Regular Session - February 24, 2026
855
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
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6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 February 24, 2026
11 3:39 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
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16
17
18 SENATOR JAMAAL T. BAILEY, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
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25
856
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 present to please
5 rise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: 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 BAILEY: Reading
14 of the Journal.
15 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Monday,
16 February 23, 2026, the Senate met pursuant to
17 adjournment. The Journal of Friday, February 20,
18 2026, was read and approved. On motion, the
19 Senate adjourned.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: 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.
857
1 Reports of select committees.
2 Communications and reports from
3 state officers.
4 Motions and resolutions.
5 Senator Gianaris.
6 SENATOR GIANARIS: Good afternoon,
7 Mr. President.
8 I have several motions here.
9 Amendments are offered to the
10 following Third Reading Calendar bills:
11 On behalf of Senator Skoufis,
12 page 15, Calendar Number 236, Senate Print 6368A;
13 Senator Cooney, page 16,
14 Calendar Number 251, Senate Print 7955A;
15 Senator Mayer, page 18,
16 Calendar Number 275, Senate Print 4470;
17 Senator Sepúlveda, page 19,
18 Calendar Number 290, Senate Print 3974;
19 And Senator Gounardes, page 20,
20 Calendar Number 301, Senate Print 8334.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
22 amendments are received, and the bills will
23 retain their place on the Third Reading Calendar.
24 Senator Gianaris.
25 SENATOR GIANARIS: At this time
858
1 let's take up previously adopted Resolution 1534,
2 by the dynamic team of Senators Parker and
3 Tedisco.
4 (Laughter.)
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: We'll read that
6 resolution's title, and recognize first
7 Senator Parker on the resolution.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: A buddy
9 comedy we all need.
10 The Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 1534, by
12 Senator Parker, honoring the Schenectady Belmont
13 Pop Warner Football Program upon winning the
14 regional championship and achieving a top five
15 national championship finish.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
17 Parker on the resolution.
18 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you very
19 much, Mr. President.
20 First of all, let's have these
21 young people stand up and be recognized. Give
22 them a round of applause.
23 (Applause.)
24 SENATOR PARKER: This is a
25 championship team -- and, as you see, a group of
859
1 young people. But in that short amount of time
2 they have won, Mr. President, not one time, not
3 two times, they have not won even three times or
4 four times, but five times.
5 And they are a football team that
6 prides themselves on hard work, on dedication.
7 They come from a community in which those are
8 kind of the daily values and, although a little
9 bit aways away from my district in Brooklyn,
10 share a lot of the same population that we have
11 there.
12 And so I've been happy to team up
13 with Senator Tedisco to host these young people
14 here in Albany today, to have them understand
15 that there are people, as they may be watching us
16 for inspiration -- which some of us may argue
17 should not happen -- but we also get inspiration
18 from them.
19 And we see the work that they do, we
20 see their hard work, and we see that just like in
21 the Legislature, where you have to work hard to
22 get things done, that in the field of sports they
23 have shown that hard work, that dedication, and
24 that commitment will win the day.
25 And so I want to thank you for
860
1 opening up the house to them and acknowledging
2 them.
3 And, you know, Senator Tedisco, I
4 think, you know, who represents this intrepid
5 group, will have a lot more to say, and so I
6 yield to him.
7 Thank you.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
9 you, Senator Parker.
10 Senator Tedisco on the resolution.
11 SENATOR TEDISCO: Thank you so
12 much, Mr. President and my colleagues.
13 I had the opportunity, along with
14 Senator Parker, to speak to these outstanding
15 student athletes earlier, and I explained to them
16 that in the Senate chamber we do get a lot of
17 pretty good things done, but sometimes it gets
18 stifled.
19 And I let them know that there are
20 61 other members. But if it was just me and
21 Senator Parker, we could solve a lot of problems
22 in the state --
23 (Laughter.)
24 SENATOR TEDISCO: -- but that some
25 people get in the way sometimes.
861
1 (Laughter.)
2 SENATOR TEDISCO: But we work very
3 well together.
4 And as you look up there, you're
5 seeing some outstanding student athletes,
6 parents, volunteers, tremendous coaches. And
7 they are proof of the fact -- because you've
8 heard me say this before -- all good things
9 emanate from the 44th Senatorial District.
10 (Laughter.)
11 SENATOR TEDISCO: And Belmont
12 Pop Warner, you are one big part of that whole
13 thing.
14 I look up at that camera and I hope
15 there are some NFL scouts, because you've got
16 some superstars coming your way. And I told them
17 I'm ready to be their agents when the time comes
18 to see what we can do about them in the NFL.
19 But actually I'm very pleased also
20 to work with Senator Parker in a collegial way,
21 to welcome and congratulate the Eastern Regional
22 champions and top five nationally ranked
23 Belmont Pop Warner Football Program to this
24 chamber today. National recognition.
25 The Schenectady Belmont Pop Warner
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1 Football Program punched its ticket to national
2 competition by winning the Eastern Regional
3 Championship on Saturday, November 29th, in
4 Marsh Creek, Pennsylvania.
5 Prior to their regional and national
6 success, the program enjoyed a historic 7 for
7 7 -- not 70 percent, 80 percent, or 90 percent,
8 100 percent seasons -- at the local level, with
9 all seven teams winning their respective
10 Capital District Pop Warner Super bowls.
11 They just keep winning. Winning is
12 great. We've heard it so much around the world.
13 I wonder where else we've heard about winning.
14 Well, we won't mention that here.
15 It's said that the success of any
16 organization starts with leadership, and their
17 coaches worked tirelessly to make this group
18 collectively greater than the sum of its parts.
19 Madam President and my colleagues,
20 I'd ask you to welcome them -- oh, jeez, did I
21 say "Madam"?
22 (Laughter.)
23 SENATOR TEDISCO: You are looking
24 good today, let me tell you.
25 (Laughter.)
863
1 SENATOR TEDISCO: I've got a Braun
2 shaver, though. You've got to get that -- no,
3 no.
4 Welcome them, congratulate them,
5 offer them all the cordialities of this august
6 body.
7 And we certainly appreciate the
8 records you have achieved, and I know there's
9 most more to come.
10 Thank you, Mr. President.
11 (Laughter.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
13 you, Senator Tedisco.
14 To our five-time champions, student
15 athletes, future change-makers and future
16 occupants of this body, I welcome you on behalf
17 of the Senate. We extend to you all of the
18 privileges and courtesies of this house.
19 Please rise and be recognized.
20 (Standing ovation.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
22 Gianaris.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
24 I'd like to remind Senator Tedisco that we have
25 significant outside income limits in this
864
1 chamber --
2 (Laughter.)
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: -- and so I
4 think we'd all welcome his new career as an agent
5 for these football players --
6 (Laughter.)
7 SENATOR GIANARIS: -- as opposed to
8 being here with us.
9 I think we're apparently awaiting
10 the leader for her resolution, so we'll stand at
11 ease just momentarily until she arrives.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
13 Senate will stand at ease momentarily.
14 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
15 at 3:47 p.m.)
16 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
17 3:48 p.m.)
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: At this time,
19 Mr. President, let's take up the privileged
20 resolution that's at the desk, read it in its
21 entirety, and recognize Majority Leader
22 Stewart-Cousins on that resolution.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
24 Senate returns to order.
25 The Secretary will read.
865
1 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 1636, by
2 Senator Stewart-Cousins, mourning the death of
3 the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson and honoring his
4 lifetime of service, leadership, and advocacy for
5 civil rights and social justice.
