Tuesday, January 20, 1998

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 January 20, 1998 11 3:05 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 LT. GOVERNOR BETSY McCAUGHEY ROSS, President 19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary 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. 4 Would you please rise and 5 repeat after me the Pledge of Allegiance. 6 (The assemblage repeated the 7 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. 8 May we bow our heads in a 9 moment of silence. 10 (A moment of silence was 11 observed.) 12 The reading of the Journal, 13 please. 14 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 15 Saturday, January 17. The Senate met pursuant 16 to adjournment. The Journal of Friday, January 17 16, was read and approved. On motion, Senate 18 adjourned. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Without 20 objection, the Journal stands approved as 21 read. 22 Presentation of petitions. 23 Messages from the Assembly. 24 Messages from the Governor. 25 Reports of standing 1 committees. 2 The Secretary will read. 3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon, 4 from the Committee on Health, reports the 5 following bills: 6 Senate Print 2877-B, by Senator 7 Marchi, an act to amend the Public Health Law 8 and others; 9 5993-A, by Senator Marchi, an 10 act to amend the Public Health Law. 11 Senator Volker, from the 12 Committee on Codes, reports the following 13 bills: 14 487, by Senator DeFrancisco, an 15 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 16 538, by Senator Present, an act 17 to amend the Penal Law; 18 887, by Senator Volker, an act 19 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 20 1134, by Senator Marcellino, an 21 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 22 1189, by Senator Velella, an 23 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 24 1422, by Senator Cook, an act 25 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 1 1537, by Senator DeFrancisco, 2 an act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 3 1538, by Senator DeFrancisco, 4 an act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 5 1539, by Senator DeFrancisco, 6 an act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 7 1708, by Senator Volker, an act 8 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 9 2525, by Senator Maziarz, an 10 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 11 3069, by Senator Padavan, an 12 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 13 3456, by Senator Volker, an act 14 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law and 15 others; 16 3503, by Senator Skelos, an act 17 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 18 3792, by Senator Volker, an act 19 to amend the Penal Law; and 20 5007, by Senator Volker, an act 21 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law. 22 All bills ordered direct for 23 third reading. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 25 Without objection, all bills directly to third 1 reading. 2 Reports from select committees. 3 Communications and reports from 4 state officers. 5 Motions and resolutions. 6 Senator Nozzolio. 7 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 On page 6, I offer the 10 following amendments to Calendar Number 17, 11 Print Number 889, on behalf of Senator 12 Volker. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 14 Without objection. 15 Senator Bruno. 16 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 17 I believe that there is a privileged 18 resolution at the desk. I would ask that it 19 be read in its entirety and then move for its 20 immediate adoption. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 22 The Secretary will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 24 Bruno, et al: Legislative Resolution honoring 25 Stephen F. Sloan, Secretary of the New York 1 State Senate, upon the occasion of his 2 retirement. 3 WHEREAS, it is the privilege of 4 this legislative body to honor individuals who 5 have faithfully served the people and the 6 government of the state of New York with 7 dedication and conscientious service, and 8 WHEREAS, December 31, 1997, 9 marked the conclusion of Stephen F. Sloan's 10 30-year career in public service; for the past 11 16 years he served with distinction as 12 Secretary of the New York State Senate, the 13 longest tenured Secretary in the history of 14 the Senate; and 15 WHEREAS, originally from Otsego 16 County, Stephen Sloan earned a Bachelor of 17 Science degree in Forest Management from 18 Michigan State University and Master of 19 Science and Ph.D. Degrees in Resources 20 Management from the State University College 21 of Environmental Science and Forestry at 22 Syracuse University. As we all know, 23 environmental issues and legislation have 24 always been near and dear to his heart; and 25 WHEREAS, he began his career 1 with the Senate as a budget analyst with the 2 Senate Finance Committee in 1969. He left 3 Albany briefly from 1971 to 1974 to serve as a 4 senior staff member of the President's Council 5 on Environmental Quality in Washington, D.C.; 6 In 1974, Stephen Sloan returned 7 to Albany, rejoining the Senate staff as 8 Director of the Senate Task Force on Critical 9 Problems. He takes great pride in the success 10 of the "I Love New York" tourism promotion, 11 beverage container deposit program, and State 12 Office of Business Permits recommended by the 13 task force during his tenure as director. 14 Stephen Sloan was given the 15 task in 1976 of creating a research operation 16 to serve the members of the Senate. He became 17 the first Director of the Senate Research 18 Service and established one of the most 19 effective and comprehensive legislative 20 research operations nationwide. The Senate 21 Research Service provides service to the 22 Senate through analysis of individual 23 inquiries from Senate members. He was 24 responsible for developing many of the regular 25 Senate research publications but the award 1 winning Summary of Legislation and the Issues 2 in Focus series stand out as unique and widely 3 acclaimed; and 4 WHEREAS, in 1982, Stephen Sloan 5 was elected by the members of the Senate to be 6 the Secretary of the Senate; as the chief 7 operating officer of the Senate he was 8 responsible for all administrative and support 9 operations and ensured that the Senate's 10 operation was efficient and met the highest 11 standards of accountability and ethical 12 business practices. He was responsible for 13 preparing and managing the Senate's budget, 14 meeting the human resources needs of all 15 Senate staff and providing general operations 16 support to Senate offices statewide. 17 The Secretary of the Senate's 18 realm does duties -- of duties is broad. 19 Effective and timely support for the Senate 20 members and the legislative process is of 21 premier concern. Stephen Sloan worked to 22 bring modern practices to all of the 23 operations that facilitate the law-making 24 process including the Journal Clerk's office, 25 Document Room, Local Fiscal Impact Note Office 1 and the Sergeant-at-Arms. He oversaw the 2 Senate's Student Program Office which has 3 brought hundreds of graduate and undergraduate 4 college students to the Senate to experience 5 how the legislative process works; and 6 WHEREAS, Stephen Sloan has also 7 carried out the additional responsibilities of 8 the Secretary of the Senate, of counseling 9 members of the Senate on a wide range of 10 issues and of maintaining liaison with the 11 Governor and his aides, with the leadership of 12 the Assembly, with the state Comptroller, the 13 state agency commissioners, and with the 14 public and the media. 15 Among the highlights of Stephen 16 Sloan's career as Secretary of the Senate is 17 the creation of the Senate Office Automation 18 Project which initially brought computeriza 19 tion to the Senate and has now been upgraded 20 to meet the needs of the future; also the 21 creation of a state of the art telecommunica 22 tions network to give Senate members the 23 ability to more effectively serve their 24 constituents and to allow all Senate offices 25 statewide to work together more closely. 1 Finally, and perhaps most importantly, his 2 strong sense of professionalism and integrity 3 was imparted to the Senate staff on a daily 4 basis. 5 That he loved working with 6 people was evident over the progression of 7 burgeoning responsibilities and demanding 8 sessions. Stephen Sloan served the Senate and 9 the people of the state of New York with 10 loyalty, honor and distinction, giving his 11 time and talent in untiring dedication to his 12 position and purpose; and 13 WHEREAS, he desired to retire 14 to enjoy more time with his family, his wife 15 Mimi, his daughters Kimberly and Pamela, and 16 to pursue his many outdoor pastimes and, of 17 course, to foster the growth of his widely 18 known duck collection. 19 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED 20 that this legislative body pause in its 21 deliberations to express its highest respect 22 and deepest appreciation to Stephen F. Sloan 23 recognizing the significance of his contribu 24 tions to the effective operation of the Senate 25 over 16 years of faithful service as Secretary 1 of the Senate, marked by integrity, dedication 2 and achievement, and to extend to him a 3 heartfelt wish for a future as rich and 4 rewarding as his preeminent career; and 5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a 6 copy of this resolution suitably engrossed, be 7 transmitted to Stephen F. Sloan. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 9 Recognize Senator Bruno. 10 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, Mr. 11 President. 12 I'd like to welcome Steve Sloan 13 -- I see he's here with his mother Marion, 14 and welcome you here to the chamber -- and I 15 am very pleased, Mr. President and my 16 colleagues, to be able to get up and talk for 17 a few minutes about Steve Sloan and the work 18 that he did in this chamber, in the Senate and 19 in state government, over the past 30 years. 