Wednesday, February 15, 2006

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 February 15, 2006 11 11:22 a.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: In the absence of 10 clergy, may we bow our heads in a moment of 11 silence, please. 12 (Whereupon, the assemblage 13 respected a moment of silence.) 14 THE PRESIDENT: Reading of the 15 Journal. 16 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 17 Tuesday, February 14, the Senate met pursuant 18 to adjournment. The Journal of Monday, 19 February 13, was read and approved. On 20 motion, Senate adjourned. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Without 22 objection, the Journal stands approved as 23 read. 24 Presentation of petitions. 25 Messages from the Assembly.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Messages from the Governor. 2 Reports of standing committees. 3 Reports of select committees. 4 Communications and reports from 5 state officers. 6 Motions and resolutions. 7 Senator Skelos. 8 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 9 I believe there are substitutions at the desk. 10 If we could make them at this time. 11 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 12 will read. 13 THE SECRETARY: On page 24, 14 Senator Saland moves to discharge, from the 15 Committee on Education, Assembly Bill Number 16 879A and substitute it for the identical 17 Senate Bill Number 2731A, Third Reading 18 Calendar 238. 19 And on page 27, Senator Volker 20 moves to discharge, from the Committee on 21 Local Government, Assembly Bill Number 9529 22 and substitute it for the identical Senate 23 Bill Number 6429, Third Reading Calendar 273. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Substitutions 25 ordered.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Skelos. 2 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 3 there's a Resolution 3540 at the desk, by 4 Senator Morahan. Could we have the title read 5 and move for its immediate adoption. 6 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 7 will read. 8 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 9 Morahan, Legislative Resolution Number 3540, 10 paying tribute to Catherine McDougall for her 11 many years of dedicated service to the 12 Rockland County community by St. Augustine's 13 Church, New City, New York, on February 26, 14 2006. 15 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 16 the resolution please signify by saying aye. 17 (Response of "Aye.") 18 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 19 (No response.) 20 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 21 adopted. 22 Senator Skelos. 23 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 24 there's a Resolution 3560 at the desk, by 25 Senator Sabini. Could we have the title read

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(518) 371-8910 1 and move for its immediate adoption. 2 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 3 will read. 4 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 5 Sabini, Legislative Resolution Number 3560, 6 honoring Frank Giannone upon the occasion of 7 his induction into the Long Island University 8 Athletics Hall of Fame. 9 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 10 the resolution please signify by saying aye. 11 (Response of "Aye.") 12 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 13 (No response.) 14 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 15 adopted. 16 Senator Skelos. 17 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 18 there's a resolution at the desk by Senator 19 Hassell-Thompson. Could we have the title 20 read and move for its immediate adoption. 21 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 22 will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 24 Hassell-Thompson, Legislative Resolution 25 Number 3561, commending the life and

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(518) 371-8910 1 accomplishments of Betty Friedan, feminist 2 crusader, and expressing sincerest sorrow upon 3 the occasion of her death. 4 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 5 the resolution please signify by saying aye. 6 (Response of "Aye.") 7 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 8 (No response.) 9 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 10 adopted. 11 Senator Skelos. 12 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 13 there's a Resolution 3559 at the desk, by 14 Senator Larkin. Could we have it read in its 15 entirety. 16 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 17 will read. 18 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 19 Larkin, Legislative Resolution Number 3559, 20 honoring the 761st Tank Battalion for their 21 heroic efforts during World War II. 22 "WHEREAS, Members of the United 23 States Armed Forces, who served so faithfully 24 and courageously in wars in which our nation's 25 freedom was at stake, as well as in the

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(518) 371-8910 1 preservation of peace during peacetime, 2 deserve the highest commendation of this 3 Legislative Body; and 4 "WHEREAS, February has been 5 designated as Black History Month in our 6 nation to celebrate and recognize the 7 contributions of the black community. This 8 joyful month-long celebration is held across 9 New York State and America to fittingly note 10 the contributions of African-Americans 11 throughout history and in all fields of 12 endeavor; and 13 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is 14 justly proud to honor the 761st Tank 15 Battalion, the 'Black Panthers,' for their 16 heroic efforts during World War II; and 17 "WHEREAS, This is a special tribute 18 to the men of the 761st Tank Battalion, 19 strong, dedicated men whose courageous deeds 20 received so little notice in spite of their 21 immense value in the successful defeat of 22 Germany in World War II; and 23 "WHEREAS, The first black armor 24 unit to see combat, the 761st Tank Battalion 25 had no headlines or movies to extol their

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(518) 371-8910 1 tremendous exploits. Although they 2 spearheaded many of General Patton's attacks, 3 they were never represented in any films; and 4 "WHEREAS, For 183 days, the Black 5 Panthers continually engaged in combat and 6 defeated the best that Germany had, although 7 they were usually outnumbered and faced 8 superior weaponry. It was the 761st Tank 9 Battalion who punched the hole in the 10 Siegfried Line through which General Patton's 11 tanks subsequently poured and raced across 12 Germany; and 13 "WHEREAS, Silence echoes around the 14 deeds of the 761st Tank Battalion in spite of 15 their exceptional courage and boldness in 16 battle. They fought for six months without 17 relief, and also defeated superior German 18 forces that had stymied, stalled and 19 frustrated other units of General Patton; and 20 "WHEREAS, The German breakthrough 21 in the Ardennes Forest precipitated the famous 22 action known to the world as the Battle of the 23 Bulge. The 761st Tank Battalion was tasked 24 with taking the German stronghold in the town 25 of Tillet. Every other American unit that was

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(518) 371-8910 1 assigned to take the town had been beaten 2 back; and 3 "WHEREAS, Tanks, artillery, and 4 infantry inside the Ardennes Forest had 5 assaulted Tillet, and all had failed it take 6 it. After a week of steady fighting against 7 entrenched SS troops, the Black Panthers took 8 Tillet and drove the Germans out in full 9 retreat. These are but a few of their 10 remarkable accomplishments during the war; 11 and 12 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is 13 very pleased to have this opportunity to 14 express its gratitude to the men of the 15 761st Tank Battalion for their tremendous 16 sacrifices made for our nation and for the 17 benefit of all Americans; now, therefore, be 18 it 19 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 20 Body pause in its deliberations to honor the 21 761st Tank Battalion for their heroic efforts 22 during World War II; and be it further 23 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this 24 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 25 to the members of the 761st Tank Battalion."

