Monday, June 14, 1993

4762 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 June 14, 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 4763 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 ...At 2:38 p.m... 3 SENATOR PRESENT: I'd like to 4 announce there'll be an immediate meeting of the 5 Rules Committee in Room 332. 6 ...At 3:15 p.m... 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 8 Senate will come to order. Senators will please 9 find their seats. Please rise for the Pledge of 10 Allegiance to the Flag. 11 (The assemblage repeated the 12 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ) 13 Today in the absence of clergy, 14 we'll bow our heads in a moment of silent 15 prayer. 16 (A moment of silence was 17 observed. ) 18 The Secretary will begin by 19 reading the Journal. 20 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 21 Sunday, June 13th. The Senate met pursuant to 22 adjournment, Senator Bruno in the Chair upon 23 designation of the Temporary President. The 4764 1 Journal of Saturday, June 12th, was read and 2 approved. On motion, Senate adjourned. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Hearing 4 no objection, the Journal will stand as read. 5 Order of business: Presentation 6 of petitions. 7 Messages from the Assembly. 8 Messages from the Governor. 9 Reports of standing committees. 10 We have a report, Senator Present. May we read 11 it. Secretary will read a report of a standing 12 committee. 13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Marino, 14 from the Committee on Rules, reports the 15 following bills directly for third reading: 16 Senate Bill Number 5890, by 17 Senator Cook, authorizing the village of 18 Monticello to issue serial bonds; 19 281, by Senator Hannon, 20 authorizing the county of Nassau to accept an 21 application for real property tax exemption; 22 1264, by Senator Jones, directing 23 the Comptroller of the state to grant a hearing 4765 1 to Edward Palmer; 2 1392, by Senator -- Senators Daly 3 and others, an act to amend the Insurance Law, 4 in relation to multiple employer welfare 5 arrangements; 6 1598, by Senator Seward and 7 others, Real Property Tax Law; 8 1725-A, by Senator Sheffer and 9 others, Environmental Conservation Law; 10 1744, by Senator Bruno, Executive 11 Law; 12 1846, by Senator Kuhl, New York 13 State Urban Development Corporation Act; 14 1933, by Senator Skelos and 15 others, an act to amend the Public Health Law; 16 2048, by Senator Skelos, an act 17 to amend the Education Law, in relation to 18 shared personnel; 19 2275, by Senator Cook, Real 20 Property Tax Law; 21 2495-A, by Senator Seward, 22 authorize the town of Lansing, Tompkins County, 23 to use certain lands; 4766 1 3066, by Senator Levy, authorize 2 the city of New York to reconvey its interest in 3 certain real property; 4 3103-A, by Senator Padavan, 5 Alcoholic Beverage Control Law; 6 3172, by Senators Hannon and 7 others, an act to amend the Tax Law; 8 3185, by Senator Spano, 9 Retirement and Social Security Law; 10 32 -- 3276, by Senator Spano, 11 Retirement and Social Security Law; 12 3528-B, by Senator Farley, New 13 York State Printing and Public Documents Law; 14 3755, by Senator LaValle, 15 Education Law; 16 3827, by Senator Marino, General 17 Municipal Law; 18 3931, by Senator Holland, Public 19 Authorities Law; 20 4016, by Senator DeFrancisco, 21 Town Law and the Public Officers Law; 22 4040-A, by Senator Skelos, town 23 of Hempstead to lease certain park lands; 4767 1 4182, by Senator Skelos, 2 Retirement and Social Security Law; 3 4455-A, by Senator Cook, General 4 City Law; 5 4471, by Senator Lack, 6 Agriculture and Markets Law; 7 4604, by Senator Hannon, New York 8 City Civil Court Act; 9 4629-A, by Senator Volker, 10 provide service credit New York State local 11 employees retirement system; 12 4727, by Senator Larkin, transfer 13 of certain service credits; 14 4853, by Senator Stafford, 15 Environmental Conservation Law; 16 4901, by Senator Levy, Criminal 17 Procedure Law; 18 4907-A, by Senator Hannon, Public 19 Officers Law; 20 4988, by Senator Velella, an act 21 to amend the Insurance Law; 22 5093, by Senator Saland, 23 Environmental Conservation Law; 4768 1 5134, by Senator Libous, 2 authorize the county legislature of the county 3 of Tioga to dissolve solid waste district; 4 5200, by Senator Daly, 5 Environmental Conservation Law; 6 5310, by Senators Cook and 7 others, Education Law; 8 5446, by Senator Padavan, Penal 9 Law, and the Administrative Code of the city of 10 New York; 11 5735, by Senator Volker, General 12 Municipal Law; 13 5767, by Senator Seward, 14 existence of the village of Groton Industrial 15 Development Agency; 16 5771, by Senator Sheffer, Vehicle 17 and Traffic Law; 18 5786, by Senator Levy, amends 19 Chapter 380 of the Laws of 1992, amending the 20 General Municipal Law; 21 5801, by Senator Babbush, 22 authorize the city of New York to dispose of 23 certain public lands; 4769 1 5802, by Senator Gonzalez, 2 authorize the city of New York to reconvey its 3 interest in certain real property; 4 5804, by Senator Skelos, 5 Executive Law; 6 5792, by Senator Marino, an act 7 to amend the Village Law; 8 5868, by Senator Marino and 9 others, an act to amend the Executive Law; and 10 5869, by Senator Marino and 11 others, an act to amend the Tax Law. 12 All bills reported directly for 13 third reading. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: All 15 bills reported directly to third reading. 16 Continuing on with the order of 17 business: Reports of select committees. 18 Communications and reports from 19 state officers. 20 Motions and resolutions. 21 SENATOR SEWARD: Mr. President. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 23 Seward, I guess. I think I saw him first. 4770 1 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you, Mr. 2 President. 3 I'd like to place a sponsor's 4 star on Calendar Number 446. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Bill is 6 starred at the request of the sponsor. 7 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 9 Mega. 10 SENATOR MEGA: Mr. President. 11 I'd like to offer a series of amendments on the 12 following bills: 13 On page 8, Calendar 338, Assembly 14 Print 3316-B, behalf of Senator Sears; on behalf 15 of Senator Sears, on page 29, Calendar Print 16 Number 1051, Senate Print 5754; on behalf of 17 Senator Velella, page 34, Calendar 620, Assembly 18 -- Senate Print Number 2562; I withdraw that 19 last one temporarily, Mr. President. On page 20 18, Calendar Number 760, Print Number 4712, 21 Senator Levy; Senator Kuhl, page 27, Calendar 22 Number 1016, Senate Print 2454; on behalf of 23 Senator Libous, on page 38, Calendar Number 4771 1 8994, Senate Print Number 3927-A, and ask that 2 said bills retain their place on Third Reading 3 Calendar. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: All of 5 those bills are amended. The bills will retain 6 their places on the Third Reading Calendar. 7 Senator Mega. 8 SENATOR MEGA: On behalf of 9 Senator Velella, on page 34, I offer the 10 following amendments -- withdraw that. I ask 11 that the star be removed on the following bill: 12 On page 34, Calendar Number 620, on behalf of 13 Senator Velella. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Star is 15 removed at the request of the sponsor. 16 SENATOR MEGA: On that bill on 17 behalf of Senator Velella, Calendar 620, Print 18 Number 2562, I ask that said bill retain its 19 place on Third Reading Calendar and the bill be 20 amended. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 22 Amendments will be received. 23 Senator Saland. 4772 1 SENATOR MEGA: I'm not finished, 2 Mr. President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: He's 4 not finished. Senator Mega. 5 SENATOR MEGA: Behalf of Senator 6 Wright, I wish to call up his bill Senate 7 3806-A, recalled from the Assembly, which is now 8 at the desk. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 10 Secretary will read Senator Wright's bill. 11 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 12 Wright, Senate Bill Number 3806-A, an act to 13 amend the State Administrative Procedure Act. 14 SENATOR MEGA: I now move to 15 reconsider the vote by which this bill was 16 passed. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 18 the roll on reconsideration. 19 (The Secretary called the roll on 20 reconsideration.) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 23 bill is before the house, Senator Mega. 4773 1 SENATOR MEGA: On behalf of 2 Senator Spano, Mr. President, I move the 3 following bill be discharged from its respective 4 committee: 3512. 5 Thank you, Mr. President. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Without 7 objection -- without objection, on the prior 8 bill, the bill is amended and will retain its 9 place. 10 SENATOR MEGA: Thank you, Mr. 11 President. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 13 Saland. 14 SENATOR SALAND: Mr. President, 15 on page 27, I offer the following amendments to 16 Calendar Number 1012, Senate Print 686, and ask 17 that that bill retain its place on the Third 18 Reading Calendar. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Without 20 objection. 21 Senator Holland. 22 SENATOR HOLLAND: Right. Mr. 23 President, on behalf of Senator Levy, would you 4774 1 please remove the star on Calendars S. 186 and 2 S. 763. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Star is 4 removed. 5 SENATOR HOLLAND: On behalf of 6 Senator Velella, would you please star Senate 7 2842, Calendar 259. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 9 bill is starred. 10 SENATOR HOLLAND: And on behalf 11 of Senator Holland, would you star Calendar 377, 12 Senate 2817. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Bill is 14 starred at the request of the sponsor. 15 Senator Holland. Senator 16 Maltese. 17 SENATOR MALTESE: Mr. President, 18 on page number 7, I offer the following 19 amendments to Calendar Number 311, Senate Print 20 Number 1053, and ask that said bill retain its 21 place on the Third Reading Calendar. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Without 23 objection. 4775 1 Senator Present. 2 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 3 on behalf of Senator Marino, I move to recommit 4 Senate Print 513, Calendar 533 on the order of 5 third reading to the Committee on Local 6 Government with instructions to said committee 7 to strike the enacting clause. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Without 9 objection, it is done. 10 Are there any other motions on 11 the floor? 12 Senator Present. 13 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 14 will you recognize Senator DeFrancisco, please. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 16 DeFrancisco. 17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I have a 18 privileged resolution at the desk and request it 19 be read. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Title 21 or the whole thing? The Secretary will read the 22 entire resolution, Senator DeFrancisco. 23 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 4776 1 Resolution, by Senator DeFrancisco and others, 2 celebrating June 14, 1993 upon the occasion of 3 the observance of Flag Day in the state of New 4 York. 5 WHEREAS, it is the sense of this 6 legislative body that the flag of the United 7 States is more than an arbitrary designation, 8 more than a parenthetic symbol; it is the living 9 embodiment of those sacred ideals and principles 10 upon which this beloved nation was first 11 founded, for which countless thousands have 12 given their lives in the cause of America's 13 freedom; 14 More than an appendage of 15 circumstance, the flag of the United States 16 serves and has served since its very 17 introduction as the exhilarative expression of a 18 united people, as a consciously designed pattern 19 of hope and declaration, whose rationale is 20 anchored in the sacred and ineffable desire for 21 peace and freedom; 22 This legislative body is proud to 23 celebrate Flag Day, June 14, 1993 in the state 4777 1 of New York; 2 Flag Day is a unique event in the 3 national calendar in that it does not honor an 4 individual or a battle or any one event; it 5 honors an idea, an idea symbolized by stars and 6 stripes and the principles upon which and for 7 which the American nation was founded; 8 On June 14, 1777, in order to 9 establish an official flag for the new nation, 10 the Continental Congress passed the first Flag 11 Act. The stripes remind Americans of the 13 12 original colonies that gained them liberty; the 13 stars represent the states that are bound 14 together; 15 New York State, as an original 16 state, is represented twice in the flag in the 17 field of stars and the ranks of stripes. It was 18 in New York that the flag first flew in battle 19 during the American Revolution; 20 On June 14, 1892, Francis 21 Bellamy, a native New Yorker who was born in 22 Mount Morris and raised in Rome, New York, wrote 23 the Pledge of Allegiance; in 1942, it was 4778 1 officially adopted by Congress and included in 2 the Flag Code; 3 So long as the love of liberty 4 continues to burn in the hearts of mankind, the 5 American flag will stand as a symbol of man's 6 best hope. 7 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED 8 that this legislative body pause in its 9 deliberations to celebrate June 14, 1993 upon 10 the occasion of the observance of Flag Day in 11 the state of New York; and 12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a 13 copy of this resolution, suitably engrossed, be 14 transmitted to Thomas Burton, President, New 15 York State Veterans Council of Legislative 16 Representatives. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 18 DeFrancisco. 19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. As 20 chairman of the Veterans Committee of this body, 21 I'm proud that there are so many co-sponsors of 22 this bill, and I just think that it's important 23 to recognize that, despite the fact that we're 4779 1 all here representing our own constituents and 2 constituencies and that we maybe have different 3 ethnic and religious backgrounds, that we should 4 be remembering what the flag stands for and that 5 is that all of us are united for one common 6 burden of proof. Sometimes we get too carried 7 away in our parochial viewpoints, and I think 8 it's important to recognize this day in this 9 body at this time. 10 Thank you. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: On the 12 resolution, all in favor say aye. 13 (Response of "Aye.") 14 Those opposed nay. 15 (There was no response. ) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: If you 17 wish -- is the resolution open, I presume, 18 Senator DeFrancisco? 19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, it was 20 circulated. Whoever has not gone on is certainly 21 welcome to do so. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Almost 23 everybody is on it, I'm told. 4780 1 The resolution is adopted. 2 Are there any other motions on 3 the floor? 4 Senator Present. 5 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 6 may we take up the non-controversial calendar, 7 please. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 9 Non-controversial, the Secretary will read. 10 THE SECRETARY: On page 4, 11 Calendar Number 82, by Senator Halperin, Senate 12 Bill Number 32-B, an act to amend the Executive 13 Law. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 15 the last section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 17 act shall take effect immediately. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 19 the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 23 bill is passed. 4781 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 180, by Senator Spano, Senate Bill Number 3 1987-A, an act to amend the Civil Service Law. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 5 the last section. 6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 7 act shall take effect immediately. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 9 the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 13 bill is passed. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 229, by member of the Assembly D'Andrea, 16 Assembly Bill Number 4063-A, authorize the Fort 17 Ann Central School District to finance the 18 accumulated deficit. 19 SENATOR GOLD: Last section. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 21 the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 23 act shall take effect immediately. 4782 1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 2 the roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 6 bill is passed. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 244, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Bill Number 9 2964-A, Retirement and Social Security Law and 10 the Tax Law. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 12 the last section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 14 act shall take effect immediately. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 16 the roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51, nays 1, 19 Senator Kuhl recorded in the negative. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 21 bill is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 300, by Senator Pataki, Senate Bill Number 1982, 4783 1 Real Property Tax Law. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 5 act shall take effect immediately. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 7 the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 11 bill is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 420, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Bill Number 3526, 14 Retirement and Social Security Law. 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: Ayes 52. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 4784 1 bill is passed. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 494, by Senator Libous, Senate Bill Number 4 3517-C, an act to amend the Insurance Law, in 5 relation to prohibiting discrimination. 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 52. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 15 bill is passed. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 504, Assembly Print Number 1696, an act to amend 18 the Judiciary Law. 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 4785 1 the roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 5 bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 562, by Senator Present, Senate Bill Number 8 2956-A, an act to amend the Tax 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 52. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 18 bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 567, by Senator Seward, Senate Bill Number 21 4021-A, an act to amend the Tax Law. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 23 the last section. 4786 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 8 bill is passed. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 663, by Senator Stavisky, Senate Bill Number 11 426, an act to amend the Penal Law. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 13 the last section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 15 act shall take effect immediately. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 17 the roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 21 bill is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 685, by Senator Lack, Senate Bill Number 4044, 4787 1 an act to amend the Public Authorities Law. 2 SENATOR GOLD: Lay aside, please. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay 4 that bill aside. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 712, by Senator Velella, Senate Bill Number 7 2589-A, Insurance Law, in relation to annuity 8 contracts. 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 52. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 18 bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 735, by Senator Sears, Senate Bill Number 4546, 21 an act to amend the Agriculture and Markets 22 Law. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: You can 4788 1 read the last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 3 act shall take effect immediately. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 5 the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 9 bill is passed. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 770, by Senator Lack, Senate - 12 SENATOR GOLD: Lay it aside. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Laid 14 aside. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 840, by Senator Sears. 17 VOICE: Lay aside, please. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay 19 that bill aside. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 877, by the Assembly Committee on Rules, 22 Assembly Bill Number 7602-B, an act to amend the 23 Agriculture and Markets Law. 4789 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 51, nays 1, 9 Senator Libous recorded in the negative. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 11 bill is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 941, by Senator Volker, Senate Bill Number 14 3950-C, an act to amend the Tax Law. 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: Ayes 52. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 4790 1 bill is passed. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 983, by Senator Volker, Senate Bill Number 4 1072-A, an act to amend the Tax Law. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 6 the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 8 act shall take effect immediately. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 10 the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 14 bill is passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 993, by Senator Seward, Senate Bill Number 17 3921-B, an act to amend the Tax Law. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 19 the last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 21 act shall take effect immediately. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 23 the roll. 4791 1 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 4 bill is passed. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 1005, by Senator Lack, Senate Bill Number 5545 7 A, an act to amend the Public Health Law. 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 52. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 17 bill is passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 1007, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Bill Number 20 5758, amends Chapter 741 of the Laws of 1981. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: You can 22 read the last section. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 4792 1 act shall take effect immediately. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 3 the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 7 bill is passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 1013, by Senator Holland, Senate Bill Number 10 736. 11 SENATOR HOLLAND: Lay aside for 12 today. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay 14 that bill aside for today. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 1014, by Senator Pataki, Senate Bill Number 17 2080, Real Property Tax Law. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 19 the last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 21 act shall take effect immediately. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 23 the roll. 4793 1 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 4 bill is passed. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 1015, by Senator Tully, Senate Bill Number 2428, 7 an act to amend the General Municipal Law. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 9 Tully has a home rule message here at the desk. 10 You can read 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 52. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: That 18 bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 1034, by Senator LaValle, Senate Bill Number 21 4902-A. 22 SENATOR PRESENT: Lay aside, 23 please. 4794 1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay 2 that bill aside. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 1040, by Senator Saland, Senate Bill Number 5 5374, General City Law, excluding the city of 6 Beacon from provisions concerning plumbing. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 10 act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 16 bill is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 1041, by Senator Volker, Senate Bill Number 19 5394, authorizing the village of Hamburg to 20 discontinue the use and sell certain park 21 lands. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 23 Volker has a home rule message here at the 4795 1 desk. You can read the last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 3 act shall take effect immediately. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 5 the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 9 bill is passed. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 1044, by Senator Wright, Senate Bill Number 12 5472, State Administrative Procedure Act. 13 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Lay it 14 aside. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay 16 that bill aside. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 1047, by Senator Larkin, Senate Bill Number 19 5546-A, authorizing the village of Walden to 20 lease certain park lands. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 22 Larkin has a home rule message here at the 23 desk. You can read the last section. 4796 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 8 bill is passed. 9 THE SECRETARY: 1049, by Senator 10 Larkin, Senate Bill Number 5745, authorize the 11 payment of transportation aid to the village of 12 Joel Union Free School District. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 14 Larkin has a local fiscal impact note here at 15 the desk. You can read the last section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 17 act shall take effect immediately. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 19 the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: That 23 bill is passed. 4797 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 1050, by Senator Spano, Senate Bill Number - 3 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Lay it 4 aside. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Laid 6 aside. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 1052, by Senator Cook, Senate Bill Number 9 5757-B, an act to amend the Tax Law. 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 52. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 19 bill is passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 1053, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Bill Number 22 5759, amends Chapter 530 of the Laws of 1988. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 4798 1 the last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 3 act shall take effect immediately. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 5 the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 9 bill is passed. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 1056, by Senator Present, Senate Bill Number 12 5785, an act to amend the General Municipal 13 Law. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 15 the last section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 17 act shall take effect immediately. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 19 the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 23 bill is passed. 4799 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 1057, by Senator Libous, Senate Bill Number 3 5791, Uniform Justice Court Act. 4 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay aside. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay 6 that bill aside. 7 Senator Present, that's the first 8 go through. We have one that went direct to 9 third. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 1059, reported directly for third reading 12 earlier today, by Senator Cook, Senate Bill 13 Number 5890, relation to authorizing the village 14 of Monticello to issue serial bonds. 15 SENATOR COOK: Lay it aside for 16 the day, please. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay it 18 aside for today. 19 Senator Present, that's the first 20 time through. 21 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 22 take up the controversial calendar, please. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 4800 1 Controversial. Secretary will read it. 2 THE SECRETARY: On page 14, 3 Calendar Number 685, by Senator Lack, Senate 4 Bill Number 4044, an act to amend the Public 5 Authorities Law. 6 SENATOR LACK: Mr. President, has 7 my time arrived? 8 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Explanation. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 10 Explanation. Senator Lack. 11 SENATOR LACK: Mr. President, 12 last year, we passed Senate 7506-A, which was 13 also passed by the Assembly and was sent to the 14 Governor but, of course, now under a recent 15 Court of Appeals decision, the Governor who then 16 asked for us to take it back, we can't do that 17 any more, but we took it back last year. 18 The bill is very simple. It 19 basically said, as an amendment to the Railroad 20 Law, that when railroad police were discharged 21 and there was an arbitration hearing and they 22 were restored to duty. Under the vagrant - 23 vagaries of current New York law, of all things 4801 1 the Superintendent of Police of the New York 2 State Police can overrule unilaterally and 3 arbitrarily the decision of the arbitration 4 panel and refuse to reinstate the railroad 5 police officer who has one an arbitration 6 proceeding and has been ordered to be 7 reinstated. 8 The bill is not signed and, in 9 effect, the Superintendent of State Police still 10 controls the police forces, as it were, of the 11 Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North. 12 Taking a little different 13 approach this year, member of the Assembly 14 Seminerio and myself, and we have S. 4044, which 15 would authorize the Metropolitan Transportation 16 Authority to maintain totally separate commuter 17 railroad police departments for each commuter 18 railroad under its jurisdiction. We're trying 19 to reach the same end point of the means in the 20 bill we passed last year and which the Governor 21 asked that we withdraw, and we did. That is to 22 remove the control of the Superintendent of the 23 New York State Police from that of the commuter 4802 1 railroads and, when the bill says establish a 2 separate police force for each railroad, as 3 those of us from Long Island and Westchester 4 will tell you, of course, there are separate 5 police forces already for each railroad. This 6 would just give those two railroads and its 7 police independent control over what happens and 8 arbitration decisions for those railroads 9 without the interference of the Superintendent 10 of the New York State Police. 