Tuesday, March 3, 1998

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 March 3, 1998 11 3:01 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 SENATOR MICHAEL A.L. BALBONI, Acting 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 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 3 Senate will come to order. I ask everyone 4 present to please rise and say the Pledge of 5 Allegiance. 6 (The assemblage repeated the 7 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 8 In the absence of clergy, may 9 we 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 Monday, March 2nd. The Senate met pursuant to 15 adjournment. Prayer by the Reverend Iris 16 Tucker. The Journal of Friday, February 27th, 17 was read and approved. On motion, Senate 18 adjourned. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 20 Without objection, the Journal stands approved 21 as 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 4 Stafford, from the Committee on Finance, 5 reports the following bills: 6 Senate Print 242, by Senator 7 Johnson, an act to amend the State Finance 8 Law; 9 310, by Senator Skelos, an act 10 to amend the Executive Law; 11 1684, by Senator Farley, an act 12 to amend the Executive Law; 13 2210, by Senator Padavan, an 14 act to amend the Executive Law; 15 3029, by Senator Holland, an 16 act to create the Piermont Library District; 17 3083, by Senator Padavan, an 18 act to amend the State Finance Law; 19 3766, by Senator Stafford, an 20 act to amend the Executive Law; 21 3899, by Senator DeFrancisco, 22 an act to amend the Executive Law; 23 4129-A, by Senator Marcellino, 24 an act authorizing the Commissioner of General 25 Services; 1 5161, by Senator Goodman, an 2 act to amend the Arts and Cultural Affairs 3 Law, and 4 6247, by Senator Wright, an act 5 providing for the transfer of funds. 6 Senator Hannon, from the 7 Committee on Health, reports: 8 Senate Print 737, with 9 amendments, by Senator Johnson, an act to 10 amend the Public Health Law; 11 934, by Senator Velella, an act 12 to amend the Public Health Law; 13 1125, by Senator Libous, an act 14 to amend the Public Health Law; 15 1488, by Senator Trunzo, an act 16 to amend the Public Health Law; 17 1736-B, by Senator Hannon, an 18 act to amend the Public Health Law; 19 2657, by Senator LaValle, an 20 act to amend the Public Health Law; 21 3659, by Senator Hannon, an act 22 to amend the Public Health Law; and 23 4422, by Senator Velella, an 24 act to amend the Public Health Law. 25 Senator Seward, from the 1 Committee on Energy and Telecommunications, 2 reports: 3 Senate Print 4278, by Senator 4 Seward, an act to amend the Public Service 5 Law; 6 4279, by Senator Seward, an act 7 to amend the Public Service Law; 8 4282, by Senator Seward, an act 9 to amend the Public Service Law. 10 All bills ordered direct for 11 third reading. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 13 Without objection, all bills directly to third 14 reading. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 16 at this time, if we could take up the 17 non-controversial calendar. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 19 Secretary will read. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 21, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 3407-A, an 22 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 23 relation to the authority of police officers. 24 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay aside. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 1 the last section. Lay aside for Senator 2 Paterson. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 101, by Senator Volker, Senate Print Number 5 5007, an act to amend the Criminal Procedure 6 Law, in relation to criminal actions. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 10 This act shall take effect on the first day of 11 November. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 13 the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the 15 roll. ) 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 37. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 18 bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 188, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 5994, an 21 act to amend the Agriculture and Markets Law, 22 in relation to exempting working search dogs. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 24 the last section. 25 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. 1 This act shall take effect on the first day of 2 January. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the 6 roll. ) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 37. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 9 bill is passed. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar number 11 201, by Senator Maltese, Senate Print 2440, an 12 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in 13 relation to increasing the penalty for 14 obstructing access. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 16 the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. 18 This act shall take effect on the first day of 19 November. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 21 the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the 23 roll. ) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 37. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 1 bill is passed. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 209, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 150, an 4 act to amend the Environmental Conservation 5 Law, in relation to county responsibility. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: A 7 local fiscal impact note is at the desk. Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 10 This act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the 14 roll. ) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 37. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 17 bill is passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 210, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print Number 20 389, an act to amend the Environmental 21 Conservation Law, in relation to non-hazardous 22 municipal landfill. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 24 the last section. 25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 1 This act shall take effect immediately. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 3 the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the 5 roll. ) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 37. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 8 bill is passed. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 215, by Senator Cook, Senate Print 5739-A. 11 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay aside, 12 please. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Lay 14 it aside, by Senator Paterson. 15 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay aside. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 219, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 3890, an 18 act to amend the County Law, in relation to 19 merger of departments. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 21 the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. 23 This act shall take effect immediately. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 25 the roll. 1 (The Secretary called the 2 roll. ) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 37. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 5 bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 228, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 1135, 8 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 9 criminally negligent homicide. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 11 the last section. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 13 This act shall take effect on the first day of 14 January. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 16 the roll. 17 (The Secretary called the 18 roll. ) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 37. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 21 bill is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 229, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 1290, an 24 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to the 25 minimum period of imprisonment for certain 1 persistent violent felony offenders. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 5 This act shall take effect on the first day of 6 November. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 8 the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the 10 roll. ) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 37. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 13 bill is passed. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 230, by Senator Holland, Senate Print 1957, an 16 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 17 fixing sentences for persons committing crimes 18 while on parole. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 20 the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. 22 This act shall take effect on the first day of 23 November. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 25 the roll. 1 (The Secretary called the 2 roll. ) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 37. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 5 bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 231, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print Number 8 1977, an act to amend the Penal Law, in 9 relation to criminal possession of a weapon in 10 the third degree. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 12 the last section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 14 This act shall take effect on the first day of 15 November. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 17 the roll. 18 (The Secretary called the 19 roll. ) 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 39. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 22 bill is passed. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 232, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 2016, an 25 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 1 consecutive sentences of imprisonment for 2 conviction. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 4 the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 6 act shall take effect on the first day of 7 November. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 9 the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the 11 roll. ) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 14 bill is passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 233, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 2522-A. 17 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay aside. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Lay 19 aside for Senator Paterson. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 275, by Senator Present, Senate Print 2753, an 22 act to amend Chapter 557 of the Laws of 1992 23 relating to sewer rent revenues. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 25 the last section. 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 2 This act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the 6 roll. ) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 9 bill is passed. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 279, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 289, an act 12 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 13 relation to prohibiting issuance of an order 14 of recognizance or bail. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 16 the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. 18 This act shall take effect on the 30th day. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 20 the roll. 21 (The Secretary called the 22 roll. ) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40, nays 24 one, Senator Leichter recorded in the 25 negative. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 2 bill is passed. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 280, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 306, an 5 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 6 relation to limiting plea bargaining for 7 sexual offenders. 8 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay aside. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Lay 10 aside for Senator Leichter. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 284, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 589-B, an 13 act to amend the Penal Law and the Criminal 14 Procedure Law, in relation to providing for 15 the life imprisonment of pedophiles. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 17 the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This 19 act shall take effect - 20 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay aside. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Lay 22 aside for Senator Leichter. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 286, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 1915, an 25 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 1 parole for certain sex offenders. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. 5 This act shall take effect on the first day of 6 November. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 8 the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the 10 roll. ) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 41. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 13 bill is passed. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 288, by Senator Hannon, Senate Print 3660, an 16 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 17 relation to imposing plea bargain 18 limitations. 19 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay aside. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 21 the last section. Lay aside, please. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 300, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 177-C, 24 an act to amend the Executive Law, the Penal 25 Law, the Correction Law and the Mental Hygiene 1 Law, in relation to treatment of sex 2 offenders. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 4 the last section. 5 SENATOR LEICHTER: Lay aside. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Lay 7 aside for Senator Leichter. That completes 8 the non-controversial calendar. 9 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 10 there will be an immediate meeting of the 11 Racing, Wagering and Gaming Committee in the 12 Majority Conference Room. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 14 There will be an immediate meeting of the 15 Committee on Racing and Wagering in the 16 Majority Conference Room. 17 SENATOR SKELOS: I believe 18 there are some substitutions at the desk. I 19 would ask they be made. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 21 Secretary will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: On page 10, 23 Senator Holland moves to discharge from the 24 Committee on Higher Education Assembly Bill 25 Number 3920-A and substitute it for the 1 identical Third Reading Calendar 180. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: So 3 ordered. 4 THE SECRETARY: On page 10, 5 Senator Hannon moves to discharge from the 6 Committee on Higher Education Assembly Bill 7 Number 8546-A and substitute it for the 8 identical Third Reading Calendar 182. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: So 10 ordered. 11 Senator Hannon? Senator 12 Skelos. 13 SENATOR SKELOS: Request we 14 return to reports of standing committees. I 15 believe there is a report of the Finance 16 Committee at the desk. I ask that it be read 17 and that you recognize Senator Stafford. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 19 Return to the order of business the report of 20 standing committees. Senator Stafford. 21 Secretary will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: Senator 23 Stafford, from the Committee on Finance, 24 reports the following nomination: 25 Member of the Public Service 1 Commission, James D. Bennett, of Garden City. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 3 Senator Stafford. 4 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr. 5 President, it's again a pleasure for me to 6 rise and again compliment the Governor in the 7 nominees that appeared before us, in addition 8 to those that are listed here today. Fine 9 appointments, and for the first nomination of 10 Jim Bennett, I yield to the Senator from 11 Nassau, Senator Hannon. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 13 Senator Hannon. 14 SENATOR HANNON: Mr. President, 15 it gives me extremely great pleasure to move 16 the nomination of Mr. James Bennett for 17 appointment to be a member of the Public 18 Service Commission. 19 In this day and age where great 20 challenges in energy and telecommunications 21 lie before this state in terms of implementing 22 deregulation, in terms of implementing 23 protection for the consumer, I think there can 24 be no better an individual to be moved to this 25 appointment than Mr. Bennett, who brings 1 considerable background in public life, in 2 business and in the energy field by being a 3 member of LIPA, the Long Island Power 4 Authority, for the last two years. 5 Mr. Bennett began his career as 6 a councilman for the town of Hempstead, moved 7 to supervisor of that township, a township of 8 over 800 citizens -- 800,000 citizens, 9 embracing all of the general problems that 10 development brings to a government and dealing 11 with those quite ably for over a decade. At 12 the same time, he has been in the practice of 13 law in the suburbs of New York City, also 14 running his family business, giving him a 15 sharp lesson in what it takes to run a 16 business in the high energy cost area of New 17 York City. 18 For the last few years, he has 19 served ably through the repercussions that the 20 Long Island Power Authority has had. I think 21 all of this leads him to be ably qualified to 22 be a recommendation of this body for accepting 23 the recommendation of the Governor. 24 So move. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 1 Thank you, Senator Hannon. 2 The Chair recognizes Senator 3 Seward. 4 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you, Mr. 5 President. 6 I want to echo what Senator 7 Hannon just said about our nominee, James D. 8 Bennett, to be a member of the Public Service 9 Commission. 10 Mr. Bennett, two weeks ago, 11 appeared before our Senate Committee on Energy 12 and Telecommunications. We had a wide ranging 13 discussion with the Committee members on a 14 whole variety of issues. Mr. Bennett will be 15 going on the Public Service Commission at a 16 very, very critical time, because the 17 Commission is continuing to implement the 18 provisions of competitive opportunities for 19 seeding and also on the telecommunications 20 side, of course, we've just had the second 21 anniversary of the passage of a federal 22 Telecommunications Act which is also doing 23 much to bring additional competition in the 24 telecommunications side, so there continue to 25 be some very serious issues coming before the 1 Public Service Commission, and following our 2 committee meeting, I went away fully confident 3 that Mr. Bennett would make an outstanding 4 contribution to this state as a member of the 5 Public Service Commission. 6 On the personal side, obviously 7 he has a very intelligent and very analytical 8 mind which is very important. He has an 9 outstanding record of public service and, 10 because of his service as a member of the Long 11 Island Power Authority, he very quickly has 12 gained a good working knowledge of the energy 13 issues under the very difficult circumstances 14 there on Long Island. 15 So I'm very pleased to stand to 16 second his confirmation and to publicly 17 congratulate the Governor for making an 18 outstanding choice and to wish Jim Bennett 19 well as a member of the Public Service 20 Commission. I know the people of this state, 21 the ratepayers of this state are going to 22 benefit from his service. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 24 Thank you, Senator Seward. 25 Senator Balboni. 1 SENATOR BALBONI: Thank you, 2 Mr. President. 3 I think it's indeed appropriate 4 that the first time I address this body it's 5 on a nomination. We have a friend and someone 6 who I've admired for over a decade. Jim 7 Bennett represents so many wonderful things 8 from Long Island and from the state that we 9 can be proud of and that is readily seeable 10 when you take a look at his resume: 11 A valedictorian from his class 12 in Cornell. His father was esteemed surrogate 13 for Nassau County for many, many years, but I 14 rise to give you just one other piece that 15 perhaps you would not see on the resume. That 16 is a man with infinite patience, an infinite 17 ability to accept information, to assimilate, 18 to consider it and, frankly, to give judgment 19 not hastily, but with measured and thoughtful 20 consideration. 21 Jim Bennett is going to be a 22 wonderful addition to the Public Service 23 Commission because he represents the heart and 24 soul of what is Nassau County and what is Long 25 Island and New York. 1 Thank you, Mr. President. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 3 question is on the nomination of -- I'm sorry, 4 Senator Marcellino. 5 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes, Mr. 6 Chairman. 7 I couldn't miss the opportunity 8 to rise in support of a good friend and 9 colleague in Nassau County government, Jim 10 Bennett. Jim Bennett will make an excellent 11 addition to the Public Service Commission. I 12 think he will serve this state well and 13 certainly has served his constituents in the 14 town of Hempstead very well over the years in 15 Nassau County. He's made it a better place to 16 live, and this is a good thing for the state 17 of New York and the Governor is to be 18 congratulated for this fine appointment. 19 Congratulations, Jim. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 21 Senator Skelos. 22 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 23 it's my pleasure to stand and second the 24 nomination of Jim Bennett. Jim Bennett may 25 have moved to Garden City about 20 years ago, 1 but I recall Senator Hannon, he agreed, he 2 really belongs to Rockville Centre which is my 3 own home community, the community he grew up 4 in, where he practices law today, and has 5 various other interests. 6 I've known Jimmy all my life. 7 My father tells me that, when Jimmy was a 8 youngster, he used to pull him on his sled 9 when there was snow, so the Bennetts and the 10 Skeloses go back many, many years. 11 I also know Jimmy to be an 12 outstanding practitioner of the law. Gordie 13 mentioned to me that they went to Cornell Law 14 School together, and I also know him to be a 15 man of impeccable integrity and certainly he 16 will have the interests of the ratepayers not 17 only of Long Island but of the entire state in 18 the forefront, in the forefront of his mind 19 when he makes those very, very important 20 decisions. 21 So, Jimmy, I congratulate you 22 personally, and I thank the Governor for this 23 very, very fine nomination. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 25 question is on the confirmation of James 1 Bennett as a member of the Public Service 2 Commission. All in favor signify by saying 3 aye. 4 (Response of "Aye.") 5 Opposed nay. 6 (There was no response.) 7 James Bennett is hereby 8 confirmed as a member of the Public Service 9 Commission. 10 Congratulations, Jim, and wish 11 you a good tenure. 12 (Applause) 13 Chair recognizes Senator 14 Stafford. I'm sorry. Before that, the 15 Secretary will read. 16 THE SECRETARY: Senator 17 Stafford, from the Committee on Finance, 18 reports the following nomination: 19 Member of the Board of Trustees 20 of the State University of New York, Randy A. 21 Daniels of New York City. 22 SENATOR STAFFORD: We have some 23 people not in the chamber. Could we just lay 24 that aside for one minute. People will be 25 coming in the chamber. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 2 Nomination is laid aside temporarily. 3 SENATOR STAFFORD: Just for a 4 minute. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 6 Secretary will read. 7 THE SECRETARY: Senator 8 Stafford, from the Committee on Finance, 9 reports the following nomination: 10 Member of the Board of Trustees 11 of Cornell University, Jerold R. Ruderman, 12 Esq., of Scarsdale. 13 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 14 nomination. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 16 Question is on the confirmation of Randy 17 Daniels as a member -- I'm sorry, Jerold 18 Ruderman as a member of the Board of Trustees 19 of Cornell University. All in favor signify 20 by saying aye. 21 (Response of "Aye.") 22 Opposed nay. 23 (There was no response. ) 24 Jerold Ruderman is hereby 25 confirmed as a member of the Board of Trustees 1 of Cornell University. Congratulations. 2 Secretary will read. 3 THE SECRETARY: Senator 4 Stafford, from the Committee on Finance, 5 reports the following nomination: 6 Member of the Empire State 7 Plaza Art Commission, Amy Solomon, of Delmar. 8 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 9 nomination, please. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 11 question is on the confirmation of Amy Solomon 12 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 Senator Paterson. 18 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. 19 President, I would just like to suggest that 20 the Committee has made a wise decision. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 22 Thank you, Senator Paterson. 23 As I said, all those in favor 24 signify by saying aye. 25 (Response of "Aye.") 1 Opposed nay. 2 (There was no response. ) 3 Amy Solomon is hereby confirmed 4 as a member of the Empire State Plaza Art 5 Commission. 6 Secretary will read. 7 THE SECRETARY: Senator 8 Stafford, from the Committee on Finance, 9 reports the following nominations: 10 Member of the Advisory Council 11 on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, 12 Ginay Marks-Landro, of Brooklyn. 13 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 14 nomination. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 16 question is on the confirmation of Ginay 17 Marks-Landro as a member of the Advisory 18 Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse 19 Services. All in favor signify by saying 20 aye. 21 SENATOR GENTILE: Mr. 22 President. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 24 Chair recognizes Senator Gentile. 25 SENATOR GENTILE: Thank you, 1 Mr. President. 2 Just want to commend the 3 Governor on this appointment. I know Ginay 4 Marks-Landro, know her husband. I know her 5 son, and she's already served nine 6 distinguished years on the Governor's Advisory 7 Council, so I commend him for continuing that 8 service. 9 The past, oh, I'd say 20, 25 10 years, Ginay Marks-Landro has ably served 11 Brooklyn as a prevention specialist in drug 12 and alcohol and other substance abuse 13 programs. She has -- she has also designed 14 and implemented citywide AIDS and suicide 15 prevention training for the school 16 administrators and health personnel, and a 17 prevention -- substance abuse prevention 18 designed for elementary and junior high 19 school. 20 She has ably served the people 21 of Brooklyn. She's ably served on this 22 advisory council. She will continue to do 23 so. I congratulate her, her family, and, of 24 course, the Governor for continuing this 25 appointment. 1 Thank you, Mr. President. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 3 Thank you, Senator Gentile. 4 The question is on the 5 confirmation of Ginay Marks-Landro as a member 6 of the Advisory Commission on Alcoholism and 7 Substance Abuse Services. All in favor 8 signify by saying aye. 9 (Response of "Aye.") 10 Opposed nay. 11 (There was no response. ) 12 Ginay Marks-Landro is hereby 13 confirmed as a member of the Advisory Council 14 on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. 15 Secretary will read. 16 THE SECRETARY: Senator 17 Stafford, from the Committee on Finance, 18 reports the following nominations: 19 Members of the Citizens Policy 20 and Complaint Review Council, Thomas K. Cross, 21 of LaGrangeville and J. Theodore Hilscher, 22 Esq., of Catskill. 23 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 24 nomination, please. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 1 question is on the confirmation of Thomas K. 2 Cross and Theodore Hilscheer as members of the 3 Citizens Policy Review and Complaint Council. 4 All in favor signify by saying aye. 5 (Response of "Aye.") 6 Opposed nay. 7 (There was no response.) 8 Thomas K. Cross and Theodore 9 Hilscher are hereby confirmed as members of 10 the Citizens Policy Review and Complaint 11 Council. 12 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. 13 President. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 15 Senator Skelos. 16 SENATOR SKELOS: I believe we 17 have one more nomination to deal with at this 18 time. Would you please call up the nomination 19 of Randy A. Daniels. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 21 Secretary will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: Senator 23 Stafford, from the Committee on Finance, 24 reports the following nomination: 25 Member of the Board of Trustees 1 of the State University of New York, Randy A. 2 Daniels of New York City. 3 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr. 4 President, as I mentioned with the previous 5 nominee, we're very impressed with this 6 nominee also, and I yield to the Senator from 7 Suffolk, Senator LaValle. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 9 Senator LaValle. 10 SENATOR LAVALLE: Thank you, 11 Senator Stafford. 12 Colleagues, we have before us 13 the nomination of Randy Daniels, and I must 14 say that the Governor should be congratulated 15 on this nomination -- nominee. 16 The nominee came before the 17 Higher Education Committee as he did this 18 morning before the Finance Committee, and I 19 think anyone who was there and listened to his 20 presentation would be touched by that 21 presentation and discussion of talking about 22 family, being one of ten children and talking 23 about some of the values that his parents gave 24 to them in going out into the world, and the 25 importance of higher education, particularly 1 public higher education, that Mr. Daniels is a 2 product of. 3 I think his background is, like 4 many of the nominees that come before us, just 5 excellent. But more than what he has learned 6 and what he has done is probably the answers 7 to some of the questions that he gave to the 8 Higher Education Committee. It showed deep 9 sensitivity about the State University, a deep 10 interest in students, and he made that 11 eminently clear. He made it clear that he was 12 sensitive to those students who had particular 13 needs, that we should not abandon them and we 14 should be helpful to them, but he made it 15 clear that he believed in standards, and that 16 is very important at this time as we try as a 17 Legislature to give to the State University in 18 a fiscal way the things that they need to be 19 all that they can and should be as a state 20 university, and so I think Randy Daniel is an 21 excellent nominee and one that I am asking for 22 your support as I move the nomination. 23 Thank you, Senator. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 25 Thank you, Senator LaValle. 1 Senator Olga Mendez. Out of 2 the chamber? 3 SENATOR MENDEZ: Mr. Chairman. 4 Mr. President, I also do rise in support of 5 the nomination of Randy A. Daniels as a 6 trustee of the SUNY university system and I 7 want to congratulate very warmly our Governor 8 for submitting this gentleman to a task that 9 nowadays has become increasingly difficult. 10 Mr. Daniels impressed as 11 Senator Mendez -- as Senator LaValle 12 mentioned, impressed everybody with his 13 presentation. He is a man of clear 14 intelligence, a man who has been able to 15 combine, Mr. President, being a workaholic, at 16 the same time making the time to maintain a 17 loving family. His wife and his two daughters 18 are here today. 19 His commitment to public 20 education and, of course, higher education, 21 came through very, very clearly, and I think 22 that -- that our higher educational system of 23 the state of New York is going to, in fact, 24 benefit through his services. I have known 25 him for a while. I consider him my friend, 1 and he is in a sense one of those wonderful 2 success stories that we love to hear about 3 happening to an African-American in our 4 country. He was one of ten children. His 5 father was a self-supporting man who 6 maintained a home where the values of hard 7 work and commitment were stressed. 8 So, Mr. President -- so, he's 9 -- as I said before, his presentation has 10 been welcomed by everybody and everybody was 11 impressed. So, again, it is with pride that I 12 stand before you in this chamber to support 13 this nomination. 14 Thank you, Mr. President. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 16 Thank you, Senator Mendez. 17 Senator Velmanette Montgomery. 18 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, thank 19 you, Mr. President. 20 I rise to also second the 21 nomination of Mr. Daniels. I am very pleased 22 to know that we have a person who not only 23 knows the value of higher education, but is 24 also very, very much immersed in economic 25 development in the state of New York, and I 1 believe that at this time in our development 2 and our history that the combination of higher 3 education and economic development are 4 paramount to the future of this state; and so 5 we're very fortunate, I think, to have a 6 person who knows both of those very well. 7 As I said to Mr. Daniels when 8 we were -- we were voting for his nomination 9 in committee, that when we came to vote today, 10 if he would be sitting on the Republican side 11 of the house and so we can't look at him 12 directly, but I want him to know that he has 13 very strong support and admiration and respect 14 on the Democratic side, and I'm only very 15 happy to join the Governor in a few of the 16 things that we totally agree with the Governor 17 on, and that is this nomination. 18 So, Mr. Daniels, we're proud to 19 be able to vote for you today, and we look 20 forward to continuing to work with you in 21 terms of your mission as trustee of State 22 University, as well as your understanding and 23 your goal of making that institution the 24 economic engine of our state. 25 Thank you, Mr. President. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 2 Thank you, Senator Montgomery. 3 Senator Smith. 4 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, Mr. 5 President. 6 I too rise to second the 7 nomination of Randy Daniels as a member of the 8 Board of Trustees of the State University of 9 New York. 10 I too, as Senator Mendez, 11 consider Randy a friend. He's a person that 12 you can pick up the phone and talk to and if 13 you disagree, he's still willing to listen, 14 and oftentimes he might even change his mind. 15 He is a respected person, not 16 only in the African-American community, but 17 all of the communities of the city of New 18 York. He's joined today by his lovely wife 19 and children, who play a major role in his 20 life and the decisions that he makes, 21 especially those on behalf of young people. 22 He knows the struggles that our young people 23 have in obtaining an education and he will do 24 the right thing by us and he is making the 25 decisions that will give them the right to 1 have a good education as a move forward in 2 life. 3 I want to thank the Governor 4 for this nomination because it is truly one 5 that is deserved, and I know that Randy will 6 not sell us short and he will always make us 7 proud and I thank the Governor. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 9 Thank you, Senator Smith. 10 Senator Seabrook. 11 SENATOR SEABROOK: Yes, Mr. 12 President. 