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Larkin. 2 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, Madam 3 President. 4 You know, we all know that this is 5 Black History Month. And during this month, 6 the Military Order of Retired Officers cited 7 the 761st Tank Battalion as one of the most 8 distinguished combat units in Europe in 9 World War II. 10 This was a unit that was at Camp 11 Claiborne, Louisiana, in 1942. They then went 12 and trained in Camp Hood, Texas, where one of 13 the most hard-nosed combat leaders, General 14 Lear, declared the battalion one of the finest 15 that he'd ever seen and fit to go to Europe. 16 They landed in Europe in 17 October 1944. At that time in the march east, 18 General Patton said, "I need a young tank 19 battalion with full capacity to move forward. 20 I don't care where they come from or what they 21 are." Someone said to him: "They're people 22 of color." He said, "Are they American 23 soldiers?" He was answered: "Yes, they are." 24 They went into combat for 183 days. 25 They spearheaded. The Fourth Armored Division

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(518) 371-8910 1 was given a lot of credit for what it did in 2 Europe, but every historian will tell you, 3 without the efforts of the 761st, the Fourth 4 Armored would not have been successful. 5 Many of the decorations in that 6 unit included one Congressional Medal of 7 Honor, twenty-some Distinguished Service 8 Crosses, Silver Stars, and Bronze Stars. And 9 yet during that period, never was this 10 discussed in any of our newspapers or 11 radios -- and there was very little television 12 in those days -- attesting to what these 13 dedicated men and women put up with. 14 This tank battalion came home, was 15 deactivated, but it had never lost the lust of 16 being part and parcel of the combat victories 17 in Europe. 18 I stand here very proud. I 19 commanded an all-black unit in Korea in 1950. 20 I was told they were the worst outfit to go. 21 They became one of the best, just like the 22 761st. For Black History Month, we should all 23 be proud. 24 And, Madam President, I'd like to 25 open this up because I think we should respond

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(518) 371-8910 1 and honor such a distinguished military unit. 2 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 3 the resolution please signify by saying aye. 4 (Response of "Aye.") 5 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 6 (No response.) 7 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 8 adopted. 9 Senator Skelos. 10 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 11 if we could open up the resolution. If 12 anybody wishes not to sponsor the resolution, 13 they should notify the desk. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Any member who 15 does not wish to cosponsor the last 16 resolution, please notify the desk. 17 Senator Skelos. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 19 if we could go to the noncontroversial reading 20 of the calendar. 21 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 22 will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 47, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 5979A, an 25 act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to

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(518) 371-8910 1 reducing. 2 THE PRESIDENT: There is a local 3 fiscal impact note at the desk. 4 Read the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 6 act shall take effect immediately. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll.) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 41. 10 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 11 passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 107, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 4004, an 14 act to allow a filing for state aid by the 15 Gorham-Middlesex Central School District. 16 THE PRESIDENT: There is a local 17 fiscal impact note at the desk. 18 Read the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 20 act shall take effect July 1, 2005. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll.) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 43. 24 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 25 passed.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 109, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 3331, an 3 act to amend the Civil Service Law, in 4 relation to authorizing. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 6 section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 8 act shall take effect immediately. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll.) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 43. 12 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 13 passed. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 116, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 4074, an 16 act to amend the Workers' Compensation Law, in 17 relation to the imposition. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 19 section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This 21 act shall take effect immediately. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll.) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 43. 25 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is

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(518) 371-8910 1 passed. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 153, by Senator Little, Senate Print 728, an 4 act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to 5 timing. 6 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 7 section. 8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 9 act shall take effect immediately. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll.) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 43. 13 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 14 passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 168, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print 6354, 17 an act to amend the Agriculture and Markets 18 Law, in relation to food safety education. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 20 section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 22 act shall take effect on the same date as 23 Chapter 665 of the Laws of 2005. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 2 the negative on Calendar Number 168 are 3 Senators Klein and A. Smith. 4 Ayes, 43. Nays, 2. 5 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 6 passed. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 178, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 5376B, an 9 act to amend the Civil Service Law, in 10 relation to certain adverse personnel actions. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 12 section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 14 act shall take effect immediately. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the roll.) 17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 45. 18 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 19 passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 216, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 3381, an 22 act to amend the Labor Law, in relation to 23 requiring. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 25 section.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll.) 5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 45. 6 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 7 passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 217, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 3521, an 10 act to amend the Workers' Compensation Law, in 11 relation to presumption. 12 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 13 section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 15 act shall take effect immediately. 16 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll.) 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 45. 19 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 20 passed. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 237, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 685A, an 23 act to amend the State Finance Law, in 24 relation to commodities and services 25 contracts.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 2 section. 3 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 4 act shall take effect immediately. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll.) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 45. 8 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 9 passed. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 238, substituted earlier today by Member of 12 the Assembly Tokasz, Assembly Print Number 13 879A, an act to amend the Education Law. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 15 section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 17 act shall take effect immediately. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll.) 20 THE PRESIDENT: Senator LaValle, 21 to explain your vote. 22 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you, 23 Madam President. 24 I'm going to support this 25 legislation. I know I've had discussions with

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(518) 371-8910 1 the sponsor. I felt that it might be more 2 appropriate to have a sunset on the fuel costs 3 to just see, during the next year or two, what 4 happens with fuel costs rather than put in 5 into permanent provision. 6 And I asked for that because of the 7 sensitivity in real property taxes that we 8 have when we go to contingency budget. 9 Sometimes people don't understand all of the 10 other provisions that we put in that are 11 outside of the growth in the index. 12 But it is a difficult time for 13 school districts, and maybe we will revisit 14 this issue at another time and make it more 15 appropriate in terms of what is going on. 16 I vote in the affirmative. 17 THE PRESIDENT: You will be 18 recorded as voting in the affirmative, 19 Senator LaValle. 20 The Secretary will announce the 21 results. 22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 46. 23 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 24 passed. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number

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(518) 371-8910 1 245, by Senator Marchi, Senate Print 6536, an 2 act to amend Chapter 759 of the Laws of 1973 3 relating to transfer. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 5 section. 6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 7 act shall take effect immediately. 8 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 47. 11 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 12 passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 273, substituted earlier today by Member of 15 the Assembly Tokasz, Assembly Print Number 16 9529, an act to amend the Erie County Tax Law, 17 in relation to the receipt of partial payment. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 19 section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 21 act shall take effect immediately. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll.) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50. 25 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is

