Monday, February 2, 1998

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ALBANY, NEW YORK 9 February 2, 1998 10 3:04 p.m. 11 12 13 REGULAR SESSION 14 15 16 17 SENATOR RAYMOND A. MEIER, 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 MEIER: The 3 Senate will come to order. I ask everyone 4 present to rise and repeat with me the Pledge of 5 Allegiance. 6 (The assemblage repeated the 7 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 8 The invocation will be given by 9 the Reverend William Bazemore, Pastor of Emanuel 10 Church of God in Christ, Brooklyn. 11 Reverend. 12 REVEREND WILLIAM BAZEMORE: 13 Father, in the name of Jesus, I come before You 14 today knowing You are the God that knows 15 everything. You delivered man and woman who are 16 here by me. I don't know them, Father, but I'm 17 asking You if You find one that's sick, bless 18 his body right now and make him whole, because 19 You are the only one who can do it. You are the 20 God of all of them. Let everyone understand 21 that You are real. 22 Father, You told me if I live the 23 life You told me that You'll do anything that I 24 ask You to do, and I live what You told me to 25 do, and I'm counting on You today to bring love 1 to them all. Don't let the part -- bring them 2 together. A house divided will not stand. Let 3 them know that You are real, Father. Let them 4 have the mind -- the same mind that You give 5 your son, that they will do the right thing. 6 Father, may I ask you to bless 7 us. Bless everyone in the sound of my voice 8 today and catch them in the name of Jesus. We 9 don't know everything about all of them. Bring 10 justice to them, Father. We need more justice. 11 Father, the world is going back 12 in doubt more and more today because you are 13 waiting on them, Father. You are proud of us. 14 This is a great state, and You would let them 15 live as man if they would just walk that 16 straight road and bring justice back to every 17 man and woman in this state. 18 I'm asking you now. Let Your 19 will be done in all of them. Let them know 20 where justice come, where just as love is always 21 here together. Let justice be more and more. 22 Let justice -- everyone have justice. Let 23 everyone know that You love them. 24 Father, you know the heart of 25 every man and woman in here. Let them look on 1 the little children of the state. The children 2 are the future generation. If they don't reach 3 out, there won't be nobody. Nobody here could 4 stand here in the future. You could make them. 5 You could stand by them right now and give them 6 a mind to do the right thing. Bring prayer to 7 Your little children. 8 Father, with tears in my eyes 9 sometimes, see the condition of Your children. 10 There's never enough love. Prayer will change 11 things if you bring prayer to them and move all 12 of this drugs from the children. I didn't ask 13 you to move all of the drugs. I asked you to 14 move all the drugs from Your children until 15 they're grown. Let everybody know that's what's 16 destroying this world nation. It's going to 17 destroy the nation and destroy it more and more 18 all the time. 19 I would love to be here to see 20 You bring prayer right to Your little children. 21 Just let me live that long and then after that, 22 I will be ready to go, if I can see love, 23 justice and prayer back into the school. 24 This I ask You in the name of the 25 Father, the son and the precious Holy Spirit. 1 Amen. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Amen. The 3 reading of the Journal, please. 4 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 5 Saturday, January 31st. The Senate met pursuant 6 to adjournment. Senator Farley in the Chair 7 upon designation of the Temporary President. 8 The Journal of Friday, January 30, was read and 9 approved. On motion, the Senate adjourned. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Without 11 objection, the Journal stands approved as read. 12 Presentation of petitions. 13 Messages from the Assembly. 14 Messages from the Governor. 15 Reports of standing committees. 16 The Secretary will read. 17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Trunzo, 18 from the Committee on Civil Service and 19 Pensions, reports the following bills: Senate 20 Print 3368-A, by Senator Trunzo, an act to amend 21 Chapter 769 of the Laws of 1975; 22 4277, by Senator Trunzo, an act 23 to amend the Civil Service Law, in relation to 24 the promulgation of rules; 25 4433, by Senator Hannon, an act 1 to amend the Civil Service Law, in relation to 2 authorizing the defense and indemnification by 3 the state; and 4 5217, by Senator Volker, an act 5 to amend the Civil Service Law, in relation to 6 the definition of public employee. 7 Senator Meier, from the Committee 8 on Veterans and Military Affairs, reports: 9 Senate Print 76, by Senator Levy, 10 an act to amend the Public Service Law, in 11 relation to utility rates charged; 12 463, by Senator Larkin, an act to 13 amend the Education Law, in relation to 14 expanding student aid programs; and 15 2216, by Senator Farley, an act 16 to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in relation 17 to granting real property tax exemption. 18 All bills ordered direct for 19 third reading. 20 THE PRESIDENT: Without 21 objection, all bills direct to third reading. 22 Reports of select committees. 23 Communications and reports from 24 state officers. 25 Motions and resolutions. 1 Senator Skelos. 2 SENATOR SKELOS: I believe 3 there's several motions, Madam President. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Libous. 5 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, Madam 6 President. 7 On page 5, I offer up the 8 following amendments to Calendar Number 32, 9 Senate Print 4012, and ask that said bill retain 10 its place on the Third Reading Calendar. 11 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered. 12 SENATOR LIBOUS: And also, Madam 13 President, on page 6, I offer the following 14 amendments to Calendar Number 64, Senate Print 15 Number 3200-A, and ask that said bill retain its 16 place on the Third Reading Calendar. 17 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered. 18 SENATOR LIBOUS: Madam President, 19 I would like to star one of my bills, if I may, 20 put a sponsor's star on Calendar Number 144. 21 THE PRESIDENT: It will be 22 starred. 23 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator -- oh, 25 I'm sorry. Senator Meier. 1 SENATOR MEIER: Thank you, Madam 2 President. 3 Madam President, on behalf of 4 Senator Stafford, I wish to call up Print Number 5 6025, recalled from the Assembly, which is now 6 at the desk. 7 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 8 will read. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 132, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 6025, an 11 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in 12 relation to extensions for the payment of taxes. 13 SENATOR MEIER: Madam President, 14 I now move to reconsider the vote by which this 15 bill was passed. 16 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 17 will call the roll on reconsideration. 18 (The Secretary called the roll on 19 reconsideration.) 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 21 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 22 restored to its place on the Third Reading 23 Calendar. 