Wednesday, April 29, 1998

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ALBANY, NEW YORK 9 April 29, 1998 10 3:10 p.m. 11 12 13 REGULAR SESSION 14 15 16 17 SENATOR JOHN R. KUHL, JR., Acting President 18 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The Senate 3 will come to order. Ask the members to find 4 their places, please, the staff to find their 5 places. 6 I'd ask everybody in the chamber 7 to rise and join me in saying the Pledge of 8 Allegiance to the Flag, and please remain 9 standing for the invocation. 10 (The assemblage repeated the 11 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 12 We're very pleased to have the 13 Reverend Peter G. Young of the Blessed Sacrament 14 Church of Bolton Landing with us today for the 15 invocation. 16 Father Young. 17 REVEREND PETER G. YOUNG: Let us 18 pray. Dear God, in the middle of this beautiful 19 spring, the last week of April, we see the 20 budding of Your plant creations and the bright 21 sunshine. 22 We hear of the awesomeness of the 23 storms that have damaged so many of our southern 24 states, and we offer our prayers for their 25 strength of spirit. We gather to offer the 1 leadership to the many here in New York that are 2 attempting to cope with their needs for a life of 3 dignity and creativity. 4 We pray, though, particularly for 5 Tom Testo's father, Tony, who passed away this 6 last Friday. We call upon You to answer this 7 prayer now and forever. Amen. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 9 reading of the Journal. 10 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 11 Tuesday, April 28th. The Senate met pursuant to 12 adjournment. The Journal of Monday, April 27th, 13 was read and approved. On motion, the Senate 14 adjourned. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Hearing no 16 objection, the Journal stands approved as read. 17 Presentation of petitions. 18 Messages from the Assembly. 19 Messages from the Governor. 20 The Secretary will read. 21 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President. 22 Mr. President. I understand that the clerk of 23 the Senate has received some messages from the 24 Governor. In fact, perhaps the clerk received 25 1,379 of them, and my question to the -- to the 1 Chair is, did these messages come separately or 2 did they come all at once, and do you know at 3 what time the clerk of the Senate received these 4 messages? 5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Excuse me 6 just a minute, Senator Paterson. 7 Senator Paterson, I'm informed by 8 the Secretary that they all arrived at one time, 9 last night at 6:50. 10 SENATOR PATERSON: 6:50? 11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: 6:50 last 12 evening, except for the legislative and 13 judiciary, which I understand arrived on Monday. 14 So I stand corrected with that piece of 15 information. Is that sufficient? 16 I'll ask the Secretary to read the 17 messages. 18 THE SECRETARY: The Governor 19 returns without executive approval Senate Bill 20 Number 6100-B, entitled "An act making 21 appropriations for the support of government, 22 Legislature and Judiciary Budget", Chapter 51, 23 Line Veto 2. 24 The Governor returned without 25 executive approval Senate Bill Number 6094-B, 1 entitled "An act to amend the Real Property Tax 2 Law", Chapter 56, Line Veto 3. 3 The Governor returned without 4 executive approval Senate Bill Number 6096-B, 5 entitled "An act in relation to appropriations", 6 Chapter 57, Line Veto 4 through Line Veto 8. 7 The Governor returned without 8 executive approval Senate Bill Number 6104-C, 9 entitled "An act making appropriations for the 10 support of government, Public Protection, Health 11 and Mental Hygiene Budget", Chapter 54, Line Veto 12 9 through Line Veto 164. 13 The Governor returned without 14 executive approval Senate Bill 6102-D, entitled 15 "An act making appropriations for the support of 16 government, General Government Budget", Chapter 17 50, Line Veto 165 through line Veto 321. 18 The Governor returned without 19 executive approval Senate Bill Number 6103-C, 20 entitled "An act making appropriations for the 21 support of government, Transportation, Economic 22 Development and Environmental Conservation 23 Budget", Chapter 55, Line Veto 322 through Line 24 Veto 450. 25 The Governor returned without 1 executive approval Senate Bill Number 6098-B, 2 entitled "An act to amend Chapter 393 of the Laws 3 of 1994", Chapter 58, Line Veto 451 through Line 4 Veto 499. 5 The Governor returned without 6 executive approval Senate Bill Number 6105-C, 7 entitled "An act making appropriations for the 8 support of government, Education, Labor and 9 Family Assistance Budget", Chapter 53, Line Veto 10 500 through Number 514 and Line Veto 516 through 11 Line Veto 1380. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 13 Skelos. 14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 15 all veto messages will be referred to the 16 Committee on Rules. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without 18 objection, all Senate -- all the veto messages 19 are referred to the Senate Committee on Rules. 20 Messages -- reports of standing 21 committees. 22 The Secretary will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Velella, 24 from the Committee on Insurance, reports: 25 Senate Bill 6945-A, by Senator 1 Velella, an act to amend the Insurance Law, 2 ordered direct to third reading. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bills 4 are ordered directly to third reading. 5 Reports of select committees. 6 Communications and reports from 7 state officers. 8 Motions and resolutions. 9 The Chair recognizes Senator 10 DeFrancisco. 11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Mr. 12 President, I move that the following bill be 13 discharged from its respective committee and be 14 recommitted with instructions to strike the 15 enacting clause: 5936. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 17 enacting clause is stricken and the bill is 18 recommitted. 19 Senator DeFrancisco. 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I also wish 21 to call up Senator Libous' bill, Print Number 22 5053, recalled from the Assembly, which is now at 23 the desk. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 25 Secretary will read. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5, 2 by Senator Libous, Senate Print 5053, an act to 3 repeal Paragraph 3 of Subdivision A. 4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I now move 5 to reconsider the vote by which this bill was 6 passed. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 8 Secretary will call the roll on reconsideration. 9 (The Secretary called the roll on 10 reconsideration.) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 50. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 13 DeFrancisco. 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I now offer 15 the following amendments. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 17 amendments are received and adopted. 18 Senator Maziarz. 19 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you, Mr. 20 President. 