11 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 13 Gold. 14 SENATOR GOLD: First of all, I 15 should thank Senator Lack for laying the bill 16 aside as many times as he has. I do appreciate 17 it. Senator, I have a question for you. 18 SENATOR LACK: Sure. 19 SENATOR GOLD: The nuts and bolts 20 of this bill, as I get it, is that the role of 21 the State Police with regard to this operation 22 would be out the window and this will now all be 23 strictly within the MTA; is that correct? 4803 1 SENATOR LACK: Yes, sir. 2 SENATOR GOLD: All right. If you 3 will yield to another question, Senator. 4 Senator, if the MTA itself does 5 not want this, if the MTA feels that it can best 6 serve the public by having some involvement by 7 the Superintendent of State Police in this 8 situation, where the expertise that is developed 9 by the Superintendent in all of the work that 10 his office does with police can help the MTA in 11 developing and dealing with their police 12 department, why do we want to override the MTA 13 in that design? 14 SENATOR LACK: Well, Mr. 15 President, the reason for that, Senator Gold, is 16 simple. The only real way in which the 17 Superintendent of the New York State Police 18 still impacts upon, for the most part -- I'll be 19 charitable -- these autonomous police 20 departments that exist within the MTA is to, in 21 effect, be able to overrule a hearing of an 22 arbitration panel and, of course, these 23 arbitration panels have been set up through 4804 1 collective bargaining and they exist and now, 2 nominally in New York State law, the 3 Superintendent of the New York State Police can, 4 regardless of the fact that these arbitration 5 panels have been honestly established through 6 the collective bargaining process, overrule that 7 process and unilaterally the Superintendent, by 8 himself or herself, can set aside a decision 9 reached by arbitration. 10 That's why I think it's wrong, 11 and that's why I think this slenderest of 12 umbilical cords that still exists in the 13 Superintendent of State Police should be cut 14 away and, Senator Gold, if I for a moment 15 thought that there was really supervisory 16 control by the Superintendent of State Police 17 over these police departments which, on a day by 18 day basis the Superintendent was making a 19 managerial decision or administrative decisions 20 actually running these departments, I would 21 agree with you and I wouldn't have submitted 22 this bill. 23 As a practical matter, the way 4805 1 this stands now is that the administration of 2 the MTA gets two bites at the apple. It can 3 oppose, in an arbitration proceeding, the 4 reinstatement of an officer and if the MTA loses 5 in that arbitration proceeding, it can take 6 another bite of the apple, which the police 7 officer who wins cannot, and go to the 8 Superintendent of State Police and say, Mr. 9 Superintendent, we have -- the administration of 10 the MTA, even though we've lost the arbitration, 11 still don't think you should allow for the 12 reappointment of this officer, and have the 13 officer's reappointment blocked. 14 SENATOR GOLD: Will the Senator 15 yield to another question? 16 SENATOR LACK: Surely, Senator. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 18 Lack. 19 SENATOR GOLD: On page 2, 20 Senator, there is language which talks about 21 lieutenants, and where is that other - 22 lieutenants, sergeants, it does not mention 23 capacities. Is there a reason for that? Would 4806 1 this bill stop the MTA from having the rank of 2 captain which I understand is a -- an important 3 rank to them in terms of the structure? 4 SENATOR LACK: Quite frankly, 5 Senator, I don't know. It -- it does speak of 6 lieutenants, sergeants and police officers and a 7 detective squad and chiefs and deputy chiefs. 8 Why the absence of the rank of captain, I don't 9 know, but I will tell you this, that the Police 10 Benevolent Association, the Long Island Rail 11 Road Police, which comprises all of these 12 officers, has issued a memorandum strongly in 13 support of the bill. 14 So I take it, it's in keeping 15 within the administrative structure that the 16 railroad has been living under -- well, Long 17 Island Rail Road probably has been living under 18 all these years. 19 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President, if 20 the Senator will yield to one more question. 21 SENATOR LACK: Sure. 22 SENATOR GOLD: Senator, I 23 understand that the police do support it and you 4807 1 understand we have a draft memo from the MTA 2 which indicates some opposition, although I did 3 not get a final memo, but one of the arguments 4 that they raise is whether or not, you know what 5 -- not whether or not, but what happens to 6 captains in this situation. 7 Apparently they do have captains 8 and what I'm concerned about -- and this is why 9 I'm asking you, if we pass the legislation, are 10 they now no longer authorized to have the 11 captains? How are they handled? It creates that 12 kind of an anomaly. 13 SENATOR LACK: It just says the 14 authority to detail persons in the rank of 15 lieutenant or railroad police to serve in higher 16 ranks, Senator, without stating what those ranks 17 are. This -- this bill would merely state that 18 there has to be X ranks, lieutenants, sergeants 19 and officers. It leaves up to the Authority, 20 quite frankly, which would be the MTA, the 21 ability to detail officers above the rank of 22 lieutenant to higher ranks. 23 I would agree with you that's 4808 1 normally another police officer, the function of 2 captain or higher, or higher than captain in 3 most of the large municipal police departments I 4 know about, where the civil service rank is in 5 effect, and at captain and if you want to be an 6 inspector or deputy inspector, something like 7 that, that would be done by the appointing 8 authority. 9 This appears to leave that to the 10 Authority above the ranks of lieutenant. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: You can 12 read the last section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 14 act shall take effect immediately. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 16 the roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 20 bill is passed. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 770, by Senator Lack, Senate Bill Number 1639, 23 an act to amend the Workers' Compensation Law. 4809 1 SENATOR GOLD: Yeah, if you would 2 wait one second? I'm waitin' for Senator 3 Stachowski. 4 SENATOR LACK: He's on his way 5 in. 6 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 8 Present, do you want to stand easy for a 9 moment? 10 SENATOR GOLD: We're ready to 11 go. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 13 Lack for an explanation. 14 SENATOR LACK: Yes, thank you, 15 Mr. President. 16 We are in the process of making 17 some major changes in Workers' Compensation, and 18 while this bill is at best a technical change 19 and not a major change, the one thing that it 20 will do is require that certain assessments that 21 are imposed upon Workers' Comp. insurers and 22 self-insured employers that are now rolled into 23 the overall bill premium, as it were, that's 4810 1 paid by most of the employers in this state 2 would be separately set forth on the bill and 3 show on the invoice from an insurer to an 4 employer and show as part of that cost, the cost 5 of the -- the administrative cost of running the 6 Workers' Comp. Board and some of the specialized 7 funds that are involved with the Comp. Board 8 which, in and by themselves, are not rated; that 9 is, that the premiums for those do not vary from 10 one employer to another employer and, as a 11 result, employers who are rated will not suffer 12 a penalty because parts of their rating includes 13 these assessments, and these assessments outside 14 of the rating that the employer receives will be 15 separately set forth. 