Monday, May 8, 1995

5471 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ALBANY, NEW YORK 9 May 8, 1995 10 3:04 p.m. 11 12 13 REGULAR SESSION 14 15 16 17 SENATOR JOHN A. DeFRANCISCO, Acting President 18 STEPHEN F. SLOAN, Secretary 19 20 21 22 23 5472 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 3 The Senate will come to order. Would everyone 4 please rise and repeat with me the Pledge of 5 Allegiance. 6 The invocation today will be 7 given by Imam Abdur Rahim Muhammad, the Chaplain 8 and Islamic Services Coordinator of the Elmira 9 Correctional Facility. 10 IMAM ABDUR RAHIM MUHAMMAD: Dear 11 members of the Senate and all those present, 12 peace be upon you. Inshallah 'alaihim, salam 13 alaihum! 14 Please allow me to express my 15 gratitude to Senator Kuhl and those who have 16 made this historic occasion possible. I thank 17 Almighty God and am once honored and humbled to 18 represent the Nation of Islam and the hundreds 19 of thousands of Muslims everywhere across New 20 York State. As probably the first and more 21 probably not the last Muslim to open in prayer 22 before this honorable gathering, let me make but 23 one request, that each of us look to our own 5473 1 beliefs, values, disciplines and principles to 2 find instead of that in which we could angrily 3 disagree, those great many things on which, with 4 united hearts and minds, we can and should act 5 together to build a better reality for everyone 6 under the blessings of the one God of us all. 7 I am blessed to be able to work 8 with men in prison every day and just recently 9 returned from Kazakhstan, a country where entire 10 people was freed from mental and spiritual 11 incarceration. In prayer, let us see the 12 challenge of responding to freedom by respecting 13 it. 14 Islam is a religion that has been 15 represented and also misrepresented. In repre 16 senting it here, I reflect on the words of Imam 17 W. D. Muhammad who once said it's not who we 18 are; it's what we represent that is important. 19 This religion of peace is nowhere better repre 20 sented than in the opening seven verses of the 21 Qur'an, in which I pray that those honored 22 lawmakers here will find its echo in their own 23 minds and hearts with deeds, words and 5474 1 translation, we pray. 2 A'udhu billahi minash shaitanir 3 rajim. 4 I seek refuge in the forces of 5 Almighty God from all evil. 6 Bismillahir rahmanir rahim. 7 The merciful benefactor of the 8 merciful redeemer. 9 Al hamdu lil lahi rabbil alamin. 10 Praise be to Allah, the cherisher 11 and sustainer of the word. 12 Arrahmanir rahim. 13 The merciful benefactor, the 14 merciful redeemer. 15 Maliki Yawmuddin. 16 Master of the day of judgment. 17 Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka 18 nasta'in. 19 You do we worship and Your help 20 do we seek. 21 Ihdinas siratal mustaqim. Show 22 us the straight way. 23 Siratal ladhina 'amta 'alaihim, 5475 1 ghairil maghdubi 'alaihim wa lad dallin. 2 The way of those on whom You have 3 bestowed Your grace, those whose portion is not 4 ra, and who go not astray. Amin, amin. Amen. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 6 Reading of the journal. 7 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 8 Sunday, May 7th. The Senate met pursuant to 9 adjournment, Senator Hoblock in the Chair. The 10 Journal of Saturday, May 6th, was read and 11 approved. On motion, Senate adjourned. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 13 Without objection, the Journal stands approved 14 as read. 15 Presentation of petitions. 16 Messages from the Assembly. 17 Messages from the Governor. 18 Secretary will read. 19 THE SECRETARY: The Governor 20 returns without executive approval Senate Bill 21 Number 1294, entitled An act to amend the 22 Estates, Powers and Trusts Law, in relation to 23 the exercise of powers of appointment; by 5476 1 Senator Lack, Veto Message Number 5. 2 Also the Governor returned 3 without executive approval Senate Bill Number 4 2134, an act to amend the Estates, Powers and 5 Trusts Law, in relation to a share of stock; by 6 Senator Lack, Veto Number 8. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 8 Reports of standing committees. 9 Reports of select committees. 10 Communications and reports from 11 state officers. 12 Motions and resolutions. 13 Senator Tully. 14 SENATOR TULLY: Yes, Mr. 15 President. On behalf of Senator Lack, on page 16 44, I offer the following amendments to Calendar 17 Number 115, Senate Print Number 985-A, and ask 18 that said bill retain its place on the Third 19 Reading Calendar. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 21 Amendments received. 22 SENATOR TULLY: Mr. President, on 23 behalf of Senator Cook, on page 47, I offer the 5477 1 following amendments to Calendar Number 495, 2 Senate Print Number 3156, and ask that said bill 3 retain its place on the Third Reading Calendar. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 5 Amendments received. 6 Senator Bruno, we have one 7 substitution. 8 SENATOR BRUNO: Please place the 9 substitution, Mr. President. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 11 The Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Gold 13 moves to discharge from the Committee on Higher 14 Education Assembly Bill Number 3147-A, and 15 substitute it for the identical bill, Calendar 16 Number 676. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 18 Substitution ordered. 19 Senator Bruno. 20 SENATOR BRUNO: Yes, Mr. 21 President. Can we now take up a Resolution 22 Number 580, by Senator Kruger, and I ask that it 23 now be read in its entirety. 5478 1 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 2 Without objection, Resolution 580, by Senator 3 Kruger. The Secretary will read. 4 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 5 Resolution, by Senator Kruger and others: 6 Legislative Resolution proclaiming the month of 7 September, 1995 as Menopause Awareness Month in 8 the state of New York. 9 WHEREAS, menopause by the year 10 2000 will begin to affect 44 million American 11 women, over 3 million in New York State. 