Monday, May 24, 1993

3978 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 May 24, 1993 11 3:15 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 SENATOR HUGH T. FARLEY, Acting President 19 STEPHEN F. SLOAN, Secretary 20 21 22 23 3979 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 3 Senate will come to order. Senators will please 4 find their seats. 5 If you will please rise for the 6 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 7 (The assemblage repeated the 8 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 9 Today we're pleased to have with 10 us the Reverend Peter G. Young, Pastor of the 11 Blessed Sacrament Church of Bolton Landing, New 12 York, for the opening prayer. 13 Father Young. 14 REVEREND PETER G. YOUNG: Dear 15 God, as we gather this week with Memorial Day in 16 the offing, may we think of those people who 17 have dedicated themselves in this chamber and 18 for those that have committed themselves in the 19 way that they have led the leadership of the 20 state to the better kind of a society that we 21 enjoy, and give them an attitude of gratitude 22 for that that they have given as a citizen and 23 as a Senator. We ask You that we bless them and 3980 1 again encourage others to be like them. In Your 2 name, now and forever more. Amen. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Thank 4 you, Father. 5 The Secretary will begin by 6 reading the Journal. 7 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 8 Friday, May 21st. The Senate met pursuant to 9 adjournment, Senator Bruno in the Chair upon 10 designation of the Temporary President. The 11 Journal of Thursday, May 20th, was read and 12 approved. On motion, Senate adjourned. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Hearing 14 no objection, the Journal will stand approved as 15 read. 16 The order of business: 17 Presentation of petitions. 18 Messages from the Assembly. 19 Messages from the Governor. 20 Reports of standing committees. 21 Reports of select committees. 22 Communications and reports from 23 state officers. 3981 1 Motions and resolutions. Do we 2 have any motions on the floor? 3 Senator Wright. 4 SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President, 5 on page number 26, on behalf of Senator Skelos, 6 I offer the following amendments to Calendar 7 Number 800, Senate Print Number 4720, and ask 8 that the bill retain its place on the Third 9 Reading Calendar. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 11 Amendments received, the bill will retain its 12 place. 13 SENATOR WRIGHT: Mr. President, 14 on behalf of Senator Farley, I would request a 15 sponsor's star on Calendar Number 883, Senate 16 2724. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 18 bill is starred. 19 Senator Mega. 20 SENATOR MEGA: Mr. President, 21 amendments are offered to the following Third 22 Reading Calendar bills. I will give you the 23 name of the sponsor, and next will be the page, 3982 1 then the calendar number, and then the Senate 2 print number. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: All 4 right. 5 SENATOR MEGA: Padavan: 4, 124, 6 1861; Spano: 5, 195, 1005-A; LaValle: 9, 434, 7 3722; Wright: 12, 491, 4280; Larkin: 13, 547, 8 2737; Volker: 21, 728, 2798; Johnson: 26, 809, 9 4410; Tully: 29, 853, 1243; Seward: 38, 623, 10 4076; Libous: 38, 625, 3815; Saland: 16, 643, 11 4545; Velella: 20, 715, 4998; Lack: 24, 771, 12 1614-A. 13 Mr. President, I now move that 14 these bills retain their place on third place on 15 the order of reading calendar. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Without 17 objection. That's efficiency. 18 Senator Skelos. 19 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 20 on page number 23, I offer the following 21 amendments to Calendar Number 747, Senate Print 22 Number 4540-A, and ask that said bill retain its 23 place on the Third Reading Calendar. 3983 1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Bill 2 will retain its place. 3 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr. President. 4 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 6 Senator, just a moment. I think I have Senator 7 Holland and then Senator Gold. 8 SENATOR GOLD: Oh, it's my honor 9 to wait. 10 SENATOR HOLLAND: Thank you, sir. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: I take 12 them in the order that I see them; and then 13 Senator LaValle. 14 SENATOR HOLLAND: On behalf of 15 Senator Levy - 16 (Inaudible remarks.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 18 Holland, you have the floor. 19 SENATOR HOLLAND: On behalf of 20 Senator Levy, I'd like to have two sponsor's 21 stars removed: Calendar 277 and 63. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 277 and 23 63, the stars - 3984 1 SENATOR HOLLAND: No, 63. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 63. 3 The stars are removed at the request of the 4 sponsor. 5 SENATOR COOK: Mr. President. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Wait a 7 second. Senator Gold is next. I got to take 8 this in some sort of order, then Senator 9 LaValle. 10 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you, Mr. 11 President. On behalf of Senator Nolan I ask 12 that Print 3838 be recalled from the Assembly 13 now at the desk. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 15 Secretary will read it. 16 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Nolan, 17 Senate Bill 3838, an act to amend the city 18 charter of the city of Cohoes. 19 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President, I 20 move that the vote be reconsidered. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 22 the roll on reconsideration. 23 (The Secretary called the roll on 3985 1 reconsideration.) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 31. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Bill is 4 before the house, Senator Gold. 5 SENATOR GOLD: Yes. I offer the 6 following amendments, move their adoption and 7 ask that the bill retain its place on the Third 8 Reading Calendar or Senator Nolan will be very 9 mad at me. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 11 bill will retain its place. 12 Senator LaValle. 13 SENATOR LAVALLE: Mr. President, 14 I'd like to star my bill, Calendar Number 910. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Bill - 16 sorry. 