21 On behalf of Senator Marcellino, 22 on page number 23, I offer the following 23 amendments to Calendar Number 571, Senate Print 24 Number 6132, and ask that said bill retain its 25 place on the Third Reading Calendar. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 2 amendments are received and adopted. The bill 3 will retain its place on the Third Reading 4 Calendar. 5 Senator Maziarz. 6 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you, Mr. 7 President. 8 On behalf of Senator Wright, on 9 page number 23, I offer the following amendments 10 to Calendar Number 569, Senate Print Number 5526, 11 and ask that said bill retain its place on the 12 Third Reading Calendar. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 14 amendments to Calendar Number 569 are received 15 and adopted. The bill will retain its place on 16 the Third Reading Calendar. 17 Senator Maziarz. 18 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you, Mr. 19 President. 20 On behalf of myself, on page 21 number 20, I offer the following amendments to 22 Calendar Number 531, Senate Print Number 4049, 23 and ask that said bill retain its place on the 24 Third Reading Calendar. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 1 amendments to 531 are received and accepted. The 2 bill will retain its place on the Third Reading 3 Calendar. 4 Senator Maziarz. 5 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President, 6 on behalf of myself, on page number 24, I offer 7 the following amendments to Calendar Number 584, 8 Senate Print Number 4496-A, and ask that said 9 bill retain its place on the Third Reading 10 Calendar. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 12 amendments to Calendar Number 584 are received 13 and adopted. The bill will retain its place on 14 the Third Reading Calendar. 15 Senator Skelos. 16 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 17 there will be an immediate meeting of the Finance 18 Committee in the Majority Conference Room. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Immediate 20 meeting of the Senate Finance Committee, 21 immediate meeting of the Senate Finance Committee 22 in the Majority Conference Room, Room 332. 23 Senator Skelos. 24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, at 25 this time may we please adopt the Resolution 1 Calendar with the exception - 2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The motion 3 is to adopt - 4 SENATOR SKELOS: -- with the 5 exception of Resolution 3245. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The motion 7 is to accept the -- and adopt the Resolution 8 Calendar on the members' desks with the exception 9 to Resolution Number 3245. All those in favor 10 signify by saying aye. 11 (Response of "Aye".) 12 Opposed, nay. 13 (There was no response.) 14 The Resolution Calendar is 15 adopted. 16 Senator Skelos. 17 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 18 may we please have the title read on Resolution 19 3245 by Senator DeFrancisco and move for its 20 immediate adoption. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 22 Secretary will read the title to the privileged 23 Resolution 3245 by Senator DeFrancisco. 24 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 25 DeFrancisco, Legislative Resolution 3245, 1 honoring the students of Central Tech Vocational 2 Center, Syracuse, New York, for their 3 participation in the 49th Senate District "Good 4 News! Good Kids!" Youth Responsibility Program. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The Chair 6 recognizes Senator DeFrancisco on the resolution. 7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 Each year I rise to commend a high 10 school group, a middle school group and an 11 elementary school group in my district for doing 12 good things in our community and it's under the 13 title of our "Good News! Good Kids!" program 14 because all too often we learn about negative 15 things that are happening in the schools or 16 negative things that students are doing and it's 17 good that we get reminded that the negative 18 things are really the exceptions rather than the 19 rule. 20 Today we have in the chamber some 21 students from Central Tech Vocational Center and 22 they submitted a project that they were involved 23 in where they used their skills that they were 24 learning at the vocational center to assist a 25 homeowner at cost only of repairing a roof on a 1 garage. 2 Many people might say that there's 3 so much work to do in our community and not 4 enough people to do it. Well, these are the 5 students that are doing it voluntarily and at 6 cost for something good for people in the 7 community. That's just one example that I wanted 8 to give today. 9 This is the first time that we've 10 recognized a vocational group in the Senate 11 chambers as winners of the "Good News! Good 12 Kids!" program, and I think that's very, very 13 significant. 14 So I want to salute all of you, 15 the four of you that are here from the group, 16 Josh Bonhardt, David Gandino, Mary Meier, Jason 17 Taylor and the supervising faculty member, Rick 18 Macheda -- Macheda and James Bigsby, the school 19 principal. You're all good kids except for the 20 supervisor and the principal and the parents and 21 they're good adults. 22 Thank you for the fine work in our 23 community and we salute you on what you've done. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 25 question is on the resolution. All those in 1 favor of the resolution signify by saying aye. 2 (Response of "Aye".) 3 Opposed, nay. 4 (There was no response.) 5 The resolution is adopted. 6 On behalf of Senator Bruno, 7 Senator DeFrancisco, let me welcome these young 8 students to the chamber. Keep up the good work. 9 We're very, very proud of you and have a safe day 10 and a safe trip home. 11 Thank you for coming and sharing a 12 moment of your life with us. If you'll stand, 13 I'm sure the members of the chamber would like to 14 recognize you. (Applause) 15 Senator Skelos. 16 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, if 17 we could take up the non-controversial calendar. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 19 Secretary will read the non-controversial 20 calendar. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 256, by Senator Johnson, Senate Print 2550-D, an 23 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in 24 relation to motor vehicle accident prevention 25 courses. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 2 Secretary will read the last section. 3 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 4 act shall take effect in 120 days. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 6 roll. 7 (The Secretary called the roll.) 8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 54, nays 1, 9 Senator Kuhl recorded in the negative. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 11 is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 267, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 5322-A, an 14 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in 15 relation to income eligibility. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 17 Secretary will read the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 19 act shall take effect immediately. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 21 roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll.) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 25 is passed. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 269, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 4142-A, an 3 act to amend the Labor Law, in relation to the 4 maintenance of payroll records. 5 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the 7 bill aside. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 321, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 3083, an 10 act to amend the State Finance Law, in relation 11 to contracts for architectural and engineering 12 services. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 14 Secretary will read the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 16 act shall take effect on the 60th day. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 18 roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll.) 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 22 is passed. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 345, by Senator Alesi, Senate - 25 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the 2 bill aside. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 463, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 2600, an 5 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 6 including certain documents. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 8 Secretary will read the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 10 act shall take effect on the first day of 11 November. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 13 roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll.) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 17 is passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 532, by Senator Marchi, Senate Print 6236, an act 20 to authorize the United Pentecostal Church to 21 file an application. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 23 Secretary will read the last section. 24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 25 act shall take effect immediately. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 2 roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll.) 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 54, nays 1, 5 Senator Cook recorded in the negative. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 7 is passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 536, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 477-B, 10 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in 11 relation to authorizing an infrastructure 12 exemption. 13 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside, 14 please. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the 16 bill aside. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Calendar 18 Number 541, by Senator Lack, Senate Print 1099, 19 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in 20 relation to assessments resulting from a small 21 claim proceeding. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 23 Secretary will read the last section. 24 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 25 act shall take effect immediately. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 2 roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll.) 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 6 is passed. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 558, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 6333, an 9 act to legalize, validate and confirm. 10 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There is a 12 home rule message at the desk. Lay the bill 13 aside. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 566, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 6231, an 16 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in 17 relation to postponing the date for requiring 18 certification. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 20 Secretary will read the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 22 act shall take effect immediately. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 24 roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll.) 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 3 is passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 567, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 6403, an 6 act to amend the Highway Law, in relation to 7 signs, displays or devices on state highways. 8 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the 10 bill aside. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 576, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 3541, an 13 act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to the 14 seizure and forfeiture of vehicles. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There is a 16 home rule message at the desk. The Secretary 17 will read the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 19 act shall take effect immediately. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 21 roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll.) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 25 is passed. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 579, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 3682, an 3 act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, 4 in relation to entering an unpaid civil penalty 5 as a judgment. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 7 Secretary will read the last section. 8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 9 act shall take effect in 90 days. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 11 roll. 12 (The Secretary called the roll.) 13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 55. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 15 is passed. 16 Senator Skelos, that completes the 17 reading of the non-controversial calendar. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Take up the 19 controversial calendar, please. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 21 Secretary will read the controversial calendar, 22 beginning with Calendar Number 269 by Senator 23 Spano. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 25 269, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 4142-A, an 1 act to amend the Labor Law. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 3 Paterson, why do you rise? 4 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 5 Senator Stachowski has some questions on this 6 bill and he's in the Finance Committee, so - 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside 8 temporarily. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the 10 bill aside temporarily. 11 The Secretary will continue to 12 read the controversial calendar. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 345, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 4432-A, an 15 act to amend the General Business Law. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 17 Secretary will read the last section. 18 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 20 Paterson, why do you rise? 21 SENATOR PATERSON: Same trouble, 22 Mr. President. 