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(518) 371-8910 1 passed. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 282, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 2893B, an 4 act to amend the State Finance Law, in 5 relation to damages. 6 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 7 section. 8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 9 act shall take effect on the 180th day. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll.) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 49. Nays, 13 1. Senator Meier recorded in the negative. 14 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 15 passed. 16 Senator Skelos, that completes the 17 noncontroversial reading of the calendar. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, Madam 19 President. 20 There will be an immediate meeting 21 of the Investigations Committee in the 22 Majority Conference Room. I believe they are 23 going to take up one nomination. Then there 24 will be a meeting of the Finance Committee to 25 take up that nomination. Then we will come

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(518) 371-8910 1 back and have a vote on several nominations, 2 and then we will adjourn. 3 So there will be an immediate 4 meeting of the Investigations Committee in the 5 Majority Conference Room. 6 THE PRESIDENT: There will be an 7 immediate meeting of the Investigations and 8 the Finance Committees, sequentially, in the 9 Majority Conference Room. 10 The Senate stands at ease. 11 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 12 ease at 11:22 a.m.) 13 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: 14 Senator Skelos. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 16 just as a reminder, there will be an immediate 17 meeting of the Finance Committee in the 18 Majority Conference Room. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT FUSCHILLO: 20 There will be an immediate meeting of the 21 Finance Committee in the Majority Conference 22 Room. 23 The Senate will stand at ease. 24 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 25 at 12:17 p.m.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR SPANO: Madam President. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Spano. 3 SENATOR SPANO: Can we return to 4 motions and resolutions. 5 I understand there's a resolution 6 at the desk by Senator Ada Smith. Can you 7 please read the title and ask for its 8 immediate adoption. 9 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 10 will read. 11 THE SECRETARY: By Senator A. 12 Smith, Legislative Resolution Number 3562, 13 mourning the death of Charles A. Pringle, Jr., 14 distinguished citizen and devoted member of 15 his community. 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 Robach. 24 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes, Madam 25 President. I wish to call up my bill, Senate

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(518) 371-8910 1 Print Number 3331, which is at the desk. 2 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 3 will read. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 109, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 3331, an 6 act to amend the Civil Service Law. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Robach. 8 SENATOR ROBACH: Madam President, 9 I now move to reconsider the vote by which the 10 bill was passed and ask that the bill be 11 restored to the order of third reading, 12 please. 13 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 14 will call the roll upon reconsideration. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50. 17 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered. 18 Senator Spano. 19 SENATOR SPANO: Madam President, 20 can we please return to reports of standing 21 committees. I understand there's a report of 22 the Finance Committee at the desk. 23 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 24 will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson,

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(518) 371-8910 1 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 2 following nominations. 3 As Commissioner of Agriculture and 4 Markets, Patrick H. Brennan, of Deansboro. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Spano. 6 SENATOR SPANO: Thank you, Madam 7 President. 8 The Senate Committee on 9 Investigations had the opportunity to have two 10 hearings, as a matter of fact, two meetings 11 considering the appointment of Dan Boyle as a 12 member of the -- and while that was 13 interesting, we are now considering 14 appointment of Mr. Brennan. 15 (Laughter.) 16 SENATOR SPANO: And I will now 17 yield the floor to Senator Maziarz. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Maziarz. 19 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Well, Madam 20 President, I am going to defer to my 21 colleague, the chair of the Senate Ag 22 Committee, Senator Young. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Young. 24 SENATOR YOUNG: Thank you very 25 much.

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(518) 371-8910 1 As chairperson of the Senate Ag 2 Committee, I'm very proud to rise today in 3 support of the appointment of Patrick H. 4 Brennan as the Commissioner of the New York 5 State Department of Agriculture and Markets. 6 Agriculture is still the number-one 7 industry in New York State, so this is a 8 critically important position. 9 Mr. Brennan has served in a 10 multitude of roles that are very relevant to 11 this appointment today. Number one is that he 12 grew up on a dairy farm in Paris, which 13 actually is in Oneida County. And what's 14 interesting is that he still is very involved 15 directly in farming issues. As a matter of 16 fact, every weekend he helps out the family 17 farm by still milking the cows. 18 So Mr. Brennan and I actually have 19 a little friendly contest going. We will be 20 having a cow-milking contest, probably at the 21 State Fair later this year. 22 And Senator Parker says that he's 23 betting on me, Mr. Brennan, so . . . 24 But Mr. Brennan previously worked 25 at the Department of Agriculture and Markets

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(518) 371-8910 1 from 1998 to 2001. During his first year, he 2 served as the Environmental Bond Act 3 coordinator and agriculture policy analyst, 4 where he was responsible for the 5 administration also of the New York Farmland 6 Protection Program and the Agricultural 7 Non-Point Source Pollution Abatement and 8 Control Program. 9 He was promoted to special 10 assistant for agricultural economic 11 development, where he was instrumental in 12 creating Grow New York, which has been a very 13 successful program. He also has served as a 14 staff member to my esteemed colleague, Senator 15 Raymond Meier, and as a field advisor for the 16 New York State Farm Bureau. 17 Prior to being named acting 18 commissioner, he served as the state director 19 of the USDA Rural Development from 2001 to 20 2005, where his duties included oversight of a 21 $200 million budget to create economic 22 development opportunities. 23 And I have to personally speak at 24 this point, because he did a great job in that 25 role. I live in a very rural community, and

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(518) 371-8910 1 anytime that I called Mr. Brennan to help with 2 affordable housing or critical community 3 projects -- such as water, for example -- he 4 was always there and very accessible. And I 5 anticipate that he will continue that method 6 in his new role as Commissioner of Ag and 7 Markets. 8 Mr. Brennan's extensive 9 professional and personal experience will 10 undoubtedly be a tremendous asset to the 11 New York State farming industry. 12 He is joined today by several 13 important people: his wife, Sheri; his sons, 14 Joshua and Eddie; his father, Edwin; his 15 brother, Matt, and sister-in-law, Jane; his 16 uncles, Norman and Vincent; his aunt, Mary; 17 his cousin, Kevin; his in-laws, Dennis and 18 Nancy Salm. And he is also joined by several 19 friends who are great supporters. 20 So it's my pleasure to nominate 21 Patrick H. Brennan as Commissioner of the 22 Department of Agriculture and Markets in 23 New York State. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Meier. 25 SENATOR MEIER: Thank you, Madam