6 "WHEREAS, From time to time, the
7 Legislature of the State of New York pauses in
8 its deliberations to recognize individuals whose
9 lives have profoundly shaped society and whose
10 leadership, courage, and moral conviction have
11 left an enduring imprint on history, inspiring
12 generations to confront inequality, expand
13 opportunity, and work toward a more just and fair
14 society; among the distinguished figures whose
15 lives embody these ideals, few have demonstrated
16 such enduring courage, moral clarity, and
17 transformative impact as the Reverend Jesse
18 Louis Jackson; and
19 "WHEREAS, The Reverend Jesse
20 Louis Jackson, born Jesse Louis Burns on October
21 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, rose from
22 humble beginnings to become one of the most
23 influential civil rights leaders in history,
24 dedicating his life to the pursuit of justice,
25 equality, and human rights for Black Americans
866
1 and all people; and
2 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson was
3 raised in a segregated South, and was surrounded
4 by a community that instilled in him a deep sense
5 of faith, resilience, and responsibility; he went
6 on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from
7 the Agricultural and Technical College of
8 North Carolina, now known as North Carolina A&T
9 State University; in 1964, he began his
10 theological studies at Chicago Theological
11 Seminary, but deferred his studies when he began
12 working full-time in the Civil Rights Movement
13 with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; he
14 was ordained on June 30, 1968, by Reverend Clay
15 Evans and received his Master of Divinity degree
16 from Chicago Theological Seminary in 2000; and
17 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson emerged
18 as a mentee and follower of the Reverend
19 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the
20 Civil Rights Movement, standing alongside
21 Dr. King in the final moments of his life in
22 1968, and carrying forward the movement's moral
23 and strategic legacy with unwavering commitment;
24 and
25 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson played a
867
1 pivotal role in the Southern Christian Leadership
2 Conference's Operation Breadbasket, transforming
3 it into a national force for economic justice by
4 negotiating employment opportunities, corporate
5 accountability agreements, and community
6 investment commitments that reshaped access to
7 economic power for Black Americans; and
8 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson
9 strengthened the national movement for justice by
10 founding the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, uniting his
11 earlier organizations to advance political
12 empowerment, economic opportunity, and equal
13 rights for underserved communities; through the
14 Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Reverend Jackson
15 championed voter registration, educational
16 equity, fair housing, and criminal justice
17 reform, mobilizing millions of Americans to
18 participate in civic life and expanding the
19 political influence of historically marginalized
20 communities; and
21 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson's
22 groundbreaking 1984 and 1988 presidential
23 campaigns galvanized a multiracial 'Rainbow
24 Coalition,' elevating issues such as universal
25 healthcare, workers' rights, environmental
868
1 justice, and international human rights, and
2 opened doors for future candidates of color to
3 seek and hold the highest offices in the nation;
4 and
5 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson
6 distinguished himself as a global humanitarian
7 and diplomat, negotiating the release of American
8 hostages and political prisoners in Syria, Cuba,
9 Iraq, and other regions, demonstrating a
10 steadfast commitment to peace, dialogue, and the
11 protection of human life; and
12 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson was a
13 tireless advocate for labor rights, standing with
14 workers across industries ranging from
15 farmworkers to airline employees to public sector
16 unions, consistently affirming that economic
17 justice is inseparable from civil rights; and
18 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson's voice
19 resonated across generations as he spoke out
20 against apartheid in South Africa, voter
21 suppression in the United States, and human
22 rights abuses around the world, reinforcing the
23 moral imperative of global solidarity in the
24 struggle for freedom and equality; and
25 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson's
869
1 lifelong dedication to youth empowerment,
2 leadership development, and educational
3 opportunity inspired countless young people to
4 pursue public service, activism, and community
5 leadership, ensuring that his legacy continues to
6 shape the future; and
7 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson further
8 distinguished himself through national public
9 service, including his tenure as "shadow senator"
10 for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997,
11 where he advocated for full congressional
12 representation and statehood for the residents of
13 Washington, D.C.; and
14 "WHEREAS, In recognition of his
15 decades of leadership, moral courage, and
16 unwavering commitment to civil and human rights,
17 Reverend Jackson was awarded the Presidential
18 Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton in
19 2000, the nation's highest civilian honor; and
20 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson
21 maintained deep and enduring ties to New York
22 State, shaping its civil rights landscape and
23 launching the Wall Street Project in New York
24 City, an initiative dedicated to challenging the
25 financial industry to expand access and
870
1 opportunity for minority entrepreneurs,
2 investors, and professionals, and to ensure that
3 the corporate sector reflected the diversity,
4 talent, and economic aspirations of all
5 communities; and
6 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson's work in
7 New York strengthened grassroots organizing,
8 expanded political participation, and inspired
9 generations of New Yorkers to confront injustice
10 with courage, discipline, and moral conviction;
11 and
12 "WHEREAS, Throughout his life,
13 Reverend Jackson remained a steadfast voice
14 against racism, poverty, violence, and
15 discrimination, championing voting rights,
16 workers' rights, educational equity, and the
17 dignity of marginalized communities across the
18 nation; and
19 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson passed
20 away on February 17, 2026, at the age of 84,
21 leaving behind a monumental legacy of activism,
22 institution building, and moral leadership that
23 transformed the United States and inspired
24 movements around the world; and
25 "WHEREAS, Reverend Jackson is
871
1 survived by his devoted wife of more than six
2 decades, Jacqueline Lavinia Brown Jackson, and
3 their children, Santita Jackson, Jesse Louis
4 Jackson, Jr., Jonathan Luther Jackson, Yusef
5 DuBois Jackson, Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson, and
6 Ashley Laverne Jackson, all of whom carry forward
7 his legacy of service, faith, and commitment to
8 justice; now, therefore, be it
9 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
10 Body pause in its deliberations to mourn the
11 passing of the Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson, to
12 honor his extraordinary life and achievements,
13 and to recognize his profound contributions to
14 civil rights, democracy, and human dignity; and
15 be it further
16 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this
17 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
18 to the family of the Reverend Jesse Louis
19 Jackson, with the deepest sympathy and gratitude
20 of the people of New York State."
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Majority
22 Leader Stewart-Cousins on the resolution.
23 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Thank you
24 so much, Madam President.
25 And I certainly rise to honor this
872
1 extraordinary life and legacy of Jesse Jackson
2 and extend, on behalf of the Senate, our deepest
3 condolences to his family and our deepest
4 gratitude for sharing him with us for, you know,
5 the better part of a century.
6 It is not often that we have an
7 opportunity to see a full life. So many of our
8 heroes are gone at very, very early ages, and we
9 can only imagine what would have happened if they
10 were, you know, 50 or 60 or whatever.
11 Jesse Jackson was here for 84 very
12 full years. And I think the resolution told us
13 in broadest strokes how he impacted so much of
14 what we experience today.
15 I talked to a couple of friends of
16 mine, the Robinson sisters. In Westchester
17 they're legendary -- and I know you know them,
18 Madam Leader -- you know, Joanne and Roberta.
19 And their mother, May Morgan
20 Robinson, was somebody who was always trying to
21 engage the community in voting rights and making
22 them understand how important this was.
23 Joanne was a teacher in 1984 in the
24 Bronx, and her class, mostly Black and brown
25 children, were learning about astronauts and the
873
1 space race. And Joanne asked them, Why do you
2 think there's never been a Black astronaut?