23 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside 24 temporarily. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the 1 bill aside temporarily. 2 The Secretary will continue to 3 read the controversial calendar. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 536, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 477-B, 6 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 8 Paterson, why do you rise? 9 SENATOR PATERSON: I thought you 10 would guess why I rose, Mr. President. 11 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside 12 temporarily. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the 14 bill aside temporarily. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 558, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 6333, an 17 act to legalize, validate and confirm. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Let me 19 guess, Senator Paterson. 20 SENATOR PATERSON: Wrong, Mr. 21 President. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 23 Paterson, why do you rise? 24 SENATOR PATERSON: Would Senator 25 Nozzolio -- would Senator Nozzolio be willing to 1 yield for a question? He's not here. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Hang on 3 just a minute. 4 Senator Nozzolio, Senator Paterson 5 has risen to ask a question on Calendar Number 6 538, Senate 6333. 7 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, Mr. 8 President. 9 What's the question, Senator 10 Paterson? 11 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 12 would Senator offer a brief explanation of the 13 legislation? 14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 15 Nozzolio, Senator Paterson has asked for a brief 16 explanation. 17 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes. This 18 measure validates and confirms certain actions 19 with respect to issuance of serial bonds by the 20 town of Marion, a small town in western Wayne 21 County that I have the honor of representing in 22 the state Senate. On behalf of the -- in 23 addition to that Marion water system, extending 24 it along Witherdon Road. 25 A home rule message is at the 1 desk, is it not, Mr. President? 2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: That's 3 correct. 4 Senator Paterson. 5 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 6 the town is well served in the New York State 7 Senate, but my question is, why did the town not 8 seek the comptroller's edict on this or just find 9 the authorization that would be necessary without 10 proceeding in this forum and looking to create 11 legislation over this? 12 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. President, 13 through the Chair. I'm sorry. I had trouble 14 hearing Senator Paterson. 15 Senator, if you would respectfully 16 repeat that question, I would most appreciate 17 it. 18 SENATOR PATERSON: Surely, 19 Senator. 20 Mr. President, my question is - 21 I'm asking why the town, rather than seeking 22 legislation, did not just simply contact the 23 comptroller's office and receive the 24 comptroller's authorization for the action. 25 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Evidently, the 1 improvement, Mr. President, of the Marion water 2 system Witherdon Road addition, did not comply 3 precisely with Subdivision 3 of Section 194 of 4 the Town Law which requires application to an 5 approval of the comptroller prior to the 6 improvement. Because they did not take the step 7 of complying with that, Senator, and, Mr. 8 President, they're seeking this special help. 9 I should add the town of Marion is 10 a small town. It does not have the sophisticated 11 bureaucracy that other towns that are much larger 12 in scope have, that I am sure that if they 13 inadvertently did not comply with that provision 14 of Town Law, it was because of a lack of 15 resources, that it's not a very wealthy town by 16 property tax standards. It's a mostly rural, 17 agricultural town and that that's in all 18 likelihood why this was not -- that procedure was 19 not established. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 21 Paterson. 22 SENATOR PATERSON: So, Mr. 23 President, if the Senator would continue to 24 yield. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 1 Nozzolio, do you continue to yield? The Senator 2 continues to yield. 3 SENATOR PATERSON: Senator, was 4 this town assuming on its own that because of the 5 non-compliance with this particular section of 6 law as you just cited, that, therefore, there 7 would have been an automatic -- an automatic 8 reaction from the Governor's office not granting 9 authorization -- I'm sorry -- from the 10 comptroller's office not granting the proper 11 authorization? 12 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: I couldn't hear 13 the question, Mr. President. 14 SENATOR PATERSON: I'm sorry, Mr. 15 President. 16 My question is, did the town 17 assume that there would be an automatic rejection 18 of the application by the comptroller's office, 19 or did the town actually seek the authorization 20 even though it believed it was not in compliance 21 with the section of law that you cited 22 previously? 23 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Senator 24 Paterson, through the Chair, I can't answer that 25 question because I don't know the answer to that 1 question, that I don't know what, frankly, the 2 nuances were of the -- the motivations were of 3 the town. I only know that they need this help 4 and I'm here to provide this help through the 5 provision of home rule message asking on behalf 6 of the town of Marion for this particular 7 authority. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 9 Paterson. 10 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 11 Senator, I want to support this legislation 12 particularly after the manner in which you 13 described the town and the fashion in which you 14 were able to articulate what their concern is, 15 but if they took the time to offer a home rule 16 message to the Senate, I don't understand why, 17 even if they did not think they were acting in a 18 seasonable period, why they would not have sought 19 the authorization of the comptroller's office 20 because actually to pass this legislation without 21 them at least seeking the authorization means 22 that there was a step already prescribed to them 23 in the law that they did not take and perhaps 24 they could make the argument to the comptroller's 25 office that the timeliness of their action was 1 not as important as what the authorization would 2 actually alleviate and that the fact that it 3 wasn't seasonable would be in a sense 4 ministerial, and so what I'm just saying is it 5 would be better I think for all of us who are 6 voting on this piece of legislation that you 7 offered if we actually knew whether the town was 8 simply not feeling the need to give an 9 application to the comptroller's office because 10 they assumed it wouldn't be authorized, or 11 whether or not they did not receive the 12 authorization and are now appealing to us as a 13 body as they're entitled to through your 14 legislation. 