Wednesday, January 21, 1998

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ALBANY, NEW YORK 9 January 21, 1998 10 3:02 p.m. 11 12 13 REGULAR SESSION 14 15 16 17 SENATOR MICHAEL A.L. BALBONI, Acting President 18 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 3 Senate will come to order. I'll ask everyone 4 present to please rise and repeat with me the 5 Pledge of Allegiance. 6 (The assemblage repeated the 7 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 8 In the absence of clergy, may we 9 bow our heads in a moment of silence. 10 (A moment of silence was 11 observed.) 12 Reading of the Journal. 13 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 14 Tuesday, January 20th. The Senate met pursuant 15 to adjournment. The Journal of Saturday, 16 January 17th, was read and approved. On motion, 17 the Senate adjourned. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 19 Without objection, the Journal stands approved 20 as read. 21 Presentation of petitions. 22 Messages from the Assembly. 23 Messages from the Governor. 24 Reports of the standing 25 committees. 1 The Secretary will read. 2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Marchi, 3 from the Committee on Corporations, Authorities 4 and Commissions, reports: 5 Senate Bill 999, by Senator 6 Saland, an act to amend the Not-for-Profit 7 Corporation Law; 8 2654, by Senator Kuhl, an act to 9 amend the Public Authorities Law; 10 3597, by Senator Marchi, an act 11 to amend the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law; 12 3646, by Senator Leibell, an act 13 to amend the Public Authorities Law; 14 3752-A, by Senator Marchi, an act 15 to amend the Public Authorities Law; 16 3840, by Senator Larkin, an act 17 to amend Chapter 698 of the Laws of 1991; 18 4487, by Senator Velella, an act 19 to amend the Public Authorities Law; 20 5107, by Senator Velella, an act 21 to amend the Public Authorities Law. 22 Senator Stafford, from the 23 Committee on Finance, reports: 24 Senate Bill 5139-C, by Senator 25 LaValle, an act to amend the Public Officers 1 Law; 2 6012, by Senator Trunzo, an act 3 relating to providing; and 4 6015, by Senator Stafford, an act 5 to amend the Tax Law. 6 Senator Meier, from the Committee 7 on Veterans and Military Affairs, reports: 8 Senate Bill 2497-A, by Senator 9 Meier, an act to amend the Real Property Tax 10 Law; 11 2573, by Senator Meier, an act to 12 amend the Education Law; 13 3210, by Senator Alesi, an act to 14 amend the Executive Law; and 15 4005, by Senator Present, an act 16 to amend the Executive Law. 17 Senator Levy, from the -- Senator 18 Levy, from the Committee on Transportation, 19 reports: 20 Senate Print 102-A, by Senator 21 Levy, an act in relation to requiring; 22 119, by Senator Stafford, an act 23 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law; 24 602, by Senator Levy, an act to 25 amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law; 1 638, by Senator Goodman, an act 2 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law; 3 5918, by Senator Holland, an act 4 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law. 5 All bills directly for third 6 reading. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 8 Without objection, all bills to third reading. 9 Senator Skelos, we have some 10 substitutions. 11 SENATOR SKELOS: Please do the 12 housekeeping. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 14 Secretary will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: Senator LaValle 16 moves to discharge from the Committee on Finance 17 Assembly Print 8364-A and substitute it for the 18 identical Senate Bill 5139-C. 19 Senator Trunzo moves to discharge 20 from the Committee on Finance Assembly Bill 8916 21 and substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 22 6012. 23 Senator Stafford moves to 24 discharge from the Committee on Finance Assembly 25 Print 8922 and substitute it for the identical 1 Senate Bill 6015. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 3 substitutions are ordered. 4 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 5 if we could take up the Resolution Calendar and 6 move that we adopt it in its entirety. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Move 8 the Resolution Calendar. All in favor say aye. 9 (Response of "Aye".) 10 All opposed say nay. 11 (There was no response.) 12 The ayes have it. 13 The Resolution Calendar is 14 adopted in its entirety. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 16 are there any reports from select committees? 17 Are there any communications and reports from 18 state officers? 19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 20 Reports of select committees. 21 Communications and reports from 22 state officers. 23 Motions and resolutions. 24 SENATOR SKELOS: We've completed 25 the resolutions. Are there any motions to be 1 made at this time? 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: No. 3 SENATOR SKELOS: Then if we could 4 just stand at ease, I believe our nominee will 5 be here shortly and we can continue with the 6 confirmation. 7 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 8 ease.) 9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 10 Senator Skelos, we would like to go back to the 11 report of standing committees. We just received 12 another report. 13 The Secretary will read. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Present, 15 from the Committee on Commerce, Economic 16 Development and Small Business, reports: 17 Senate Print 2536, by Senator 18 Present, an act to amend the Economic 19 Development Law. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 21 Without objection, all bills directly to third 22 reading. 23 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 24 if we could have the non-controversial calendar 25 read at this time. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 2 Secretary will read the non-controversial 3 calendar. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 7, by Senator Present, Senate Print 526, an act 6 to amend the General Municipal Law. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 10 act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll.) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 16 bill is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 10, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 3670, an act 19 to amend the General Municipal Law. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 21 the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 23 act shall take effect on the 90th day. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 25 the roll. 1 (The Secretary called the roll.) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 4 bill is passed. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 15, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 386, an act 7 to amend the Civil Rights Law. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 9 the last section. 10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 11 act shall take effect immediately. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 13 the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll.) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 17 bill is passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 29, by Senator Present, Senate Print 3898, an 20 act to amend the Economic Development Law. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 22 the last section. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This 24 act shall take effect immediately. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 1 the roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll.) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 5 bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 30, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 4271, an act 8 to amend the Public Service Law. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 10 the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This 12 act shall take effect immediately. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 14 the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 18 bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 39, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 1301, an 21 act to amend the General Business Law. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 23 the last section. 24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 25 act shall take effect immediately. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 2 the roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll.) 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 6 bill is passed. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 47, by Senator Maltese, Senate Print 1560, an 9 act to amend the Labor Law and the Penal Law. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 11 the last section. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 13 act shall take effect on the first day of 14 November. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 16 the roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll.) 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 20 bill is passed. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 49, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 2842, an act 23 to amend the Workers' Compensation Law. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 25 the last section. 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll.) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 8 bill is passed. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 52, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 1920, an act 11 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 13 the last section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 15 act shall take effect immediately. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 17 the roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll.) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 21 bill is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 83, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 335, an act 24 to amend the Executive Law. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 1 the last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 3 act shall take effect in 30 days. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 5 the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll.) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 9 bill is passed. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 84, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 4249, an 12 act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to 13 distribution. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 15 There's a local fiscal note impact at the desk. 16 Read the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 18 act shall take effect in 30 days. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 20 the roll. 21 (The Secretary called the roll.) 22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 24 bill is passed. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 1 112, sub'ed earlier today, by the Assembly 2 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print 8364-A, an 3 act to amend the Public Officers Law. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 5 the last section. 6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 7 act shall take effect - 8 SENATOR LEICHTER: Hold on a 9 second. Lay that aside, please. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Lay 11 the bill aside. 12 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 14 Senator Skelos. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: There will be an 16 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in the 17 Majority Conference Room, and if we could return 18 to reports of standing committees, I believe 19 there's a report of the Finance Committee at the 20 desk. I ask that it be read and if you would 21 recognize Senator Stafford, please. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 23 There's an immediate meeting of the Rules 24 Committee. The Senator has requested that now 25 in the Conference Room. 1 We'll return to reports of 2 standing committees and the Chair recognizes 3 Senator Stafford -- the Secretary will read. 4 Sorry. Excuse me. 5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 6 from the Committee on Finance, offers up the 7 following nominations: 8 As Commissioner of Criminal 9 Justice Services: Katherine N. Lapp, of 10 Brooklyn. 11 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr. President. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 13 Senator Stafford. 14 SENATOR STAFFORD: Once again, 15 it's a pleasure to rise and support a nominee 16 and yield to the Senator who does such a fine 17 job in this area that Katherine N. Lapp has been 18 nominated for as Commissioner of Criminal 19 Justice Services. 20 The commissioner -- and I call 21 her "commissioner" because she will be 22 commissioner -- in my opinion -- and I say that 23 in support, not to be arrogant, but Katherine 24 Lapp appeared before our committee today, and I 25 would suggest before yielding that we're 1 fortunate to have this lady of her caliber, 2 stature and ability serving the state of New 3 York, and I yield to Senator Nozzolio. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 5 Chair recognizes Senator Nozzolio. 6 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. President, 7 thank you. 8 It is, indeed, an honor to have 9 the floor yielded by the distinguished Chairman 10 of the Senate Finance Committee and mentor and 11 good friend, Senator Stafford. 12 Mr. President, my colleagues, I 13 rise with an honor bestowed to me because of the 14 great quality of individual who has been 15 nominated by Governor Pataki to serve in an 16 extremely important capacity as Commissioner of 17 Criminal Justice Services. 18 Katherine N. Lapp, Katie Lapp as 19 she wishes to be referred to, is an individual 20 with great character and accomplishment and one 21 who Governor Pataki, in making this nomination, 22 certainly recognizes her unique qualifications 23 to serve in this very important capacity. 24 Ms. Lapp was appointed by Mayor 25 Giuliani to serve in a very similar capacity as 1 New York City's Coordinator of Criminal Justice 2 and in that capacity had tremendous oversight 3 responsibilities and coordination responsibili 4 ties to bring together the City's public 5 agencies, police and fire, corrections, 6 probation, juvenile justice and oversaw all of 7 those departments in implementing a coordinated 8 criminal justice policy. Certainly that is a 9 task in and of itself and one that bodes 10 extremely well in that Ms. Lapp was extremely 11 accomplished and got tremendous grades for that 12 service. 13 Prior to her employment as the 14 City's criminal justice coordinator, Ms. Lapp 15 was the chief of staff and special counsel to 16 the deputy mayor for public safety, a graduate 17 of Hofstra University Law School and from 18 Fairfield University. Ms. Lapp comes to this 19 point in our state's history as one who brings 20 such a wealth of experience and accomplishment 21 in criminal justice matters that this nomination 22 should get a five-star rating in terms of praise 23 for the Governor. 24 Governor Pataki has put together 25 a tremendous criminal justice team. I see 1 seated in the gallery Ted Hallman, Ken 2 Connolly. They are no secret. They are no 3 strangers to this body, serving Senator - 4 serving Senator -- serving the Senate and 5 particularly Senator Volker for many years and 6 their work in DCJS has been exemplary. 