    have to stop it.

 6                 So while it may not be the most 

 7    amenable thing for folks that are acting as 

 8    notaries, it's something that's necessary to 

 9    protect our homeowners.  

10                 Therefore, I would urge everyone to 

11    sign this bill.

12                 Thank you, Madam President.

13                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Senator 

14    Comrie to be recorded in the affirmative.

15                 Senator Bailey to explain his vote.

16                 SENATOR BAILEY:   Thank you, 

17    Madam President.  

18                 Like Senator Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, 

19    I too am an attorney and I have done some of 

20    these real estate cases.  And I also live in what 

21    I like to always comment about Senator Comrie's 

22    district, I'm like the mirror image of 

23    Senator Comrie's district in the Northeast Bronx.  

24    And the loss of homeownership based upon these 

25    deed theft schemes has been staggering.  They're 


                                                               1399

 1    going to our seniors that -- when people pass 

 2    away, they're going to Surrogate's Court, they're 

 3    getting the public notices, they're going right 

 4    to their homes and they're intimidating them and 

 5    they're doing all of these types of fraudulent 

 6    things, and it's losing generational wealth.  

 7                 Generational homeownership that has 

 8    come from people who are, as we like to say, 

 9    cash-poor and house-rich, but that can no longer 

10    be maybe passed down to those generations because 

11    of these scams.  

12                 Is this the one tool in the toolbox 

13    that will stop all of it?  Of course not.  And I 

14    don't think anybody's saying that.  But I think 

15    giving more tools to individuals to be able to 

16    stop this sort of rampant deed theft is 

17    critically important.  

18                 And so I applaud Senator Comrie for 

19    introducing this bill, and I think that we need 

20    to -- we should add more tools to the proverbial 

21    toolbox so that we can stop this.  

22                 I do think this is a step in the 

23    right direction.  I think this is a great bill.  

24    And I simply say yes, maybe it's going to be 

25    burdensome for notaries.  And that's not 


                                                               1400

 1    something I say lightly.  We don't want any 

 2    burden on anybody.  

 3                 But I'd rather there to be a burden 

 4    on notaries than for people to lose generational 

 5    wealth and thousands -- a hundred thousand 

 6    dollars and maybe even a million dollars lost by 

 7    somebody who was intimidated or coerced or scared 

 8    into signing something that they weren't 

 9    knowledgeable of or have a -- and the notary was 

10    aiding them in that.  

11                 I vote aye, Madam President.

12                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: 

13    Senator Bailey to be recorded in the affirmative.  

14                 Announce the results.

15                 THE SECRETARY:   In relation to 

16    Calendar 532, voting in the negative are 

17    Senators Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Gallivan, Griffo, 

18    Oberacker, O'Mara, Rhoads, Tedisco and Walczyk.

19                 Ayes, 51.  Nays, 8.

20                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The bill 

21    is passed.

22                 THE SECRETARY:   Calendar Number 

23    535, Senate Print 2436, by Senator Krueger, an 

24    act to amend the Administrative Code of the City 

25    of New York.


                                                               1401

 1                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Read the 

 2    last section.

 3                 THE SECRETARY:   Section 3.  This 

 4    act shall take effect on the first of January.

 5                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Call the 

 6    roll.

 7                 (The Secretary called the roll.)

 8                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Announce 

 9    the results.

10                 THE SECRETARY:   In relation to 

11    Calendar 535, those Senators voting in the 

12    negative are Senators Ashby, Borrello, 

13    Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, 

14    Lanza, Martins, Mattera, Murray, Oberacker, 

15    O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads, Rolison, 

16    Scarcella-Spanton, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk and 

17    Weik.

18                 Ayes, 38.  Nays, 21.

19                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The bill 

20    is passed.

21                 THE SECRETARY:   Calendar Number 

22    543, Senate Print 5559, by Senator Hoylman-Sigal, 

23    an act to amend the Judiciary Law.

24                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Read the 

25    last section.


                                                               1402

 1                 THE SECRETARY:   Section 4.  This 

 2    act shall take effect on the 30th day after it 

 3    shall have become a law.

 4                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Call the 

 5    roll.

 6                 (The Secretary called the roll.)

 7                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Announce 

 8    the results.

 9                 THE SECRETARY:   In relation to 

10    Calendar 543, those Senators voting in the 

11    negative are Senators Ashby, Borrello, 

12    Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Chan, Gallivan, Griffo, 

13    Helming, Martins, Mattera, Murray, Oberacker, 

14    O'Mara, Ortt, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec, Tedisco and 

15    Weik.

16                 Ayes, 41.  Nays, 18.

17                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The bill 

18    is passed.

19                 THE SECRETARY:   Calendar Number 

20    546, Senate Print 2051, by Senator Webb, an act 

21    to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.

22                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Read the 

23    last section.

24                 THE SECRETARY:   Section 8.  This 

25    act shall take effect immediately.


                                                               1403

 1                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Call the 

 2    roll.

 3                 (The Secretary called the roll.)

 4                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Senator 

 5    Webb to explain her vote.

 6                 SENATOR WEBB:   Thank you, 

 7    Madam President.

 8                 This legislation would allow 

 9    bed-and-breakfasts to sell New York State liquor, 

10    wine, beer and cider to their guests while 

11    creating parity between bed-and-breakfasts along 

12    with similar establishments such as hotels, 

13    restaurants and catering establishments.  

14                 By permitting a licensed brewery, 

15    farm brewery, farm cidery, distillery, farm 

16    winery or winery to operate a bed-and-breakfast, 

17    this legislation will not only support the 

18    bed-and-breakfast economy but also boost our 

19    local agritourism industry and all of the 

20    delicious beer, cider, spirits and wine produced 

21    right here in New York State.  This is helping to 

22    expand our markets for our farmers.

23                 Further, this bill removes a 

24    requirement that a patron must be an overnight 

25    guest in order for a B&B to sell an alcoholic 


                                                               1404

 1    beverage, which will lead to expanded 

 2    opportunities for these small businesses to 

 3    expand their customer base.

 4                 This bill expands choices for 

 5    tourists coming to our great state, allowing them 

 6    to enjoy some of the same comforts at a B&B that 

 7    they might expect and experience at a hotel.

 8                 Madam President, this legislation is 

 9    not only good for the small businesses, our 

10    farmers and tourism industry in our communities, 

11    but it also provides some important support to 

12    New York State's growing wine distillery, brewery 

13    and cider industry.

14                 I proudly vote aye, and I encourage 

15    my colleagues to do the same.

16                 Thank you.

17                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   Thank 

18    you.  Senator Webb to be recorded in the 

19    affirmative.

20                 Announce the results.

21                 THE SECRETARY:   Ayes, 59.

22                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   The bill 

23    is passed.

24                 Senator Gianaris.

25                 SENATOR GIANARIS:   Is there any 


                                                               1405

 1    further business at the desk?

 2                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   There is 

 3    no further business at the desk.

 4                 SENATOR GIANARIS:   I move to 

 5    adjourn until Monday, March 24th, at 3:00 p.m., 

 6    with the intervening days being legislative days.

 7                 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD:   On 

 8    motion, the Senate stands adjourned until Monday, 

 9    March 24th, at 3:00 p.m., with intervening days 

10    being legislative days.

11                 (Whereupon, at 12:01 p.m., the 

12    Senate adjourned.)

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