13 I rise in seconding this 14 nomination for the 50th year anniversary of 15 the State University. It is certainly apropos 16 to have an individual such as Randy Daniels to 17 serve on the board of the State university and 18 Randy Daniels certainly is one who exemplifies 19 the qualities that are necessary for the State 20 University and what it represents, and I think 21 that here is an individual who has risen above 22 all expectation, that he has an international 23 perspective as well as a national perspective 24 and he has the ability to work across the 25 board, and Randy must be commended for his 1 ability to work with Democrats as well as 2 Republicans and he has served Democratic 3 mayors in the past, and I'm certain that he 4 understands the role and responsibility and 5 the social commitment in understanding the 6 creation of the State University, and so I 7 think that it is certainly a fantastic choice 8 for an individual who certainly understands 9 his role and responsibility to the community, 10 and he's also a good church member as well. 11 He served as a deacon in the church and I 12 think that that's part of his real commitment 13 and understanding about human faults and human 14 values and understanding that the policy of 15 the State University is really to afford those 16 who are in need in terms of educating and 17 providing them with the opportunity to be 18 productive citizens in the state of New York. 19 So I rise for this occasion to 20 say that he is truly a fantastic choice and 21 one that would represent all of us well as a 22 member of the State University Board of 23 Trustees, and may he continue to strive on and 24 do just as our motto is, to excel and he will 25 do just that. 1 So, good luck and much success. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 3 Thank you, Senator Seabrook. 4 The question is on -- oh, 5 excuse me. Senator Paterson, you wish to 6 speak on the nomination? 7 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 I think everything that needs 10 to be said has been said. I'd just like to 11 get up to add my voice to those who are 12 supporting Mr. Daniels who hails from my 13 district and who aspires to the SUNY board. 14 He has served not only the people of our area 15 but the people of the state well in many other 16 capacities, particularly his outstanding work 17 on the Empire State Development Corporation. 18 We hope that he will be an independent voice 19 for children, and that he will speak to the 20 needs of those children all over the state. 21 This has been his history. 22 He combines a rare combination 23 of skills, those of independence when 24 necessary and extreme loyalty when necessary, 25 and we think that his ability to distinguish 1 between those elements makes him well 2 qualified to be a board member, and I'm very 3 happy, very pleased to welcome him and his 4 family to the chamber. They have at times 5 undergone great adversity, which is something 6 that I assume has made him stronger. 7 Thank you very much. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 9 Thank you, Senator Paterson. 10 The Chair recognizes Senator 11 Hoffmann. 12 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, 13 Mr. President. 14 I was very pleased today during 15 the Finance Committee to hear the responses 16 that Mr. Daniels gave to a question I raised 17 about the Ag and Tech schools in New York 18 State. Having noted in his resume that he has 19 had experience in developing countries where 20 agriculture is clearly the basis of the 21 economy and survival of the citizens in those 22 countries and knowing that he had experience 23 in broadcast journalism covering agriculture 24 in the Midwest and the automotive industry, I 25 am especially pleased. 1 Morrisville Agriculture and 2 Technical College in New York State is the 3 proud host of a new automotive program. It is 4 also one of the foremost agricultural colleges 5 in the United States, and yes, in years past 6 we have seen the SUNY administration literally 7 put the Ag and Tech schools on the auction 8 block. It was only a couple of years ago where 9 we fought back a terrible attempt led by some 10 people in the inner sanctum of SUNY to cut 11 loose those schools and to instead resort to a 12 rather out-of-date urban or suburban elitist 13 approach to education, and important as it is 14 for everyone to be fluent in foreign languages 15 and to understand global issues and to speak 16 in detail about fine literature, it is also 17 important for us to continue funding those 18 programs that turn people out who are work 19 place ready. 20 Morrisville has the highest 21 level of employability upon graduation of any 22 SUNY school in the system the last I checked, 23 and I for one am very pleased to see that the 24 Governor has nominated, and we are about to 25 confirm an individual who understands and will 1 help increase that reliance on our technical 2 and agricultural institutions, not only the 3 four-year institutions. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 5 Thank you, Senator Hoffmann. 6 Seeing no other Senators 7 wishing -- oh, Senator Roy Goodman. 8 SENATOR GOODMAN: Yes, Mr. 9 President. 10 It gives me a great deal of 11 pleasure to add a word of full support for 12 Randy Daniels in this important post. The 13 State University of New York is obviously a 14 major educational institution with the 15 greatest commitment to the public and a man of 16 diversified background and demonstrated 17 community concern, I think, serves the public 18 interest extremely well. 19 I've known Mr. Daniels for some 20 years. He's been involved in many projects 21 within the city of New York and I believe that 22 he will make an excellent addition to the 23 board, and I'm delighted to second his 24 nomination. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 1 Thank you, Senator Goodman. 2 The question is on the 3 confirmation of Randy A. Daniels as member of 4 the Board of Trustees of SUNY. All in favor 5 shall signify by saying aye. 6 (Response of "Aye.") 7 Opposed nay. 8 (There was no response.) 9 Randy A. Daniels is hereby 10 confirmed as a member of the Board of Trustees 11 of SUNY. 12 Congratulations, Mr. Daniels. 13 (Applause) 14 Also present in the chamber to 15 day are Mr. Daniels' wife Jacqueline, daughter 16 Tori and daughter Ashley. Welcome and 17 congratulations. 18 (Applause) 19 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. 20 President. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 22 Senator Skelos. 23 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could 24 return to motions and resolutions, I move that 25 we adopt the Resolution Calendar in its 1 entirety, except for Resolution Number 2744. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 3 Motion to adopt the Resolution Calendar. All 4 those in favor say aye. 5 (Response of "Aye.") 6 Opposed nay. 7 (There was no response. ) 8 The motion is adopted. 9 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 11 Senator Gold. 12 SENATOR GOLD: Yes, with the 13 permission of the Majority Leader, may I offer 14 a -- with the permission of the Majority 15 Leader, I have a privileged resolution at the 16 desk, and I would just move the resolution be 17 passed. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: No objection. 19 Will you please read the title and move for 20 its immediate adoption. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 22 Secretary will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 24 Gold, Legislative Resolution honoring Naomi 25 Green on the occasion of her designation as 1 recipient of the 1998 Humanitarian Award on 2 Sunday, March 8th, 1998. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 4 Question is on the resolution. All those in 5 favor signify by saying aye. 6 (Response of "Aye.") 7 Opposed nay. 8 (There was no response. ) 9 The resolution is adopted. 10 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 11 would you please take up Resolution Number 12 2744. I ask that it be read in its entirety. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 14 Secretary will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 16 Marcellino, Legislative Resolution 2744, 17 commending Dr. L. Eudora Pettigrew upon the 18 occasion of her retirement after 12 19 distinguished years as president of SUNY 20 College at Old Westbury. 21 WHEREAS, it is the practice of 22 this legislative body to take note of and 23 publicly acknowledge individuals of remarkable 24 integrity and character whose endeavors have 25 enhanced the growth of education in this great 1 state; and 2 WHEREAS, Dr. L. Eudora 3 Pettigrew will be stepping down after 12 years 4 as president of SUNY College at Old Westbury. 5 This unique institution has been called the 6 "People's College" because its mission is to 7 provide an education for minorities, older 8 students and others who are not traditional 9 students; and 10 WHEREAS, after 40 years of 11 service as a higher education professional, 12 Dr. Pettigrew will retire from her 12-year 13 role as president of SUNY College at Old 14 Westbury on June 1st, 1998. She has spent the 15 last 24 years of her distinguished career in 16 academic administration; and 17 WHEREAS, in addition to her 18 tenure at SUNY Old Westbury, Dr. Pettigrew 19 served six years as Associate Provost at the 20 University of Delaware and six years as Chair 21 of the Department of Urban and Metropolitan 22 Studies at Michigan State University. Prior 23 to her years as an administrator, she served 24 the faculty in both two-year and four-year 25 colleges as well as in major research 1 universities; and 2 WHEREAS, during her tenure at 3 SUNY Old Westbury, Dr. L. Eudora Pettigrew 4 heightened the visibility of the college by 5 forging new partnerships with Long Island's 6 educational, corporate and industrial 7 communities. Her leadership also stimulated 8 growth within the college community where 9 enrollment increased and new programs were 10 developed during her administration. She 11 expanded the diversity at the college by 12 revitalizing and initiating faculty and 13 student exchange programs in Europe and Asia 14 while working tirelessly to establish 15 scholarships for students who otherwise could 16 not study abroad; and 17 WHEREAS, in 1994 as a member of 18 the Board of Directors of the American 19 Association of State Colleges and 20 Universities, and a member of the AASCU 21 Committee on International Education, Dr. 22 Pettigrew led an AASCU delegation of 23 university presidents on a trip to China. In 24 1995, as Chair of the SUNY Commission on 25 Africa, she led a SUNY delegation to South 1 Africa. She is currently a member of the 2 Executive Committee of the International 3 Association of University Presidents and Chair 4 of the IAUP/UN Commission on Disarmament 5 Education, Conflict Resolution and Peace. She 6 has addressed major conferences in Russia, 7 Taiwan, China, Japan, Spain, Egypt, and 8 Palestine, and she developed and chaired a 9 workshop on conflict resolution at the United 10 Nations Women's World Conference in Beijing in 11 1995; and 12 WHEREAS, the Economists Allied 13 for Arms Reduction invited Dr. Pettigrew to 14 serve on its advisory committee and the UN 15 Secretary General and the Secretary General of 16 UNESCO have appointed her to a commission to 17 make an in-depth study of the University of 18 Peace in Costa Rica; and 19 WHEREAS, in October 1997 Dr. L. 20 Eudora Pettigrew was named a Distinguished 21 Alumna of Southern Illinois University; and 22 WHEREAS, Dr. Pettigrew's 23 retirement as president of SUNY College at Old 24 Westbury is a transition point in her 25 remarkable career as she moves on to serve the 1 international higher education community. The 2 students at SUNY Old Westbury, however, will 3 continue to benefit from her vision, her 12 4 years of dedication to the college, and her 5 legacy of academic excellence. 6 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, 7 that this legislative body pause in its 8 deliberations to commend Dr. L. Eudora 9 Pettigrew upon the occasion of her retirement 10 for her significant contributions to the field 11 of education in New York State; and 12 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a 13 copy of this resolution, suitably engrossed, 14 be transmitted to Dr. L. Eudora Pettigrew. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 16 Senator Skelos, on the nomination. 17 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 18 before you recognize Senator Marcellino, there 19 will be an immediate meeting of the Consumer 20 Protection Committee in the Majority 21 Conference Room. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 23 There will be an immediate meeting of the 24 Consumer Protection Committee in the Majority 25 Conference Room. 1 Senator Marcellino. 2 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 3 Mr. President. 4 Mr. President, I am proud to 5 rise and speak on this nomination - 6 nomination! -- this resolution because this is 7 a resolution honoring a person who is engaged 8 in a profession that I consider one of the 9 most honorable, and that is the education 10 profession. With all due respect to my friends 11 in other professions, this one is mine and Dr. 12 Pettigrew is a unique individual. 13 She took over a university that 14 was in decline and was having major problems 15 and in a period of time when money to 16 institutions like it was also in decline. She 17 turned it around. She turned it around, and it 18 became known in the community as the "People's 19 College" because she's a people person. She 20 knows how to reach out. She knows how to make 21 things happen. She reached out into 22 communities and told people who otherwise 23 would not have an opportunity to go to college 24 that you can come here, and this is a place 25 for you, and this will always be a place for 1 you here. But -- and it was a big but, there 2 are no free rides. If you come here, we'll 3 give you every opportunity and all the 4 assistance you need, but you're going to have 5 to produce and maintain standards, and she has 6 always stood for that and her university has 7 always stood for that, and during her 12-year 8 tenure that university has improved and 9 enrollment has gone up and it is a proud place 10 to be, and it's in my district, and I'm proud 11 to represent it. 12 Dr. Pettigrew is a credit to 13 the educational community. She's a credit to 14 the people of the state of New York and as a 15 president, she's a credit to her profession 16 and I respect her. I wish her well. The 17 education -- international education 18 community's gain is our loss in this state. 19 She will now have the time to 20 do what she pleases. She tells me she likes 21 to get up early in the morning, as do I, as an 22 early riser, but now she'll be able to sleep a 23 little bit later. I believe around 6:00 24 o'clock in the morning she'll be able to 25 sleep. This is something unique. 1 Dr. Pettigrew is a special 2 person, and I am proud to recommend the 3 passage of this resolution. Dr. Pettigrew, we 4 don't do too many things around here 5 unanimously, but this is going to be one of 6 them. So, ladies and gentlemen, I urge you to 7 pass this resolution on behalf of a very 8 wonderful person and a fine educator. 9 Thank you. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 11 Thank you, Senator Marcellino. The question 12 is on the resolution. 13 Senator Montgomery. 14 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes. I 15 rise again to compliment Senator Marcellino on 16 honoring this great woman in education, who 17 has really essentially made Old Westbury what 18 it is, and has sort of brought along what I 19 understand to be the youngest and one of the 20 smaller campuses, brought it into the system 21 and moved it into a position where it will be 22 a premier educator of young people into the 23 next century. 24 I know that she has shown an 25 extreme amount of commitment to young people, 1 to students. She's been here any number of 2 times to advocate for those students, and she 3 has a vision which she has worked very hard to 4 put into place at Old Westbury, and because of 5 her extensive outreach to those of us who were 6 not necessarily knowledgeable about Old 7 Westbury, she's brought that institution alive 8 for us in terms of making sure that we know 9 what's happening. 10 We know the kinds of struggles 11 and the kinds of issues and the kinds of 12 programs that have been -- that have been 13 brought there by her work; so I'm very, very 14 honored to have known her as a president, and 15 as one of the few African-American women to 16 lead a major institution in this country. I 17 admire your work -- her work, and I am very, 18 very honored and pleased and happy that you 19 are now going to retire, but I know that 20 you're going to continue to share your wealth 21 of wisdom, knowledge and experience with us in 22 this state and with young people throughout 23 the country. 24 So thank you, Mr. President. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 1 Thank you, Senator Montgomery. 2 Senator Waldon, you wanted - 3 did you wish to speak? 4 SENATOR WALDON: I thank you 5 very much, Mr. President. 6 I walked over just to see if 7 Dr. Pettigrew is the lady I thought she was, 8 from out at the campus. She's a super person 9 and a very enthusiastic leader, and so I'm 10 just here to say "me too" to all of the 11 encomiums and accolades that have been 12 presented on her behalf by my astute 13 colleagues both from the Island and from the 14 real center of the universe, Brooklyn. 15 Thank you very much. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 17 Thank you, Senator Waldon. 18 The question is on the 19 resolution. Will all those in favor signify 20 by saying aye. 21 (Response of "Aye.") 22 All those opposed nay. 23 Senator Stavisky? 24 The resolution is adopted. 25 Congratulations. 1 (Applause) 2 SENATOR STAVISKY: Mr. 3 President. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 5 Senator Stavisky. 6 SENATOR STAVISKY: Will the 7 record reflect had I been in the chamber, I 8 would have voted for Randy Daniels to be a 9 member of the Board of Trustees of the State 10 University of New York, without objection. 