7 I would also be remiss if I did 8 not mention our corrections commissioner, Glen 9 Goord, as part of -- the essential part of this 10 criminal justice team that Governor Pataki has 11 put together. It serves as a team. It works 12 together as a team with corrections, parole, 13 with Brian Travis, that those in DCJS and our 14 State Police in coordinating this policies - 15 these policies that have had enormous successes 16 in these last three years of reducing violent 17 crime, making our streets safer and making our 18 prisons safer in putting together a coordinated 19 effort that has done a great service to the 20 people of this state; and now as the new head of 21 DCJS, Katie Lapp, one who is experienced and 22 qualified, will join this team and be 23 coordinating the efforts of this team, and I'd 24 say it's a team that is absolutely second to 25 none in criminal justice service. 1 Mr. President, my colleagues, we 2 have a tremendous nomination, one that we all 3 take great pride in voting for and that without 4 further adieu, I move the nomination of 5 Katherine Lapp as head of Criminal Justice 6 Services. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Thank 8 you, Senator Nozzolio. 9 The Chair recognizes Senator 10 Padavan. 11 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you, Mr. 12 President. 13 The previous speaker, Senator 14 Nozzolio, I think has outlined and Senator 15 Stafford the credentials of this nominee which 16 are obviously quite impressive, but I think it's 17 important for this body to know that in her 18 capacity, parallel responsibility in the city of 19 New York, Katherine Lapp's performance was 20 nothing short of outstanding. 21 The advice and guidance and 22 direction she provided to the mayor of the city 23 of New York and his agencies, I think was a 24 major contributing factor to the significant 25 reduction in criminality at all levels in the 1 city of New York, and we had the pleasure of 2 working closely with her on matters that involve 3 the Safe Streets and Safe Cities program, which 4 all of you know, I think was a mainstay of our 5 criminal justice initiative in the City. 6 Certainly if there was any 7 proving ground, any place where one would gain 8 the experience and insight to all of those 9 myriad of issues, it would be in the city of New 10 York, and there's no doubt in my mind she will 11 translate that experience, that performance 12 level to the state as a whole. 13 So I join with my colleagues in 14 seconding the nomination, applauding the 15 Governor's choice, and I can only say it's the 16 state's gain and the City's loss. 17 Thank you, Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Thank 19 you, Senator Padavan. 20 Senator Volker. 21 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President, I 22 too want to echo the thoughts of Senator 23 Nozzolio, Senator Padavan about the nomination 24 of Katie Lapp. She's somebody who has an 25 enormous reputation as has been said in the 1 City, both during -- actually during two 2 administrations and is considered to be one of 3 the leading experts on criminal justice not only 4 in prosecution but also in criminal justice 5 management, and I think that what she gives us 6 is an able replacement for the previous head of 7 DCJS, Paul Shechtman, who not only was a super 8 manager and person but a good personal friend, 9 and I expect that I'll have the same 10 relationship that I had with Paul. I know that 11 my two former staff members who are counsel and 12 also Deputy Commissioner, Ted Hallman and Ken 13 Connolly, both feel very, very strongly that 14 Katie Lapp will fill the bill that they have 15 been looking for for Criminal Justice Services. 16 I don't think people really 17 realize the enormity of the job that is involved 18 today with DCJS. Some years ago a lot of the 19 activities that were done separately were, in 20 effect, merged together in Criminal Justice 21 Services. So it is now one -- I think one of 22 the most demanding jobs in the state of New York 23 as the previous recipient of that job was quick 24 to tell me after being in it for a couple of 25 years. 1 So my congratulations to the 2 Governor on making an excellent choice, and I 3 have great confidence that Senator Bruno and 4 myself and all the members of this house will be 5 able to work very well with Katie Lapp in making 6 sure that the criminal justice system in this 7 state continues to operate in a manner in which 8 we can all be proud of. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Thank 10 you, Senator Volker. 11 The Chair recognizes Senator 12 Abate. 13 SENATOR ABATE: Yes. I too am 14 privileged to stand before this body to support 15 the nomination of Katherine Lapp. 16 I had the great honor when I 17 served as correction commissioner and probation 18 commissioner in New York City to work directly 19 with Miss Lapp. She has enormous knowledge and 20 understanding of the criminal justice system. 21 There are very few people that I know in the 22 state that have had the broad experience of not 23 only working with the courts, with police, law 24 enforcement, correction, community correction. 25 She understands the value of all the parts of 1 the criminal justice system. She has the 2 understanding and knowledge, and I think what 3 she brings to this task is her unique 4 understanding that it is a system, that it's a 5 criminal justice system made up of many parts 6 and when you tinker with one of the parts, it 7 has an impact on all the other parts of the 8 system, and she will bring this unique 9 understanding as well as all her analytical 10 skills and her ability to solve problems to this 11 very important position. 