3 And to her dismay, a couple of the
4 children explained it's because Black people
5 weren't smart enough to be astronauts. She was
6 shocked that her fifth-graders had ingrained in
7 them that they weren't worthy of being anyone
8 great.
9 That was the same year that
10 Jesse Louis Jackson launched his presidential
11 campaign. And ultimately she became a delegate,
12 because she said that she did not want to miss
13 the opportunity to allow for those children to
14 understand that yes, Black people are capable and
15 can stand on debate stages and command the
16 attention of millions of people in America,
17 talking about things that they needed to hear,
18 whether it was universal healthcare or childcare,
19 whether it was public housing or the fact that
20 yes, you are somebody.
21 Even if you may be in an
22 impoverished circumstance, it doesn't mean you as
23 a person are impoverished. Him showing up on
24 Sesame Street saying "I am somebody," to the
25 Rainbow Coalition that -- yes, Senator Tedisco,
874
1 you and Senator Parker, I was amused to hear that
2 you and Senator Parker could solve all our
3 problems. Little did we know.
4 (Laughter.)
5 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Wow.
6 But Jesse Jackson, you know, once
7 was that guy that created this Rainbow Coalition
8 of saying, you know, we all can do better, but we
9 have to do better with each other. And we can't
10 decide that people aren't worthy because of the
11 color of their skin or because of their poverty
12 or because of their lack of education or whatever
13 it is.
14 What an amazing energy to bring to
15 the stage and the forefront in 1984. Which was
16 also the year that Senator Velmanette Montgomery
17 won. I had a chance to talk to Velmanette today.
18 She called me. And I was like, "I know you must
19 have been involved with Jesse Jackson's
20 campaign," and she said yeah.
21 She said she remembers standing in
22 the housing project waiting for Jesse Jackson to
23 come, and it was as though they were waiting, you
24 know, for -- for, you know, the savior. She
25 said: You could hear a pin drop. Nobody moved,
875
1 nobody dared breathe, waiting for Jesse."
2 And he came. And he delivered the
3 promise of hope.
4 And the same year, Velmanette
5 Montgomery, who had been involved with childcare
6 and daycare, raised her hand and said "I'm going
7 to run." She's the longest-serving Senator. And
8 when she left, she's still not -- she's still
9 active. But her commitment to the criminal
10 justice system, reforming it, and to our
11 children, never wavered because of the example
12 that Jesse Jackson made for her.
13 And in Jesse's campaign, a million
14 new voters signed up -- people who had been
15 sitting on the sidelines, thinking that it didn't
16 matter what they did, signed up and became
17 involved in the political process that has I'm
18 sure resulted in the diversity of this chamber
19 and the commitment to things that Jesse had the
20 coverage to bring up and sustain over his decades
21 of service.
22 When Barack Obama was elected in
23 2008, people did not understand, all of them, and
24 are probably beginning to understand now how
25 Jesse's campaign and changing the way the
876
1 delegate process was -- it used to be a
2 winner-take-all. So if you won a state, you got
3 all the delegates.
4 And it was Jesse Jackson's campaign
5 that said, No, you're entitled to the delegates
6 you won. Even if you didn't win the whole state,
7 you're entitled to your delegates. And it made
8 the pathway for a Barack Obama to become the
9 first Black president in 2008, just 20 years
10 after his election campaign.
11 We have a lot to be thankful for
12 when we have the opportunity to see the
13 embodiment of public servants in the full panoply
14 of life. I'm not going to say that Jesse Jackson
15 was perfect, because none of us are. But I
16 certainly will say that his influence in our
17 lives, in our opportunity to stand in this
18 chamber fighting for people, is a legacy of his
19 that I'm really, really proud to be able to carry
20 forward.
21 We can't all have the impact that
22 Jesse Jackson had, but what we can do is make
23 sure that none of us forget that we are all
24 somebody. And in times like this, which is
25 challenging for so many, his life and his legacy
877
1 really, really demands that we indeed keep hope
2 alive.
3 Thank you so much, Madam President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you,
5 Majority Leader.
6 Senator Sanders on the resolution.
7 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you for the
8 resolution, Madam Leader, Madam President.
9 A tall tree has fell in our forest.
10 You can't get around that. A tall tree has fell.
11 Let me tell you some quick Jesse Jackson moments
12 that I had with him.
13 When he decided to run back in '84,
14 I ended up being the secretary, I don't know how,
15 of the Rainbow in my district. And we brought
16 him out to the Rockaways, Queens, the edge of the
17 earth, and we found a place and we filled it with
18 3,000 people inside.
19 And the most curious thing, a big
20 noise was happening outside. It was getting so
21 scary. It was another 2,000 people trying to get
22 into this space. We almost had a political riot,
23 people trying to get in. Jesse actually had to
24 go to the door and calm everybody down so that he
25 could speak on the inside.
878
1 Then he was speaking, and he said
2 something that changed my life. Now, you have to
3 remember, '84 -- the '80s was the height of the
4 crack epidemic. It was a bad time to be in
5 New York. And with my luck, I found myself at
6 the epicenter -- I'm in the South Bronx. There
7 was no worse place at the time --
8 (Laughter.)
9 SENATOR SANDERS: -- that you could
10 be at the time. Thank God it has changed.
11 But I'll be at the South Bronx. And
12 so Jesse spoke, and he said he drove through the
13 Bronx to get down here. And he said, You know
14 what I saw. And I'm saying to myself, Yeah, I
15 know what you saw. My God, it looks like a war
16 zone. And I'm just coming out of the
17 Marine Corps, and I understand that.
18 Then he said -- I thought he was
19 going to speak of broken buildings and he was
20 devastated. He said: "I saw jobs. I saw
21 bricklayers and electricians and plumbers. I saw
22 the need for jobs." And I said, Oh, my God, the
23 man is right. I never even thought of that. His
24 vision was something that -- way beyond what
25 people could speak of.
879
1 Then of course I had the pleasure of
2 working with him over the Wall Street when he
3 would go to Wall Street periodically and try to
4 get Wall Street to get right. We're still --
5 that's a work in progress.
6 My final thing that I want to tell
7 you about Jesse Jackson came in 2009, two
8 thousand and -- actually, 2007, the predatory
9 lending meltdown where the banks were seizing,
10 the mortgage companies, everybody feeding on
11 these poor people. And I'm trying to organize
12 around there, and I said who can we get. I
13 reached out to Jesse Jackson and we led a march
14 of around 300 people through Southeast Queens
15 with him.
16 I actually brought him to -- my
17 brother Leroy was chairing. We brought him to a
18 meeting of the City Council where we were working
19 on these things.
20 I can speak many more things, but
21 time won't permit.
22 A tall tree has fallen in the
23 community. This tree gave us comfort. This tree
24 sheltered us. This tree protected us. We were
25 protected from many winds. A tall tree has
880
1 fallen. You can't get around that.
2 But one thing about a tall tree
3 falling, Madam President, in order for the young
4 trees to grow, a tall tree must get out the way.
5 If the tall tree does not get out the way, the
6 young trees will die.
7 Jesse Jackson, one of the tallest
8 trees, has fallen. Now comes a time when these
9 young trees need to get up there, need to take
10 their natural place in the world and say that "I
11 am somebody," that we have value in spite of.
12 And so I am very grateful for this
13 resolution, for this moment for Jesse Jackson,
14 and him letting everyone know that regardless of
15 where you were born -- he used to say you can be
16 born in the projects -- and I was, I was born in
17 the Hammel Houses, very proud to say it. Born in
18 the Hammel Houses. I was not born in a hospital,
19 I was born in the Hammel Houses. No midwife. No
20 man, black or white, slapped me.
