Tuesday, February 4, 1997

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ALBANY, NEW YORK 9 February 4, 1997 10 3:03 p.m. 11 12 13 REGULAR SESSION 14 15 16 17 LT. GOVERNOR BETSY McCAUGHEY ROSS, President 18 STEPHEN F. SLOAN, Secretary 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will 3 come to order. Would everyone please rise and 4 join with me in the Pledge of Allegiance. 5 (The assemblage repeated the 6 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 7 May we bow our heads in a moment 8 of silence. 9 (A moment of silence was 10 observed.) 11 The reading of the Journal, 12 please. 13 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 14 Monday, February 3rd. The Senate met pursuant 15 to adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, 16 February 2nd, was read and approved. On 17 motion, the Senate adjourned. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Without 19 objection, the Journal stands approved as 20 read. 21 Presentation of petitions. 22 Messages from the Assembly. 23 Messages from the Governor. 24 Reports of standing committees. 25 The Secretary will read. 1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lack, 2 from the Committee on Judiciary, offers up the 3 following nominations: As judge of the New 4 York State Court of Claims, S. Michael Nadel of 5 New York City. 6 SENATOR LACK: Thank you, Madam 7 President. 8 I rise to move the nomination of 9 S. Michael Nadel of New York City as a judge of 10 the New York State Court of Claims. 11 Mr. Nadel has appeared before 12 the Committee this morning, was unanimously 13 confirmed by the Committee, and sent to the 14 floor of the Senate. 15 He's had a long and 16 distinguished record of public employment, 17 including that of being a judge of the New York 18 City Criminal Court. 19 Senator Leichter, who is not in 20 the chamber, wanted to second the nomination, 21 but I see that Senator Abate is here and, Madam 22 President, I will yield to her for purposes of 23 seconding the nomination of S. Michael Nadel. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Abate. 25 SENATOR ABATE: I'm very pleased 1 to follow the recommendation of Senator Lack 2 and Senator Leichter. 3 I've had the great privilege of 4 knowing Mike Nadel when he was beginning his 5 legal career as I was beginning my legal career 6 in the 1970s, and if you look at his resume, 7 his extraordinary resume, he has done -- held 8 some very responsible positions. He has done 9 them extremely well, but what's not within the 10 resume and what I got to know from him by 11 trying cases with him is that he's a very 12 decent person. He has the capacity to listen 13 to people, even though he may not agree with 14 them. He's extremely fair-minded, and I 15 believe he has all the attributes to serve on 16 the judiciary in an exemplary manner. 17 So I wholeheartedly recommend 18 him to all of you, and I hope it will be a 19 unanimous vote in his favor, and I look forward 20 to hearing about the enormous accomplishments 21 he will make over the coming years. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Does anyone else 23 wish to speak on the nomination of Michael 24 Nadel? 25 (There was no response.) 1 The question is on the 2 confirmation of S. Michael Nadel as judge of 3 the New York State Court of Appeals -- Court of 4 Claims. I'm sorry. All in favor signify by 5 saying aye. 6 (Response of "Aye".) 7 Opposed, nay. 8 (There was no response.) 9 S. Michael Nadel is hereby 10 confirmed as judge of the Court of Claims. 11 The Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: As judge to the 13 New York State Court of Claims, Thomas J. 14 Carroll of New York City. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Senator? 16 SENATOR LACK: Thank you, Madam 17 President. 18 I rise to move the nomination of 19 Thomas J. Carroll as a judge to the Court of 20 Claims. 21 Again, Mr. Carroll appeared 22 before the Committee this morning. He was 23 received warmly by the Committee and was 24 unanimously endorsed and sent to the floor of 25 the Senate. 1 Mr. Carroll has had a long and 2 distinguished career. He made a mistake and 3 left the state and went to Georgetown to its 4 law school, but he corrected that by coming 5 back to New York and teaching at my alma mater, 6 the Fordham University School of Law, from 1982 7 to the president -- to the present. He has 8 been associated with the firm of Dewey, 9 Ballantine from 1970 to 1973. He was then an 10 assistant district attorney in the county of 11 the Bronx until 1980, at which time he joined 12 the New York State Commission on Investigation, 13 was an assistant counsel for that commission 14 and was the chief investigator in the collapse 15 of the Thruway Authority bridge on Schoharie 16 Creek. He then moved to Washington where he 17 served as general attorney of the United States 18 Department of Housing and Urban Development 19 until the present time, where he appeared 20 before the Governor's screening committee and 21 was referred to the Senate. 22 Madam President, it's with 23 extreme pleasure that I rise to move Mr. 24 Carroll's nomination and, Madam President, Mr. 25 Carroll, as well as the rest of our nominees, 1 including S. Michael Nadel, are sitting in our 2 gallery. If you would please recognize them 3 upon confirmation. 4 Thank you. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 6 Senator Lack. 7 Does anyone else wish to speak 8 on the nomination? 9 (There was no response.) 10 The question is on the 11 confirmation of Thomas J. Carroll as a judge of 12 the New York State Court of Claims. All in 13 favor signify by saying aye. 14 (Response of "Aye".) 15 Opposed, nay. 16 (There was no response.) 17 Thomas J. Carroll is hereby 18 confirmed as a judge of the Court of Claims, 19 and we would like to welcome the families of 20 both judges. 21 (Applause) 22 Thank you. 23 The Secretary will read. 24 THE SECRETARY: As judge to the 25 Supreme Court for the 8th Judicial District, 1 Eugene F. Pigott, Jr. of Buffalo. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Lack. 3 SENATOR LACK: Thank you, Madam 4 President. 5 I rise to move the nomination of 6 Eugene F. Pigott, Jr. of Buffalo for the 7 interim appointment for nomination to the 8 Supreme Court for the 8th Judicial District. 9 Mr. Pigott appeared before the 10 Governor's screening committee, was referred to 11 the Senate by the Governor. He was interviewed 12 today by the Senate Judiciary Committee, was 13 found satisfactory in all respects, unanimously 14 moved to the floor and it's with pleasure, 15 Madam President, that I yield to Senator Volker 16 for purposes of seconding the nomination. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 18 Senator Lack. 19 Senator Volker. 20 SENATOR VOLKER: Thank you, 21 Senator. 22 Madam President, the nomination 23 of Gene Pigott is something that has been 24 anticipated for quite a while in Buffalo, and 25 Gene will probably laugh at that because it was 1 initially thought to happen some time earlier, 2 and during the hearing on -- the Judiciary 3 hearing, it kind of made us laugh a little bit 4 about the fact that there was some talk about 5 screening because Gene has gone through an 6 immense amount of screening in many ways in 7 Buffalo from -- virtually every prominent 8 lawyer has been asking him what, frankly, has 9 been going on. 10 Gene is clearly one of the most 11 well respected lawyers in the Buffalo area, a 12 former Erie County attorney. As I pointed out 13 during the Judiciary Committee meeting, I like 14 to come up with some little known facts about 15 people, and Gene was an interpreter, a 16 Vietnamese interpreter during the Vietnam War 17 and there aren't too many people, I think, that 18 could say that who later become judges, but 19 he's a fine gentleman, a good friend, and I can 20 tell you that the people who know him in 21 Western New York have an immense amount of 22 respect for him and feel, as I do, that he 23 certainly will be one of the top judges in the 24 state of New York, and I commend the Judge for 25 his nom... -- or the Governor for his 1 nomination. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 3 Senator Volker. 4 Senator Rath. 5 SENATOR RATH: Thank you, Madam 6 President. 7 Judge Nadel, congratulations; 8 Judge Carroll, congratulations, almost-Judge 9 Pigott, Peggy, David, Martha. 10 When you know someone really 11 well, I think it gets more and more difficult 12 to say something because you have a hard time 13 capturing the essence that you know of the 14 person. 15 I've heard many people on the 16 floor attempt to do that, and I find myself in 17 that position right now. 18 Dale Volker -- Senator Volker's 19 comments about Gene's high regard and respect 20 by the bench and the bar in Erie County, I 21 would second everything Senator Volker said. 22 I would call attention to the 23 fact that Gene went to law school at SUNY 24 Buffalo Law School. So contrary to some others 25 who weren't quite as enlightened at an early 1 age, some others who didn't quite see SUNY the 2 way we all have seen it, we're glad that you're 3 one of our SUNY graduates, Gene, and I noted on 4 your resume, however, there was one place that 5 you had missed. 6 You talked about, obviously, 7 your private practice, your public service as 8 our county attorney, and obviously your 9 military career. I noted that you did not put 10 down the first place we served together, in the 11 Erie County Legislature. We'll have to talk 12 about that privately some time. I'm afraid it 13 was because you didn't want me to talk about 14 it, and I won't. 15 It was a wonderful time of 16 growing up, learning about government and 17 politics. Gene taught a lot of us what we know 18 and what we still try to practice, the blend of 19 government and politics in those early days, 20 and I think the thing about Gene that I would 21 add to -- beyond Senator Volker's words and his 22 outstanding resume, is that Gene has an 23 understanding of people. He is clearly a 24 people person, always has been, always 25 recognizes and respects the other person's 1 opinion, always listens, can always find 2 something to put them at ease. 3 I said to Gene's wife the other 4 day as I was trying to gather some thoughts, 5 "What can you say about someone when 6 everything you remember almost ends up with a 7 smile or a little bit of a laugh?" but I 8 thought that's the thing to say because that's 9 what Gene does and has done for all of us 10 through so many difficult times and through 11 good times too. 12 So, Gene, on perspective and 13 balance, I don't think there's anyone that can 14 match you and I wish you good luck, and I know 15 you will take to the court what you have 16 brought to all the other dealings and personal 17 activities that we've all enjoyed with you for 18 so many years. 19 We look forward to your service 20 on the court, and congratulations. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 22 Senator Rath. 23 Senator Maziarz. 24 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you, 25 Madam President. 1 I want to join my colleagues, 2 Senators Volker and Rath, and just to 3 congratulate a very good friend from Erie 4 County, Gene Pigott. Although Gene forgot his 5 years in the Erie County Legislature, I know 6 that they were great years and he did a lot of 7 great things for the people of Erie County and 8 also for the legal profession in his work with 9 the New York State Trial Lawyers Association 10 and, Gene, I know you're going to do a great 11 job on the bench, and I just want to extend my 12 personal congratulations. 13 Thank you, Madam President. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. 15 Senator Stachowski. 16 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Madam 17 President, I too would like to rise to second 18 the nomination of Gene Pigott. 19 As most of us non-lawyers would 20 say, Gene's too nice of a guy to be an 21 attorney, so it's probably good that he's 22 becoming a judge, but Gene's a really nice guy 23 and I too worked at the County Legislature and 24 I can understand why he didn't list it. Just 25 kidding. 1 I promised my brother that since 2 he's his law school classmate, that I would get 3 up and at least say a few nice words about Gene 4 for him but also for myself because I find Gene 5 to be one of my good friends also, even though 6 he's caused and been in more fights with 7 various parts of the Republican Party than I 8 ever could be. 9 So, Gene, congratulations. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Does anyone else 11 wish to speak on the nomination of Eugene 12 Pigott? 13 (There was no response.) 14 The question is on the 15 confirmation of Eugene F. Pigott, Jr., as a 16 justice of the Supreme Court for the 8th 17 Judicial District. All in favor signify by 18 saying aye. 19 (Response of "Aye".) 20 Opposed, nay. 21 (There was no response.) 22 Eugene F. Pigott, Jr. is hereby 23 confirmed as justice of the Supreme Court for 24 the 8th Judicial District. Congratulations. 25 (Applause.) 1 The Secretary will read. 2 THE SECRETARY: As judge to the 3 Sullivan County Court, Burton Ledina of 4 Monticello. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Lack. 6 SENATOR LACK: Yes. Thank you, 7 Madam President. 8 I do want to take the occasion 9 first to thank the Governor for this excellent 10 list of appointees to the various courts that 11 are here today and, again, to mention, Madam 12 President, that we have in our gallery, of 13 course, Judge Nadel, now confirmed Judge 14 Carroll with his wife Peggy and his son 15 Brendon, and now confirmed Judge Pigott with 16 his wife Peggy and his son David and his 17 daughter Martha, and now the subject of our 18 last nominee today, the Governor's nomination 19 to the Sullivan County Court. 20 This is, Madam President, just a 21 little bit bittersweet. Judge Ledina appeared 22 before us last year, was unanimously confirmed 23 by the Senate to a then vacancy in the Sullivan 24 County Court. Unfortunately, he lost in the 25 election. This is a newly created County Court 1 seat in Sullivan County. 2 The Governor -- and the 3 Governor's screening committee have 4 reinterviewed Judge Ledina -- has sent the name 5 to the Senate. He was unanimously voted upon 6 by the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning 7 and has been referred to this body for our 8 action this afternoon, and I would yield to 9 Senator Cook and, once again, Madam President, 10 ask you to recognize Judge Ledina and his wife 11 Harriet, who are in our gallery. 12 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Cook. 13 SENATOR COOK: Madam President, 14 thank you. 15 Burt, the vacation is over. 16 Harriet, you're going to have to start putting 17 up with him again on a regular basis. 18 Madam President, I'm not going 19 to say a lot about Judge Ledina today because 20 when he was before us six months ago or so, I 21 talked about his high personal qualifications, 22 his great expertise as an attorney and the 23 great respect in which he is held in the 24 community and said at that time that we were 25 very fortunate to have someone of Judge 1 Ledina's capabilities available to us to be the 2 county judge and that the Governor, in fact, 3 had recognized those capabilities and offered 4 his name to us. 5 I only would add to that, at 6 this point, that everything that Burt Ledina 7 did as county judge merely enhanced the good 8 things that I said about him earlier. 9 His conduct has been exemplary. 10 He has only grown in stature and the esteem 11 with the people in the county who have seen him 12 function, as we knew he would, with great 13 judicial competence, and I am just very pleased 14 that we now have Judge Ledina again, who is 15 going to be sitting on the bench and doing what 16 he does so well, serving the people of Sullivan 17 County as their County Court judge, and I do 18 move the confirmation. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Do 20 any other Senators wish to speak? 21 (There was no response.) 