12 I've seen her time and time again 13 have the capacity to bring people together 14 around very complex issues and solve problems 15 and reach consensus, and on the other hand, I've 16 also seen her be tough enough to make some very 17 tough decisions when other people were trying to 18 walk away. 19 I believe she'll bring the 20 knowledge, the experience, the fair-mindedness 21 to this position and the planning that is very 22 desperately needed if we're going to have a 23 sound and effective and smart criminal justice 24 system. 25 I look forward to working with 1 her, and I'm very pleased that she is about to 2 be nominated and hopefully confirmed to this 3 position. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Thank 5 you, Catherine Abate. 6 Senator Smith. 7 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, Mr. 8 President. 9 I too rise to first congratulate 10 the Governor for bringing such a qualified 11 individual to become the Commissioner of 12 Criminal Justice. 13 A friend of mine, the deputy 14 mayor of the city of New York, Rudy Washington, 15 had asked me to make sure that I watch out for 16 this nominee because she was definitely 17 qualified and he wanted me to ensure that she 18 got through the process without any problem, and 19 I had to inform him that I was no longer on 20 Judiciary. 21 On Sunday another deputy mayor 22 reminded me that she was coming before us this 23 week and that she was abundantly qualified to do 24 the job, but I took the time to read her 25 curriculum vitae and to see that she had 1 performed all of the tasks throughout her 2 lifetime and that she had more qualifications 3 than I felt was necessary to become the 4 Commissioner of Criminal Justice, and I listened 5 to my colleague, Catherine Abate, talk about her 6 analytical skills and in reading through all of 7 the things that she had done, it became quite 8 evident that she brings a wealth of knowledge to 9 this position and it will be a pleasure working 10 with her, and I know that she will do the job 11 well and she will be a credit to all of us from 12 Brooklyn. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Thank 14 you, Senator Smith. 15 The question is on the 16 confirmation of Katherine N. Lapp as 17 Commissioner of Criminal Justice Services. All 18 in favor signify by saying aye. 19 (Response of "Aye".) 20 Opposed, nay. 21 (There was no response.) 22 The ayes have it. 23 Katherine N. Lapp is hereby 24 confirmed as Commissioner of Criminal Justice 25 Services. The commissioner is in the chamber 1 with us this afternoon. Congratulations, 2 Commissioner, and have a great tenure. 3 (Applause) 4 The Secretary will read. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: As a 6 member of the Empire State Plaza Art 7 Commission: Norman S. Rice, of Albany. 8 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 9 confirmation. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 11 question is on the confirmation of Norman S. 12 Rice as a member of the Empire State Plaza Art 13 Commission. All in favor signify by saying 14 aye. 15 (Response of "Aye".) 16 Opposed, nay. 17 (There was no response.) 18 Norman Rice is hereby confirmed 19 as a member of the Empire State Plaza Art 20 Commission. Congratulations. 21 The Secretary will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: As a member of 23 the state Council on the Arts: David A. A. 24 Ridings, of Syracuse. 25 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 1 confirmation. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 3 question is on the confirmation of David A. A. 4 Ridings as a member of the state Council on the 5 Arts. All in favor signify by saying aye. 6 (Response of "Aye".) 7 Opposed, nay. 8 (There was no response.) 9 David A. A. Ridings is hereby 10 confirmed as a member of the state Council on 11 the Arts. 12 The Secretary will read - 13 Senator Skelos. 14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 15 if we could return to Supplemental Calendar 16 Number 1, take up Calendar Number 114, Senate 17 6015, by Senator Stafford, that was reported 18 from the Finance Committee. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Return 20 to the calendar. 21 The Secretary will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 114, substituted earlier today, by the Assembly 24 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print 8922, an act 25 to amend the Tax Law, in relation to 1 authorizing. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 3 the last section. 4 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Can I have an 5 explanation? What does the bill do? 6 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 7 Senator Dollinger. 8 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr. 9 President, just an explanation from Senator 10 Stafford. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 12 Explanation has been asked for. 13 Senator Stafford. 14 SENATOR STAFFORD: Thank you, Mr. 15 President. 16 Senator, we've had a very, very 17 serious problem in the North Country, as a 18 matter of fact, not that far from Monroe because 19 a lot of your people summer up in -- on Lake 20 Ontario and Alexandria Bay and in Clayton. If 21 you'd been up there a couple weeks ago, you 22 would have wintered up there. 