11 SENATOR SKELOS: Without 12 objection. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Let 14 the record so reflect. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could 16 return to the controversial calendar now, 17 we'll start off with Calendar Number 215, by 18 Senator Cook. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 20 Secretary will read. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 215, by Senator Cook, Senate Print 5739-A, an 23 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to 24 improving school safety. 25 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: 1 Explanation. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 3 Explanation has been asked for. Senator Cook. 4 SENATOR COOK: Mr. President, I 5 think that it has been evident for many years 6 that there's a need for this legislation, but 7 particularly now that we are pressing towards 8 standards of higher performance in the 9 schools, it becomes even more important. 10 What this legislation attempts 11 to do is to establish a continuum of 12 disciplinary procedures within the schools so 13 that those students who are very seriously 14 attempting to learn will have the opportunity 15 to learn in an atmosphere that is conducive to 16 learning, without being disrupted by fellow 17 students who do not perhaps have the same 18 intention or perhaps the same motivation. 19 The bill is, as I have 20 characterized it on other occasions, both a 21 velvet glove and an iron fist, because we 22 recognize that there are, in fact, reasons why 23 sometimes students have behavior problems in 24 school, and we attempt to deal with those 25 problems in this bill and in other ways; but 1 at the same time the bill insists that 2 students, when they come into school, when 3 they walk through that door, that they 4 recognize that they're no longer on the 5 street, that they, in fact, are in a place of 6 learning, that they have a purpose for being 7 there, and that it is a different atmosphere 8 than it is when they're outside on the 9 street. 10 So the first provision of the 11 bill is to require -- and let me -- I guess I 12 ought to also inject, Mr. President, that much 13 of what's in this bill is not brand new, that 14 it is either in its entirety or in pieces 15 already in effect in many of the school 16 districts and school buildings around the 17 state, and we're not really attempting to 18 reinvent the wheel here, but what we have 19 tried to do is to organize this into a 20 comprehensive continuum so that we do affect 21 this need in a constructive way. 22 One of the weaknesses of the 23 past, in my opinion, has been that we have 24 been utterly reactive in dealing with what we 25 have characterized as school violence, and we 1 have passed and, in fact, have in this bill 2 some provisions that deal with school 3 violence; but the emphasis that we have tried 4 to take is also in the area of prevention, 5 dealing with students first at the level of 6 expectation, so that they know what is 7 expected of them and, secondly, to deal with 8 students at that area -- at that point in time 9 when perhaps they are not conforming to 10 whatever regulations are necessary for the 11 operation, the orderly functioning of the 12 school, and to deal with those at an early 13 point before they become the kind of violence 14 problem that they may become later on. 15 So we want to look at this as, 16 if you will, an early intervention system, and 17 part of the reason of having this law is to 18 require that the schools first establish their 19 standards, secondly that they enforce those 20 standards, whatever they may be, and they will 21 be by district or by school they will be done 22 separately and individually, but thirdly that 23 the students who are then becoming problems, 24 that they will be identified and hopefully 25 those problems will be dealt with. 1 The first provision of the bill 2 then is to require each school to develop a 3 code of conduct. Most schools probably 4 already have these, but it is important that 5 there, in fact, be written expectations so 6 that every student, as I have previously said, 7 understands that there are standards of 8 conduct that are expected of them when they're 9 in the school building, that may be different 10 from what's expected of them on the street or, 11 in fact, even in their own homes. 12 And secondly, that that code of 13 conduct provide the -- a description of 14 exactly what the consequences will be when 15 students do not conform to that code of 16 conduct, and thirdly, to provide the 17 information so that every student and every 18 parent will be advised as to what those 19 standards are and that they will then know 20 what the requirements will be. 21 Now, the next step down the 22 road -- and let's assume that there will be 23 some intermediate steps which we haven't 24 talked about, because obviously much of what 25 will happen is rather informal and that is 1 that those students who are not able to 2 conform to the rules will be dealt with by the 3 teachers. They will be dealt with in informal 4 ways in the school system, but we do reach 5 that point when the student becomes so 6 disruptive to the classroom that it becomes 7 necessary for the good of all the other 8 students in the room, for that particular 9 student to be excluded from the classroom. 10 There has been a great deal of 11 criticism of this particular provision, 12 particularly coming, I would say, from the 13 School Boards Association and from the 14 Superintendents Association because they have 15 resisted giving this kind of authority to 16 teachers, and I understand the concern that 17 this could be abused. But there are a couple 18 of provisions in there that ought to be noted, 19 and the first being that the building 20 principal -- that this decision by the teacher 21 to exclude the student from the classroom for 22 up to ten days is reviewable by the building 23 principal, and if the building principal 24 determines that the -- that the exclusion from 25 the classroom is not made on good grounds, 1 that there is, in fact, some kind of 2 personality problem on the part of the teacher 3 that's causing some of this problem or this 4 difficulty or that the teacher for some reason 5 is punishing the child for some reason that 6 has nothing to do with the classroom, that in 7 fact that principal -- that building principal 8 has -- has the ability to say no, this child 9 cannot be excluded from the classroom because 10 you've not given to me the reason why you sent 11 this child out of the classroom; and let me 12 tell you what is currently happening and what 13 the teachers tell us is the problem right now, 14 is that all too often the child is sent from 15 them -- by them to the principal's office. 16 The principal simply calls them on the 17 telephone and says, This is your problem. The 18 class room is your place. You have the 19 responsibility for dealing with disciplinary 20 problems in your class. The kid is coming 21 back to your classroom; and so consequently 22 the teacher then is caught up in having to 23 deal with a disciplinary problem that is 24 robbing all the rest of the students in that 25 class of their ability to learn in a correct 1 learning atmosphere. 2 So we've tried to make this 3 balanced so that first the teacher has the 4 right to exclude the student, but in fact 5 there is a check that, if the principal -- the 6 principal may, in fact, call the teacher in 7 and say whatever the reasons why you excluded 8 this child and to make a judgment in terms of 9 whether that is an appropriate action. 10 There is also a hearing process 11 by which the parent may have a hearing within 12 72 hours if they do not agree with the 13 exclusion from the classroom, so that the - 14 the second echelon, if you will, is there. 15 Then we get to the velvet glove 16 portion of it, which is what I was talking 17 about before which says that then the school 18 is required to provide an alternate 19 educational program for this child. We really 20 are not interested in excluding people from 21 classrooms, and we certainly aren't -- we 22 certainly are not interested in suspending 23 them from school, because this only encourages 24 and reinforces in some of students the desire 25 to be excluded from the classroom and excluded 1 from the school and, more than that, it 2 doesn't deal with the more basic problem of 3 why is that child not able to function within 4 the school setting. 5 So we have to provide that 6 there has to be an alternative. There has to 7 be an alternative to the classroom suspension. 8 The next step then is the ability to actually 9 suspend the student from the school totally. 10 Now, that may be a very subtle 11 difference, but it still has a kind of a next 12 step implication, but still within the state 13 regulations there is a requirement that this 14 student has to be continued. The educational 15 program for the student has to be continued. 16 There are those who say this is 17 terribly expensive. I think it is, but it is 18 not, in my opinion, justifiable that -- to 19 abandon these children simply because we are 20 not able to deal with them in the regular 21 classroom setting and, hopefully, it is in 22 this context that we are then able to 23 understand to some degree at least why -- why 24 this particular child can't function in the 25 setting that -- in the educational settings 1 that other children are functioning in. 2 So we have reached that point, 3 and this, I think, really brings us down the 4 path here of what I would call the 5 disciplinary portion, and discipline I like to 6 use in the broadest sense of the term, in not 7 just enforcing rules, but what the 8 expectations are, what the standards are, 9 that's what the relationship is, is to 10 following a standard and to lay that standard 11 out, and that's what discipline really is. 12 So then we finally do reach the 13 point of violence inside the school and so we 14 then have the iron fist portion of the bill, 15 one portion which is to protect the school 16 employees by requiring that acts of violence 17 be reported, and to protect the school 18 employees from civil liability as they do 19 report acts of violence, so that the parents 20 cannot sue the school because the school or 21 the teacher or another employee reported an 22 act by the child. 23 A second is that these 24 incidents within the school need to be 25 reported to the state Education Department so 1 that we have a better understanding of exactly 2 what types of acts of violence are occurring 3 and how frequently they are occurring. We get 4 the stories of the isolated incidents and 5 perhaps we're not getting an accurate picture. 6 Perhaps there are fewer incidents than we 7 think there are. Perhaps there are more. 8 Perhaps we just need to understand what those 9 incidents are. 10 We make it a felony to assault 11 a school employee. The problem with the mis 12 demeanor provisions that we currently have is 13 that they don't seem to deter some of the acts 14 of violence, and let me say that this protects 15 not just the employee, but it also protects 16 students. If someone comes onto the grounds 17 of the school and does not belong there, and 18 creates an act against a child who is in the 19 school, they also have the same penalties 20 against them. 21 And then finally, we try to 22 deal with the idea of the problem of 23 possession and use of weapons, particularly 24 firearms, on school properties, by increasing 25 the penalties for those particular 1 violations. So I think that is a sort of a 2 run-through of what the provisions of the bill 3 are. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 5 Chair recognizes Senator Hoffmann. 6 SENATOR HOFFMANN: Thank you, 7 Mr. President. 8 I want to compliment my 9 colleague, Senator Cook, who is one of the 10 most distinguished members of this body, on 11 having done yeoman service on this issue and 12 I'm sure that he speaks for all of us in the 13 chamber today and for thousands of other New 14 York State residents and parents about our 15 concern for safety in the classroom and for 16 the ability of teacheres to be able to teach 17 without the fear of disruptive students making 18 their lives difficult. 19 I think that there are some 20 wonderful qualities in this bill, and I think 21 that the intent to provide a safe learning 22 environment is one of the most noble things 23 that we have tackled this legislative session 24 so far. 25 Having said that, however, I am 1 at this point compelled to vote against this 2 particular bill because I believe that it 3 still needs more work. I, with all due 4 respect to Senator Cook and his excellent 5 staff work in this area, I have to note that I 6 find it somewhat interesting that even the 7 most prestigious teachers organizations in 8 this state have not been inclined to support 9 the measure. I have no memorandum in support 10 from NYSUT or from NEA, even though I went to 11 some pains today to see if they had provided 12 one. 13 I do, however, have a 14 memorandum in opposition from the New York 15 State School Boards Association. I represent, 16 at last count, 28 different school districts 17 in the 48th Senate District, and I have great 18 admiration for the people who are brave enough 19 to run for board of education. I never had the 20 guts to run for that particular office. I 21 started my political adventures as a member of 22 the Syracuse City Council, but I know that the 23 men and women who are willing to serve as 24 school board members take a great deal of heat 25 and they also expose themselves to a great 1 deal of risk, and if the school boards and the 2 school districts that will have to address the 3 legal questions that would arise in the event 4 that a teacher is charged with having over 5 stepped his or her jurisdiction through this 6 measure, should it be enacted into law. 7 I'm also aware because of the 8 School Boards Association memo, aware of the 9 particular scenario which could occur in which 10 a principal is actually put on the defensive 11 and would have to prove that the teacher had 12 overstepped or had done something wrong. 13 Now, I believe all of these are 14 issues which could be addressed. I believe 15 that it's possible for us to come up with a 16 measure where the state of New York could 17 provide teachers the ability to have students 18 removed quickly, promptly, safely from a 19 classroom when they pose a threat to other 20 students, but given the very vast scope of 21 this particular bill before us today and the 22 noted absence of support from the teachers 23 themselves, coupled with some very articulate 24 opposition from school boards which find 25 themselves in a potential position of 1 liability, I would urge my colleagues to 2 register a no vote. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 4 Thank you, Senator Hoffmann. 5 Senator Leichter. 6 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. 7 President, if Senator Cook would yield, 8 please. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 10 Senator Cook, do you yield? 11 (Senator Cook nods head.) 12 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 13 Senator Cook yields. 14 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator 15 Cook, Senator Hoffmann has made some of the 16 points that I was going to make, and let me 17 just preface my question to you by saying I 18 appreciate your addressing this problem. It's 19 a complex, difficult problem, and I know that 20 you've worked hard on this and are trying in a 21 very conscientious manner to provide some help 22 and support for schools throughout this state 23 and for teachers. Through my wife, I know 24 what a difficult and what an important job it 25 is and maybe sometimes in our effort to try to 1 be helpful, we're really creating more 2 problems, and I think Senator Hoffmann has 3 dealt with that. 4 I'm just somewhat puzzled by 5 the provision you have. This is on page 8 in 6 section 4, the protection of school employees 7 and others who make a charge where the student 8 has committed certain offenses, and what 9 disturbs me is, and what I want to question 10 you about is, you say that anybody who makes 11 one of these complaints about a student shall 12 have immunity from any criminal and/or civil 13 liability. 14 My question to you is, suppose 15 it turns out that somebody made a charge 16 maliciously, falsely. Are you saying that 17 that person cannot be prosecuted by the 18 district attorney? 19 SENATOR COOK: Mr. President, I 20 think this is similar to the provision that we 21 have with reports of child abuse or other 22 instances where the -- the report triggers an 23 investigation and it really is not a criminal 24 charge per se. In other words, if a person 25 goes to the degree where they perhaps were - 1 were entering a criminal complaint, then those 2 issues that you're talking about would enter 3 in, but the problem that we have encountered 4 or the schools tell us they encounter, is that 5 both teachers and administration are somewhat 6 reluctant to -- to report the incidents to the 7 district attorney simply because they then, as 8 the person reporting, end up having to defend 9 themselves against the very kind of suit that 10 you're talking about, and that's really the 11 provision here, that if simply reporting the 12 incident to the district attorney, which is 13 then the district attorney's responsibility to 14 determine whether there's criminal -- actually 15 any criminal activity cannot -- that they can 16 not be sued under that circumstance. 17 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. 18 President, if Senator Cook will continue to 19 yield. 