Thursday, March 30, 2006

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 March 30, 2006 11 11:14 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: With us again 10 this morning to give the invocation is the 11 Reverend Peter G. Young, from Blessed 12 Sacrament Church in Bolton Landing, New York. 13 REVEREND YOUNG: Let us pray. 14 As we hear in today's news of 23 15 straight days of rain in San Francisco, we 16 know that You have blessed New York State in 17 Your rewarding spring sunshine. 18 As the Empire State, we are blessed 19 in many ways with heroic leadership that 20 pioneered our country's founding with the 21 victory at Saratoga, and we continue today 22 with our Senators in this battle of the budget 23 to create innovative efforts for New York 24 State's quality of life. 25 May the bright sunshine that we

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(518) 371-8910 1 enjoy be a symbol of what is in the stained 2 glass above this podium as our commitment of 3 dedication, as in the state seal that pictures 4 the rising sun that blesses all those created 5 in Your image. We pray for all of those in 6 New York State, the citizens with its family 7 and love, for the lady of liberty and the lady 8 of justice that are there next to this rising 9 sun. 10 We pray that we will be people of 11 this kind of nation, people of this kind of 12 seal, people of this kind of commitment. We 13 ask You this in Your name. 14 Amen. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Reading of the 16 Journal. 17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 18 Wednesday, March 29, the Senate met pursuant 19 to adjournment. The Journal of Tuesday, 20 March 28, was read and approved. On motion, 21 Senate adjourned. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Without 23 objection, the Journal stands approved as 24 read. 25 Presentation of petitions.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Messages from the Assembly. 2 Messages from the Governor. 3 Reports of standing committees. 4 Reports of select committees. 5 Communications and reports from 6 state officers. 7 Motions and resolutions. 8 Senator Bruno. 9 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President, 10 I believe there is a resolution at the desk by 11 Senator Leibell. I ask that the title be read 12 and move for its immediate adoption. 13 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 14 will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: By Senators 16 Leibell and Farley, Legislative Resolution 17 Number 4319, memorializing Governor George E. 18 Pataki to proclaim the week of April 2, 2006, 19 as Friends of the Library Week in the State of 20 New York. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: On the 22 resolution, all in favor signify by saying 23 aye. 24 (Response of "Aye.") 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Nay?

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(518) 371-8910 1 (No response.) 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 3 resolution is adopted. 4 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 6 Senator Bruno. 7 SENATOR BRUNO: Can we at this 8 time take up the noncontroversial reading of 9 the calendar. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 11 Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 166, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 1788, an 14 act to amend the Agriculture and Markets Law, 15 in relation to prohibiting. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read 17 the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 19 act shall take effect on the 120th day. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 21 the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 24 Announce the results. 25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 49.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 2 bill is passed. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 437, by Senator Marchi, Senate Print 1417A, an 5 act to amend the Judiciary Law and the 6 Education Law, in relation to creating the 7 13th Judicial District. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read 9 the last section. 10 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This 11 act shall take effect immediately. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 13 the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 16 Announce the results. 17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 49. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 19 bill is passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 497, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print -- 22 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it 23 aside. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 25 bill is laid aside.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 501 -- 3 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it 4 aside. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 6 bill is laid aside. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 541, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 5913, 9 an act authorizing the assessor of the County 10 of Nassau. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read 12 the last section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 14 act shall take effect immediately. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 16 the roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll.) 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 19 Announce the results. 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 48. Nays, 21 1. Senator Bonacic recorded in the negative. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 23 bill is passed. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 25 570, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 4023, an

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(518) 371-8910 1 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law and 2 the Family Court Act, in relation to delivery. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read 4 the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 6 act shall take effect immediately. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 8 the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 11 Announce the results. 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 49. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 14 bill is passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 571, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 4121, an 17 act to amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules, 18 in relation to admissibility. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read 20 the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 22 act shall take effect immediately. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 24 the roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 2 Announce the results. 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 49. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 5 bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 612, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 7088, an 8 act to amend the Labor Law, in relation to 9 directing. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read 11 the last section. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 13 act shall take effect immediately. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 15 the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the roll.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 18 Announce the results. 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 49. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 21 bill is passed. 22 Senator Bruno, that completes the 23 noncontroversial reading of the calendar. 24 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 25 can we at this time take up the controversial