23 What this does is it delays tax 24 collections for people who are in a very, very 25 serious situation. 1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you, 2 Mr. President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 4 Senator Dollinger. 5 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Actually, if 6 Senator Stafford will yield to one question. 7 SENATOR STAFFORD: Sure. 8 SENATOR DOLLINGER: You hit my 9 concern right on the head. There are a whole 10 bunch of people who live in my district who own 11 property there. Are they included even though 12 that's not their primary residence? 13 SENATOR STAFFORD: You've got a 14 problem. 15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: I just - 16 SENATOR STAFFORD: I would say 17 that I am now making a sidewalk -- a floor 18 interpretation. I would say probably you would 19 have to live in the area. I certainly am glad 20 to talk with you and work with you if it affects 21 them and also we'll have a bill on real estate 22 that I think you will be very interested in. 23 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Right. I 24 just -- through you, Mr. President. I think 25 this is a great idea. I think this is just the 1 kind of relief that we need to give people. 2 SENATOR STAFFORD: But if your 3 people are affected at all on anything that this 4 has affected, I certainly would sit down with 5 you. 6 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Right. My 7 only question was I have people that live in my 8 district who own property there but they clearly 9 are not primary residents there. So do they 10 still have to pay their taxes by the end of this 11 month, their real property taxes? 12 SENATOR STAFFORD: I would be 13 glad to talk to you about this. 14 SENATOR DOLLINGER: But this bill 15 doesn't specifically address that. 16 SENATOR STAFFORD: Well, now I'm 17 just using my -- again, my reasoning abilities. 18 Let's see. Let's look at it. "In the case of a 19 taxpayer determined to be affected by a disaster 20 declared by the President of the United States" 21 -- now, you're a lawyer, aren't you? Yes. 22 Now, I would say with that 23 language and looking at the bill, if anyone's 24 affected -- and I realize we may have some 25 legislative intent here, but I think we should 1 have. If anybody is on Long Island -- or in 2 Erie County and they're affected, I think your 3 question is very valid and I think it's very 4 fair and they're a business, for instance, but 5 not a residence, but say their business is 6 affected by this disaster, I'm going to share 7 with you in my opinion they would be. 8 Now, again, have you done much 9 tax work? Well, here, I'll share this with 10 you. I think we'll get some smiles with this, 11 but we're all affected by them and we all pay 12 them. Rules and regulations. You'll find that 13 this will be subject to the interpretation of 14 the regulations that, in effect, administer and 15 result in how the taxes are collected. 16 So I would hope that we would 17 have -- we would have sensible people 18 regulating, and I think we do. 19 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Okay. My 20 sense, through you, Senator, is that if you have 21 property up there and you need an extra period 22 of time, even though it may not be your primary 23 residence, you would still get the benefit. 24 SENATOR STAFFORD: That's good. 25 SENATOR DOLLINGER: That's 1 reasonable. Fine. I'm going to assume that 2 they're included in this bill, and I thank you 3 for the assumption, even if it's perhaps not 4 literally in there. 5 Thank you. I subscribe to your 6 interpretation, by the way. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 10 act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll.) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 16 bill is passed. 17 Senator Skelos. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 19 if we could return to reports of standing 20 committees, I believe there's a report of the 21 Rules Committee at the desk. I ask that it be 22 read. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: May we 24 return to reports of standing committees. 25 The Secretary will read. 1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno, 2 from the Committee on Rules, offers up the 3 following bill directly for third reading: 4 Senate Print 6026, by Senator 5 Wright and others, an act to amend the Labor 6 Law, in relation to eliminating the waiting 7 period. 8 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 9 move to accept the report of the Rules 10 Committee. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: All in 12 favor of accepting the report of the Rules 13 Committee signify by saying aye. 14 (Response of "Aye".) 15 Opposed, nay. 16 (There was no response.) 17 The report is accepted. 18 Senator Skelos. 19 SENATOR SKELOS: At this time if 20 we could take up Senate 6026. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 22 Secretary will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 125, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 6026, an 25 act to amend the Labor Law. 1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 2 is there a message of necessity at the desk? 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Yes, 4 Senator Skelos. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: All in 7 favor of accepting the message of necessity 8 signify by saying aye. 9 (Response of "Aye".) 