20 Senator, I understand what 21 you're aiming at. I suggest that you may have 22 missed the target or that there's a better way 23 to hit the bull's eye. I think it's -- you 24 just provide that in the event of complaint 25 made in good faith, I think to immunize people 1 who make a complaint maliciously knowing of 2 its falsity, that in those instances the 3 district attorney will want to prosecute and 4 should prosecute because this is an open - 5 this is really an open invitation for those 6 who are so inclined, and I'm sure there's very 7 few, but to slander their neighbors, if you 8 will, or children down the block because 9 nobody can take any action against them, and I 10 think that you can cure that just by saying 11 that it was made in good faith or not made 12 maliciously. 13 You might want to under all 14 circumstances -- I might support that - 15 protect them from civil liability because even 16 if you say as long as it was made in good 17 faith and somebody is going to bring a 18 complaint and say it wasn't made in good faith 19 and that person will have to defend themselves 20 to that extent, but I think that to preclude 21 criminal liability or criminal prosecution, I 22 really think is going too far and I would just 23 commend that language to you, Senator, because 24 I think that would cure what I think is a - 25 is a significant problem with the bill. 1 Mr. President, on the bill, 2 just very briefly. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: On 4 the bill, Senator Leichter. 5 SENATOR LEICHTER: Senator 6 Cook, I think that the memorandum in 7 opposition of the New York State School Boards 8 Association, I think, really states some very 9 compelling reasons to be against this - 10 against this bill. 11 I would also point out that not 12 every instance of violence or not the general 13 conditions for violence can be cured just by a 14 code of conduct and stronger discipline, and I 15 support, by the way, a code of conduct, and I 16 think discipline is clearly important in a 17 school setting, but I think some of the 18 problems we have, particularly in inner city 19 schools, also relate to the overcrowding, they 20 relate to the terrible deteriorated condition 21 of the schools. They relate to very difficult 22 conditions that teachers work under. They 23 relate to the fact that you have students that 24 English is a second language and we may need 25 more assistance and help. 1 So there are things that we may 2 need to do here to support the school system 3 that cannot be cured just by giving teachers 4 the authority to throw students out of the 5 classroom. 6 We have a responsibility to put 7 money into the school system, to try to deal 8 with some of these problems. Yes, money can't 9 cure everything, but you certainly can't cure 10 it without providing greater monetary support 11 than we have, and I don't think anybody should 12 fool themselves by passing this bill or a bill 13 like this, that you are really making a major 14 step or conclusive step against violence in 15 the schools. 16 I think, Senator Cook, for the 17 reasons Senator Hoffmann said and the School 18 Boards Association, that this bill really 19 needs more work. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 21 Thank you, Senators Leichter and Cook. Before 22 we go on, would my colleagues suffer a brief 23 interruption to give the stenographer a moment 24 to collect her thoughts and her paper. 25 (Short pause) 1 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: I 2 believe we're ready to proceed. Senator 3 Montgomery. 4 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Mr. 5 President, I rise to join my colleagues, 6 Senators Hoffmann and Leichter, in expressing 7 some concern and opposition to this 8 legislation. 9 While I understand what Senator 10 Cook would like to see his emphasis on, having 11 the districts in the state develop a code of 12 conduct, there are some real concerns about 13 the fact that, one, we are extending the 14 maximum period of suspension, with little 15 cause, to ten days from five, and we're also 16 placing the authority to suspend students from 17 schools with teachers, pretty much without any 18 recourse for that student, at least within 72 19 hours. For 72 hours, or up to 72 hours or 20 perhaps even more because the bill says 21 something about when 72 hours or however long 22 the parental investigations *** shall upon 23 request be given an opportunity for an 24 informal conference with the principal to 25 discuss the reasons for the removal, within 72 1 hours of the pupil's removal or as soon 2 thereafter as reasonably practicable, so 3 theoretically it should -- it could take quite 4 a bit longer than 72 hours. 5 The problem with New York City 6 in particular, Senator Cook, is that as I have 7 experienced it, particularly and specifically 8 as a parent, in classrooms, that teachers are 9 very reactive and overwhelmed with the fact 10 that they may have a fourth grade with over 30 11 students, and certainly that's probably not 12 the experience that you have in districts in 13 your -- in school districts, in school 14 classrooms in your district, but it certainly 15 is in mine and because of that teachers have 16 very little time and opportunity to spend with 17 individual students, some of whom may have 18 issues that bring them to act out, sometimes 19 in an anti-social way. 20 If there was an opportunity for 21 teachers to refer students to someone who 22 could work with them individually, it seems to 23 me that that would be an option that made much 24 more sense than having them or giving them the 25 authority to use suspension as a means of 1 addressing problems that students may have. 2 There are some contradictions 3 here, one of which I would like to point out 4 to my colleague and Senator Cook, and that is 5 on page 7, the bill says that the code of 6 conduct shall be developed by the board in 7 consultation with teachers, community members, 8 parents or students attending such district, 9 students and any other representatives that 10 the board deems appropriate, but nonetheless, 11 the Senator, in the first part of the bill, 12 gives the teacher the authority to suspend 13 students for various causes including having a 14 disruptive student or a student that the 15 teacher deems to be interfering with academic 16 work. 17 So it seems to me that you put 18 the cart before the horse. I certainly 19 appreciate the provision to develop a code of 20 conduct in consultation with all of the 21 members of the school community, inside and 22 outside, but if we give the teacher the 23 authority to suspend students, it seems to me 24 that we set up a situation where automatically 25 that the teacher is operating outside of what 1 may eventually develop as a community code of 2 conduct and in -- in many instances, it seems 3 that this might cause a further conflict 4 between teacher and parent and teacher and 5 other parts of the community, because the 6 community already is very suspect of the fact 7 that there are very many suspensions, and that 8 very often there are personality conflicts 9 that arise between students and teachers and 10 in addition there are students who just act 11 out because they're expressing other problems 12 that they have, and that there is no one there 13 to address those problems and so they are 14 suspended and all of this eventually evolves 15 back to being viewed as the fault of the 16 teacher, and so I don't think, Senator Cook, 17 we want to set up a situation where we have - 18 we escalate the sense of alienation of 19 community from teacher. 20 So, for those reasons, in 21 addition to the reasons expressed so 22 eloquently by my colleagues, I would oppose 23 this legislation once again. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 25 Thank you, Senator Montgomery. 1 Read the last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 22. 3 This act shall take effect immediately. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 5 the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the 7 roll. ) 8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 9 Senator Paterson, to explain his vote. 10 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, 11 Mr. President. 12 Quite often, in pieces of very 13 valuable legislation such as the one that's 14 set forth today by Senator Cook, there is 15 somewhat of an over-emphasis on what would be 16 the principle of the legislation and perhaps a 17 cursory development of the substantive changes 18 that need to be made. 19 This is an excellent bill that 20 comes at a time when teachers in our 21 classrooms need greater protection and we need 22 greater enforcement, I guess, against those 23 who would restrict not only their ability to 24 teach but of the other students to learn. 25 However, I see some issues in this particular 1 legislation involving due process, the fact 2 that, for instance, students can be suspended 3 for up to ten days without a hearing 4 arbitrarily through the decision of one 5 teacher. Everyone is fallible and this is why 6 we try not to make these decisions 7 independently, and I think that this needs to 8 be addressed along with some other changes. 9 I'm going to vote for the 10 legislation because of the content of its 11 protections and the value that we are trying 12 to establish in having a strict enforcement of 13 rules in our school system. I understand that 14 the Assembly is also going to pass similar 15 legislation, and hopefully with the conference 16 committees that the Majority Leader and the 17 Speaker have worked to develop over the past 18 three and a half years, we will be able to 19 inevitably pass a stronger bill that protects 20 not only the students but the civil liberties 21 of all individuals. 22 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 24 Senator Gold, to explain his vote. 25 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you, Mr. 1 President. 2 Mr. President, by coincidence 3 -- it's good timing, Senator Cook -- by co 4 incidence some people from the UFT were in to 5 see me today to discuss school issues, and 6 it's very difficult to expect teachers to be 7 able to do all we ask of them, when you have 8 40 students in a kindergarten class, when you 9 talk about passing legislation to make smaller 10 classes, and there's no place for the 11 classes. 12 There was one school that we 13 were talking about, I think it was P.S. 80 in 14 Queens -- an excellent school where they have 15 used the behind the curtain space in the 16 auditorium for classrooms. They've taken 17 classrooms, cut them in half. 18 The point is that I believe 19 teacher safety and student safety is very 20 important, Senator Cook, and I'm glad that 21 you're putting this bill forward and, while I 22 have some questions in my mind about the 23 propriety of the section as referred to by 24 Senator Paterson, I too am going to vote for 25 the bill, but I would urge upon the members of 1 this house while you pass this bill with 2 complete sincerity and understanding, the 3 problems that have been identified by Senator 4 Cook, you've got to understand where some of 5 these problems come from and they have come 6 from overcrowding. They have come from 7 teachers and they have come from safety issues 8 within the school, and you can't just grab one 9 of the flags, you've got to grab all of the 10 flags. 11 So I'm really hoping now that 12 the bond issue went down, the revenue 13 estimates are out today and they range from, I 14 think, about 400 million over the Governor's 15 estimate from the -- from the Assembly side to 16 a billion three over the Governor's estimate. 17 I think we ought to be thinking about what are 18 we going to do to make the schools safer by 19 getting classroom sizes down and constructing 20 some new schools. 21 I'm going to vote in the 22 affirmative. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 24 Thank you, Senator Gold. 25 Announce the results, please. 1 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded 2 in the negative on Calendar Number 215 are 3 Senators Hoffmann, Leichter, Mendez, 4 Montgomery, Sampson, Santiago and submit 5 Smith. Ayes 52, nays 7. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 7 bill is passed. 8 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 9 would you please call up Calendar Number 21, 10 by Senator Volker. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 12 Secretary will read. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 21, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 3407-A, an 15 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 16 relation to the authority of police officers. 17 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 19 Senator Volker. 20 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President, 21 are you going to ask for an explanation? 22 SENATOR GOLD: Explanation. I 23 owe you one. 24 SENATOR VOLKER: Let me just 25 say, I was reading the transcript from last 1 year and realized that this bill passed last 2 year, the day that I just returned from a 3 police officer's funeral that had been killed 4 and there was quite a bit of collateral 5 discussion on this issue and it is ironic that 6 here we are almost exactly a year later and 7 another Buffalo police officer was just killed 8 last week and was buried this morning. 9 Although the situation was considerably 10 different in that the person was pursuing an 11 individual on foot and he was killed by a 12 passing car, it remains a very tragic and sad 13 event, obviously, but I think the real irony 14 of it is I just happened to look at the 15 account of last year's debate and I realized, 16 as you can imagine, it's exactly the same 17 situation, that is, we are in a Tuesday in 18 March and that funeral happened earlier in the 19 day and we are in another Tuesday in March one 20 year later and the exact same occurrence. 21 Anyway, so everybody 22 understands, this was called -- you will note 23 this bill was introduced last year -- this is 24 a Governor's program bill, was introduced 25 March 4th, '97 and you will note it's an "A" 1 print. Essentially the "A" print is -- it 2 makes it the Police and Public Protection Act 3 of 1998 instead of 1997. I think there was 4 just one other technical correction. It is 5 exactly the same bill as we passed last year. 6 You might ask me this question 7 and I'll answer it right now. What's the 8 difference between this bill and the bill that 9 we passed, I believe about three weeks ago - 10 two or three weeks ago -- January 27th? Thank 11 you, David. My counsel here just told me 12 January 27th, my learned counsel, I might 13 add. 14 The first part of the bill is 15 exactly the same. It talks about -- we 16 debated it at great length -- on the issue of 17 police stops based upon an objective, credible 18 evidence that -- by a police officer. The 19 police must have -- then can act in whatever 20 is necessary under the circumstances, must not 21 be arbitrary, capricious, and so forth, but 22 can act in an objective, credible way. That, 23 of course, we debated at great length here 24 several weeks ago. 25 The part of this bill that's 1 different is the second part of the bill that 2 essentially deals with the issue of 3 suppression of evidence. There's two parts to 4 it. One says that if evidence is suppressed 5 -- evidence of tangible property is 6 suppressed, and that's -- I don't think that's 7 the most controversial part of it -- the court 8 has to set forth its findings and reasons as 9 to why the -- it determined that the defendant 10 did not abandon the property. 11 This relates to a number of 12 cases where defendants have contended in court 13 the property that was clearly theirs because 14 they weren't in direct contact with the 15 property, and I won't get into some of the 16 cases. Courts have -- several courts have 17 determined that they had abandoned the 18 property. In other words, one case the fellow 19 dropped it as he was running and -- running 20 around the corner and was arrested and they 21 found, I believe burglary tools or whatever it 22 was and the judge determined that since they 23 couldn't directly connect him with that bag 24 and couldn't absolutely say that that was his 25 bag, even though the fellow had dropped it and 1 there was some evidence that had seen him with 2 the bag, that it wasn't his and it was 3 abandoned. It wouldn't necessarily change 4 that but it would have the court set forth the 5 reasons why they determined that the property 6 was or was not abandoned. 7 The second part -- the other 8 part of the bill, which I suppose is the most 9 controversial, relates to a series of cases 10 that relate to the so-called good or bad faith 11 criteria where a law enforce... where a law 12 enforcement officer or somebody had evidence 13 suppressed because the court determined that 14 there was some sort of technical violation of 15 the law but where it can be determined that 16 there was no finding of bad faith but the 17 person acted in good faith but made some sort 18 of mistake. This is called the so-called bad 19 faith rule. Virtually the entire country - 20 the federal government operates under that 21 provision. 22 There had been determinations 23 by courts in New York that seem to go way 24 beyond Mapp versus Ohio and People versus 25 Lauria, which are the major cases in this area 1 and say that the New York State Constitution, 2 they've interpreted it, that it goes beyond 3 the national -- or the federal Constitution, 4 even though I might point out, as I think you 5 are aware -- at least most of you are aware - 6 the state constitutional language is exactly 7 the same as the federal constitutional 8 language on rights. 9 So what this bill would 10 basically do, it says, the bill prohibits the 11 suppression of evidence based solely upon 12 allegation, violations of the state 13 constitutional provision against unreasonable 14 search procedures or any statutory provision. 15 The court may suppress in the normal -- under 16 federal constitutional standards and that, by 17 the way, is what we debated last year at some 18 length. Just so that you know, this bill 19 passed 39 to 19 after extensive debate and 20 that is essentially the bill. 21 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 23 Senator Gold. 24 SENATOR GOLD: Yeah. Would the 25 Senator yield to just a couple of questions? 1 SENATOR VOLKER: Certainly. 