20 30 years! Started as a budgets analyst in 21 '69, became Secretary to the Senate, the 22 highest staff position here in the Senate, in 23 '82, and from '82 until just recently he 24 served the Senate with honor, with distinction 25 and in a way that is going to be very 1 difficult for anyone to duplicate. 2 He has left us here with 3 probably technically one of the best 4 functioning legislatures in the country, by 5 way of processing information. Technically, 6 you all know what we have done over these last 7 few years with communications systems, with 8 computers, with whatever else would help us do 9 our jobs more efficiently and better. Steve 10 was always out front, on the leading edge. 11 When I took over as Majority 12 Leader, we were in a $7 million deficit with 13 the Senate budget. In a very short period of 14 time -- and it couldn't have happened without 15 Steve Sloan at my side and at our side helping 16 us find what we could cut, correct what we 17 could correct and, Steve, I just want to thank 18 you on behalf of the Senate for that. I can 19 tell you now, that in a very short period of 20 time we operate at a surplus -- at a surplus 21 -- and that is management, and I give Steve 22 Sloan a lot of the credit for that. 23 There isn't anyone that has 24 been in public service that has done any more 25 to improve the quality of life for New Yorkers 1 than Steve Sloan. So it really is -- and we 2 say this often, but it's so true that it's 3 with mixed emotions that I congratulate him 4 after 30 years of rewarding service. 5 But I can tell you truly that I 6 was sorry when Steve said that, at the end of 7 the year, he was going to take retirement, 8 sorry because I knew when I needed help, it 9 was always there, and you know, I'll have to 10 confess, Steve, to you now, that early in our 11 relationship I used to play a little game and 12 I would hit the button for Steve Sloan, and I 13 would think I was going to ask a question that 14 he would take a while to respond to, like I 15 figure it would take him a day or two. Almost 16 always Steve would say, "Oh, I got that right 17 here. That's right on my desk, just a 18 second," and literally within a minute or so, 19 he would give me the response. 20 So I wondered to myself, what 21 on earth his desk looked like, because no 22 matter what I asked him, it was right there in 23 front of him, so what I learned, of course, 24 was that he knew how to access the information 25 instantly and just gave it to me, and I can't 1 tell you how important that is when you're 2 trying to do things. You're trying to make 3 decisions like with one of your staff 4 allowances, which I think none of you have an 5 interest in, but I would then say, "Steve, 6 what does this look like? Is this out of 7 order," and I'd say, you know, "get it back to 8 me by tomorrow." He'd say, "Just a minute, I 9 got that right here," and he would give me the 10 information. Now, whenever it was denied, 11 that was my decision. When it was approved, I 12 can tell you now, it was Steve saying it was 13 O.K., so Steve, I'm going to just send you on 14 your way with our best wishes from this house, 15 from me, my gratitude for all of the hours, 16 all of the days and all of the weeks that you 17 spent here making me look good, helping the 18 Senate doing all the good things that we have 19 done. 20 My congratulations to your mom 21 who's there with you, to your wife Mimi, to 22 your children and you be in good health and 23 enjoy these next weeks and months, and I'm 24 sure we're going to be spending some time 25 together as you go forward. 1 Good luck. Thank you, Mr. 2 President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 4 Thank you, Mr. President. 5 Senator Farley. 6 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Mr. 7 President. I rise also to say to Steve how 8 much we're going to miss him, and how much we 9 appreciate his friendship. Let me say, Steve, 10 I'm so glad that you've got your mother here 11 because everybody needs to have their mother 12 hear all this puffery that's going to be going 13 on about you. 14 But you know, when you talk 15 about class, Steve Sloan has it. You know, he 16 has a job that you could make a lot of 17 enemies, because he has to say no, and he does 18 have to say no to different requests for 19 people, and so forth, and -- but this guy 20 always did it with a lot of class, and let me 21 just say this: Steve Sloan, Dr. Steve Sloan, a 22 Ph.D., he has intelligence. He has honor. He 23 also made this entire body look good. When he 24 took over, he opened up to public information 25 and scrutiny. We had nothing to hide here 1 because of Steve Sloan, and you did an 2 outstanding job for us. 3 I, being from the Capital 4 District, spent a lot of time in his office, 5 and coming in to do legislative days and many 6 other things. Steve was always there, always 7 provided answers, always was able to help 8 everybody, and he treated both sides of the 9 aisle here with dignity, and again, as I said, 10 with class. 11 Steve, you've had a great 12 career, a great service to us and to the state 13 of New York. He was head of our Senate 14 Research and made it one of the premier 15 legislative research bodies in the country. 16 You've done a great job at one of the most 17 important Senate positions, and we're very, 18 very proud of you, and I wish you well. 19 I had the good fortune of 20 having his daughter Kim in class, and I'll 21 tell you, she -- your children and your family 22 are a great credit to you, and let me just say 23 I wish you well, and I wish you happiness, and 24 I know that you're going to be going on to do 25 a lot more. 1 I don't think -- I can't see 2 Steve Sloan in retirement, and I wish you 3 well, Steve. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 5 Thank you, Senator Farley. 6 Senator Padavan. 7 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 Looking into Steve Sloan's 10 office gives you a new appreciation, perhaps a 11 deeper one of the old adage, if it walks like 12 a duck and speaks like a duck, because those 13 of you who have been in Steve's office know 14 it's totally adorned from top to bottom one 15 end to the other, and you ask -- the Majority 16 Leader asked what was on his desk. Ducks. He 17 has a passion for ducks. 18 Well, unfortunately for some, 19 he has a passion for shooting ducks, but I 20 will honestly say that any occasion I ever had 21 to walk into his office -- and I didn't do 22 that too often -- usually with a request of 23 some sort, I didn't feel like a sitting duck. 24 I felt like someone he wanted to genuinely 25 help, and that he felt it was his job to. He 1 is an individual, I think, with a depth of 2 knowledge, and everyone said this -- certainly 3 Senator Bruno did and Senator Farley did - 4 that is enormous, but beyond that, his ability 5 to relate to each of us at a level we could 6 understand and respond to our needs in a 7 fashion that we felt, even if we didn't get 8 everything we wanted, or even if we didn't get 9 anything we wanted but you walked away knowing 10 that he really understood what your job was 11 all about and what you were trying to do. 12 In his letter to all of us, he 13 explained that he was going to spend his 14 retirement years fishing and hunting, and I 15 wrote him a note back and asked to let me know 16 where he was when he was fishing because I 17 want to be there with, for one reason: 18 Knowing how efficient he's been here, if he's 19 going fishing somewhere I know damned well 20 he's going to catch fish, and I want to be 21 there with him. 22 Thank you, Steve. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 24 Thank you, Senator Padavan. 25 Senator Seward. 1 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you, Mr. 2 President. 3 So much has already been said 4 about Steve Sloan and his career here in the 5 Senate, and very appropriately and well said 6 by other members, but one thing that hasn't 7 been mentioned about Steve this afternoon is 8 about Steve's roots. His roots are in the 9 little hamlet of Springfield Center in Otsego 10 County, northern Otsego County, up along Route 11 20, which is in my home county and it's 12 something that Steve and I have shared over 13 the years together, both coming from Otsego 14 County, and, in my judgment, Steve brought all 15 the best of what I call small town values here 16 to the state Capitol, particularly in the way 17 that he dealt with those around him. He 18 brought those small town values of honesty, 19 forthrightness, in dealing with people here in 20 the Senate. 21 Steve, you've been a great help 22 over the years to me personally as a member of 23 this body, and as a staff member prior to 24 being elected myself, and I just want to stand 25 and say a big thank you to you. You've always 1 been a true professional. You've brought the 2 Senate into the 20th Century. In fact, I 3 think you've prepared us for the 21st Century 4 in terms of the way we operate here. 5 You're obviously intelligent, 6 always accommodating as best you can. You 7 provided so much sound advice over the years, 8 always looking out for the best interests of 9 the Senate, and the members and all the staff 10 here in this body, always no matter what the 11 circumstances of a discussion, always 12 courteous and effective. 13 Steve, you're one classy guy. 14 We're going to miss you here, but as one 15 resident of Otsego County to another, we wish 16 you well, and certainly very pleased to see 17 your mom, Mrs. Sloan, in the gallery visiting 18 here today. 19 Best of luck to all in the 20 future. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 22 Thank you, Senator Seward. 23 Senator Goodman. 24 SENATOR GOODMAN: Mr. 25 President, Steve Sloan is a man of unusual 1 talent and skill, but especially great powers 2 of diplomacy. The thing that interests me 3 about the ducks in his office is that they 4 give rise to a question: Shall I put these on 5 your bill? 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 7 Ohhh, ho,ho. We'll give you a chance to 8 retract that if you want, Senator. 9 SENATOR GOODMAN: Thank you, 10 Mr. President. I stand on my earlier 11 statement. 