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(518) 371-8910 1 reading of the calendar. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 3 Secretary will read. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 497, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 6455C, 6 an act making appropriations for the support 7 of government: Transportation, Economic 8 Development and Environmental Conservation 9 Budget. 10 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: 11 Explanation. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 13 Senator Johnson, an explanation has been 14 requested. 15 SENATOR JOHNSON: This is the 16 appropriations bill for transportation, 17 economic development, and environment. It 18 appropriates the funds for those agencies. 19 And in addition to the Governor's 20 proposal, it includes $40 million in 21 restorations and additions to agriculture and 22 tourism-related programs; an additional 23 $20 million for highway improvement funds, 24 CHIPS and Marchiselli; $25 million for 25 statewide economic development programs; and a

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(518) 371-8910 1 $400 million increase in transit operating 2 assistance. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 4 Senator Krueger. 5 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you. 6 If the sponsor would please yield to some 7 questions. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 9 Senator Johnson, will you yield for a 10 question? 11 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes, Mr. 12 President. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 14 Senator yields. 15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you. 16 Senator Johnson, on page 589 of 17 this bill there's a list -- it starts on 18 page 589 and actually goes through page 614 -- 19 there's a series of reappropriations that 20 would go through memorandums of understanding. 21 And when I add them up, they add up to about 22 $2.3 billion, with a billion, of state money 23 that we reappropriated. Some of these go back 24 as far as the year 1999. 25 Why are we continuing to

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(518) 371-8910 1 reappropriate monies for which memorandums of 2 understanding have never been resolved or made 3 public? And if we didn't need that money in 4 '99 or 2000 or 2001 or 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 5 why do we continue to use taxpayers' dollars 6 or appropriate taxpayers' dollars for all of 7 these different memorandums of understanding 8 projects? 9 SENATOR JOHNSON: Are you done 10 with your question? 11 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: That was 12 the question, sir. 13 SENATOR JOHNSON: Oh, okay. That 14 was quite a compendious question, yes. 15 In any event, there's a simple 16 answer. We're reappropriating the money that 17 was appropriated previously for the highway 18 and bridge fund. That's the $300 million. 19 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Mr. 20 President, if, through you, the sponsor will 21 continue to yield. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 23 Senator Johnson, will you continue to yield? 24 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes, Mr. 25 President.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 2 Senator yields. 3 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: It's not 4 clear to me that any of this is specific to 5 the highway and bridge fund. I'm not sure 6 that was -- that might be one of the items. 7 But, for example -- sorry, just 8 turning to any specific item -- there's a 9 $75 million reappropriation for economic 10 development purposes through something called 11 the CCC program. That's on page 592. There's 12 $90 million reapproped for regional 13 development programs. That's on the bottom of 14 that page. There's $225 million reapproped 15 through the Strategic Investment Program on 16 page 608. There's $350 million reapproped 17 through CCP from 2004 dollars. That's on 18 page 610. There's $600 million reapproped on 19 page 611 for reappropriation capital projects 20 under Community Assistance Program, rebuilding 21 the Empire State through opportunities in 22 regional economies and something called the 23 Empire Opportunity Fund. 24 I don't see how any of these have 25 anything to do with highways.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR JOHNSON: That's the end 2 of that question; right? 3 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Yes, sir. 4 SENATOR JOHNSON: Okay. Thank 5 you. 6 I'd like to commend you for your 7 zeal and diligence in going through the budget 8 and discovering reappropriations. But that 9 old money must be reappropriated if we're 10 going to continue to spend it for the purposes 11 for which it was intended. 12 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Mr. 13 President, on the bill. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 15 Senator Krueger, on the bill. 16 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you. 17 I respect my colleague's answers, 18 we must reappropriate in order to have the 19 monies available for the purposes for which 20 they were originally appropriated. 21 My problem is we never told anybody 22 what we were appropriating these monies for in 23 the years we first appropriated them. We 24 don't tell anybody what the money is for now. 25 It's not at all apparent that any of these

