Tuesday, September 7, 1993

8699 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 September 7, 1993 11 4:27 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 LT. GOVERNOR STAN LUNDINE, President 19 STEPHEN F. SLOAN, Secretary 20 21 22 23 8700 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will 3 come to order. The Senators will please find 4 their places. 5 I'd like to ask everyone present 6 to rise and repeat the Pledge of Allegiance with 7 me. 8 (The assemblage repeated the 9 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 10 Please be seated. 11 In the absence of visiting 12 clergy, may we now bow our heads in a moment of 13 silence. 14 (A moment of silence was 15 observed.) 16 Secretary will read the Journal. 17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Satur 18 day, September 4th. The Senate met pursuant to 19 adjournment, Senator Bruno in the Chair upon 20 designation of the Temporary President. The 21 Journal of Wednesday, September 1st, was read 22 and approved. On motion, Senate adjourned. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Hearing no 8701 1 objection, the Journal stands approved as read. 2 Presentation of petitions. 3 Messages from the Assembly. 4 Messages from the Governor. 5 Reports of standing committees. 6 Reports of select committees. 7 Communications and reports from 8 state officers. 9 Motions and resolutions. 10 Senator Present. 11 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 12 I move that we adopt the Resolution Calendar 13 with the exception of Resolution 2002. 14 THE PRESIDENT: On the 15 resolutions, all those in favor say aye. 16 (Response of "Aye.") 17 Opposed nay. 18 (There was no response.) 19 The ayes have it. The 20 resolutions are adopted. 21 SENATOR TRUNZO: Mr. President. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Trunzo. 23 SENATOR TRUNZO: On Resolution 8702 1 Number 2012, which commemorates the 15th Anni 2 versary of the New York State Public Employees' 3 Federation, I'd like to open that up for all 4 members, if they wish to go on. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Marchi. 6 SENATOR MARCHI: I believe there 7 is a report at the desk, Mr. President. 8 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will 9 read. 10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Marchi, 11 from the Committee on Judiciary, reports the 12 following nomination: Associate Judge of the 13 Court of Appeals, Howard Arnold Levine, of 14 Schenectady. 15 SENATOR MARCHI: With great 16 pleasure, I yield to Senator Farley. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Farley. 18 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, 19 Senator Marchi; thank you, Mr. President. 20 It is with perhaps one of the 21 highest honors and distinctions that I have had 22 since I've been a Senator here in 17, 18 years, 23 to nominate and urge the confirmation of Howard 8703 1 Levine, of Niskayuna, New York, actually 2 Schenectady, my dear friend and associate for 3 many years, 25 years or more. 4 Let me just tell you something 5 about Judge Levine. A graduate of Yale 6 University and Yale Law School, he's been a 7 distinguished private practicing attorney coming 8 from a legal family. Both his father and his 9 mother were attorneys. Matter of fact, he has a 10 legislative heritage in that his father was 11 counsel to Speaker Oswald Heck, of Niskayuna. 12 Judge Levine was a district 13 attorney in Schenectady in 1967 to 1970. He's 14 been a Family Court judge and not just a Family 15 Court judge, but a renowned one, one that has 16 had an award during his lifetime named for him 17 because of his concern for the welfare of 18 children. 19 He served as a Family Court judge 20 and was president of the Family Court Judges' 21 Association for the state of New York. He was 22 elected as justice of the Supreme Court in 1981 23 and was -- in 1982 his judicial excellence was 8704 1 recognized by the Governor and he was appointed 2 to the Appellate Division of the Third Depart 3 ment. Howard Levine has always had a judicial 4 temperament. As a matter of fact, the legal 5 part of his life has been absolutely over 6 whelming. 7 With him today is his son, Neil, 8 who's a partner in the law firm of Whiteman, 9 Osterman & Hanna. Neil is also an outstanding 10 athlete, basketball player, and served, I 11 believe, on -- played on the state champions in 12 Niskayuna. His daughter-in-law, Neil's wife, 13 Meg Levine, is with us in the gallery. She's an 14 assistant counsel in the state Education 15 Department, and his daughter, Ruth Levine 16 Susmman, of Manhattan, is an adjunct professor 17 in the New York University Law School, and her 18 husband is also a lawyer and he's executive 19 vice-president and general counsel of the New 20 York Yankees. And, of course, Jim Levine, his 21 son, is an associate in Mudge, Rose, Guthrie & 22 Alexander, and you know how hard they work him 23 in those kinds of firms, and he wasn't able to 8705 1 be here today. 