12 Steve is, without doubt, one of 13 the ablest administrators that I've known and 14 when I first got to know him it was when he 15 was wearing his hat as Senate Research 16 Director. I became deeply impressed with his 17 capacity to ferret out even the most obstruse 18 pieces of information for our guidance. He's a 19 clear thinker and obviously a man of very high 20 I.Q. and intellect, but more importantly has a 21 great sense of ability to deal with people and 22 to be immensely cooperative in fulfilling 23 their needs. 24 Steve, it's very hard for me to 25 believe that you and I have been companions in 1 this process for 30 years. You wear it well, 2 my friend, and I can only say that it's my 3 hope as time goes on, you will continue to 4 show your youthful exuberance as you've always 5 done before. 6 I'd particularly like to thank 7 you for one very special favor you've done for 8 me and for Senator Markowitz. On every budget 9 night when we've been in the chamber all 10 night, we've had a compact, a bipartisan 11 compact, with Marty Markowitz, and I hope that 12 in revealing this it will not give rise to an 13 urge on the part of any other members to 14 participate, but you've made your office 15 available. Marty Markowitz has the deep 16 leather arm chair, and I have the part of the 17 couch that is not occupied by the ducks, where 18 we go in for some rest between debates, and I 19 hope that your successor will take very 20 seriously the fact that this is imperative to 21 keep a Democrat and Republican alive and well 22 and in good shape for the strains of the 23 budget debate. 24 And, Steve, I want you to know 25 we've developed a great sense of abiding 1 affection for you, and I'd like to say to your 2 mother, you should be very proud of your 3 progeny because he's a man who enjoys the 4 respect of every member of this Senate chamber 5 and anyone who's had anything to do with the 6 state government. He's a class act, a high 7 quality individual of complete and impeccable 8 integrity, great diplomacy and, in short, we 9 think he's a pretty good fellow. 10 Godspeed and good luck, Steve. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 12 Thank you, Senator Goodman. 13 Senator Gold. 14 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you, Mr. 15 President. 16 Mr. President, I want to refer 17 to Senator Bruno's remarks because he spoke 18 about a conversation that was very important 19 and that was this conversation when he told 20 Steve that there was a $7 million deficit 21 because there was a conversation, and Senator 22 Velella was in the room and, when he heard it, 23 he said right away, "That's easy to solve the 24 problem; take it out of the Minority," and 25 thankfully for us, Steve Sloan was there for 1 us, because he said, "No, no, maybe 90 percent 2 but not all." He was always there. 3 Actually, I'm glad Senator 4 Bruno took you off the hook today saying that 5 you did all the good stuff, and he did all the 6 hard stuff, because I've always admired people 7 who work for a living and it's no secret that, 8 in Albany, the person below runs this house, 9 such as Steve was doing, works for the 10 Majority, and you can't live here unless you 11 face up to that fact, and putting that in 12 perspective, the fact is that Steve Sloan was 13 a gentleman to me all these years. He was a 14 gentleman to our members. You would do for us 15 what you could, and we had to understand the 16 fact that you did work for the Majority and 17 within that framework you made it easier for 18 me to do my job, and I'm grateful for it, and 19 I think you have earned good health in this 20 retirement, and I hope it's only good things 21 for you and, if you get back what you've 22 earned, you'll be very happy. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 24 Thank you, Senator Gold. 25 Senator Markowitz. 1 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Thank you 2 very, very much and, Senator Goodman, thank 3 you for those nice remarks a few moments ago. 4 The truth of the matter is that Steve Sloan 5 and I spent many a night together sharing the 6 same space, but in keeping with the Majority, 7 he slept at his desk, Senator Goodman got the 8 couch, and I got the arm chair. 9 But whenever you were in that 10 office, you knew you shared it with a lot more 11 than human beings. Those stuffed ducks, those 12 wooden ducks, those plastic ducks -- ducks, 13 ducks, ducks! All I know is we may be losing 14 Steve in service to the Senate, but the duck 15 population in America and New York, watch 16 out. Full time, baby, his shot gun's on his 17 arms. Take a look at those pictures with - 18 smiling with those ducks up and down, on his 19 shoulders, in his hand. Those poor, poor 20 ducks. 21 One year, Steve, you remember 22 because each Christmas and during your years, 23 I would buy you ducks, all right and proud to 24 say that I contributed greatly to your duck 25 collection -- duck wallets, duck T-shirts, 1 ducks, ducks, ducks, whatever had a duck and 2 one year I ran out of ducks to buy, and I saw 3 a vendor in the streets of Manhattan - 4 probably your district, Senator Goodman -- and 5 I said to the vendor, "I need a duck badly," 6 and he sold me a stuffed animal. He said it 7 was a duck, and I later found out -- in fact, 8 I realized on my trip up here that I bought 9 him a "big bird", and I want to thank you for 10 not disclosing to the press that this Senator 11 didn't know the difference between a duck and 12 a big bird. Thank you, Stephen Sloan. 13 The truth of the matter is that 14 Steve was and is a person that, although he 15 said no to me 99 percent of the time, "no," 16 "rejection," "forget about it," "it's not 17 available, never has been, never will be," he 18 said it in such a way that you had to like him 19 because that's the way you are. You're a good 20 guy. You're a real super person. You really 21 are, Steve, and I always hope that some day 22 soon we convert you to the Democratic 23 Party. I still have that hope out because 24 someone like you with that amount of 25 sensitivity belongs on this side of the 1 aisle. 2 Good luck. Good luck, ducks. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 4 Senator Markowitz has to learn how to control 5 himself. 6 Senator Paterson. 7 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. 8 President, after that, there's really very 9 little to say other than the fact that Steve 10 Sloan wrote us all a letter to let us know he 11 was leaving. It indicated a lot of what his 12 vision was, and hopefully what he tried to 13 accomplish in his particular time, and we in 14 the Minority appreciated it, understood it. 15 There's always been a battle between the 16 Majorities and Minorities, in just about all 17 the houses of Legislatures in this country 18 about the distribution of resources, and, as 19 Senator Markowitz said, although 99 percent of 20 the time we were in disagreement with the 21 decision, I felt that it was always done in a 22 professional and responsible way, and, 23 therefore, I'd like to lend my voice to all 24 those who are wishing Steve best wishes in his 25 continued career, and to thank his family for 1 the time that they allowed him to share with 2 us. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 4 Thank you, Senator Paterson. 5 Senator Stafford. 6 SENATOR STAFFORD: Senator 7 Paterson was going to thank Senator Markowitz 8 but I guess I'll have to do that. 9 I'm one of the few that are 10 going to complain. I know people won't 11 believe this but, as I look around, I'm sure 12 everyhone would agree with me. I'm just going 13 to complain that someone of Steve's caliber 14 has decided to be sensible and to change 15 courses. I don't think any of us sometimes 16 think that people like him, or didn't think, 17 we know that people like Steve Sloan, they 18 don't retire. They just, as I say, change 19 courses. 20 I've been around here a while, 21 and I've watched people's responsibility and I 22 guess about the best thing you can say about 23 anybody if they have responsibility and have 24 to be a messenger, and I know we all know what 25 that's like, but if we have to be a messenger, 1 and when you're finished with what you're 2 doing and you still have good will, you have 3 just about as much as anybody can have, and 4 the gentleman we're speaking about today does 5 have and again he has just about as much as 6 anyone can have. 7 And finally, with the lady on 8 his left, as some of us have been reminded at 9 times. We have to remind him that the river 10 never rises higher than its source. 11 Thank you. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 13 Thank you, Senator Stafford. 14 Senator Stachowski. 15 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr. 16 President, I too would like to say a few words 17 about Steve. I'll leave the ducks to 18 Markowitz, and Joe touched on all the business 19 things. 20 I had the opportunity to work 21 with Steve on one of the quieter parts, the 22 Senate gym, the members' gym, and the 23 interesting thing is that the media constantly 24 tried to make that like it was an exclusive 25 beautiful room that had all the ultimate of 1 equipment in plush surroundings, and they 2 wanted to come in and take photographs and see 3 people working out and, quite honestly, it 4 would have been very difficult for members to 5 deal with the media at that point and be the 6 ones to say no, and Steve took that burden on 7 himself and he was the heavy, and did that in 8 a nice way where he didn't get beat up in the 9 press either, and it was refreshing to work 10 with him and actually for those of us that use 11 the facility, Steve's one of the people that 12 kept it going because he stayed on top of 13 things even when sometimes the other side was 14 switching people and our person wasn't up to 15 speed on what was going on and making sure it 16 was clean and the equipment worked and for 17 that, working with him, I've always thanked 18 him because he was very helpful and that all 19 the members that do use it are better off for 20 it, and it's just one of the many facets of 21 his job that he did so well, and I just wanted 22 to congratulate him and wish him luck in the 23 future. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 25 Thank you, Senator Stachowski. 1 Senator Skelos. 2 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 3 I too rise in paying tribute to Steve. 4 Senator Paterson, Senator 5 Markowitz mentioned you said no to them 99 6 percent of the time. I don't understand it. 7 You said yes to me 99 percent of the time, and 8 I did appreciate that. Must be my charm and 9 my personality, the way I handled it but, as 10 has been said by both Majority members and 11 Minority members, especially when you first 12 come to the Senate as I did in 1985, I -- you 13 really treated all of us with respect. You 14 made our lives a lot easier up here. You made 15 our offices more efficient, and quite honestly 16 by making our offices more efficient and 17 you've served all of our individual 18 constituents. The better we can serve them, 19 the better job that we're doing. 20 So, Steve, I wish you nothing 21 but happiness and good health. Maybe I'll 22 join you on the pond with Senator Padavan. 23 Maybe I'll even join you hunting the ducks, 24 but most of all good luck to you, Steve. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 1 Thank you, Senator Skelos. 2 Senator Kuhl. 3 SENATOR KUHL: Thank you, Mr. 4 President. 5 I just want to rise and 6 congratulate the the Sen...Senator Sloan, the 7 61st or 62nd Senator. Steve, congratulations 8 on your retirement and certainly good health 9 and, like so many people here, certainly 10 you've been intimately involved in our work, 11 most recently in my role as the Assistant 12 Majority Leader in charge of house 13 operations. As you know, we went through a 14 reform move which really now is, I think, the 15 envy of many people here, and we now report 16 our expenditure reporting and thank you for 17 your help in doing that, and thank you for 18 leading the charge. 19 But to follow up somewhat on 20 what Dean has said, I personally want to thank 21 you for lending a human side to this 22 institution. We all talk about the 23 institution as being a great institution and 24 it's rather foreboding for an individual to 25 come and join the Senate and not know anybody 1 here, as an outsider, and I want to thank you 2 for not really taking us under, each 3 individual as we arrived here, but I want to 4 thank you from the standpoint of having the 5 time to give individual attention to each one 6 of our problems, whether it was something as 7 minute as, well, why don't I have a lamp for a 8 table, or what is the matter with or why am I 9 being put out in this parking spot or whatever 10 it may be. You found, I think, the time and 11 the interest to at least inquire as to what 12 each one of our individual problems were, and 13 that individual attention, that humane side of 14 dealing with this foreboding body, I think, is 15 an attribute that few people bring to this 16 institution. 17 So thank you so much for making 18 my life much easier here, and I'm sure I speak 19 for all the members, and good luck. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 21 Thank you, Senator Kuhl. 22 Senator Lachman. 23 SENATOR LACHMAN: I'd like to 24 rise as a relatively new member of this 25 chamber, and speak in honor of Dr. Sloan 1 because I think very few of us realize that he 2 has a Ph.D. He's a scholar as well as an 3 administrator and manager, and I remember just 4 a few short years ago when I came here for the 5 first time in a special election, I think it 6 was the end of February when the snows were on 7 the ground, and I thought I knew something 8 about state government through teaching it, 9 but I learned very quickly that the theory of 10 state government is quite different than the 11 governance of the state by a state Legislature 12 and I want to thank you, Steve, for always 13 being for a Minority member of this chamber, 14 honest, candid and considerate, and for having 15 a very fine staff who followed in those traits 16 and who we know will continue to follow in 17 those traits. 18 Thank you. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 20 Thank you, Senator Lachman. 21 Senator Maziarz. 22 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you, 23 Mr. President. 24 I too want to join, Steve, in 25 congratulating, wishing you well. I, as 1 Senator Lachman mentioned, was elected to this 2 institution in a special election. I think I 3 was elected on a Tuesday, was down here two or 4 three days later to be sworn in, and that 5 transition was made a whole lot smoother, 6 Steve, because of the help and assistance that 7 you gave me at that time and I sincerely 8 appreciated it then. I appreciate it even more 9 today, and I just want to congratulate you, 10 and wish you the best of luck. 11 Thank you. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 13 Thank you, Senator Maziarz. 14 Senator Onorato. 15 SENATOR ONORATO: Mr. 16 President, I rise, too, to join my colleagues 17 in saying a special thank you to Steve Sloan. 18 I don't know about some of the remarks that my 19 colleagues on this side of the aisle stated. 20 I called Steve on many, many occasions since 21 1983, and I want to thank him personally for 22 my state of the art computer, my talking type 23 writer, my television set, my answering 24 telephone that he gave me, all the state of 25 the art equipment that I asked him for I got, 1 but I got the boxes only, with a note in it, 2 "The rest will be following." He never 3 refused me anything, but I went one step 4 further than Marty Markowitz. 5 The problem with Marty was that 6 he didn't know the difference between a duck 7 and a bird. Marty's version of the bird was a 8 goose, so I didn't approach him for a goose, 9 and I looked under that bird and there was all 10 of those supplies, and he sent them to me in a 11 very, very timely fashion. 12 But all jesting aside, I do 13 want to thank Steve for the courtesies that 14 he's extended to me over the past 15 years and 15 now that he's leaving us, I wish him and his 16 family all the best things that I wish for me 17 and my family. 18 Good luck, Steve. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 20 Thank you, Senator Onorato. 21 Senator Larkin. 22 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, Mr. 23 President. 24 My first encounter with Steve 25 Sloan was the day after election 1990. About 1 9:30 in the morning, a phone rings and 2 somebody answered, for Senator-elect Larkin, 3 and they said, By the way, it's some man named 4 Steve Sloan. After 12 years in the Assembly 5 they weren't exactly a household word in our 6 office at that time, but I asked him what did 7 he want, and he said, you know, Senator, we'd 8 like to start with you getting everything 9 ready, the records this, that, what your needs 10 are, your new office, and all of that. 11 I brought two people up from my 12 district who were with me and going to work 13 with me in the Senate, and they left here with 14 an attitude that said, Holy God, do you 15 realize how sincere and conscientious. They 16 said -- one of the ladies said, You were 17 talking to him and I was outside and there was 18 another member in the Minority was going in to 19 see him and said, You'll find him to be 20 wonderful. He treats everybody alike. 21 And all the time I've been here 22 with Steve, there are some things that I've 23 wanted. You know, I wanted to win the 24 lottery. He didn't help me there, but 25 everything that was reasonable and 1 responsible, I found him to want to make the 2 Senate work, not just the members, but the 3 Senate as a whole in its responsibility to the 4 people. 5 We're going to miss you, 6 Steve. I promise to park in my own slot from 7 now on, and I just want to tell you how much I 8 appreciate it, and my staff back home asked me 9 today to make sure that they -- that I said to 10 you, to thank you for what you did in 11 organizing us to be a member of this body. 12 Thank you. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 14 Thank you, Senator Larkin. 15 Senator Gonzalez. 16 SENATOR GONZALEZ: Thank you, 17 Mr. President. 18 I too rise with my colleagues 19 to say to Steve Sloan, I thank you for being 20 fair, for being there, for being a friend. I 21 wish you well with the family, and I just 22 thank you for being you. 23 Thank you. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 25 Thank you, Senator Gonzalez. 1 Senator Johnson. 2 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes, Mr. 3 President. 4 I too would like to add my 5 voice to those expressing appreciation for the 6 good works of Steve Sloan over the years, 7 being very solicitous of the Senate, and of 8 the records of the Senate and the welfare of 9 the members. I've always found him to be 10 open, friendly, courteous, helpful, all the 11 good attributes you'd like, and I find he's 12 also a sportsman. Marty made a speech about 13 the ducks, the geese, the whatever, but I know 14 Steve is going to enjoy his retirement and I 15 kind of envy him. 16 I think gettin' out young and 17 fit, he's going to have a great life and we're 18 certainly happy for you, Steve, and 19 appreciative for everything you've done for us 20 in the past. 21 Thank you. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 Thank you, Senator Johnson. 24 Senator Leibell. 25 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you, 1 Mr. President. 2 Steve, I just want to echo the 3 accolades you've heard today from my 4 colleagues. Certainly as coming from the 5 other house to this house a number of years 6 ago, one of the first people I had the 7 opportunity to work with was you and you did a 8 great job not only for me and my staff but, as 9 you've heard from so many of the other 10 members, for both the Majority and the 11 Minority here. 12 You always recognized the 13 importance of the work we were all about and 14 you recognized the importance for us to have 15 the assistance from staff in order for us to 16 do our jobs and to represent our 17 constituents. 18 I can certainly tell you that 19 for a relatively new Senator, you made my life 20 a great deal easier. I'm most grateful for 21 that. I thank you for that, and I wish you 22 many years of happy retirement. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 24 Thank you, Senator Leibell. 25 Senator Dollinger. 1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you, 2 Mr. President. 3 I want to rise to congratulate 4 Steve Sloan. I want to tie in with a point 5 that Senator Kuhl made that he referred to 6 Steve Sloan as the 62nd Senator. I have to 7 admit, Senator Kuhl, when I first came here I 8 thought that the Secretary of the Senate was 9 like the Secretary of the Communist Party. 10 You know, when you got elevated to the 11 Secretary, you were in charge and the Senators 12 sort of followed, so Steve Sloan may be 62nd 13 on the list of Senators, but I think he was 14 number one in our hearts for a long time. 15 In addition, I think Steve 16 probably recognizes when I stand up that he 17 will miss the "Dear Steve" letters signed by 18 "Franz and Rick", Franz Leichter, who is not 19 here and I'm going to pinchhit for him in 20 saying that we probably wiped out several 21 dozen acres of the Adirondack forest with the 22 sheafs of mail that we sent to -- in the form 23 of "Dear Steve" letters and, as Steve knows, 24 they always had an interesting little last 25 sentence, and it was usually Franz and I 1 rattling our legal sabres of something akin, 2 Steve, that said, Either do this or we'll sue 3 you, something like that, but the best part 4 about dealing with Steve was, and in all those 5 discussions, and they did lead to some very 6 good things, I commend Steve for doing, the 7 quarterly reporting, restrictions on the 8 mailing practices, a bunch of things that 9 we've done in the last four or five years, to 10 put it as Senator Bruno has constantly 11 referred to it, so we run the Senate like a 12 business; and, Steve, I commend you for doing 13 that and leading the fight to get those things 14 done. 15 But through all those letters, 16 through all that correspondence, the good 17 thing about my relationship -- and I think 18 Franz Leichter would say this as well - 19 is that Steve would always let us know through 20 some door what he was going to do. Sometimes 21 we may not get a response to the letter 22 immediately but the word would get back to us 23 somehow, and he always kept us informed. He 24 was candid with us, he talked about policies 25 and who makes them and how they're made and 1 the importance of democratic government, the 2 importance, as much as it's difficult for 3 someone in the Minority to respect the power 4 of the Majority, it is nonetheless the part of 5 our democracy and something that we must all 6 attest to and subscribe to. 7 So, Steve, I congratulate you 8 on your retirement. I may write you -- Franz 9 and I may write you just one last letter. 10 We'll end, no postscript, but it will be 11 addressed just as the other ones. It will be 12 addressed "Dear Steve" and it will be signed 13 "Franz and Rick." Godspeed! 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 15 Thank you, Senator Dollinger. 16 Senator Marchi. 17 SENATOR MARCHI: Mr. President, 18 I don't think we've had as many expressions. 19 We've had unanimity in this body on many 20 occasions but I don't think we had so many 21 that treated the vital consideration which I'm 22 sure is appreciated by your mother, if not by 23 yourself, and one was his professionalism, his 24 erudite, academic intellectual process which 25 commands and commanded great praise from 1 everybody that got up practically. 2 This wasn't a casuist who 3 happened to chance on good policies. This is 4 an individual with deep preparation, academic 5 and otherwise, and professionally for the 6 responsibility that he assumed and going 7 beyond that we go to the personal and 8 sometimes the execution of policies calls for 9 various responsiveness and sometimes they're 10 pleasant, sometimes perhaps they don't meet 11 the requirements of the -- of the request, but 12 I can't think of any circumstance in my own 13 life, whether it was O.K., or, well, there's a 14 problem here, where he wasn't absolutely on 15 target, and I was equally pleased and I think 16 those were few and rare between, because when 17 they did occur, I had just broadened my 18 knowledge of some of the problems that had to 19 be contended with in the execution of the high 20 responsibilities that he discharges. 21 So I remember leaders back, I 22 guess it was when I first came here, Martin 23 Van Buren was the Secretary of the Senate, but 24 none of them hold a candle to Steve, and 25 certainly I join my colleagues in wishing you 1 a fruitful and a life full of the expectations 2 which you have every right to portend and that 3 you continue to draw great satisfaction from 4 all of your pursuits. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 6 Thank you, Senator Marchi. 7 Senator Saland. 8 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Mr. 9 President. 10 I'm sure, Steve, you're finding 11 it difficult to keep your head above water 12 with this flood of kudos. I apologize for 13 having been out of the chamber and missing 14 much, and I probably can't add too much that's 15 substantive to what's already been said, but 16 I'd feel terribly remiss if I didn't rise and 17 add to the chorus of genuinely felt, deeply 18 and heartfelt kindnesses that we're attempting 19 to reciprocate for the multitude of kindnesses 20 that you time and again were able to provide 21 to us. 22 You're, I think, one of the 23 class acts that I've ever come across in all 24 of my dealings in either house of this 25 Legislature. You've always been a gentleman 1 and somehow or other miraculously, even when 2 you said no, I felt guilty. Why I should have 3 felt guilty, I do not know, but it's a 4 marvelous ability and if only I had it, I'd 5 probably be far more successful. 6 A gentleman through and 7 through, certainly capable, certainly bright, 8 certainly extraordinarily decent. You will be 9 missed, and I cannot in any way, shape or form 10 convey to you my deep appreciation for having 11 had the opportunity to have worked with you, 12 to have benefited from knowing you and my 13 knowledge of you. 14 God bless you, your family, 15 your loved ones, and may your retirement be 16 everything you would wish it to be. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 18 Thank you, Senator Saland. 19 Senator Rath. 20 SENATOR RATH: Thank you, Mr. 21 Chairman. 22 Steve, from the far western 23 door of the state of New York, best wishes to 24 you and good luck. There's always a phrase 25 that I would think of you, think of this 1 phrase when I would see you working with some 2 of us, when you were trying to gather us and 3 get papers to us and whatever and the phrase 4 was always "herding cats" that always made me 5 laugh because if you would ever try to imagine 6 herding cats it would be like impossible, but 7 somehow the great diversity of the state of 8 New York lends itself to the great diversity 9 of the members of this body and, as you dealt 10 with all of us with patience and equinimity 11 you did that to the joy and the everlasting 12 gratitude of all the members of this house. 13 And so, as you move forward 14 into a new time of life, new challenges, new 15 places to explore, where the ducks are 16 unlimited, may you go forward with great 17 success and great happiness unlimited. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 19 Thank you, Senator Rath. 20 The question is on the 21 resolution. All those in favor signify by 22 saying aye. 23 (Response of "Aye.") 24 Opposed nay. 25 (There was no response. ) 1 The resolution is passed. 2 On behalf of the colleagues, my 3 colleagues in the Senate, Steve, we wish you 4 the best of everything. Get all the ducks you 5 can possibly get. Get all the fish you can 6 possibly fish and, most importantly, may it be 7 in good health for the rest of your days. 8 God bless you! 9 (Standing applause) 10 Senator Volker, we'd like to go 11 back to motions if we could for a moment. 12 Senator Kuhl, you have a motion for us? 13 SENATOR KUHL: Yes, I do. 14 Mr. President, on page 8 I 15 offer the following amendments to Calendar 16 Number 38, Senate Print Number 2088, and ask 17 that said bill retain its place on the Third 18 Reading Calendar. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 20 So ordered. 21 Senator Farley. 22 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Mr. 23 President. 24 On behalf of Senator Libous, 25 would you please place a sponsor's star on 1 Calendars Number 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 3 Those bills will be starred at the request of 4 the sponsor. 5 Secretary will read - 6 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. 7 President. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 9 -- substitutions. 10 SENATOR VOLKER: May I please 11 have the title read on Resolution Number 2213 12 by Senator Wright, and move for its immediate 13 adoption. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 15 Secretary will read. 16 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 17 Wright, Legislative Resolution 2213, calling 18 upon the United States Congress to pass H.R. 19 2955, to amend Section 110 of the Legal 20 Immigration Reform and Immigrant 21 Responsibility Act of 1996. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 The question is on the resolution. 24 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Yes, Mr. 25 President. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 2 Senator Dollinger. 3 SENATOR DOLLINGER: This is a 4 question on the resolution, Mr. President. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 6 Senator Dollinger. 7 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Perhaps if 8 the sponsor could just explain the resolution, 9 then I have a procedural motion I'd like to 10 make, Mr. President. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 12 Senator Wright, do you yield for a question on 13 the resolution? 14 SENATOR WRIGHT: I will, Mr. 15 President. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 17 Senator yields, Senator Dollinger. 18 SENATOR DOLLINGER: If he would 19 just explain through you, Mr. President, the 20 basis for this, we could do this quickly. 