24 SENATOR MEIER: Madam President, 25 I now offer the following amendments. 1 THE PRESIDENT: The amendments 2 are received and the bill will retain its place 3 on the Third Reading Calendar. 4 SENATOR MEIER: Madam President, 5 on page number 14, on behalf of Senator Hannon, 6 I offer the following amendments to Calendar 7 Number 168, Senate Print Number 4974, and ask 8 that said bill retain its place on the Third 9 Reading Calendar. 10 THE PRESIDENT: The amendments 11 are received and the bill will retain its place 12 on the Third Reading Calendar. 13 SENATOR MEIER: Madam President, 14 on behalf of Senator Hannon, on page number 14, 15 I offer the following amendments to Calendar 16 Number 167, Print Number 4973, and ask that said 17 bill retain its place on the Third Reading 18 Calendar. 19 THE PRESIDENT: The amendments 20 are received and the bill will retain its place. 21 SENATOR MEIER: Thank you, Madam 22 President. 23 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 24 will read. 25 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there any 1 housekeeping at the desk? 2 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 3 will read the substitution. 4 THE SECRETARY: On page 13, 5 Senator Stafford moves to discharge from the 6 Committee on Consumer Protection Assembly Bill 7 Number 1357 and substitute it for the identical 8 Third Reading Calendar 157. 9 THE PRESIDENT: The substitution 10 is ordered. 11 Senator Skelos. 12 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 13 there will be an immediate meeting of the Rules 14 Committee in the Majority Conference Room and at 15 this time if we could take up the non 16 controversial calendar. 17 THE PRESIDENT: There will be an 18 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in the 19 Majority Conference Room and the Secretary will 20 read. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 11, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 2228, an 23 act to amend the Public Housing Law, in relation 24 to the statute of limitations and actions 25 against authorities. 1 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 16, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 397, an act 4 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to issuance 5 of licenses to have and carry pistols. 6 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Lay it aside. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 31, by Senator Cook, Senate Print 1418-A, an act 10 to amend the Insurance Law, in relation to motor 11 vehicle liability insurance rates for certain 12 persons involved in accidents. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 14 section, please. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 16 act shall take effect on the first day of 17 January. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll.) 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 42. 21 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 22 passed. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 70, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 1483, an act 25 to amend the Social Services Law, in relation to 1 requiring investigation of all reports of child 2 abuse. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 4 last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 6 act shall take effect on the 120th day. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 8 roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 12 is passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 72, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 4857, an act 15 to amend the Social Services Law, in relation to 16 authorizing payment of certain living expenses. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 18 last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 20 act shall take effect immediately. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 22 roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll.) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 1 is passed. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 78, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 4126, an 4 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law, 5 in relation to the removal of endangered, 6 threatened and protected plants. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 8 last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 10 act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 12 roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll.) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 16 is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 90, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 1189, an 19 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 20 relation to the use of electronically 21 transmitted documents before the grand jury. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 23 last section. 24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 25 act shall take effect on the first day of 1 November. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 3 roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll.) 5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 7 is passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 117 -- 1117 (117), by Senator Alesi, Senate 10 Print 3210, an act to amend the Executive Law, 11 in relation to certain payments to veterans' 12 unremarried spouses. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 14 last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 16 act shall take effect on the first day of April. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 18 roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll.) 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 22 is passed. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 11... 118, by Senator Present, Senate Print 25 4005, an act to amend the Executive Law and the 1 Military Law, in relation to providing 2 authority. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 4 last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 6 act shall take effect on the 90th day. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 8 roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 12 is passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 121, by Senator Levy, Senate Print 602, an act 15 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in 16 relation to increasing penalties for leaving the 17 scene of an accident without reporting. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 19 last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 21 act shall take effect on the first day of 22 November. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 24 roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll.) 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 3 is passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 134, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 244, an 6 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 7 establishing a presumption that a child has been 8 permanently removed from the state six months. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 10 last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 12 act shall take effect immediately. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 14 roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 18 is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 136, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 333, an act 21 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 22 increasing the penalties for custodial 23 inference. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 25 last section. 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 2 act shall take effect - 3 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Lay it aside. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: I'm 5 sorry. Lay the bill aside. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 139, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 816-A, an 8 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 9 authorizing restitution for expenses related to 10 custodial interference. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 12 last section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 14 act shall take effect on the first day of 15 November. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 17 roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll.) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 21 is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 140, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 882, an act 24 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to the crime 25 of criminal employment of a minor in a drug 1 enterprise in the first degree. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 3 last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 5 act shall take effect on the first day of 6 November. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 8 roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 12 is passed. 13 Senator Spano, this completes the 14 reading of the non-controversial calendar. 15 SENATOR SPANO: Move to the 16 controversial calendar, please. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 18 Secretary will read. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 11, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 2228, an 21 act to amend the Public Housing Law, in relation 22 to the statute of limitations and actions 23 against authorities. 24 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 1 Leibell. 2 SENATOR SPANO: Mr. President, 3 someone asked for an explanation of the bill? 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes. 5 Senator Spano, an explanation has been 6 requested. 7 SENATOR SPANO: Would you please 8 yield to Senator Leibell. 9 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you, 10 Senator Spano. 11 The purpose of this bill is to 12 give the Public Housing Law or a similar 13 counterpart to Subdivision 3 of 50-i of the 14 General Municipal Law regarding the running of 15 the statute of limitations, notwithstanding the 16 lack of completion of a 50-h hearing on the 17 requirement of 30-day notice of claim. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 19 Paterson. 20 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, Mr. 21 President. 22 If Senator Leibell would kindly 23 yield for a few questions. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Does the 25 Senator yield to a question? 1 SENATOR LEIBELL: Yes. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 3 Leibell yields, Senator Paterson. 4 SENATOR PATERSON: Senator, I 5 understand the position of the Housing Authority 6 that there is a disparity currently between the 7 statutes -- between the Housing Authority and 8 the City. In attempting to, in a sense bring 9 these two entities into equity where the 10 statutes are concerned, did you give any 11 consideration to actually extending the statute 12 that the Housing Authority has presently to make 13 it comparable to that which the City has rather 14 than the other way around which certainly would 15 limit the opportunity of many to bring actions 16 against these entities for some tort -- on some 17 tort claim? 18 SENATOR LEIBELL: Senator, the 19 city of New York has requested this legislation 20 and it is my understanding that they have, in 21 fact, considered that. Their desire here is to 22 establish parity with every other public 23 authority, to establish equal grounds, and this 24 is the way that the city of New York felt it 25 would best be implemented. 1 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you very 2 much, Mr. President. 3 If the Senator would continue to 4 yield. 5 SENATOR LEIBELL: Yes, sir. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 7 Senator continues to yield, Senator Paterson. 8 SENATOR PATERSON: I can 9 understand why the city of New York would feel 10 that way. It would certainly make life easier 11 for their corporation counsel and for the claims 12 that are made against the City which would be 13 specifically to find what would be the best 14 protection and to try to bring parity between 15 all the agencies with that protection, but as 16 legislators, I would suggest that we might want 17 to look further to take notice of the fact that 18 individuals who live in the Housing Authority 19 are not the most advantageous when it comes to 20 getting legal advice as to what might be proper 21 action for a lawsuit. 22 Secondly, you would have the 23 issue that perhaps an individual might not 24 realize what the actual injury is for some 25 period of time and then finally the extra 30 1 days and the time to put forth the notice of 2 claim might just be the extra time in which 3 someone might make the decision to take that 4 kind of action. 5 All we would really be doing is 6 extending a small period of time which might 7 have a large value in terms of the fact that 8 this action we would be taking doesn't relate to 9 the merits of the actual case. It actually 10 relates to having the access for those who feel 11 that they aren't -- feel that they have been 12 violated in some way by the Housing Authority or 13 even the municipality itself and want to bring a 14 claim. In our country, I would think that we 15 would want to do that. 16 My question, therefore, is, is it 17 that much of a difference that we wouldn't, in 18 this type of case, if anything, lean on the side 19 of the plaintiff rather than on the side of the 20 respondent who has all of the resources to 21 defend itself in a court? 22 SENATOR LEIBELL: Senator, I 23 don't think there's any attempt here to lean one 24 way or the other. What there is an attempt to 25 do is to bring an equality to the system. The 1 same tenants who you are concerned about when 2 suing a Housing Authority live -- if they had a 3 cause of action against another governmental 4 entity, they would have the same concerns. We 5 are trying to say if they were suing on other 6 grounds against another governmental authority, 7 the same rules would apply as to the Housing 8 Authority. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 10 Paterson. 11 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, Mr. 12 President, and thank Senator Leibell. He was 13 quite responsive to my questions. 14 On the bill, Mr. President. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 16 Paterson on the bill. 17 SENATOR PATERSON: It certainly 18 makes sense to bring a parity between the 19 statute of limitations that the municipality is 20 providing and that which the Housing Authority 21 has right now, and I can certainly understand 22 Senator Leibell's point of view. It makes 23 perfect sense. 