2 Let me say he had three 3 children. They're all lawyers, two of them 4 being married to lawyers. I was always very 5 proud of the fact that two of my children are 6 lawyers and they're both married to lawyers. I 7 have a third one who is still in college. She 8 may want to do something else; I'm not sure. 9 Let me just say that Judge Levine 10 is one of the finest men that I have ever 11 known. He's respected in this Capital District 12 and throughout the state of New York. He's been 13 nominated for the Court of Appeals seven times. 14 The seventh time he's hit a home run, this 15 time. He's well qualified, to say the least. 16 Today at the judiciary hearing, 17 we had Judge Casey, who came off the bench and 18 who had a case that he had to hear at 3:00 19 o'clock, but he wanted to come over and testify 20 in his behalf. We also had the head of the New 21 York State Bar Association that came and 22 testified, and we had numerous letters. 23 Unfortunately, there was a person in opposition 8706 1 who had no substance to their complaint and, in 2 my judgment, was totally out of line, and the 3 entire committee dismissed it as not -- not 4 relevant. 5 Judge Levine is an outstanding 6 father, lawyer, justice and citizen. His -- his 7 background in -- in my area is -- he is renowned 8 in the fact that he's heavily involved in the 9 community and totally respected by everybody 10 that knows him. As a matter of fact, Judge 11 Levine and I go back politically even when he 12 was running for district attorney. He took me 13 door to door and when I was also running on the 14 same ticket, and in spite of me he got 15 reelected. 16 Judge Levine always had a 17 judicial temperament even when he was district 18 attorney. He's fair; he's concerned; he's 19 compassionate. He also has an intellect that is 20 truly remarkable. I think that's one of the 21 major -- his colleagues respect him because of 22 his brilliance, not only as a judge, but as an 23 individual. 8707 1 Judge Levine is eminently 2 qualified, and let me start off by -- or finish 3 off by complimenting the Governor. Somebody 4 said at the hearing, and I couldn't agree more, 5 if there's a legacy to his governorship, it's 6 been his fairness and his bipartisan approach to 7 appointing people to the bench. He's chosen the 8 best that he could find, and Howard Levine 9 certainly is among those. 10 He's with us with his family in 11 the gallery, and it's truly a thrill for me to 12 nominate my dear friend and my buddy, Judge 13 Howard Levine, for the Court of Appeals. I 14 always thought he was a candidate -- I still 15 think he's a candidate for the Supreme Court of 16 the United States, but this is his next stop. 17 I move his confirmation. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 19 Ohrenstein. 20 The Chair will state that - 21 SENATOR OHRENSTEIN: No, please 22 don't. 23 THE PRESIDENT: -- I scrupulously 8708 1 go in order of the Senators as I see them asking 2 for recognition, but occasionally, if the 3 Majority Leader or the Minority Leader want to 4 bump one of their own brethren I honor that 5 request. 6 Senator Ohrenstein. 7 SENATOR GOLD: What a rule! 8 SENATOR OHRENSTEIN: What a 9 coward's way out of this dilemma! 10 Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. 11 President, it's my great pleasure to rise to 12 second the nomination of Judge Levine for the 13 Court of Appeals. I do so for several reasons. 14 The first is, to follow the reasoning of my good 15 friend from Schenectady, I want to also commend 16 the Governor for this very, very excellent 17 choice for a judge of the Court of Appeals. So 18 I want to congratulate him for his wisdom, and 19 for his continued wisdom, in exacting the 20 highest standards from the judiciary in terms of 21 his appointments to the Court of Appeals. 22 I think the Governor truly has 23 made history. He made history even just this 8709 1 year in elevating our new chief justice or chief 2 judge, and now in selecting this very, very 3 eminent jurist for the vacancy which was left by 4 her elevation to the chief position. 5 I say this not only because I 6 admire the Governor for the way he's gone about 7 this whole question of the Court of Appeals for 8 the last decade or so, and in selecting a bench 9 which continues to rise in excellence, but it's 10 also a vindication for a process which I feel I 11 have had some little -- some little part in 12 fashioning, and that is the process of making 13 this an appointive position rather than an 14 elective position, which it was in the past. 15 As a legislator, as a politician, 16 I am keenly committed to the democratic process 17 and to the democratic electoral process. I've 18 just felt almost from the beginning of my 19 political career that the electoral process does 20 not really work when it comes to the judiciary, 21 because in selecting members of the judiciary we 22 look for qualities and for histories and for 23 abilities that are not necessarily best served 8710 1 by that process. 