21 SENATOR WRIGHT: Very quickly, 22 as you can see in the short title, we're 23 calling upon Congress to take some action. 24 We're memorializing Congress as we have on a 25 number of issues. This one happens to be 1 changes in the Immigration Act that Congress 2 has initiated that will have an adverse impact 3 on cross border movement on many New York 4 State border entry points that border on 5 Canada. 6 With the stricter reporting 7 requirements of individuals coming across our 8 border, there will be inordinate delays. That 9 will adversely affect commerce, adversely 10 affect tourism, and we historically have had 11 very open borders with our Canadian neighbors 12 and there is a great deal of trade and 13 exchange back and forth; so as our 14 Congressional representatives both in Buffalo 15 and in my area, the Thousand Island area, we 16 have international bridges, we have a great 17 deal of crossing the border, we're 18 memorializing Congress and asking them to move 19 and to move promptly in remedying those in 20 those reporting requirements and basically to 21 exempt Canadians. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 Senator Dollinger. 24 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr. 25 President, is this resolution in order 1 pursuant to IX Rule 9 (b) of the Senate rules? 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 3 Yes, it is, Senator. 4 SENATOR DOLLINGER: And could 5 you just explain why, Mr. President, through 6 you? 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. 8 President. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 10 Senator Skelos. 11 SENATOR SKELOS: I believe the 12 resolution is properly before us. The rule 13 that was referred to by Senator Dollinger is 14 when -- Senator Wright's resolution does 15 affect domestic policy whereas sometimes 16 resolutions have come up that have been held 17 that have not been reported to the floor 18 because they would memorialize Congress to 19 affect foreign policy of other nations. 20 That's why his resolution is properly before 21 the house. 22 SENATOR FARLEY: Mr. President. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 24 Yes, we understand that it's Rule Number VI, 25 Section 9 (b). 1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Correct, 2 Mr. President. Is it in order? It raises a 3 point of order. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 5 Excuse me. 6 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Is this 7 resolution in order? 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 9 This resolution would be in order because it 10 pertains to the affairs, business, rights, 11 benefits, obligations of New York State. 12 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr. 13 President, I'm going to vote in favor - 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 15 Senator, if you could just -- Senator 16 Farley. 17 SENATOR FARLEY: Just as a 18 point of information, Senator Dollinger, it 19 was just last week that the Council of State 20 Governments of Northeastern States passed a 21 resolution similar to this, urging all the 22 states, and incidentally unanimously passed by 23 all the states represented there, urging the 24 different legislative bodies to do this 25 resolution and incidentally, it was passed 1 also unanimously by the Council of State 2 Governments Executive Committee this December, 3 addressing this. 4 As you are well aware, coming 5 from a border city of the tremendous problem 6 that has been -- is happening in crossing the 7 border and the hours and hours of delay and 8 because of this we're urging them to look at 9 this and to try to alleviate this terrible 10 problem for commerce and to everything else, 11 and almost every state particularly bordering 12 Canada and, incidentally, it's more or less 13 talking about Canada as opposed to the -- as 14 opposed to Mexico, so we're very anxious and 15 there seems to be unanimity throughout the 16 United States on this issue. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 18 Senator Dollinger. 19 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again 20 through you, Mr. President, the reason why I 21 asked that this resolution be put over until 22 today, I agree with both Senator Farley and 23 Senator Wright. This is an important issue 24 that relates to New York State. It does 25 relate to domestic policy, domestic policy in 1 the United States, this is an act of Congress, 2 and I simply rise today because I have a 3 resolution that's been before -- been on the 4 Senate calendar - 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 6 if I could raise a point of order, I think it 7 would be germane if Senator Dollinger wishes 8 to discuss Senator Wright's resolution but to 9 go off on a resolution that he has that is not 10 before the house is not germane to the issue 11 before this house right now, and that's 12 Senators Wright's resolution. 13 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Well, I - 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 15 Senator, excuse me, but Senator Skelos' point 16 is well taken. The -- Senator Dollinger, I 17 have to rule you out of order because in 18 effect your remarks are not germane to the 19 resolution before us. 20 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Well, let 21 me show you how they are germane. This 22 resolution deals with the relationship between 23 Canada and the United States. It allows and 24 urges the United States Congress to facilitate 25 greater immigration access by Canadians coming 1 into the United States, the international 2 relationship between Canada and the United 3 States. 4 All I want to do is talk about 5 one other aspect of that relationship and that 6 is a resolution that has been before this 7 house for the better part of the last eight 8 months, which asks that this house go on 9 record - 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 11 Senator, your resolution is not before the 12 chamber. It's simply -- we are debating or 13 discussing Senator Wright's resolution. If 14 you wish to discuss Senator Wright's 15 resolution, then you are in order. If you 16 wish to bring in another resolution that has 17 to be brought before the floor. 18 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr. 19 President, Senator Wright's resolution deals 20 with the relationship between Canada and the 21 United States. All I want to do is talk about 22 one other aspect of that which I should add 23 has an effect on the affairs, the business, 24 the rights, the benefits and the obligations 25 of New York State. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 2 The only problem is your resolutions is not 3 before us. Senator Wright's resolution is 4 before us. So we should be discussing the 5 resolution that is before us, not one that is 6 being proposed. 7 SENATOR DOLLINGER: And all I'm 8 attempting to do is - 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 10 Senator, if you wish to discuss it -- I don't 11 want to be rude, but if you wish to discuss 12 the resolution, you should bring it before the 13 chamber. We'll be happy to hold it then and 14 happy to discuss it then. 15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through 16 you, Mr. President, that's the whole point of 17 why I'm standing here today. I can't get it 18 here. If you can think of some other way I 19 can get it before this body, I'll be glad to 20 do it but I'm stuck in a position - 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 22 Senator, we're here to discuss a resolution 23 that is on the floor that has been raised 24 appropriately, that has been heard and read 25 and is ready for a vote. If you wish to 1 discuss that resolution, we'll be happy to 2 hear you. 3 SENATOR DOLLINGER: And, Mr. 4 President, I simply - 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 6 And if you have a resolution that is not 7 before us, we cannot hear it; it is out of 8 order, sir. 9 SENATOR DOLLINGER: I won't 10 make any other references, I'll just - 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 12 Senator Paterson, why do you rise? Excuse me, 13 Senator. 14 SENATOR PATERSON: Point of 15 order, Mr. President. 16 On this particular resolution 17 as I understand it what Senator Dollinger is 18 doing, even if he does raise his resolution, 19 it's merely as a buttress to his argument that 20 he is debating Senator Wright's resolution. 21 If he talks about the fact that he brought a 22 resolution forward or he can't get the 23 resolution on the floor, he's consulting a 24 seer or something to find a way to get his 25 resolution on the floor, that is really just a 1 parallel he's drawing to make his point which 2 is really on the subject that we're discussing 3 which is Senator Wright's resolution. 4 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Senator 5 Wright's resolution, through you, Mr. 6 President, if I've still got the floor. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 8 You have the floor, sir, on Senator Wright's 9 resolution if you wish. 10 SENATOR DOLLINGER: On Senator 11 Wright's resolution. 12 Senator Wright's resolution 13 which I support deals with the relationship 14 between Canada and the United States. I 15 applaud that relationship; it's one that my 16 community benefits from. 17 I simply raise another issue 18 that this resolution ought to consider, and 19 that's the role of the International Joint 20 Commission and the St. Lawrence River Board of 21 Control. It is the subject of a document 22 which has been at one point submitted to this 23 house but has never made it to the floor. 24 I would wish that Senator 25 Wright who has advocated for this change that 1 would benefit his community would look at the 2 broader picture and perhaps expand his 3 resolution, perhaps amend the resolution to 4 ask that the International Joint Commission 5 and the St. Lawrence River Board of Control 6 comply with a little democracy, a little due 7 process, give us access to agenda. Minutes 8 and notes. That's all I ask. That's -- for 9 some reason that issue doesn't seem to be a 10 part of our discussion here. 11 I'm going to vote in favor of 12 Senator Wright's resolution, but I wish the 13 policy were evenhandedly applied to all issues 14 that deal with the relationship between Canada 15 and the United States. It's an important 16 issue, Senator Wright; you're right to raise 17 it in this context. It's a shame that we 18 can't discuss it further when it directly 19 affects New York State. 