17 SENATOR LAVALLE: And also on 18 behalf of Senator Sears, on page 35, please 19 remove the star on Calendar Number 187, Senate 20 Print Number 2003-A. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 187, 22 the star is removed. 23 Senator Cook. 3986 1 SENATOR COOK: Mr. President, on 2 page 20, could you place a star on Calendar 3 Number 721, please. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 721 is 5 starred at the request of the sponsor. 6 Senator Volker. 7 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President, 8 on page 34 of the starred calendar, Calendar 9 Number 55, Senate Print 1141-A, would you please 10 remove the star. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Star is 12 removed at the request of the sponsor. 13 Senator Johnson. 14 SENATOR JOHNSON: Now, Huzzah! 15 Mr. President, I wish to call up my bill, Print 16 Number 1703, recalled from the Assembly which is 17 now at the desk. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 19 Secretary will read it. 20 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 21 Johnson, Senate Bill Number 1703, an act to 22 amend the Real Property Tax Law. 23 SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr. President, 3987 1 I now move to reconsider the vote by which this 2 bill was passed. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 4 the roll on reconsideration. 5 (The Secretary called the roll on 6 reconsideration. ) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 31. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 9 bill is before the house. 10 Senator Johnson. 11 SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr. President, 12 I now offer the following amendments. 13 And, Mr. President, also on 14 behalf of Senator Bruno - 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 16 Amendments are received, bill will retain its 17 place. 18 Senator Johnson. 19 SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr. President, 20 on behalf of Senator Bruno, I wish to call up 21 his bill, Print Number 3218, recalled from the 22 Assembly, which is now at the desk. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 3988 1 Secretary will read it. 2 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Bruno, 3 Senate Print 3218, an act to establish a library 4 district in the town of North Greenbush, 5 Rensselaer County. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 7 Johnson. 8 SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr. President, 9 I now move to reconsider the vote by which the 10 bill was passed. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 12 the roll on reconsideration. 13 (The Secretary called the roll on 14 reconsideration.) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 31. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Bill is 17 before the house. 18 Senator Johnson. 19 SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr. President, 20 I now offer up the following amendments. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 22 Amendments are received. Bill will retain its 23 place. 3989 1 Do we have any other motions? 2 SENATOR PADAVAN: Mr. President, 3 would you recognize Senator Holland, please, for 4 a privileged resolution. 5 SENATOR HOLLAND: May I ask that 6 it be read, please. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 8 title or in the entirety? 9 SENATOR HOLLAND: In the entirety 10 if it's possible. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 12 Secretary will read the entire resolution. 13 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 14 Resolution Number 1480, by Senator Holland and 15 other members of the Senate, designating May 16 24th through 28th, 1993 as Bone Marrow Donor 17 Awareness Week in New York State. 18 WHEREAS, bone marrow trans 19 plants now give people dying of blood-related 20 diseases such as leukemia and aplastic anemia a 21 chance to be cured, if a donor can be found 22 whose bone marrow matches their own; 23 An individual has only a 30 3990 1 percent of finding a donor among his or her own 2 family members; once family members have been 3 tested and no match is found, an individual is 4 faced with only about one in 20,000 unrelated 5 people who will match closely enough to allow 6 the opportunity for a bone marrow donation; 7 Although national donor registry 8 was begun in 1987 to assist in finding suitable 9 donors from a pool of "typed" readily available 10 volunteers, it is estimated that at least one 11 million potential donors worldwide must be 12 listed on the registry if the majority of the 13 9,000 afflicted individuals presently waiting 14 for matches in the United States are to be 15 saved; 16 Many people in the United States 17 have died because their desperate searches have 18 not produced a matching donor in time. It is 19 vital, therefore, that every effort be made to 20 assure that the donor pool is as large and 21 diverse as possible; 22 Marrow transplants require 23 matching tissue types which are characterized by 3991 1 complex genetic traits often unique to a 2 particular race, and currently 92 percent of the 3 volunteer donors are Caucasian; 4 It is of critical importance that 5 African-American, Hispanics, Asians and Native 6 Americans who are presently under-represented on 7 the registry, become volunteers so that the same 8 hope can be offered to all Americans in need; 9 In memory of the late Senator 10 Eugene Levy, it is the intent of this 11 legislative body to designate May 24th through 12 the 28th, 1993 as Bone Marrow Donor Awareness 13 Week in New York State, recognizing and honoring 14 all those who have selflessly donated marrow or 15 been tested as a potential donor, and to enhance 16 public awareness of the desperate need for bone 17 marrow donors, particularly minority donors; 18 During Bone Marrow Donor 19 Awareness Week, the Bone Marrow Resource 20 Foundation will distribute educational material 21 and conduct a donor drive to test individuals as 22 potential donors in the Legislative Office 23 Building. Donors will be registered with the 3992 1 National Marrow Donor Program through the local 2 donor center at the American Red Cross in 3 Albany; 4 Everyone has the ability to give 5 "the gift of life" by donating bone marrow to 6 someone who faces imminent death from a blood 7 related disease; 8 Through its commitment to the 9 preservation and enhancement of human life, Bone 10 Marrow Donor Awareness Week so clearly advances 11 that spirit of united purpose and shared concern 12 which is the unalterable manifestation of our 13 American experience; 14 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED 15 that this legislative body pause in its 16 deliberations to proclaim May 24th through the 17 28th, 1993, as Bone Marrow Donor Awareness Week 18 in New York State, and 19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that 20 copies of this resolution, suitably engrossed, 21 be transmitted to the Bone Marrow Resource 22 Foundation, the National Marrow Donor Program 23 and the New York State American Red Cross of 3993 1 Albany, in recognition of their efforts in 2 educating the public and assisting those in need 3 of a bone marrow donation. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 5 Holland. 6 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr. President, 7 as you've just heard, this is Bone Marrow 8 Awareness Week. It was originated by the late 9 Senator Gene Levy who passed away of leukemia 10 just about three years ago. I think he was 11 aware of that. What we're trying to do is get 12 enough people involved in the international and 13 national registry so that people who have 14 leukemia and other diseases that can be helped 15 by a bone marrow transplant, can find people who 16 match. 17 In your own family, if you have a 18 problem like this and you need a bone marrow 19 transplant, you only have about a 25 percent of 20 matching in your family. If you have to go out 21 of your family, your chances of finding a match 22 are one in 20,000. 23 Presently we only have approxi 3994 1 mately 300,000 people in the international 2 registry. We are trying to expand that registry 3 this week. We're doing two things basically. 4 First thing so everybody that can hear, we have 5 a registry downstairs on the third floor in the 6 LOB. 7 Anybody that would like to have 8 their blood typed for this bone marrow registry 9 could go down there. All it takes is a little 10 pinprick and about two tablespoons of blood and 11 if you match at some point in the future they 12 will come and ask you but not require you, if 13 you would please have some of your bone marrow 14 transplanted to someone who is dying of leukemia 15 or some other disease like that. 16 The other disease we're doing is 17 it costs upwards of $45 to test each 18 individual. You will not be charged downstairs 19 but we are having a Bowl-a-Thon tonight, our 20 second annual Bowl-a-Thon at the Playdium. 21 There will be Senators there, such as Senator 22 Skelos, bowling there with their spouses 23 tonight. Last year we raised about $10,000 with 3995 1 our program. The lobbyists assisted us. This 2 year we expect to raise about $10,000 also and 3 that money will go to pay for the typing. 4 We thank everyone involved, all 5 the staff, all the Senators, and hope everybody 6 bowls well tonight, and remember if you'd like 7 to get tested, it's on the third floor of the 8 LOB from 11:30 to 5:00 o'clock today and 9 tomorrow. 10 Thank you, Mr. President. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: On the 12 resolution, all those in favor say aye. 13 (Response of "Aye.") 14 Those opposed nay. 15 (There was no response. ) 16 The resolution is adopted. 17 Senator Padavan, what's your 18 pleasure? 19 SENATOR PADAVAN: Non 20 controversial, please. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 22 Non-controversial calendar, the Secretary will 23 read. 3996 1 THE SECRETARY: On page 4, 2 Calendar Number 31, by Senator Padavan, Senate 3 Bill Number 128-A. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Laid 5 aside. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 454, by Senator Volker, Senate Bill Number 3165 8 A, an act to amend the Penal Law. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 10 the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 12 act shall take effect immediately. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 14 the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 38. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 18 bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 465, by - 21 SENATOR PADAVAN: Lay it aside, 22 please. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay it 3997 1 aside for the day, Senator Padavan? 2 SENATOR PADAVAN: For the day, 3 also 615, please lay aside for the day. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 615 5 will be laid aside for the day. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 656, by Senator Velella, Senate Bill Number 8 4650, an act to amend Chapter 934 of the Laws of 9 1985. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 11 the last section. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 13 act shall take effect immediately. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 15 the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 38. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: That 19 bill is passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 723, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Bill Number 3473, 22 an act to amend the Public Authorities Law and 23 the General Municipal Law. 3998 1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 2 your -- read the last section. 3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 4 act shall take effect immediately. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 6 the roll. 7 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 38. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: That 10 bill is passed. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 737, by Senator Velella, Senate Bill Number 13 1887, an act to amend the State Finance Law, the 14 Tax Law and the Administrative Code of the city 15 of New York. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: There's 17 a home rule message here at the desk. You can 18 read the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 20 act shall take effect immediately. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 22 the roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 3999 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: That 3 bill is passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 744, by Senator Cook, Senate Bill Number 2836, 6 General Municipal Law, in relation to 7 establishing uniform procedures. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 9 the last section. 10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 11 act shall take effect immediately. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 13 the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: That 17 bill is passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 748, by Senator Skelos, Senate Bill Number 4658, 20 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 22 the last section. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 4000 1 act shall take effect immediately. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 3 the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 7 bill is passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: 756, by Senator 9 Levy, Senate Bill Number 3884, an act to amend 10 the Vehicle and Traffic Law. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 12 the last section. 13 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Could we lay 14 it aside. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay 16 that bill aside. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 782, by Senator Lack, Senate Bill Number 4818, 19 an act to amend the Workers' Compensation Law. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 21 the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2 - 23 SENATOR GOLD: Lay it aside, 4001 1 please. 2 SENATOR LACK: Lay it aside for 3 the whole day. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay it 5 aside; withdraw the roll call. Lay it aside for 6 the day. 7 THE SECRETARY: 791, by Senator 8 Saland, Senate Bill 4941. 9 SENATOR SALAND: Lay aside, 10 please. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay 12 aside, just temporarily or for the day? 13 SENATOR SALAND: For the day. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: For the 15 day. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 801, by Senator Johnson, Senate Bill Number 18 4775, Environmental Conservation Law, in 19 relation to tidal wetlands fees. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 21 the last section. 22 SENATOR GOLD: Lay it aside, 23 please. 4002 1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Laid 2 aside. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 816, by Senator Skelos, Senate Bill Number 1156. 5 SENATOR GOLD: Lay it aside. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Laid 7 aside. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 818, by Senator Johnson, Senate Bill Number 10 1898. 11 SENATOR GOLD: Lay it aside. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Laid 13 aside. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 826, by member of the Assembly Cahill, Assembly 16 Bill Number 4966, Public Health Law, in relation 17 to approval of amended applications for 18 construction. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 20 the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 22 act shall take effect immediately. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 4003 1 the roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 5 bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 828, by Senator Tully, Senate Bill Number 4752, 8 New York State Medical Care Facilities Finance 9 Agency Act. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 11 the last section. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 13 act shall take effect immediately. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 15 the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 42. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: That 19 bill is passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 829, by Senator Tully, Senate Bill Number 4997, 22 an act to amend the Public Health Law, the Penal 23 Law and the Domestic Relations Law. 4004 1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 2 the last section. 3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 4 act shall take effect immediately. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 6 the roll. 7 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 42. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: That 10 bill is passed. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 830, by Senator Tully, Senate Bill Number 5272, 13 an act to amend the Public Health Law, in 14 relation to the appointment of members of the 15 breast cancer detection. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 17 the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 19 act shall take effect immediately. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 21 the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 42. 4005 1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 2 bill is passed. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 852, by Senator Volker, Senate Bill Number 1137, 5 Civil Practice Law and Rules. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 7 the last section. 8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 9 act shall take effect immediately. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 11 the roll. 12 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 15 bill is passed. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 857, by Senator Volker, Senate Bill Number 2421, 18 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 19 the offense of battery. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 21 the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 23 act shall take effect immediately. 4006 1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 2 the roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: That 6 bill is passed. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 867, by Senator Mega, Senate Bill Number 2633, 9 an act to amend the Public Housing Law. 10 SENATOR GOLD: Lay it aside, 11 please. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Laid 13 aside. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 900, by Senator Marchi, Senate Bill Number 3919, 16 an act to amend Chapter 812 of the Laws of 1983, 17 amending the Navigation Law. 18 SENATOR MARCHI: Star the bill. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Star 20 the bill at the request of the sponsor. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 904, by Senator Sheffer, Senate Bill Number 23 1818, Education Law, in relation to mandatory 4007 1 continuing education for pharmacy. 