Tuesday, July 22, 1997

7055 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 July 22, 1997 11 12:28 p.m. 12 13 14 15 REGULAR SESSION 16 17 18 19 LT. GOVERNOR BETSY McCAUGHEY ROSS, President 20 STEPHEN F. SLOAN, Secretary 21 22 23 24 25 7056 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will 3 come to order. 4 Would you please rise and join 5 with me in the Pledge of Allegiance. 6 (The assemblage repeated the 7 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ) 8 May we bow our heads in a moment 9 of silence. 10 (A moment of silence was 11 observed. 12 THE PRESIDENT: The reading of 13 the Journal, please. 14 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 15 Monday, July 21st. The Senate met pursuant to 16 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, July 20th, 17 was read and approved. On motion, Senate 18 adjourned. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Without 20 objection, the Journal stands approved as read. 21 Presentation of petitions. 22 Messages from the Assembly. 23 Messages from the Governor. 24 Reports of standing committees. 25 Reports of select committees. 7057 1 Communications and reports from 2 state officers. 3 Motions and resolutions. 4 Senator Marcellino. 5 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 6 Madam President. 7 Madam President, on page number 8 4, I offer the following amendments to Calendar 9 Number 758, Senate Print 4982-A, and ask that 10 said bill retain its place on the Third Reading 11 Calendar. 12 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments 13 received. 14 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 15 President, on behalf of Senator Present, I wish 16 to call up his bill, Print Number 765-A, 17 recalled from the Assembly, which is now at the 18 desk. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will 20 read. 21 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 22 Present, Senate Print 765-A, an act to amend the 23 State Administrative Procedure Act. 24 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 25 President, I now move to reconsider the vote by 7058 1 which this bill was passed. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll on 3 reconsideration. 4 (The Secretary called the roll on 5 reconsideration.) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 34. 7 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 8 President, I now offer the following amendments. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments 10 received. 11 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 12 President, on behalf of Senator Lack, I wish to 13 call up his bill, Print Number 2699-B, recalled 14 from the Governor, which is now at the desk. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will 16 read. 17 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Lack, 18 Senate Print 2699-B, an act to amend the 19 Alcoholic Beverage Control Law. 20 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I now move 21 to reconsider the vote by which the bill was 22 passed. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll on 24 reconsideration, please. 25 (The Secretary called the roll on 7059 1 reconsideration.) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 34. 3 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I now offer 4 the following amendments. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments 6 received. 7 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 8 President, on behalf of Senator LaValle, I wish 9 to call up his bill, Print Number 3286-A, 10 recalled from the Assembly, which is now at the 11 desk. 12 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will 13 read. 14 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 15 LaValle, Senate Print 3286-A, an act to amend 16 the Civil Rights Law. 17 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 18 President, I now move to reconsider the vote by 19 which the bill was passed. 20 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll on 21 reconsideration. 22 (The Secretary called the roll on 23 reconsideration.) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 34. 25 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I now offer 7060 1 the following amendments. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments 3 received. 4 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 5 President, on behalf of Senator DeFrancisco, I 6 wish to call up his bill, Print Number 4448, 7 recalled from the Assembly, which is now at the 8 desk. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will 10 read. 11 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 12 DeFrancisco, Senate Print 4448, an act in 13 relation to authorizing the county of Onondaga. 14 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 15 President, I now move to reconsider the vote by 16 which this bill was passed. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll on 18 reconsideration. 19 (The Secretary called the roll on 20 reconsideration.) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 35. 22 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I now offer 23 the following amendments. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments 25 received. 7061 1 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 2 President, on behalf of Senator Tully, I wish to 3 call up his bill, Print Number 5582, recalled 4 from the Assembly, which is now at the desk. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will 6 read. 7 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Tully, 8 Senate Print 5582, an act to amend the Public 9 Authorities Law. 10 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 11 President, I now move to reconsider the vote by 12 which this bill was passed. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll on 14 reconsideration, please. 15 (The Secretary called the roll on 16 reconsideration.) 17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 35. 18 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I now offer 19 the following amendments. 20 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments 21 received. 22 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 23 President, on behalf of Senator Johnson, I wish 24 to call up his bill, Print Number 5410-C, 25 recalled from the Assembly, which is now at the 7062 1 desk. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will 3 read. 4 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 5 Johnson, Senate Print 5410-C, an act to amend 6 the Environmental Conservation Law. 7 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I now move 8 to reconsider the vote by which the bill was 9 passed. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll on 11 reconsideration, please. 12 (The Secretary called the roll on 13 reconsideration.) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 35. 15 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 16 President, I offer the following amendments. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments 18 received. 19 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 20 President, lastly but not least at least for 21 today, on behalf of Senator Velella, I wish to 22 call up his bill, Print Number 5452, recalled 23 from the Assembly, which is now at the desk. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will 25 read. 7063 1 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 2 Velella, Senate Print 5452, an act to amend the 3 Insurance Law. 4 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 5 President, I now wish to reconsider the vote by 6 which this 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 36. 12 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 13 President, I now offer the following 14 amendments. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 16 Amendments received. 17 Senator Stachowski. 18 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr. 19 President, on behalf of Senator Santiago, I wish 20 to call up Senate Print 5595, recalled from the 21 Assembly, which is now at the desk. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 23 Secretary will read. 24 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 25 Santiago, Senate Print 5595, an act to authorize 7064 1 the Office of General Services. 2 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Madam 3 President, I now move to reconsider the vote by 4 which this bill was passed. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 6 roll on reconsideration. 7 (The Secretary called the roll on 8 reconsideration.) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 37. 10 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr. 11 President, I now offer the following 12 amendments. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 14 Amendments received. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 17 Skelos. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: There will be an 19 immediate meeting of the Transportation Commit 20 tee and the Finance Committee in the Majority 21 Conference Room. These committees will meet 22 jointly to take up some nominations. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 24 Immediate meeting of the Finance and Transporta 25 tion Committees in the Majority Conference 7065 1 Room. 2 Senator Skelos. 3 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 5 Skelos. 6 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could take 7 up Calendar Number 62 at this point. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 344, by member of the Assembly Feldman, Assembly 10 Print 5700-A, an act to amend the Insurance 11 Law. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 13 last section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 15 act shall take effect immediately. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 17 roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 21 is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 479, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 3208-A, an 24 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 7066 1 last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 3 act shall take effect immediately. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 5 roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 9 is passed. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 486, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 331-A, an 12 act to amend the Executive Law. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 14 last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 16 act shall take effect on the first day of 17 November. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 19 roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 23 is passed. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 25 823, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 3802-B, an 7067 1 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 3 last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 18. This 5 act shall take effect immediately. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 7 roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 11 is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 991, by Senator Levy, Senate Print 4234-A, an 14 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 16 last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 18 act shall take effect on the first day of 19 November. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 21 roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 41. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 25 is passed. 7068 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 1078, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 4473-A, an 3 act to authorize the town of Richford. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There's 5 a home rule message at the desk. Read the last 6 section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 8 act shall take effect immediately. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 10 roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 42. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 14 is passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 1083, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 4790-A, an 17 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 19 last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 21 act shall take effect immediately. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 23 roll. 24 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 42. 7069 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 2 is passed. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 1168, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 3215-B, 5 an act authorizing the town of Southeast, Putnam 6 County. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Home 8 rule message at the desk. Read the last 9 section. 10 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This 11 act shall take effect immediately. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 13 roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 42. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 17 is passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 1398, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 2487-A, an 20 act to amend the Correction Law. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 22 last section. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 24 act shall take effect immediately. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 7070 1 roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 42. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 5 is passed. 6 Senator Skelos, that completes 7 the non-controversial calendar. 8 SENATOR SKELOS: I believe also 9 the controversial, so we'll stand at ease 10 pending the report of Finance. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 12 Senate will stand at ease pending the report of 13 Finance. 14 (The Senate stood at ease from 15 12:40 p.m. until 12:45 p.m.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 17 Skelos. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 19 at this time would you call Calendar Number 20 1519. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 22 Secretary will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 1519, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 5452-A, 25 an act to amend the Insurance Law. 7071 1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 2 is there a message of necessity at the desk? 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes, 4 there is, Senator Skelos. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All in 7 favor of accepting the message of necessity 8 signify by saying aye. 9 (Response of "Aye.") 10 Opposed nay. 11 (There was no response. ) 12 The messages are accepted. Read 13 the last section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 23. This 15 act shall take effect July 1st, 1997. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 17 roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 42. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 21 is passed. 22 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 23 if you could call up Calendar Number 1493. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 25 Secretary will read. 7072 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 1493, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 5410-D, 3 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation 4 Law. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 6 Skelos. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a 8 message of necessity at the desk? 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes, 10 there is a message. 11 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All in 13 favor of accepting the message of necessity 14 signify by saying aye. 15 (Response of "Aye.") 16 Opposed, nay. 17 (There was no response.) 18 The message is accepted. Read 19 the last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 13. This 21 act shall take effect immediately. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 23 roll. 24 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43. 7073 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 2 is passed. 3 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 4 if we might stand at ease. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senate 6 will stand at ease. 7 (The Senate stood at ease from 8 12:47 p.m. until 1:48 p.m.) 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 10 Skelos. 11 SENATOR SKELOS: If we can return 12 to motions and resolutions, I move at this time 13 that we adopt the Resolution Calendar in its 14 entirety. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All 16 those in favor of adopting the Resolution 17 Calendar in its entirety say aye. 18 (Response of "Aye.") 19 Opposed? 20 (There was no response. ) 21 The Resolution Calendar is 22 adopted. 23 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 24 if we have could return to reports of standing 25 committees, I believe there's a report of the 7074 1 Finance Committee at the desk. I ask it be read 2 at this time. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reports 4 of standing committees. The Secretary will 5 read. 6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 7 from the Committee on Finance, offers up the 8 following bill: 9 Senate Print 5720, by the 10 Committee on Rules, an act making appropriations 11 for the support of government. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without 13 objection, to Third Reading Calendar. 14 Senator Skelos. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 16 do we need a substitution to be made at this 17 time? No? Mr. President, on Senate bill 5720, 18 is there a message of necessity and 19 appropriation at the desk? 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is 21 a message of necessity and appropriation at the 22 desk. 23 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All 25 those in favor of accepting the message of 7075 1 necessity and appropriation say aye. 2 (Response of "Aye.") 3 Opposed? 4 (There was no response. ) 5 The message is accepted. 6 Read the last section. 7 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. 8 President. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: I'm 10 sorry. Senator Leichter. 11 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yes. This is 12 the budget extender, Mr. President? 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: One 14 moment, Senator Leichter. We have to read the 15 bill first to get the bill before the house and 16 then I'll recognize you. 17 Secretary will read. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 1536, by the Committee on Rules, Senate Print 20 5720, an act making appropriations for the 21 support of government. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Now, 23 Senator Leichter. 24 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. President, 25 I believe I have an amendment at the desk. 7076 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: It just 2 arrived this second, Senator. 3 SENATOR LEICHTER: O.K. Thank 4 you. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 6 Leichter, on the amendments. 7 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yes. Thank 8 you very much, Mr. President. 9 This is a very simple amendment. 10 It's so short, so simple, so direct to the point 11 that I'm going to read every word of it, Mr. 12 President. 13 "The expenditure of any public 14 funds on advertisements which feature the names 15 or likeliness of the Governor, Lieutenant 16 Governor, Comptroller or Attorney General is 17 prohibited." 18 Mr. President, my colleagues, the 19 reason for this amendment is very obvious. We 20 have seen more and more public officials - 21 statewide officials -- using public funds to put 22 their likeness on television in what are 23 ostensibly public service ads that really whose 24 purpose is to feature these officials. 25 Now, over the years at various 7077 1 times, members of this body, some of whom I'm 2 sure will remember, I remember Senator Bruno 3 urging an amendment like this some years ago 4 when there was a governor of a different party 5 who was trying to put his likeness on television 6 and making these public service announcements, 7 and let me say I agreed with Senator Bruno. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 9 Skelos. 10 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 11 is this bill adding language to the 12 appropriation bill? 13 SENATOR LEICHTER: Is this -- no, 14 Mr. President. What it's -- what it's doing is 15 clarifying how the monies in this bill are to be 16 spent. 17 SENATOR SKELOS: I would ask that 18 the Chair rule that the amendment be out of 19 order based upon the banking decision that you 20 cannot add language to an appropriation bill. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 22 Skelos, it is the ruling of the Chair then that 23 the amendment is out of order on the grounds 24 that it adds language to an appropriations 25 bill. 7078 1 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. President, 2 if I - 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 4 Leichter. 5 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. President, 6 first, are you changing your ruling because 7 initially you ruled that the amendment was in 8 order? 9 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 10 if I could correct Senator Leichter's hearing, 11 there was no -- the issue of germaneness was not 12 raised at any point. I raised a point of order 13 after he started explaining his amendment and 14 you've ruled it out of order, so I believe now, 15 if we could continue with the bill, debate on 16 the bill, or move to pass the bill. 17 SENATOR LEICHTER: Well, Mr. 18 President, I think before we get to a vote on 19 the bill, I think I have a -- I'm entitled to be 20 heard on your ruling, and I intend to challenge 21 your ruling, Mr. President, and I'd like to be 22 heard on that issue. 