20 SENATOR SKELOS: Move the 21 resolution. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 Question is on the resolution. All in favor 24 signify by saying aye. 25 (Response of "Aye.") 1 Opposed nay. 2 (There was no response.) 3 The resolution is adopted. 4 Secretary will now read 5 substitutions, Senator Skelos, if you would. 6 SENATOR SKELOS: Please make 7 the substitutions. 8 THE SECRETARY: On page 12, 9 Senator Volker moves to discharge from the 10 Committee on Investigations, Assembly Bill 11 Number 8717 and substitute it for the 12 identical Third Reading Calendar 85. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 14 Substitution is ordered. 15 Senator Skelos. 16 SENATOR SKELOS: Will you take 17 up the non-controversial calendar, please. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 19 Secretary will read the non-controversial 20 calendar. Can we have some order in the 21 chamber, please. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 8, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 2021, an 24 act to amend the General Municipal Law, in 25 relation to participation in certain health 1 insurance plans. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 3 Read the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 5 This act shall take effect immediately. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 7 Call the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the 9 roll. ) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 54. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 12 The bill is passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 33, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 4062, an 15 act it amend the Insurance Law, in relation to 16 deleting obsolete references. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 18 Read the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 12. 20 This act shall take effect immediately. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 22 Call the roll. 23 (The Secretary called the 24 roll. ) 25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 54. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 2 The bill is passed. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 34, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 2144, an 5 act to amend the Banking Law and the Criminal 6 Procedure Law, in relation to the regulation 7 of licensed transmitters of money. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 9 Read the last section. 10 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. 11 This act shall take effect immediately. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 13 Call the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the 15 roll. ) 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 54. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 18 The bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 44, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 799. 21 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Lay 22 aside. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 24 Lay aside. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 1 75, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 5229, an 2 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to 3 making available to their victims the proceeds 4 of civil recoveries. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 6 Read the last -- lay the bill aside, please. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 76, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 1391, 9 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation 10 Law, in relation to the drawing off of water 11 for storage reservoirs. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 13 Read the last section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 15 This act shall take effect on the first day of 16 January. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 18 Call the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the 20 roll. ) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 54. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 The bill is passed. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 25 77, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 2369, an 1 act to amend the Navigation Law, in relation 2 to liability of volunteer firefighters. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 4 Read the last section, please. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 6 This act shall take effect immediately. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 8 Call the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the 10 roll.) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 54. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 13 The bill is passed. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 82, by Senator Holland, Senate Print 4120-A, 16 an act to amend the Social Services Law, in 17 relation to county responsibility. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 19 Read the last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. 21 This act shall take effect immediately. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 Call the roll. 24 (The Secretary called the 25 roll. ) 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 54. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 3 The bill is passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 85, substituted earlier today, by the Assembly 6 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print 8717, an 7 act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to the 8 imposition of sales and use taxes by the 9 county of Erie. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 11 Read the last section, please. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 13 This act shall take effect immediately. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 15 Call the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the 17 roll. ) 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 54. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 20 The bill is passed. 21 Senator Skelos, that completes 22 the reading of the non-controversial 23 calendar. 24 SENATOR SKELOS: Can we have 25 the reading of the controversial calendar, 1 please. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 3 Secretary will read Senate 799. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 44, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 799, an 6 act to amend the Labor Law, in relation to 7 licenses to possess and use explosives. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 9 Senator Stafford, an explanation has been 10 requested by Senator Montgomery. 11 SENATOR STAFFORD: I think we 12 all agree that there should be licensing in 13 this situation, and I -- am I interrupting 14 something? 15 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: 16 Explanation, please. 17 SENATOR STAFFORD: I thought I 18 was interrupting. 19 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: No, no, 20 I'm listening. 21 SENATOR STAFFORD: Pardon me? 22 Pardon me? 23 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: I was just 24 listening for your explanation. 25 SENATOR STAFFORD: Thank you. 1 I think we all agree that we -- you got a 2 question? 3 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 5 Senator Montgomery. 6 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, 7 Senator, or Mr. President I guess I would just 8 like to ask Senator Stafford, in light of the 9 fact that we have such a problem with the 10 threat of terrorism - 11 SENATOR STAFFORD: Of what? 12 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: With 13 domestic terrorism, where people are utilizing 14 explosives and collecting, amassing caches of 15 weapons and ammunition, and what have you, my 16 concern is that this bill sort of weakens our 17 capacity to sort of monitor just what is 18 happening in terms of the sale of those kinds 19 of things. 20 SENATOR STAFFORD: Well, I 21 think you made your point, and it gives us an 22 opportunity to clarify. 23 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: O.K. 24 SENATOR STAFFORD: And I think 25 it would be important to all of us, and I 1 appreciate you bringing this to our 2 attention. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 4 Senator, if you would, please, the 5 stenographer -- if you could just face the 6 microphone a little more, because we can 7 barely hear you and the Chair wishes to be 8 educated, please. 9 Thank you, Senator. 10 SENATOR STAFFORD: Yes. I 11 think that all of us are very concerned about 12 the issue that was just raised, and I 13 certainly understand that. 14 I would point out that this is 15 something that is used in business often 16 involved in industry, and all we're doing is 17 trying to make it as -- let's put it this 18 way. We're trying to do it, still have the 19 safeguard that has it sensible and have it 20 complete which it will be; and I would like to 21 make this point and I know how sensitive it 22 is. If I was one to lose anybody, any 23 license, be it a permit of a license law, it's 24 more than serious and I understand that, and I 25 would point this out, that here we're dealing 1 with people who use this professionally and in 2 business, and it really doesn't go toward or 3 speak to those who are dealing in an illegal 4 situation. 5 This really doesn't affect, and 6 I would certainly support you in supporting 7 any legislation that would move towards 8 helping us help and support measures that 9 would stem illegalities, maiming and loss of 10 life. I understand that. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 12 Senator Montgomery. 13 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Just 14 briefly, on the bill. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 16 Senator Montgomery, on the bill. 17 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: I'm still 18 going to -- I accept Senator Stafford's 19 explanation, but I think, however, it's 20 similar to our arguments about licensing, 21 licensing for guns. They are certainly legal 22 and most people, or many people do acquire 23 them legally, but somehow they end up being 24 used for illegal purposes, and I think that in 25 the instance particularly of explosives, but 1 also all of the materials, the objects that 2 are covered by this legislation, I would want 3 us to have more, not less of a capacity to at 4 least monitor them, through the licensing 5 process on a more frequent basis. 6 So I would just be opposed to 7 weakening the law that is already in place, so 8 I'm voting no on this bill. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 10 Thank you, Senator. 11 Read the last section. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 13 This act shall take effect on the first day of 14 November. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 16 Call the roll, please. 17 (The Secretary called the 18 roll. ) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 53, nays 20 one, Senator Montgomery recorded in the 21 negative. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 The bill is passed. 24 May we read Senate 5229, 25 Calendar Number 75. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 75, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 5229, an 3 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to 4 making available. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 6 Senator Nozzolio, Senator Paterson has asked 7 for an explanation. 8 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. 9 President, this measure amends the Executive 10 Law in relation to making available to the 11 victims of crime the proceeds from civil 12 recoveries of inmates who sue while 13 incarcerated for civil wrongs, that all too 14 often inmates who have been successful in 15 their litigation have taken the proceeds of 16 that litigation and put it in their pockets, 17 in their attorneys' pockets, while their 18 victims of crime -- and we're talking about 19 very serious criminality, rape, robbery, 20 murder, the victims of those crimes have no 21 recovery under the Crime Victims Act. This 22 bill remedies that situation. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 24 Senator Paterson. 25 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, 1 Mr. President. 2 It seems almost hard to believe 3 that a bill such as this is coming to the 4 floor at this time and it's long overdue. 5 Long overdue. It's actually an excellent 6 effort to insure the victims of crime. 7 If Senator Nozzolio would yield 8 for a question. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 10 Senator Nozzolio, do you yield for a 11 question? 12 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Certainly, 13 Mr. President. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 15 Senator Paterson, he yields. 16 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. 17 President, Senator Nozzolio just said that the 18 monies would go into the criminal's pockets, 19 the prisoners, and also into the pockets of 20 their attorneys. Would any money that would 21 be collected by a prisoner in a civil suit 22 first pay their attorneys prior to going to 23 the victims? 24 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. 25 President, as I understand these proceedings 1 that when, in the rare cases and the inmate 2 litigation is too pervasive in all areas from 3 bad haircuts to melted ice cream cones to not 4 enough channels on their cable television, 5 those types of litigation are not the 6 litigation we're talking about. 7 We're talking about in the rare 8 circumstances for an individual like Roy 9 Lawrence who sued the state of New York for 10 damages because of infringements of his rights 11 of free speech. For some reason, a federal 12 judge decided that Roy Lawrence's rights of 13 free speech were infringed and that the fact 14 that he was in prison because he raped an 15 individual, a woman in New York City, had 16 nothing to do with the fact that his rights of 17 free speech were impinged upon. 18 This federal judge in New York, 19 who I dare say should be impeached for this 20 type of award, gave Roy Lawrence $150,000 21 because his rights of free speech were in 22 fringed and gave his law firm, Paul Weiss 23 Rifkin, $550,000 to represent him in this 24 matter. 25 Mr. President, as I understand 1 the procedure, the law firm got paid, Roy 2 Lawrence got paid. The woman who was raped 3 got not a cent from the Crime Victims board. 4 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. 5 President, if Senator Nozzolio would yield. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 7 Senator, do you continue to yield? 8 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr. 9 President. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 11 He yields, sir. 12 SENATOR PATERSON: Senator, 13 what I'm still not sure about, in your bill 14 would the prisoner who seeks private counsel 15 and engages in some kind of a civil suit, and 16 the example you described is quite 17 compelling. I'm just asking about the 18 legislation that you propose to cure it. 19 Would the prisoners' legal fees or even legal 20 expenses, I would add, be paid prior to the 21 point that the victim would collect? 22 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. 23 President, I'll answer that question by saying 24 that this measure would hold any judgment 25 recoverable to the inmate in abeyance for 60 1 days following the submission following the 2 submission then of written notice to the Crime 3 Victims Board. The Crime Victims Board would 4 have the opportunity then to make a claim as 5 would any other creditor, of the inmate, and I 6 assume that under your question, Senator 7 Paterson, that an attorney could make a claim 8 against that award as well. 9 I think what mostly happens 10 though in these proceedings is that the court 11 does award separate attorneys' fees, that 12 normally an individual that is a successful 13 litigant in federal court or in state court is 14 awarded separate legal fees, that that would 15 not be part of a judgment award. We're 16 suggesting here that the judgment award be 17 held in abeyance until the Crime Victims Board 18 has notice and that the proceeds of that 19 judgment award, not the attorneys' fees order 20 of the court, but that the judgment award 21 order of the court be subject to crime victims 22 compensation. 23 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, 24 Senator. 25 Mr. President, I'm just 1 somewhat confused by the proposal that is 2 coming before us today and what it really 3 attempts to do. If, in fact, the attorneys 4 are not going to be paid and Senator Nozzolio 5 might want to show us in the legislation where 6 the attorneys would be paid, then the effect 7 of the legislation would be to chill any 8 actions brought in civil liability by the 9 prisoner. 10 If that's the case, then it's a 11 little bit different than trying to secure the 12 monies for the crime victims. If the latter 13 is what Senator's -- Senator Nozzolio's choice 14 is, then I wholeheartedly endorse it because 15 it really is an excellent measure that will 16 insure the rights of crime victims and 17 certainly both can be accomplished being - 18 insuring the rights of crime victims and not 19 changing the law such that if a prisoner, for 20 instance, was beaten by guards or something 21 and sued somebody civilly, they would still 22 have an opportunity to collect. The victim 23 might also have the opportunity to collect but 24 it would be very hard to bring a lawsuit if 25 you can't get a lawyer who would actually sue 1 because the lawyer's fear is that they're not 2 being paid. 3 That's why I raised this, 4 because I don't feel that in the legislation 5 it makes it clear enough that the lawyer would 6 actually be paid, and so that's really 7 something that I think, if this bill comes 8 before us again, because of the strong 9 statement it makes on behalf of crime victims, 10 I think we owe it to those crime victims to 11 make sure that we don't get -- have mixed 12 signals sent about either the right to bring 13 an action or even the ability of one who is 14 defending an action as really an officer of 15 the court, to be compensated for their work. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 17 Thank you, Senator. 18 Read the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 20 act shall take effect on the first day of 21 November. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 Call the roll, please. 24 (The Secretary called the 25 roll. ) 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 54. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 3 The bill is passed. 4 Senator Skelos. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 6 is there any housekeeping at the desk? 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 8 Senator Gentile, I understand, Senator 9 Dollinger have some requests. 10 Senator Gentile. 11 SENATOR GENTILE: Yes, Mr. 12 President. I would ask unanimous consent to 13 be recorded in the negative on Calendar Number 14 85. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 16 So ordered. 17 Senator Dollinger. 18 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr. 19 President, I also request unanimous consent to 20 be recorded in the negative on Calendar Number 21 85. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 Without objection, so ordered. 24 Senator Skelos. 25 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there any 1 other housekeeping at the desk? 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 3 None that I know of, sir. 4 SENATOR SKELOS: There being no 5 further business, I move we adjourn until 6 Wednesday, January 21st, at 3:00 p.m. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 8 On motion, the Senate stands adjourned until 9 Wednesday, January 21st at 3:00 p.m. 10 (Whereupon at 4:24 p.m., the 11 Senate adjourned.) 12 13 14 15 16 17