2 SENATOR SHEFFER: Lay it aside 3 for the day, please. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Laid 5 aside for the day. 6 SENATOR GOLD: Can we ask what 7 happened to 880, please. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 880, 9 it's going to be amended. 10 SENATOR GOLD: Amended. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: We're 12 going to amend it, I'm told. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 909, by Senator LaValle, Senate Bill Number 15 5373, Education Law, in relation to - 16 SENATOR GOLD: Lay it aside, 17 please. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Laid 19 aside. 20 Senator Present, that's the first 21 time through. 22 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 23 let's take up the controversial calendar. 4008 1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 2 Controversial, the Secretary will read the 3 controversial calendar. 4 THE SECRETARY: On page 4, 5 Calendar Number 31, by Senator Padavan, Senate 6 Bill Number 128-A, an act to amend the Executive 7 Law. 8 SENATOR GALIBER: Explanation. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 10 Explanation has been asked for. Senator 11 Padavan. 12 SENATOR PADAVAN: Very simple 13 bill, Mr. President. It requires that, if the 14 state Board of Parole is considering the release 15 of an inmate that they seek guidance or approval 16 from the sentencing judge. If that judge is no 17 longer sitting or does not respond within 25 18 days, then the Parole Board would act as they 19 normally do. 20 SENATOR GALIBER: Yes. Will the 21 Senator yield for a question? 22 SENATOR PADAVAN: Yes. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 4009 1 Padavan, will you yield to Senator Galiber? 2 SENATOR GALIBER: Senator, prior 3 to your introducing this bill, are you aware of 4 what the philosophy was as far as the Parole 5 Board in terms of indeterminate sentences as it 6 relates to the judge sentencing that person to 7 an indeterminate sentence? 8 SENATOR PADAVAN: Senator, I'm 9 not sure what you mean by "philosophy;" could 10 you be more specific? 11 SENATOR GALIBER: Yes, perhaps 12 I'll go on the bill, Senator, and then I can ask 13 a question. 14 On the bill, Mr. President. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 16 Galiber, on the bill. 17 SENATOR GALIBER: Mr. President, 18 for years now, those of us who have been fraught 19 with the notion of indeterminate sentences have 20 been told by the Parole Board over and over 21 again that they are in the process of taking 22 over where a judge sentences a person to an in 23 determinate sentence, that they have the prime 4010 1 responsibility of either letting that person go, 2 abiding by, if you will, the presumption of 3 eligibility and a number of other categories 4 that come up, which is basically the Parole 5 Board's responsibility. 6 Under this bill, Senator Padavan 7 would have the judge who has said historically 8 that "I have no longer anything to do with it, 9 once I sentence someone to that independent 10 sentence I'm out of the picture. Now, I can 11 make a recommendation, if you ask me to do so" 12 which some of us said if they're out they're 13 out, they shouldn't even be given that 14 opportunity to make that recommendation, but 15 through custom and usage when someone comes up 16 for parole, what happens is that they send a 17 little note to the district attorney and also a 18 note to the judge who, in my judgment, should 19 have absolutely nothing to do with it, nothing 20 whatsoever to do with it. 21 So the bill that Senator Padavan 22 has put here and amended -- I believe you 23 amended this bill, didn't you? 4011 1 SENATOR PADAVAN: Yes. 2 SENATOR GALIBER: Yes, we were 3 concerned initially that the judge -- it was 4 mandated in the original language that the judge 5 would have to respond to this -- a judge who 6 doesn't want to respond in the first place, a 7 judge who has washed his hands of it, a judge 8 who has said, "Look, I've sentenced that person, 9 that's the end of it." 10 It was amended to say, well, if 11 he doesn't do -- meaning the judge, if he or she 12 does not do anything affirmative within a period 13 of time, so that's just another way of putting 14 the judge in, I don't think the amendment means 15 very much because the bill itself is not 16 needed. 17 So the question I'd ask of you, 18 Senator, why, if part and parcel of what I've 19 said is so, why do we need this piece of 20 legislation if we have a Parole Board who has 21 the responsibility of determining when a person 22 leaves because they have exclusive jurisdiction 23 over that person? Why do we have to involve, 4012 1 now, a judge or a district attorney who's 2 finished prosecuting the case and, secondly, a 3 judge who has sentenced the case and, secondly, 4 a Parole Board who takes the position that they 5 take over the responsibility of the sentencing 6 judge and they decide whether he or she should 7 be released, why do we need this piece of 8 legislation? 9 SENATOR PADAVAN: Well, Senator, 10 I think it is clear what the intent is and that 11 is to allow an opportunity for the sentencing 12 judge who, after all, sat during the trial, the 13 criminal trial, was aware of many, many aspects 14 of that trial including recommendations on 15 sentencing which you are obviously more familiar 16 with than I, but I know to exist and is privy, 17 by personal experience, and it would appear to 18 me and others who support this bill that it 19 would be helpful to have the benefit of that 20 experience if the judge so chooses to exercise 21 it. 22 So that, in essence, is the 23 reason for the legislation, Senator. 4013 1 SENATOR GALIBER: Well, let me 2 try again. I - 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 4 Galiber. 5 SENATOR GALIBER: It's always 6 been a very frustrating thing with the number 7 count here. Let me try again. 8 The judge has absolutely nothing 9 to do with this case. Once he or she has heard 10 all the facts and all the circumstances and a 11 jury comes in and says, We find this person 12 guilty, and they give you a 30-day probation 13 report and they interview the victims and they 14 interview a whole slew of people and based on 15 that they come back, the district attorney makes 16 a recommendation for sentence, it's over with. 17 It's finished. That's the end of it. 18 I see no reason whatsoever we 19 should go through the back door to attempt to 20 bring a district attorney in who has an opinion, 21 and a judge who has an opinion. The judge has 22 an opinion, just he sentences that person, that 23 judge is out of the picture. 