2 SENATOR GOLD: Senator, I'm not 3 sure I understood the last thing you said. 4 Are you saying that this prohibits a judge 5 from suppressing evidence if he feels it's a 6 violation of the state Constitution? 7 SENATOR VOLKER: No, no, 8 absolutely not. Where -- if it's a violation 9 -- if the determination is that the state 10 Constitution is superior to the federal 11 Constitution, that is, if a decision is that 12 the interpretation is that the state 13 Constitution somehow supersedes the federal 14 Constitution, the answer is, in effect, that's 15 what -- that is true, that we would say that 16 if it's a violation of the statute, quite 17 clearly, it could be suppressed and if it's a 18 violation of the federal Constitution - 19 constitutional rules which is identical to the 20 state, clearly it could be suppressed. 21 SENATOR GOLD: Senator, if 22 you'll yield to one question. 23 SENATOR VOLKER: Sure. 24 SENATOR GOLD: Suppose for the 25 sake of argument that the highest court in 1 this state gets a case where a judge 2 suppressed something because it's a violation 3 of the state Constitution and the Court of 4 Appeals says that your statute here is in 5 violation of the state Constitution, 6 therefore, unenforceable, aren't we back to 7 square one? The Legislature can't do anything 8 about that, can we? 9 SENATOR VOLKER: I suppose they 10 could. Of course, I would assume that would 11 be appealed to the Supreme Court which, I 12 would assume would rule it -- probably rule 13 that decision as not valid, but you make a 14 good point. I suppose that could happen. If 15 the Court of Appeals again wants to try to 16 supersede the Legislature, as in certain cases 17 it's done -- not very often. Senator, 18 remember, these cases are not directly 19 attacking the Legislature. They are - 20 collaterally attack legislation that we've 21 done. At the same time they have said that 22 the state Constitution, even though its 23 language is identical to the federal, in 24 effect, is superseding the federal 25 constitutional rules. 1 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President. 2 Mr. President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 4 Senator Gold. 5 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President, 6 on the bill. 7 I'm just going to address this 8 point because I know -- I think Senator Waldon 9 wanted to speak and a few weeks ago when I 10 debated the other bill, the record will 11 indicate I made reference to a lot of Senator 12 Waldon's remarks from last year because I 13 thought his argument was very excellent. So 14 I'm going to leave that to Senator Waldon, but 15 I just wanted to say, Senator Volker, that 16 this provision that we just discussed is 17 really a merry-go-round because I can't 18 believe the United States Supreme Court would 19 accept a case where the state Court of Appeals 20 in New York said that we passed something 21 which violates the New York State Constitution 22 and, therefore, they won't enforce it. I 23 assume that the United States Supreme Court 24 will leave that for our court to deal with, 25 and I would remind you of the law case that 1 every, every, every law student remembers, 2 Marbury versus Madison where the United States 3 Supreme Court, for the first time, ruled on 4 this issue of taking power, declaring statutes 5 unconstitutional and it worked because the 6 court took away power from itself, and I think 7 you're creating a similar situation. I mean, 8 you're talking about whether we can 9 effectively tell a court that it can't 10 exercise what it believes is a constitutional 11 function, and I don't think we can get away 12 with that, Senator Volker. 13 On the other point on page 2, I 14 am also a little confused because my 15 understanding of the law -- and maybe I'm not 16 understanding your argument -- is if a police 17 officer sees somebody running away and 18 throwing something on the ground, I think the 19 police officer can pick that up and testify 20 that the person threw it away. I don't 21 understand the abandonment argument. It may 22 be that I just didn't catch it when you were 23 putting it forth, but you may want to explain 24 that, but I'm going to vote against the bill 25 principally because of page 1 of the bill, as 1 I explained it a few weeks ago, and relying 2 upon what Senator Waldon has said on this in 3 the past and what he might very well say today 4 about it. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 6 Senator Volker. 7 SENATOR VOLKER: Just before, 8 Senator, let me just respond, if I might, just 9 to the -- you're right. My counsel and I were 10 discussing the issue, and you're right. The 11 possibility of a ruling by the Court of 12 Appeals and then an appeal is very unlikely. 13 I'm saying that could happen. What we're 14 really trying to do here, though, is establish 15 statutory authority on the suppression issue. 16 One of the arguments that have 17 been made in these courts is, the courts have 18 said, well, we fall back on the Constitution 19 of New York absent some statutory authority to 20 the contrary. Well, what this really is is 21 this is statutory authority in a sense to the 22 contrary. I mean, I understand what you're 23 saying is probably true. You could get in the 24 merry-go-round effect. If the Court of 25 Appeals actually rules and says, we don't care 1 what your statute says, our Constitution, we 2 think gives us authority to supersede the 3 federal rules, you're probably right. The 4 likelihood that the United States Supreme 5 Court is going to over... it's possible but 6 more than likely, we -- it's our opinion, and 7 I think the Governor's opinion and the people 8 that drafted this bill, that we are creating a 9 statutory authority here on suppression and, 10 therefore, saying to the Court of Appeals that 11 we're not going to argue with you on what the 12 state or federal does but we're giving you 13 statutory authority on suppression and we 14 think the Legislature has the right to do 15 this. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 17 Senator Waldon. 18 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you very 19 much, Mr. President. 20 Would the gentleman yield to a 21 question or two? 22 SENATOR VOLKER: Sure. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 24 Senator Volker, do you yield? 25 SENATOR VOLKER: Certainly. 1 SENATOR WALDON: Senator 2 Volker, we went around Robin Hood's barn last 3 year on this and it was at times electric and 4 at times eclectic. I read the bill again and 5 I'm as confused this year as I was last year, 6 and when I look at line 12, on page 1 and it 7 reads "In addition, when engaged in criminal 8 law enforcement duties, a police officer may 9 approach a person in a public place located 10 within the geographical area of such officer's 11 employment when he has an objective, credible 12 reason not necessarily indicative of 13 criminality and to the full extent permissible 14 under the Constitution of this state and the 15 United States may ask such questions and take 16 such other actions as the officer thinks 17 appropriate." 18 One, in New York City, once an 19 officer is sworn in as a police officer, every 20 day until he or she retires after that is 24 21 hours, 7 days a week a police officer. So 22 there is no such time unless they're out of 23 the jurisdiction or on vacation, not on and 24 not carrying their shield that they are not 25 functioning as a law enforcement police 1 officer, not peace officer. 2 So my question is, would there 3 ever be a time for my jurisdiction when an 4 officer would not be engaged under that 5 circumstance in criminal law enforcement 6 duties? 7 SENATOR VOLKER: Senator - 8 excuse me. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 10 Senator Volker. 11 SENATOR VOLKER: First of all, 12 I don't agree with that assessment and let me 13 tell you why. A police officer is not on duty 14 24 hours a day. I know that that is the 15 methodology, but the truth is that the duty of 16 a police officer to act relates to what he is 17 doing as a police officer on duty. I think it 18 would be -- I suppose there could be a 19 situation where a police officer might be - 20 for some very good reasons might want to act 21 even while he was not on duty, for instance, 22 if he sees a felon or something of that 23 nature, but I think it's pretty clear that - 24 what we're talking about here, and that's why 25 this language is quite specific. It deals 1 with a police officer who is acting within his 2 responsibilities at the time, and I don't buy 3 the fact that police officers, by the way, are 4 on duty 24 hours a day. That's not quite 5 correct. The only problem is if you happen to 6 see a crime committed in your presence, then 7 as a police officer you are supposed to do 8 something about it, but you are not supposed 9 to act as a police officer when you're not 10 acting as a police officer; in other words, 11 when you're not actually on duty. 12 I think there are some people 13 who tend to believe that but it's not really 14 true. Your duty is to act as a police officer 15 when you are on duty and you only respond 16 after that or need to respond after that if a 17 crime is, in effect, committed in your 18 presence or if you are -- for some reason, 19 someone demands that you do something that 20 needs to be done, but I don't think that - 21 frankly, to me it's somewhat incomprehensible 22 that this bill would be used by a police 23 officer who is not on duty. 24 SENATOR WALDON: Would the 25 gentleman continue to yield, Mr. President? 1 SENATOR VOLKER: Certainly. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 3 Senator Volker, do you continue to yield? 4 SENATOR WALDON: I don't want 5 to split hairs with you, Senator Volker, but 6 it is my understanding -- and I have not been 7 a police officer since 1975 -- that if you are 8 out in the street, you finish your tour of 9 duty, it's the weekend and you're off and 10 something occurs which requires police 11 presence and action, you are automatically on 12 duty, and I do know from the trial room that 13 officers who fail to act, that is, when I was 14 still a police officer, fail to act, were not 15 in uniform but sworn police officers for the 16 city of New York, are subject to severe 17 penalty, but let me move along to where I 18 would like to solicit and elicit some 19 edification, if you would be so kind. 20 Is there a time when the police 21 officer is enforcing the laws which are not 22 criminal law under this particular proposal? 23 SENATOR VOLKER: I don't think 24 this really has anything to do with what sort 25 of laws you're enforcing. I think, in fact, 1 you have to look at this in terms of a 2 reasonable and prudent person. If there is no 3 -- remember what we're saying here. We're 4 talking about a reasonable -- an objective, 5 credible reason. 6 What we're trying to do here is 7 to realize that we have professional police 8 officers -- and I think the interesting thing 9 about this, a lot of the criticism is that 10 police officers do wrong things. Well, then 11 if they do wrong things, then they're not 12 acting objectively and credibly and, 13 therefore, they are subjected to the kind of 14 cases that are some of these cases that we're 15 talking about where they could lose the case. 16 In fact, they could be brought up on charges 17 in certain cases, whatever. 18 So what we're talking about 19 here is a reasonable police officer acting in 20 a reasonable manner, and I think the problem 21 is we try to conjure up improper police 22 procedures and all that sort of thing. If 23 they are, then they're subject to the same 24 problems that certain police officers would 25 have now, and this wouldn't give them any 1 particular additional powers if they don't act 2 in a proper and objective manner. 3 SENATOR WALDON: Would the 4 gentleman continue to yield? 5 SENATOR VOLKER: Certainly. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 7 Yes. 8 SENATOR WALDON: Senator 9 Volker, it reads here, quote, "Credible reason 10 not necessarily indicative of criminality", 11 meaning the officer can do something when this 12 event or this set of circumstances evidences 13 itself. Would the officer ever enforce civil 14 law? Is there a reason for a police officer 15 to be involved with anything other than 16 criminal law? 17 SENATOR VOLKER: I don't think 18 this has much to do -- I don't think a law 19 enforcement officer would enforce civil law 20 and, by the way, especially not off duty. I 21 don't think there would be any occasion where 22 a police officer off duty that I can think of 23 would be -- unless he's -- for some reason, 24 someone in the public says something just 25 happened and that person violated the law or 1 whatever. Other than that, it seems to me 2 that this is talking about rational police 3 procedure and acting off duty, for instance, 4 to take care of zoning violations or things of 5 that nature, which I assume you're relating to 6 which is civil, wouldn't seem to fit into 7 objective, credible kinds of situations, and I 8 think you would be in the same kind of problem 9 you would be in right now, by the way, because 10 a police officer who acts when he's off duty 11 and doesn't have any, I think reasonable 12 reason to do so, acts in his own peril. 13 SENATOR WALDON: I'm sorry. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 15 Senator Waldon, please. 16 SENATOR WALDON: The 17 conversation, I apologize for jumping, but 18 would the gentleman continue to yield? 19 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 20 Yes. Would you continue to yield, Senator? 21 SENATOR VOLKER: Certainly. 22 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you, Mr. 23 President. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: My 25 pleasure. 1 SENATOR WALDON: Senator, I 2 guess the point I'm trying to arrive at is 3 that police officers really only deal with 4 criminality. It's not their role to deal with 5 enforcement of civil statutes. They don't 6 take -- summarily take action on the street in 7 regard to civil violations. They're not there 8 to promote tort situations in Supreme Court. 9 They're there to deal with criminality and if 10 such is the case, would, one, they ever do 11 anything other than be aware of criminality 12 committed in their presence or at least they 13 thought it was, did someone advise them it was 14 or it's about to be or their sixth sense as a 15 police officer tells them it could be, and if 16 so, would they ask any questions related to 17 anything other than criminality? Isn't that 18 what we're really trying to do as police 19 officers in this state, to maintain the peace, 20 to suppress crime, to ensure the safety and 21 security of neighborhoods and, therefore, the 22 police are there as our first line of defense 23 to deal with criminals and criminality. 24 SENATOR VOLKER: Al, I think 25 some of my former -- my colleague police 1 officers would probably say to you that they 2 would wish all they had to deal with is 3 criminal conduct. As you well know, they have 4 to deal with dogs. They have to deal with 5 traffic. They have to deal with all sorts of 6 things and police officers, by the way, when 7 they're on duty, sometimes have to even deal 8 with zoning violations and all sorts of things 9 because, as the people who are sort of the 10 neighborhood eyes and ears at times, they're 11 asked to get into things that sometimes, I 12 think law enforcement officers think they 13 would rather not get into. 14 Dog problems, in fact, from the 15 jurisdiction that I was in, sometimes would 16 become enormous problems and we couldn't just, 17 for instance, call the dog warden very easily 18 because sometimes the dog warden would come, 19 sometimes it wouldn't come, but my point is 20 that law enforcement officers, you well know, 21 get into all sorts of areas short of 22 criminality and there are times when you have 23 to ask some people questions that don't relate 24 necessarily to criminality but may relate to, 25 for instance, violations of zoning codes and 1 things because it just falls to you as part of 2 your duty as the representative of the 3 community. 4 SENATOR WALDON: Would the 5 gentleman, Mr. President, yield once more? 6 SENATOR VOLKER: Sure. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Yes, 8 he does. 9 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you, Mr. 10 President. 11 Dale, it hasn't changed from 12 last year to this year, my concerns, and my 13 concern last year and this year again is that 14 this gives license to police officers who have 15 no cause other than a whim to stop someone, to 16 question them, to engage them in activity and 17 to perhaps arrest them where there's no 18 probable cause, no reasonable suspicion, no 19 causal factor as historically has been 20 required in this nation and in this state for 21 police to stop people while abroad. 22 Last year we discussed 23 momentarily, if I recall correctly, I felt 24 they could also go to someone's house and 25 effectuate this and you said, no, that is not 1 the case. So I'm not going to deal with that 2 this year, but my concern last year was this 3 license to do whatever one deemed necessary on 4 a whim not necessarily related to criminality, 5 and it is my belief that police officers, if 6 they have reasonable suspicion about a crime, 7 they should do whatever is necessary, but just 8 on a whim, it shouldn't be permitted. 9 And so I ask you once again, 10 and I won't revisit this too long; I want to 11 move on to the second part of the proposal, is 12 that still the case, that the officer can, 13 with no real perspective that a crime has been 14 committed, is about to be committed, could 15 have been committed, abroad in a public place 16 can just stop someone because that person 17 piques his interest? 