16 Since that will also require an 17 adjustment in the funds to be received as parts 18 of the Workers' Compensation premium base to 19 keep this revenue neutral, as it were, there is 20 an imposed premium tax, it's a technical matter 21 which is included which will keep a neutral 22 revenue base until December 31st, 1996 at which 23 time it expires. 4811 1 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: That it? 2 SENATOR LACK: Yes, sir. 3 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: O.K. I have 4 some questions. 5 SENATOR LACK: Of course. 6 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Of course. 7 First, Jim, or Senator, would you yield for 8 those questions, and Mr. President? 9 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 10 Lack, will you yield - 11 SENATOR LACK: Sure. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: -- to 13 questions from Senator Stachowski? 14 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: In 15 determining the assessment rates, can you tell 16 us how the difference -- how it would be for 17 self-insured groups and self-insurers with 18 deductibles versus insurers? 19 SENATOR LACK: The chair 20 determines the assessment rates. 21 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Who? Pardon 22 me? 23 SENATOR LACK: The chair of the 4812 1 Workers' Comp. Board would determine all 2 assessment rates under this bill. 3 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Do we -- do 4 we have an idea that they are able to do this? I 5 mean as opposed to now the insurance people 6 handle this? 7 SENATOR LACK: That's not 8 correct, Senator. Excuse me, Mr. President. 9 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: The Workers' 10 Comp. people will be able to handle this? 11 SENATOR LACK: Mr. President, 12 Senator Stachowski, that's done now by the 13 Workers' Compensation Board itself. It's not 14 reflected separately in the bill that an 15 employer receives, but it is certainly reflected 16 in the aggregate that the employer receives and 17 from the employer's standpoint the difference is 18 that those assessments are going to be reflected 19 on a separate line in the same way that we had 20 occasionally established, let's say, an income 21 tax surcharge on a telephone bill and the 22 telephone company very nicely includes William 23 Stachowski, your telephone bill, New York State 4813 1 Legislature imposed one-quarter percent and on 2 that they all know who to call. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 4 Stachowski. 5 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: The -- the 6 tax on the insurers, will there be some sort of 7 assessment on all four groups, or is that -- the 8 premium tax is only on private insurers? 9 SENATOR LACK: On everybody. 10 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: The premium 11 tax will exclude now the agent's commissions? 12 SENATOR LACK: The what? 13 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Agent's 14 commissions on the insurers. 15 SENATOR LACK: That's correct. 16 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: The agent's 17 commissions will now be excluded from the 18 premium tax? 19 SENATOR LACK: They will now be 20 excluded from the rating portion and from the 21 premium tax, but they're still going to be 22 there. 23 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: I understand 4814 1 they'll still get a commission. The question 2 was, it will be excluded from the tax collected? 3 SENATOR LACK: Correct. 4 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: And because 5 of that -- and this is a question that we've got 6 from the Governor's counsel, is that the 7 Governor's counsel projects that the assessments 8 will now decrease as a result of this from $40 9 million to $7 million in this -- in this new 10 system that will be set up. 11 SENATOR LACK: Well, as you know, 12 Senator, the Governor some time thereafter - 13 and you can tell from the bill numbers 14 themselves, my bill is S. 1639, now carried by 15 member of the Assembly Barbaro, and the 16 Governor's bill also carried by me is S. 4759 - 17 so from the numbering sequence alone you can 18 tell that the Governor's proposal which 19 essentially does the same as my proposal came 20 out some three or four months after my 21 proposal. 22 The one big difference, which is 23 not the assessment, tax difference or any of 4815 1 that, the one big difference between the 2 Governor's -- the one between my bill and the 3 Governor's bill is that my bill would require 4 the separation of the assessment cost on the 5 bill, on the invoice, received by the employer. 6 In other words, you can no longer commingle the 7 costs of the Workers' Compensation Board 8 administration and the other funds that are 9 involved in the whole fee for Workers' Comp. 10 insurance. 11 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: If, in fact, 12 you are carrying the Governor's bill also and - 13 SENATOR LACK: Pardon? 14 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: You are 15 carrying the Governor's bill also, I'm aware of 16 that, and at least according to the information 17 I was given in these questions, it more 18 accurately reflects the recommendations of the 19 commission, Temporary Commission on Workmen's 20 Comp., why wouldn't we be doing that bill at 21 this time rather than that one? 22 SENATOR LACK: Well, I think, 23 quite frankly, of the two, I like my bill better 4816 1 than the Governor's bill, Senator, and second of 2 all, I do like that feature of my bill, the 3 earlier bill, which requires the delineation and 4 the separation of administrative costs which the 5 Governor keeps closed up in his bill. 6 I -- with all the other things, 7 as you know, that we're doing with Workers' 8 Comp. right now and with the projected 19 9 percent premium increase that will take place 10 the first of next month which will increase the 11 Workers' Compensation premium base in this state 12 to over $5 billion, I think it's high time that 13 some of the real costs to the Workers' 14 Compensation Board, i.e., the costs of its 15 administration, the cost of the reopened case 16 fund, the cost of the special disability fund 17 and the cost of the board itself, will now be 18 known, as it were, and known to any employer at 19 least, that, in other words, if I can make it 20 up, an employer pays $100 in premiums, the 21 employer will get a separate bill, will get a 22 bill that says, again making it up, $90 for 23 insurance for Workers' Comp., $10 for 4817 1 administrative costs to the Workers' Comp. 2 Board. 3 I think it's good to start 4 focusing on that. I can understand as an 5 executive agency of government how the Governor 6 might not want those separate costs put out and 7 required by law. I prefer, while both bills - 8 while both bills handle the separation for 9 assessment situations and rating situations so 10 that there won't be a penalty, both bills do 11 that same thing. My bill takes the extra step. 12 The Governor's bill does not. 13 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: One other 14 question, and it's kind of repetitive, but 15 besides this separation on the listing of the 16 expenses, it still does always not include the 17 agent's commission in the figuring of the 18 premium tax, your bill, this one as opposed to 19 the Governor's bill. 20 SENATOR LACK: I don't think the 21 Governor's bill does either. 22 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: I think it 23 does, my understanding. 