24 All I'm suggesting is that if we 25 were going to choose between the two levels of 1 protection, that we favor the value of that 2 which would bring the injured party more access 3 rather than the one that would, in a sense 4 provide lesser time and would inevitably favor 5 the institution. Even if it was not intended to 6 favor the institution, it does because there's a 7 shorter time to file the claim. 8 Under New York law, there are 9 currently nine protections that I could find 10 that told the statute of limitations. They 11 actually delay it while some situation is under 12 an operation of law and what we're saying is 13 that one of them that actually exist in this 14 particular -- in this particular legislation 15 should be allowed to go forward; in other words, 16 that there be some extra time where notice of 17 claim would be filed, where there might be a 18 hearing, where there might be a determination as 19 to whether or not there is a cause of action. 20 The fact that a person feels that they're 21 injured and they want to go to court, 22 historically municipalities have had the 23 advantage in that there are very short statutes 24 of limitations. So, therefore, if you're going 25 to bring a claim against a municipality, you 1 have to act quickly. Many people don't have the 2 resources or the access or the information that 3 they would actually need to come to that 4 determination. 5 All we're saying is that between 6 the two statutes that Senator Leibell is trying 7 to bring parity, we would favor the one that 8 would have given more time to the resident of 9 the Housing Authority or anyone else. We would 10 want them to have that extra time. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 12 last section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 14 act shall take effect immediately. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 16 roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll.) 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Announce 19 the results. 20 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 21 the negative on Calendar Number 11 are Senators 22 Connor, Dollinger, Leichter, Montgomery, 23 Onorato, Paterson and Sampson. Ayes 46, nays 7. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 25 is passed. 1 The Secretary will read. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 16, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 397, an act 4 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to issuance 5 of licenses to have and carry pistols. 6 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation. 7 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President, 8 this is a bill that has passed this house on a 9 number of occasions and it has been termed the 10 proper cause bill. 11 What the bill basically does is 12 to, in effect, reverse the process that goes on 13 now in that it sets up a presumption that the 14 person has a clean, moral, criminal and mental 15 record. Of course, the person still has to go 16 through the same requirements of fingerprinting 17 and records checking as there is now, which is 18 something that, I think a lot of the people that 19 have opposed this bill have discounted over the 20 years. 21 What it does is it frankly 22 simplifies the process -- we're just waiting for 23 a second here, Mr. President. At any rate, what 24 it does is it simplifies the process as far as 25 pistol permits is concerned. 1 One of the things that I think is 2 interesting about it is it probably, except 3 possibly in parts of New York City, will not 4 create a situation where a lot more pistol 5 permits will be issued. 6 The one thing it will do in all 7 honesty and -- it will eliminate a lot of the 8 restrictions on pistol permits which now are 9 done by judges, and so forth, because if a 10 person has a clean and moral character with no 11 criminal record, then actually what it would do 12 is to set up a situation where it would allow 13 the restrictions which now frankly mean very 14 little, if anything, except to make many people 15 feel better, would not be allowed. 16 This bill passed last year with a 17 considerable number of Minority people voting 18 against it, very honestly. I realize the city 19 of New York has opposed it over the years. They 20 have difficulty in explaining some of their 21 licensing procedures, but I guess that's the way 22 it is. 23 So that's what this bill does. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 25 Dollinger. 1 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you, 2 Mr. President. 3 If Senator Volker will yield just 4 to one question. 5 SENATOR VOLKER: Certainly. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 7 Senator yields, Senator Dollinger. 8 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you, 9 Senator. 10 You and I have discussed this 11 bill and what the effect of the presumption is. 12 My question is -- this is a concealed weapons 13 permit and my question is, is there any -- since 14 the language in the statute currently allows 15 someone to carry a concealed weapon in - 16 without regard to employment, regardless of who 17 they work for or regardless of the place of 18 possession, my question is, given your 19 preference in this bill to create a presumption 20 of good moral character, is there any place 21 where an individual with a concealed weapon 22 would be where you can think that the 23 presumption of good character might not apply, 24 where you would want to have someone prove that 25 they had good character; for example, on the 1 floor of the Senate, for example, in a hospital, 2 for example, in a jail, for example, in a child 3 care center; my question is, does -- where the 4 pistol is carried in a concealed fashion, does 5 that, in your judgment, alter in any way your 6 sense whether -- of when this presumption 7 works? 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 9 Volker. 10 SENATOR VOLKER: First of all, 11 this is not a concealed weapons bill. This is a 12 pistol permit bill. It has nothing to do with 13 concealed weapons. 14 The second thing that's 15 interesting, Senator, is carrying weapons on 16 this floor openly is something that violates our 17 rules. Licensing rules only relate to the 18 ownership of carrying pistols. They don't 19 necessarily relate to location. Schools still 20 have the right to say that you can't carry 21 pistols on premises and things of that nature. 22 I don't think there's really an understanding of 23 the fact that the decisions that judges make, 24 for instance, presently as far as weapons are 25 concerned, does not necessarily apply to every 1 premises. People still have the right to make 2 decisions if they don't want people to carry, 3 for instance, weapons on school grounds and 4 things like that for safety purposes. That's 5 not necessarily included, but what this is is in 6 the normal range of things, whether a judge 7 could issue a permit that says a person can 8 carry a weapon and is entitled to carry a weapon 9 under the present law. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 11 Dollinger. 