22 The question is on the 23 confirmation of Burton Ledina as judge of the 24 Sullivan County Court. All in favor signify by 25 saying aye. 1 (Response of "Aye".) 2 Opposed, nay. 3 (There was no response.) 4 Burton Ledina is hereby 5 confirmed as judge of the Sullivan County 6 Court. 7 Judge, congratulations and best 8 of luck to you. 9 (Applause) 10 Reports of select committees - 11 I'm sorry. Senator Skelos. 12 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 13 I believe there's a privileged resolution at 14 the desk by Senator Nozzolio. I'd ask that you 15 recognize him at this time. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 17 Senator Nozzolio. 18 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr. 19 President. I ask that the resolution be read 20 in its entirety, and then I wish to speak on 21 its behalf. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 23 Secretary will read. 24 THE SECRETARY: By Senators 25 Nozzolio and Volker, Legislative Resolution 1 commending Paul Lewis Shechtman for his 2 distinguished contributions as Commissioner and 3 Director of the New York State Division of 4 Criminal Justice Services. 5 WHEREAS, it is the sense of this 6 legislative body to take note of and publicly 7 acknowledge the many contributions of Paul 8 Lewis Shechtman to the safety and welfare of 9 the citizens of this noble state during his 10 tenure as Commissioner and Director of the New 11 York State Division of Criminal Justice 12 Services, 1995 through 1997. 13 Born in Philadelphia, 14 Pennsylvania on June 27th, 1946, Paul Shechtman 15 earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, 16 with high honors, from Swarthmore College in 17 1969. In 1973, he completed a Master's degree 18 in economics at Oxford University and, in 1978, 19 he received his law degree from Harvard Law 20 School, magna cum laude. 21 Paul Shechtman was also the 22 recipient of a National Collegiate Athletic 23 Association Basketball Fellowship, a Rhodes 24 Scholarship and a Thomas J. Watson Traveling 25 Fellowship. 1 In 1978, Paul Shechtman began 2 his professional career as law clerk to the 3 Honorable Louis H. Pollak, United States 4 District Court, Eastern District of 5 Pennsylvania and, in 1979, to the Honorable 6 Warren E. Burger, Chief Justice of the United 7 States Supreme Court. 8 From 1981 through 1985, Paul 9 Shechtman served as Chief Appellate Attorney, 10 and Chief, General Crimes Unit, United States 11 Attorney's office, Southern District of New 12 York. He then spent a year as Associate 13 Independent Counsel on a special investigation 14 and, in 1987, he was named Counsel to the 15 District Attorney, New York County District 16 Attorney's office, a position he held until 17 1994 when he became Chief of the Criminal 18 Division, United States Attorney's Office, 19 Southern District of New York. 20 Knowing well the importance of 21 an education and quality professional training, 22 Paul Shechtman has, in conjunction with his 23 many demanding responsibilities, been an 24 assistant professor at the University of 25 Pennsylvania Law School, 1985 through 1987, and 1 professor at Columbia Law School, earning 2 awards for outstanding teaching in 1987, 1990 3 and in 1992. 4 Recognizing his vast expertise 5 and experience, in 1995, Governor George E. 6 Pataki named Paul Shechtman Commissioner and 7 Director of the New York State Division of 8 Criminal Justice Services. 9 During Paul Shechtman's tenure, 10 working with the Governor, members of the 11 Legislature, police, judges and crime victims, 12 many new criminal justice policies have been 13 introduced and new programs developed. These 14 include the creation of the Willard Drug 15 Treatment Campus, reinstatement of the death 16 penalty, elimination of work release for 17 violent felons, and enactment of Megan's Law 18 and the Sex Offender Reform Act. These have 19 already resulted in an overall reduction of 20 violent and several other types of crime in New 21 York State. 22 Today, New York leads the nation 23 in reducing violent crime, down 23 percent 24 across the state; assaults have been reduced by 25 22 percent, robberies by 24 percent and murders 1 by almost one-third as a result of legislation 2 and procedures implemented under the direction 3 of Governor George Pataki and Commissioner Paul 4 Shechtman. 5 Highly praised and justly 6 recognized for his unwavering determination, 7 integrity, selfless commitment and preeminent 8 skills, Paul Shechtman has distinguished 9 himself by his achievements and distinguished 10 performance on behalf of the people of this 11 state and nation. 12 As Paul Shechtman completes his 13 term as Commissioner and Director of the New 14 York State Division of Criminal Justice 15 Services and returns to the private practice of 16 law and to spend time with his wife and two 17 children, it is the sense of this legislative 18 body to recognize, with admiration and grateful 19 tribute, his accomplishments and commitment to 20 excellence; now, therefore, be it 21 RESOLVED, that this legislative 22 body pause in its deliberations to praise Paul 23 Lewis Shechtman for his distinguished service 24 as Commissioner and Director of the New York 25 State Division of Criminal Justice Services and 1 to wish him well in his future endeavors; and 2 be it further 3 RESOLVED, that a copy of this 4 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 5 to Mr. Paul Lewis Shechtman. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 7 Senator Nozzolio. 8 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. 9 President, thank you. 10 On the resolution, on behalf of 11 Senator Volker, Senator Bruno, all 12 members of the Senate, we today have joined 13 Governor Pataki and members of both sides of 14 the aisles in both houses in joining in 15 unanimous praise for the distinguished service 16 given to the state of New York by our now 17 retiring Commissioner of -- head of Criminal 18 Justice Services, the Honorable Paul Shechtman. 19 Paul is with us in the chamber 20 today as he's been many times throughout his 21 tenure, brief as it is, but nonetheless, 22 extremely successful. 23 Throughout these last two years, 24 Paul Shechtman has been a beacon of wisdom and 25 common sense in helping us push forward 1 Governor Pataki's criminal justice reform 2 agenda. The resolution speaks very loudly for 3 what that agenda has been all about but, simply 4 stated, Paul Shechtman has been the right 5 person in the right job at the right time, and 6 I, for one, counted on him, along with Senator 7 Volker. 8 We have been very privileged to 9 work in very close conjunction with Paul in 10 pushing Governor Pataki's very important 11 criminal justice reforms, for which I believe 12 very sincerely, without Paul, the road would 13 have been much rockier in achieving those 14 objectives. 15 Commissioner, it is with a great 16 deal of, I guess, mixed emotion that we say 17 adieu, but certainly we are extremely grateful 18 for everything you've done on behalf of the 19 taxpayers of this state. 20 Thank you very much. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Thank 22 you. 23 Senator Volker. 