15 Do you have any other information 16 you can share with your colleagues before we vote 17 on this? 18 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. President, 19 the bill first validates actions that were taken 20 by the town and those actions were not 21 withstanding Section 194 of the Town Law, 22 Subdivision 3 of that law which requires this 23 application prior to the improvement. They 24 wouldn't have made the improvement without 25 getting the authorization. Knowing the town 1 officials, it's not because they were trying to 2 do something that was surreptitious or trying to 3 divert from -- it's almost laughable, Senator, 4 that you would be asking this question about such 5 a small rural community that is trying to do 6 everything by the book but unfortunately the 7 books are so big that the regulations are so - 8 the nuances are so complex that it's often 9 difficult for a very small rural town to comply 10 with. 11 Section 2 of this bill authorizes 12 the issuance of serial bonds, that it allows the 13 town to go out and borrow money to the tune of 14 $500,000 and they're asking for that authority so 15 that they could reimburse the general unreserved 16 fund balance of the town of which monies were 17 temporarily taken away in 1996 and 1997 to pay 18 for the costs of certain water improvements 19 notwithstanding provision 16... 165.10 of the 20 Local Finance Law which requires that a bond 21 resolution should have first been adopted before 22 such a temporary diversion of funds took place. 23 Senator, they're trying to rectify 24 a situation here. We're trying to help them 25 rectify the situation. They're not happy that 1 there might have been a misstep here, but they're 2 trying to comply. They're trying to do the right 3 thing and that's why we're authorizing them the 4 authority to do so. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 6 Paterson. 7 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 8 if the leadership of this particular town erred 9 in their attempt to create the proper 10 reimbursement, I don't think that there is a 11 great problem in us forgiving them for really 12 what is rather a minor inconvenience to this 13 chamber to pass this legislation and correct what 14 may have been a harmless error and to restore any 15 entity that needs resources at this particular 16 point, but in light of the fact that it is not 17 clear right now whether or not this town made 18 application to the comptroller's office or 19 complied with what would have been the standard 20 procedure in this situation, I was wondering if 21 Senator Nozzolio would be willing to lay the bill 22 aside for a day and just check so we can find out 23 what that situation was so that when these 24 situations come up in the future, we know what 25 messages to be sending to our local governments 1 and our local townships just in terms of the 2 procedure, which is my real concern. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Is that a 4 question to Senator Nozzolio? 5 SENATOR PATERSON: My question is 6 whether or not Senator Nozzolio would lay the 7 bill aside for a day while we were able to obtain 8 that information. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 10 Nozzolio. 11 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Am I being 12 asked to yield, Mr. President? 13 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Are you 14 asking the Senator to yield, Senator Paterson? 15 SENATOR PATERSON: For the 16 question, yes, Mr. President. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Yes. 18 Senator Nozzolio, do you yield to 19 a question? 20 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, Mr. 21 President. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 23 Senator yields. 24 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 25 the question was whether or not Senator Nozzolio 1 would be willing to lay the bill aside for a day 2 so that we could obtain the information that I'm 3 seeking and that some members would like to know, 4 which is whether or not the town ever sought 5 application to the comptroller's office in order 6 to accomplish their goal in this situation. 7 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. President, 8 my colleagues, in response to Senator Paterson's 9 question -- Mr. President, my colleagues, in 10 response to Senator Paterson's question, I think 11 this whole line of questioning, this whole 12 procedure is unconscionable. It's a sham and I 13 frankly am seeing a great amount of disrespect in 14 this house, that if Senator Paterson or any other 15 Senator had a question about this legislation 16 prior to it coming to the floor today, I 17 certainly would have been more than forthcoming 18 with any type of inquiry. 19 This is a local bill. It is a 20 request of a small town and for this action, this 21 type of debate about nothing is, in fact, I think 22 an affront, and I certainly believe that local 23 governments who come to this body and ask for 24 appropriate authority, providing appropriate home 25 rule messages should be given that authority, 1 that this -- I certainly look at this request to 2 be extremely disrespectful and that I do not have 3 any intention of laying this bill aside. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 5 Paterson, the floor is yours. 6 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 7 on the bill. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 9 Paterson on the bill. 10 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 11 in terms of the answer to the question that I 12 raised, the reason I could only raise the 13 question today is today is the first time I saw 14 today's active list and so looking through the 15 active list, which is what I thought was my role 16 here, I noticed, and as Senator Nozzolio pointed 17 out, that under the actual section of the law, 18 the town was compelled to seek the counsel - 19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 20 Paterson, excuse me for the interruption. It's 21 getting awfully noisy in here. Can we have some 22 quiet in the chamber, please? It sounds like 23 it's getting noisy outside the chamber too, 24 Senator Paterson. Excuse the interruption and I 25 apologize for the delay. 1 Senator Paterson on the bill. 2 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President 3 -- Mr. President, now that I understand that 4 some of the people from that town are outside, 5 maybe I should vote for this bill. 6 What I'm really just saying, Mr. 7 President, is that at all points I made it very 8 clear that we were very willing to understand the 9 plight of this town but under the section of the 10 law which Senator Nozzolio made clear to his 11 colleagues that he knew, they were compelled to 12 seek the authorization of the comptroller's 13 office. I was just simply asking the question if 14 they ever did prior to seeking this legislation. 