Regular Session - April 22, 2026
3605
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 April 22, 2026
11 11:32 a.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR ROXANNE J. PERSAUD, Acting President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
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21
22
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24
25
3606
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, Tuesday,
16 April 21, 2026, the Senate met pursuant to
17 adjournment. The Journal of Monday, April 20,
18 2026, was read and approved. On motion, the
19 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 The Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Skoufis
3607
1 moves to discharge, from the Committee on
2 Housing, Construction and Community Development,
3 Assembly Bill Number 3126B and substitute it for
4 the identical Senate Bill 6368B, Third Reading
5 Calendar 236.
6 Senator Brisport moves to discharge,
7 from the Committee on Judiciary, Assembly Bill
8 Number 8305 and substitute it for the identical
9 Senate Bill 8372, Third Reading Calendar 675.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: So
11 ordered.
12 Messages from the Governor.
13 Reports of standing committees.
14 Reports of select committees.
15 Communications and reports from
16 state officers.
17 Motions and resolutions.
18 Senator Gianaris.
19 SENATOR GIANARIS: Good morning,
20 Madam President.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Good
22 morning.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: There will be an
24 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
25 Room 332.
3608
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: There
2 will be an immediate meeting of the
3 Rules Committee in Room 332.
4 SENATOR GIANARIS: The Senate
5 stands at ease.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
7 Senate stands at ease.
8 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
9 at 11:33 a.m.)
10 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
11 11:42 a.m.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
13 Senate will return to order.
14 Senator Gianaris.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
16 there's a report of the Rules Committee at the
17 desk. Please take that up.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
19 Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Senator
21 Stewart-Cousins, from the Committee on Rules,
22 reports the following bill: Senate Print 9999,
23 by Senator Serrano, an act making appropriations
24 for the support of government.
25 The bill reports direct to third
3609
1 reading.
2 SENATOR GIANARIS: Move to accept
3 the report of the Rules Committee.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: All
5 those in favor of accepting the Rules Committee
6 report please signify by saying aye.
7 (Response of "Aye.")
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Opposed,
9 nay.
10 (No response.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
12 report of the Rules Committee is accepted.
13 Senator Gianaris.
14 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please take up
15 the supplemental calendar.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
17 Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 822, Senate Print 9999, by Senator Serrano, an
20 act making appropriations for the support of
21 government.
22 SENATOR GIANARIS: Is there a
23 message of necessity and appropriation at the
24 desk?
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: There is
3610
1 a message of necessity and appropriation at the
2 desk.
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: I move to accept
4 the message.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: All
6 those in favor of accepting the message please
7 signify by saying aye.
8 (Response of "Aye.")
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Opposed,
10 nay.
11 (Response of "Nay.")
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
13 message is accepted, and the bill is before the
14 house.
15 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
17 is laid aside.
18 That completes the reading of the
19 supplemental calendar.
20 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please go to the
21 reading of the controversial supplemental
22 calendar.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
24 Secretary will ring the bell.
25 The Secretary will read.
3611
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 822, Senate Print 9999, by Senator Serrano, an
3 act making appropriations for the support of
4 government.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
6 O'Mara, why do you rise?
7 SENATOR O'MARA: Thank you,
8 Madam President.
9 Will the sponsor yield for some
10 questions?
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
12 sponsor yield?
13 SENATOR SERRANO: Yes.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
15 Senator yields.
16 SENATOR O'MARA: Thank you,
17 Senator.
18 Here we are, April 22nd, now more
19 than three weeks late on this budget, and we're
20 taking up our sixth extender of the season. This
21 extender, I believe, takes us into Monday.
22 What is this extender -- what are we
23 extending with this to get us to Monday? And how
24 much new spending is there?
25 SENATOR SERRANO: Through you,
3612
1 Madam President. This extender allows for the
2 continuation of our state government short of a
3 fully enacted budget.
4 You're correct, this is our sixth
5 extender. It takes us through Monday,
6 April 27th. The total amount in this extender is
7 $12.7 billion, which includes an additional
8 69 million in new spending.
9 And it covers things like general
10 state charges, payments to the Metropolitan
11 Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax. Department
12 of Health, our WIC and EPIC programs, which are
13 so vital. Department of Labor payments. Office
14 of People with Disability payments. And
15 Department of Veterans' Services and Homeless
16 Veterans Housing payments.
17 SENATOR O'MARA: Thank you,
18 Senator.
19 Madam President, if the Senator will
20 continue to yield.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
22 sponsor yield?
23 SENATOR SERRANO: Yes.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
25 sponsor yields.
3613
1 SENATOR O'MARA: Thank you.
2 Senator, are we any closer to a
3 final budget today than we were Monday?
4 SENATOR SERRANO: Through you,
5 Madam President. Negotiations are still ongoing.
6 As I mentioned in our previous
7 discussion on Monday, that I think things are
8 moving in the right direction. There is
9 certainly a sense of urgency involved, and all
10 parties are very much interested in closing this
11 down.
12 But again, as I said, you know,
13 budgets are about priorities. And while it is
14 important to have things done on time, and I'm
15 all about deadlines and so on, it's also I think
16 more important to have a good budget, a budget
17 that reflects the needs of all New Yorkers --
18 issues involved with economic development,
19 funding for our parks, for arts and culture, for
20 so many different things.
21 It's really important that we have a
22 very good budget. And we have been moving, I
23 think, steadily towards an agreement, and
24 hopefully we will have that done.
25 SENATOR O'MARA: Thank you,
3614
1 Senator.
2 Madam President, if the Senator will
3 continue to yield.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
5 Senator yield?
6 SENATOR SERRANO: Yes.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
8 Senator yields.
9 SENATOR O'MARA: Senator, we have a
10 joint budget conference committee set up that
11 we're supposed to follow in the budget process.
12 Are there any joint conference committees
13 scheduled?
14 SENATOR SERRANO: Through you,
15 Madam President, no.
16 SENATOR O'MARA: Through you,
17 Madam President, if the Senator will continue to
18 yield.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
20 sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR SERRANO: Yes.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
23 Senator yields.
24 SENATOR O'MARA: Have any table
25 targets been set for the various budget
3615
1 subcommittees to have something to work with on
2 maybe not the major items of the budget?
3 SENATOR SERRANO: Through you,
4 Madam President, no.
5 SENATOR O'MARA: Madam President,
6 will the Senator continue to yield.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
8 Senator yield?
9 SENATOR SERRANO: Yes.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
11 Senator yields.
12 SENATOR O'MARA: Senator, on the
13 major issues that at least we've been reading
14 about in the news, since we really get no
15 information here, the issues holding it up --
16 modifications to the CLCPA, auto insurance
17 reform, SEQR process, New York for All, and the
18 ever present pressure to increase taxes -- are
19 any of those major issues solidified in agreement
20 yet?
21 SENATOR SERRANO: Through you,
22 Madam President. As I mentioned before, there
23 are ongoing discussions on these and many other
24 issues involved in this budget. It is obviously
25 a very complicated task.
3616
1 But the bill before us does not
2 contain any of those policy issues. The bill
3 before us is an extender to ensure the operation
4 of state government, to provide for some very
5 basic funding to ensure that we meet our needs
6 and obligations as a state. But the policy
7 issues that we read about and that we hear about,
8 those are not before us at this moment.
9 SENATOR O'MARA: Thank you,
10 Senator.
11 Madam President, will the Senator
12 continue to yield.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
14 Senator yield?
15 SENATOR SERRANO: Yes.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
17 Senator yields.
18 SENATOR O'MARA: Senator, this
19 morning I saw on the Empire Reports news website,
20 attributed to the Governor, that she thought we
21 would have a budget on May 19th.
22 There was really no -- no --
23 attribution to where that came from. Are you
24 aware of the Governor having taken this position
25 that we're still a month away from the budget?
3617
1 SENATOR SERRANO: Through you,
2 Madam President. No, I was not aware of that. I
3 have no additional information on that.
4 SENATOR O'MARA: Okay, thank you.
5 Madam President, on the bill.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
7 O'Mara on the bill.
8 SENATOR O'MARA: Here we are,
9 22 days late on the budget for the fifth year in
10 a row. It's a concerning process. I really see
11 or feel no sense of urgency on getting this
12 budget wrapped up as close to the constitutional
13 required deadline of April 1st to get a budget
14 done.
15 You know, we continue to just extend
16 spending, although the Conservative Party of the
17 State of New York, its chairman Gerry Kassar has
18 expressed his gratitude to us because we're not
19 spending any more and there's really no
20 likelihood or expectation that this budget is
21 going to spend less than last year overall or
22 probably in any specific category at all.
23 Spending will be greater.
24 So the Conservative Party at least
25 feels, you know, we're a month late, we're a
3618
1 month less of extra spending in the state.
2 But we really do need to get this
3 budget done. As I talked about earlier in the
4 week, our school budgets -- our school districts
5 have to come out with their budgets to put to the
6 voters in the middle of May. The time for
7 putting those together is rapidly approaching.
8 And that's just a big problem for
9 our districts, and it will only result in perhaps
10 unnecessary property tax increases, not knowing
11 what the state aid is going to be for these
12 districts.
13 So we really need to get moving
14 here. And if the Governor is really saying that
15 it's going to be May 19th, you know, that's
16 another month away. And we're getting no
17 information here from the Majority on where any
18 of these major issues, the sticking points, where
19 they stand, what's being proposed, whether
20 there's any language, whether there's any
21 resolution on anything.
22 And that's just -- it's concerning.
23 So I just implore the majorities and the Governor
24 to -- let's get together and nail this thing out
25 and do what we're supposed to do, our most
3619
1 important job of the year as elected
2 representatives in the State Legislature, to get
3 this budget done.
4 Thank you, Madam President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
6 you, Senator.
7 Are there any other Senators wishing
8 to be heard?
9 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
10 closed.
11 The Secretary will ring the bell.
12 Read the last section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 15. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
16 roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
19 Gianaris.
20 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
21 we've agreed to restore this bill to the
22 noncontroversial calendar.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: On
24 consent, the bill is restored to the
25 noncontroversial calendar.
3620
1 Call the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
4 the results.
5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
6 Calendar Number 822, voting in the negative:
7 Senator Weik.
8 Ayes, 57. Nays, 1.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
10 is passed.
11 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
12 reading of the controversial calendar.
13 SENATOR GIANARIS: Okay, let's move
14 back to motions and resolutions.