2 I know there's a lot of 3 disagreement on that. I simply cite the 4 experience in our highest court of this state as 5 being one which vindicates that particular 6 judgment. I've been very pleased to be able to 7 participate in this process through the 8 appointments I have made to the Judicial 9 Nominating Commission and, as I said, I feel 10 very good about the history and the history that 11 the Governor has -- and the judgment he has 12 exercised in furthering this history. 13 I also feel very good about this 14 nominee. We only met this afternoon, but I want 15 to say, to his credit, he immediately gave me an 16 avenue for exploration which I didn't know I had 17 because it turned out that he had served on the 18 Temporary Commission for Mental Health, or what 19 was previously known as the Governor's Advisory 20 Committee on Mental Health. A member of that 21 commission is my wife, who is a social worker. 22 So that apparently he gave me a way of checking 23 him out and, Judge, I want you to know I called 8711 1 her because -- and your very future lay in the 2 balance of that call, and I want you to know you 3 came up with very, very high numbers. The 4 reason I say that your future lay in the balance 5 of that call, because I related to you and your 6 family that another member of this chamber knows 7 my wife very well and goes by her word, and 8 that's the Senator sitting immediately in front 9 of me, Senator Galiber. So, on her word, there 10 were two votes which were critical to the future 11 of this nomination. So I want you to know it 12 isn't Joe Galiber or Fred Ohrenstein who is 13 voting, it's Lynn Ohrenstein who is casting a 14 ballot in your favor, and I will say to you, she 15 was delighted to hear this is going forward and 16 that you are the object of our coming to Albany 17 today which, again, she was not delighted 18 about. We came back from our vacation 19 yesterday. We had to come here today, but she 20 told me, if it was for this purpose, my coming 21 here today was vindicated. 22 But on the record, Judge Levine 23 is obviously an outstanding lawyer, an out 8712 1 standing jurist, who has paid his dues in a 2 thousand different ways, in both the private law 3 practice as well as the -- as his service as a 4 public prosecutor in Schenectady County, and 5 then as a judge through several steps in our 6 judicial system. 7 He has gained the respect of 8 everyone who has known of him, who has read his 9 opinions, and I would suggest to you particular 10 ly the opinion that the chief judge expressed 11 upon hearing of this nomination would weigh very 12 very heavily with us and obviously Judge Kaye, 13 who has been sitting on the court now for a very 14 long time, is very familiar with the opinions of 15 this particular nominee, and I think her 16 evaluation of his opinions and his history and 17 his service is of great weight and obviously is 18 of the highest compliment to him. 19 So, Mr. President, I'm delighted 20 to rise here to second this nomination. I 21 congratulate Judge Levine for having achieved 22 this great eminence. I look forward to his 23 making this Court of Appeals, which is probably 8713 1 the most preeminent court -- state court in the 2 country, an even greater one. 3 I congratulate his family, and 4 I'm delighted to be here to participate in this 5 auspicious moment. 6 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 7 Stafford. 8 SENATOR GOLD: I'm not ready. 9 SENATOR STAFFORD: I will be very 10 brief. 11 At the committee meeting today, I 12 wanted to speak, but everyone just keeps saying 13 or kept saying what I was going to say, I mean, 14 and it was obviously positive. I had two or 15 three points I would make, however. 16 For over 30 years, I've worked 17 with Judge Levine. I can remember when we were 18 making some changes in the Family Court Law, the 19 County Court Law, we'd have meetings on 20 Saturday. He'd be there; want everyone to 21 realize legislators were there too, but a great 22 deal of work got done, and much that's in the 23 C.P.L.R. today and the Family Court Law is the 8714 1 work of Howard Levine. 2 I would say, like others have 3 said so well, that he has done so well. He's a 4 brilliant scholar despite where he went to law 5 school, but we understand that Yale is the top. 6 Some of us would name some other schools, but we 7 don't -- we don't get into that. 8 But on a serious note also, 9 properly within the governmental system as was 10 mentioned, the political system. I do know his 11 colleagues well on the Appellate Division. I 12 have heard them, to the person, state their 13 support for Howard for the Court of Appeals and 14 how pleased they are, and I, too, compliment the 15 Governor on this very, very fine choice. 16 I would only conclude by saying 17 that I think this says a lot about a person. 18 When he was D.A., when he was a Family Court 19 judge, Supreme Court judge, the Appellate 20 Division, now, no matter how hard he was 21 working, no matter what his responsibilities, 22 his main concern was for the other person, and 23 that has been proven time in and time out, and 8715 1 now by his decisions, and I, too, join all here 2 today in moving this very, very fine appointment 3 and moving Judge Levine's confirmation. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Gold. 5 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you, Mr. 6 President. I'm ready now. 7 Mr. President, I agree with the 8 conclusion reached by Senator Ohrenstein on the 9 nominee, even though he may be wrong on his 10 basic philosophies on elected versus appointed 11 judges, but we won't discuss that today. 12 The Governor should be commended. 13 I'm amused when I am in the presence of certain 14 judges, and I won't mention that group by name, 15 who tell you ad nauseum how their particular 16 court is the best court in the state, in the 17 country, in the world, and to me it's more 18 important when other people say that, and the 19 Governor has certainly taken major steps to make 20 sure that, when people talk about our Court of 21 Appeals, they really do talk about a great 22 court. 23 I was excited, as so many other 8716 1 people were, when Judge Kaye got the opportunity 2 and became the chief judge, and now after being 3 a bridesmaid often enough, we finally have the 4 opportunity to recognize a great talent in Judge 5 Levine, and also to open up the door to our 6 people, which is more important, to have the 7 opportunity to have this very fine man serve on 8 this court. 9 I think that the background that 10 was submitted to us is significant, and the 11 record ought to indicate it. I know reference 12 was made to Judge Casey, but we also should 13 indicate that the presiding judge of the Third 14 Department, Judge Weiss, who is certainly a 15 great gentleman and someone I respect to the Nth 16 degree, submitted testimony in support. The 17 president of the New York State Bar Association 18 was there, the vice-president of the Women's 19 Bar. There was a memo from the New York City 20 Bar Association. 21 In addition, the committee which 22 made the recommendation of the list from which 23 Judge Levine was selected, has very distinguish 8717 1 ed members on it, many of whom are known to 2 members in this chamber. 3 I am not overly concerned, as 4 some other people may be, with the Yale 5 education. Judge Kaye has Cornell graduates in 6 her family, and I'm sure there's others around 7 and, if the issues get too difficult, I'm sure 8 you can consult with those people. Senator 9 Oppenheimer was the one who just said Ha-ha-ha. 10 Otherwise she couldn't go home tonight. 11 At any rate, what impressed me 12 most about the nominee was his legal experience 13 because, while he did practice law for a New 14 York City firm for two years and while in those 15 days as an assistant district attorney -- and as 16 a district attorney you could still maintain 17 some private practice -- the fact of the matter 18 is that his whole life has shown a background 19 and dedication to public service and to the 20 intellectual side of public service through 21 involvement in instruction at law school and, as 22 I indicated, the district attorney's offices, 23 the Family Court and, of course, his latest 8718 1 stint as a justice of the Supreme Court. 2 It really is an honor, Judge, 3 that you allowed us to consider you, and I 4 consider it an honor on my part to be able to 5 cast an affirmative vote. 6 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Larkin. 7 SENATOR LARKIN: Mr. President, 8 my colleagues, I can't stand here in front of 9 you and talk as you do about being in court. 10 The only time I've been in court is to see my 11 son in action one time, but when I was telling 12 him about being here today, he said, "No, Dad, 13 let me tell you something about the judge." He 14 said, "I went to Albany Law School. I consider 15 myself well educated. You paid a nice price for 16 it, but the most important thing to remember 17 about this man was that he taught the students. 18 He taught them law and," he said, "in all my 19 time and education and still taking courses, I 20 find that he was one that could impart the 21 knowledge to you so that you would understand it 22 and know how to use it, not just to be a 23 criminal lawyer, Legal Aid lawyer, but to go 8719 1 into a situation where you could advise your 2 clients, handle their issues, and really be a 3 partner with them, and," he said, "for that, 4 Dad, your money was well spent." And, Judge, 5 I'm glad. He's doin' very good. Thank you. 6 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 7 Oppenheimer. 8 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Hello, 9 Judge. 10 I think we should talk a little 11 bit about your brilliance in light of -- I hate 12 to disagree with my esteemed colleagues, Senator 13 Stafford, Senator Gold, but, in my opinion, you 14 certainly got the finest legal training that is 15 available in America today at Yale Law School 16 where you are a colleague and classmate of my 17 husband. 18 And we know you to be a leader in 19 the fight for juvenile justice and for child 20 care and for care of our youth and our 21 delinquent youth, and we praise you for that and 22 for your work in the social justice arena. But 23 I would like to take a moment to just talk about 8720 1 what you are as a person too, in my esteemed 2 husband's opinion. After all, if Senator 3 Ohrenstein can talk about his wife's opinion, I 4 can talk about my husband's opinion. 