15 I never got an answer to my question which was 16 whether or not they actually sought the 17 authorization of the comptroller's office. The 18 response I got was that they couldn't seek it 19 because they had not offered it in a seasonable 20 time but had they not assumed that and actually 21 talked to the counsel of the comptroller's 22 office, being that the mistake may have been not 23 inconvenient and somewhat ministerial, I think 24 it's possible that that authorization might have 25 been allowed by the comptroller's office. Just 1 in the past few minutes, we understand the 2 comptroller's office is certainly not opposed to 3 helping the town. 4 So I'm just disappointed that I 5 couldn't get an answer to a question which I 6 thought in this chamber we did not value the - 7 what we considered to be the validity of the 8 questions, that we just answer them but on the 9 actual criteria of the legislation, we're more 10 than happy to support this township and hope that 11 the restorations that are needed to be made are 12 done so and that we just wanted to be made aware 13 of some information that would have been helpful 14 in considering the bill. 15 I vote aye, Mr. President. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Any other 17 Senator wishing to speak on the bill? 18 (There was no response.) 19 Hearing none, the Secretary will 20 read the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 22 act shall take effect immediately. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 24 roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll.) 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 3 is passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 567, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 6403, 6 an act to amend the Highway Law, in relation 7 to signs, displays or devices on state 8 highways. 9 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Lay the 11 bill aside temporarily, Senator Velella? 12 Calendar Number 5... 13 SENATOR VELELLA: Mr. President, 14 there will be a meeting of the Crime Victims, 15 Crime and Correction Committee in the Majority 16 Conference Room. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Immediate 18 meeting of the Crime Victims Committee in the 19 Majority Conference Room, Room 332. Immediate 20 meeting of the Crime Victims, Crime and 21 Corrections Committee in the Majority Conference 22 Room. 23 Senator Velella, Senator Stafford 24 is not in the chamber. Do you want to lay that 25 bill aside temporarily and go back? 1 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes. Can we 2 proceed then to Calendar Number 269, please. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Calendar 4 Number 567 will be laid aside. 5 The Secretary will read Calendar 6 Number 269. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 269, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 4142-A, an 9 act to amend the Labor Law, in relation to the 10 maintenance of payroll records. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 12 Stachowski. 13 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Explanation, 14 please. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 16 Spano, an explanation of Calendar Number 269 has 17 been requested by Senator Stachowski. 18 SENATOR SPANO: Mr. President, 19 this bill increases the criminal penalties for an 20 employer's failure to maintain payroll records 21 from a violation of what it is now to a -- to a 22 misdemeanor for the first offense and a felony 23 for the second offense. It is supported by the 24 New York State laborers and the AFL-CIO. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 1 Stachowski. 2 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Would Senator 3 Spano yield for a question, please? 4 SENATOR SPANO: Yes. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 6 Senator yields. 7 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Senator, the 8 only question we had is that it says here that 9 this bill will then -- will now increase the 10 penalty to a misdemeanor and in looking at the 11 law as it currently is, it says in the law that 12 this violation is currently a misdemeanor. So I 13 don't know exactly what this bill does. 14 SENATOR SPANO: The way counsel 15 has explained this to me, Senator, is that 16 Section 213 of the Labor Law is an umbrella 17 enforcement section of the Labor Law dealing with 18 -- dealing with general violations. It's not 19 specific in that it states that any violation is, 20 in fact, a misdemeanor. 21 What this statute would do is take 22 that section of law to a higher standard and put 23 into statute the first shot is a misdemeanor, the 24 second violation is a felony. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 1 Stachowski. 2 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Thank you, 3 Senator. 4 We're not going to oppose this 5 bill but in researching the bill and looking up 6 the law -- and I know it's not Senator Spano's 7 bill as such. It's really the Attorney General's 8 bill and even though he's a friend of mine, I 9 wish whoever would have done this bill for him 10 would have been a little bit better on their 11 research because we still happen to believe that 12 it's a misdemeanor currently and if it does 13 whatever he thinks it's going to do for him with 14 the laborers, then I guess that's what he needs 15 to do and it doesn't do any harm. So I'm not 16 going to oppose the bill and I'm going to vote 17 for it. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 19 Dollinger. 20 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you, Mr. 21 President. 22 I join the same sentiments as my 23 colleague, Senator Stachowski, that this already 24 is a misdemeanor and that this bill doesn't 25 really seem to do anything. 1 I find it somewhat ironic that on 2 a day when there were a couple billion dollars 3 worth of contentious items in a budget vetoed, 4 we're taking a statute that's already a 5 misdemeanor and saying we're going to make it a 6 misdemeanor and we're just doing something that's 7 already been done that we don't need to do. 8 But let me give you one other 9 spin, Senator Spano. I think what you ought to 10 do is make this a felony because what this bill 11 does is it says if an employer cheats its 12 employees out of their wages and falsifies 13 records to support cheating employees out of 14 their wages and if those wages are paid by a 15 public entity like the state of New York or the 16 city of Rochester or the town of Brighton or this 17 body, the Senate, and those records are used to 18 bid a contract and the bid is based on paying 19 prevailing rates and they don't pay prevailing 20 rates because they cheat on their records, 21 they're actually taking our money, the taxpayer's 22 money and putting it in their pockets instead of 23 giving it to their workers, in my opinion that 24 ought to be a felony and not a misdemeanor. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 1 Secretary will read the last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 3 act shall take effect on the 90th day. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 5 roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll.) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58, nays 1, 8 Senator Cook recorded in the negative. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 10 is passed. 11 The Secretary will continue to 12 read. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 345, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 4432-A, an 15 act to amend the General Business Law. 16 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Explanation. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 18 Alesi, an explanation of Calendar Number 345 has 19 been requested by Senator Montgomery. 20 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, Mr. 21 President. 22 This bill would eliminate the 23 automatic provision that a security guard who 24 loses his or her registration card would have a 25 hearing without having to request it. 1 Under this bill, if a security 2 guard loses his or her registration card, as an 3 action of the Department of State, they would 4 still have the right to ask for a hearing within 5 35 days but the hearing would not be held 6 automatically. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 8 Montgomery. 9 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Mr. 10 President. If the sponsor would yield to a 11 question of clarification. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 13 Alesi, do you yield? 14 SENATOR ALESI: I would be happy 15 to. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 17 Senator yields. 18 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Senator 19 Alesi, it seems that your legislation also says 20 that the agency shall suspend a -- the license of 21 a security guard if that person changes address 22 and does not notify the Department of State. 23 SENATOR ALESI: That would have 24 been correct, Senator, if we were talking about 25 the bill that we passed in this house last year, 1 but the bill that's before us today simply does 2 what I just mentioned that it does. 3 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: So -- Mr. 4 President, if I may. So the bill that I have in 5 front of me, which is dated 4432, what are the 6 changes -- would you explain to me what the 7 changes are? I'm sorry. I don't have -- I don't 8 have a current copy of the legislation. 9 SENATOR ALESI: I'd be happy to 10 reiterate my explanation, Senator. 11 Currently it is automatic that a 12 hearing be held if a security guard's 13 registration card as an action of the Department 14 of State is suspended or revoked. The change 15 that this bill makes is that the hearing is not 16 automatic any longer. There's a 35-day period 17 when the security guard can request a hearing if 18 their registration card has been suspended or 19 revoked and the reason for that is in most cases 20 -- in all cases when a registration card is 21 revoked, it's been revoked because of a serious 22 offense under the Business Law and most of the 23 people that lose their card because of a serious 24 offense don't show up for the hearings. So 25 there's a tremendous cost to have a hearing for 1 which no one appears. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 3 Montgomery. 4 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Just one last 5 question. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 7 Alesi, do you continue to yield to one last 8 question? 9 SENATOR ALESI: I'll yield, yes. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 11 Senator yields. 12 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you. 13 Thank you, Senator Alesi. 14 So the notice will go to the 15 person and the person has a right to -- for a 16 hearing but it's not automatic. It must be 17 requested - 18 SENATOR ALESI: That's correct. 19 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: -- by the 20 person whose license was revoked. 21 SENATOR ALESI: That's correct, 22 Senator. 23 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: All right. 24 Thank you, Mr. President. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 1 Secretary will read the last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 3 act shall take effect immediately. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 5 roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll.) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 9 is passed. 10 The Secretary will continue to 11 read the controversial calendar. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 536, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 477-B, 14 an act to amend the Real Property Tax Law. 15 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation. 16 Explanation. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 18 Senator DeFrancisco, an explanation has been 19 requested. 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. This 21 bill would provide for cities of less than one 22 million people a -- the right to vote in a local 23 exemption for the taxable value of infra 24 structure on lots that are undeveloped in each 25 jurisdiction and basically the purpose behind the 1 bill is with the slowdown in the real estate 2 market, there's many realtors -- real estate 3 developers in upstate New York that have an 4 inventory of a lot of building lots. Some of 5 them are developed with roads in it and sewers 6 and the like and they're just sitting there 7 gathering more dust. 8 That being the case, we thought 9 that it would be appropriate until that real 10 estate market turned around to give localities 11 the option to exempt that portion of the 12 assessment from real estate taxes relating to 13 those infrastructure improvements until there is 14 a certificate of occupancy that's granted. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Read 16 the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 18 act shall take effect immediately. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 20 roll. 21 (The Secretary called the roll.) 22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58, nays 1, 23 Senator Leichter recorded in the negative. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 25 bill is passed. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 567, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 6403, an 3 act to amend the Highway Law. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Read 5 the last section. 6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 7 act shall take effect immediately. 8 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: 9 Explanation. I'm sorry. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 11 Senator Oppenheimer -- excuse me. Could you - 12 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: I asked for 13 an explanation. I'm sorry it wasn't loud enough, 14 it wasn't heard. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: I'm 16 sorry too. I didn't hear it. I'm sorry. 