21 (Laughter.)
22 SENATOR SANDERS: My mother made up
23 for it, but that's a different story for a
24 different day.
25 (Laughter.)
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1 SENATOR SANDERS: One story at a
2 time.
3 I am somebody. And Jesse Jackson
4 helped make it popular. Thank God for him.
5 Thank you, Madam President.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you,
7 Senator Sanders.
8 Senator Bailey on the resolution.
9 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
10 Madam President.
11 We are somebody. Thank you, Madam
12 Leader, for this resolution.
13 In '84 I was two; '88, I was six.
14 But Jesse Jackson loomed large in my life. See,
15 when you were growing up young and Black, there
16 weren't Andrea Stewart-Cousinses to look up to.
17 We didn't even have Mayor Dinkins till '89.
18 We didn't have an Obama, we didn't
19 have a Speaker Heastie, we didn't have a Tish
20 James, we didn't have a Hakeem Jeffries. We had
21 Jesse Jackson.
22 I used to think that he was one of
23 the Jackson 5 back in the day. That was a
24 similar last name. My dad said, No, this is a
25 different Jackson, and he's doing different
882
1 things for our community.
2 There's always a sports hook for me,
3 Madam President. When he went to the University
4 of Illinois on a football scholarship, much like
5 the backward racist thinking of the past, they
6 thought that Blacks were inferior and couldn't
7 play quarterback. So he transferred to
8 North Carolina A&T, where he got to play football
9 but he got to ingrain himself with the HBCUs, the
10 Black college experience.
11 And there's so many more -- you can
12 read his -- so many more things. You can read
13 his bio. I want to talk about the impact that he
14 had on me.
15 The national convention speeches
16 were incredible. But in 1989, when I was seven
17 years old, he appeared on a show that I've often
18 cited in this chamber called A Different World.
19 There was an episode called "Citizen
20 Wayne." And I didn't realize the gravity of it
21 at that time. In 1989, Jesse Jackson had just
22 run for president and he was on that show. That
23 is the functional equivalent of having like a
24 Taylor Swift or somebody like that on a sitcom
25 right now. That's how hot Jesse was. That's how
883
1 important he was, how crucial and critical he was
2 to the black community.
3 In the episode one of the main
4 characters, Dwayne Wayne, was running for
5 president, and he didn't feel that his issues
6 were being heard. And he was on the verge of
7 dropping out. And he spoke to Jesse Jackson and
8 Jesse Jackson reminded him that one man can make
9 a difference. That one person should not be
10 counted out, that you can make a difference.
11 This is pre-apartheid resolution in
12 South Africa and he was talking about how you can
13 make a difference. At the time, 12 million
14 people were registered on college campuses. They
15 could make a difference.
16 He spoke about the value of voting.
17 And at the conclusion of his speech, he said:
18 Let's vote about it.
19 If you go back and look at that and
20 rewatch that, like I have -- it's on some
21 streaming services now -- it hits even different.
22 That speech that Jesse Jackson gave in 1989 on a
23 TV show could have been given today about the
24 power of the youth vote. About the necessity for
25 us to make sure that we know that we are someone.
884
1 And there was a -- the funniest
2 moment in that episode, Madam President, is that
3 Dwayne Wayne's good friend Ron Johnson made a
4 poster, for those of us who watched the episode,
5 and it said three winners, and it showed Dwayne
6 Wayne and Ron Johnson and Jesse Jackson in the
7 middle, and on the bottom it said "I am
8 somebody."
9 Seven years old. If I took nothing
10 else from that episode -- "I am somebody." It
11 meant something. You've heard the 1988 speech.
12 And I'm going to give you one excerpt before I
13 close, Madam President.
14 "Take New York, the dynamic
15 metropolis. What makes New York so special? It
16 is the invitation of the Statue of Liberty, 'Give
17 me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses who
18 yearn to breathe free.' Not restricted to
19 English only. Many people, many cultures, many
20 languages -- with one thing in common, they yearn
21 to breathe free. Common ground!'
22 That could have been given today.
23 Frankly, Madam President, that message is needed
24 even more today than it probably was in '88. We
25 must remember that we must keep hope alive.
885
1 Thank you, Madam President.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you,
3 Senator Bailey.
4 Senator Comrie on the resolution.
5 SENATOR COMRIE: I am somebody. I
6 am somebody. I am somebody. I am somebody.
7 Those words still affect so many of
8 us today. The opportunities that I had to
9 interact with Jesse Jackson, thanks to
10 Senator Sanders back in the day. Working as a
11 young person to try to impact politics, which was
12 my chosen desire, not having a role model, Jesse
13 Jackson was somebody.
14 Jesse Jackson pulled so many of us
15 up and gave us the -- put the batteries in our
16 backs, put the energy in our souls, put the
17 desire in our feet. He created so many
18 opportunities. There would be no Mayor Dinkins,
19 there would be no Chicago mayor, there would be
20 no Atlanta mayor without Jesse Jackson.
21 There are so many people that got
22 involved in politics and government, so many
23 people that got involved in civic life because he
24 took the time to try to impart in clear tones
25 what it meant to be important -- not important in
886
1 a live sense, but in a real sense. Important
2 because you were putting the time and work in,
3 you were doing the research, you were making sure
4 that when you spoke, you knew what you were
5 talking about. And that you were able to be
6 factual and go point by point with anybody who
7 tried to dispute your reflections or your desires
8 or the things that we needed to improve our
9 country.
10 Jesse Jackson, moreover, was a
11 healer. He was a unifier. He tried to bring a
12 big tent together before there was a big tent.
13 He tried to make sure that people understood that
14 he was about the entire country, not just some.
15 He was willing to go to all parts of
16 the world to dedicate his fight for justice, to
17 make sure that people understood that wherever
18 you were, whatever you were doing, you were
19 somebody.
20 There's so many things that could be
21 said, so many things that have been said, and so
22 many things that will be said. But I just want
23 to say we need to keep hope alive. We need to
24 try to instill in each other the tenets of
25 Jesse Jackson, to impart to everyone that you are
887
1 somebody. That you're somebody relevant, that
2 you're somebody that should be listened to and
3 respected, that you should respect others around
4 you so that we can make this world a better
5 place.
6 Keep hope alive.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you,
8 Senator Comrie.
9 Senator Fahy on the resolution.
10 SENATOR FAHY: Thank you,
11 Madam President.
12 This is hard to follow, but I just
13 have to stand today because I'm a very proud
14 Chicago native. I'm also a little older than a
15 few people that spoke, and the loss of, the
16 passing of Reverend Jesse Jackson last week sent
17 me way down memory lane.
18 I'm afraid in my instance it was
19 back to 1968 and some of my earliest memories in
20 watching the TV, reading the news, hearing about
21 the news, and the relentless presence of, at
22 first, MLK, all that happened in 1968, but then
23 two of his most prominent lieutenants that
24 carried forth, and Jesse Jackson stayed and built
25 his career in Chicago.
888
1 He now -- he was one of two. The
2 only lieutenant, if you will, of that inner
3 circle of MLK that is now still alive is
4 Andrew Young.
5 But Jesse Jackson not only witnessed
6 history. For the longest time, he really made
7 history. He was truly at the crossroads, in my
8 formative years, of some of the most defining
9 moments. His groundbreaking run for president in
10 1984 and 1988 really changed so much and taught
11 us all about the power of the ballot box, where
12 he had 7 million votes in 1988. It completely
13 expanded voter turnout. Something that is now,
14 we see, fast forward to today, something that we
15 see threatened again at the national level. And
16 we see pushback regarding access to the ballot.