12 It has already affected millions 13 more according to the American College of 14 Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The results 15 will be a national health concern of dramatic 16 proportions unless women are better educated 17 about the changes of menopause and the measures 18 that can prolong and enhance their lives. 19 If not properly treated by a 20 trained physician, the health risk of 21 perimenopausal and post-menopausal women can 22 result in an increased number afflicted by 23 osteoporosis or cardiovascular disease. 5479 1 Estrogen depletion which occurs 2 in menopause results in an increase in cardio 3 vascular disease, resulting in over 530,000 4 deaths of women per year. These numbers could 5 reach staggering proportions with the aging of 6 the "baby boom" generation. 7 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, 8 that this legislative body pause in its deliber 9 ations and proclaim the month of September, 1995 10 as Menopause Awareness Month in the state of New 11 York; and 12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a 13 copy of this resolution, suitably engrossed, be 14 transmitted to the American Menopause 15 Foundation, a not-for-profit national support 16 network of women, families, corporations and 17 health care professionals committed to research, 18 education, public awareness, for all women who 19 need support and help. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 21 Senator Kruger. 22 SENATOR KRUGER: Yes, Mr. 23 President. I would like to now recognize with 5480 1 us today several individuals who have been 2 responsible in not only preparing this 3 resolution but bringing this issue to the fore 4 front. 5 I would like to recognize the 6 presence of Drs. Michael and Gerard Terrato, 7 practicing obstetrics and gynecologists in 8 Brooklyn, who have been my advisers in this 9 particular resolution; additionally, we have 10 with us today, Miss Barbara Pettit, representing 11 the Beth Israel Medical Center and Miss Marie 12 Longo, the president of a newly founded 13 organization which has its headquarters in New 14 York City and currently subscribes to a 15 membership of over 20,000 members nationwide - 16 individuals, women, who are afflicted with the 17 scourge of the symptoms of menopause. 18 I thank them for their 19 cooperation in making this issue an important 20 one, and I look forward to working with them in 21 the future. 22 Thank you, Mr. President. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 5481 1 Thank you, Senator. The resolution was 2 previously adopted on March 14th. 3 Senator Bruno. 4 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 5 can we now take up the non-controversial 6 calendar. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 8 Secretary will read. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 156, by Senator Levy, Senate Print 1976, an act 11 to amend the Education Law and the Local Finance 12 Law, in relation to refinancing of payments by 13 certain employers. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 15 Read the last section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 17 act shall take effect immediately. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 19 Call the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 23 The bill is passed. 5482 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar number 2 277, by member of the Assembly Lopez, an act to 3 amend the Private Housing Finance Law, in 4 relation to rehabilitation loans to owner/ 5 occupants of one- to four-unit private and 6 multiple dwellings in cities with a population 7 of one million or more. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 9 Read the last section. 10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 11 act shall take effect immediately. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 13 Call the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 17 The bill is passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 384, by Senator Stavisky, Senate Print 2701, an 20 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 21 increasing penalties for criminal solicitation. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 23 Read the last section. 5483 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This 2 act shall take effect on the 1st day of 3 November. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 5 Call the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 9 The bill is passed. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 445, by Senator Lack, Senate Print 2272, an act 12 to amend the Labor Law, in relation to enacting 13 the Advanced Technology Act of 1995. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 15 Read the last section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 17 act shall take effect immediately. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 19 Call the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 23 The bill is passed. 5484 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 450, by Senator Levy, Senate Print 322, an act 3 in relation to requiring the Commissioners of 4 Motor Vehicles, Transportation and Education to 5 develop a uniform definition of the terms 6 "school" and "school bus". 7 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 8 Read the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 10 act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 12 Call the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 16 The bill is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 452, by Senator Levy, Senate Print 326, an act 19 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in 20 relation to a requirement to mandate full 21 resident address. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 23 Read the last section. 5485 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 4 Call the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll.) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 8 The bill is passed. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 466, by Senator Hoblock, Senate Print 3559, an 11 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in 12 relation to special license plates. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 14 Read the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 16 act shall take effect on the 1st day of April. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 18 Call the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 22 The bill is passed. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5486 1 482, by Senator Lack, Senate Print 3353, an act 2 to amend the Civil Service Law and the Education 3 Law, in relation to the compensation of teaching 4 and research center nurses. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 6 Read the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 8 act shall take effect immediately. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 10 Call the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 14 The bill is passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 484, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 3630, an 17 act to amend the General Municipal Law and the 18 Retirement and Social Security Law, in relation 19 to increasing certain special accidental death 20 benefits. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 22 Read the last section. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 5487 1 act shall take effect the 1st day of July. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 3 Call the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 7 The bill is passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 486, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 4040, an 10 act to amend the Retirement and Social Security 11 Law, in relation to retirement credit for 12 periods of worker's compensation leave. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 14 Read the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 16 act shall take effect immediately. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 18 Call the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 22 The bill is passed. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5488 1 487, by member of the Assembly Vitaliano, 2 Assembly Print 6228, an act to amend the 3 Education Law, in relation to reproduction and 4 disposal of the records of the New York State 5 Retirement Teachers' system. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 7 Read the last section. 8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 9 act shall take effect immediately. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 11 Call the roll. 12 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 15 The bill is passed. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 493, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 3870, an 18 act to amend Chapter 672 of the Laws of 1993, 19 amending the Public Authorities Law. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 21 Read the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 23 act shall take effect immediately. 5489 1 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 2 Call the roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 6 The bill is passed. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 502, by Senator Sears, Senate Print 3325, an act 9 to amend the General Business Law, in relation 10 to prohibiting a Social Security number as a 11 condition for accepting a check in payment of 12 sales transaction. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 14 Read the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 16 act shall take effect on the 1st day of 17 November. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 19 Call the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 23 The bill is passed. 5490 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 504, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 1743-A, an 3 act to amend the General Obligations Law, in 4 relation to exoneration of certain crime 5 victims. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 7 Read the last section. 8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 9 act shall take effect on the 1st day of 10 November. 11 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 13 Lay the bill aside. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 509, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 3726, an 16 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to 17 registration of voters. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 19 Read the last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 21 act shall take effect immediately. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 23 Call the roll. 5491 1 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 4 The bill is passed. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 510, by Senator Present, Senate Print 4213, an 7 act apportioning transportation aid to the City 8 School District of Dunkirk. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: A 10 local fiscal impact statement is at the desk. 11 Please read the last section. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 13 act shall take effect immediately. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 15 Call the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 19 The bill is passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 515, by Senator Holland, Senate Print 475, an 22 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 23 relation to designating security officers. 5492 1 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 2 Read the last section. 3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 4 act shall take effect immediately. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 6 Call the roll. 7 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 10 The bill is passed. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 517, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 587, an act 13 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to theft of 14 telecommunication services. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 16 Read the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This 18 act shall take effect on the last day of 19 November. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 21 Call the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 5493 1 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 2 The bill is passed. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 519, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 2335-A, an 5 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 6 relation to expanding the limited list of 7 offenses concerning which a child witness may 8 testify. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 10 Read the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 12 act shall take effect on the 1st day of the 13 calendar next month. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 15 Call the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 19 The bill is passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 526, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 3521, 22 an act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 23 relation to the detention of defendants. 5494 1 SENATOR GOLD: Please star the 2 bill. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 4 Senator -- read the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 6 act shall take effect immediately. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 8 Call the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 12 The bill is passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 528, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 3754, an 15 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to the 16 term of licenses to carry or possess a pistol or 17 revolver in the county of Nassau. 18 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay aside. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 20 Lay the bill aside. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 532, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 21, an act 23 to amend the General Municipal Law, in relation 5495 1 to requiring the governing board of municipal 2 corporations to give a 60-day notice. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 4 Read the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This 6 act - 7 SENATOR VELELLA: Lay aside. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 9 Lay that bill aside. 10 SENATOR VELELLA: For the day. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 12 Lay that bill aside for the day. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 566, by Senator Levy, Senate Bill 339, an act to 15 amend the Transportation Law, in relation to 16 amending the definition of "school" for purposes 17 of the commissioner's power to regulate safety 18 of school buses. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 20 Read the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 22 act shall take effect on September 1st. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 5496 1 Call the roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 5 The bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 567, by Senator Levy, Senate Print 347, an act 8 to amend the New York City charter and the 9 Public Authorities Law, in relation to the 10 inspection of the Metropolitan Transportation 11 Authority. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 13 Read the last section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 15 act shall take effect immediately. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 17 Call the roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 21 The bill is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 585, by Senator Levy, Senate Print 4175, an act 5497 1 in relation to requiring the Metropolitan 2 Transportation Authority to study subway station 3 off-hour waiting areas. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 5 Read the last section. 6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 7 act shall take effect immediately. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 9 Call the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 13 The bill is passed. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 622, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 4314, an 16 act to amend the Retirement and Social Security 17 Law, in relation to increasing the maximum 18 amount which retired persons may earn. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 20 Read the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 22 act shall take effect immediately. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 5498 1 Call the roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 5 The bill is passed. 6 Senator Bruno, that completes the 7 reading of the non-controversial calendar. 8 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 9 can we now take up the controversial calendar. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 11 The Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: On page 29, 13 Calendar Number 504, by Senator Skelos, Senate 14 Print 1743-A, an act to amend the General 15 Obligations Law, in relation to exoneration of 16 certain crime victims. 17 SENATOR BRUNO: Lay it aside 18 temporarily. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 20 Lay the bill aside temporarily. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 528, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 3754, an 23 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to the 5499 1 term of licenses to carry or possess a pistol. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 3 Senator Paterson. 