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(518) 371-8910 1 President. 2 It is indeed a privilege to second 3 the nomination for Senate confirmation of my 4 good friend Pat Brennan. 5 Now, initially, let me clear up the 6 source of Senator Spano's confusion about this 7 being a nomination to the State Liquor 8 Authority. What I told you was he and I have 9 a beer together occasionally, and that's what 10 you were thinking about. 11 (Laughter.) 12 SENATOR MEIER: I really mean it 13 when I say that Pat Brennan is a friend. And 14 I think over the time that he has been 15 involved in agriculture and in agriculture 16 policy, whether it's been at the Farm Bureau, 17 the Department of Agriculture and Markets, or 18 in his most recent tenure as the New York 19 State director for the U.S. Department of Ag 20 and Rural Development, he's demonstrated that 21 he is a friend of farmers, he's a friend of 22 rural New York. 23 I have known Pat Brennan for a long 24 time, and I was able to observe him when he 25 worked on my staff, of the way he reacts in a

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(518) 371-8910 1 very creative way to problems. 2 Early in my tenure in the Senate, 3 the part of New York that Senator Wright and I 4 represent was hit by a crippling ice storm. 5 It knocked down power in some of those 6 communities for literally more than 30 days at 7 a time, and Pat Brennan, on my staff, quickly 8 came to us and said: "One of the problems the 9 farmers are going to have is how do you milk 10 the cows. That's just not of economic 11 consequence immediately to these farmers, it's 12 of consequence to the health and well-being of 13 the cows if they're not milked." 14 Pat put a program together 15 immediately. We collected generators that 16 were volunteered by farmers not impacted, 17 mounted them on trucks, got them into a 18 program of circulating from farm to farm. 19 That's the kind of guy Pat Brennan is. He 20 acts and he solves problems. 21 Now, Pat has been telling people -- 22 your dad is up there -- Mr. Brennan, that he 23 still milks cows. We didn't put him under 24 oath, but we are going to put you under oath 25 later and ask you if that's really true. But

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(518) 371-8910 1 that's one of the ways he sold himself. 2 Pat does, though, still participate 3 at the family farm, and that keeps him 4 well-grounded. 5 But one of the great challenges 6 that he's prepared to address and that we need 7 to be mindful of in this chamber and in this 8 state government is that agriculture in this 9 state is changing, along with many other 10 aspects of our economy. 11 And while dairy and various crops, 12 be they fruit or vegetables or our 13 wine-growing regions, all are going to remain 14 very important, Pat Brennan is the kind of 15 forward-thinking guy who sees the relationship 16 between a 21st-century economy and one of our 17 oldest industries, agriculture. 18 That's going to fit nicely with 19 some of the initiatives our Governor has 20 talked about, about moving forward into a 21 21st-century economy, about alternative forms 22 of fuel and energy and the role that our 23 oldest industry, agriculture, is going to play 24 in fueling the businesses and the economy of 25 the 21st century.

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(518) 371-8910 1 I am very proud that Pat Brennan is 2 a constituent, a former staff member, a 3 friend. And I think New York's farmers and 4 New Yorkers are going to be very proud to have 5 Pat as the Commissioner of Ag and Markets. 6 Congratulations, Pat. You deserve 7 this. You're a guy who never forgot where he 8 came from, and you're going to do a great job. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Maziarz. 10 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 11 much, Madam President. 12 I rise to join Senator Young and 13 Senator Meier in their support of Patrick 14 Brennan as the designee for Commissioner of Ag 15 and Markets. 16 I haven't known Patrick as long as 17 Senator Meier on a personal basis, but I can 18 tell you that on a professional basis, Patrick 19 has interacted with my office. 20 And I was always impressed with the 21 fact that whenever there was a particular 22 event or issue, regardless of how 23 confrontational it was or controversial it 24 was, Madam President, that when we would 25 contact the USDA and ask for someone to come

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(518) 371-8910 1 out to meet with a group of residents, they 2 didn't send out a staff person or somebody who 3 couldn't get answers, Patrick Brennan showed 4 up himself. And it was regardless of day of 5 the week, time of the day, or where it was, in 6 some very rural and remote parts of New York. 7 And I think the thing that 8 impresses me the most is that -- and I know 9 that those of us who represent some of the 10 rural areas of New York State know that 11 because of the work that Patrick did with the 12 USDA, that not only healthcare but emergency 13 services -- fire companies, volunteer fire 14 companies, volunteer EMS organizations -- have 15 better equipment and better housing today 16 because of the work that Patrick has done. 17 And Senator Meier mentioned about 18 the things like the water lines and housing 19 for senior citizens in rural areas, all very 20 important components of life in rural New 21 York. And they're better in upstate New York 22 in those rural areas because of the work that 23 Patrick did with the U.S. Department of 24 Agriculture. 25 Patrick, congratulations. It's

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(518) 371-8910 1 certainly a proud moment for you, I know, and 2 even more so for your dad, who's here, and 3 your in-laws and other family members. 4 Thank you, Madam President. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Nozzolio. 6 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, 7 Madam President. On the nomination. 8 I rise to echo my support. As 9 Senator Young and Senator Meier and Senator 10 Maziarz indicated, this certainly is a very 11 personally impressive nomination, one that is 12 uniquely qualified to take New York 13 agriculture well into the 21st century. 14 The issues that Senator Meier 15 mentioned, particularly regarding making the 16 strongest industry we have in New York State 17 even stronger, is something that I wish to 18 echo and expand upon. 19 We are indeed entering a new age of 20 American agriculture. We are entering a new 21 age of American business, and agriculture is 22 very much a part of that age, where our 23 competitive marketplace is no longer the 24 farmstand next door or even crops from other 25 regions of the country, but we truly are in a

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(518) 371-8910 1 global marketplace. 2 And that particularly in areas of 3 research and development, New York agriculture 4 is poised to stand strong and become stronger 5 under direction and leadership. And I'm very 6 confident that the new Commissioner of 7 Agriculture, himself grounded in agriculture 8 but experiencing a great deal of agriculture 9 research and development, knows how to pivot 10 this into the next century. 11 New York agriculture faces many, 12 many issues -- growing, developing, making 13 sure farms prosper. That is an issue this 14 conference is well aware of, and under Senator 15 Bruno and Senator Young we are trying to 16 develop policies that make New York 17 agriculture flourish. 18 But what I'd like to see occur more 19 is the research components of New York 20 agriculture get greater and greater attention. 21 What was old can be new. And the focus on our 22 land-grant institution at Cornell University, 23 with its College of Agriculture, its School of 24 Veterinary Medicine, and its Experiment 25 Station of applied research in Geneva,