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(518) 371-8910 1 monies have been ever appropriated for any 2 individual function in the State of New York. 3 Again, the language is such that 4 these will go through memorandums of 5 understanding to be executed by the Governor, 6 the Temporary President of the Senate, the 7 Speaker of the Assembly. Eligible recipients 8 and purposes are very broadly described, 9 including they can be appropriated through any 10 department, agency, or public authority. I 11 don't believe there are memorandums of 12 understanding that have been signed for these 13 dollars -- although it would be nice to know, 14 wouldn't it? 15 But again, if years later we still 16 have monies that we reappropriate that are 17 technically monies of the people of the State 18 of New York that we could and should be using 19 for specific purposes -- and probably all of 20 us in this room have ideas of how we would 21 prioritize those purposes. And we might 22 disagree, but we'd at least know what we were 23 appropriating the people's money for, or in 24 this case to the tune of about $2.3 billion. 25 We are reappropriating MOUs from

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(518) 371-8910 1 previous years. We are talking about 2 borrowing enormous amounts of money in this 3 year's budget. We are talking about giving 4 tax cuts at the same time as borrowing money. 5 No doubt tomorrow we will debate whether or 6 not we have met our obligations to the 7 schoolchildren of the State of New York. 8 I can find no justification at this 9 point in history to reappropriate over 10 $2 billion in unexplained dollars from 11 previous years for MOU purposes. And so I'll 12 be voting against this bill, because I think 13 it is completely unacceptable and 14 unjustifiable and we should not be allowed to 15 continue to operate financially in this 16 manner. 17 Thank you very much, Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 19 you. 20 Senator Connor. 21 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Mr. 22 President. 23 Would Senator Johnson yield for a 24 question, please? 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN:

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Johnson, do you yield for a question? 2 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes, Mr. 3 President. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 5 Senator yields. 6 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Mr. 7 President. 8 Senator Krueger has just pointed 9 out, made reference to about $2 billion in 10 reappropriations. My question is, of that 11 $2 billion, how much money is contained in the 12 state fiscal plan and therefore will be spent 13 this year of that $2 billion? 14 SENATOR JOHNSON: We don't have 15 an exact figure. It could be as much as 16 $25 million. 17 SENATOR CONNOR: Twenty-five 18 million. So we're actually talking about 19 $25 million in expenditures in our 20 $112 billion budget; is that correct, Senator? 21 SENATOR JOHNSON: I'm sorry, did 22 you ask a second question? 23 SENATOR CONNOR: I said so we're 24 actually only going to spend $25 million, so 25 that $2 billion really isn't part of the

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(518) 371-8910 1 $112 billion budget we read about in the 2 newspaper? 3 SENATOR JOHNSON: You're right, 4 it all depends upon the progress of the 5 capital projects to which that money is 6 appropriated. 7 SENATOR CONNOR: I understand, 8 Senator. Thank you. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 10 Senator Schneiderman. 11 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you, 12 Mr. President. On the bill. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 14 Senator Schneiderman, on the bill. 15 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I would 16 urge my colleagues that we are -- the comments 17 made earlier by Senator Krueger and Senator 18 Connor are calling attention to something that 19 we're not going to be able to belabor here 20 today, but we're just scratching the surface 21 in this discussion of the dysfunctional nature 22 of New York State's economic development 23 programs. 24 There are some very good things in 25 this bill, because it also includes