12 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr. 13 President, on the bill. 14 Senator Volker and I have 15 discussed this in prior years. With all due 16 respect to the Chairman of the Codes Committee, 17 this is an amendment to section -- to 18 Subdivision (f) which says -- if you follow the 19 language in the front, it says "a license for a 20 gunsmith or dealer, a license for a pistol or 21 revolver shall be issued to", and it says, "(f), 22 have and carry concealed without regard to 23 employment or place of possession", that is, 24 regardless of what you do in life and regardless 25 of where you possess it, anywhere -- anywhere, 1 hospital, nursing home, floor of the Senate, 2 floor of the Assembly, Governor's office, any 3 place you wanted to be, it says "by any person 4 when proper cause exists for the issuance 5 thereof" and then it contains the presumption 6 that Senator Volker has so eloquently defended. 7 My question to him was designed 8 to raise the issue of, if you assume -- if you 9 presume that someone is of good character to 10 carry a concealed weapon, does that apply every 11 place that you take it; and I'm not so sure that 12 it does. 13 I believe this does affect 14 concealed weapons, the carrying of concealed 15 weapons. I believe it creates a presumption 16 that flips the current law on its head and does 17 that unwisely. I think the city of New York is 18 proper in its skepticism about this bill. 19 I have voted against it in the 20 past. I'll vote against it today. I think if 21 we are going to allow someone to carry a 22 concealed firearm, one that you can't tell they 23 have on them and you're going to let them carry 24 it regardless of what they do, that is, no 25 matter who they work for they can carry it and 1 regardless of where they are they can carry it 2 and we're going to create a right for them to 3 carry it, it seems to me that we can require 4 that they show that they have the proper moral 5 mental character and no criminal record in order 6 to be able to justify us, this state and our 7 judges allowing them to carry a concealed weapon 8 any place regardless of what they do. 9 It's not a difficult task to 10 meet. I think it simply says we're going to 11 require people who carry concealed weapons to 12 meet a threshold of good character. It was well 13 advised when we put it in there. We would be 14 well advised to keep it. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 16 last section. 17 Senator Paterson. 18 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 19 I've heard the discussion between Senator Volker 20 and Senator Dollinger. I thought they both 21 presented their point of view very well and 22 after careful consideration and thought on this 23 subject, I agree with Senator Dollinger. I 24 think that he -- in spite of how he's treated me 25 often on the basketball court, I thought he was 1 quite profound in his judgment and actually I 2 just wanted to add to it that we had a bill 3 previously where New York City was asking for a 4 certain equity to be drawn in the measure of the 5 statute of limitations where the Housing 6 Authority interfaces with the municipality 7 itself and New York City made it very clear and 8 so did Senator Leibell that this is what New 9 York City wants. 10 In this legislation, New York 11 City wants the same thing that Senator Dollinger 12 articulated, which would be to regulate its own 13 value for what would constitute the threshold 14 for a license to carry or possess a firearm, and 15 in that regard, there are many other pieces of 16 legislation where we are not presuming anything 17 about individuals who are fingerprinted for 18 certain types of employment in many areas 19 because we feel that it affects children or it 20 affects some area that we consider to be 21 sensitive. Certainly the license to possess a 22 firearm is a sensitive area and we generally 23 feel that this is one where we can't establish 24 that kind of presumption about anyone. 25 And on this legislation, Mr. 1 President, we would like a slow roll call vote. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Slow 3 roll call has been requested. 4 The clerk will call the roll. 5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Abate. 6 (There was no response.) 7 Senator Alesi. 8 SENATOR ALESI: Yes. 9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Balboni. 10 SENATOR BALBONI: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Breslin. 12 SENATOR BRESLIN: No. 13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno. 14 (Affirmative indication.) 15 Senator Connor. 16 (Negative indication.) 17 Senator Cook. 18 (There was no response.) 19 Senator DeFrancisco. 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 21 THE SECRETARY: Senator 22 Dollinger. 23 SENATOR DOLLINGER: No. 24 THE SECRETARY: Senator Farley. 25 SENATOR FARLEY: Aye. 1 THE SECRETARY: Senator Gentile. 2 SENATOR GENTILE: No. 3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Gold. 4 (There was no response.) 5 Senator Gonzalez. 6 (There was no response.) 7 Senator Goodman. 8 (Negative indication.) 9 Senator Hannon. 10 (There was no response.) 11 Senator Hoffmann. 12 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Aye. 13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Holland. 14 SENATOR HOLLAND: Yes. 15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson. 16 SENATOR JOHNSON: Aye. 17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kruger. 18 SENATOR KRUGER: No. 19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kuhl. 20 (There was no response.) 21 Senator Lachman. 22 SENATOR LACHMAN: No. 23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lack. 24 (There was no response.) 25 Senator Larkin. 1 (There was no response.) 2 Senator LaValle. 3 (There was no response.) 4 Senator Leibell. 5 (There was no response.) 6 Senator Leichter. 7 SENATOR LEICHTER: No. 8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Levy, 9 excused. 10 Senator Libous. 11 SENATOR LIBOUS: Aye. 12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Maltese. 13 (There was no response.) 14 Senator Marcellino. 15 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes. 16 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 17 are the bells ringing? 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 19 Skelos. 20 SENATOR SKELOS: Are the bells 21 ringing? 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes, 23 Senator Skelos, they are. 24 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 1 Secretary will resume the roll call. 2 THE SECRETARY: Senator 3 Marcellino. 4 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes. 5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Marchi. 6 SENATOR MARCHI: Aye. 7 THE SECRETARY: Senator 8 Markowitz. 9 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: No. 10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Maziarz. 11 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Aye. 12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Meier. 13 SENATOR MEIER: Yes. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Mendez, 15 excused. 16 Senator Montgomery. 17 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: No. 18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Nanula. 19 SENATOR NANULA: No. 20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Nozzolio. 21 (There was no response.) 