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(518) 371-8910 1 New York, are ways that New York agriculture 2 can set itself apart, has set itself apart, 3 has created already a worldwide reputation. 4 Now we want to see that reputation grow and 5 become stronger with the addition of new jobs. 6 Governor Pataki has taken a very 7 personal interest in this development. As one 8 who grew up on a farm himself, or his father 9 certainly was involved in farming for years, 10 Governor Pataki has supported the New York 11 State Experiment Station and land-grant 12 college in developing applied research. 13 Better tomatoes grown in New York State, 14 apples no longer grown on trees but grown in 15 trellised environments. 16 That we have our grape industry, 17 where in the Central Finger Lakes and Long 18 Island, in particular, hundreds of wineries 19 exist today that did not even exist 10 years 20 ago, 20 years ago. 21 This industry needs additional 22 nurturing, and that is recognized particularly 23 at the Experiment Station in Geneva, where the 24 United States Department of Agriculture is 25 placing a grape genetics laboratory on the

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(518) 371-8910 1 campus of what was created by Governor Pataki, 2 the New York State Cornell Ag and Food 3 Technology Park, a place where farming is not 4 going to be growing crops but growing 5 sophisticated research and development jobs 6 through consistent and targeted agriculture 7 research. The Governor has been there on a 8 number of occasions. 9 And that I, for one, hope that our 10 new commissioner will do all he can to ensure 11 that what we have growing can be further 12 nurtured. Being grounded in agriculture as he 13 is, I know that the creation of a Center of 14 Excellence of Agriculture and Food Technology 15 would be a wonderful component of the already 16 expanded Center for Excellence program, from 17 bioinformatics in Buffalo to computer science 18 in Albany, to the development of environmental 19 research in Syracuse, and infotonics in 20 Rochester, having an additional focus on 21 New York agriculture, enhancing what we have 22 here puts us in rising our creative class and 23 competing with a world economy, making 24 New York well-poised for success in the 21st 25 century.

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(518) 371-8910 1 To you, Commissioner, I 2 congratulate you. Your efforts here have been 3 nothing but exemplary. That we have great 4 confidence in your background in agriculture, 5 your time spent with us, working with Senator 6 Meier in the State Senate. 7 That you are uniquely qualified for 8 this position, and I appreciate all you have 9 done to be responsive and look forward to 10 working with you in the months ahead. 11 Thank you, Madam President. I 12 support strongly the nomination. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 14 Senator Nozzolio. 15 Senator Wright. 16 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you, Madam 17 President. I too rise to join with my 18 colleagues in seconding and supporting the 19 nomination of Pat Brennan. 20 I know his father is with him 21 today. And these kind of accolades are the 22 kind of recognition that your mother is very 23 proud of and your father wonders who you're 24 talking about. 25 (Laughter.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR WRIGHT: Patrick, we're 2 proud to be here with you today. He is an 3 individual who, as well-documented by his 4 resume, has demonstrated that he is 5 well-prepared to be the commissioner of the 6 number-one industry in this state. 7 We're very prepared to confirm him 8 to that job because of the experience that 9 we've had working with Pat and the firsthand 10 experience we've had with him. At one point 11 in time, he was spending so much time in my 12 district I honestly thought he was a 13 constituent for a while. 14 That's the kind of personal, 15 hands-on response that, as a representative of 16 the federal government, this man brought to 17 his job. I'm fully confident he will bring 18 that same kind of attention and dedication to 19 being commissioner here in this state. 20 He has worked in the department, he 21 understands what its focus and obligations are 22 and should be. He has worked for and with the 23 Legislature. That's important as we continue 24 forward on what is clearly a priority for the 25 New York State Senate, its commitment to

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(518) 371-8910 1 agriculture. 2 And I would only reinforce all of 3 the initiatives that Senator Nozzolio 4 articulated in terms of our commitment to 5 further research, new technologies, applying 6 those technologies to ensuring that our 7 agricultural industry is highly competitive 8 and very diverse. 9 I believe Pat Brennan is the 10 individual to lead the department in achieving 11 just those goals. I look forward to voting 12 for his confirmation. 13 Patrick, the best to you and all of 14 your family today. 15 Thank you, Madam President. 16 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Valesky. 17 SENATOR VALESKY: Thank you, 18 Madam President. 19 I rise today to join with my 20 colleagues from the other side of the aisle in 21 support of the nomination of Patrick Brennan 22 as Commission of the Department of Agriculture 23 and Markets. 24 I have not had the opportunity to 25 know and work with Patrick for very long. The

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(518) 371-8910 1 first time that we had a chance to speak was 2 shortly after he was named acting commissioner 3 of the department. 4 But I want all of the members here 5 to know that in the few chances that we have 6 had to talk and discuss issues that are 7 important to agriculture, that this is a man 8 who is not only intelligent but an articulate 9 spokesperson for farmers in New York State 10 and, perhaps most importantly, you find very 11 early in a conversation with Patrick, you see 12 his passion for agriculture, for working on 13 behalf of the farmers of New York State. And 14 I am absolutely convinced that he will serve 15 farmers very, very well in his role as 16 commissioner. 17 Patrick, congratulations. I look 18 forward to working with you over these next 19 several months. Thank you. 20 THE PRESIDENT: All those in 21 favor of the nomination of Patrick H. 22 Brennan -- Senator Larkin, do you wish to be 23 heard? 24 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, Madam 25 President.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: By all means. 2 SENATOR LARKIN: You know, in the 3 past 18 months we've welcomed Patrick to our 4 district about five times on some very, very 5 major issues -- major issues that involve West 6 Point, small communities that were dried out 7 for years. Patrick took the time to come down 8 and laid out the plans of how they could be 9 done. 10 One issue was how do we get the 11 funds. Small municipalities -- as you know 12 because of your task force, Madam President -- 13 don't have all the resources to do it. Pat 14 brought the technical people with him. We 15 worked with the county, we worked with both 16 counties, we worked with West Point. And 17 Patrick even got a chance to go out and see 18 why an onion farmer wanted to change and 19 become a "carpet man," meaning grass. 20 Patrick was so engrossed in what he 21 was doing, and the farm community and the 22 local government community were so happy to 23 have somebody come down, especially from a 24 federal agency and work with them hand in 25 hand. Patrick knew what their troubles were,