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(518) 371-8910 1 environmental and other matters. But I have 2 to say that since I've been in the Senate, it 3 has been remarkable for me to watch failed 4 economic development programs pass every year, 5 year after year. Essentially, the Governor 6 appropriates twice what is spent, and then we 7 keep reappropriating it. 8 We're operating through memoranda 9 of understanding in a way that lacks 10 transparency and accountability. Our Empire 11 Zone program doesn't provide the tracking so 12 we even know if the money is being spent to 13 produce the jobs that are being promised. 14 And in many cases we know we're 15 pouring money down the drain, that the people 16 in depressed parts of the state, in Central 17 and Western New York and parts of the city, 18 who are counting on our economic development 19 programs to stimulate jobs, are not getting 20 what the money supposed to be spent for. 21 We're not spending the money on enterprises 22 that create jobs, we're spending money in many 23 cases for firms that do not deliver the jobs 24 that are promised, and we continually 25 reappropriate mystery funds that never get to

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(518) 371-8910 1 their target, which is to create jobs for the 2 people of this state. 3 You know, there was a debate not so 4 long along about whether Central and Western 5 New York is -- it was a slur to refer to it 6 and say some parts of it look like Appalachia. 7 Well, if you look at the numbers, Appalachia 8 is doing better than a lot of parts of 9 New York State. And they have growth in a lot 10 of regions and a lot of parts of Appalachia. 11 I would say that we have failed in 12 our efforts to revive the economies of Central 13 and Western New York, we have failed in many 14 parts of downstate New York. And I am 15 constrained to vote against this bill because 16 of the lack of transparency and the lack of 17 effectiveness of our economic development 18 programs. 19 Thank you, Mr. President. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 21 you, Senator. 22 Any other Senator wish to be heard? 23 Senator Bruno, to close. 24 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President and 25 colleagues, I am absolutely amazed to hear the

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(518) 371-8910 1 observations and comments about economic 2 development and lack of. 3 We had a package in the budget that 4 most of you supported that was $3.5 billion in 5 help for small businesses in this state. 6 Sixty-four percent of all of the people in 7 this state are employed by small businesses. 8 Ninety-two percent of the new jobs are created 9 by small businesses. 10 You know what? We couldn't get it 11 passed in the Assembly. Your colleagues would 12 not step up and pass that package of bills -- 13 to do what? To create jobs. To retain jobs. 14 That's what that package was for. 15 Now, you supported that here. And 16 I'm amazed to hear that we would now be 17 talking about the lack of. We didn't have a 18 lack of anything. We did the right things for 19 the people of this state. 20 And, Senator, let me share. You're 21 right. You go across Buffalo, Rochester, 22 Syracuse, there are pockets of poverty. Eliot 23 Spitzer was absolutely right -- not, maybe, in 24 his description in using the adjective 25 "Appalachia." But there's poverty, real

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(518) 371-8910 1 poverty. And how do you get at it? You get 2 at it by jobs, putting people to work, 3 attracting jobs. And how do you do that? By 4 creating incentives. That's what that package 5 was all about. 6 Now, we did a lot. We did a lot. 7 But we should be doing a lot more. And we in 8 this house were willing to do that, as 9 evidenced by the support here, on both sides 10 of the aisle, for our program. 11 So I only get up, Mr. President, 12 because I'm amazed to hear the discussion that 13 we haven't done enough. You're absolutely 14 right, we have not done enough. And you tell 15 me how we get more done in the Assembly. You 16 tell me how, and we're there. 17 Thank you, Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 19 you, Senator Bruno. 20 Ring the bell. 21 Read the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 23 act shall take effect immediately. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 25 the roll.

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(518) 371-8910 1 (The Secretary called the roll.) 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 3 Senator Balboni, to explain his vote. 4 SENATOR BALBONI: Included in 5 here, Mr. President, is a provision that 6 relates to the MTA and their ability to do 7 capital programs. This is absolutely crucial 8 for the thousands and thousands of commuters 9 every day that travel into the City of 10 New York from Long Island and Westchester and 11 the surrounding communities. It's crucial to 12 things like East Side access and all of the 13 different programs that we've been working on. 14 And two things I want to point out. 15 The first is that Senator Dean Skelos has been 16 a tremendous leader on this issue and has been 17 the driving force in the MTA capital program. 18 And secondly, the other thing we've 19 done here is we've finally eliminated that 20 pesky little E-ZPass $1 surcharge. That's 21 gone as a result of passing this bill. So 22 that's a neat little thing. 23 So we can look forward to the 24 capital plan increasing and the security 25 system getting better and the use of the