15 We will begin with previously
16 adopted Resolution 1699, by Senators Sepúlveda
17 and Stavisky. Please read that resolution's
18 title and call on Senator Stavisky.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
20 Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 1699,
22 by Senator Sepúlveda, memorializing
23 Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim April 14, 2026,
24 as Bangla New Year Day in the State of New York.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3621
1 Stavisky on the resolution.
2 SENATOR STAVISKY: Yes, thank you,
3 Madam President.
4 And thank you to the leader and to
5 Senator Gianaris for bringing this resolution up
6 today.
7 As was said, April 12th is the
8 New Year for the people from Bangladesh. And we
9 have a long history of folks from Bangladesh,
10 starting in the late 19th century, coming to the
11 United States, particularly to New York City, and
12 to Queens County in particular. In fact, the
13 number that is cited is 10,000 people per year.
14 And when they arrive in our
15 communities, they very quickly become leaders in
16 both the business community and education, in
17 technology, in healthcare, in arts and
18 literature, et cetera.
19 And they make an incredible
20 contribution to not only the business, the
21 economy, but also the cultural life of living in
22 New York City's communities.
23 And in fact I was interested to
24 learn that Bangla is the sixth-most-spoken
25 language in the world. And that is an incredible
3622
1 number of people who have had a very significant
2 impact on life in the United States.
3 In 2023, with redistricting, my
4 lines changed, and I represent many people from
5 Bangladesh. And I don't want to leave out a
6 community, but many live in Queens Village, in
7 Floral Park, in Hollis, et cetera.
8 And they have made not only a
9 significant impact on the community in various
10 areas, but I have found them to be so welcoming.
11 And they have quickly become my friends. We work
12 together on many issues.
13 And when I mention this to my
14 colleagues, they all shake their heads and say,
15 "Yes!" And that is a quality that is sorely
16 needed.
17 So we're joined here today in the
18 gallery by a number of leaders in the Bangladesh
19 community, and the foundation -- I apologize --
20 Muktadhara, known as NRB, led by their leader and
21 founder Saha, who I know is in contact with my
22 office on many occasions, and we work on many
23 issues together.
24 So Madam President, I hope that you
25 will extend a warm welcome to our guests and
3623
1 extend all of the privileges to which they are
2 entitled.
3 Thank you, Madam President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
5 you, Senator.
6 To our guests from the Bangla
7 community, Happy Bangla New Year. I welcome you
8 on behalf of the Senate. We extend to you the
9 privileges and courtesies of this house.
10 Please rise and be recognized.
11 (Standing ovation.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
13 resolution was adopted on March 10th.
14 Senator Gianaris.
15 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's continue
16 with the theme and take up previously adopted
17 Resolution 1846, by Senator Liu, read that
18 resolution's title, and call on Senator Liu.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
20 Secretary will read.
21 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 1846, by
22 Senator Liu, commending the Bangladesh-USA
23 Chamber of Commerce and Industry and
24 USA-Bangladesh Business Links upon the occasion
25 of hosting the 5th Annual Bangladesh Remittance
3624
1 Fair.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
3 Liu on the resolution.
4 SENATOR LIU: Thank you,
5 Madam President.
6 I want to thank Senator Stavisky for
7 speaking on the preceding resolution and thank
8 Senator Sepúlveda for introducing that
9 resolution.
10 I also want to thank my colleagues
11 for cosponsoring my resolution today
12 commemorating the great work of the Bangladesh
13 USA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, led also by
14 our friend Bishawjit Saha, who I guess he's on
15 this side, so I can't see him. But -- what's up,
16 Saha?
17 Anyway, it's -- I think
18 Senator Stavisky already explained a great deal
19 of the immense contributions of the
20 Bangladeshi-American community that we have
21 thriving in Queens, but also in many other parts
22 of the State of New York.
23 In addition to education, culture,
24 history, and other aspects and strengths that the
25 community brings to the great State of New York,
3625
1 they clearly bring a great deal of hard work
2 ethic as well, and success in small business and
3 enterprise. And the Chamber of Commerce and
4 Industry is just one of the organizations,
5 perhaps the leading organization that brings
6 together the business community within the
7 Bangladeshi-American community.
8 And they in turn not only provide
9 for their families here in New York, but also
10 contribute immensely to our economy. And they in
11 turn invest in the motherland, in Bangladesh,
12 where they have remitted billions of dollars over
13 the years. So they in effect contribute to the
14 global economy as well.
15 I want to thank them for all their
16 hard work and contributions.
17 And, Madam President, I hope that
18 you can recognize them as well.
19 Thank you.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
21 you, Senator.
22 To the members of the Bangla Chamber
23 of Commerce, I wish you continued success. I
24 welcome you on behalf of the Senate. We extend
25 to you the privileges and courtesies of this
3626
1 house.
2 Please, again, rise and be
3 recognized.
4 (Standing ovation.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
6 resolution was adopted on April 21st.
7 Senator Gianaris.
8 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
9 next up is previously adopted Resolution 1816, by
10 Senator Stec. Read that resolution's title and
11 call on Senator Stec, please.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
13 Secretary will read.
14 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 1816, by
15 Senator Stec, congratulating the Bolton Central
16 School Boys Varsity Basketball Team and
17 Coach Cody Kober upon the occasion of capturing
18 the Class D State Championship.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
20 Stec on the resolution.
21 SENATOR STEC: Thank you,
22 Madam President.
23 Again, it's always wonderful to
24 greet guests here in the chamber, especially
25 young guests that have reached a significant
3627
1 achievement as a sports team. The Bolton Boys
2 Class D State Champions are here with us today.
3 Bolton, for those of you that don't
4 know, is a small town on the west shore of
5 Lake George in Warren County, just up the road
6 from where I live.
7 A lot of you know -- a lot of the
8 basketball fans here know that most of the time
9 the state championship games are played in
10 Glens Falls. Unfortunately, if there's one
11 downside to this, it's that instead of getting to
12 play in front of a hometown crowd, the
13 championship happened this year in Binghamton.
14 But they amassed a 26-and-1 record
15 for the year, very impressive. And in the
16 championship game they defeated the
17 Sackets Harbor Patriots, 66 to 49, so it wasn't
18 even close, another North Country team -- right,
19 Senator Walczyk?
20 SENATOR WALCZYK: Okay.
21 (Laughter.)
22 SENATOR STEC: But anyways, it's
23 great to have you all here, and your coaches. A
24 tremendous achievement.
25 In that championship game, one of
3628
1 their players, Jace Hubert, scored his career
2 1,000th point, and that's impressive. But also
3 as impressive is that he joined two other
4 teammates that also scored a thousand for the
5 season, Jaxon Egloff and Liam Foy.
6 So, you know, it just -- it takes a
7 team. And certainly those individual accolades
8 are nice, but I know that those boys also
9 recognize that they didn't get there alone.
10 And just briefly, the team that's
11 with us here today: Lance Corey, Jaxon Egloff,
12 Abram Figueroa, Liam Foy, Sam Foy, Jacob French,
13 Will Hens, Jace Hubert, Andy Morehouse,
14 Brendon Pagan, Jack Pfau, Teddy Phelps,
15 John Roemer; Varsity Boys Coach Cody Kober;
16 Assistant Coach Angel Figueroa; Athletic
17 Director Mark Andrejkovics, as well as
18 School Superintendent Chad Shippee.
19 Chad, don't worry about your budget,
20 we're going to get those numbers to you soon so
21 that you're ready for your budget vote.
22 But to the boys, again,
23 congratulations on the wonderful season. This is
24 something that you're going to remember for the
25 rest of your lives: How you got there, the work
3629
1 that you put in, the achievement, the thrill of
2 victory.
3 I think the only defeat you had was
4 to the Syracuse Orangemen, I heard?
5 (Laughter.)
6 SENATOR STEC: So an impressive
7 season. I'm just kidding about that part.
8 But it's thrilling to have you here
9 with us. Thank you for bringing the team down.
10 And, Madam President, if you
11 wouldn't mind, please give them the cordialities
12 of the house and share with them your
13 congratulations for a wonderful state
14 championship season.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: To the
16 Bolton Central Boys Basketball Team,
17 congratulations. And to the 1,000-point scorers,
18 congratulations on that feat.
19 We welcome you on behalf of the
20 Senate. We extend to you the privileges and
21 courtesies of this house. And to your coaches,
22 also, we welcome you.
23 Please stand and be recognized.
24 (Standing ovation.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
3630
1 resolution was adopted on March 31st.
2 Senator Gianaris.
3 SENATOR GIANARIS: Next up,
4 previously adopted Resolution 1395, by
5 Senator Persaud and Senator Harckham. Please
6 read that resolution's title and call on
7 Senator Harckham.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
9 Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 1395, by
11 Senator Persaud, commemorating the 56th Annual
12 Anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2026.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Happy
14 Earth Day.
15 Senator Harckham on the resolution.
16 SENATOR HARCKHAM: Thank you,
17 Madam President. And thank you for sponsoring
18 this important resolution.
19 Happy Earth Day, everyone. I want
20 to thank Madam Leader for bringing this
21 resolution forward as well.
22 You know, Earth Day is a day of
23 renewal. It's a community day. We come together
24 to express our shared and common humanity in
25 projects to clean the environment. Our local
3631
1 communities pick up trash, do plantings. It's
2 really just a great educational,
3 community-bonding day.
4 And yet in this chamber we have, I
5 believe, a more serious responsibility on
6 Earth Day. It's our job to set policies to
7 address the challenges we face, which are many.
8 You know, we talk a lot about
9 emissions, we talk about PFAS, we talk about
10 water quality and water infrastructure funding.
11 We talk about emissions. There are a lot of
12 things that we address in this chamber and have
13 done so in a bipartisan way on many of these
14 issues.
15 And yet serious issues still remain.
16 The American Lung Association came out with a
17 report yesterday, I believe. And just after
18 having taken a quick look at it, 2 million
19 seniors and children in New York State live with
20 unhealthy levels of air pollution. Two million
21 vulnerable seniors and children in the State of
22 New York still live with dangerous air pollution
23 on a daily basis.
24 And yet while we should be making
25 progress, here in New York we've canceled NY-Sun,
3632
1 we've put on hold the All-Electric Buildings Act,
2 we've put on hold the 100-foot rule, we've put on
3 hold cap-and-invest. And now we're talking about
4 rolling back our signature climate law, the
5 CLCPA.
6 And so I just want to remind folks
7 on this Earth Day that when we talk about these
8 issues -- the CLCPA is not an accounting
9 document. It's a public health document. And
10 we're talking about these 2 million children and
11 seniors who are breathing unhealthy air, and
12 that's why we passed that law.
13 And so there may be changes to that
14 that come through the budget, I recognize that.
15 But let us all be cognizant, please, that while
16 we have made great progress in this great state
17 and we have a lot of work that we can be proud of
18 on a bipartisan basis, we have so much more work
19 to be done.