24 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President, 25 just let me say briefly -- and I have been here 1 now -- as I told Paul earlier, that today is 2 the anniversary of the beginning of my 23rd 3 year in the Senate, because I was elected 4 February 3rd of 199... or '75 and sworn in the 5 next day. 6 In all the years that I have 7 been here, I have dealt with an awful lot of 8 people in criminal justice and a lot of bright 9 people and a lot of very competent people and a 10 lot of people who did a lot of things in a 11 fairly short period of time, but nobody in the 12 years that I have been here has done as much 13 and impacted on the criminal justice system in 14 as positive a way as Paul Shechtman has. 15 As Michael said, he's obviously 16 extremely bright, extremely personable and also 17 extremely determined, and those qualities, I 18 think, have driven criminal justice policy in 19 this state and have made even, possibly, its 20 detractors to possibly understand that here's a 21 man who understands the world the way it is and 22 deals with it in a manner that a gentleman like 23 himself can deal with it. 24 We will certainly miss you, 25 Paul. You have done wonders over the last 1 several years, and I know that wherever you go 2 you will do extremely well and that you will 3 carry with you the fact that you had a major 4 impact on many of us here who operate in Albany 5 and everybody in the state of New York, because 6 I think the one thing we sometimes forget is we 7 tend to link everything here with Albany, but 8 this is a major state and when you have a major 9 impact on the criminal justice system of this 10 state, you have a major impact on the criminal 11 justice system of the entire country, and you 12 understand that because of where you have come 13 from, because of your background, and I think 14 you understand a little bit of that. 15 My tribute to you is thank you 16 for what you have done for this state and for 17 the criminal justice system. On behalf of 18 myself personally, thank you for being a friend 19 and for being so helpful to me, and I wish you 20 the very best, to you and your family, and 21 Godspeed. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 23 Senator Skelos. 24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 25 at the bill-signing of Megan's Law, I think one 1 of my comments was that probably the finest 2 appointment that the Governor made at that time 3 was Paul Shechtman. My opinion at this date 4 has not changed. 5 One of the reasons why that law 6 is on the books now, not only for drafting 7 purposes but passage in both houses was Paul 8 Shechtman, a consummate professional, a person 9 who represented the Governor well but also 10 understood the legislative process and the 11 needs of both Republicans and Democrats and 12 finally coming together in passing legislation 13 in both houses. 14 Paul, I know I'm personally 15 going to miss you up here. Tracy Lloyd in my 16 office is going to miss you. The state of New 17 York is going to miss you for what you've done 18 in a positive way for our criminal justice 19 system. 20 Thank you, Paul. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 22 Senator Bruno. 23 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, a 24 lot has been said about Paul Shechtman, and I 25 can only add my comments and approval to all 1 that has been said, but I wanted to say a 2 special word just personally to Paul, to thank 3 him for the time, the energy, the dedication, 4 the public service and your legacy, as you go 5 on to another life, will really be the good 6 things that you did on behalf of the people of 7 this state and the fact that you have as a 8 support, Governor Pataki, advanced his 9 principles and his ideals of reforming the 10 criminal justice system as recently as a few 11 hours ago with the juvenile justice reform 12 program bill that I know you've helped develop, 13 and you have done it in a way that is very 14 becoming, in the background, helping get the 15 job done. 16 The result is that everyone in 17 New York State is safer, safer for your time, 18 for your energy, for your commitment and the 19 result that is demonstrated by the statistics 20 throughout this state where we have now taken 21 the lead in criminal justice reform. 22 So you are a credit to public 23 service and to this Governor for his good 24 judgment in having appointed you and drawn you 25 into public service. 1 We just wish you well as you go 2 on to your other life, and we know that you 3 will stay in touch and continue to be a 4 resource to all of us. 5 Thank you, Paul. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Thank 7 you, Senator. 8 Senator Abate. 9 SENATOR ABATE: I remember as 10 though it's two or three days ago when we stood 11 here and you were nominated and confirmed for 12 your position and then, as now, I was delighted 13 to see you serve in that position. 14 I will miss you because I'm 15 going to be missing a great sparring partner. 16 We've agreed on many issues and some issues 17 we've not agreed on but some things were always 18 constant. I respected your intellect. You 19 always were accessible to people on both sides 20 of the aisle. When something couldn't be done 21 or it just didn't make sense, you were very 22 straight in your response, and I thought you 23 brought a great sense of movement, 24 fair-mindedness, intellect to the process of 25 criminal justice system policy-making. We will 1 miss you. 2 It's ironic that as I left the 3 budget hearings, some members of the Assembly 4 said to me, "What will we do without Paul? Who 5 will come next? We really needed that 6 continuity." I think everyone, even the people 7 that argue with you the most, will also miss 8 you. 9 So I think you've left a lasting 10 legacy. I think you're a terrific person. I 11 have enjoyed the laughs we've shared together 12 and I'm looking forward to having you as an 13 active constituent in my district and, 14 hopefully, I'll see you in my community and you 15 will go on to continue doing great things. 16 Congratulations, Paul. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Are 18 there any other Senators who wish to speak on 19 the resolution? 20 (There was no response.) 21 The question is on the 22 resolution. All in favor signify by saying 23 aye. 24 (Response of "Aye".) 25 Opposed, nay. 1 (There was no response.) 2 The resolution is adopted. 3 Congratulations, former 4 commissioner now. 5 (Applause) 6 Senator Holland. 7 SENATOR HOLLAND: Mr. President, 8 I move that the following bills be discharged 9 from their respective committees and be 10 recommitted with instructions to strike the 11 enacting clauses. They are my bills, S... 12 Senate 885 and S.1696. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 14 bills are recommitted. The enacting clauses 15 are stricken. 16 Senator Skelos. 17 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 18 I'd ask that we adopt the Resolution Calendar 19 at this time in its entirety, and I would 20 request of Senator Paterson, if members, as 21 they wish, could go on Resolution Number 201. 22 I move we adopt the Resolution Calendar. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: All 24 those in favor of adopting the Resolution 25 Calendar signify by saying aye. 1 (Response of "Aye".) 2 Opposed, nay. 3 (There was no response.) 4 The Resolution Calendar is 5 adopted. 6 Senator Skelos. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: On Resolution 8 Number 201, everybody can go on the 9 resolution. If they wish not to, they should 10 notify the desk. 11 At this time, Mr. President, if 12 we could take up the non-controversial 13 calendar. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 15 Secretary will read. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 33, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 243, an 18 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to 19 requiring that the State University graduation 20 ceremonies include the Pledge of Allegiance. 21 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside, 22 please. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 24 bill is laid aside at the request of Senator 25 Paterson. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 34, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 249, an 3 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to 4 enacting the Higher Education Community Service 5 Act. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 7 the last section. 8 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 9 act shall take effect on the first day of 10 September. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll.) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 16 bill is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 35, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 303, an 19 act to amend the Education Law. 20 SENATOR STAVISKY: Lay it aside. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay 22 the bill aside at the request of Senator 23 Stavisky. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 25 41, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 406-A, an 1 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law and the 2 Penal Law, in relation to felony sex offenses. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 4 the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 16. 6 This act shall take effect on the first day of 7 November. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 9 the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll.) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 13 bill is passed. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 42, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 414, an 16 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 17 computer networks. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 19 the last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 21 act shall take effect on the first day of 22 November. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 24 the roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll.) 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 3 bill is passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 47, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 487, 6 an act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 7 relation to access to sealed records. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 9 the last section. 10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 11 act shall take effect immediately. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 13 the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll.) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 17 bill is passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 50, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 522, an act 20 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 21 consecutive terms of imprisonment. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 23 the last section. 24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 25 act shall take effect on the first day of 1 November. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 3 the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll.) 5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 7 bill is passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 54, by Senator Levy, Senate Print 602, an act 10 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in 11 relation to increasing penalties for leaving 12 the scene of an accident. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 14 the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 16 act shall take effect on the first day of 17 November. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 19 the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll.) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 23 bill is passed. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 25 56, by Senator Tully, Senate Print 192, an act 1 to authorize the county of Nassau, town of 2 North Hempstead, village of Westbury and 3 Westbury Central School District to refund 4 certain taxes. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 6 the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 8 act shall take effect immediately. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 10 the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll.) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 14 bill is passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 60, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 461, an act 17 to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in relation 18 to school districts. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 20 the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 22 act shall take effect on the first day of 23 January. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 25 the roll. 1 (The Secretary called the roll.) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 4 bill is passed. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 62, by Senator Present, Senate Print 527, an 7 act to amend the General Municipal Law, in 8 relation to authorizing the designation of 9 rural economic development zones. 10 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay it aside. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay 12 the bill aside at the request of Senator 13 Leichter. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 66, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 124, an 16 act to amend the Environmental Conservation 17 Law, in relation to increasing the criminal 18 penalties for illegally taking big game. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 20 the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 22 act shall take effect on the first day of 23 November. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 25 the roll. 1 (The Secretary called the roll.) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 4 bill is passed. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 67, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 1391, 7 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation 8 Law, in relation to the drawing off of water 9 from storage reservoirs. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 11 the last section. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 13 act shall take effect on the first day of 14 January. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 16 the roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll.) 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58, nays 1, 19 Senator Cook recorded in the negative. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 21 bill is passed. 22 Senator Skelos, that completes 23 the non-controversial reading of the calendar. 24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 25 may we now have a reading of the controversial 1 calendar. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 3 Secretary will read. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 33, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 243, an 6 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to 7 requiring that the State University graduation 8 ceremonies include the Pledge of Allegiance and 9 National Anthem. 10 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 12 Senator Johnson, an explanation has been 13 requested of Calendar Number 33 from Senator 14 Paterson. 15 SENATOR JOHNSON: Lay it aside. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 17 bill is going to be laid aside at the request 18 of the sponsor. 19 Senator Paterson. 20 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. 21 President, if Senator Johnson wishes, we could 22 call that bill up and Senator Leichter and I 23 will just make statements on it. We understand 24 the legislation. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 1 Secretary will read. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 33, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 243, an 4 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to 5 requiring that the State University graduation 6 ceremonies include the Pledge of Allegiance and 7 National Anthem. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 9 Senator Leichter. 10 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yeah, Mr. 11 President. Thank you. 12 On Senator Johnson's bill, he's 13 explained it a number of years going, and I 14 must say it hasn't convinced us. I don't 15 believe there's anything more that could be 16 said about the bill and, frankly, we've debated 17 it at length and I'm not going to take much 18 time on it. 19 This is the bill where the 20 Legislature feels that its duty, its obligation 21 -- it's got nothing better to do in regard to 22 higher education than to tell the State 23 University how it should conduct its graduation 24 ceremonies. 