23 It seems to me that what - 24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. -- Senator 25 Leichter, just as a point of order, are you 7079 1 appealing the ruling of the Chair? 2 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yes. 3 Mr. President, I believe that the 4 ruling that Senator Skelos referred to had to do 5 with the regular budget. Here we have a special 6 appropriation bill, an emergency appropriation 7 bill which I think is dealt differently. I 8 think it's perfectly appropriate in this sort of 9 a measure to specify and clarify how the 10 appropriations are to be spent. So I believe 11 that to apply a ruling that dealt with the 12 general budget and to make it applicable to 13 emergency appropriations, I think, is incorrect 14 and, Mr. President, it seems to me that in the 15 absence of clear language in a court decision or 16 in statute which would bar this amendment, this 17 amendment having been ruled germane, I find no 18 reason or no basis for now suddenly declaring 19 that it's no longer germane. 20 I don't know whether it was - 21 maybe I made the mistake of mentioning Senator 22 Bruno. If I hadn't mentioned that maybe 23 everything would have been fine, and we could 24 have gone ahead and we probably would have 25 disposed of the matter by now. If that was the 7080 1 problem, I'll withdraw the mention of Senator 2 Bruno, but to base it on that this requires a 3 separate bill, I think is incorrect. 4 I think what we're doing is 5 specifying how the money that we're appropriat 6 ing is to be spent or not to be spent. I think 7 that's perfectly proper. I think it is 8 important. I think it's necessary for this 9 Legislature to say whether it's to the Governor 10 who's been doing it or whether it's to the 11 Comptroller who has not been doing it, to say 12 you can't use public monies to campaign. 13 You want to have public 14 financing, I'll support it, but do it openly. 15 Don't do it in a subversive manner, and that's 16 the intent and purpose of this amendment. I 17 think it is germane. I don't think it's barred 18 by the ruling that Senator Skelos referred to 19 and, Mr. President, I appeal your ruling. 20 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 22 Skelos. 23 SENATOR SKELOS: Yeah, just again 24 to clarify, Senator Leichter, I didn't raise the 25 question of germaneness, just it was out of 7081 1 order, so at this point a "no" vote would uphold 2 the ruling of the Chair; a "yes" vote would not 3 uphold the ruling of the Chair. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: That's 5 correct. 6 The question before the Senate is 7 shall the decision of the Chair be sustained? 8 All those in favor of overriding the Chair 9 signify by saying aye. 10 (There was no response. ) 11 The vote is to -- let me 12 clarify. The vote is on the appeal of the 13 ruling of the Chair. All those in favor of 14 overruling the Chair vote aye. All those in 15 favor of sustaining the ruling of the Chair vote 16 nay. 17 The vote on the resolution, all 18 in favor of the -- the vote is on the appeal of 19 the Chair. All those in favor of the appeal 20 vote aye. 21 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. 22 President. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 24 Paterson. 25 SENATOR PATERSON: I would like a 7082 1 party vote in the affirmative, whatever. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Party 3 vote in the affirmative. 4 SENATOR SKELOS: Party vote in 5 the negative. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 7 Secretary will call the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 20, nays 31, 10 party vote. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 12 Secretary will read the last section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 13. This 14 act shall take effect immediately. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 16 roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 19 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Explain my 20 vote, please. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 22 Hoffmann to explain her vote. 23 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, Mr. 24 President. 25 We were -- we were caught a 7083 1 little bit by surprise, I think, by the ruling 2 on the amendment, but I -- I would like to 3 underscore that I have great sympathy for my 4 colleague, Senator Leichter, not as much on the 5 merits of the issue that he brought up today but 6 on the frustration which I'm sure he feels and I 7 feel and I know that my constituents feel that 8 we are reduced in this chamber to utilizing tiny 9 parliamentary opportunity to register 10 significant viewpoints on matters of great 11 urgency in this state. 12 It troubles me that there is no 13 opportunity in an organized committee process 14 for issues such as the one Senator Leichter 15 wanted to bring forth as an amendment to be 16 discussed, but even greater a frustration to me 17 is the fact that I am once again in Albany 18 having left the 48th Senate District, here in 19 the third week of July to vote on another budget 20 extender, putting this state on auto-pilot 21 without having the opportunity for meaningful 22 input into the budget process as I am duly 23 elected. 24 I would like the record to 25 reflect that it is only under duress that I will 7084 1 vote for this extender. I do not continue to 2 vote indefinitely for budget extenders, nor do 3 the people who send me here to work for them 4 want me to vote for budget extenders. They 5 expect me to vote for a budget. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 7 Hoffmann in the affirmative. 8 Senator Dollinger? 9 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Just to 10 record in the negative, Mr. President. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 12 Secretary will read the results. 13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 50, nays 14 one, Senator Dollinger recorded in the 15 negative. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 17 is passed. 18 Senator Skelos. 19 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 20 if we could, I believe there are some 21 nominations to be confirmed at the desk. If we 22 could continue with the reading of the Finance 23 Committee report. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 25 Secretary will read. 7085 1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 2 from the Committee on Finance, offers up the 3 following nominations: 4 As Commissioner of Transportation 5 Joseph H. Boardman, of Rome. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 7 Stafford. 8 SENATOR STAFFORD: Excuse me. 9 Yes, Mr. President. Once again I stand up and 10 as a compliment to the Governor and his people, 11 we again today had three very fine individuals 12 appear before the Finance Committee and every 13 one acquitted themselves exceptionally well. 14 Mr. Boardman, who I believe his 15 name is before us at the present time and I 16 believe you'll be coming down to take your seat 17 possibly -- no, excuse me. Senator Libous is - 18 I'm going to yield to Senator Libous or, excuse 19 me, Senator Hoffmann has one too. I'm sorry. 20 But anyway I have to share with you, and this is 21 an example of our system working. 