5 My husband has said that you are 6 a man who was liked by every single person in 7 the Yale Law School. That is quite amazing. He 8 said nobody ever had a single bad word to say 9 about you. He said you seemed to care for 10 everybody, and everybody wanted to care for you 11 and did care for you. He said he sees that 12 continuing right until this day, that people 13 care for you because you take great care of 14 people, and I thought you would like to hear 15 those remarks. 16 They are also my remarks. We had 17 said we would meet here in Albany. I hardly 18 thought it was going to be in this chamber, and 19 I'm very delighted to be here today to second 20 your nomination. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Marchi. 22 SENATOR MARCHI: Mr. President, 23 Senator Ohrenstein, I think, indicated that this 8721 1 was a vindication of a process that we all took 2 great satisfaction in, and it went beyond the 3 abundant testimony on the wealth of back 4 ground, the quality of that background, the 5 legal acumen, the wisdom and the temperament 6 that will serve us well in the future. 7 I also took very careful note of 8 some of the personal observations that were made 9 which really must have filled the entire Levine 10 family with a great sense of pride and self 11 fulfillment. 12 You're a wonderful family, and 13 you all deserve each other, and it was really 14 edifying to just look at your expressions and 15 the way you interacted among yourselves, and you 16 must have been impressed by the evident 17 sincerity of the statements that were being made 18 by the witnesses and by the rejoinder of the 19 members of the committee. This was a sincere 20 feeling, a warm feeling that went out to you and 21 it must be a matter of great personal 22 satisfaction. 23 God bless you, and the best is 8722 1 yet to come, I'm sure. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno. 3 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, Mr. 4 President. 5 There isn't much that I can add 6 to what has already been said, but I wanted to 7 stand up and just add a word of seconding. My 8 classmate, Senator Farley, has the honor of 9 having the judge as a constituent, but I am 10 honored in that he is a neighbor. 11 But one of the first things, and 12 I think we visited about this, that happened to 13 me when I moved into the community that I live 14 in, was that a good friend of mine who had been 15 in Family Court, Judge Marc Filley, was sort of 16 a mentor to me, said one day, "You know, there's 17 a judge over in Schenectady that you've got to 18 meet. He is an up and coming young fellow and 19 he is the kind of person that anyone can relate 20 to. He's astute; he's objective; he's caring. 21 He just is a fine person who does a good job." 22 I did meet the judge as a 23 consequence of that conversation, and Judge Marc 8723 1 Filley, no longer residing in this state, was 2 absolutely right in all of the things that he 3 had to say and, as I have been fortunate enough 4 to get to know the judge and his family, I can 5 relate in that you truly are an outstanding 6 individual and will continue the great service 7 to the entire state that you've been providing 8 previously. 9 I am honored to add my second to 10 the others that have been presented. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 12 Dollinger. 13 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. 15 I've never been a judge, but I 16 guess today I get a chance to act like one. Now, 17 your Honor, I don't know you, have never met you 18 before, but I feel a little bit like one of 19 those Appellate Division judges who has never 20 heard the case before, and someone walks in and 21 presents their petition, their record on appeal, 22 their brief, and from my view, your Honor, the 23 presentation in support of your nomination has 8724 1 been extraordinary. 2 The evidence, both from my 3 colleagues who know you personally and know of 4 your character, has been substantial and 5 certainly the witnesses that testified on your 6 behalf. Faced with all of that, I'm going to 7 rule in the affirmative and affirm my 8 colleagues' and my lower court opinions with 9 respect to this nomination, but I do so with 10 just three brief comments: 11 First of all, my questions to you 12 during the course of the confirmation about both 13 the issue of racial bias and gender bias in our 14 court system. It's my view, as an elected 15 official, that we have vestiges of both present 16 in our system and that we need to be committed 17 as a state, not just as an elected Legislature 18 but as a judiciary, to making sure that the 19 eradication of those vestiges of old patterns of 20 thinking, of old thoughts, of old ways, that we 21 now as a society have decided to eradicate, we 22 need to be sure that we're following down that 23 path. I think your comments in response to my 8725 1 questions indicate that you will continue that 2 path and continue the leadership. 