20 And let's not take our focus off
21 what this is about, and that's public health of
22 our children.
23 I vote aye. Thank you.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
25 you, Senator.
3633
1 Senator May on the resolution.
2 SENATOR MAY: Thank you,
3 Madam President.
4 All of us celebrated last week when
5 the crew of the Artemis came back from the moon
6 and we saw the beautiful photographs that they
7 took.
8 And it kept reminding me of that
9 photograph from Apollo 17, in 1972, that's known
10 as the Blue Marble, that beautiful image of the
11 earth taken from space. Which was a very, very
12 powerful image at the time to remind people
13 living on this planet that it is a small planet
14 and what we do here in our communities, in our
15 backyards, has an impact on people in every
16 corner of our planet.
17 Our atmosphere is a small
18 atmosphere. It is very thin. And we absolutely
19 depend on it for our survival, for agriculture,
20 for any kind of stability that we have in terms
21 of understanding what our climate -- what to
22 expect from our climate and how to live our lives
23 and produce food and have homes that are safe.
24 And so the work that we're doing to
25 try to address the climate crisis is about
3634
1 everyone living on this earth and protecting that
2 tiny film of atmosphere that we all need to be
3 responsible for.
4 I'm very proud of some of the work
5 we did yesterday here, and the work that we are
6 trying to do, and I join Senator Harckham in
7 saying we've got to keep working on this as if
8 our lives depended on it, because they do.
9 Thank you.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
11 you.
12 Senator Martins on the resolution.
13 SENATOR MARTINS: Thank you,
14 Madam President.
15 I want to thank the sponsor.
16 And I want to thank -- you know, I
17 want to thank all the people back home who each
18 and every year take the opportunity to do cleanup
19 on Earth Day.
20 You know, as you all know, I
21 represent a district that encompasses the
22 North Shore of Nassau County from the Queens line
23 to the Suffolk line. So we have a concerted
24 effort to not only maintain our communities, but
25 specifically those coastal areas that are most
3635
1 impacted.
2 You know, and it's really beautiful
3 to watch the community come together in that way.
4 And we should celebrate that in each of our
5 districts.
6 And then in a broader sense,
7 Madam President, to the point that our colleague
8 just made, yes, we have a responsibility to the
9 environment. I think we all agree to that. We
10 all do. We all live on the same planet, we all
11 breathe the same air, we're all impacted by what
12 happens in other places.
13 There are no boundaries that limit
14 our exposure to what happens somewhere else.
15 But I also think we should celebrate
16 the progress that this state has made over time,
17 that our residents have made because of policies
18 that have been in place for decades. This isn't
19 just a new process where we decided to begin to
20 move in the right direction. It's been taking
21 place literally for decades, where we are at a
22 point where our carbon footprint as a state is
23 small. It can be smaller, but it's small.
24 So let's celebrate the successes
25 that we've had as a state, and then let's
3636
1 remember that we need to do more.
2 My concern, Madam President, is that
3 we place artificial dates on things and then we
4 trigger certain consequences.
5 Now, I would say that our first
6 responsibility in this chamber to our residents
7 is to make sure that they're safe -- make sure
8 that they have heat in the winter, make sure that
9 they have access to energy and electricity, and
10 that when we have natural disasters, storms,
11 hurricanes, nor'easters, that they have access to
12 energy so that they can keep themselves safe.
13 So in the context of moving forward
14 and continuing our efforts collaboratively, in a
15 bipartisan way, to reach the end goal, let's not
16 lose sight of what the real issue here is.
17 We will get there together as long
18 as we don't set artificial dates that aren't
19 going to be met for the purpose of virtue
20 signaling that we are somehow doing something
21 beyond what we are able to do. Because our
22 responsibility is, first and foremost, to make
23 sure that those who are most vulnerable in our
24 societies continue to have access to safety in
25 their homes and for their families.
3637
1 So yeah, we're heading in that
2 direction, and that's the great news. Now, I
3 just read a statistic that we are 15 percent
4 below our carbon footprint just over the last
5 30 years. So we're getting there. And we'll
6 continue to get there together. But let's not
7 forget that it can't come at the expense of the
8 safety of our residents.
9 Let's celebrate Earth Day.
10 Congratulations. Thank you to the sponsor.
11 I vote aye.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
13 you, Senator.
14 Senator Sanders on the resolution.
15 SENATOR SANDERS: Thank you,
16 Madam President.
17 It is good that we take a day where
18 we speak of the earth, our shared heritage, and
19 we say the things that we need to ensure that
20 we're making it work.
21 We're celebrating at a unique time,
22 of course, where we're -- some are talking about
23 weakening the goals that we have set. And it
24 puts a strange place for us to be celebrating
25 Earth Day.
3638
1 I want to remind people that there
2 is no Plan B. There is no Planet B. If we don't
3 get this one right, all of these words that we've
4 used of -- that we'll be a little slower, we'll
5 get there, may ring very hollow to our children
6 and grandchildren when they say, Why didn't you
7 go with science? Why didn't you accept that the
8 conditions are moving faster than you anticipate?
9 I also want to take a moment to
10 thank the people of my district who have come out
11 and they did a beach cleanup. From one end of
12 the Rockaways to the other end, we did a beach
13 cleanup. I had every intention to be with these
14 people. I did not know that we would be
15 struggling with the budget at that time.
16 But they're doing excellent work
17 with trying, at a local place, to ensure that we
18 do our part for the earth.
19 Thank you, Madam President.
20 And to all my fellow earthlings,
21 bless you, Science.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
23 you, Senator.
24 Senator Rolison on the resolution.
25 SENATOR ROLISON: Thank you,
3639
1 Madam President.
2 I want to thank the sponsors for
3 this resolution.
4 I would say that every day is
5 Earth Day. And that it started on April 22,
6 1970, Madam President. And as we've heard in the
7 chamber today, and we'll continue to hear, we've
8 done a lot and there's a lot of work to be done
9 to help this earth.
10 But I wanted to preface my comments
11 today, Madam President, on all the great work
12 that is done throughout this great state, but in
13 the 39th District where there are Earth Day
14 cleanups going on continually in the next week or
15 so.
16 And the fact that we're teaching our
17 children about Earth Day and understanding what
18 it means every day.
19 And I'm a little bummed because I
20 didn't bring the book that I bought for my
21 granddaughter Alena in the gift shop, which says
22 "My Very First Earth Day," which I'm going to
23 give her this weekend so she can understand what
24 Earth Day means at age 4.
25 And we have that responsibility to
3640
1 teach. We also have the responsibility to
2 clean up and to do the things that make our
3 neighborhoods and communities look better, feel
4 better.
5 And as Senator Harckham talked about
6 the statistics that we have in this state when it
7 comes to all the issues related to health,
8 especially in children -- and we have those
9 issues in Dutchess County with asthma rates. It
10 is something that we need to continue to focus
11 on, because of the prevailing winds from the
12 New York metropolitan area that affect Dutchess
13 more than Ulster. Most people don't know that.
14 But again, getting back to the
15 39th District -- and I'm just going to throw this
16 out to my colleagues today -- we started
17 something called the 7-minute cleanup. I'm just
18 going to leave with this. You can clean a lot in
19 7 minutes, and we've encouraged people to do that
20 in front of their homes, in front of their
21 stores. Seven minutes can keep a block, a
22 street, and a neighborhood clean.
23 So we're going to be talking more
24 about that 7-minute cleanup.
25 But on Earth Day, again, I wanted to
3641
1 thank the sponsors of this, I want to thank this
2 chamber for the work that they do. And again,
3 Madam President, every day is Earth Day.
4 Thank you.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
6 you, Senator.
7 Senator Hinchey on the resolution.
8 SENATOR HINCHEY: Thank you,
9 Madam President.
10 I rise to thank the sponsors of this
11 resolution for bringing this forward to celebrate
12 Earth Day, but to also give us an opportunity to
13 talk about the incredible things that we are
14 doing in this chamber to support our planet for
15 generations to come.
16 The Hudson Valley was the birthplace
17 of the modern environmental movement. Before it
18 was in the lexicon of everyone's discussion,
19 people were doing the work to actually elevate
20 the importance of protecting our planet and our
21 waterways and our soil and our air.
22 People like Manna Jo Greene, who I
23 had the honor of honoring for Women's History
24 Month through the LWC this year. People like
25 Pete Seeger and Riverkeeper and Clearwater, the
3642
1 folks who founded those two great organizations.
2 People who were battling corporate greed for the
3 betterment of our communities, our societies, and
4 for that next generation.
5 If you talk to younger people today,
6 high school students, Gen Z, they'll tell you one
7 of the major reasons why they feel completely
8 disaffected from government, from politics, is
9 because of the state of the climate and the
10 planet. That's what they say.
11 They feel like they won't have a
12 planet to live on. They're not even sure if they
13 can plan for a family. They don't know if they
14 can have kids in the future because we don't know
15 what Planet Earth will look like in 15, 20 or
16 100 years from now.
17 These are the conversations that
18 people are having today. And while it might feel
19 strange and uncomfortable that that's the reality
20 and it's easier to dismiss that as just people
21 being hyperbolic, that is true. Many of us are
22 concerned about what the future is going to hold.
23 And so while Earth Day is a day
24 where we can all stand up together and support
25 the incredible work that we do on a bipartisan
3643
1 basis, it's also really important to recognize
2 that these are real fears that people have.
3 The work that we do, whether it's
4 through the CLCPA or trying to shift to a clean
5 energy economy that actually makes things
6 cheaper, energy cheaper for folks -- I actually
7 was just meeting with the head of a large
8 financial institution who, unprompted, told us
9 that renewable energy was cheaper and they were
10 actually helping invest in that because it's
11 better for their clients.
12 When we actually push those things
13 forward, we have to understand what we're
14 actually fighting for here. It's not
15 virtue-signaling to our constituents and to
16 advocacy groups. We're actually trying to make
17 sure that we have a planet and a future to live
18 for.
19 So I thank the sponsors of this
20 resolution. And I am hopeful that through the
21 rest of this session and beyond, we can really
22 understand what people are facing in this moment
23 when we're talking about the climate crisis.
24 Thank you.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
3644
1 you, Senator.