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(518) 371-8910 1 he knew what their problems were; he also knew 2 how to solve it. 3 You know, Patrick is a doer. You 4 know, he's very fortunate, he's got the 5 Brennan family in my district -- right, Pat? 6 They watch me as I watch Patrick. 7 Patrick came back time and time 8 again, communicated with those individuals so 9 that they were fully aware of what had to be 10 done, how to do it. And when he brought the 11 check to Goshen that day, people were so 12 surprised they even invited the Times 13 Herald-Record. Patrick, they don't even come 14 for George Pataki. So you were special. 15 But Patrick did the job that had 16 taken ten years to get an adequate water 17 supply for a community of about 800 people. 18 Patrick dogged it, he made sure the federals 19 got in it, locals got into it. And, Patrick, 20 they're very proud. They're proud because 21 they see in you as a government official who 22 knows what the problem is, how to address it, 23 and how to resolve the problem for those you 24 represent. 25 Patrick, I'm honored to know you,

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(518) 371-8910 1 your family, and I've got to watch out for 2 Vince. 3 THE PRESIDENT: Now, the question 4 is on the nomination of Pat Brennan as 5 Commissioner of Agriculture and Markets. All 6 in favor please signify by saying aye. 7 (Response of "Aye.") 8 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 9 (No response.) 10 THE PRESIDENT: The nominee is 11 hereby confirmed. 12 Congratulations, Commissioner, and 13 best wishes for success. 14 (Applause.) 15 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 16 will continue to read. 17 THE SECRETARY: As Director of 18 the Division of State Probation and 19 Correctional Alternatives, Robert M. 20 Maccarone, Esquire, of White Plains. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Spano. 22 SENATOR SPANO: I yield to 23 Senator Nozzolio. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Nozzolio. 25 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Madam President. 2 I rise to place in nomination the 3 name of Robert Maccarone, of White Plains, 4 New York, to serve as Director of the Division 5 of State Probation and Correctional 6 Alternatives. 7 Bob Maccarone is uniquely qualified 8 for this position, has worked within the 9 department, has had a diversity of experience, 10 has impressed the Committee on Crime Victims, 11 Crime and Corrections as well as the Senate 12 Finance Committee with his understanding of 13 probation and other issues. 14 This issue becomes -- probation 15 particularly becomes so critical as this 16 Legislature is dealing more and more with 17 criminality issues relative to 18 post-incarceration. And that his expertise is 19 invaluable to meet the challenges that we are 20 all going to face in trying to make New York 21 State a safer place to live. 22 Madam President, it's an excellent 23 nomination. 24 And I turn my comments back to 25 Senator Spano.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Spano. 2 SENATOR SPANO: Thank you, Madam 3 President. 4 It's my pleasure to join with 5 Senator Nozzolio in seconding the nomination 6 of Bob Maccarone. 7 I've known Bob for many years in 8 Westchester County. And as was stated by 9 Senator Nozzolio, he's uniquely qualified to 10 serve as Director of the State Probation and 11 Correctional Alternatives agency. 12 We will -- when you look at his 13 role that he played in criminal justice 14 services in Westchester County, it's no secret 15 why the Governor would make the selection of 16 Bob Maccarone. 17 And it's my pleasure to second the 18 nomination of someone who is, in addition to 19 being a great friend and Westchester resident, 20 someone who is uniquely qualified to continue 21 to protect the safety and security of our 22 neighborhoods across New York State as the 23 director. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 25 Oppenheimer.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Well, also 2 being a Westchester resident, I know Bob very, 3 very well for many -- for a couple decades, at 4 least. And also he resides in White Plains, 5 and that's in my Senate district. 6 And we've heard a little bit about 7 what he has done in Westchester, where he was 8 in the DA's office doing a brilliant job, and 9 then he went on to Criminal Justice, also 10 doing a brilliant job. And it's because of 11 the kind of job that he consistently does that 12 he keeps seeming to move up the ladder. 13 But I also know him as a resident 14 of his community. And he has been an 15 attentive citizen, he has been involved in the 16 schools, involved with his kids, involved with 17 the community. And so in addition to being 18 excellent at his work, he has also been an 19 excellent and spirited member of his 20 community. 21 And so I'm very, very happy to be 22 seconding his nomination and think this is a 23 wonderful appointment. 24 THE PRESIDENT: The question now 25 is on the nomination of Robert M. Maccarone,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Esquire, as Director of the Division of State 2 Probation and Correctional Alternatives. All 3 in favor please signify by saying aye. 4 (Response of "Aye.") 5 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 6 (No response.) 7 THE PRESIDENT: The nominee is 8 hereby confirmed. 9 Congratulations, Director, and best 10 wishes for success. 11 (Applause.) 12 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 13 will continue to read. 14 THE SECRETARY: As a member of 15 the State Liquor Authority, Daniel B. Boyle, 16 of Syracuse. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Spano. 18 SENATOR SPANO: Thank you, Madam 19 President. 20 The Investigations Committee, at 21 our meeting today, met to consider the 22 nomination of Daniel B. Boyle. And he was 23 unanimously approved to the Senate Finance 24 Committee and then, of course, out to the 25 floor.

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(518) 371-8910 1 A number of issues were raised both 2 at the Investigations Committee as well as the 3 Finance Committee hearing about some of the 4 frustrations of the State Liquor Authority, to 5 the effect that I thought maybe Mr. Boyle was 6 maybe going to consider leaving. 7 But when we heard many of the 8 issues that were raised, both from Senator 9 Padavan, from Queens, and Senator Stachowski, 10 from Buffalo, and across this state, we 11 realized that there's a necessity for us to 12 take a real close look at some of the policies 13 and procedures of the SLA. 14 And as such, the Investigations 15 Committee will be conducting hearings over the 16 next several weeks, in New York City and 17 Buffalo and in Westchester, looking at the 18 issue of the 500-foot rule, the issue of 19 density, as well as the issue of the 20 unlicensed premises that are being operated in 21 our neighborhoods and communities across this 22 state, violating every rule and regulation 23 including the no-smoking rule, our tax laws, 24 underage drinking, and so many others. And so 25 we have a real struggle as we look at this

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(518) 371-8910 1 agency. 2 No one is more uniquely qualified, 3 in my opinion, to serve as the chairman of the 4 SLA than someone who has 32 years of law 5 enforcement experiences, having most 6 immediately served as the chief of the 7 Glenville Police Department, utilizing that 8 32 years of law enforcement in a way that will 9 respect the needs of the communities all 10 across New York State and with the different 11 nature of the problems that exist all across 12 New York State. 13 So it will be my pleasure as the 14 chairman of the Investigations Committee to 15 work closely with Dan Boyle and say that the 16 Governor has presented us, once again, with 17 someone who has the qualifications to be the 18 head of that agency, to address the concerns 19 that have been raised by the members of this 20 house, and to work closely with us as we 21 continue with the struggles of the agency as 22 it relates to the enforcement of the State 23 Liquor Authority rules and regulations all 24 across this state. 25 I am -- it's my pleasure to speak