4818 1 SENATOR LACK: The Governor's 2 bill wouldn't allow agents to collect money, 3 make a commission on the assessments at all. My 4 bill does. 5 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Last 6 question: Workmen's Comp. Board had a memo out 7 and I know that -- I know we had a bit of 8 confusion on this in that Workmen's Comp. had a 9 memo out that they don't like getting these - 10 oppose the shift of rate-setting duties to the 11 board. 12 SENATOR LACK: I'm sorry. They 13 don't what? 14 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: The board 15 has opposition to them getting this -- the rate 16 setting duties. Did -- is that still the case? 17 SENATOR LACK: Well, again, for 18 what the bill accomplishes which is to hold up 19 the first time to those who are paying the price 20 what the price costs. If I were the Workers' 21 Comp. Board, I think, tongue in cheek, I 22 wouldn't be much in favor of this bill either 23 and they certainly haven't been encouraging us 4819 1 to pass it. 2 As you well know, Workers' Comp. 3 expenses have never been charged to general fund 4 in this state and sometimes, as a result, since 5 they're not a general fund charge and don't come 6 out of the tax funds of this state, they haven't 7 been looked at perhaps, shall I say, as strongly 8 as some of the other costs that we have in the 9 state and now with the premium base about to go 10 to $5 billion, with a 19 percent increase, I 11 know many of the members here and certainly 12 myself, are receiving many, many more inquiries 13 about the cost to the Workers' Compensation 14 system. 15 By highlighting and separating 16 out the administrative costs from the insurance 17 costs, we start to get a fairer picture of 18 what's involved. If I was at the Workers' 19 Compensation Board, I don't think I'd be much in 20 favor of this, but I think everybody else in the 21 state is. 22 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Could I ask 23 you one last question? 4820 1 SENATOR LACK: Sure. 2 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Do you have 3 any idea why the Governor's counsel's office 4 then feels that this bill is going to cost $33 5 million more than the other bill? It's going to 6 cost the state $33 million more? 7 SENATOR LACK: We have all sorts 8 -- as you know, Senator, if you've seen the 9 memoranda which says this is a revenue neutral 10 bill, I've described it, I think, in my opinion 11 and the opinion of the experts and the actuaries 12 and those who are involved in keeping these 13 statistics, do the revenue neutrality of the 14 bill, what the bill does and I, as I said, I 15 understand the differences between the 16 Governor's bill and my bill. 17 It is not over money, and I don't 18 know anybody who thinks, quite frankly, it's 19 over money because this bill, for example, was 20 not requested by the Senate Finance Committee, 21 because there would be a monetary cost to the 22 state or there would be a realization of less 23 money by the Workers' Compensation system as a 4821 1 result of passing -- passing this bill. 2 It is a revenue neutral bill and 3 has been considered by all to be just that. I 4 have no memo sent to me from the Governor. 5 There are no memoranda in opposition other than 6 the Workers' Comp. memo, that have been filed on 7 the bill. 8 I can tell you this, that all 9 employer and insurance groups that I know of are 10 certainly in favor of this bill, because they 11 want to see the separate designation of 12 administrative costs of the system on those 13 invoices. 14 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Let me ask 15 you one more question, if you don't mind then. 16 SENATOR LACK: Sure, Senator. 17 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Do you 18 believe at this time that if we, in fact, pass 19 this bill, that Assemblyman Barbaro is planning 20 on trying to pass this bill also in the Assembly 21 or would he prefer to proceed with the 22 Governor's bill? 23 SENATOR LACK: As far as I know, 4822 1 member of the Assembly Barbaro, by introducing 2 this bill, no mean feat in and by itself 3 because, if you know the chair of the Assembly 4 Labor Committee like I know the chair of the 5 Assembly Labor Committee, I can give you a long 6 list of bills that he just won't introduce. The 7 fact that he has introduced this bill and it is 8 under active consideration by the Assembly means 9 that the bill stands a very good chance of 10 passing the Assembly, which is why this bill is 11 being moved in this house at this time. 12 As you know, Senator, as -- since 13 you're ranking minority member on the Senate 14 Labor Committee, this bill was let out a long 15 time ago from the Senate Labor Committee and has 16 been sitting where it is waiting for some 17 movement in the Assembly and I have some reason 18 to believe that by member of the Assembly 19 Barbaro's introduction of the bill that he is 20 planning to -- to move it and he, like I, has 21 introduced both versions of the bill. 22 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: On the 23 bill. 4823 1 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: On the 2 bill, Senator Stachowski. 3 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Since -- I 4 appreciate the explanation given by Senator Lack 5 and I know there's no written memos, but somehow 6 in doing our research, we came up with the 7 Governor's counsel giving us that this bill will 8 cost $33 million more than the other bill and 9 also in trying to find out if this bill is going 10 to move in the Assembly, so far we don't have an 11 indication that it's going to, even though 12 Senator -- I mean Senator Lack tells us that, by 13 Assemblyman Barbaro sponsoring it as opposed to 14 some other bills that he wouldn't even sponsor, 15 that he feels this bill will move forward and 16 because of those questions, I, at this time, 17 find myself very hard-pressed because I like the 18 idea of separation and showing people what the 19 administrative costs are, but the problem I have 20 is that since I have these other pieces of 21 information that I'm having a hard time dealing 22 with, I would probably ask that our people 23 oppose the bill. 4824 1 Thank you. 2 SENATOR LACK: Mr. President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 4 Lack. 5 SENATOR LACK: I certainly 6 appreciate Senator Stachowski's comment, but 7 it's very hard, as always, in this body to show 8 a negative and if anybody in the sound of this 9 voice, including counsel to the Governor, the 10 Workers' Comp. Board, et cetera, would care 11 since this bill has been around for a long time 12 and after it was introduced late last session, 13 would care to issue in writing a memorandum that 14 they think this costs more money and delineate 15 why, I'd be happy to look at it. 16 But this isn't something that 17 flew over the transom yesterday evening. I said 18 this bill has been around for a year. It's been 19 discussed, it's been looked at. It's been 20 statistically reviewed and it is only now when 21 it is approaching passage in this house and 22 starting to move in the Assembly by coming under 23 the sponsorship of the Majority member in charge 4825 1 of the Labor Committee, that suddenly there is 2 innuendo, no memoranda, nothing in writing that 3 this bill costs $33 million. 4 In my tenure in this house and in 5 this Legislature, I have yet to see if an agency 6 or certainly the second floor can show that 7 something proposed by the Senate Republicans is 8 going to cost $33 million more than what is 9 currently out there, that there is always a 10 plethora of memoranda saying what spendthrift 11 Republicans we are, and indeed now there is 12 absolutely nothing except a telephone call, stop 13 them from delineating the administrative costs 14 of the Workers' Comp. Board. 