2 The resolution was adopted on
3 January 21st.
4 Senator Gianaris.
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
6 Madam President.
7 Let's move on to previously adopted
8 Resolution 1927, by Senator Salazar, read that
9 resolution's title and call on Senator Salazar.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
11 Secretary will read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 1927, by
13 Senator Salazar, memorializing Governor Kathy
14 Hochul to proclaim April 19-25, 2026, as
15 Crime Victims' Rights Week in the State of
16 New York.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
18 Salazar on the resolution.
19 SENATOR SALAZAR: Thank you,
20 Madam President.
21 This resolution marks this week as
22 Crime Victims' Rights Week in the State of
23 New York consistent with National Crime Victims
24 Rights Week.
25 It is a recognition that represents
3645
1 our renewed commitment to every New Yorker who
2 has been harmed, who has sought justice, and who
3 deserves to be heard.
4 This year's national theme is
5 Listen, Act, Advocate. I want to emphasize those
6 words for a moment, because they cannot be
7 abstract. They must be a call to action.
8 What do we mean by "listen" in this
9 context? Far too often, survivors of crime are
10 spoken about, rather than spoken with and heard.
11 They navigate court systems that were not
12 designed with them in mind.
13 We have processes that make it
14 complicated for victims to access the support
15 they need, whether that is legal support,
16 financial, psychological, or medical support.
17 Survivors are asked to relive the
18 worst moments of their lives in cold,
19 bureaucratic settings. They are told their cases
20 have been closed, their perpetrators released,
21 their benefits exhausted, with little explanation
22 and without compassion.
23 Listening means building systems
24 where survivors have a real voice, not just a
25 case number.
3646
1 To act. Awareness without action is
2 hollow. Action looks like investing in services,
3 streamlining access, and removing every barrier
4 between a survivor and the support they are owed.
5 An aspect more difficult for our
6 society to reckon with is how often incarcerated
7 individuals are survivors of crime themselves,
8 now part of a cycle of violence. Providing
9 responsible parties, when a crime is committed,
10 with rehabilitative opportunities is critical to
11 ensuring that they properly heal, transition back
12 into society, contribute positively to our
13 communities, and end these perpetual cycles of
14 harm.
15 We've made progress as a state in
16 our efforts to address the needs of New Yorkers
17 impacted by crime. In 2019 we passed the
18 Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act.
19 However, we've seen many cases in which this
20 important law has not been applied as intended to
21 support survivors.
22 That same year, we also passed the
23 Child Victims Act, modifying the statute of
24 limitations for New Yorkers who survived sexual
25 abuse as a minor.
3647
1 This year, the Fair Access to Victim
2 Compensation Act went into effect, eliminating
3 certain arbitrary barriers that survivors faced
4 in seeking financial compensation.
5 To advocate is needed because
6 there's clearly so much more for us to do. It is
7 the responsibility of each of us in this chamber
8 to advocate for change. Change like through the
9 Survivors First Act, which would remove even more
10 obstacles that victims face when seeking
11 compensation to recover from harm they've
12 experienced. Legislation that would improve the
13 level of support provided to survivors during the
14 interview process by law enforcement.
15 We must also step up to empower our
16 victim services organizations. Currently many of
17 them are being threatened by the federal
18 government, punished for their work specifically
19 in serving certain communities -- namely,
20 immigrant survivors of crime and LGBTQ
21 individuals. Many have already seen their
22 federal funding cut.
23 New York must reject these blatant
24 attacks and instead take opportunities to fill
25 those funding gaps. It is what is required of us
3648
1 so that victims of domestic violence, of sexual
2 assault, of hate crimes, of gun violence, and
3 especially those of them who are of marginalized
4 identities will no longer feel alone.
5 To every survivor who might hear
6 these words, you deserve a system that sees you.
7 You deserve to have your voice centered in our
8 pursuit of justice.
9 I urge my colleagues to support this
10 resolution and, more importantly, to carry its
11 spirit into the legislative work ahead of us.
12 Thank you, Madam President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
14 you, Senator.
15 Senator Murray on the resolution.
16 SENATOR MURRAY: Thank you,
17 Madam President.
18 And I thank Senator Salazar for
19 bringing this resolution to the floor.
20 Some of the words in the speech -- I
21 didn't write a speech for this because I think if
22 there is ever a subject that should come from the
23 heart, I think it's this. I think it's how we
24 look at, think of, deal with victims of crime.
25 Let's look at the two sides when
3649
1 there is a crime. You have the criminal, the one
2 that did the act, a conscious choice to violate
3 someone else. You have the victim, who had no
4 choice. A victim who doesn't want to be a
5 victim, who never would want that.
6 During my colleague's speech just now
7 it was mentioned that some of those in prison now
8 were victims themselves. And that amazes me,
9 because if there was ever someone that should
10 know what impact crime has on a victim, it should
11 be them. And yet they chose to do it anyway.
12 You know, we -- it's Crime Victims'
13 Rights Week. I think, personally, every hour of
14 every day, of every week, of every month, of
15 every year we should be thinking about those
16 victims and how we can help them.
17 We -- let me preface this by saying
18 I don't think anyone purposefully is trying to
19 hurt anyone or does this out of any animosity or
20 anything. I think it's a case where we just
21 don't think about it.
22 So on the agenda today we have a
23 bill that expunges convictions, another one that
24 addresses inmates' efforts to reduce their prison
25 time. Another one, that I actually think is a
3650
1 pretty good bill, that gives vocational training
2 to the inmates.
3 Some would think, Well, what's that
4 have to do with victims? And if you asked that
5 question, then you don't know. If you asked that
6 question, you haven't been listening. You
7 haven't talked to a victim. Because everything
8 we do in this body, every piece of legislation we
9 pass that reduces a sentence or does this or
10 that, or moves parole sooner, impacts those
11 victims.
12 This past Sunday -- every year when
13 National Crime Victims' Rights Week comes up,
14 it's kicked off by vigils that are held all over,
15 and I attend those every year. If I had one
16 wish, it would be that every policymaker and
17 every lawmaker in this state would have to attend
18 that vigil.
19 I attended it this year. And what
20 they'll do is they'll tell their stories. And
21 this particular group was the parents and other
22 survivors of murdered crime victims. When you
23 hear these stories, it breaks your heart. And
24 then you listen to them reading off the names --
25 600 names just in the vigil I was at in
3651
1 Suffolk County. Think about that.
2 And every name on that list is not
3 just a name, it's someone that had loved ones,
4 family members, a spouse, children, someone -- or
5 people that loved them, that cared for them. And
6 now they don't have them. Why? Because someone
7 decided to take their life. Someone made the
8 conscious decision to end their life.
9 And they don't -- it doesn't end
10 with the crime. In fact, unfortunately for the
11 loved ones, that's where it starts. That's where
12 the pain starts. It doesn't go away.
13 And so every time the convicted
14 criminal goes for parole and it's denied and then
15 they want to -- we want to give them an appeal.
16 And then we want to move up the next parole
17 hearing.
18 But what you're forgetting is every
19 parole hearing, every time that comes up, the
20 victims have to relive it. And I assure you they
21 don't wake up that morning and say, Oh, I think
22 I'll tell my story today. No. They're putting
23 that testimony together.
24 As my colleague said, they have to
25 go before this cold bureaucratic group of people
3652
1 they don't know and tell the most intimate,
2 painful story of their lives, to fight to keep
3 the person that took their loved one from getting
4 out.
5 What I would say is this. I just
6 ask this, and I just wish this. Just consider
7 them. Every day we should do what this week is
8 about. We should think about the crime victims
9 and the impact that what we do here has on them.
10 Because I promise you, I promise you, it impacts
11 them.
12 I want to thank Leader Ortt and my
13 colleague Senator Rolison. Leader Ortt approved,
14 I guess you would say, us having crime victims
15 roundtables across the state over the past few
16 months, where we met with law enforcement,
17 district attorneys, crime victims, advocates
18 groups. But most importantly, we met with
19 victims and listened to them.
20 And I've got to tell you, it was
21 amazing to hear some of these stories but to also
22 hear some of the things that they say they
23 experienced that never crossed my mind. We
24 didn't even think about it. But it gave us the
25 fuel to move forward. We're going to be
3653
1 releasing a report about all of the information
2 that we got from that.
3 And it's the Victims First Agenda,
4 because the victims need to come first. That
5 should be our first thought: How will it impact
6 them? And I hope we'll read this report, I hope
7 we'll consider what policy changes or what things
8 that we can do here to help give them -- they'll
9 never completely get peace. But to just help a
10 little and to send the message that it's not just
11 Crime Victims' Rights Week, it's every day.
12 Every day we will hear you, we will consider you,
13 we will think of you.
14 So with that, I thank the sponsor
15 again for bringing the resolution to the floor.
16 Madam President, I proudly vote aye.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
18 you, Senator.
19 Senator Martins on the resolution.
20 SENATOR MARTINS: Madam President,
21 I have nothing left to say. I want to thank my
22 colleague for his thoughts. I think he was
23 extraordinarily eloquent.
24 I add my own comments to his and
25 would just urge our colleagues, when we decide to
3654
1 pass laws in this chamber that sometimes don't
2 prioritize our victims, that we think twice about
3 the opportunities that we have to give justice to
4 victims and their families in the context of
5 other things that sometimes we're trying to
6 achieve.
7 Thank you, Madam President. I vote
8 aye.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
10 you, Senator.
11 The resolution was adopted on
12 April 21st.
13 SENATOR GIANARIS: I guess my
14 colleague had something left to say after all,
15 Madam President.
16 Next up, previously adopted
17 Resolution 1925, by Senator Hinchey. Please
18 read that resolution's title and call on
19 Senator Hinchey.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
21 Secretary will read.
22 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 1925, by
23 Senator Hinchey, memorializing Governor Kathy
24 Hochul to proclaim May 2026 as Lyme Disease
25 Awareness Month in the State of New York.
3655
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
2 Hinchey on the resolution.
3 SENATOR HINCHEY: Thank you,
4 Madam President.
5 If you spend any time outdoors, you
6 know that Lyme disease and other tick-borne
7 illnesses are a major threat. And we have a
8 responsibility to drive up public awareness and
9 promote early detection.
10 While the Hudson Valley has
11 historically been a hotspot for Lyme, we are now
12 seeing it in nearly every corner of New York
13 State, and it's on the rise. Tick submissions
14 have jumped 145 percent in a single year,
15 according to the Upstate Tick Testing Laboratory.
16 And SUNY researchers are predicting an early and
17 tick-heavy season this year because of rising
18 temperatures.
19 And that is true. We're already
20 seeing it -- we're doing this resolution today,
21 in the end of April, because May has become
22 actually too late for Lyme and tick-borne disease
23 awareness for anyone in our communities.
24 Because of the warm weather that we
25 had just about a week ago, ticks were prevalent
3656
1 everywhere. Personally, in one day, I pulled
2 three ticks off my dog as they were running
3 through the woods.
4 If you talk to anyone in our
5 communities, they've already had major run-ins
6 with wood ticks and deer ticks, kind of in every
7 corner of our state.
