Gaveled in 3:16 PM · Albany, New York · 2005–06 session
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 January 18, 2005 11 3:16 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 LT. GOVERNOR MARY O. DONOHUE, President 19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary 20 21 22 23 24 25
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(518) 371-8910 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will 3 please come to order. 4 I ask everyone present to please 5 rise and repeat with me the Pledge of 6 Allegiance. 7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited 8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 9 THE PRESIDENT: The Reverend 10 Peter G. Young is with us this afternoon to 11 give the invocation. As I'm sure we all know 12 now, he's from Blessed Sacrament Church in 13 Bolton Landing, New York. 14 REVEREND YOUNG: Thank you. 15 Dear God, we ask Your presence and 16 blessings on our time together in this Senate. 17 We have come to express our concern and 18 welfare for our community and constituents, to 19 learn from each other, to grow in spirit and 20 in character, to find Your will in our lives 21 and in our neighborhoods. 22 We thank You for the opportunity of 23 this Senate to assemble together at any time 24 and any place to discuss our concerns. We are 25 mindful that many in our world do not enjoy
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(518) 371-8910 1 such freedom. 2 Grant us the wisdom to carry out 3 decisions within Your will. Bless us as we 4 continue to conduct our Senate business with 5 dignity and sensitivity. 6 May we pray too for the repose of 7 the soul of Mary Breslin and Mrs. Ann Bonacic, 8 both of whom have recently died. We ask Your 9 blessing on them. 10 Amen. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Reading of the 12 Journal. 13 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 14 Sunday, January 16, the Senate met pursuant to 15 adjournment. The Journal of Saturday, 16 January 15, was read and approved. On motion, 17 Senate adjourned. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Without 19 objection, the Journal stands approved as 20 read. 21 Presentation of petitions. 22 Messages from the Assembly. 23 Messages from the Governor. 24 Reports of standing committees. 25 Reports of select committees.
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(518) 371-8910 1 Communications and reports from 2 state officers. 3 Motions and resolutions. 4 Senator Skelos. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 6 there's a privileged concurrent resolution, 7 Number 147, by Senator Bruno. Could we have 8 the title read and move for its immediate 9 adoption. 10 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 11 will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Bruno, 13 Concurrent Resolution Number 147 of the Senate 14 and Assembly, authorizing the Senate and 15 Assembly of New York State to purchase copies 16 of the New York Red Book for 2005-2006. 17 THE PRESIDENT: The question is 18 on the concurrent resolution. 19 Call the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll.) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 44. 22 THE PRESIDENT: The concurrent 23 resolution is adopted. 24 Senator Skelos. 25 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President,
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(518) 371-8910 1 there's a Resolution 159 at the desk, by 2 Senator Paterson. If we could have it read in 3 its entirety and move for its immediate 4 adoption. 5 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 6 will read. 7 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 8 Paterson, Legislative Resolution Number 159, 9 commemorating the 19th annual celebration of 10 the birth of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther 11 King, Jr. 12 "WHEREAS, It is the practice of the 13 State of New York to publicly take note of and 14 acknowledge milestone events in our Nation's 15 history; and 16 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such 17 concern, and in full accord with its 18 long-standing traditions, this Legislative 19 Body is justly proud to commemorate the birth 20 of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; 21 and 22 "WHEREAS, 19 years ago, the third 23 Monday in January marked the first observance 24 of the federal legal holiday honoring The 25 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and
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(518) 371-8910 1 "WHEREAS, we owe today's 2 celebration to the extraordinary efforts led 3 by one of our own, New York State's 4 groundbreaking Congresswoman, the late Shirley 5 Chisholm, a woman of remarkable character and 6 integrity who passed away on January 1, 2005; 7 and 8 "WHEREAS, As Congresswoman Chisholm 9 and her colleague, Congressman John Conyers, 10 knew, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, 11 Jr., was a man deserving of such recognition; 12 and 13 "WHEREAS, Recitations of his life 14 are oft-noted and well-memorialized. We 15 called him scholar, humanitarian, pastor, 16 father, leader, hero, martyr, and friend; and 17 "WHEREAS, Equal parts presidential 18 advisor, man of God and of the people, an 19 unbridled voice of change, The Reverend 20 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., guided an 21 unwilling and distrustful nation along its 22 first few tentative steps toward plurality and 23 democracy. Because of him, a nation was able 24 to realize its true greatness; and 25 "WHEREAS, What makes the legacy of