3 The second question deals with 4 one of the issues that Senator Marchi brought up 5 in his questioning about the role of the state 6 Constitution. It seems to me, as an elected 7 official and a political person, that perhaps 8 one of the age of "New Federalism" ideas is that 9 in this country we've embarked on a pattern the 10 last 12 years of pushing more and more decisions 11 down to the states, more and more decisions 12 about spending, more and more decisions about 13 what the governance pattern should be in a 14 particular state. 15 As a consequence of that trend, 16 the state judiciary begins to assume an even 17 more important position because we now have to 18 ask the state judiciary to provide leadership 19 for this state in conjunction with this 20 Legislature about issues involving our spending, 21 about the role of government, about the power of 22 the people through a Constitution versus the 23 power of the Legislature. 8726 1 I have noted your opinions, I 2 think in Brady against the state of New York and 3 in other cases in which you haven't been shy 4 about telling the government of this state that 5 they have trampled on the people's rights by 6 exercising powers that they do not constitution 7 ally have. It's my hope that as part of that 8 "New Federalism" which seems to be the wave of 9 this -- the political science in this country, 10 that you will continue to embark on a pattern of 11 expanding the Constitution where it's 12 appropriate in your eyes, for the people of this 13 state, and that you will continue to let that 14 Constitution grow and develop and give us our 15 own constitutional base in this state. 16 My final comment comes to 17 something that I learned at Albany Law School. 18 I was there when you taught there, although I 19 didn't have you as a professor, and that is my 20 great concern about the growth of the common 21 law. 22 Look around this chamber. I wish 23 all my colleagues were here. You would see a 8727 1 very different picture of who the common man in 2 New York State is. It's no longer an old common 3 man. There's a new "common man" -- women, 4 minorities, African-Americans, Hispanics, Puerto 5 Ricans. The entire panoplia of New York State 6 has now created a new "common man" with a 7 different face, with different needs. 8 We need a new and a different 9 common law to accommodate the growing needs of 10 our growing and diverse society. It's my hope 11 that you will take the common law of this state 12 and continue to drive it forward. You follow in 13 the footsteps of great, great legends in the 14 common law. 15 I have every hope and every 16 indication from the speeches I've heard on the 17 floor, from the testimony gathered in the 18 Judiciary Committee, that you will be a strong 19 contributor to the continuing growth of that 20 law. The people in this state need it. The 21 people in this country need it. We need 22 leadership in the court system. I have every 23 confidence, based on what I've heard here, that 8728 1 you will provide that leadership. 2 Congratulations and Godspeed. 3 THE PRESIDENT: The question 4 occurs on the confirmation of the nominee. All 5 those in favor, say aye. 6 (Response of "Aye.") 7 Opposed nay. 8 (There was no response.) 9 The ayes have it. The nominee is 10 confirmed, Howard Arnold Levine, of Schenectady 11 to be Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals, 12 to fill the vacancy caused by the appointment of 13 Judith S. Kaye. 14 (Standing applause.) 15 THE PRESIDENT: Congratulations, 16 Judge Levine. 17 Senator Saland. 18 SENATOR SALAND: Mr. President, I 19 wish to call up my bill, Print Number 5881, 20 recalled from the Assembly, which is now at the 21 desk. 22 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 23 will read. 8729 1 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 2 Saland, Senate Bill Number 5881, an act to amend 3 the Family Court Act. 4 SENATOR SALAND: Mr. President, I 5 now move to reconsider the vote by which this 6 bill was passed. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll on 8 reconsideration. 9 (The Secretary called the roll on 10 reconsideration. ) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 12 SENATOR SALAND: Mr. President, I 13 offer up the following amendments. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments 15 received. 16 SENATOR SALAND: Mr. President, 17 please recommit the bill to the Committee on 18 Rules. 19 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered. 20 Senator Present. 21 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 22 in behalf of Senator Levy, I'd like to announce 23 an immediate conference of the Majority in Room 8730 1 335. 2 There being no further business, 3 I move we adjourn subject to the call of the 4 Majority Leader, intervening days to be 5 legislative days. 6 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate stands 7 adjourned. 8 (Whereupon at 5:03 p.m., the 9 Senate adjourned.) 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23