8 And this year is going to be
9 especially bad because of the winter that we had.
10 Some people may think that because of the
11 freezing temperatures it would actually be a
12 better year with fewer insects and fewer ticks.
13 But because of the amount of snow that we had, it
14 actually insulated the ground -- which means this
15 year we are going to have even more bugs, more
16 insects, and more ticks than we would in any
17 other season, or we have in seasons past.
18 We have to be aware of what happens
19 and what we're looking for when we're spending
20 time outside. We live in one of the most
21 beautiful places in the world. We want to enjoy
22 our forests and our parks, we want to spend time
23 outdoors with our pets. We need to be able to
24 keep each other and ourselves safe.
25 In New York, our state averages over
3657
1 17,500 new Lyme cases a year, and many of them
2 are actually undetected. And it's not just Lyme
3 anymore, it's other tick-borne diseases as well.
4 We just saw the rise of something called
5 alpha-gal that our agencies are looking into. It
6 feels like we're constantly being bombarded with
7 new tick-borne illnesses.
8 A study by the Cary Institute found
9 that more than 38 percent of tested ticks were
10 carrying pathogens for at least one of these
11 diseases. And nearly 11 percent of tested ticks
12 were positive for both Lyme and babesiosis at the
13 end of that study.
14 Prevention right now is the best
15 protection for tick-born diseases and prevention,
16 and that starts with awareness. So if you are
17 spending time outside, make sure that you're
18 wearing long pants, that you're wearing bright
19 colors. Don't wear black, because the ticks will
20 blend in. And always do a tick check when you
21 come in from outdoors. Also check your pets.
22 And if you do find a tick, make sure
23 to remove it immediately. And you have to really
24 dig in there and get the head because otherwise
25 it stays. Ticks are really -- really disgusting.
3658
1 So make sure that you're checking
2 your pets and yourself. Monitor the area, if you
3 find a tick, for 30 days. And make sure that you
4 are spreading this information to your friends
5 and neighbors so we can keep more people safe
6 from Lyme disease and tick-borne illnesses across
7 our state.
8 Thank you very much.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
10 you, Senator.
11 Senator Ryan on the resolution.
12 SENATOR RYAN: Thank you,
13 Madam President.
14 Thank you, Senator Hinchey, for
15 bringing this resolution forward.
16 I rise to support May as the
17 Lyme Awareness Month, certainly a time to raise
18 awareness, encourage prevention, and support so
19 many New Yorkers who are dealing with this very
20 terrible disease.
21 Obviously Lyme disease is the most
22 common tick-borne illness. But here in New York
23 it's something that tragically too many families
24 know firsthand. So as Senator Hinchey pointed
25 out, prevention is key.
3659
1 But we also want to recognize the
2 people who are living with Lyme disease and the
3 challenges that they face every day getting
4 diagnosed, treated, and hopefully recovering.
5 So earlier this season the Senate
6 passed my bill, Senate Bill 4816, to help ensure
7 that workers exposed to tick-borne illness on the
8 job can access the care that they need.
9 And I'm certainly optimistic and
10 hopeful that the Assembly will pass that bill so
11 we can continue strengthening the support for
12 those that are the greatest at risk.
13 And lastly, I would be remiss if I
14 did not recognize the hard work being done back
15 home in the 50th Senate District by the
16 hardworking group at the CNY Lyme and Tick-Borne
17 Disease Alliance.
18 Thank you. I vote aye.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
20 you, Senator.
21 The resolution was adopted on
22 April 21st.
23 Senator Gianaris.
24 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
25 Madam President.
3660
1 Now let's move to previously adopted
2 Resolution 1864, by Senator Rolison, have that
3 resolution's title read and call on
4 Senator Rolison.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
6 Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Resolution 1864, by
8 Senator Rolison, memorializing Governor Kathy
9 Hochul to proclaim April 2026 as Pet Cruelty
10 Awareness Month in the State of New York, in
11 conjunction with the observance of
12 National Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
14 Rolison on the resolution.
15 SENATOR ROLISON: Thank you,
16 Madam President.
17 I want to thank the chamber for
18 allowing me to introduce this resolution on a
19 topic, quite frankly, that is heartbreaking.
20 Like many of you, we watch TV. And
21 when my wife and I are watching TV, of course our
22 dog Madison is with us. And most of you know how
23 we feel about our dog. We adore her, we love
24 her, and she is so important to Lori and I.
25 And invariably there's always
3661
1 advertisements and public awareness of cruelty to
2 animals on TV -- asking for help, asking for
3 funding. And we have to change that immediately;
4 I cannot look at those animals that they are
5 showing us who don't have it like our dog, who
6 are not cared for, who are abused and neglected.
7 And so when we talk about
8 Animal Cruelty Month, there are people that are
9 actually doing the work to help these animals.
10 And animal cruelty, Madam President,
11 is defined as the infliction of unjustifiable
12 pain, suffering or death upon an animal, either
13 through intentional abuse or neglect. It
14 includes physical violence, starvation,
15 abandonment, chronic tethering, lack of proper
16 shelter, and organized fighting.
17 I know that goes on,
18 Madam President, but I have an extremely hard
19 time in accepting it at all. And there are
20 individuals who are dedicated to the protection
21 of animals who do that as their work, as their
22 career. We need to acknowledge them for what
23 they do, because quite frankly most of us could
24 not do that.
25 But we want them to do that,
3662
1 Madam President. And without their dedication --
2 and that's a love of animals, individuals that do
3 this work, whether in the shelters, ASPCA
4 officers, animal control officers, individuals
5 who take animals in to foster them. They're
6 doing the work that our communities need.
7 On April 10th I had the opportunity
8 to visit a facility that was built in my district
9 in the Town of Pawling. And it's the ASPCA
10 New York Operations Recovery & Rehabilitation
11 Center, which opened last fall.
12 This facility cost $38 million to
13 construct. It is the primary shelter for abused
14 dogs that come out of New York City through the
15 NYPD. Currently it has 60 dogs there. It can
16 handle 80, and at some point they will have 80.
17 And these are all part of animal cruelty cases,
18 active animal cruelty cases by the NYPD and other
19 agencies.
20 This center employs 67 individuals.
21 It has a veterinary clinic and all medically
22 available services for those dogs.
23 Now, it was designed and constructed
24 using the latest technology infrastructure by
25 specialized architects that only do this work.
3663
1 It is an amazing, amazing place for those dogs.
2 And, Madam President, I got to tour
3 that facility and to see the work that they're
4 doing. And I met a dog in one of the staff
5 rooms, and her name was Coco. And Coco had been
6 seized by the NYPD in an animal cruelty case.
7 And I don't know the specifics, because of course
8 I didn't want to know.
9 But she was underneath like a
10 cubicle in a staff office, intently looking at
11 me because she didn't know who I was. And you
12 tell through her eyes that she was looking at me
13 sort of suspiciously: Who is this guy?
14 And all the staff people, of course,
15 she knows them. And she's with them because they
16 are working on getting her to a point where she
17 can be with other people and maybe someday can be
18 adopted.
19 And just -- and I'll end with this,
20 Madam President, is that the love and the care
21 that I saw that day in Pawling was so heartfelt.
22 And when I left there -- as difficult as it may
23 have been to go in, walking out I felt pretty
24 darn good, because those dogs are being cared for
25 and rehabilitated.
3664
1 And they have seen unspeakable
2 horrors. And they can't stand up for themselves,
3 Madam President. They need others to do that.
4 So with this resolution, and this
5 particular month, we are saying thank you to the
6 individuals that do that work and will continue
7 to do the work.
8 And I am also very proud of this
9 chamber and the members who support that. We
10 have passed bills in this chamber to protect
11 animals, and that is something that we all can be
12 proud of.
13 Thank you, Madam President. And of
14 course I proudly vote aye on this resolution.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
16 you, Senator.
17 Senator Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick on the
18 resolution.
19 SENATOR CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK:
20 Thank you, Madam President.
21 I want to thank my friend
22 Senator Rolison for bringing this resolution
23 to the floor to recognize April as
24 National Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month.
25 There's a lot of common themes here
3665
1 today. We just heard about ticks and checking
2 our pets for ticks, which is a serious issue,
3 especially where I live. And then we also have
4 to acknowledge the fact that there's a connection
5 between cruelty to animals and domestic violence,
6 cruelty to humans.
7 And there's -- so there's a common
8 theme today. I'm very proud of our chamber today
9 for recognizing these issues.
10 I'm a proud cosponsor of this
11 resolution, and I'm even a prouder dog mom to
12 Oreo and Biscuit, who are truly a part of my
13 family. We kind of have a joke at home that if,
14 God forbid, we ever had a fire, my daughters
15 would save the dogs before they saved their
16 sisters and their brother, because that's how
17 important they are to us.
18 It's really remarkable, as
19 Senator Rolison referred to the people that are
20 doing the work. I want to give a shout-out to
21 Posh Pets in Long Beach. Within the last few
22 months they took on 40 or so animals from an
23 abandoned home, and it was well above the number
24 of animals that they could take on.
25 I happened to be in the area, and I
3666
1 stopped by with blankets and sheets and things
2 that they needed. And the director looked at me
3 and broke down and cried and was so happy to see
4 me and support the work that she was doing.
5 And it was a really powerful moment
6 because all I did was show up. She was there
7 taking care of a dog that was horribly matted and
8 in pain. And it took so long to shave this
9 animal that really had been so horribly abused.
10 Animal cruelty is not just an issue
11 of neglect; it's a serious public safety concern.
12 And research shows that connection. The
13 Humane World for Animals said that 71 percent of
14 domestic violence victims in one survey reported
15 that the abuser also targeted their pets.
16 And in another study -- suspected
17 child abuse -- when they were watching those
18 families they said 88 percent of those families
19 under supervision for physical abuse of children
20 were also found to have abused their pets.
21 And that's why this resolution is so
22 important. Because by recognizing it, we're
23 sending a strong message that abuse of any kind
24 will not be tolerated. We need to have stronger
25 protections, enforcement and education. This
3667
1 resolution gives a voice to the voiceless, and
2 that is so powerful.
3 New Yorkers care deeply about the
4 welfare of their animals, whether they be furry,
5 feathery, or even scaly, and we need to make sure
6 that we raise awareness and encourage reporting,
7 compassion, and prevention.
8 So thank you again to the sponsor.
9 Thank you, Madam President. I
10 proudly vote aye.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
12 you, Senator.
13 The resolution was adopted on
14 April 21st.
15 Senator Gianaris.
16 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
17 all of today's resolutions are open for
18 cosponsorship.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
20 resolutions are open for cosponsorship. Should
21 you choose not to be a cosponsor, please notify
22 the desk.