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(518) 371-8910 1 The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., so 2 truly magnificent is its abounding generosity. 3 Not singular, his bequest allows each and 4 every one of us to share in its greatness; and 5 "WHEREAS, The mark this man of God 6 left upon us is firmed and shaped through the 7 day-to-day interactions of diverse people 8 existing together as one nation; and 9 "WHEREAS, When children play and 10 learn together, when neighborhoods join as 11 communities, when those from different 12 backgrounds meet as equals in commerce and 13 industry, when we stand as sisters and 14 brothers under the auspices of one flag and 15 one nation, it is in these ordinary and 16 unremarkable moments that we get to share in 17 the furtherance of his legacy; and 18 "WHEREAS, But as The Reverend 19 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., would surely 20 instruct, such a bequest of faith, strength 21 and commitment also brings with it an awesome 22 responsibility; and 23 "WHEREAS, Because, although we have 24 come far, much still remains to be done; and 25 "WHEREAS, Accordingly, let us
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(518) 371-8910 1 pledge, on this 19th commemoration of his 2 birth, to remain vigilant in our commitment to 3 uphold the values of diversity and tolerance 4 so astutely taught to us by The Reverend Dr. 5 Martin Luther King, Jr.; and 6 "WHEREAS, In doing so, we are made 7 better people; now, therefore, be it 8 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 9 Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate 10 the 19th annual celebration of the birth of 11 The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." 12 THE PRESIDENT: The question is 13 on the resolution. All in favor please 14 signify by saying aye. 15 (Response of "Aye.") 16 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 17 (No response.) 18 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 19 adopted. 20 Senator Skelos. 21 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 22 if we could open up the resolution, with the 23 consent of the Minority, to the entire 24 membership. 25 If anybody wishes not to be on the
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(518) 371-8910 1 resolution, they should notify the desk. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Any member who 3 does not want to be a sponsor of the last 4 resolution please notify the desk. 5 Senator Skelos. 6 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could 7 stand at ease for one moment, please. 8 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate stands 9 at ease. 10 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 11 ease at 3:25 p.m.) 12 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 13 at 3:26 p.m.) 14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 16 there's a Resolution Number 96 at the desk, by 17 Senator Little. If we could have it read in 18 its entirety and move for its immediate 19 adoption. 20 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 21 will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 23 Little, Legislative Resolution Number 96, 24 honoring the heroic actions of four United 25 States Marines which led to the preservation
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(518) 371-8910 1 of a life. 2 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this 3 Assembled Body to recognize and commend the 4 caring concern and heroic acts of individuals 5 who take prompt and appropriate action in 6 emergency situations, nobly risking their own 7 lives in an effort to preserve the life of 8 another; and 9 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such 10 concern, and in full accord with its 11 long-standing traditions, this Assembled Body 12 is justly proud to honor the heroic actions of 13 four United States Marines which led to the 14 preservation of a life; and 15 "WHEREAS, A group of four Marines 16 are being honored for their valiant effort in 17 assisting a trapped motorist. The honored 18 Marines are PFC William W. Patnode, of Peru; 19 PFC Charles J. Meskunas, of Dannemora; PFC 20 Gregory S. LaFountain, of Peru; and Private 21 James A. Stewart, of Plattsburgh; and 22 "WHEREAS, On that particular day, 23 the four Marines were traveling south on 24 Interstate 87 towards Albany for a meeting. 25 They came upon an accident scene where they