17 But it truly is one of the most
18 remarkable tributes of what he did, along with
19 the creation of Rainbow/PUSH, the strides and the
20 relentless push for economic justice, civil
21 rights, and making sure that democracy worked for
22 all.
23 It truly took courage, something we
24 all need to continue to take lessons from, as
25 well as persistence. He believed in lifting up
889
1 people, protecting civil rights and creating the
2 pathways.
3 In his memory, and then in honor of
4 Black Americans everywhere, I think we all need
5 to remember the words and his beliefs of justice,
6 dignity and inclusion. And I think that in honor
7 of his -- his legacy, we have to be reminded that
8 these are more than just words. We have to
9 continue to follow through on those words with
10 action.
11 And thank you for the time.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you,
13 Senator Fahy.
14 Senator Parker on the resolution.
15 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you,
16 Madam President.
17 First let me thank Andrea
18 Stewart-Cousins, our leader, for bringing this
19 important resolution to the floor. And let me
20 add my voice to my colleagues who are honoring
21 this really important figure, not just in
22 African-American life, but in American life.
23 That the life of Jesse Louis Jackson is one in
24 which all Americans should be thankful and
25 reminiscent about the impact on our communities.
890
1 Jesse Jackson was a Baptist
2 minister, an activist. Someone who was protege
3 to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He
4 was a civil rights leader, founder of the
5 Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. And that coalition,
6 people should understand, wasn't a coalition of
7 Black people, it was a coalition of people. That
8 he understood and taught the community that our
9 struggle wasn't a singular struggle.
10 And I think you heard one of my
11 colleagues talk about him creating a big tent
12 before there was a big tent. Right? And that's
13 exactly what he did.
14 But Jesse Jackson's life is a stop
15 in the continuum of Black prophetic vision and
16 activism that we see not just in this country,
17 but that comes through African life. As I have
18 talked about other times during Black History
19 Month, that the history of African people in
20 America doesn't start in 1619 in Jamestown,
21 Virginia, but you have to go back to Africa.
22 And when you look, Madam President,
23 in West African societies, you have a joining of
24 leadership that is both civil and prophetic, that
25 oftentimes leaders are both politician and
891
1 preacher, that they are president and pope. And
2 Jesse Jackson comes out of that tradition.
3 Because oftentimes people wonder why this man who
4 is this, you know, again, Baptist minister, rises
5 to do this. Right? You look out at major people
6 groups in West Africa like the Akan in Ghana, you
7 see the Asantehene. The Asantehene is both
8 president and pope for the Akan people.
9 Amongst the Yoruba in Nigeria,
10 you'll see Kabiyesi, the king, if you would.
11 Right? And Kabiyesi also stands as both the
12 cultural leader and also the religious leader.
13 That is a dynamic which African people brought
14 over with them.
15 And so oftentimes you'll read things
16 and you'll say, Oh, Black people organized the
17 Black church because that was the only thing that
18 the white slavemasters would allow them to do is
19 get together on Sunday, and that simply is not
20 true.
21 That they brought with them a
22 spiritual epistemology. That is, they understood
23 truth and knowledge vis-a-vis their relationship
24 to the spirit world. And so we look at early
25 resistance movements of Nat Turner, Gabriel
892
1 Prosser, Denmark Vesey -- all prophetic
2 visionaries. Right? Preachers, as you would
3 call them.
4 And as you move through time, you
5 know, you'll see people like Marcus Garvey. The
6 first thing that Garvey creates after he creates
7 the Universal Negro Improvement Association, the
8 UNIA, is the African Orthodox Church. One of the
9 people who comes out of the UNIA is the
10 Honorable Elijah Muhammad, who then creates the
11 Nation of Islam. And out of the Nation of Islam
12 is birthed Malcolm X.
13 And then you have, out of that
14 movement for civil rights that is born out of two
15 cradles -- one in the South, out of Atlanta, but
16 one out of Harlem -- with Garvey, you then have a
17 combination of people who see themselves as, yes,
18 prophetic voices but also understanding that they
19 have to be involved in the civil life of their
20 communities.
21 And so you see it with Adam Clayton
22 Powell -- and I mean Sr. I haven't even got to
23 Jr. yet. Right? You see it with Adam Clayton
24 Powell, Sr. You see it with Adam Clayton Powell,
25 Jr. Right? You see it amongst, you know,
893
1 Gardner Taylor, who was the pastor of
2 Cornerstone Baptist Church in Brooklyn, right,
3 who baptized me. Right? You see it with
4 Jean-Bertrand Aristide, right, the first
5 democratically elected president of Haiti, who
6 was a Catholic priest.
7 Those things don't come -- they're
8 not -- those things aren't born in isolation.
9 And of course you see King and the
10 Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Right?
11 And people like Ralph Abernathy and others who
12 are all ordained ministers.
13 It is out of that tradition in which
14 Jesse Jackson is born into. And so that because
15 we come from this lineage of people who have
16 prophetic vision but then also are grounded in
17 the real world realities that people are dealing
18 with, he creates an organization that is not just
19 a moral call for America to change, but also a
20 social and economic and people call for this
21 country to change.
22 And you see within the context of
23 both the things that he was involved in,
24 connected also to King -- people forget that King
25 essentially gets killed going to a labor rally.
894
1 Right? And that that cry for justice is one that
2 is connected to personhood. Right? Remember
3 the -- the -- that when King is killed, right, in
4 Tennessee, what's the call that those sanitation
5 workers were saying? "I am a man." "I am a
6 man." Just real simple things. Simple. And you
7 evolve into Black Lives Matter, but it begins
8 with "I am a man," like "I am a person." Right?
9 And Jesse had his take on it of
10 saying "I am somebody." And more importantly,
11 got other people to understand that they were
12 somebody.
13 Senator Bailey makes a really
14 critical point that what we see now, that we
15 can't go forward historically to being prisoners
16 of the moment. Right? And I often tell people
17 that in New York we're lucky that we live in kind
18 of a political Wakanda. Right? With people like
19 Tish James and, you know, Carl Heastie and our
20 own Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins and an
21 African-American lieutenant governor, an
22 African-American chief judge in the State of
23 New York. Right?
24 In this moment we have more
25 African-American women elected to our State
895
1 Legislature than any other place in the history
2 of the United States. Right here in the State of
3 New York.
4 And it's important not just for our
5 communities, but for all communities to see that.
6 Because you can't be what you don't see. And
7 Jesse Jackson understood that. And in the
8 moments in which he is pleading with us to say to
9 ourselves, I am somebody, it is at a time in
10 which white America is in fact telling everybody
11 that unless you are a straight white man, that
12 you are no one. That you do not exist. That you
13 are epiphenomenal and that you have not
14 contributed anything to the development of this
15 country. Which we all know is a lie before God.
16 And so you can't weigh what he has
17 done lightly. It is -- it is a load. It is a
18 lot, just in the rhetoric that he's left us with.
19 And then when you take that in account to the way
20 that he taught not just Black America but the
21 Democratic Party to organize is critical.
22 And again, my colleagues have waxed
23 poetic about, you know, the fact that you would
24 not have Harold Washington -- who was, you know,
25 one of my political heroes, right -- and others,
896
1 right -- or even Barack Obama -- if you don't
2 have Jesse Jackson. You wouldn't have David
3 Dinkins, right? And in part also because behind
4 the scenes, what people don't know is that the
5 same people were running all the same campaigns.