4014 1 There is absolutely no need for 2 this type of legislation. As I said before, 3 they're all over the picture so I would be 4 opposed to the legislation. It doesn't make 5 good sense to me, no reflection on the sponsor 6 of the bill; it's just not needed because 7 they're out of the -- out of the swim anyway. 8 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 10 Gold. 11 SENATOR GOLD: Yeah. I would 12 point out that there was a letter from the 13 Division of Parole in opposition and one of 14 their objections has been cured by the amendment 15 by Senator Padavan. I think, however, that the 16 one thing that the amended bill doesn't cure is 17 the basic philosophical argument raised by 18 Senator Galiber which I will not repeat, but I 19 think that's more than the technical issue 20 involved. 21 I would agree with Senator 22 Padavan that if you require an answer within 25 23 days, obviously you could send out the letter 30 4015 1 days before the eligibility. If you get an 2 answer back and there wouldn't be a time lag, 3 but there is a major philosophical issue, and I 4 understand where Senator Padavan is coming from, 5 but in the real world, in the real world, 6 knowing judges, knowing district attorneys, the 7 fact is they do, in fact, lose sight of what 8 happens over a period of time. 9 A judge has a calendar, it's 10 constantly moving. District attorney is 11 responsible for thousand and thousands of cases 12 and the concept of them coming back, having 13 memories jarred, makes no sense. 14 In those few cases where that 15 jarring is necessary, the present procedures are 16 taking care of that, so I think on the 17 philosophical issue, there ought to be a no 18 vote. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 20 the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 22 act shall take effect on the 1st day of 23 September. 4016 1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 2 the roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 4 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 5 the negative on Calendar Number 31 are Senators 6 Connor, DeFrancisco, Espada, Galiber, Gold, 7 Gonzalez, Leichter, Ohrenstein, Smith and 8 Waldon. Ayes 37, nays 10. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 10 bill is passed. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 756, by Senator Levy, Senate Bill Number 3884, 13 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 15 the last section. Explanation has been asked 16 for. 17 SENATOR PRESENT: Lay it aside. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Laid 19 aside. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 801, by Senator Johnson, Senate Bill Number 22 4775, Environmental Conservation Law. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 4017 1 the last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 3 act shall take effect immediately. 4 SENATOR LEICHTER: Explanation. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 6 Explanation has been asked for. Senator 7 Johnson. 8 SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr. President, 9 the law presently provides if you want to submit 10 an application for some improvement in a wetland 11 area, named wetland area, the fee shall be from 12 100 to $900. Invariably, the Department charges 13 $900, and many times a permit is never granted. 14 This is certainly an excessive application fee, 15 coupled with the fact that there's concurrent 16 jurisdiction of the local town or village which 17 means you have two applications, two permit 18 fees, very expensive, not even knowing if you're 19 going to get the right to use your land if you 20 desire. 21 So what this bill says that we're 22 going to cut down the application from 50 to 250 23 and then the permit fee, if it's granted, would 4018 1 be an additional $250 up to 650, which means the 2 $900 will be paid if you get a permit, up to 900 3 but not just for getting the application and 4 being turned down. 5 It seems like an overdue method 6 of correcting some of the abuses developing in 7 the DEC permitting program. 8 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. President. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 10 Leichter. 11 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. President, 12 on the bill. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 14 Leichter. 15 SENATOR LEICHTER: I don't know 16 what abuses Senator Johnson is talking about in 17 the permitting process and, if there are abuses, 18 certainly this doesn't address it. 19 The issue here is, as made by DEC 20 in their memo, memorandum in opposition which, 21 frankly, makes sense to me, is that the cost in 22 processing an application is in the determining 23 whether the application should be granted or 4019 1 not. It's not in the issuance of the -- of the 2 permit as such. They need to review the 3 application. They need to review, I assume, the 4 history of that wetland and to determine whether 5 the application should be given. 6 Now, under Senator Johnson's 7 bill, somebody submits an application, they do 8 all the work, they may deny the application 9 because it's not justified and because the 10 particular project would be harmful to the -- to 11 the wetlands. 12 Now, under Senator Johnson's 13 bill, that person would only pay the lesser 14 fee. That really isn't fair. We've asked DEC 15 to do the work. What the fee is based on is 16 going through the application. 17 Now, we complain about the need 18 to fund these agencies and so on, but one of the 19 reasons they're funded is because they're trying 20 to respond to the public asking them to process 21 applications, so on. They ought to be by and 22 large user/consumer fees, and if we're going to 23 make it a consumer fee, if we're going to charge 4020 1 people for the work that DEC does, the work is 2 in processing the application, so it certainly 3 makes sense to say, You come in with the 4 application, you got to put up the money that 5 it's going to cost us to do the work. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 7 the last section. 