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(518) 371-8910 1 in support of the nomination of Dan Boyle. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Volker. 3 SENATOR VOLKER: Madam President, 4 I just want to say -- and I want to thank the 5 nominee for, after the reception he got in our 6 Finance Committee -- and actually, it was 7 nothing personal, as you know. You got the 8 wrath of Padavan, which is enough, but then 9 Senator LaValle accused your agency of 10 swooping down on Long Island. 11 I said, you know -- I was wondering 12 if you were going to say "I don't know if I 13 want this." 14 Now, I think, frankly, that as a 15 law enforcement -- and we know each other only 16 casually -- as a law enforcement person, I'm 17 sure you'll do a fine job. As somebody who is 18 pretty close to the SLA said, there's nothing 19 wrong with the SLA that about 2,000 additional 20 bodies wouldn't take care of. But that's 21 another issue. 22 I do want to say, though, we're 23 glad to have you on board and I wish you the 24 best of luck. 25 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Ada

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(518) 371-8910 1 Smith. 2 SENATOR ADA SMITH: Thank you, 3 Madam President. 4 I too rise to second the nomination 5 of Mr. Daniel Boyle. After considerable 6 questions and airing my viewpoint, which in 7 this instance happened to be the same as 8 Senator Padavan's -- I know that's a little 9 strange in this chamber. 10 However, he answered the questions, 11 and I believe that he will have a fresh start 12 at the SLA and he will understand the problems 13 that we have in the City of New York and he 14 will definitely set out to do something about 15 it. 16 And I'm certain that he will be 17 back meeting with us and trying to rectify 18 those issues that we brought to the forefront. 19 I wish him all the best, and I 20 commend the Governor for this nomination. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Connor. 22 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Madam 23 President. 24 Not being on the Finance or 25 Investigations Committee, I really didn't have

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(518) 371-8910 1 chance to question the nominee. I did talk to 2 Senator Padavan yesterday about my concerns, 3 and I think he raised them. 4 In my district, neighborhoods like 5 Soho, the Lower East Side, the East Village, 6 Williamsburg, in Brooklyn, the south side of 7 Williamsburg -- or the north side of 8 Williamsburg, I should say, and other 9 neighborhoods, we've had this ongoing problem 10 of just the absolute overconcentration of 11 clubs and bars. 12 Now, I understand that people in 13 the nightlife industry, it gets desirable to 14 have a long strip of block after block of 15 bars, because it draws big crowds who barhop 16 and patronize various establishments. So 17 people who want to open a bar want to be in 18 the hot spot. 19 The problem is, Madam President, 20 these neighborhoods are residential 21 neighborhoods. These are not commercial 22 strips. They're commercial strips, but above 23 the bars, next door to the bars are 24 apartments, people live there. 25 We literally have received hundreds

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(518) 371-8910 1 of complaints, between my office, the Assembly 2 member's office, the Council member's office 3 and community boards, hundreds of complaints 4 about noise. I mean, these bars and clubs are 5 open till 4:00 a.m. And this boisterous 6 barhopping and on the streets at 4:00 a.m. is 7 quite disturbing to the neighborhood. 8 There are actually blocks there 9 that have up to 17 licensed premises on one 10 block, as you go down the block. And that 11 literally creates thousands of bar hoppers -- 12 not just on Friday and Saturday nights, but on 13 weeknights. 14 And the community boards have voted 15 down, in their advisory capacity, 16 applications. Yet the SLA routinely, 17 routinely grants licenses to premises that are 18 in violation of the 500-foot rule, which I 19 believe Senator Padavan sponsored a number of 20 years ago. And that provides that you shall 21 not grant a permit to an establishment within 22 a 500-foot radius of another licensed 23 premises. 24 There's an exception in there -- 25 except when it's in the public interest. And

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(518) 371-8910 1 obviously that's in there because a large 2 hotel development in a commercial area or 3 whatever, you don't want to stop someone from 4 building a hotel because there's a bar on the 5 opposite corner within 500 feet. 6 But what the SLA has done is they 7 consistently find that granting the permit to 8 the bar owner, the license, is in the public 9 interest. And the criteria they use, you 10 know, they'll say, Well, he's going to 11 create -- he's going to employ 12 people and 12 invest all this money, and therefore job 13 creation, oh, it's in the public interest. 14 That's not what was meant in the 15 legislative intent of that statute. Indeed, 16 the Soho Alliance, together with a lot of 17 other people -- and I think Senator Padavan 18 offered an affidavit in the case -- recently 19 won a case upholding the principle of the 20 500-foot exclusion. 21 The other thing they do in Lower 22 Manhattan routinely is they waive the 500-foot 23 ban against a premises within 500 feet of a 24 school or a church. I know that in a dense 25 Lower Manhattan/Lower East Side location, it

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(518) 371-8910 1 may be harder to find locations that are that 2 far away from a school or a church. But the 3 result has been just this overconcentration. 4 Now, together with a lot of my 5 fellow elected officials from New York City, 6 we had written to the Governor and urged that 7 he appoint someone from New York City to the 8 SLA. That wasn't a city versus the rest of 9 the state outcry, it was more out of 10 frustration to get someone at the SLA to pay 11 attention to these concerns. 12 Conditions there, conditions in 13 downtown Brooklyn, conditions in the north 14 side of Williamsburg, conditions in the Lower 15 East Side, the East Village, Soho are just 16 quite different from what you'll find 17 elsewhere in the state. There is a 18 concentration of, yes, commercial premises 19 that may be a ripe target for someone who 20 wants to open a bar, but they are also 21 intermixed with a high concentration of 22 residents who live above the commercial 23 premises, next door to them, across the street 24 from them. 25 So our feeling was that if we had