6 Right? And supporting each other. That I
7 remember that the first time I met Jesse Jackson
8 was actually on the campaign of David Dinkins in
9 which I worked.
10 And so that these movements,
11 although local, were also national and
12 international. Because Jesse Jackson was very,
13 very involved with the anti-apartheid movement
14 and very present with the election of Nelson
15 Mandela.
16 And so in this moment we don't
17 mourn. We have not come to bury Jesse Jackson,
18 we have come to celebrate his life. And to say:
19 I thank you for all that you have done. That you
20 have run the race, you have finished the course,
21 and with a job well done. We all remember that
22 we are someone, and that we are the people who
23 were here the day before yesterday. And that we
24 will be the people who will be here the day after
25 tomorrow, as we continue to love one another and
897
1 work with one another -- like Senator Tedisco and
2 I -- to make the State of New York as great as it
3 can be.
4 Thank you, Madam President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAYER: Thank you,
6 Senator Parker.
7 Senator Webb on the resolution.
8 SENATOR WEBB: Thank you,
9 Madam President.
10 I too want to thank our Senate
11 Majority Leader for this resolution mourning the
12 death of the great Reverend Jesse Jackson and for
13 honoring his lifetime of service, leadership, and
14 advocacy for civil rights and for social justice.
15 You know, there's a song by a group
16 we may be familiar with, Salt-N-Pepa, it goes:
17 "What a man, what a man, what a mighty good man."
18 Some people may know it. But I think most
19 certainly Reverend Jesse Jackson was absolutely a
20 mighty man.
21 He was a mighty human, a public
22 servant, an orator. He was more than a leader.
23 He was a moral compass and a voice for the
24 voiceless. Born in Greenville, South Carolina,
25 he dedicated his life to the ideals of freedom
898
1 and fairness for all.
2 I have some memories of him similar
3 to Senator Bailey. My father, back in the late
4 '80s, brought myself and my sisters to campus at
5 Binghamton University where Jesse Jackson was
6 speaking about his -- it was a big rally, and I
7 was a little, little kid -- talking about his
8 campaign for president.
9 And then I had the opportunity to
10 meet him many years later in Washington, D.C., at
11 a public policy conference, a national one,
12 talking about the importance of fully funding our
13 schools and having more equitable policies for
14 our public schools.
15 And so having those memories of him
16 and also just thinking about his legacy that he
17 not only built on the foundation laid by
18 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr; he carried forward
19 the work of the Civil Rights Movement with
20 courage, conviction and an unshakable belief in
21 the inherent worth of every person.
22 He championed voter registration,
23 economic opportunity, and justice long before it
24 was easy and most certainly before it was popular
25 to do so. He was an instrumental organizer in
899
1 efforts like the Black political convention that
2 happened in Gary, Indiana, in 1972, at a time
3 that was shortly after the deaths of both
4 Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and
5 also, at the same time, very important policies
6 like the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.
7 And so all of his work, his body of
8 work, even as the founder of things like
9 Operation PUSH -- just the name alone, for PUSH,
10 People United to Save Humanity. And I have to
11 tell you, that message not only was true then, it
12 most certainly is resoundingly needed now.
13 He is someone that we all know had a
14 historical presidential campaign. And I won't go
15 further into that, as my colleagues have already
16 done an eloquent job in doing so.
17 But he reminded us again and again
18 that we are somebody. And those weren't just a
19 slogan, it was an affirmation of dignity that
20 helped countless Americans see ourselves even in
21 times when there have been consistent,
22 still-present efforts to push towards our
23 erasure. That clarion call to action, "I am
24 somebody," is a reminder that we have to demand
25 to be greater, to demand justice, especially for
900
1 those who are rendered powerless.
2 Mr. President, he was a diplomat, a
3 mentor to many, and most certainly an inspiration
4 to countless others. And so today we remember a
5 true champion for equality, excellence, equity,
6 humanity.
7 And I want to extend my heartfelt
8 condolences to his family and to all who were
9 touched by his extraordinary work. May his
10 life's work as a public servant remind us all
11 that the true test of a public servant is not
12 just in the words that we speak, whether it's in
13 a chamber or out in the community -- that it is
14 really a testament to the indelible positive mark
15 that we leave behind on those who are committed
16 to our collective progress, that we all are
17 inspired to really create equitable change in
18 this chamber and beyond.
19 And so I want to continue to urge my
20 colleagues to not only join me in supporting this
21 resolution, but also in honoring his legacy by
22 continuing to push for more equity through the
23 policies that we create here in this chamber and
24 beyond. That we all continue to embody hope, and
25 that we all may continue to advance equity and
901
1 that we also embody his work by continuing to be
2 what he was, a true servant of the people.
3 Thank you, Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
5 Palumbo on the resolution.
6 SENATOR PALUMBO: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 Just a few quick, brief comments
9 along the lines of what all of my colleagues have
10 mentioned.
11 My condolences to the Jackson
12 family.
13 Reverend Jackson carried the mantle
14 of peace and humanity that was emulated by Martin
15 Luther King.
16 And throughout his career, he I
17 think was clear about the way that we should make
18 a difference: We should do so at the ballot box.
19 We should do so peacefully and appropriately.
20 It's not meant to be done by burning down cities
21 and violence, but do it smartly and with dignity
22 and humanity.
23 So he will certainly be missed. The
24 world is a better place because of the work that
25 Reverend Jackson accomplished in this state and
902
1 in this great nation.
2 And a rising tide does raise all
3 ships.
4 So thank you, Mr. President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
6 Brisport on the resolution.
7 SENATOR BRISPORT: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 And thank you to our Majority
10 Leader, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, for introducing
11 this resolution.
12 I rise today to honor a man who
13 didn't just witness history, he rewrote the rules
14 of what was possible in American politics.
15 Last week we lost Reverend Jesse
16 Jackson. While the world remembers him as a
17 titan of civil rights, we in this chamber must
18 recognize him as the architect of the multiracial
19 working class Rainbow Coalition that brought many
20 of us here today.
21 As noted earlier, Reverend Jackson's
22 influence was the spark for so many who dedicated
23 their lives to New York, including my
24 predecessor, Velmanette Montgomery. Inspired by
25 his '80s campaigns, Senator Montgomery carried
903
1 his moral center in this body for 36 years, and
2 I'm honored to carry the torch that was lit by
3 Jackson and passed through her hands to mine.
4 Reverend Jackson's legacy is a
5 living blueprint for our current legislative
6 battles. On healthcare, he was a prophet decades
7 ahead of the curve, challenging us to dream of
8 doctors who are concerned more about public
9 health than private wealth.
10 He understood that as long as
11 healthcare is a commodity, those who wipe the
12 bodies of those who are sick will never be able
13 to afford a bed in the very hospitals where they
14 work.
15 In this session we can carry that
16 mantle forward through the New York Health Act,
17 finally fulfilling his mandate for universal
18 single-payer healthcare.
19 On economic justice, he was the
20 first to fearlessly call for taxing the wealthy
21 to fund the disinherited. He saw exactly how the
22 neoliberal consensus of Reaganomics was cutting
23 our communities, famously declaring: They
24 engaged in reverse Robin Hood -- took from the
25 poor and gave to the rich, paid for by the
904
1 middle class.
2 He knew that racial battlegrounds
3 can only be won by finding economic common
4 ground, and he achieved this through his
5 inside-outside strategy. He famously taught us
6 that you need a hand on the outside to pull and a
7 hand on the inside to push.