22 Senator Onorato. 23 SENATOR ONORATO: No. 24 THE SECRETARY: Senator 25 Oppenheimer. 1 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: No. 2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Padavan. 3 SENATOR PADAVAN: Yes. 4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Paterson. 5 SENATOR PATERSON: No. 6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Present. 7 SENATOR PRESENT: Aye. 8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Rath. 9 SENATOR RATH: Aye. 10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Rosado. 11 (There was no response.) 12 Senator Saland. 13 SENATOR SALAND: Aye. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Sampson. 15 SENATOR SAMPSON: No. 16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Santiago. 17 (Negative indication.) 18 Senator Seabrook. 19 (There was no response.) 20 Senator Seward. 21 SENATOR SEWARD: Yes. 22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Skelos. 23 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes. 24 THE SECRETARY: Senator Smith. 25 (There was no response.) 1 Senator Spano. 2 (There was no response.) 3 Senator Stachowski. 4 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Yes. 5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford. 6 (There was no response.) 7 Senator Stavisky. 8 (There was no response.) 9 Senator Trunzo. 10 SENATOR TRUNZO: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Velella. 12 (There was no response.) 13 Senator Volker. 14 SENATOR VOLKER: Yes. 15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Waldon, 16 excused. 17 Senator Wright. 18 SENATOR WRIGHT: Aye. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 20 absentees. 21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Abate. 22 SENATOR ABATE: No. 23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Cook. 24 (There was no response.) 25 Senator Gold. 1 (There was no response.) 2 Senator Gonzalez. 3 (There was no response.) 4 Senator Hannon. 5 SENATOR HANNON: Yes. 6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kuhl. 7 SENATOR KUHL: Aye. 8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lack. 9 SENATOR LACK: Aye. 10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin. 11 SENATOR LARKIN: Aye. 12 THE SECRETARY: Senator LaValle. 13 SENATOR LAVALLE: Aye. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Leibell. 15 (There was no response.) 16 Senator Maltese. 17 SENATOR MALTESE: Aye. 18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Nozzolio. 19 (There was no response.) 20 Senator Rosado. 21 (There was no response.) 22 Senator Seabrook. 23 SENATOR SEABROOK: No. 24 THE SECRETARY: Senator Smith, 25 excused. 1 Senator Spano. 2 SENATOR SPANO: Aye. 3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford. 4 SENATOR STAFFORD: Aye. 5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stavisky. 6 (There was no response.) 7 Senator Velella. 8 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Announce 10 the results. 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 32, nays 18. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 13 is passed. 14 Calendar Number 136, by Senator 15 Skelos, Senate Print 333, an act to amend the 16 Penal Law, in relation to increasing the 17 penalties for custodial interference. 18 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 20 Skelos. 21 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 22 this legislation would increase the penalties 23 for custodial interference, in particular, 24 creating the new crime of custodial interference 25 in the third degree where there is no -- a 1 decision pending by the courts as to final 2 custody but there has been interference by one 3 of the parents. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 5 Dollinger. 6 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr. 7 President, I raised during -- on this bill 8 during the Codes Committee deliberation, I 9 raised a technical issue with respect to some of 10 the definitional questions. In the interim 11 since that meeting, I have had discussions with 12 counsel for the Deputy Majority Leader and I'm 13 satisfied. Although the bill, I think could be 14 -- it's not perhaps perfect in its 15 draftsmanship, I think it's strong enough to 16 survive. 17 Therefore, I'm going to be voting 18 in the affirmative. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 20 last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 22 act shall take effect on the 15th day of 23 November. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 25 roll. 1 (The Secretary called the roll.) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 4 is passed. 5 Senator Skelos. 6 SENATOR SKELOS: I believe 7 there's a -- if we could return to reports of 8 standing committees, I believe there's a report 9 of the Rules Committee at the desk. I ask that 10 it be read. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 12 Secretary will read. 13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno, 14 from the Committee on Rules, reports the 15 following bill direct to third reading: Senate 16 Print 6112, by Senator Wright, an act to 17 authorize the New York State Urban Development 18 Corporation to utilize certain funds. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 20 Skelos. 21 SENATOR SKELOS: Substitution - 22 is there a substitution to be made at the desk? 23 Move to accept the report of the Rules 24 Committee. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 1 motion is to accept the report of the Rules 2 Committee. All in favor of accepting the report 3 signify by saying aye. 4 (Response of "Aye".) 5 Opposed, nay. 6 (There was no response.) 7 The report of the Rules Committee 8 is accepted. 9 Senator Skelos. 10 SENATOR SKELOS: I believe, Mr. 11 President, the bill is being distributed and 12 we'll take it up in a moment. 13 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 15 Skelos. 16 SENATOR SKELOS: At this time if 17 we could take up Senate 6112. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 19 Secretary will read. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 176, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 6112, an 22 act to authorize the New York State Urban 23 Development Corporation to utilize certain 24 funds. 25 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Explanation. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 2 Skelos. 3 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a 4 message of necessity at the desk? 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes, 6 Senator, there is. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 9 motion is to accept the message of necessity. 10 All in favor of accepting the message signify by 11 saying aye. 12 (Response of "Aye".) 13 Opposed, nay. 14 (There was no response.) 15 The message is accepted. 16 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Just an 17 explanation. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 19 Secretary will read -- the Secretary will read 20 the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 22 act shall take effect immediately. 23 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr. 24 President, could we just have an explanation? 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 1 Dollinger. 