10 All nay -- opposed, nay. 11 (There was no response.) 12 The message is accepted. 13 SENATOR SKELOS: Last section, 14 please. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 16 the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 18 act shall take effect immediately. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 20 the roll. 21 (The Secretary called the roll.) 22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 24 bill is passed. 25 Senator Wright. 1 SENATOR WRIGHT: To explain my 2 vote on the bill we just passed, if I may, Mr. 3 President. 4 First of all, I would like to 5 commend the Governor for his initiative to send 6 this bill. This bill, as we have spoken this 7 morning on a number of other issues, relates 8 directly to the disaster that is facing the 9 counties of the North Country that Senator 10 Stafford and Senator Meier and myself represent, 11 and as we've proceeded through the response to 12 this disaster, we've had a great many people 13 throughout the North Country that have been 14 unemployed and out of work due to the storm 15 implications and the result of that storm. 16 As they went to file for 17 unemployment, they found that there was a 18 provision of a five-day waiting period and, 19 unfortunately, that's the critical time in which 20 people were without work and that, of course, 21 has a dramatic, negative economic impact on the 22 entire North Country. This will remedy that 23 problem. 24 We're very appreciative of the 25 leadership that the Governor has displayed and 1 we're very appreciative of the support that this 2 house has provided to the people of the North 3 Country. 4 Thank you. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Thank 6 you, Senator Wright. 7 Once again, the bill is passed. 8 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 9 is there any housekeeping at the desk? 10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: I'm 11 informed that there is not, Senator Skelos. 12 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could just 13 stand at ease for a moment, please. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 15 house stands at ease. 16 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 17 ease from 3:41 p.m. until 3:45 p.m.) 18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 19 Senator Skelos. 20 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 21 if we could return to the supplemental calendar 22 and take up Calendar Number 112, Senate 5139-C, 23 by Senator Trunzo. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 25 Secretary will read. 1 SENATOR TRUNZO: Calendar Number 2 112, substituted earlier today, by the Assembly 3 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print 8364-A, an 4 act to amend the Public Officers Law. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 6 the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 8 act shall take effect immediately. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 10 the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll.) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 53. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 14 bill is passed. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 16 if we could take up Calendar Number 113, Senate 17 6012. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 19 Secretary will read. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 113, substituted earlier today, by member of the 22 Assembly Sullivan, Assembly Print 8916, an act 23 relating to providing for the adjustment for 24 salaries. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 1 the last section. 2 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a 3 message of appropriation at the desk? 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: I'm 5 informed that there's a message of appropriation 6 at the desk. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Accept it. Move 8 to accept it. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: All 10 those in favor of the motion to accept the 11 message of appropriation signify by saying aye. 12 (Response of "Aye".) 13 All opposed, nay. 14 (There was no response.) 15 The ayes have it. 16 The message is accepted. 17 Read the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 18. This 19 act shall take effect immediately. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 21 the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll.) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 53. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 25 bill is passed. 1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 2 is there any housekeeping at the desk? 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: I am 4 informed that there is none, Senator. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: There being no 6 further business, I move we stand adjourned 7 until Monday, January 26th, at 3:00 p.m., 8 intervening days being legislative days. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: On 10 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until 11 Monday, January 26th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening 12 days being legislative days. 13 (Whereupon, at 3:46 p.m., the 14 Senate adjourned.) 15 16 17 18 19 20