23 Senator Gianaris.
24 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please take up
25 the calendar.
3668
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
2 Secretary will read.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 236, Assembly Print Number 3126B, by
5 Assemblymember Lunsford, an act to amend the
6 Executive Law.
7 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Lay it
9 aside.
10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
11 290, Senate Print 3974A, by Senator Sepúlveda, an
12 act to amend the Correction Law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
14 last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 9. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
21 the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
23 Calendar 290, voting in the negative are
24 Senators Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Chan,
25 Griffo, Helming, Lanza, Martins, Mattera, Murray,
3669
1 Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads,
2 Rolison, Skoufis, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk, Weber
3 and Weik.
4 Ayes, 37. Ayes, 21.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
6 is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 350, Senate Print 985A, by Senator Brouk, an act
9 to amend the Tax Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect on the first day of the
14 sales tax quarterly period.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
16 roll.
17 (The Secretary called the roll.)
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
19 the results.
20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
22 is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 384, Senate Print 940, by Senator Sanders, an act
25 to amend the Social Services Law.
3670
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
2 last section.
3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
4 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
5 shall have become a law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
7 roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
10 the results.
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
13 is passed.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
15 541, Senate Print 2393, by Senator Persaud, an
16 act to amend the General Business Law.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
18 last section.
19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
20 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it
21 shall have become a law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
23 roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
3671
1 the results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
4 is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 587, Senate Print 329A, by Senator Bailey, an act
7 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
9 last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
11 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
12 shall have become a law.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
17 the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
19 Calendar 587, voting in the negative are
20 Senators Ashby, Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick,
21 Chan, Griffo, Helming, Lanza, Martins, Mattera,
22 Murray, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads,
23 Rolison, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk, Weber and Weik.
24 Ayes, 37. Nays, 21.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
3672
1 is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 596, Senate Print 1946, by Senator Rivera, an act
4 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
6 last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
9 shall have become a law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
11 roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
14 the results.
15 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
16 Calendar 596, voting in the negative are
17 Senators Ashby, Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick,
18 Chan, Griffo, Helming, Lanza, Martinez, Martins,
19 Mattera, Murray, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
20 Palumbo, Rhoads, Rolison, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk,
21 Weber and Weik.
22 Ayes, 36. Nays, 22.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
24 is passed.
25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3673
1 616, Senate Print 5110A, by Senator
2 Scarcella-Spanton, an act to amend the Penal Law.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
4 last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 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: Ayes, 58.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
14 is passed.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 621, Senate Print 4357, by Senator Bailey, an act
17 to amend the Correction Law.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
19 last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
21 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
22 shall have become a law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3674
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
2 the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 656, Senate Print 3460, by Senator Gounardes, an
8 act to amend the Labor Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
13 shall have become a law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
18 the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
20 Calendar 656, voting in the negative are
21 Senators Ashby, Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick,
22 Chan, Griffo, Helming, Lanza, Martins, Mattera,
23 Murray, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads,
24 Rolison, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk, Weber and Weik.
25 Ayes, 37. Nays, 21.
3675
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
2 is passed.
3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
4 664, Senate Print 4464A, by Senator Mayer, an act
5 to amend the General Municipal Law.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
7 last section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
9 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
10 shall have become a law.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
12 roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
15 the results.
16 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
17 Calendar 664, voting in the negative are
18 Senators Ashby, Borrello, Griffo, Murray,
19 Oberacker, Ortt, Stec, Walczyk and Weik. Also
20 Senator O'Mara.
21 Ayes, 48. Nays, 10.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
23 is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 675, Assembly Print Number 8305, by
3676
1 Assemblymember Berger, an act to amend the
2 Civil Practice Law and Rules.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
4 last section.
5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
6 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it
7 shall have become a law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
9 roll.
10 (The Secretary called the roll.)
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
12 the results.
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
15 is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 683, Senate Print 7974, by Senator Gonzalez, an
18 act to amend the General Business Law.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3677
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Announce
2 the results.
3 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
4 Calendar 683, voting in the negative are
5 Senators Ashby, Borrello, Helming, Mattera,
6 Murray, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Rhoads,
7 Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk, Weber and Weik.
8 Ayes, 43. Nays, 15.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
10 is passed.
11 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
12 reading of today's calendar.
13 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's move on to
14 the controversial calendar, please.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
16 Secretary will ring the bell.
17 The Secretary will read.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 236, Assembly Bill Number 3126B, by
20 Assemblymember Lunsford, an act to amend the
21 Executive Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
23 Rhoads, why do you rise?
24 SENATOR RHOADS: Madam President, I
25 was hoping the sponsor would yield to what
3678
1 hopefully will be only a few questions.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
3 sponsor yield?
4 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes, of course.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
6 sponsor yields.
7 SENATOR RHOADS: Thank you,
8 madam President. Through you, of course.
9 Senator Skoufis, my understanding is
10 the general purpose of the bill is to increase
11 transparency so that people who make complaints
12 actually can receive information regarding the
13 complaints that they've made back, so that they
14 know that there's some sort of response.
15 Correct?
16 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
17 Madam President, yes, that's correct.
18 SENATOR RHOADS: Okay. And will
19 the sponsor continue to yield?
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
21 sponsor yield?
22 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
24 sponsor yields.
25 SENATOR RHOADS: It's also my
3679
1 understanding -- through you, Madam President --
2 that this applies to the State Energy
3 Conservation Code, the Uniform Fire Prevention
4 and Building Code, and the Local Building Code,
5 is that correct?
6 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
7 Madam President, yes, that's correct.
8 SENATOR RHOADS: Will the sponsor
9 continue to yield?
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
11 sponsor yield?
12 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
14 sponsor yields.
15 SENATOR RHOADS: And through you,
16 Madam President, this would include violations of
17 village, town or other localities' building codes
18 as well, correct?
19 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes, that's
20 correct.
21 SENATOR RHOADS: Will the sponsor
22 continue to yield.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
24 sponsor yield?
25 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
3680
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR RHOADS: And through you,
4 Madam President. This applies -- it's my
5 understanding this applies to orders to remedy
6 notices of violations as well as actual
7 violations themselves that are issued by any
8 local department, correct.
9 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes, that is
10 correct.
11 SENATOR RHOADS: And will the
12 sponsor continue to yield.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
14 sponsor yield?
15 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
17 Senator yields.
18 SENATOR RHOADS: Through you,
19 Madam President. Are there any provisions in
20 this legislation that -- I'll withdraw that
21 question, actually, and ask a different one.
22 Through you, Madam President. Does
23 this bill dictate the form in which those
24 notices are to be sent to the complainants?
25 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
3681
1 Madam President, yes. The form that's required
2 is mail, certified or registered.
3 SENATOR RHOADS: Will the sponsor
4 yield to --
5 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Or in person.
6 Sorry.
7 SENATOR RHOADS: Okay. Will the
8 sponsor yield to another question?
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
10 sponsor yield?
11 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
13 sponsor yields.
14 SENATOR RHOADS: And would this be
15 done -- I know it's got to be certified mail.
16 But would this be done through correspondence,
17 through actual copies of violation notices?
18 What information would actually be
19 sent?
20 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
21 Madam President. The bill does not prescribe.
22 SENATOR RHOADS: Will the sponsor
23 yield to another question.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
25 sponsor yield?
3682
1 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
3 sponsor yields.
4 SENATOR RHOADS: Thank you,
5 Madam President. Through you, of course.
6 Would the complainant's information
7 be included if it's sent by letter? Would the
8 complainant's information be included on the
9 actual letter?
10 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
11 Madam President, the bill does not prescribe.
12 But the Secretary may promulgate regulations that
13 speak to that.
14 SENATOR RHOADS: Will the sponsor
15 yield to another question?
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
17 sponsor yield?
18 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
20 sponsor yields.
21 SENATOR RHOADS: Thank you,
22 Madam President. Through you.
23 Are there any provisions within the
24 law that would actually exempt correspondence
25 with the claimant directly from FOIL?
3683
1 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
2 madam President, there is no exemption in the
3 bill.
4 SENATOR RHOADS: Thank you,
5 Madam President. On the bill.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
7 Rhoads on the bill.
8 SENATOR RHOADS: I certainly
9 understand the premise and the purpose of the --
10 the premise and the purpose of the legislation so
11 that complainants actually receive some comfort
12 by the fact that they know that their
13 complaints are being heard and responded to.
14 My concern, however, is that without
15 the protections of an exemption from FOIL that
16 information concerning complainants, which is
17 typically excluded from being received by the
18 building owner, may become subject to FOIL due to
19 the absence of any FOIL exception being put in
20 play within the legislation that we're sponsoring
21 today.
22 For that reason, I'll be voting no.
23 I would encourage my colleagues to do the same.
24 Thank you, Madam President.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
3684
1 you, Senator.
2 Senator Martins, why do you rise?
3 SENATOR MARTINS: Thank you,
4 Madam President. If the sponsor would yield to a
5 few questions.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Will the
7 sponsor yield?
8 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
10 sponsor yields.
11 SENATOR MARTINS: Would this
12 legislation apply to all municipalities -- local
13 municipalities, villages, towns and cities?
14 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
15 Madam President, yes.
16 SENATOR MARTINS: Through you,
17 Madam President, if the sponsor would continue to
18 yield.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
20 sponsor yield?
21 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
23 sponsor yields.
24 SENATOR MARTINS: Including the
25 City of New York?
3685
1 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
2 Madam President, yes.
3 SENATOR MARTINS: Madam President,
4 through you, if the sponsor would continue to
5 yield.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
7 sponsor yield?
8 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
10 sponsor yields.
11 SENATOR MARTINS: Is there a
12 consequence to a municipality not complying with
13 this legislation?
14 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
15 Madam President, an Article 78 remedy could
16 exist, much as it does with many other similar
17 types of laws.
18 SENATOR MARTINS: Through you,
19 Madam President, if the sponsor would continue to
20 yield.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
22 sponsor yield?
23 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
25 Senator yields.
3686
1 SENATOR MARTINS: Sure. Of course
2 there's an Article 78 if someone's willing to go
3 through that process.
4 But is there any consequence to
5 either the municipality's action in enforcing the
6 code or any consequence with regard to a separate
7 intervention by a complainant who doesn't receive
8 notice?
9 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
10 Madam President. On the first, this bill doesn't
11 speak to the first. And there's certainly plenty
12 of other sections of the law that do speak to
13 proper enforcement of the code. This bill, as my
14 colleague knows, speaks simply to notice of
15 resolution.