8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 9 act shall take effect on the 1st day of 10 January. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46, nays 2, 15 Senators Dollinger and Leichter recorded in the 16 negative. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 18 bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 816, by Senator Skelos, Senate Bill Number - 21 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Explanation. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 23 Explanation has been asked for. 4021 1 SENATOR PRESENT: Lay it aside. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Laid 3 aside. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 818, by Senator Johnson, Senate Bill Number 6 1898, an act to amend the Executive Law. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 8 the last. 9 SENATOR LEICHTER: Explanation. 10 SENATOR JOHNSON: Lay that aside 11 today. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay 13 that aside for the day. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 867, by Senator Mega, Senate Bill Number 2633, 16 an act to amend the Public Housing Law. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 18 the last - 19 SENATOR LEICHTER: Explanation. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 21 Explanation. Senator Mega. 22 SENATOR MEGA: Mr. President, 23 this bill amends the Public Housing Law that 4022 1 affects the police in the housing buildings in 2 our city of New York and, at the present time, 3 the detective division is discretionary with the 4 Housing Authority. 5 What this bill does is to make 6 the detectives division permanent. This bill 7 passed this house last year. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 9 the last section. 10 Senator Leichter. 11 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. President, 12 my problem with this bill, and we've had a 13 number of these bills, is that we're really 14 making decisions on administration of police 15 departments that has to be left to the 16 supervisors, to the heads of those departments. 17 We have a Housing Authority. We have a person 18 who's in charge of the Housing Authority 19 Police. I just don't think it's proper for us 20 to try to micromanage these police departments 21 by these sort of bills. 22 I'm going to vote in the 23 negative. 4023 1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 2 the last section. 3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 4 act shall take effect immediately. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 6 the roll. 7 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45, nays 3, 9 Senators Espada, Leichter and Paterson recorded 10 in the negative. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 12 bill is passed. 13 Senator Markowitz. 14 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Yes, I'd like 15 to have unanimous consent to be voting in the 16 negative on Calendar Number 31. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 18 Markowitz is in the negative on Calendar 31, 19 without objection. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 909, by Senator LaValle, Senate Bill Number 22 5373, Education Law, in relation to tuition at 23 community colleges. 4024 1 SENATOR LEICHTER: Explanation. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 3 Explanation. 4 SENATOR LAVALLE: Mr. President, 5 this legislation was born out of my concern and 6 the fact that there has been greater and greater 7 pressure on the increase of tuition at our 8 community colleges. 9 There were discussions at the 10 time that we were doing the budget, when we 11 increased our base aid from $1600 per F-TE to 12 $1650 per F-TE, but we put in certain language 13 dealing with cost containment of some of the 14 costs at community -- our community colleges. 15 However, at that time, we did not succeed and I 16 must say it doesn't mean that before this 17 session is over that we, either in the form of 18 this legislation or in the budget clean-up 19 bills, that we will not address this concern. 20 This legislation specifically 21 indicates that, before we trigger in the cost 22 containment progisions, that the state must 23 increase its share by another $50 per F-TE 4025 1 bringing us back to a commitment of $1,700 per 2 full-time equivalent. 3 To show you my concern and the 4 need for this legislation, during the last 5 budget deliberations, one community college 6 president, while making a case for the 7 restoration of base aid, gave the following 8 alternatives as we considered various levels of 9 base aid restoration: 10 If we didn't do anything, if we 11 gave zero increase in base aid, the tuition 12 would have increased $250. If we increased 13 state aid by $80, the tuition would have 14 increased $182, giving a total yield of $262, 15 the 80 in state aid plus the 182 in the tuition 16 increase, and if we had increased the state aid 17 $125, the tuition would have increased by $146, 18 giving a yield of $271. 19 So my point is that our community 20 colleges are putting too much pressure on 21 tuition and the most important aspect of our 22 community colleges is access. These are the 23 students who live in our community, who should 4026 1 have the doors open to a post-secondary 2 education, and that it is critical that the cost 3 come into line with our ability to keep that 4 access open, so that the students in our 5 communities can continue to attend our community 6 colleges. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 8 Leichter. 9 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yes, Mr. 10 President. 11 I think this is a very convoluted 12 and ill-advised bill. It really shirks, I 13 think, the obligation that we have and shirks 14 facing up to the problem which Senator LaValle 15 somewhat hinted at or may have even skirted. 16 The real problem is that 17 community colleges have been underfunded. Now, 18 what Senator LaValle does is says, well, if we 19 bring up our state funding a little more, bring 20 it back maybe to a level what is -- that it was, 21 although I believe he doesn't even bring it back 22 to the level that it once was, and this is not 23 even accounting for inflation, then before we're 4027 1 going to allow any increase in tuition, we're 2 telling the community college, you've got to cut 3 your expenses. 