22 We had a gentleman appear, Mr. 23 Boardman, and it was acknowledged that there 24 were some serious issues. He's going to be 25 leading a very -- when we confirm him, he's 7086 1 going to be leading a very complex department. 2 He has a very difficult job to do, but I was 3 impressed with the statement to the committee, 4 his convictions, and again I think we're very 5 very fortunate to be having Joseph Boardman as 6 Commissioner of Transportation, and with that I 7 will yield to the Senator from Broome. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 9 Libous. 10 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, Mr. 11 President, and thank you, Senator Stafford. 12 It's indeed an honor for me to 13 rise and help to second the nomination of Joe 14 Boardman. 15 Joe Boardman, I can honestly say, 16 is a true friend. I've gotten to know Joe over 17 the last 15 years, and we've worked side by side 18 on issues both governmentally and politically, 19 and I have to tell you one thing: When you work 20 with Joe Boardman, you always get the ball on 21 the goal line. You never fall short, and I want 22 to commend Governor Pataki. He has made a 23 number of excellent appointments over the past 24 few years, but I would consider Joe Boardman a 25 great appointment, and I know that he'll do a 7087 1 great, great job. 2 You know, if you talk to people 3 who have worked with Joe Boardman, you'll hear 4 that he is words like "professional", "tough", 5 "fair", "honest", "sincere", "compassionate". 6 I think both the Transportation Committee and 7 the Senate Finance Committee saw that today when 8 Joe Boardman answered questions to them, and 9 many of the questions are very personal because 10 you know, when it comes to the Department of 11 Transportation, many of the things that affect 12 us as legislators are those personal issues when 13 we need to help open a road or help along with 14 construction that may be blocking off a 15 business, and Joe Boardman answered every one of 16 those questions. 17 Just to take another second, Mr. 18 President, I just want to tell you a little bit 19 about Joe. He may be from Rome and he may be 20 from Oneida County, but he was adopted by Broome 21 County for a number of years, and he is our 22 adopted son, and I want to tell you, as the 23 Commissioner of Transportation for Broome 24 County, Joe Boardman made transportation a human 25 service rather than a physical service. He 7088 1 began a public service for people with 2 disabilities and people who lived in rural areas 3 and that's where that compassion comes in. 4 He also worked to control 5 Medicaid transportation costs by helping people 6 find alternatives other than taking a taxicab 7 ride to medical services. These are the kinds 8 of programs he implemented in our county, and 9 the kind of leadership he will show in the 10 state. 11 And just on another tack to tell 12 you a little bit about Joe Boardman, the county 13 executive that he have worked for, Carl Young, 14 who I know would also, if he had the opportunity 15 would say good things about Joe today, I could 16 see Joe convinced the county executive that the 17 right thing to do was to take donuts and coffee 18 out to the garage to the employees and to the 19 bus drivers and wish them a little bit of 20 holiday cheer, and again that's the kind of 21 person that Joe Boardman, that Joe Boardman is. 22 I'll just end by saying this. I 23 am pleased with the Governor's appointment and, 24 Joe, success and Godspeed to you and your family 25 and I see that your family is with you today 7089 1 but, Joe, there are times that I'm back in 2 Broome County, and I'll be walking in front of 3 the government office building, as you know the 4 buses pull up in front and they go in and out 5 and a bus driver will stop in the middle of the 6 street, open the door and he'll say, Senator, 7 how is Joe doing, so they haven't forgotten 8 you. I wish you the very best. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 10 Lachman. 11 SENATOR LACHMAN: Yeah. I rise 12 as the ranking member of the Transportation 13 Committee to also speak in relationship to the 14 new -- hope soon to be new Transportation 15 Commissioner of the state of New York. 16 I have to commend the Governor. 17 I did not have the pleasure, as Senator Libous 18 had, of meeting Mr. Boardman before today, but I 19 must tell you, I am quite impressed. I'm 20 impressed with his intellect. I'm impressed 21 with his experience in both the public and 22 private sector. I'm impressed with his 23 integrity, and I'm impressed with his 24 willingness to meet with constituencies 25 throughout the state of New York. 7090 1 As I mentioned to him earlier in 2 the day before the joint meeting of 3 Transportation and Finance, there are certain 4 issues that I feel must be handled immediately. 5 As New York City newspapers recently brought to 6 our attention, there are projects that are being 7 currently mismanaged by the contractors that the 8 state has hired. With cost overruns and delays, 9 these projects have become a nightmare to the 10 motorists of the state, especially in New York 11 City, and they're an embarrassment to the state 12 of New York, and New Yorkers should not be 13 forced to pay more for shoddy work and traffic 14 tie-ups. 15 I only raise this issue now 16 because I know this is the concern of Mr. 17 Boardman as well as members of this chamber. I 18 am confident that Mr. Boardman is up to the task 19 that faces him. He comes to us with a broad and 20 diverse background in transportation in both the 21 public and private sector, and I would like to 22 echo the sentiments and remarks of the chairman 23 of the Finance Committee and Senator Libous in 24 seconding his nomination, and look forward to a 25 strong working relationship with him as he will 7091 1 have with every member of this chamber. 2 Thank you, Mr. President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 4 Skelos. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: There will be an 6 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in the 7 Majority Conference Room. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 9 Immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in the 10 Majority Conference Room. 11 Senator Breslin. 12 SENATOR BRESLIN: Mr. President, 13 I rise as Joe Boardman is a former client of 14 mine, a friend of mine, but more importantly he 15 is, as Senator Libous said, a very bright, 16 professional, dedicated public servant who 17 really will bring to the Department of 18 Transportation great credit, to our Governor, 19 and do an outstanding job and I'd like to 20 commend the appointment of Joe and wish him 21 every success to both he and his family. 22 Thank you, Mr. President. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 24 Spano. 25 SENATOR SPANO: Mr. President, it 7092 1 is my pleasure to speak to my colleagues in 2 recognizing the fine appointment of Joe Boardman 3 and say that, as Senator Libous expressed, he 4 certainly picked the best for a long time and in 5 the short time I've been privileged to work with 6 him in his new capacity in the Department of 7 Transportation, he has shown that he's a hands 8 on type of person. By that, he's taking a big 9 time bureaucracy we call the Department of 10 Transportation and making sure that it becomes a 11 user-friendly agency and, to do that, he brings 12 a personal attention to the transportation needs 13 of the people we represent across the state of 14 New York. 15 There is nobody better qualified 16 than Joe Boardman to be placed in that position 17 of responsibility, and I commend the Governor 18 and congratulate Joe and his family on this 19 appointment today. 