8 He showed us that a campaign is a
9 vehicle to build a movement that survives past
10 Election Day, holding power inside these halls
11 while remaining accountable to the power in the
12 streets.
13 That strategy will be on full
14 display tomorrow. Thousands of organizers from
15 across the state are descending on this Capitol
16 tomorrow for a massive "Tax the Rich"
17 mobilization. These are the patches
18 Reverend Jackson spent his life stitching
19 together -- tenants, workers, and students who
20 are the hand on the outside, demanding a budget
21 that prioritizes people over profits.
22 Reverend Jackson would have
23 welcomed their advocacy. He would have been
24 right there on the steps with them telling them
25 to keep hope alive.
905
1 We honor him today not with our
2 words, but by answering the call of those
3 organizers tomorrow, and legislating with the
4 same courage as he showed the world.
5 Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
7 question is on the resolution.
8 All those in favor please signify by
9 saying aye.
10 (Response of "Aye.")
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Opposed,
12 nay.
13 (No response.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
15 resolution is adopted.
16 Senator Gianaris.
17 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please open the
18 resolutions we took up today for sponsorship.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
20 resolutions are open for cosponsorship. Should
21 you choose not to be a cosponsor, please notify
22 the desk.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's take up
24 the reading of the calendar, please.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
906
1 Secretary will read.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 179, 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 179, voting in the negative are
16 Senators Ashby, Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick,
17 Chan, Helming, Martins, Murray, Oberacker,
18 O'Mara, Ortt, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec, Tedisco,
19 Walczyk and Weber.
20 Ayes, 40. Nays, 16.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
22 is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 210, Senate Print 4950, by Senator Harckham, an
25 act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law.
907
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
2 last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
5 shall have become a law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
10 the results.
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 288, Senate Print 1892B, by Senator Jackson, an
16 act to amend the Correction Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
18 last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
20 act shall take effect immediately.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
25 the results.
908
1 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
2 Calendar 288, voting in the negative are
3 Senators Borrello, Chan, Helming, O'Mara, Ortt,
4 Palumbo, Rhoads, Rolison and Walczyk.
5 Ayes, 47. Nays, 9.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
7 is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 289, Senate Print 2280B, by Senator Webb, an act
10 to amend the Executive Law.
11 SENATOR PALUMBO: Lay it aside.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Lay it
13 aside.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 293, Senate Print 1618, by Senator Rivera, an act
16 to amend the Public Health Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
18 last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
20 act shall take effect on the first of January.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
22 roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
25 the results.
909
1 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
2 Calendar 293, voting in the negative are
3 Senators Ashby, Borrello, Helming, Oberacker,
4 O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Stec and Walczyk.
5 Ayes, 47. Nays, 9.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
7 is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 302, Senate Print 371, by Senator Skoufis, an act
10 to amend the Public Health Law.
11 Forgive me. Calendar Number 296,
12 Senate Print 438, by Senator Myrie, an act to
13 amend the Insurance Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
15 last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
17 act shall take effect on the 150th day after it
18 shall have become a law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
23 Myrie to explain his vote.
24 SENATOR MYRIE: Thank you,
25 Mr. President.
910
1 I reserved my comments on the
2 Reverend Jesse Jackson because my colleagues
3 spoke much more eloquently than I could.
4 And I wanted to speak it on this
5 bill that we are passing, because Jesse Jackson
6 said that poverty is a moral disgrace, that it is
7 not a personal failing but the failing of the
8 system.
9 And we live in a system right now
10 here in New York where if you are prescribed a
11 lifesaving drug and you walk into the pharmacy to
12 fill that prescription, that you have no idea
13 whether that pharmacy and the organization meant
14 to represent the pharmacy is owned by the same
15 company as the drug manufacturer that they're
16 trying to negotiate with.
17 You have no idea whether the switch
18 company that ensures that your claim gets to the
19 insurer is also owned by that same company. And
20 you don't know whether the rebate aggregator that
21 is meant to give the pharmacy rebate for generic
22 medication that is meant to drive down the cost
23 of drugs for you is also owned by that same
24 company.
25 We have a corporate consolidation
911
1 driving up prices for everyday New Yorkers and
2 poor New Yorkers who are having to choose between
3 putting food on the table and getting lifesaving
4 drugs. That is a system that none of us should
5 accept.
6 And this bill aims to insert
7 transparency and sunlight into a system right now
8 that is ripping off New Yorkers every single day.
9 So I proudly vote aye and urge my
10 colleagues to do the same.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
12 Myrie to be recorded in the affirmative.
13 Senator Borrello to explain his
14 vote.
15 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
16 Mr. President.
17 First of all, I want to thank
18 Senator Myrie for this. You know, last year I
19 voted no on this bill. I had some issues with,
20 you know, where it should be coming from, and
21 some of the -- some of the language probably
22 could be cleaned up a little bit.
23 But in principle, I agree with what
24 this bill does. We have seen the impact of these
25 pharmacy benefit managers. Their job originally
912
1 was to make sure that they could unwind the
2 complicated I guess paperwork and bureaucracy of
3 filing for all of these rebates, right? It was
4 supposed to make it easier for people -- for
5 companies, in particular to be able to pass those
6 rebates along.
7 Instead, they became a parasite that
8 gobbled up all of those rebates. And they have
9 now created this massive organization of folks
10 that are taking money that is supposed to be
11 going, in the end, to make sure that people can
12 afford these drugs, and they are profiting as a
13 result of it.
14 And we may differ on some things
15 many times, but at the end of the day I've
16 listened to small pharmacies across my district
17 who are struggling. We've seen pharmacies close.
18 We have pharmacy deserts, particularly in the
19 rural areas that I represent. And it's pharmacy
20 benefit managers, their practices, that are
21 contributing to that decline.
22 So I'm changing my vote to yes, and
23 I encourage my colleagues to do the same.
24 Thank you.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
913
1 Borrello to be recorded in the affirmative.
2 Announce the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar 296, voting in the negative are
5 Senators Oberacker and Walczyk.
6 Ayes, 54. Nays, 2.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 297, Senate Print 634B, by Senator Liu, an act to
11 amend the Insurance Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
13 last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
17 roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
20 the results.
21 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
22 Calendar 297, voting in the negative:
23 Senator Walczyk.
24 Ayes, 55. Nays, 1.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
914
1 is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 298, Senate Print 2128, by Senator Jackson, an
4 act to amend the Insurance Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
6 last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. 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: Senator
13 Jackson to explain his vote.
14 SENATOR JACKSON: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 My colleagues, I rise today in order
17 to support this bill. At its core this
18 legislation affirms a simple principle. If a
19 rebate is negotiated in a patient's name, it must
20 reach that patient.
21 I cannot remain buried in the
22 shadows of a supply chain while a family stands
23 at the pharmacy counter calculating whether they
24 can afford the medicine their doctor prescribed.
25 And we know the numbers -- billions
915
1 of dollars in rebates flow through this system
2 each year. Yet too often patients with chronic
3 and complex conditions pay cost-sharing based on
4 inflated list prices, even as insurers and
5 pharmacy benefit managers secure substantial
6 discounts behind the scenes.
7 That is not risk sharing. That is
8 cost shifting. Insurance was designed to spread
9 burden, not concentrate it on the sickest among
10 us.
11 S2128 requires that more than
12 85 percent of the prescription drug rebates be
13 delivered directly to patients at the point of
14 sale. It strikes a responsible balance, allowing
15 plans to stabilize premiums while ensuring that
16 meaningful savings reach the place that matters
17 most, the pharmacy counter.