17 Senator Stafford, Senator 18 Oppenheimer has requested an explanation of your 19 bill. 20 SENATOR STAFFORD: I can't believe 21 -- yes, I can. Thank you. 22 I'm very understanding that my 23 esteemed and good friend -- esteemed colleague 24 and good friend would ask about this. This is 25 being sponsored in the Assembly by Assemblyman 1 Gantt and I think probably, Senator, I have been 2 here long enough, and I think both you and I are 3 probably moving toward each other, but I'm not 4 sure how close yet. 5 This issue could be debated and 6 debated and debated. What it is is in areas 7 where it is legal to have these facilities, we 8 would make it possible so that they would not be 9 blocked when people are passing by. 10 I understand your concern. Now 11 here we go, the issue. The economy. There are 12 people in upstate when you're traveling -- and, 13 of course, tourism is our life blood. It hasn't 14 been that good. It hasn't been that good, no 15 question about it. On the other hand, we're 16 holding our own, but when people are traveling, 17 they do look to see where they can go, where they 18 can stay, but you know, Senator, I even find 19 myself doing that when I get in another area and 20 you're talking about people who are running a 21 business and who are really, well, working very 22 hard to make ends meet and they probably wouldn't 23 live there if they didn't love the area as much 24 as they do and they're the last ones that want to 25 do anything to make it less desirable. 1 Consequently, we would hope that 2 we would see this pass. It was a larger bill 3 last year that passed the house. This, I think 4 would be a bit more palatable and it appears that 5 we have worked it out with the Assembly and I 6 will say this, respecting your concerns -- in 7 fact, we had a very fine lady who was still with 8 us who had a husband in a very high position that 9 got very involved in this type of work, and I 10 think that she did good work, and I think things 11 are a bit more to your -- well, palatable, I'll 12 use that word again, but for those of us upstate, 13 this is sometimes a difference between -- between 14 whether you're in the Finger Lakes or the 15 Adirondacks or Niagara Falls or the Southern Tier 16 or the Mohawk and Hudson Valley. People will 17 tell you that these facilities make it possible 18 for them to stay in business. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 20 Oppenheimer. 21 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Thank you, 22 Senator. 23 No. I'm not in the same mode as I 24 was in past years and you're right. This is a 25 much smaller bill. I just actually had a couple 1 of questions, if you would be good enough to 2 answer. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Would you 4 like Senator Stafford to yield? The Senator 5 yields. 6 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: I was just 7 questioning why 250 permits? Was that based on 8 some need assessment that was made? I mean, how 9 did we pick that out of the wind? 10 SENATOR STAFFORD: Well, I think 11 it's the art of compromise. None of us do it as 12 well as we should but I know that I'm learning. 13 I still have a lot more to learn but, of course, 14 I would stand here and argue we should have no 15 limit on the permits and I'm afraid that I would 16 have some protagonists on the other side who will 17 very effectively argue that they're not of that 18 persuasion. So I realize -- or we realize, not I 19 -- we and those of us who are working on this 20 realize that it made sense to work something out 21 so that we would know the number, and I would be 22 glad to increase it if you want. 23 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Thank you, 24 Senator. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 1 Oppenheimer. 2 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: On the 3 bill. I would like to just say a word on the 4 bill. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator 6 Oppenheimer on the bill. 7 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: The concern 8 I have which we have always had is that a 9 proliferation of signs, even though they are 10 valuable in directing people to amenities and 11 available accommodations and available eating 12 places, that there not be a proliferation, and I 13 do trust the good Senator when he says that 14 people in the Adirondacks don't want to spoil the 15 environment and would not be signing everywhere 16 along the roads so you wouldn't be able to see 17 the scenery, you would only be able to see signs. 18 One concern I have is about 19 vegetation and the fact that when the vegetation 20 gets put aside or the tree cut so that the sign 21 can be read better, I just would like not to have 22 to worry about pesticides and usages which we are 23 trying to eliminate from the environment. 24 So that would be my one caveat, 25 but I will be voting for this and I understand 1 the need for it. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 3 Secretary will read the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 5 act shall take effect immediately. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the 7 roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll.) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59, nays 1, 10 Senator Gentile recorded in the negative. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill 12 is passed. 13 Senator Johnson, that completes 14 the controversial calendar, sir. 15 SENATOR JOHNSON: May we please 16 return to reports of standing committees. I 17 believe there's a report of the Finance Committee 18 at the desk. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: We'll 20 return to the order of standing committees. 21 The Secretary will read the report 22 of the Finance Committee which is at the desk. 23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 24 from the Committee on Finance, reports: 25 Senate Print 6853, by Senator 1 Trunzo, an act to amend the Executive Law and the 2 State Finance Law, ordered direct to third 3 reading. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without 5 objection, the bill is ordered directly to third 6 reading. 7 Senator Johnson. 8 SENATOR JOHNSON: Is there any 9 housekeeping at the desk? 10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Yes. We 11 have one motion, Senator Johnson. If we can 12 return to the order of reports -- or motions and 13 resolutions. 14 The Chair recognizes Senator 15 Marcellino. 16 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr. 17 President, on behalf of Senator Cook, on page 18 number 8, I offer the following amendments to 19 Calendar Number 216, Senate Print Number 616, and 20 ask that said bill retain its place on the Third 21 Reading Calendar. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The 23 amendments to Calendar Number 216 are received 24 and adopted. The bill will retain its place on 25 the Third Reading Calendar. 1 Senator Gentile, why did you 2 rise? 3 SENATOR GENTILE: Mr. President, 4 I'd just ask for unanimous consent to be recorded 5 in the negative on Calendar Number 566. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: 5... 7 SENATOR GENTILE: 566. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without 9 objection, hearing no objection, Senator Gentile 10 will be recorded in the negative on Calendar 11 Number 566. 12 Senator Johnson. 13 SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr. President, 14 there being no further business, I move we 15 adjourn until Thursday, April 30th, at 12:00 16 noon. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without 18 objection, the Senate stands adjourned until 19 tomorrow, Thursday, April 30th, at 12:00 noon. 20 The Senate is adjourned. 21 (Whereupon, at 4:05 p.m., the 22 Senate adjourned.) 23 24 25