16 And again, there are no penalties
17 prescribed in this bill. But certainly most of
18 us in this chamber have faith that our
19 municipalities, all of whom have legal counsel,
20 are going to follow this and other municipal
21 laws.
22 SENATOR MARTINS: Through you,
23 Madam President, if the sponsor would continue to
24 yield.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
3687
1 sponsor yield?
2 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR MARTINS: So the language
6 of the bill speaks to -- you know, uses the term
7 "initially" when referencing whoever the
8 complainant happens to be. Is this limited to
9 just that first complaint that is received with
10 regard to a property? Or is there a
11 responsibility to issue certified mailings to
12 every person who issues a complaint that results
13 in the issuance of an enforcement action by a
14 municipality?
15 SENATOR SKOUFIS: The intention --
16 and I believe the bill does read this way -- is
17 to apply to any and all complaints, not just a
18 first of what could be multiple complaints.
19 SENATOR MARTINS: Madam President,
20 through you, if the sponsor would continue to
21 yield.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
23 sponsor yield?
24 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
3688
1 sponsor yields.
2 SENATOR MARTINS: And with respect
3 to the notice requirements of this bill, is there
4 anything in this bill that requires that the
5 municipality provide that notice prior to issuing
6 the violation, simultaneously with issuing the
7 violation, or subsequent to issuing the
8 violation?
9 Is there any time frame in this bill
10 within which the municipality would have to issue
11 the notice to the complainant?
12 SENATOR SKOUFIS: There are two
13 requirements in this bill. One is a copy of the
14 actual complaint, and the second is a resolution.
15 On the first, there is no
16 prescription of timing. On the second, there's
17 no prescription, but certainly if it is speaking
18 to a resolution, it would be subsequent to any
19 determined resolution.
20 SENATOR MARTINS: Through you,
21 Madam President, if the sponsor would continue to
22 yield.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
24 sponsor yield?
25 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
3689
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
2 Senator yields.
3 SENATOR MARTINS: So I know you,
4 like I, have many local municipalities in our
5 districts, and certainly there are hundreds
6 across the state.
7 Were there any municipalities that
8 reached out to you and asked you to sponsor this
9 as a way of addressing a concern that they may
10 have?
11 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
12 Madam President. No specific municipality
13 requested this bill, no.
14 SENATOR MARTINS: Thank you,
15 Madam President. Through you, if the sponsor
16 would continue to yield.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
18 sponsor yield?
19 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
21 sponsor yields.
22 SENATOR MARTINS: Did you reach out
23 to any of the municipalities in your district and
24 ask them whether they thought it was a good idea
25 and a good use of public resources to require
3690
1 that they have to send these notices out by
2 certified mail, return receipt requested, and to
3 then use and occupy time from their staff in
4 doing so?
5 Did any of your municipalities in
6 your district tell you that they thought this was
7 a good idea?
8 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
9 Madam President. I'll answer that in a little
10 bit of a different way.
11 There are many municipal leaders who
12 are very much aware of this bill, and none of
13 them reached out to me expressing concern or
14 opposition to this bill.
15 And I think I know where my
16 colleague is going with this. Certified mail is
17 about $6. And I thought this line of questioning
18 might have come from the previous debater, and so
19 I looked up Glen Cove. And in Glen Cove there
20 are about 600, maybe a little bit north of
21 600 annual complaints, building code complaints
22 that are filed with the city.
23 And given, again, there are two
24 notices here, not one, we're talking about
25 1200 correspondences. And that assumes they're
3691
1 all in mail; they can be, again, in person. And
2 so we're talking about $7200.
3 The City of Glen Cove's budget --
4 and again, this is representative of all the
5 municipalities around the state that we're
6 talking about here. The City of Glen Cove's
7 budget is about $70 million. And so $7200 over
8 that much larger sum of money amounts to
9 0.01 percent of the budget.
10 And the reason why this is
11 important -- through you, Madam President -- is
12 that someone who files a complaint in many cases,
13 if not most cases, is filing a complaint because
14 they themselves or their residents -- sorry,
15 they, their families, or their residents are
16 endangered by the alleged issue in the
17 neighboring units or the neighboring property.
18 And we heard yesterday, you know,
19 one of our colleagues expressed interest in
20 Sharia law. In Sharia law, the premise of their
21 building regulations is do no harm. In New York
22 State, our Building Code's premise is certainly
23 to protect those in that residence, to protect
24 first responders who may enter that residence,
25 and to protect the neighbors of that residence.
3692
1 And if there is an illegal natural
2 gas hookup, if there is an overloaded electrical
3 box, if there's hazardous waste on a neighboring
4 property, that does not just endanger the
5 residents of that property, but it could
6 potentially endanger the residents of neighboring
7 units or the neighboring properties as well.
8 And so it is critically important
9 that those who file these complaints do hear back
10 and are provided notice as to whether that
11 potentially dangerous situation and problem is
12 resolved.
13 That's what this bill calls for.
14 Again, it is a minuscule percentage in mailing
15 literally a postage item in any building
16 department's budget, certainly in any municipal
17 budget. And for that reason, it is worth the
18 pennies that it would cost.
19 SENATOR MARTINS: Madam President,
20 through you, if the sponsor would continue to
21 yield.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
23 sponsor yield?
24 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
3693
1 sponsor yields.
2 SENATOR MARTINS: So in many
3 instances people who call and complain with
4 regard to a condition on the block -- maybe
5 someone hasn't mowed their lawn, whatever the
6 case may be -- maybe they left their garbage pail
7 out overnight when it was only supposed to come
8 out the morning -- they will call and they'll
9 make a complaint, and they'd rather not leave
10 their address or their identifying information,
11 they would just like the municipality to address
12 the issue.
13 How does your bill square away with
14 that? Is there an obligation, then, on the
15 municipality who's receiving the complaint to
16 insist upon getting an address and a way of
17 contacting the complainant so as to send out a
18 certified mailing and comply with the
19 requirements here?
20 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Most complaint
21 forms that I've seen do include contact
22 information.
23 And so what this bill calls for I
24 don't think would lead to, would result in, you
25 know, any amendments to existing forms. Maybe
3694
1 there are some that I've not seen around the
2 state that don't.
3 But the ones that I've seen do
4 include a field for contact information. Because
5 oftentimes not only -- even if a municipality,
6 which many if not most do not provide for notice
7 of resolution, oftentimes a building department,
8 code enforcement officers will need to follow up
9 with the complainant for additional information.
10 And so I believe that's why they
11 seek that contact information on those complaint
12 forms.
13 SENATOR MARTINS: Madam President,
14 through you, if the sponsor would continue to
15 yield.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
17 sponsor yield?
18 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
20 sponsor yields.
21 SENATOR MARTINS: So are you
22 familiar with the fact that not every
23 municipality has a policy requiring a written
24 complaint form be filled out, and that
25 oftentimes -- and frankly, probably most of the
3695
1 time -- the complaints actually come in by phone,
2 by people who although they have a concern, do
3 not want to leave their name, they'd rather
4 remain anonymous?
5 And so my question is, is there a
6 concern or is there a requirement of this bill,
7 since it requires that they be notified in a
8 certain way -- certified mail to their address,
9 even though they may want to remain anonymous --
10 is there a concern or a requirement in this bill
11 that they have to provide their contact
12 information?
13 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
14 Madam President, I am aware that some
15 municipalities have even a hotline, if not
16 certainly just a general phone number that people
17 can call in to, to make complaints.
18 My understanding is that many of
19 those municipalities that have that opportunity
20 to file complaints through nonwritten means do
21 still request for contact information when
22 someone does call in.
23 Certainly, you know, I think this
24 bill, if enacted, and the Assembly did pass this
25 bill for the first time this session, may well
3696
1 lead to building departments collecting contact
2 information if they were not already checking
3 contact information. It's a fair question.
4 There's nothing that prevents the
5 Secretary, in promulgating regulations, from
6 redactions or exemptions from FOIL. That is
7 something that your colleague raised in the
8 previous debate that I think is a fair point and
9 one that we can work with the Secretary on
10 following enactment.
11 SENATOR MARTINS: Through you,
12 Madam President, if the sponsor would continue to
13 yield.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Does the
15 sponsor yield?
16 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
18 sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR MARTINS: You opened up the
20 possibility during our discussion here, you know,
21 and for purposes of creating a record, I want to
22 be clear.
23 And it's important certainly to
24 people who are out there complaining about
25 something and a condition in their neighborhood
3697
1 who do not want to leave a name.
2 Would this then prevent the
3 municipality from acting upon a complaint where
4 the complainant would not leave their name or
5 their contact information, and therefore not put
6 an obligation on the community to -- or the
7 municipality to address that complaint?
8 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Through you,
9 Madam President, no.
10 SENATOR MARTINS: Okay.
11 Madam President, on the bill.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
13 Martins on the bill.
14 SENATOR MARTINS: Thank you,
15 Senator Skoufis.
16 So look, the City of Glen Cove, a
17 $70 million budget, 600 I guess violations or
18 ordinance violations issued. I'm glad you picked
19 Glen Cove. Great. The reality is, as I'm sure
20 everybody in the room knows, Glen Cove is in my
21 district, so it's pretty convenient. And kudos
22 to you, Senator Skoufis, for picking that as
23 well.
24 But that doesn't mean that the
25 number of people who actually filed complaints
3698
1 with regard to those were 600 people. It could
2 literally be thousands of people who are then
3 obligated to be put on notice by certified mail.
4 It doesn't speak to the multiplier of $6 for
5 certified mail.
6 And I assure all of you, and
7 certainly the sponsor, that there's nobody in
8 municipal government that's sitting on their
9 hands waiting for something to do because they
10 don't have anything to do and they'd like to
11 occupy their time by filling out certified mail
12 mailings to people who frankly may not even want
13 it.
14 Now, our municipalities are
15 obligated to do these things, and they will
16 investigate and they will proceed as they see
17 fit. The idea of adding layers of bureaucracy
18 and cost to our municipalities -- and to what
19 end?
20 And what's most interesting here,
21 for me, is if they just choose not to. They're
22 not going to do it. They're not going to send
23 out the certified mail, and somebody will bring
24 an Article 78 to compel them to do so. Okay,
25 that's not a threat, realistically.
3699
1 So let's understand what it is we're
2 doing here, just adding another layer and another
3 obligation for someone to send out mailings if
4 they get a complaint, there'll be confusion as to
5 whether or not they need to get the person's name
6 or address in order to put them on notice.
7 And sometimes -- sometimes enough is
8 enough. So it's not about the 600 mailings or
9 the 6,000 mailings and the $6 per mailing. It
10 really is about what is it that we're trying to
11 address here?