25 Senator Johnson, you might just 1 as well tell them what the order of the 2 ceremonial marching is, who should go first, 3 who should go last, how they should wear their 4 tassel. 5 I just don't think it's the 6 business of the Legislature to involve itself 7 in this minutia of how State University 8 campuses will conduct their graduation 9 ceremonies, but let me tell you something, 10 Senator Johnson, that I think we do have an 11 obligation and, sadly, I don't see any bill or 12 any initiative coming forth from the Majority, 13 and that is the great need that this university 14 has, for support, for resources. 15 This is a university system that 16 is, frankly, being dismantled. It's going to 17 become a second-rate university and it's 18 occurring because we have underfunded it. 19 Something that started under Governor Cuomo has 20 been accelerated and exacerbated under Governor 21 Pataki. 22 This year we see that tuition is 23 going to go up another $400. Resources, 24 support from the state of New York are being 25 withdrawn, and the consequences are that you've 1 got, for instance, a State University campus of 2 70,000 students right here in Albany that isn't 3 going to have a German department. Nobody can 4 take German. What sort of a university is 5 that? And if you take a look at applications 6 to the State University system, they're 7 declining. They're declining because we've 8 made the system too expensive. They're 9 declining because students feel they're not 10 going to get a first-rate education. That's 11 what we ought to be addressing, instead of 12 telling the State University how to conduct 13 their graduation ceremony. 14 I must say, the contrast between 15 what we're doing by this bill and what is 16 needed for the State University system couldn't 17 be greater, couldn't be more glaring. Our 18 neglect couldn't be more evident, that we take 19 the time to pass a bill dealing with this 20 minutia, interference into the affairs of the 21 State University but failing to do anything, 22 silent, neglectful of the main needs of that 23 State University system. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 25 Senator Dollinger. 1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you, 2 Mr. President. 3 This is a bill that I also have 4 spoken on before. This is one of those 5 mandates that we seem to pass even though we 6 pass every year Senator Saland's bill that says 7 we'll never mandate anything to anyone again. 8 We swear off mandates. We're no longer 9 addicted to mandates, but then, sure enough, 10 all of these mandates keep coming to the 11 surface because these are good mandates. 12 Nonetheless, understand that that's exactly 13 what this is. We're going to tell somebody at 14 another level of government that's fully 15 capable of deciding what they want to do at 16 graduation, we're going to tell them what to 17 do. 18 I hope that when we have the 19 debate about the mandate relief bill, we'll 20 perhaps think about this time when we passed 21 this mandate. 22 I agree with Senator Leichter. 23 I'm concerned not so much about what they 24 recite at graduation or about what they play at 25 graduation. I want to know how many people are 1 in the graduation pool, and Senator Leichter is 2 absolutely correct that as we de-fund the SUNY 3 system, there are going to be fewer and fewer 4 people out there with caps and mortarboards on, 5 and that's what we really ought to be concerned 6 with, instead of telling them they got to 7 recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the 8 National Anthem -- or perform the National 9 Anthem, which is what the bill says. 10 I actually was somewhat 11 quizzical about that because I can't decide 12 whether this means instrumental versions or 13 choral versions, or maybe we can even do that 14 Jimmy Hendrix version that was very popular 20 15 years ago and just have Jimmy Hendrix play his 16 electric guitar. I'm not so sure that that's 17 the patriotic thrill that the bill intends. 18 I also am very concerned about 19 what's the penalty going to be? What are we 20 going to do if the SUNY trustees or some campus 21 says, You know, we've decided we're going to do 22 America the Beautiful rather than the National 23 Anthem? Are we suddenly going to invalidate 24 all degrees we grant because they're not doing 25 what we told them to do? 1 There's an old line about 2 patriotism being the last refuge of the 3 scoundrels. Sometimes I think it's the last 4 refuge of all of us who are publicity-seeking 5 politicians, but remember one thing about 6 patriotism, that which is freely chosen is far 7 more valuable than that that is forcefully 8 imposed. 9 I'm one of those publicity 10 seeking politicians. I've voted for this bill 11 in the past. I understand the flag is waving 12 in the background, the National Anthem is 13 playing, and to vote against this bill would be 14 interpreted to do something different. 15 Frankly, I think we ought to 16 turn our attention to what's really important, 17 making sure that we fund this university so 18 that there are more people in the audience to 19 listen to the National Anthem and recite the 20 Pledge of Allegiance. That's where our 21 attention should be focused. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 23 Senator Paterson. 24 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. 25 President, in 1987, I believe we adopted that 1 ceremony in this chamber and every day we say 2 the Pledge of Allegiance before the session, 3 and I think all of us enjoy doing it, and I 4 think that ceremony, in many senses, restores 5 the sense of importance to the proceedings and 6 would provide that to the graduations. 7 The reason that I am voting 8 against this bill is that too often there is a 9 collective sense of responsibility that ignores 10 individualism and individual rights. 11 Too often, if one chose not to 12 say the Pledge of Allegiance -- which is a 13 right upheld by the Supreme Court in 1943 in 14 the case of Barnett versus West Virginia, 15 Minersville, brought to my attention very 16 graciously by Senator Lachman -- the reality is 17 that many times, in an excessive use of 18 patriotism, that right is denied individuals. 19 What I am not objecting to is 20 the process. I think the process is fine. If 21 we'd like to establish this at our state 22 institutions, I would support it, but what I'm 23 objecting to is that it is not clearly 24 delineated in this bill, that that right that 25 an individual has exists, and I think that it 1 has to be stated and restated so we understand 2 what patriotism is all about. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: Read 4 the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 6 act shall take effect on the 120th day. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: Call 8 the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: 11 Senator Abate to explain her vote. 12 SENATOR ABATE: While I share 13 the sentiment expressed by Senator Paterson and 14 Senator Leichter, Senator Dollinger, I read 15 this bill as saying -- because I think we have 16 so many more important issues that need to be 17 addressed, but I read this bill as saying that 18 this will be part of the ceremony but that no 19 individual student will be required to recite 20 the Pledge of Allegiance, and interpreting it 21 that way -- because then it would be an 22 unconstitutional piece of legislation. So 23 interpreting it that way, that it will be part 24 of the ceremony with no punitive action taken 25 against any individual student for whatever 1 religious or other reason who does not wish to 2 recite that pledge, there is no action or no 3 requirement that's stated in this bill. 4 With that interpretation of the 5 bill, I vote yes. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: 7 Senator Lachman to explain his vote. 8 SENATOR LACHMAN: I would like 9 to ask Senator Johnson if that is his 10 interpretation of the bill, if I may. 11 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 12 we're on a roll call. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: We're 14 on a roll call, Senator. 15 SENATOR LACHMAN: Oh, okay. 16 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded 17 in the negative on Calendar Number 33, Senator 18 Gold, Lachman, Leichter, Markowitz, Montgomery, 19 Paterson and Waldon. 20 Ayes 54, nays 7. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: The 22 bill is passed. 23 The Secretary will read Calendar 24 35. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 1 35, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 303, an 2 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to 3 the Board of Regents of the University of the 4 state of New York. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: 6 Senator Stavisky. 7 SENATOR STAVISKY: I should like 8 to ask the sponsor of this legislation whether 9 the method of electing Regents has been 10 altered? What happens if there is no 11 concurrent resolution in the two houses? What 12 happens with the present system of having a 13 joint session of the Legislature, the Senate 14 and the Assembly? Has that been changed? 15 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: Are 16 you asking Senator LaValle? 17 SENATOR STAVISKY: I'm asking 18 Senator LaValle to yield to a question. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: 20 Senator LaValle, do you yield to a question? 21 SENATOR LAVALLE: Yes. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: The 23 Senator yields. 24 SENATOR LAVALLE: I'm going to 25 look for the answer. The new language is 1 really changing, Senator. The time period from 2 the first Tuesday in March to the third Tuesday 3 in May - 4 SENATOR STAVISKY: That was not 5 my question. 6 SENATOR LAVALLE: I know, and 7 then the language is maintained into law -- the 8 language -- as you see, Senator, the bracketed 9 language takes out "by concurrent resolution in 10 the preceding March on or before the first 11 Tuesday of the month. If, however, the 12 Legislature fails to agree on such concurrent 13 resolution...." So it takes out that entire - 14 that entire language. 15 SENATOR STAVISKY: The joint 16 legislative session. 17 SENATOR LAVALLE: That is 18 correct; however -- let me lay this bill aside 19 for one day. 20 SENATOR STAVISKY: I'll 21 have - 22 SENATOR LAVALLE: I'm pretty 23 sure that I put that back in, but I just want 24 to - 25 SENATOR STAVISKY: I'll have the 1 same question tomorrow. 2 SENATOR LAVALLE: I'll have the 3 answer for you. 4 SENATOR STAVISKY: Okay. Thank 5 you. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: The 7 bill is laid aside. 8 The Secretary will read Calendar 9 62. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 62, by Senator Present, Senate Print 527, an 12 act to amend the General Municipal Law, in 13 relation to authorizing the designation of 14 rural economic development zones. 15 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. 16 President, if Senator - 17 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: 18 Senator Leichter. 19 SENATOR LEICHTER: -- Senator 20 Present would yield, please. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: 22 Senator Present, do you yield to a question? 23 SENATOR PRESENT: Yes, 24 certainly. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: The 1 Senator yields. 2 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator, I 3 have no problem in setting up economic 4 development zones in rural areas, and I think 5 they ought to be available throughout the state 6 but, correct me if I'm wrong, I think there's a 7 limited amount of such economic development 8 zones that we can set up. Either there's a 9 limitation by virtue of law -- that may not be 10 the case but, in any event, there's a 11 limitation by virtue of the resources that we 12 have available. I mean, we can't make the 13 whole state an economic development zone. 14 Isn't that correct? 15 SENATOR PRESENT: That's pretty 16 accurate, yes. 17 SENATOR LEICHTER: Now, does 18 your bill allow an unlimited number of these 19 rural economic development zones -- or, at 20 least, doesn't set a numerical limit as long as 21 they meet certain qualifications, is that 22 correct? 23 SENATOR PRESENT: That's 24 correct. 25 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator, if 1 that happens and we get 100 or 120 of these 2 rural economic development zones, what's going 3 to happen to the economic development zones for 4 the rest of the state? 5 SENATOR PRESENT: I don't think 6 we would, and if we saw that happen, we would 7 put a cap on it. 8 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, 9 Senator, isn't it fair to say that in the first 10 instance that we should put a cap on it to see 11 that we don't find ourselves in the situation 12 where all of the economic development zones are 13 going to end up in rural areas or that rural 14 areas will say, "Well, we have a right to have 15 an economic development zone"? Then we come 16 and tell them, "Sorry, the door is shut. You 17 can't get in." 18 SENATOR PRESENT: Was that a 19 question or a statement? 20 SENATOR LEICHTER: No, it's a 21 question. The question is, how do we deal with 22 that sort of a situation? 23 SENATOR PRESENT: I don't 24 foresee that problem arising. 25 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, 1 Senator, I mean, you can stand here and you can 2 assure us -- can you tell us how many rural 3 economic development zones there are going to 4 be? 5 SENATOR PRESENT: No, I cannot. 6 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, what do 7 you base your belief on that there's not going 8 to be a problem? 9 SENATOR PRESENT: Just my 10 observations across the state relative to rural 11 areas. 12 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator, how 13 many -- again, that gets, really, back to the 14 first question I had. How many economic 15 development zones are we able to have in this 16 state? How many do we have now and how many 17 until we run into a cap? 18 SENATOR PRESENT: I think the 19 cap is 40. 20 SENATOR LEICHTER: 40? And how 21 many do we have now? 22 SENATOR PRESENT: I don't know. 23 SENATOR LEICHTER: I know 24 there's some in New York City, I know there's 25 some in Buffalo, and so on. So we must have at 1 least 25 or -- and I assume there's parts of 2 the state, rural -- not just rural areas but 3 urban/suburban areas where applications are 4 pending for economic development zones. Isn't 5 that a fair assumption? 6 SENATOR PRESENT: I think there 7 probably are some. 8 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, I have 9 a difficulty then, Senator, in your bill 10 providing what seems to me to be an unlimited 11 number of these rural economic development 12 zones when we don't have enough economic 13 development zones to give them. 14 SENATOR PRESENT: You have that 15 concern? 16 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, 17 wouldn't it seem -- wouldn't it seem a pretty 18 reasonable concern? Shouldn't it be a concern 19 that you have, as sponsor of the legislation? 20 SENATOR PRESENT: Well, I don't 21 have that concern. 22 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, 23 Senator, let me ask you this, if I may. At the 24 present time, absent your legislation, are 25 rural areas eligible at all for economic 1 development zones? 2 SENATOR PRESENT: Small rural 3 areas with a combined village or two villages 4 are not able to put together all necessary 5 information, file their application and put it 6 together. They're not able to. 7 SENATOR LEICHTER: I'm sorry, 8 Mr. President. Could you repeat that because I 9 didn't hear you. 10 SENATOR PRESENT: A small rural 11 area, one village or two villages combined, are 12 not able to meet all their criteria, put 13 together all the information required in an 14 application. 15 SENATOR LEICHTER: And why is 16 that, Senator? 