18 SENATOR VOLKER: Al, if I 19 thought that that were correct, I wouldn't 20 sponsor this bill. I'll be perfectly honest 21 with you. If I believed that law enforcement 22 people could and would stop people on a whim, 23 credibly -- I'm going to use the word credibly 24 because that's what we use in this bill - 25 then I would not sponsor this bill, because I 1 do not happen to agree with you that this will 2 create a major change objectively in what 3 happens in the street. I believe that where 4 this may create a change, I say to you once 5 again, is in how cases are looked at by the 6 courts. 7 I am not foolish enough to 8 think that any bill that I am going to sponsor 9 in this Legislature, in my opinion, is going 10 to make a major change in the streets, unless 11 maybe it's the death penalty or something of 12 that nature. If I thought that this would 13 encourage bad police officers and allow them 14 to do things that they shouldn't do in the 15 street, I would not even sponsor that bill. 16 I believe this bill, more than 17 just not allowing that, I think will create a 18 better situation with police officers in the 19 street and would allow them a more rational 20 ability to deal with difficult situations in a 21 more rational way and if they don't deal with 22 it in an objective, credible way, then they're 23 going to run into the same problems that some 24 have run into under the old law, and in all 25 honesty, they deserve to, because what we're 1 looking for here is rational conduct. We're 2 not looking for any kind of situation where 3 we're giving more police powers. What we are 4 trying to do is to develop a more rational 5 ability to conduct discussions in the street 6 than has been occurring now because of what 7 some of the interferences that has occurred 8 from the courts. 9 SENATOR WALDON: Would the 10 gentleman continue to yield, Mr. President? 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 12 Senator Volker, do you continue to yield? 13 SENATOR VOLKER: Sure. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 15 Senator continues. 16 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you. 17 If we may, Senator, I would 18 like to go to the second page of your 19 proposal, line 15, and what in essence says 20 that if an officer violates previously 21 understood in this nation and in this state 22 constitutional guarantees against illegally 23 seized evidence, that the judge cannot bar 24 that evidence from the proceeding, meaning 25 that evidence can't be suppressed because it 1 was tainted by illegal seizure. Is that still 2 your understanding of what's provided here, 3 and that is the intent of what you're 4 providing here? 5 SENATOR VOLKER: No. The 6 intent is to conform New York law to standard 7 procedures across the country in what is the 8 federal statute in Mapp versus Ohio, and that 9 is that -- and that is to eliminate something 10 that has occurred. A number of cases in New 11 York that seems to indicate that the courts 12 have ruled that even if there is no showing of 13 bad faith, that items can be -- can be 14 excluded or can be suppressed, evidence can be 15 suppressed because there was some -- something 16 improperly done not going to the heart of the 17 case because obviously if it's shown that the 18 person's constitutional rights were clearly 19 violated under the federal Constitution, that 20 evidence has to be excluded, but what this - 21 what this is saying here is that we're going 22 beyond the federal Constitution and, 23 therefore, that the state law -- we're putting 24 in statute that state law should be, in 25 effect, in concert with the rest of the 1 country and should not go beyond what the rest 2 of the country is considering in these kind of 3 cases. 4 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you very 5 much, Senator Volker. 6 Mr. President, on the bill. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 8 Senator Waldon, on the bill. 9 SENATOR WALDON: Last year, 10 Dale, when we went around this, I believe, if 11 I recall correctly, I spoke of some situations 12 I witnessed with my eyes, personally observed, 13 where on the corner of 222nd Street and 116th 14 Avenue was one and the other one was in Nassau 15 County, police officers stopped young black 16 men driving their autos. In one situation it 17 was a salt and pepper team -- that's the one 18 which occurred on my corner -- and the other 19 situation, the officers were white. In both 20 instances they stopped the car, removed the 21 passengers, searched the passengers, searched 22 the car, trunk, glove compartment, under the 23 seats and then told the young men, you can 24 leave. 25 I was able to get to the first 1 car in time to question the young men myself 2 and to tell them after they shared their 3 information that I wished to become their 4 advocate. They said they were told there was 5 a shooting at PS 176, which is about 12 to 14 6 blocks from my home and that they fit the 7 description. I took -- I gave them my phone 8 number at the district office and asked them 9 to call me. I then called the 105th. There 10 had been a shooting. The auto involved was a 11 red car. This was a gray car. The men 12 described in the shooting were not these two 13 young men who were college students who were 14 home on vacation, Christmas break. Thirdly, 15 there was no way that from the time of the 16 shooting and the time of the stop that there 17 could be any necessary correlation because so 18 much time had passed and they claimed they 19 were in hot pursuit. 20 In the second situation, the 21 young man, once I told him I'm Senator Waldon, 22 Nassau County and I would like to help you, he 23 said, I don't want any problems. These guys 24 will come and haunt me if I get involved with 25 you, and he took off. 1 The other two young men never 2 called, even though I gave them the DO phone 3 number, told them what I would be prepared to 4 do for them. So the sergeant on duty repaired 5 to my home and tried to brush off what had 6 happened. I had a conversation with the then 7 precinct commander and advised him that, you 8 know, this was wrong and the falsification of 9 the process and the records was wrong and he 10 gave me his word that he would try everything 11 he could to stop it but we couldn't find the 12 officers who were involved. They were the 13 prime combat unit. 14 Most complaints I receive in my 15 district office, which is located in St. 16 Albans, and if you walk two blocks from where 17 I am, the homes start at 500,000, Addison Park 18 -- start at 500,000 -- is that their children 19 are on vacation or coming home from vacation 20 Christmastime and in the summer, driving in 21 cars their families can well afford to pay 22 for, are rousted by the police. They exit 23 parties from homes in the community and the 24 police stop and search them, put their hands 25 in their pockets. These are young men, some 1 of whom are like my son and his friends, 2 graduated from Yale, Harvard, future doctors, 3 future business people. This is not a 4 neighborhood replete with criminals, but there 5 are officers who feel with the current law, 6 not what you're proposing, Senator, with the 7 current law, that they have a license to 8 search these young men and to search their 9 vehicles. 10 My fear is if they are 11 violating constitutional intent now, if we 12 give them further license, how far will they 13 take their illegal searches and seizures? How 14 many other young, innocent black men will be 15 intimidated because a zealous police officer 16 decides to stop him and question him? 17 The parents in my community are 18 in a state of frenzy about this situation. I 19 have had meetings with 105, the 113th, the 20 103rd, the 100th, the 101st precinct 21 commanders. I've had meetings with the 22 borough commander, borough commander south and 23 north, all of them, Charlie Mattice has been 24 in consultation with me constantly about this 25 issue. It may not be happening in Whitestone. 1 It may not be happening in Forest Hills. It 2 may not be happening in Bayside or Bayside 3 Harbor, but it is happening in St. Albans and 4 Cambria Heights, Queens Village, Rochedale 5 Village, Rosedale and the Rockaways. 6 Now, when you get out to the 7 poor neighborhood out in the Rockaways where 8 the projects are, it is unbelievable what the 9 cops are doing, unbelievable at times. That 10 doesn't mean every police officer, and I am 11 not trying to indict all police officers. 12 What I'm saying is that there 13 is an element in the police force which feels 14 it has a license to do all of these things 15 which are, in my opinion, in violation of 16 constitutional guarantees and the true intent 17 and letter of the law. 18 So I don't think we have to 19 give them greater power. If we want a police 20 state, give them the power. If we want 21 fascism, give them the power, but if what we 22 want is for this state and this nation to 23 stand for what it has at least theoretically 24 stood for for a long, long time, I think this 25 is the wrong course of action to take and for 1 that and all of the other reasons I gave you 2 last year, despite my admiration and respect 3 for you, I can't go along with you again. 4 I'll have to vote in the 5 negative. 6 Thank you very much, Mr. 7 President. Thank you, Senator Volker. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 9 the last section. 10 Senator Paterson. 11 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, 12 Mr. President. 13 I just have a couple of 14 questions for Senator Volker. I'll try to be 15 brief. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 17 Senator Volker, will you yield? 18 SENATOR VOLKER: It's a 19 privilege. 20 SENATOR PATERSON: Through you, 21 Mr. President. Senator, you discussed 22 bringing New York State in what you termed 23 compliance with the other states with respect 24 to the test for the suppression of evidence, 25 and I somewhat wish you would explain that 1 because my interpretation of what we have now 2 is basically a two-prong system in which the 3 police must reach a certain threshold before 4 it is viable legally to conduct the kind of 5 search that they do. 6 The other states have really 7 what is a good faith test which is that as 8 long as the police officer showed good faith, 9 perhaps the states will accept it. What it 10 appears exists in this legislation is that 11 we're going beyond the good faith test to a 12 level which is higher, to a higher threshold 13 where you must prove bad faith on the part of 14 the police officer, something that I don't 15 know how a defendant would be able to prove in 16 order to show that there was an unreasonable 17 search. 18 Don't you think that goes 19 beyond what is existing in most of the other 20 states where the federal test applies? 21 SENATOR VOLKER: Senator, I 22 don't agree with you. In fact, let me say, 23 let's not mix the two issues here, the issue 24 of objective, credible, as far as the stop. 25 Let's talk about -- I guess we're talking 1 about suppression. 2 What we are trying to do here 3 is establish a statute that, from what I 4 understand, is very, very close to what 5 statutes -- that are statutes in a number of 6 the states and which will comply -- which 7 basically sets us into a situation where we 8 are still governed, quite clearly, by federal 9 -- the federal rule on searches and seizures 10 and the reason we are using the terms is 11 because these are terms that are used in a 12 number of cases, in fact, have been used in 13 some of the cases that the courts -- certain 14 cases have used here, I think even in New 15 York, if I'm not mistaken, but which is not 16 considered to be the general rule now, and 17 that is if there is a -- what amounts to, 18 although a violation of a technical rule, very 19 often these relate to how search warrants are 20 obtained, for instance, and although the 21 search warrant was obtained, there might be 22 something that was not done completely 23 properly. So we're saying as long as there 24 isn't a showing that the police officer or law 25 enforcement officer, whoever it was, acted in 1 bad faith -- and keeping in mind the 2 situation, we're establishing a statute here 3 to be used, in effect, by the Court of Appeals 4 -- I don't think we're certainly establishing 5 any kind of a situation that would be greater 6 than any other state in the Union that we are 7 aware of and, in fact, as I say, it would 8 level us ultimately with the federal 9 government, which seems to be the test that 10 these other places are using. 11 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, 12 Senator. 13 If the Senator would yield for 14 another question. 15 SENATOR VOLKER: Sure. 16 SENATOR PATERSON: The issue of 17 the credibility of stopping someone extends 18 beyond what would be means of criminality to 19 questions the police officer might ask, not 20 necessarily related to criminality. I may 21 have asked you this question on January 21st 22 and -- but I would ask you again. What would 23 you consider a reason for a police officer to 24 stop a citizen over some issue that does not 25 relate to criminality? 1 SENATOR VOLKER: Well, we used, 2 I think at the time, to question somebody who 3 may appear to be ill. There's a series of 4 things that, under the circumstances, might 5 cause a reasonable person to stop and question 6 somebody or check as to the person's 7 situation, and I use the potential illness - 8 I use that quite clearly. I've also used in 9 the past the person's apparent condition at 10 the time. There's a number of things that 11 could, under the circumstances occur, and it 12 seems to me that you've got to keep in mind 13 that this is an objective, credible 14 evidentiary situation and, as I said to 15 Senator Waldon, I really do not believe that 16 this would create any particular change except 17 that it will create a potential change in the 18 end result where a case is being tested in the 19 courts. 20 I mean, you know, Senator 21 Waldon talked about some bad situations. Bad 22 situations are bad situations. We're not 23 going to -- if somebody is acting 24 unreasonably, then that is wrong and we are 25 not going to do anything that is going to 1 change that. They're still going to have to 2 answer when they -- when they act wrongly, but 3 we should not make law based on a bad 4 situation. We should make law based on the 5 fact that we're going to try to make sure that 6 good police officers are given the best 7 opportunity to fulfill their duties and, you 8 know, that's at least the opinion, I think of 9 myself and I think the Governor who sponsored 10 this bill. 11 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. 12 President, I want to thank Senator Volker for 13 graciously answering these questions and going 14 through this. It seems that we -- every two 15 weeks, we're debating the same issue, and 16 Senator Volker is always gracious enough to 17 take our questions. 18 He mentioned Senator Waldon's 19 comments about bad situations and Senator 20 Waldon was pretty clear delineating some of 21 the geography in Queens County and the places 22 where the bad situations occur and the places 23 where perhaps the conduct of the police 24 officer is more in compliance with the 25 standard of professionalism that he observed 1 as a police officer for many years in New York 2 City. 3 Senator Waldon was not here on 4 the day that we discussed this before and what 5 we talked about in that debate was just the 6 issue of raising that kind of concern that 7 Senator Waldon raised, and it's the concern 8 that there are -- this is a very delicate 9 balance that we have in what is a democracy 10 and at the same time trying to execute law 11 enforcement to its fullest capacity. 12 The fact is that there have 13 been numerous situations with poor law 14 enforcement in what have been traditionally 15 under-serviced communities, communities that 16 are comprised of minorities in this country, 17 communities that are comprised of individuals 18 from perhaps a poorer economic standard and 19 that in those areas, there have been 20 documented greater incidence of perhaps 21 over-reaching on the part of police officers 22 in the execution of law enforcement and that 23 it has been very difficult traditionally to 24 try to have some kind of redress for this. 25 Back in the mid-'80s, the 1 mayor of the city of New York once remarked 2 that there was a perception of police 3 brutality, that it really didn't exist. It 4 was highly isolated, but that it was something 5 that was a perception of those who lived in 6 certain neighborhoods and not two weeks after 7 he made this comment, there was an incident 8 involving the use of a stun gun in the 106th 9 Precinct on April 22nd, 1985 that changed even 10 the mayor of New York's perception of what 11 police brutality could be. In 1991, in March 12 there was an incident involving Rodney King 13 that changed the country's perception of what 14 excessive force might be on the part of police 15 officers. 16 It is not my opinion that any 17 greater number of police officers discriminate 18 than any other workers in society. It is not 19 my opinion that police officers are any more 20 biased than any other group in society. It's 21 not my opinion that police officers are any 22 less professional and, in fact, probably are 23 put in the position of having to display the 24 highest degree of restraint and 25 professionalism and patience with the general 1 public. 2 The issue is that in instances 3 where there are violations, that these 4 violations have a strong, strong repercussion 5 because it is part of that delicate balance 6 that we try to establish in our society 7 between the freedoms guaranteed to us by the 8 Constitution and our desire to protect 9 individuals from the violation of those 10 freedoms of other citizens. 11 What I see in this legislation 12 is that in many ways it blurs the translation 13 of constitutionality when it comes to the 14 issues of stopping citizens. This is really 15 not a piece of legislation that, in my 16 opinion, relates to criminality. It's a piece 17 of legislation that relates to what are the 18 restrictions of freedoms in society and, as 19 Senator Waldon said, this is the United States 20 of America. We have to not only raise the 21 flag in some instances, we have to raise them 22 in all instances. We cannot allow the 23 freedoms that are guaranteed to us to be 24 violated in the fashion that can exist in this 25 particular legislation and unlike in the 1 federal standard right now, that allows for a 2 good faith exception on the part of police 3 officers. This bill specifically mentions 4 that there must be a demonstration of bad 5 faith on the part of the police officer to 6 render the investigation to taint the actual 7 investigation process. 