20 Thank you. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 22 Larkin. 23 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, Mr. 24 President, my colleagues. I rise in seconding 25 the nomination to be the lead Commissioner of 7093 1 Transportation. Since Mr. Boardman became the 2 Acting Commissioner, he extended himself in all 3 ways. I have talked to many county officials, 4 town officials, villages and cities, and they 5 have told me that when they've gone forward to 6 his office that he extended himself back in 7 communicating with them directly. 8 A number of problems we've had in 9 the Hudson Valley that he's immersed himself 10 with and made sure that his personal feelings 11 and that of the second floor were included in 12 the needs of Orange County, Sullivan County, 13 Ulster County, Dutchess, and my good friend from 14 Rockland, and I think that Joe has just showed 15 us that he's a hands-on person, wants to do the 16 job, wants to be cooperative. 17 That's what we need for a 18 department the size of the Department of 19 Transportation and, Joe, you're to be commended 20 for taking the job, but God only knows why you 21 want it. 22 God bless you and your family. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 24 Farley. 25 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Mr. 7094 1 President. 2 I rise to second the nomination 3 of Joe Boardman. You know, this is a people 4 oriented person as Tom Libous was saying, and 5 somebody, you look at him, he's sitting in the 6 third row there instead of up front with his 7 family. 8 Joe, let me just say that as 9 somebody here, everybody in this chamber and 10 everybody that is elected has an awful lot to 11 request of, and business with the Department of 12 Transportation. You have been responsive; 13 you've been responsive in my district, you know, 14 but I think the highest compliment that I could 15 give you and the reason that I'm so confident of 16 the job that you're doing and the job that 17 you've done is our former commissioner, Senator/ 18 Commissioner John Daly speaks so highly of you 19 and recommends you most highly, and with that, I 20 certainly am most confident that you're going to 21 be an outstanding commissioner as you have been 22 as an acting commissioner. 23 Again, you've served the people 24 of this state, you serve the people that appoint 25 you and the Governor is to be congratulated and 7095 1 we're very, very proud of this appointment. 2 Best wishes. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 4 Hoffmann. 5 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, Mr. 6 President. 7 It gives me great pleasure to 8 rise in support of the nomination of Joseph H. 9 Boardman to the position of Commissioner of 10 Transportation, and he has clearly demonstrated 11 an understanding of the transportation needs all 12 across the state. 13 I think all of us who sat in 14 Finance this morning were impressed, and greatly 15 comforted by the fact that he could speak as 16 comfortably to the questions raised by 17 colleagues from western New York, the Southern 18 Tier as he could to those from New York City and 19 Long Island. 20 The fact that he comes from a 21 smaller city in our state, the city of Rome, 22 where he has also had experience in 23 transportation, the fact that he has had 24 experience in transportation in Elmira and knows 25 that part of the state, I think bodes very well 7096 1 for us in the future. 2 Part of our success in the area 3 of tourism depends upon our ability to allow 4 tourists to move freely across this state. 5 Obviously our need to maintain a good highway 6 infrastructure, highway system for commerce and 7 transportation in general, is evident. We need 8 the very finest capability. We need somebody 9 who knows how to rise above politics, who can 10 bring together the disparate forces of 11 contractors, employees, local elected officials 12 and businesses, and I believe in Mr. Boardman we 13 have that individual. 14 Earlier today, my staff made a 15 couple of calls to Rome looking for appropriate 16 reaction so that I could further help my 17 colleagues understand why Mr. Boardman is so 18 well respected in that city where he resides and 19 I think probably one of the finest comments came 20 from a gentleman who now works on a part-time 21 basis in my office. 22 Many years ago, this individual, 23 Quint Barry, ran for mayor in the city of Rome 24 and when asked about Joe Boardman, Quint's 25 comments were immediate and very warm. He said, 7097 1 "Oh, yes. He managed the campaign for the 2 mayor the year that I ran against him. I really 3 like him." 4 I'm very happy to support Mr. 5 Boardman. Anybody who can elicit that kind of 6 response is going to be up to doing the 7 difficult job of Commissioner of 8 Transportation. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 10 Seward. 11 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you, Mr. 12 President. 13 It's all been said very very well 14 by my colleagues and, Joe, I don't want to 15 postpone your actual confirmation any longer 16 than necessary by repeating the many fine things 17 that have been said about you, but I would be 18 remiss if I did not stand to second the 19 confirmation of Joe Boardman to be our next 20 Commissioner of Transportation. 21 Let's face it, a good sound 22 transportation system is vital to our economic 23 future here in New York. A Joe Boardman at the 24 helm of the Department of Transportation will 25 help us greatly in maintaining and enhancing our 7098 1 transportation system in this state and thus 2 helping us in our efforts to improve the 3 economic vitality of New York State. 4 But Joe Boardman also realizes 5 that a transportation system is more than 6 pavement and concrete and tangible things of 7 that sort, that there are real people behind all 8 of that, that we're trying to serve. He's a 9 people person, as has been pointed out by my 10 colleagues. He realizes full well that we are 11 in office to serve the people of this state and 12 I know that in his new capacity as actually 13 being Commissioner out at DOT, that the people 14 of this state will be very very well served. 15 So with that thought in mind, I'm 16 delighted to stand to congratulate, number one, 17 the Governor for this outstanding nomination, to 18 congratulate Joe and your family on this very 19 happy day. It's a good day for the Boardman 20 family, but it's also a good day for the people 21 of this state. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Does any 23 other Senator wish to be heard on the 24 nomination? 25 The question is on the 7099 1 confirmation of Joseph Boardman as Commissioner 2 of Transportation for the state of New York. 3 All in favor signify by saying aye. 4 (Response of "Aye.") 5 Opposed? 6 (There was no response. ) 7 Joseph Boardman is hereby 8 confirmed as Commissioner of Transportation. 9 Commissioner Boardman -- (Applause) - 10 Commissioner Boardman is in the gallery today. 11 He is with his wife Joann, his son Joe, Jr., his 12 daughter Emily, his son Philip, his father 13 Alfred B. Boardman, his sister-in-law, Catherine 14 Griffith. 