4 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 5 we actually debated this exact bill when it 6 applied to Suffolk County and now we have the, 7 in a sense, same standard being applied to 8 Nassau County. 9 Last year the Governor vetoed 10 this bill. He thought, as some of us do, that 11 there should be stricter limitations on gun 12 possession; so, in the interests of brevity, I'm 13 just going to give you the names of the 14 individuals who voted against that bill. They 15 are Senators Abate, Connor, Galiber, Kruger, 16 Leichter, Montgomery, Paterson, Solomon and 17 Smith. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 19 Read the last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 21 act shall take effect immediately. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 23 Call the roll. 5500 1 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 2 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 3 the negative on Calendar Number 528, are 4 Senators Abate, Connor, Gold, Kruger, 5 Montgomery, Paterson, Smith. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 7 Results. 8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 42, nays 7. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 10 The bill is passed. 11 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 12 can we now return to Calendar Number 504. 13 Senator Skelos is in the chamber. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 15 Secretary will read. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 504, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 1743-A, an 18 act to amend the General Obligations Law, in 19 relation to exoneration of certain crime 20 victims. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: I 22 believe Senator Paterson previously requested an 23 explanation on this bill, Senator Skelos. 5501 1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 2 this bill amends the General Obligations Law by 3 returning the assumption of risk doctrine to 4 civil lawsuits. In an action for damages, if 5 the defendant shows that the injury sustained by 6 the plaintiff arose during the commission or 7 attempted commission by the plaintiff of certain 8 enumerated crimes and that the actions of the 9 defendant were justified pursuant to Article 35 10 of the Penal Law, then the plaintiff is deemed 11 to assume all the risk of injury coming from the 12 encounter with the victim and that proof shall 13 constitute a complete defense to the action. 14 The defendant must furnish proof 15 by a preponderance of evidence by showing that 16 the plaintiff committed the crime and that the 17 defendant's actions were justified. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 19 Senator Paterson. 20 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 21 would Senator Skelos yield for a question? 22 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes, I will. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 5502 1 Senator Skelos, will you yield? He yields. 2 SENATOR PATERSON: Actually, 3 Senator, I like this bill, and I want to vote 4 for it. I just wanted to ask you if the whole 5 difference between our criminal and our civil 6 system is actually the standard of proof. Don't 7 you think that sometimes the -- there could be 8 an action that could be taken that certainly 9 would not incur any criminal liability but, 10 because of the different standard of proof being 11 the preponderance of the evidence, would incur 12 civil liability to the individual in this case 13 who would be the victim of a crime, or a good 14 samaritan or someone who is intervening? 15 SENATOR SKELOS: It's my belief 16 that, with the enumerated crimes and the fact 17 that the act had to be justified, that the 18 answer would be no, and that's my opinion. 19 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you very 20 much. 21 Mr. President, on -- on this 22 bill. 23 I think we just have to be 5503 1 careful when we start, in a sense, creating a 2 situation where there can be no action on the 3 part of individuals. In this particular case 4 we're talking about crime victims or we're 5 talking about good samaritans who intervene in 6 an actual crime. 7 There's certainly been a number 8 of situations where people intervened, and they 9 actually wound up being sued themselves. It's 10 really very wrong when it happens. It's a kink 11 in our criminal justice system, and I think it's 12 very much satisfied by this particular bill. I 13 just hope that we will be cautious in future 14 legislation to make sure that we never lose 15 sight of the fact that we still have a -- a 16 civil system and that the standard of proof 17 there is met not by proving beyond a reasonable 18 doubt but by proving by preponderance of the 19 evidence. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 21 Please read the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 23 act shall take effect on the 1st day of 5504 1 November. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 3 Call the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 5 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 6 the negative on Calendar Number 504 are Senators 7 Connor and Gold. Ayes 48, nays 2. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 9 The bill is passed. 10 Senator Skelos, that completes 11 the reading of the controversial calendar. 12 SENATOR GOLD: Excuse me, Mr. 13 President. 14 (Senator Gold conferred with 15 Senator Skelos.) 16 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 17 is there any housekeeping at the desk? 18 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 19 There is no housekeeping at the desk. 20 SENATOR SKELOS: Does any member 21 have anything they would like to advise the 22 President of? No? O.K. There being no further 23 business, I move we adjourn until Tuesday, May 5505 1 9, 1995, at 3:00 p.m. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 3 Without objection, the Senate stands adjourned 4 until May 9, 1995, at 3:00 p.m. 5 (Whereupon at 3:32 p.m., the 6 Senate adjourned.) 7 8 9 10