2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: I assume this 3 came out of the Rules Committee. 4 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes, it was 5 reported from the Rules Committee. 6 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Could we just 7 have a brief explanation of it. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 9 Wright, an explanation has been requested by 10 Senator Dollinger of Senate Bill Number 6112. 11 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you, Mr. 12 President. 13 You'll find 6112 on your desk, I 14 believe. It's a Governor's program bill 15 relative to the state of emergency and the 16 disaster that was declared for the North 17 Country, and what this bill does is provide 18 state funding through the -- excuse me - 19 Economic Development Agency available to small 20 businesses, agribusiness and other enterprises 21 within that six-county region that was 22 designated as a disaster area and it's to 23 provide up to $5,000 in grants or 50 percent of 24 the estimated cost of the damages, whichever is 25 less, from state funds, and the intent is to 1 provide a direct infusion of state assistance to 2 these six-county impacted regions, to help 3 revitalize the economy, particularly that of 4 small businesses throughout that region, 5 particularly in areas where federal assistance 6 cannot and will not be directed to those 7 initiatives. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 9 Dollinger. 10 SENATOR DOLLINGER: One question 11 on the bill, Mr. President, through you to 12 Senator Wright. 13 Section 4 says that where -- the 14 PACB will not have approval authority. Could 15 you explain the rationale for cutting the PACB 16 out of this? 17 SENATOR WRIGHT: Well, I think 18 the rationale is simply from the standpoint of 19 the appropriation. They are $5,000 projects, so 20 no single project is going to exceed that 21 amount, which is a relatively small amount given 22 the history of the PACB. More importantly, this 23 is disaster assistance that is hopefully going 24 to be expedited as quickly as possible in terms 25 of providing relief to the small businesses of 1 the North Country. 2 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Again through 3 you, Mr. Chairman. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 5 Dollinger. 6 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Through you 7 to Senator Wright, is this going to be done on 8 an application process? Is this a 9 reimbursement, file your forms with your damages 10 and you'll get up to a $5,000 grant? Is that 11 how it's going to work? 12 SENATOR WRIGHT: There will be a 13 process. There will be eligible project costs 14 as are defined in the bill and you will be 15 reimbursed up to $5,000 or 50 percent of the 16 costs. 17 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. 19 I'm satisfied. 20 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you, Mr. 21 Dollinger. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 23 last section. 24 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 25 act shall take effect immediately. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 2 roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll.) 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 6 is passed. 7 SENATOR WRIGHT: On the bill. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 9 Wright. 10 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you. 11 On this bill -- and I appreciate 12 the Senate's passage of it -- I want to take the 13 opportunity to commend the Governor and his 14 executive staff in presenting this program bill. 15 From the beginning, the Governor 16 and his people have worked extremely closely 17 with us. Since we have returned to session, 18 Senator Stafford, Senator Meier, myself, as well 19 as our Assembly colleagues have been meeting 20 with the Governor and his senior people on a 21 regular basis. This is one of but several bills 22 that have been advanced in direct response to 23 the concerns expressed by our constituents and 24 the needs that are articulated by the people in 25 our district, and I want to commend the Governor 1 for his prompt and quick attention to this 2 matter. 3 Thank you. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 5 is passed. 6 Senator Skelos. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 8 at this time could you take up Calendar Number 9 132, Senate 6025-A, which was restored and 10 amended earlier today. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 12 Secretary will read. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 132, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 6025-A, 15 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in 16 relation to extensions for the payment of taxes. 17 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 19 Skelos. 20 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a 21 message of necessity at the desk? 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is 23 a message at the desk. 24 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 1 motion is to accept the message of necessity. 2 All those in favor signify by saying aye. 3 (Response of "Aye".) 4 Opposed, nay. 5 (There was no response.) 6 The message is accepted. 7 Read the last section. 8 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 9 act shall take effect immediately. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 11 roll. 12 (The Secretary called the roll.) 13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 15 is passed. 16 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 18 Skelos. 19 SENATOR SKELOS: There will be an 20 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in the 21 Majority Conference Room and the Senate will 22 stand at ease pending the report of the Rules 23 Committee. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There 25 will be an immediate meeting of the Rules 1 Committee in the Majority Conference Room and 2 the Senate will stand at ease. 3 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 4 ease from 4:00 p.m. until 4:07 p.m.) 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 7 Skelos. 8 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could 9 return to reports of standing committees again, 10 I believe there is a report of the Rules 11 Committee. I ask that it be read. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 13 Secretary will read. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno, 15 from the Committee on Rules, reports the 16 following bill direct to third reading: Senate 17 Print 6113, by Senator Stafford, an act to amend 18 the Executive Law, in relation to the dairy 19 indemnity program and providing for the repeal 20 of such provisions upon expiration thereof. 21 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept 22 the report of the Rules Committee. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 24 motion is to accept the report of the Rules 25 Committee. All in favor of accepting the report 1 signify by saying aye. 2 (Response of "Aye".) 3 Opposed, nay. 4 (There was no response.) 5 The report is accepted. 6 Senator Skelos. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 8 if we could take up Senate 6113. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 10 Secretary will read. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 177, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 6113, an 13 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to 14 the dairy indemnity program. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there a 16 message of necessity at the desk? 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is 18 a message at the desk. 19 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 21 motion is to accept the message of necessity. 22 All those in favor signify by saying aye. 23 (Response of "Aye".) 24 Opposed, nay. 25 (There was no response.) 1 The message of necessity is 2 accepted. 3 Read the last section. 4 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr. 5 President, could we just have an explanation as 6 to what the bill is? 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 8 Certainly. Senator Dollinger has requested an 9 explanation, Senator Stafford. 10 SENATOR STAFFORD: Thank you, Mr. 11 President. 12 Once again, we're concerned for 13 the tragedy that fell upon my area of the 14 state. I'm very aware of these problems 15 happening in other parts of the state and other 16 parts of the country, but believe me, I just say 17 that this was beyond what words can really 18 explain. 19 This is a dairy indemnity 20 program. I would only say -- I won't wish you 21 people were there but, of course, even in small 22 herds, when you drove up to a farm and you saw a 23 fairly good size herd and you saw cows laying on 24 the ground that were down, cows not being able 25 to breath, milk being dumped and, of course, 1 that was the health reason also because the milk 2 couldn't be chilled. If it can't be chilled 3 right off, you have a problem with it. So just 4 a terrible situation. 5 We have people in the industry - 6 and this gives me a chance to make this point. 7 In some areas of our state right now, the 8 farmers have been operating for the last 18 9 months selling milk under cost, and I think all 10 of you will realize the seriousness of that 11 problem. 12 This will provide funds for those 13 who lost in the dairy industry and the major 14 problem, of course, was income, and that's the 15 milk check, and this is very, very necessary. 16 I certainly compliment the 17 Governor for being involved as he has been with 18 his people. I compliment all who are being so 19 helpful to all of us, and that's everybody. 20 It's just unbelievable, the outpouring of 21 support that we've received. 22 You know, you hesitate to say 23 that there's one industry that is hurt more than 24 another; in other words, if anybody is losing 25 their income that serious because that's dollars 1 and cents. This will help, will support the 2 dairy industry. 3 I urge everyone to please support 4 it, and I certainly would be glad to answer any 5 questions. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 7 Dollinger. 8 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you, 9 Mr. President. 10 If the Chairman of Finance will 11 yield for a question. 12 SENATOR STAFFORD: By all means. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 14 Senator yields, Senator Dollinger. 15 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Where does 16 the money come from in this bill to make these 17 payments? 18 SENATOR STAFFORD: Well, let me 19 see. I'll get it here. The money would come 20 from the general fund -- let me see the bill - 21 and it will -- I assure you if we can't find 22 someone to administer it, we will, I'll 23 guarantee you that. 24 SENATOR DOLLINGER: As I read the 25 bill, through you, Mr. President, it's going to 1 be administered through the state Emergency 2 Management Office and the Commissioner of 3 Agriculture and Markets. 4 SENATOR STAFFORD: They have been 5 right there on the scene. 6 SENATOR DOLLINGER: It says here 7 also that they're going to be made from the 8 Division of Military and Naval Affairs Disaster 9 Assistance Program. Do you know how much money 10 is in there? 11 SENATOR STAFFORD: In where? 12 SENATOR DOLLINGER: In that 13 program. 14 SENATOR STAFFORD: In this bill, 15 it's $1 million. 16 SENATOR DOLLINGER: It's $1 17 million? 18 SENATOR STAFFORD: Right. 19 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Is there any 20 individual payment limitation to cooperatives or 21 farmers? 22 SENATOR STAFFORD: No. 23 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Do you know 24 how many will be served by the bill? Do you 25 have any idea how many people might get payments 1 out of it? 2 SENATOR STAFFORD: There were 3 1,824 dairy farms in the six-county area 4 impacted by the storm and - 5 SENATOR DOLLINGER: 1,824. 6 SENATOR STAFFORD: So that's a 7 lot of people. 8 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Okay. Again 9 through you, Mr. President, I don't need a 10 further explanation. I'm going to vote in favor 11 of this bill but perhaps the Chairman of Finance 12 will some day tell me, dairy farms -- the bill 13 says that dairy farms provide needed open spaces 14 for clean air sheds. My experience when passing 15 near a dairy farm, it's not necessarily clean 16 air. It's a good thing, but maybe some day 17 someone will explain to me what a clean air shed 18 is near a dairy farm. 19 SENATOR STAFFORD: I can explain 20 it right now. The reason these cows were 21 dropping is because it wasn't clean air. 22 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Because it 23 wasn't clean air. That's what I was asking. 24 Thank you, Mr. President. I'm 25 satisfied. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 2 last section. 3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 4 act shall take effect immediately. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 6 roll. 7 (The Secretary called the roll.) 8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 10 is passed. 11 Senator DeFrancisco. 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I was out 13 of the chambers when there was a vote on 14 Calendar 11, Senate Bill 2228. I would request 15 to be recorded in the negative. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without 17 objection. 18 Senator Nozzolio. 19 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, Mr. 20 President. 21 Mr. President, during a slow roll 22 call, I was inadvertently out of the chamber, 23 and I would ask to be recorded -- if I were 24 here, recorded in the positive on Calendar 25 Number 16, Senator Volker's measure, S.397. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: So 2 noted. 3 Senator Leibell. 4 SENATOR LEIBELL: Yes, Mr. 5 President. On the vote on S.397, Calendar 6 Number 16, I was out of the chamber 7 inadvertently at the time. I would like to have 8 -- had I been here, I would like my vote 9 recorded in the affirmative. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 11 record will so note. 12 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there any 13 housekeeping at the desk? 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: There is 15 none. 16 SENATOR SKELOS: There being no 17 further business, I move we adjourn until 18 Tuesday, February 3rd, at 3:00 p.m. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: On 20 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until 21 Tuesday, February 3rd, at 3:00 p.m. 22 (Whereupon, at 4:19 p.m., the 23 Senate adjourned.) 24 25