15 And, Joe, as your friend for 20 16 years and as someone who started in local 17 government with you 20 years ago, I had a choice 18 to be down there to talk about you or to preside 19 over your confirmation. I hope you think I made 20 the right decision. Joe, God bless. I think 21 the people of the state of New York are very 22 fortunate. Good luck. 23 Secretary will read. 24 THE SECRETARY: As Welfare 25 Inspector General, Paul Balukas, of Brooklyn. 7100 1 SENATOR SKELOS: Move the 2 nomination, please. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 4 Holland. 5 SENATOR HOLLAND: I would like to 6 say a few words about Paul, let you have a 7 little background about him. 8 He's worked in the office of 9 Welfare Inspector General of New York City since 10 1995 as counsel to the Welfare Inspector 11 General. He organized the first statewide 12 prosecution bureau for welfare fraud serving as 13 the chief attorney. He has extensive 14 prosecution experience, having served for five 15 years in the Kings County District Attorney's 16 Office, prosecuting and supervising cases of 17 criminal conduct by law enforcement officers, 18 and he has experience in the legislative process 19 having worked in the office of New York State 20 Counsel to the Minority Leader for two years. 21 He is a graduate of the Brooklyn 22 Law School. 23 I have worked with Paul and he 24 has the interest and the ability and the 25 enthusiasm to improve this office. We created 7101 1 this office a number of years ago to bring 2 honesty and trust back to the welfare system. 3 Let me give you just a few of the cases that 4 Paul has been involved with. I think they're 5 kind of interesting, and they're just a few. 6 Two New York City HOA employees 7 for bribery. They kept recipient cases open 8 when they should have been closed and collected 9 the money. An individual who assumed five 10 identities to collect welfare benefits. He 11 appears at the fair hearing process, which I 12 hear is relatively easy. He appears at the 13 finger imaging process. I'd like to know how he 14 did that, Paul. We set that up, and the 15 application process. Two women were collecting 16 public assistance benefits in New York and North 17 Carolina while both had jobs. One worked for 18 the New York City Board of Education; and an 19 individual who was vice-president of a roofing 20 company -- interesting case -- earning $90,000 a 21 year while he lived with a companion, he forced 22 his wife and children, two children, to live on 23 public assistance; and I think this is just the 24 tip of the iceberg. I think there's many, many 25 more things that you have the interest and the 7102 1 knowledge to follow up on, and if I recall the 2 figures correctly, last year you recovered - 3 your office recovered about $2 million of fraud 4 for about a $600,000 investment and you're 5 expanding the office statewide. 6 Paul, I wish you a lot of good 7 luck. You have a lot of work to do. 8 Congratulations to you. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 10 Gentile. 11 SENATOR GENTILE: Thank you, Mr. 12 President. 13 I rise also in support of the 14 nomination of Paul Balukas for Welfare Inspector 15 General. You've heard Paul's qualifications 16 done aptly by Senator Holland. I rise to speak 17 about Paul as not only a native of Bay Ridge, 18 Brooklyn, but also as a friend and now a 19 constituent of mine in Brooklyn. 20 Paul, I know, is someone who is 21 dedicated to whatever goal is put before him. I 22 first met Paul Balukas back in the late 1970s 23 and the illustration of the event that I worked 24 with him on demonstrates the type of person Paul 25 is. 7103 1 I joined with Paul Balukas and - 2 joined forces with him to push forward an idea 3 that others thought was a crazy idea, and that 4 was the construction of an $11 million swimming 5 facility at a public high school in Brooklyn, 6 New York. There had not been such a facility 7 built in the city of New York since the second 8 World War, and we in the late 1970s decided that 9 we were going to give it a shot in Brooklyn, New 10 York, and Paul at that time was working for the 11 local City Councilman and, you know, our 12 opponents told us we'd never get it done. You 13 can't fight City Hall. You can't put an $11 14 million swimming pool into the budget to help 15 the people of South Brooklyn. 16 Well, people told us that but, 17 instead, Paul worked with us. Paul worked with 18 us and he shepherded the initial appropriation 19 through the New York City Council. He supported 20 those ideas, and I suppose to make a 15-year 21 struggle, a 15-year story fairly short, I have 22 to tell you that that swimming facility today is 23 built and operating at Fort Hamilton High School 24 in Brooklyn, and it's become the best capital 25 project in that part of Brooklyn in years, and 7104 1 Paul Balukas -- without Paul Balukas' help at 2 the very initial stages of that fight and that 3 struggle, that swimming facility would not be 4 built today. 5 Since then, Paul Balukas and I 6 have become fast friends, so much so that Paul 7 once tried to recruit me for the Bay Ridge Young 8 Republicans, and now when I mention that to 9 Senator Gold, I think his heart skips a beat, 10 but needless to say that one effort that Paul 11 was not successful in but he tried hard, he 12 tried hard to get me into membership in the 13 Young Republicans. 14 That fact notwithstanding, Paul 15 and I remain fast friends today. Our careers 16 somewhat coincided as we both served as 17 prosecutors in New York City for several years 18 and he continues today, as I say, as one of my 19 constituents and with his family he remains a 20 prominent and active member in the Bay Ridge 21 community in Brooklyn. 22 You know, I'm one of Brooklyn's 23 newest elected state Senators. I always look 24 for ways to put partisanship aside and act in 25 the best interests of New Yorkers. This is one 7105 1 opportunity that I am happy to be here to act in 2 that way in a bipartisan way. Partisanship 3 appears and is pushed aside and is replaced by 4 pride, pride for Paul and his family, pride 5 knowing the job he'll do as the Welfare 6 Inspector General, and pride in calling Paul my 7 friend. 8 Paul, you will make the state 9 proud. You will make me proud, and you will 10 make your family proud. I urge everyone to 11 support this nomination. 12 Thank you, Mr. President. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Does any 14 other Senator wish to be heard on the 15 nomination? 16 The question is on the 17 confirmation of Paul Balukas as Welfare 18 Inspector General. All in favor signify by 19 saying aye. 20 (Response of "Aye.") 21 Opposed nay. 22 (There was no response. ) 23 Paul Balukas is hereby confirmed 24 as Welfare Inspector General of the state of New 25 York. 7106 1 (Applause) 2 Mr. Balukas is in the gallery. 3 He is accompanied by his father and mother, 4 Albert and Peggy Balukas, and by his niece Kayla 5 Pfister, and also by his niece, Darla Balukas. 6 Welcome, and we're glad you could join us here 7 today. Mr. Balukas, we wish you well and 8 Godspeed in your very important duties. 9 Secretary will read. 10 THE SECRETARY: As Alternate Non 11 Voting Member of the Metropolitan Transportation 12 Authority, Thomas J. Cassano, of Staten Island. 