17 SENATOR PRESENT: Much of it is 18 based upon the last census and the data that is 19 combined and taken primarily in urban areas, 20 it's not available to them to begin with. 21 SENATOR LEICHTER: Am I correct 22 in understanding that rural zones are presently 23 permitted under the law but there's a 24 difficulty in the rural areas putting together 25 the information to submit to -- I guess it goes 1 to the Department of Economic Development -- to 2 qualify or to convince the Department that they 3 qualify for an economic development zone? 4 SENATOR PRESENT: That's pretty 5 accurate. You've got it right. 6 SENATOR LEICHTER: And the 7 purpose of your bill is to make it easier for 8 the rural areas and the rural areas would still 9 have to apply to the Economic Development 10 Department. The Economic Development 11 Department would say, Well, sorry, guys, we've 12 reached a cap. That's how it would work, 13 right? 14 SENATOR PRESENT: If they got 15 that far, yes, under existing law. 16 SENATOR LEICHTER: So really, as 17 I understand your bill, all you're trying to do 18 is to make it easier for rural areas to be able 19 to qualify as an economic development zone. 20 SENATOR PRESENT: Exactly. 21 SENATOR LEICHTER: All right. I 22 have no problem with the bill. 23 SENATOR TULLY: Mr. President. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: 25 Senator Tully. 1 SENATOR TULLY: To explain my 2 vote. I was really confused on this bill but 3 because of Senator Leichter's lucid 4 explanation, I'm prepared to vote for it. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: Read 6 the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 8 act shall take effect on the first day of 9 January. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: Call 11 the roll. 12 (The Secretary called the roll.) 13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: The 15 bill is passed. 16 Senator Marcellino, that 17 completes the reading of the controversial 18 calendar. 19 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr. 20 President, can we return to reports of standing 21 committees, please. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: We'll 23 return to the reports of standing committees. 24 The Secretary will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Volker, 1 from the Committee on Codes, offers up the 2 following bills: Senate Print 87-A, by Senator 3 Volker, an act to amend the Penal Law, in 4 relation to criminal possession of marijuana; 5 244, by Senator Johnson, an act 6 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 7 establishing a presumption that a child has 8 been permanently removed; 9 333, by Senator Skelos, an act 10 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 11 increasing the penalties for custodial 12 interference; 13 402, by Senator Maziarz, an act 14 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 15 relation to plea bargains and felony sex 16 offenses; 17 488, by Senator DeFrancisco, an 18 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 19 538, by Senator Present, an act 20 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to lawful 21 possession; 22 539, by Senator Present, an act 23 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 24 relation to eligibility for youthful offender 25 status; 1 673, by Senator Saland, an act 2 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law and the 3 Family Court Act; 4 808, by Senator Volker, an act 5 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 6 relation to peace officers; 7 816, by Senator Saland, an act 8 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 9 authorizing restitution; 10 882, by Senator Spano, an act to 11 amend the Penal Law, in relation to the crime 12 of criminal employment; 13 887, by Senator Volker, an act 14 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 15 888, by Senator Volker, an act 16 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 17 resisting arrest; 18 889, by Senator Volker, an act 19 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, the Public 20 Health Law and the Public Family Court Act; 21 1101, by Senator Lack, an act to 22 amend the Civil Rights Law, in relation to 23 prohibiting the state from imposing certain 24 fees. 25 Senator Rath, from the Committee 1 on Local Government, offers up the following 2 bills: Senate Print 526, by Senator Present, 3 an act to amend the General Municipal Law, in 4 relation to economic development zones; 5 647, by Senator Holland, an act 6 to amend the General Municipal Law, in relation 7 to indexing the interest rates; 8 683, by Senator Saland, an act 9 to amend the County Law, in relation to 10 exempting public safety agencies; 11 780, by Senator Cook, an act to 12 amend the General Municipal Law; 13 781, by Senator Cook, an act to 14 amend the Town Law and the Village Law; 15 and 16 1128, by Senator Seward, an act 17 to amend the County Law, in relation to 18 establishing county communication systems. 19 Senator Present, from the 20 Committee on Commerce, Economic Development and 21 Small Businesses, offers up the following 22 bills: 653, by Senator Johnson, an act to 23 amend the State Administrative Procedure Act; 24 765, by Senator Present, an act 25 to amend the State Administrative Procedure 1 Act, in relation to compliance requirements. 2 Senator Saland, from the 3 Committee on Children and Families, offers up 4 the following bills: Senate Print 98, by 5 Senator Volker, an act to amend the Domestic 6 Relations Law and the Family Court Act; 7 233, by Senator Holland, an act 8 to amend the Domestic Relations Law, in 9 relation to notification; 10 332, by Senator Skelos, an act 11 to amend the Social Service Law, in relation to 12 access to certain conviction records; 13 489, by Senator Saland, an act 14 to amend the Family Court Act, in relation to 15 evidence of child neglect; 16 491, by Senator Saland, an act 17 to amend the Family Court Act, in relation to 18 placement of children; 19 817, by Senator Saland, an act 20 to amend the Family Court Act, in relation to 21 extensions; 22 1483, by Senator Spano, an act 23 to amend the Social Service Law, in relation to 24 requiring investigation. 25 Senator DeFrancisco, from the 1 Committee on Tourism, Recreation and Sports 2 Development, offers up the following bill: 3 1664, by Senator Goodman, an act to amend 4 Chapter 912 of the Laws of 1920, relating to 5 allowing and regulating boxing, sparring and 6 wrestling matches. 7 Senator Goodman, from the 8 Committee on Investigations, Taxation and 9 Government Operations, offers up the following 10 bills: Senate Print 535, by Senator Present, 11 an act authorizing the Commissioner of General 12 Services to transfer and convey certain state 13 lands; and 14 810, by Senator Goodman, an act 15 to amend the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, in 16 relation to financing work in capital loans. 17 All bills directly for third 18 reading. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: 20 Continue the order of business. 21 Reports of select committees. 22 Communications and reports from 23 state officers -- oh, I'm sorry. Without 24 objection, the response from the committees 25 direct to Third Reading Calendar. No 1 objections, so ordered. 2 Continue with the order of 3 business. 4 Reports of select committees. 5 Communications and reports from 6 state officers. 7 Senator Marcellino, that 8 completes the order of business. 9 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr. 10 President, is there any housekeeping at the 11 desk? 12 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: No 13 housekeeping. 14 SENATOR MARCELLINO: There being 15 no further business, I move we adjourn until 16 Wednesday, February 5th, at 11:00 a.m. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: Upon 18 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until 19 Wednesday, February 5th, at 11:00 a.m. 20 (Whereupon, at 4:07 p.m., the 21 Senate adjourned.) 22 23 24 25