8 So what we're actually seeing 9 is that unless the defendant can show this on 10 the part of the police officer, which I think 11 is next to impossible unless the incident was 12 videotaped, then you're not going to have an 13 opportunity to really have any redress in 14 these types of situations. 15 There are not many times that 16 I've chosen to address these types of events 17 on the floor of this chamber even when I knew 18 they probably existed, but this is one of 19 those times that I can address it because of 20 the overwhelming evidence that Senator Waldon 21 referred to before. This is something that 22 has really created a number of problems in 23 which I think the police department eventually 24 is victimized just as much as our society is 25 because we are trying to exact standards that 1 really go over the line when we compare them 2 to what is adequate in a democracy. 3 When we take evidence under 4 Section -- Article I, Section 12 of the 5 Constitution which has language that is 6 exactly duplicating that which exists in the 7 Fourth Amendment and try to undermine it 8 through the kind of legislation that the 9 Governor's proposing in this particular 10 instance, we are really trampling on some of 11 the most delicate protections that are -- that 12 exist in our Constitution. 13 Right now historically crime is 14 on -- is on the demise. Police officers have 15 exercised their authority quite well in terms 16 of reducing crime and being effective. There 17 is -- there's no overwhelming public policy 18 that shows that there is a need to pass this 19 particular piece of legislation. There have 20 not been violations to the rights of police 21 officers, particularly where they were trying 22 to stop individuals because of some cause 23 related to criminality and to extend to 24 individuals this kind of power, we think is 25 certainly unhealthy. It is not the fault of 1 the police that they are human and that they 2 are fallible, but it is the fault of society 3 if we don't establish strict protections for 4 police officers just as we are having strict 5 protections for private citizens, and so in - 6 with this piece of legislation, it's just our 7 opinion that it goes too far. It's 8 over-reaching and it has tipped the balance of 9 what are democratic values in such a way that 10 any one police officer perhaps out of 1,000 11 who would violate this standard could cause a 12 great deal of damage and in my opinion could 13 compromise the integrity of the police 14 department itself. 15 And so I very much concur with 16 what Senator Gold and Senator Waldon said 17 earlier and urge that there not be passage of 18 this legislation on this vote. 19 SENATOR SKELOS: Last section. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Last 21 section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 23 act shall take effect immediately. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 25 the roll. 1 (The Secretary called the 2 roll.) 3 SENATOR WALDON: To explain my 4 vote. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 6 Senator Waldon, to explain his vote. 7 SENATOR WALDON: Thoughts of 8 Senator Paterson triggered my recall that the 9 Koerner Commission reports from many years 10 ago, 30 or 31 years ago, said that if we don't 11 do something in this nation in terms of the 12 way we are applying the law, the execution of 13 the law, that we're truly creating a society 14 separate but equal, one black, one white, and 15 that is what has happened. We have now in our 16 state a drive to create state-of-the-art 17 prisons but we're not creating sufficiently 18 state-of-the-art classrooms. 19 Most regrettably last year the 20 people of the state, I believe foolishly, 21 voted against the bond issue in regard to 22 restructuring and refurbishing and taking care 23 of business for our children in regard to 24 schools. Huge, huge mistake. In New York 25 City alone, we need 600 classrooms per year 1 for the next ten years just to stay up, not to 2 get ahead, just to maintain enough classroom 3 space for the students who are coming in. 4 In regard to legislation of 5 this nature in this separate but equal 6 society, New York City is paying out in 7 settlements for actions of police brutality, 8 obscene amounts of money. Despite the fact 9 that crime is dwindling and despite the fact 10 that we have a very, very tight hold on crime 11 from this administration, meaning Mayor 12 Giuliani's administration, the police are 13 creating more problems for the City that we 14 are paying the highest amount in terms of 15 settlements in the history of New York City in 16 regard to actions of police abuse. 17 So I don't see any need to 18 continue this separate but equal society that 19 we are creating. We are the cream of the 20 crop. I think we are the 61 best minds of 21 this state, with all due respect to my 22 colleagues in the Assembly, to deal with 23 thorny issues, issues of great philosophical 24 concern for our future as a state. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 1 Senator Waldon. 2 SENATOR WALDON: But I think 3 it's a mistake -- 30 seconds, please. I think 4 it's a mistake for us to do what we're doing 5 here today and to not recognize that we failed 6 to take action 31 years ago regarding the 7 Koerner Commission report and this is just 8 another glitch, another bump in the road of 9 failure. 10 I vote nay. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 12 Thank you, Senator Waldon. 13 Senator Dollinger. 14 SENATOR DOLLINGER: To explain 15 my vote. 16 Mr. President, I learned an 17 interesting lesson in Black History Month. I 18 went to a presentation and a young person got 19 up and read the arrest record of Martin Luther 20 King, Jr., and my recollection is that there 21 were at least two instances in which he was 22 arrested for doing one thing, failing to 23 follow the direction of a police officer. The 24 direction was that you cannot shout out in 25 protest and that you must leave a public 1 place. That conviction was overturned by, I 2 believe the Supreme Court of the great state 3 of Alabama, and rightfully so. 4 His rights were violated in a 5 court in a state that perhaps at that time was 6 not receptive to the issue of equal rights, 7 nonetheless recognized that police have no 8 place in this country telling people that they 9 cannot exercise their rights given to them by 10 our Constitution. 11 This bill -- and I've talked 12 before on this floor about the impact it has 13 on the exclusionary rule which I continue to 14 support, but it seems to me that if Martin 15 Luther King, Jr. were standing in this chamber 16 today and asked to vote on a bill that said a 17 police officer, without any evidence of 18 criminality, may ask any question and do 19 anything else that he considers appropriate 20 rather than what the Constitution says is 21 appropriate, is wrong and Dr. Martin Luther 22 King, Jr. would stand here and vote no, and I 23 would join him, and I vote no. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 25 Senator Montgomery, to explain her vote. 1 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Mr. 2 President, to explain my vote. 3 I think perhaps all of us, 4 certainly I am guilty of the attitude that if 5 it's not happening to me, it's not happening 6 and perhaps Senator Volker does not understand 7 because it probably has never happened to him 8 or it doesn't happen in his neighborhood or in 9 his district or in his part of the state to 10 constituents, but this is the number one issue 11 in parts of New York State, particularly where 12 there are black and Latino neighborhoods and 13 some other groups. There are also some issues 14 in terms of Asian communities. The 15 relationship between the police and the 16 community is the paramount issue as has been 17 pointed out so eloquently by Senator Waldon 18 and, in fact, it was a major issue with the 19 Black Panther party and the development of 20 that party came about specifically because of 21 this problem and the riots, the subsequent 22 riots and the incident with Rodney King and 23 the subsequent riots in Los Angeles, and we 24 can go on and on with these incidents that 25 have come about specifically because there is 1 a major conflict in the relationship between 2 law enforcement and the African-American 3 community and other communities. 4 This legislation only would 5 serve to escalate that kind of relationship, 6 and I think it is irresponsible to propose 7 such a bill, to put in statute the authority 8 for any law enforcement officer to stop people 9 even if there is no evidence of criminality. 10 It will signal specifically to the 11 African-American community that we in this 12 Legislature do not consider that issue as 13 important as it is to black people in this 14 country and as well in this state. 15 So I am adamantly opposed to 16 it. I think that even police officers would 17 be opposed to it because they want to improve 18 the relationship, many of them do, with the 19 community, and so this is not something, I 20 think, that is universally desired by law 21 enforcement. 22 So I hope that we will all vote 23 negative on this legislation today. 24 Thank you. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 1 Thank you, Senator Montgomery. 2 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: I am 3 voting no. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 5 Announce the results. 6 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded 7 in the negative on Calendar Number 21 are 8 Senators Abate, Breslin, Connor, DeFrancisco, 9 Dollinger, Gonzalez, Kruger, Leichter, 10 Markowitz, Mendez, Montgomery, Nanula, 11 Onorato, Paterson, Rosado, Sampson, Santiago, 12 Smith, Stavisky and Waldon. Ayes 39, nays 20. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 14 bill is passed. 15 The Secretary will read. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 233, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 2522-A, 18 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 19 including sales of controlled substances as an 20 underlying offense. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 22 the last section. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. 24 This act shall take effect on the first day of 25 November. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 2 the roll. 3 (The Secretary called the 4 roll.) 5 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded 6 in the negative on Calendar Number 233 are 7 Senators Leichter, Montgomery and Paterson. 8 Ayes 56, nays 3. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 10 bill is passed. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 280, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 306, an 13 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 14 relation to limiting plea bargaining for 15 sexual offenders. 16 SENATOR LEICHTER: Mr. 17 President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 19 Senator Leichter. 20 SENATOR LEICHTER: Yes. Would 21 Senator Skelos yield, please? 22 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside 23 for the day. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Lay 25 it aside for the day. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 284, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 589-B, an 3 act to amend the Penal Law and the Criminal 4 Procedure Law, in relation to providing for 5 life imprisonment for pedophiles. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 7 the last section. 8 THE SECRETARY: Section 12. 9 This act shall take effect on the first day of 10 November. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the 14 roll.) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58, nays 16 1, Senator Leichter recorded in the negative. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 18 bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 288, by Senator Hannon, Senate Print 3660, an 21 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 22 relation to imposing plea bargaining 23 limitations. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Read 25 the last section. 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. 2 This act shall take effect on the first day of 3 November. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Call 5 the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the 7 roll.) 8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58, nays 9 1, Senator Leichter recorded in the negative. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 11 bill is passed. 12 Senator Smith, do you wish to 13 be counted in the negative on that last bill? 14 (Senator Smith shakes head.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 16 Chair recognizes Senator Smith. 17 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, Mr. 18 President. 19 I request unanimous consent to 20 be recorded in the negative on Calendar Number 21 233. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 23 Without objection. 24 The Secretary will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 1 300, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 177-C. 2 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside 3 for the day. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Lay 5 it aside for the day. 6 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 7 is there any housekeeping at the desk? 8 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Yes, 9 Senator Skelos. I'm informed there is some 10 housekeeping at the desk. 11 Senator Montgomery. 12 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Mr. 13 President. I would like unanimous consent to 14 be recorded in the negative on Calendars 15 Number 101 and 231. 16 SENATOR SKELOS: No objection. 17 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 19 Without objection. 20 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank 21 you. 22 Senator Montgomery, would you 23 please give us the number again. 24 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: 101 and 25 Calendar 231. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 2 Thank you, Senator. 3 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 4 is there any other housekeeping at the desk? 5 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Yes, 6 Senator. We have reports from standing 7 committees. 8 The clerk will read. 9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Alesi, 10 from the Committee on Consumer Protection, 11 reports the following bills: 12 Senate Print 4266, by Senator 13 Alesi, an act to amend the General Business 14 Law; 15 4432, by Senator Alesi, an act 16 to amend the General Business Law; 17 4912-A, by Senator Alesi, an 18 act to amend the General Business Law; and 19 5122-C, by Senator Alesi, an 20 act to amend the General Business Law and the 21 Executive Law. 22 Senator Larkin, from the 23 Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, 24 reports: 25 Senate Print 4025, by Senator 1 Larkin, an act to amend the Racing, 2 Pari-mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law; 3 4174, by Senator Larkin, an act 4 to amend the Business Corporation Law; 5 4186, by Senator Larkin, an act 6 to Amend the Racing, Pari-mutuel Wagering and 7 Breeding Law; 8 6057, by Senator Hannon, an act 9 to provide for the claiming and award of a 10 lottery prize; and 11 6077, by Senator Cook, an act 12 to amend at Racing, Pari-mutuel Wagering and 13 Breeding Law. 14 Senator DeFrancisco, from the 15 Committee on Tourism, Recreation and Sports 16 Development, reports: 17 Senate Print 4117, by Senator 18 DeFrancisco, an act to amend the Navigation 19 Law. 20 All bills ordered direct for 21 third reading. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 23 Without objection, all bills to third 24 reading. 25 SENATOR SKELOS: Please 1 recognize Senator Present. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 3 Senator Present. 4 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. 5 President, on behalf of Senator Trunzo, on 6 page 16, I offer the following amendments to 7 Calendar 267, Senate Print 5322, and ask that 8 it retain its place on the Third Reading 9 Calendar. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 11 amendments are received. 12 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. 13 President, on page 18, I offer the following 14 amendments to Calendar 293, Senate Print 15 4112-A, and ask that it retain its place. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: The 17 amendments are received and both bills will 18 retain their place on the Third Reading 19 Calendar. 20 Senator Paterson. 21 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. 22 President, first I would like to say that I 23 thought you did an excellent job today. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: Why, 25 thank you, Senator. 1 SENATOR PATERSON: And this 2 being the birthday of one of our colleagues, 3 Senator Connor, I know you'll join me in 4 wishing Senator Connor, who's 28 years old 5 today, a very happy birthday. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: 28 7 once again. Congratulations, Senator Connor. 8 Senator Skelos. 9 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there any 10 housekeeping at the desk? 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: No, 12 there is not, Senator. 13 SENATOR SKELOS: There being no 14 further business, I move we stand adjourned 15 until Wednesday, March 4th, at 11:00 a.m. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT BALBONI: On 17 motion by Senator Skelos, the house stands 18 adjourned until March 4th, at 11:00 a.m. 19 (Whereupon, at 5:39 p.m., the 20 Senate adjourned.) 21 22 23 24 25