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(518) 371-8910 1 someone who lived in the city -- you know, you 2 can't live in New York City and visit any of 3 these neighborhoods and not -- you know, 4 forget the statistics; you see the problem. 5 You see the barhoppers spilling over into the 6 streets because there isn't enough room on the 7 sidewalks for the traffic as they go from bar 8 to bar to bar, where you have 12, 15, 20 bars 9 on a block, you get to the next block, there's 10 another dozen bars. 11 We want the SLA to enforce the law. 12 And I know this nominee was questioned by my 13 colleagues in the committee meetings. I 14 certainly accept his good-faith commitment to 15 look into this problem. And I certainly 16 respect the fact that Senator Spano will have 17 these hearings. I look forward to them. When 18 you have them in New York City, it will be a 19 long day. 20 Madam President, my colleague 21 Senator Spano will spend a long day because a 22 community group, no official sponsorship, 23 no -- actually, the community board was 24 against it because they were planning their 25 own event. Just literally a bunch of people

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(518) 371-8910 1 in the community circulated flyers to hold a 2 meeting recently in my district, and 300 3 people showed up -- 300 people in one little 4 part of a neighborhood -- about this topic, 5 too many bars. So it's a serious problem. 6 There are responsible nightlife 7 operators. Obviously, it's important 8 economically to the City of New York. But 9 there are plenty who aren't responsible. And 10 even responsible owners have a difficult time 11 policing the neighborhood when there's such an 12 overconcentration of presences in just a few 13 blocks. 14 So, Madam President, I am going to 15 support the nominee and take my colleagues' 16 assurances that he and the SLA are committed 17 to looking into this problem, and look forward 18 to the hearings that Senator Spano is going to 19 sponsor. 20 Thank you. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 22 Stachowski. 23 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Very 24 briefly, Madam President. I also rise to 25 support this nominee.

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(518) 371-8910 1 I, with Senator Spano, sat through 2 both Investigations meetings. I also had the 3 opportunity to pass on some of the concerns of 4 our conference with a private conversation 5 with Mr. Boyle. And I believe that he's shown 6 an interest in the concerns brought up by all 7 of my colleagues. He also showed an interest 8 when Senator Schneiderman passed a community 9 board's resolution over to him. 10 And I believe that he'll look into 11 the many problems that were stated not only on 12 the floor but also in the different committee 13 meetings. 14 And I think that his police 15 background and his general condition and work 16 ethic will add to the SLA and make it a much 17 better, much better functioning organization 18 and department than it currently is, and 19 probably be much more responsive to the needs 20 and the concerns of the people in our various 21 communities. 22 So I'm glad to have the opportunity 23 to support this nominee. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Malcolm 25 Smith.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR MALCOLM SMITH: Thank you 2 very much, Madam President. I rise just to 3 support the nominee. 4 But clearly, I just want you to 5 understand that the comments that you've 6 heard, as you heard it in Finance as well, 7 were not directed towards yourself, they were 8 actually directed toward the agency. You 9 heard the level of frustration. 10 And quite honestly, we are happy 11 about your law enforcement background. I hope 12 that you will use that to the fullest to make 13 sure that we do have the kind of responsible 14 agency that can do what we think should be 15 fair in all of our neighborhoods. 16 So we look forward to working with 17 you. I'm happy about your nomination. And I 18 look forward to your actually using that law 19 enforcement background to do what we know you 20 can do. 21 Thank you very much. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 23 Schneiderman. 24 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you, 25 Madam President.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Very briefly, I think that this is 2 a good example of the nomination process 3 working well. I want to echo what Senator 4 Stachowski mentioned, that I did have a chance 5 to speak with Mr. Boyle and pass along a 6 resolution of Community Board 12. 7 There are concerns in New York 8 City. And specifically the community board 9 resolution notes that the SLA has for years 10 granted licenses before the community board 11 has had an opportunity to meet with the 12 business owners and forward their 13 recommendations. There has been an 14 undermining of the SLA's own procedures. 15 We are -- I'm well aware of the 16 fact that I think that this nominee has 17 received an earful about a lot of things that 18 may not even relate to him. But there are 19 legitimate concerns. I assure you, this is 20 not a matter of people raising frivolous 21 issues, this is tremendously important to a 22 lot of communities in our city and in our 23 state. 24 I look forward to working with him 25 and to following up on the recommendations of

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(518) 371-8910 1 the community boards in my district and 2 others, and other organizations that have 3 raised these concerns. I think he has proved 4 very responsive, and I appreciate his 5 willingness to engage in this sort of 6 dialogue. 7 Thank you, Madam President. 8 THE PRESIDENT: The question now 9 is on the nomination of Daniel B. Boyle as a 10 member of the State Liquor Authority. All in 11 favor please signify by saying aye. 12 (Response of "Aye.") 13 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 14 (No response.) 15 THE PRESIDENT: The nominee is 16 hereby confirmed. 17 He is here with his wife, Patti, 18 and his daughter, Kerry. 19 Best wishes for success in your new 20 position. 21 (Applause.) 22 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 23 will continue to read. 24 THE SECRETARY: As members of the 25 New York State Bridge Authority, Roderick O.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Dressel, of New Paltz, and Thomas J. Madison, 2 Jr., of Waterford. 3 And as a member of the Buffalo and 4 Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority-Peace 5 Bridge, Paul J. Koessler, of Buffalo. 6 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Spano. 7 SENATOR SPANO: Move the 8 nominations, Madam President. 9 THE PRESIDENT: The question now 10 is on the nomination of Roderick O. Dressel 11 and Thomas J. Madison as members of the 12 New York State Bridge Authority, and on the 13 nomination of Paul J. Koessler as a member of 14 the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge 15 Authority-Peace Bridge. 16 All in favor of the nominations 17 please signify by saying aye. 18 (Response of "Aye.") 19 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 20 (No response.) 21 THE PRESIDENT: The nominees are 22 hereby confirmed. 23 Congratulations to the three 24 nominees who have just been confirmed. 25 Senator Spano.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR SPANO: Madam President, 2 any other business at the desk? 3 THE PRESIDENT: No, there is not, 4 Senator. 5 SENATOR SPANO: On behalf of 6 Senator Bruno, in consultation with Senator 7 Paterson, I'd like to hand up the following 8 leadership and committee assignment changes. 9 THE PRESIDENT: They will be 10 filed in the Journal, Senator Spano. 11 SENATOR SPANO: And there being 12 no further business, I move that we adjourn 13 until Monday, February 27th, at 3:00 p.m., 14 intervening days being legislative days. 15 THE PRESIDENT: On motion, the 16 Senate now stands adjourned until Monday, 17 February 27th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening days 18 being legislative days. 19 (Whereupon, at 1:00 p.m., the 20 Senate adjourned.) 21 22 23 24 25

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(518) 371-8910