15 Just say it's $33 million more? 16 Where does that 33 million come from? Who 17 knows? But certainly none of the people who are 18 paying the 33 million, the employers, the 19 insurance companies who have totally supported 20 this bill, think it's going to cost more. They 21 all think, quite frankly and hopefully, that 22 eventually it will reduce the administrative 23 costs of the Workers' Compensation system, and 4826 1 so do I. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 5 act shall take effect immediately. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 7 the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 9 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 10 the negative on Calendar Number 770 are Senators 11 Gold, Leichter, Onorato and Stachowski. Ayes 48, 12 nays 4. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 14 bill is passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 840, by Senator Sears, Senate Bill Number 17 3471-A, an act to amend the Public Health Law 18 and the Executive Law. 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 4827 1 the roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 5 bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 1034, by Senator LaValle, Senate Bill Number 8 4902-A, an act to amend Chapter 699 of the Laws 9 of 1947. 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 52. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 19 bill is passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 1044, by Senator Wright, Senate Bill Number 22 5472, an act to amend the State Administrative 23 Procedure Act. 4828 1 SENATOR GOLD: Could we get one 2 day on this one? 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 4 Wright, can he have one day on this bill? 5 SENATOR WRIGHT: Yes. 6 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay the 8 bill aside for today. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 1050, by Senator Spano, Senate Bill Number 5750, 11 an act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 13 the last section. 14 SENATOR GOLD: Can we -- Senator 15 Spano, could we have one day on this bill? 16 Everything else passed. 17 SENATOR SPANO: One second. 18 Lay aside one day, please. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Lay the 20 bill aside for today. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 1057, Senator Libous moves to discharge the 23 Committee on Rules from Assembly Bill Number 4829 1 8183, and substitute it for his identical 2 Calendar Number 1057. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: 4 Substitution is ordered. 5 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. President, 6 would Senator Libous yield to a question? 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 8 Libous, will you yield for a question on the 9 bill? 10 SENATOR LIBOUS: Certainly, Mr. 11 President, certainly. 12 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator, I 13 appreciate this is not a momentous bill although 14 I don't want to denigrate your bill. You've 15 worked hard to bring it before us. 16 SENATOR LIBOUS: On the contrary, 17 Mr. President, I thought all my bills were 18 momentous bills. 19 SENATOR LEICHTER: But somebody 20 called to my attention that earlier this session 21 we passed a Cook bill, which was generic which 22 covered all of these village courts and 23 permitting them to hold sessions within the town 4830 1 in which they're located, and I just wondered 2 why we needed a special bill for the village of 3 Port Dickinson. 4 SENATOR LIBOUS: I don't know if 5 the Cook bill is law, Mr. President. If Senator 6 Cook is here, maybe he could -- I was told this 7 was needed because of the situation in the 8 village of Port Dick'. 9 SENATOR LEICHTER: It's -- it's a 10 Cook-Tonko bill, and it seemed like such an 11 eminently reasonable bill and it certainly 12 should apply to all of the villages, not only 13 the village of Port Dickinson. 14 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 15 I'm not -- I'm not familiar, we may have already 16 done that, but I know that the Assembly just 17 passed this bill, and I know that Assemblyman 18 Tallon sponsors it over there, and I would guess 19 that his office should have discovered it if it 20 wasn't needed. I really can't answer. 21 SENATOR LEICHTER: I might just 22 suggest, if you look at Senator Cook's bill, 23 which is Senate 2989, which passed unanimously 4831 1 here on March 30th. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Read 3 the last section of the Assembly bill. 4 Substitution is ordered. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 6 act shall take effect immediately. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Call 8 the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 12 bill is passed. 13 Senator Present, that completes 14 the calendar. 15 Senator Gold, why do you rise? 16 Senator Leichter? 17 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yeah, Mr. 18 President. May I have unanimous consent to make 19 a brief statement? 20 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Without 21 objection, I guess. 22 SENATOR LEICHTER: O.K. Yes, Mr. 23 President, today is June 14th. Tomorrow is the 4832 1 last day on which rent control and rent 2 regulations apply in the state of New York. I'm 3 really most concerned that this system, which is 4 so vital to hundreds of thousands, if not 5 millions of New Yorkers, is going to expire 6 because of the unwillingness of the Senate 7 Majority to put a bill on the floor either as a 8 simple extender or Senator Goodman's bill which 9 would make rent control permanent. 10 I think we're really playing with 11 fire to allow this to go down to the last 12 minute, and I think there is an effort by some 13 people here to scuttle rent control. It would 14 have a devastating effect on, as I said, hun 15 dreds of thousands of New Yorkers and particu 16 larly on some of our urban and suburban areas. 17 I would hope very much that we 18 would be able to address that issue fairly 19 tomorrow, and I would also hope that these 20 various bills extending rent control would be 21 put out on the floor. I see that on the 22 calendar we have bills by, I believe it's 23 Senator Bruno or maybe Senator Hannon, which 4833 1 would scuttle rent control. 2 Put all the bills out. Don't 3 meet behind closed doors and do the work that 4 the Legislature ought to do in the public in the 5 closed conference room of the Senate Republican 6 Majority. These bills deserve to be on the 7 floor and not to have a minority of this Senate, 8 although it may be a majority of the Senate 9 Republicans, make these decisions. 10 But the fact is that it is a dire 11 situation for hundreds of thousands of New 12 Yorkers. We have an obligation to act on this 13 important issue. We must do so by tomorrow or 14 rent control will terminate. 15 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Senator 17 Gold. 18 SENATOR GOLD: Yeah, I just 19 wanted to make an announcement. I believe we're 20 at the end of the calendar, Senator. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: Yes, we 22 are. 23 SENATOR GOLD: Senator Ohrenstein 4834 1 has directed me, requested me, asked me to, in a 2 really very nice way, to announce that there 3 will be a policy meeting immediately after the 4 session, and a Minority Conference tomorrow at 5 2:00 p.m., approximately, in his conference 6 room. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: There 8 will be a Democratic policy committee meeting in 9 their conference room right after session. 10 Are there any other 11 announcements? Senator Present. 12 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 13 there being no further business, I move we 14 adjourn until tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT FARLEY: The 16 Senate will stand adjourned until tomorrow at 17 3:00 p.m. 18 (Whereupon at 4:21 p.m., the 19 Senate adjourned. ) 20 21 22 23