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(518) 371-8910 1 saw a nearly empty fuel tanker lodged into the 2 back of a tractor-trailer; and 3 "WHEREAS, The driver of the 4 fuel-tanker truck was in critical condition 5 inside the crushed and burning cab. The 6 Marines bravely assisted him to safety and 7 then contacted the State Police; and 8 "WHEREAS, The truck driver was 9 transported to safety and firefighters arrived 10 and contained the blaze; and 11 "WHEREAS, These four brave soldiers 12 risked their lives to save someone who would 13 have perished otherwise; and 14 "WHEREAS, These four men, through 15 their spontaneous and heroic actions, 16 demonstrated their character and their 17 compassion for the welfare of others, 18 personifying, by virtue of their actions, the 19 collective concern of ordinary citizens across 20 the community of the State of New York who 21 voluntarily respond when others are in need of 22 help; now, therefore, be it 23 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 24 Body pause in its deliberations to honor the 25 heroic actions of four United States Marines
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(518) 371-8910 1 which led to the preservation of a life; and 2 be it further 3 "RESOLVED, That copies of this 4 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 5 to the aforementioned honorees." 6 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Little. 7 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you, Madam 8 President. 9 They say timing is everything. And 10 unfortunately, our timing this afternoon is 11 not working well, in that our Marines are 12 visiting here in Albany but are in the 13 Assembly, where they are receiving a 14 legislative resolution as well. 15 But this is really a very 16 significant event and action on the part of 17 these young men. The man driving the 18 tractor-trailer, Cornelius Mahar, of 19 Rensselaer, was trailering a tank that wasn't 20 full but was partially full of fuel oil. And 21 he was trapped in his cab. 22 And these four young men, who were 23 on their way to Albany -- they had been 24 recently recruited by the Marines, had 25 attended boot camp, and are in the process of
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(518) 371-8910 1 waiting for their assignments -- jumped out of 2 their car, put their lives at stake, pulled 3 the man out of his car, used a sleeping bag as 4 an impromptu stretcher, and carried the man 5 over and started working on him, using all of 6 the things that they had learned in boot camp 7 and first aid and all. 8 The Westport Volunteer Fire 9 Department and Ambulance Squad, when they got 10 there, said that the activities of those four 11 men was absolutely incredible and they truly 12 saved the life of this man. 13 All four of these men are 14 constituents of mine, and their names were 15 mentioned. But it's significant one of them, 16 Private First Class Gregory LaFountain, is the 17 son of New York State Police BCI Captain 18 Robert LaFountain. The LaFountains are here 19 today, as are many of the Marine sergeants in 20 charge of these four men. 21 And Private First Class William 22 Patnode, of Plattsburgh; Private First Class 23 Charles Meskunas, of Saranac; Private James 24 Stewart, of Beekmantown; and Private 25 LaFountain, of Peru, are also here today. So
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(518) 371-8910 1 I'm sure if you see them in the hall, you may 2 be able to recognize them at some point. 3 But it's a privilege to have men 4 like this living in my district, but it's more 5 of a privilege to know that we have young men 6 who are willing, who are capable of putting 7 their lives on the line, not only in the 8 service of their country, but in the service 9 of their fellow citizens on a daily basis. 10 And it is with that that I honor 11 them and we all honor them in this legislative 12 resolution today. And I thank you, and I'm 13 sorry that they weren't able to be here for 14 this. 15 Thank you. 16 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 17 the resolution please signify by saying aye. 18 (Response of "Aye.") 19 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 20 (No response.) 21 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 22 adopted. 23 Senator Skelos. 24 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there any 25 housekeeping at the desk?
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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: No, there isn't, 2 Senator. 3 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 4 on behalf of Senator Bruno, I hand up the 5 following committee chair appointments and 6 leadership positions and ask that they be 7 filed in the Journal. 8 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered. 9 Senator Skelos. 10 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 11 there being no further business to come before 12 the Senate, I move we stand adjourned until 13 Wednesday, January 19, at 12:00 p.m. 14 THE PRESIDENT: On motion, the 15 Senate now stands adjourned until Wednesday, 16 January 19th, at 12:00 noon. 17 (Whereupon, at 3:31 p.m., the 18 Senate adjourned.) 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
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