13 SENATOR SKELOS: Move the 14 nomination. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 16 Marchi. 17 SENATOR MARCHI: Mr. President, 18 it's a pleasure to move this nomination as well 19 or be one of the movers. He is a shining light 20 and in view of the excellent experience he's had 21 both educationally which went into every aspect 22 of transportation that is sensitive, various 23 components, and he's held in great esteem by the 24 membership. 25 He's also had a hands-on 7107 1 experience in various levels of management, so 2 there are a few people I think that can match 3 what he offers to the services of the 4 Metropolitan Transportation Authority. So at 5 least for the people of Staten Island, Tom, 6 we're very pleased that you're on the case, and 7 we feel that Staten Island should fare well, 8 which means not at anybody's expense but 9 certainly not be the expense either. 10 In any event, I'm very pleased to 11 second this nomination. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Does any 13 others Senator wish to be heard on the 14 nomination? 15 SENATOR GENTILE: Mr. President. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 17 Gentile. 18 SENATOR GENTILE: Thank you. 19 Seems like there's a wealth of nominations 20 coming from the Brooklyn/Staten Island area 21 today. Although I cannot say that I know Mr. 22 Cassano at all, but -- and also I believe he's a 23 constituent of Senator Marchi's, I must say and 24 rise in support of this nomination, for the 25 fact that Mr. Cassano is a Staten Islander and 7108 1 there are many, many, many issues concerning the 2 MTA on Staten Island including the half fare 3 express bus campaign that has been going on on 4 the Island. I see that Mr. Cassano has some 5 experience with that, with the Transportation 6 Workers Union, and I just rise to second and 7 endorse that nomination and look forward to 8 working with Mr. Cassano and the others on the 9 issues that are not only affecting Staten Island 10 but Brooklyn and the rest of New York City. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 12 Lachman. 13 SENATOR LACHMAN: I also rise to 14 second the nomination of Thomas Cassano as a 15 non-voting member of the MTA and to emphasize 16 the importance to the MTA of having a trade 17 union member and leader from the TWU and also 18 someone who came up from the ranks who 19 understands as a professional in his field what 20 is necessary, what works, what doesn't work, to 21 improve the entire transportation system in the 22 city of New York. 23 We've met. I had the honor of 24 meeting Mr. Cassano for the first time again at 25 this joint meeting of the Transportation and 7109 1 Finance Committee. He did an excellent job 2 there, and I look forward to his continuation 3 with great goals for the future as a 4 representative of the trade union movement as a 5 non-voting member of the MTA. 6 Thank you. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Does any 8 other Senator wish to be heard on the 9 nomination? 10 The question is on the 11 confirmation of Thomas Cassano as an alternate 12 non-voting member of the MTA. All in favor 13 signify by saying aye. 14 (Response of "Aye.") 15 Opposed nay. 16 (There was no response.) 17 Thomas Cassano is hereby 18 confirmed as an alternate non-voting member of 19 the MTA. 20 Mr. Cassano? 21 (Applause) 22 Good luck and congratulations, 23 sir. 24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 7110 1 Skelos. 2 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could 3 return to reports of standing committees, I 4 believe there's a report of the Rules Committee 5 at the desk. I ask it be read. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Return 7 to reports of standing committees. The 8 Secretary will read. 9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno, 10 from the Committee on Rules, offers up the 11 following bill directly for third reading: 12 Senate Print 5721, by the 13 Committee on Rules, an act to amend the Racing, 14 Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I 16 move to accept the report of the Rules 17 Committee. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All 19 those in favor of accepting the report of the 20 Rules Committee signify by saying aye. 21 (Response of "Aye.") 22 Opposed nay. 23 (There was no response. ) 24 The report of the Rules Committee 25 is accepted. 7111 1 SENATOR SKELOS: Take up Calendar 2 Number 1537. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 4 Secretary will read. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 1537, by the Committee on Rules, Senate Print 7 5721, an act to amend the Racing, Pari-Mutuel 8 Wagering and Breeding Law. 9 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, is 10 there a message at the desk? 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There's 12 a message at the desk. 13 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Motion 15 to accept the message of necessity at the desk. 16 All those in favor signify by saying aye. 17 (Response of "Aye.") 18 Opposed nay. 19 (There was no response.) 20 The message is accepted. 21 Senator Skelos. 22 SENATOR SKELOS: Please have the 23 last section read. 24 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 25 act shall take effect immediately. 7112 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 2 roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 4 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 5 the negative on Calendar Number 1537 are 6 Senators Padavan, Spano and Tully. Ayes 50, 7 nays 3. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 9 is passed. 10 Senator Skelos. 11 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could call 12 up Calendar Number 1170. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 14 Secretary will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 1170, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 3286-B, 17 an act to amend the Civil Rights Law. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 19 is there a message of necessity at the desk? 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There's 21 a message at the desk. 22 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All in 24 favor of accepting the message of necessity 25 signify by saying aye. 7113 1 (Response of "Aye.") 2 Those opposed by saying nay. 3 (There was no response. ) 4 The message is accepted. Read 5 the last section. 6 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This 7 act shall take effect in 90 days. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 9 roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 12 is passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 53. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Got 15 ahead of you. The bill is passed. 16 Senator Skelos. 17 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 18 is there any housekeeping at the desk? 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: No, 20 Senator Skelos, there is no housekeeping. 21 SENATOR SKELOS: Therefore, I 22 move we adjourn subject to the call of the 23 Majority Leader, intervening days to be 24 legislative days. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: On 7114 1 motion, the Senate stands adjourned to the call 2 of the Majority Leader, the intervening days to 3 be legislative days. 4 (Whereupon at 2:32 p.m., the 5 Senate adjourned. ) 6 7 8 9 10