4 Well, Senator LaValle, you're 5 right that access is important, but I submit 6 that you will agree with me that the quality of 7 education is important too, and I don't want to 8 just say, as I know you don't because you've 9 been a leader in higher education in this state 10 for many years, you don't want to say, well, 11 we're going to make community colleges 12 available, but if you're going to go to 13 classrooms or where there's not going to be any 14 teachers or where there's not going to be 15 hundreds of students and you're not going to get 16 courses that you're going to need, but that's 17 precisely what's going to happen as a result of 18 your bill, because you mandate, you put them in 19 an impossible situation. You put the community 20 colleges between a rock and a hard place. 21 You say to them, you can't 22 increase tuition and/or you cut costs and in 23 some instances you're probably going to have to 4028 1 do both. I would submit to you that the answer 2 is that we ought to be doing the job that we 3 haven't done here, not because of you, because I 4 know you've been fighting for higher education. 5 I issued a report earlier this 6 year that showed that higher education over the 7 last five, six years, has been one of the rare 8 funded institutions or areas of government. 9 We've seen a dramatic decline when accounting 10 for inflation, of the money that we put into 11 CUNY, SUNY and the community colleges, and it's 12 terrible public policy, just terrible public 13 policy. All of us, I'm sure got up and talked 14 how important it is to have a well educated 15 society, well trained workers, we're competing 16 with Japan and Germany, you got that whole 17 litany, everything you like to get up and say is 18 that, but here we have in this state an 19 excellent or at least the foundations or the 20 structure of an excellent higher education 21 system, but we haven't been funding it. 22 Now, you come along with this 23 bill, and you say, O.K., well, we're worried, 4029 1 tuition has been going up, so before you can 2 increase tuition you've got to reduce your 3 expenditures. Well, what are the expenditures? 4 There's staff, they're maintaining classrooms, 5 their courses, and so on, so you're giving 6 access if you're really achieving that but at 7 the expense of the education that needs to be 8 provided. 9 I would rather see a 10 determination, a commitment here on the part of 11 this legislative body to say that we've got to 12 bring the expenditures of community colleges up 13 to an appropriate level. That, I submit to you, 14 is the answer, not this bill. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 16 the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 18 act shall take effect immediately. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 20 the roll. 21 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 22 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 23 the negative on Calendar Number 909 are Senators 4030 1 Espada, Galiber, Leichter, Paterson, Present and 2 Waldon. Ayes 42, nays six. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 4 bill is passed. 5 Senator Present, that's the last 6 bill. There are a couple of motions on the 7 floor. 8 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 9 recognize Senator Paterson, please. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 11 Paterson. 12 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 13 with unanimous consent, I'd like to be recorded 14 in the negative on Calendar Number 31. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 16 Paterson will be in the negative on Calendar 17 Number 31, without objection. 18 Senator Markowitz. 19 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Like to have 20 consent to be recorded in the negative on 21 Calendar Number 909. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 909, 23 Senator Markowitz is in the negative. 4031 1 Senator Libous. 2 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 3 on page 37, I offer the following amendments to 4 Calendar Number 494, Senate Print Number 3517-A 5 and ask that the said bill retain its place on 6 the Third Reading Calendar. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Bill is 8 amended, bill will retain its place. 9 Senator Kuhl. 10 SENATOR KUHL: Yes, Mr. 11 President. On page 31, I offer the following 12 amendments to Calendar Number 880, Senate Print 13 5221 and ask that said bill retain its place on 14 the Third Reading Calendar. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Bill 16 will retain its place. 17 SENATOR KUHL: Thank you. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: We have 19 one substitution to read, Senator Present, if 20 that's your pleasure. Secretary will read it. 21 THE SECRETARY: On page 11, 22 Senator Hannon moves to discharge the Committee 23 on Rules from Assembly Bill Number 6975 and 4032 1 substitute it for the identical Calendar Number 2 471. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 4 Substitution is ordered. 5 Are there any other motions on 6 the floor? 7 Senator Present. 8 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 9 may I suggest we stand at ease for a few 10 moments. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 12 Senate will stand at ease for a moment or two. 13 (The Senate stood at ease. ) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 15 Present. 16 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 18 Present. 19 SENATOR PRESENT: In behalf of 20 Senator Marino, I ask that his privileged 21 resolution title be read and may it be acted 22 upon. 23 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 4033 1 Resolution Number 1531, by Senator Marino, 2 paying tribute to David Holmes Greenfield, in 3 recognition of his contribution and 4 accomplishments over a distinguished career in 5 the financial services industry. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: All in 7 favor of the resolution, say aye. 8 (Response of "Aye.") 9 Those opposed nay. 10 (There was no response.) 11 The resolution is adopted. 12 Senator Present. 13 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 14 there being no further business, I move that we 15 adjourn until tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 17 Senate stands adjourned until tomorrow at the 18 regular hour. 19 (Whereupon, at 4:11 p.m., the 20 Senate adjourned.) 21 22 23