12 Now, if we had heard from the
13 sponsor, Madam President, that there were
14 municipalities out there that felt that this was
15 a good idea and this was the best practice, okay.
16 But that's not what we heard. If there were
17 groups of people out there who stood up and said,
18 No, this is something that needs to be
19 addressed -- all right, maybe we could.
20 But I've got 43 villages and a city
21 and two towns in my district. I have never
22 gotten a request to support something like this.
23 I, as a former mayor and village official, never
24 thought that this was even remotely a good idea.
25 It's good practice for the community
3700
1 and the building department to maintain regular
2 contact with complainants when they want to be
3 contacted. And certainly each municipality has
4 the ability to do that. It's good practice.
5 These are residents of the municipality. They're
6 voters. They're people you want to actually
7 engage with. So we don't need a bill to tell a
8 municipality how to engage with their local
9 community.
10 But let's talk about -- let's talk
11 about the City of New York. How many complaints
12 do they receive every year? To the building
13 department, think about how many complaints come
14 through and have to be processed. You know, we
15 had the number for Glen Cove, I wonder what the
16 number would be for the City of New York.
17 You know, I hear -- I hear that
18 there is a shortfall, a budgetary shortfall in
19 the City of New York, Madam President. It should
20 be a concern for everybody. Billions of dollars
21 in shortfall in the City of New York. You know,
22 I even saw a video recently of the mayor of the
23 of the City of New York tapping on a lens saying
24 something about keeping a campaign promise about
25 taxing the rich.
3701
1 You know, that's interesting,
2 because as far as I'm concerned, we here in this
3 chamber have yet to vote on a budget. So I don't
4 know where he says he's taxing the rich, but
5 maybe he assumes everybody in this chamber has
6 already signed off on a tax increase that has
7 only been proposed. I don't know. We'll see
8 what happens when that comes up. That should be
9 a concern for all of us.
10 But the cost that that's going to
11 place on the City of New York to send out
12 certified mailings, return receipt requested, for
13 the thousands if not tens or hundreds of
14 thousands of the complaints that they get, for
15 all kinds of things -- you know, frankly, when
16 you have 8 or 9 million people living in a city
17 and all of those either rental or, you know,
18 owner-occupied homes, and you have the
19 opportunity for people to actually file
20 complaints, it is incredible to me that we
21 wouldn't consider what the impact would be for a
22 place like the City of New York.
23 Or, you know, let's go down the
24 line. Let's talk about the City of Buffalo,
25 let's talk about the City of Rochester, let's
3702
1 talk about the City of Syracuse or Albany or
2 Binghamton or Yonkers and what this is going to
3 cost those municipalities who have hundreds of
4 thousands of residents or millions of residents
5 and how much that's going to cost that
6 municipality to actually comply with that.
7 Not only in terms of dollars for
8 certified mail, but also in terms of time for
9 those people who actually work in those
10 municipalities and frankly, I guarantee you, are
11 not sitting on their hands waiting for something
12 to do. They're busy, and we're going to take
13 them away from the work that they're doing and
14 actually have them filling out certified mail,
15 return receipts, to what end?
16 So somebody may think this not a big
17 deal, so what? It's another certified mailing.
18 We'll just push another obligation on to our
19 local communities. But the reality is everything
20 here provides a cost, takes someone away from
21 something else that they would otherwise be
22 doing, and is going to impact all of our
23 communities. And again, to what end?
24 So I'll be voting no,
25 Madam President, no surprise there. But for all
3703
1 of you who are thinking about voting yes, think
2 about what it means back home to your local
3 communities. Think about what it means back home
4 to your cities. Think about the additional cost
5 and expense and time that's going to be spent
6 back home complying with something that actually
7 isn't going to move the needle. Because I assure
8 you, most of our communities are already working
9 with their local residents and seeing these
10 complaints through.
11 So, again, here we are.
12 Madam President, I'll be voting no. To our
13 sponsor, appreciate the discussion. Thanks for
14 the effort, but I think it misses the mark.
15 Thank you, Madam President.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Thank
17 you, Senator.
18 Are there any other Senators wishing
19 to be heard?
20 Seeing and hearing none, the debate
21 is closed.
22 Senator Gianaris.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: Madam President,
24 we have agreed to restore this bill to the
25 noncontroversial calendar.
3704
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
2 is restored to the noncontroversial calendar.
3 Read the last section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
5 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
6 shall have become a law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Call the
8 roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
11 Skoufis to explain his vote.
12 SENATOR SKOUFIS: Thank you very
13 much, Madam President.
14 I appreciate my colleagues for the
15 debate.
16 I want to respond to -- my colleague
17 asked to what end are we doing this, to what end
18 are we requiring that what amounts to a rounding
19 error -- again, 0.01 percent of these municipal
20 budgets, why are we requiring this? To what end?
21 If I'm a neighbor and identify that
22 the unit next to mine, the single-family house
23 next to mine has an illegal gas hookup that could
24 lead to an explosion on my street or in my
25 apartment building, and I file a complaint, I
3705
1 want to know how that's resolved on behalf of my
2 family and myself and the safety of our
3 neighborhood, our apartment building, be it what
4 it may.
5 So that is to the end that we're
6 looking to pass this bill. This is a public
7 safety bill.
8 I know, you know, there is the lens
9 by which some of my colleagues across the aisle
10 are looking at this legislation through, through
11 the dollars and cents. And again, we're talking
12 cents, not dollars. But this is a public safety
13 matter. There are families who file complaints.
14 Those complaints are on dangerous matters that
15 could potentially affect not just folks in that
16 unit where the complaint is located, but many
17 others potentially even dozens, if it's an
18 apartment building.
19 That's why I vote yes.
20 Thank you, Madam Leader -- Madam
21 President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
23 Skoufis to be recorded in the affirmative.
24 Senator Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick to
25 explain her vote.
3706
1 SENATOR CANZONERI-FITZPATRICK:
2 Thank you, Madam President.
3 Unfortunately, this bill should have
4 been tailored, then, to address safety concerns.
5 Because I'm thinking about the 14 villages that I
6 represent, a town, and a city. And having been a
7 former village official, knowing that the
8 building department in my hometown is staffed
9 with two full-timers and two part-timers --
10 thinking about the Hewlett Harbor Village, where
11 they only have two employees in the entire
12 incorporated village.
13 And now it's not about the cost of
14 the certified mailing. It's the cost of the time
15 of those people that are already burdened with
16 trying to do so much in so little time, and now
17 we're adding to their job. We're taking away
18 from the review of applications. We're taking
19 away from the review of extensions on a home or
20 other things that they could be doing.
21 And unfortunately, we are once again
22 burdening our local municipalities with another
23 requirement. So on behalf of all of those people
24 that I represent, I'm voting in the negative.
25 Thank you, Madam President.
3707
1 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
2 Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick to be recorded in the
3 negative.
4 Senator Martins to explain his vote.
5 SENATOR MARTINS: Thank you,
6 Madam President.
7 I feel compelled to stand to talk
8 about the concept of this being a public safety
9 bill, as if somehow sending a notice to a
10 complainant actually is going to make the
11 building department and the building officials do
12 their job.
13 No. They're going to take the
14 complaint, they're going to act on the complaint,
15 regardless of whether a mailing goes to somebody
16 by certified mail. This has nothing to do with
17 enforcing public safety. This has everything to
18 do with adding bureaucratic layers.
19 Because, Madam President, I assure
20 you that that municipality, from the mayor on
21 down to every person who works in that
22 municipality, is going to ensure that that
23 complaint gets the attention it deserves,
24 including sending people out there to issue the
25 violation.
3708
1 Notice, this bill requires that the
2 notice go out when the building violation is
3 issued. So that issue has already been taken
4 care of. The municipality has issued the
5 violation. This is an afterthought. The idea
6 that this is a public safety bill is a farce.
7 I vote no.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
9 Martins to be recorded in the negative.
10 Senator Mayer to explain her vote.
11 SENATOR MAYER: Thank you,
12 Madam President.
13 And I want to thank my colleague
14 Senator Skoufis for this.
15 To me, this addresses a fundamental
16 complaint of our constituents: Government does
17 not work for me. No one is worried about me. I
18 made a complaint based on a fear of something
19 happening or a legitimate safety complaint. I
20 made a complaint to my local municipality, and I
21 want to know what happened. I want to know what
22 the decision is. And no one is willing to tell
23 me.
24 This says: Municipality, this is
25 what people expect of their government. When
3709
1 they make a complaint, they want to know the
2 resolution, the determination. And it makes a
3 lot of sense that a notice would be sent to them
4 providing that information.
5 Thank you for doing this for our
6 constituents.
7 I vote aye.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
9 Mayer to be recorded in the affirmative.
10 Senator Lanza to explain his vote.
11 SENATOR LANZA: Madam President, I
12 vote aye.
13 (Laughter.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
15 Lanza to be recorded in the affirmative.
16 Senator Helming to explain her vote.
17 SENATOR HELMING: Thank you,
18 Madam President. I too will be voting aye on
19 this bill.
20 In my district, I have some of the
21 largest populations of people living in
22 manufactured homes, et cetera. My office often
23 gets calls for assistance because they register
24 complaints -- serious, as was said, public safety
25 complaints, they have issues, and they never get
3710
1 a response. This will help people get that
2 response that they, as has already been said,
3 they deserve to hear back.
4 So I vote yes. Thank you.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: Senator
6 Helming to be recorded in the affirmative.
7 Announce the results.
8 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
9 Calendar 236, voting in the negative are
10 Senators Borrello, Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Chan,
11 Martins, Mattera, Rhoads, Stec, Tedisco, Walczyk,
12 Weber and Weik.
13 Ayes, 47. Nays, 11.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The bill
15 is passed.
16 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
17 reading of today's calendar.
18 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
19 Madam President.
20 I have a motion here. On behalf of
21 Senator Gounardes, on page 22 I offer the
22 following amendments to Calendar 324,
23 Senate Print 8839, and ask that said bill retain
24 its place on Third Reading Calendar.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: The
3711
1 amendments are received, and the bill will retain
2 its place on the Third Reading Calendar.
3 Senator Gianaris.
4 SENATOR GIANARIS: Is there any
5 further business at the desk?
6 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: There is
7 no further business at the desk.
8 SENATOR GIANARIS: I move to
9 adjourn until Monday, April 27th, at 3:00 p.m.,
10 with the intervening days being legislative days.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT PERSAUD: On
12 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until Monday,
13 April 27th, at 3:00 p.m., with intervening days
14 being legislative days.
15 (Whereupon, at 1:28 p.m., the Senate
16 adjourned.)
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