18 And this is about fairness, this is
19 about transparency, and this is about restoring
20 to a system that should never profit from a
21 patient's vulnerability.
22 Colleagues, when a senior on a fixed
23 income approaches the counter, when a parent
24 fills a prescription for their child, they should
25 feel the benefit of every dollar negotiated in
916
1 their name.
2 And for those reasons I proudly vote
3 aye and ask you to do the same.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
5 Jackson to be recorded in the affirmative.
6 Announce the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
8 Calendar 298, voting in the negative:
9 Senator Walczyk.
10 Ayes, 55. Nays, 1.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
12 is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 299, Senate Print 5049, by Senator Bailey, an act
15 to amend the Insurance Law.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
17 last section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect immediately.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
21 roll.
22 (The Secretary called the roll.)
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
24 the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56.
917
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
2 is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 302, Senate Print 371, by Senator Skoufis, an act
5 to amend the Public Health Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
9 act shall take effect 18 months after it shall
10 have become a law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
12 roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
15 the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
17 Calendar 302, voting in the negative are
18 Senators Borrello, O'Mara and Walczyk.
19 Ayes, 53. Nays, 3.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
21 is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 304, Senate Print 3203, by Senator Fernandez, an
24 act to amend the Public Health Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
918
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
3 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
4 shall have become a law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
6 roll.
7 (The Secretary called the roll.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
9 Fernandez to explain her vote.
10 SENATOR FERNANDEZ: Thank you,
11 Mr. President.
12 We know very well that prescription
13 drugs are just too high. And for many
14 New Yorkers, they are just simply unaffordable.
15 Not because of innovation, but because of supply.
16 Because of corporate deals designed to block
17 competition and keep costs inflated.
18 That's why we have this bill. As
19 you see on the description, it preserves access
20 to affordable drugs. Why does anybody want to
21 oppose that?
22 This bill takes direct aim at
23 pay-for-play delays where brand-name drug
24 manufacturers provide incentives to keep
25 lower-cost generics off the market. These
919
1 agreements do not serve patients. They do not
2 strengthen our healthcare system. They serve
3 only to protect profits where families, seniors
4 and taxpayers foot the bill.
5 These agreements -- the impact is
6 clear. Lifesaving medication remains out of
7 reach, costs continue to rise, and our healthcare
8 system bears the burden.
9 By treating these anticompetitive
10 agreements as unlawful and strengthening
11 enforcement, this bill ensures that drug
12 companies can no longer hide behind legal
13 loopholes while New Yorkers struggle to afford
14 their prescriptions.
15 Accountability is essential, and
16 accountability leads to real change,
17 Mr. President. It is time to put patients before
18 profits, curb these harmful practices, and ensure
19 that every New Yorker has access to affordable
20 medication.
21 I urge my colleagues to support this
22 bill, and I proudly vote aye.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
24 Fernandez to be recorded in the affirmative.
25 Announce the results.
920
1 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
2 Calendar 304, voting in the negative are
3 Senators Ashby, Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick,
4 Chan, Helming, Mattera, Murray, Oberacker,
5 O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec,
6 Tedisco, Walczyk and Weber.
7 Ayes, 39. Nays, 17.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
9 is passed.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 305, Senate Print 5939B, by Senator Skoufis, an
12 act to amend the Public Health Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
16 act shall take effect January 1, 2026.
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: In relation to
23 Calendar 305, voting in the negative:
24 Senator Walczyk.
25 Ayes, 55. Nays, 1.
921
1 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
2 is passed.
3 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
4 reading of today's calendar.
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's move on to
6 the controversial calendar, please.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
8 Secretary will ring the bell.
9 The Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 289, Senate Print 2280B, by Senator Webb, an act
12 to amend the Executive Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Senator
14 Palumbo, why do you rise?
15 SENATOR PALUMBO: Mr. President, I
16 believe there's an amendment at the desk. I
17 waive the reading of that amendment, and I ask
18 that you recognize Senator Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
20 you, Senator Palumbo.
21 Upon review of the amendment, in
22 accordance with Rule 6, Section 4B, I rule it
23 nongermane and out of order at this time.
24 SENATOR PALUMBO: Accordingly,
25 Mr. President, I appeal the ruling of the chair
922
1 and ask that you recognize Senator
2 Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick for purposes of that
3 appeal.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
5 appeal has been made and recognized, and
6 Senator Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick may be heard.
7 SENATOR CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK:
8 Thank you, Mr. President.
9 I rise to appeal the ruling of the
10 chair. The proposed amendment is germane to the
11 bill at hand because the bill at hand, according
12 to the sponsor's memo, empowers victims of
13 domestic violence with information potentially
14 saving lives. And my amendment would do exactly
15 that as well, creating a persistent domestic
16 violence registry to empower the victims of
17 domestic violence with information potentially
18 saving lives.
19 According to the public policy of
20 California, three-fifths of domestic violence
21 offenders are rearrested in under two years, most
22 of whom are rearrested for another domestic
23 violence offense.
24 Further, the Rockefeller Institute
25 of Government found that two-thirds or more of
923
1 female intimate partner homicide victims were
2 abused by their partners before being killed.
3 These staggering and disturbing
4 numbers highlight the need to take action to help
5 women before they become a victim or, worse, a
6 statistic.
7 This amendment would be a critical
8 step forward in protecting and empowering women
9 and is modeled after legislation that recently
10 took effect in Tennessee and after bills that my
11 colleague Senator Mattera and I have introduced
12 here to bring this legislation to New York.
13 This legislation, similar to the
14 sex offender registry, would require individuals
15 to register as a persistent domestic violence
16 offender if they are convicted of a domestic
17 violence offense after already having been
18 convicted of another domestic violence offense
19 prior.
20 The registry would have safeguards
21 for sensitive information but would be available
22 to the public to serve as a tool to equip women
23 with the power of knowledge of who they are
24 potentially getting involved with.
25 As a mother of three young women,
924
1 this legislation would help me sleep better at
2 night, as I'm sure it would help other parents --
3 knowing that my daughters and all New Yorkers can
4 arm themselves with information so that they can
5 hopefully never fall prey to abusers.
6 For these reasons, Mr. President, I
7 strongly urge my colleagues to vote in favor of
8 advancing this amendment.
9 Thank you.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Thank
11 you, Senator.
12 I'd like to remind the house that
13 this vote is on the procedures of the house and
14 the ruling of the chair.
15 Those in favor of overruling the
16 chair, please signify by saying aye.
17 (Response of "Aye.")
18 SENATOR PALUMBO: Show of hands.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: A show of
20 hands has been requested and so ordered.
21 Announce the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 18.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The
24 ruling of the chair stands, and the bill in chief
25 is before the house.
925
1 Senator Gianaris.
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
3 we've agreed to restore this bill to the
4 noncontroversial calendar.
5 Let's take it up that way, please.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Upon
7 consent, the bill has been restored to the
8 noncontroversial calendar.
9 Read the last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Call the
13 roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: Announce
16 the results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: The bill
19 is passed.
20 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
21 reading of today's controversial calendar.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: Is there any
23 further business at the desk?
24 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: There is
25 no further business at the desk.
926
1 SENATOR GIANARIS: I move to
2 adjourn until tomorrow, Wednesday, February 25th,
3 at 3:00 p.m.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT BAILEY: On
5 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until
6 Wednesday, February 25th, at 3:00 p.m.
7 (Whereupon, at 4:55 p.m., the Senate
8 adjourned.)
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