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(518) 371-8910 1 system increasing. We can also look forward 2 to this little pesky fee being eliminated. 3 Thank you, Mr. President. I vote 4 aye. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 6 you, Senator Balboni. 7 Senator Libous, to explain his 8 vote. 9 SENATOR LIBOUS: I just want to 10 comment on the transportation portion of this 11 budget. And certainly I want to thank Senator 12 Balboni for bringing that to the attention of 13 the committee, because that was a very 14 important issue that he just discussed, and 15 the committee was glad to eliminate that 16 surcharge. 17 But even more than that, what's 18 more effective in this budget is the fact that 19 for the first time in over seven years that 20 the letting levels to do improvement projects 21 has increased to $1.8 billion. We have 22 provided for the first time an additional 23 increase in CHIPS over and above what we did 24 in the bond act last year, an additional 25 $20 million.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Why is that important? Because at 2 a time when our roads and bridges for our 3 local towns and municipalities need so much 4 work, and while property taxes continue to 5 rise at the local level, this is going to help 6 put a lid on that and help to improve the 7 roads and bridges. 8 We certainly are, for the first 9 time, in the dedicated highway trust fund -- 10 the operations of the Department of Motor 11 Vehicles are run out of the dedicated highway 12 trust fund to the tune of about $190 million. 13 That's ridiculous. The dedicated highway 14 trust fund is supposed to go into running -- 15 providing for roads and bridges, running the 16 MTA and providing for those services. There's 17 absolutely no reason and no excuse that we 18 should be providing services such as running 19 the Department of Motor Vehicles out of this 20 fund. 21 The Senate wanted very badly to 22 move that all out over five years. We can 23 only conclude, because the Assembly rejected 24 it and would only do $20 million -- but it's a 25 first step. It's a first step. And

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(518) 371-8910 1 $20 million will come out of the operation and 2 go into direct road and bridge resurfacing and 3 paving, and that's extremely important. 4 With the inaction of the bond act 5 last year, there's plenty of money to do what 6 we need to do in this year's transportation 7 budget. It is one of the best transportation 8 budgets that we've seen in about seven years. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 10 you, Senator. 11 Senator Marcellino. 12 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes, Mr. 13 President. I'd like to explain my vote. 14 I'm going to vote aye for this 15 budget bill, because in it is the 16 authorization to raise the level of the EPF 17 another $50 million to bring it up to a 18 $200 million threshold. That is the highest 19 it's ever been in history. 20 I want to acknowledge the fact that 21 working with my colleagues in this house and 22 with our Governor, we have increased the EPF a 23 record of approximately $170 million. That 24 EPF is the engine that drives the 25 environmental cleanup of our land, our water,

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(518) 371-8910 1 the preservation of open space, and just about 2 everything else that we do in the 3 environmental area. 4 It is monumentally important, and 5 this is a great achievement. And this bill 6 contains that authorization. I vote aye. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 8 you, Senator Marcellino. 9 Senator Parker. 10 SENATOR PARKER: To explain my 11 vote, Mr. Chairman. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 13 Senator Parker, to explain his vote. 14 SENATOR PARKER: Mr. Chairman, 15 unfortunately I have to vote no on this bill, 16 as I have yesterday on the two previous bills, 17 on the same grounds. 18 I think we've done a lot of good 19 things, and I again want to congratulate all 20 the hard work that I know that went into this 21 developing this bill. I'm really torn. I 22 mean, you know, we're providing more money for 23 transportation and for economic development 24 and for some great things as relates to the 25 renewable portfolio standard. And there's

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(518) 371-8910 1 certainly some great provisions that are going 2 to be looking at issues regarding minority 3 contracting in the state, and women- and 4 minority-owned businesses, that we certainly 5 ought to be doing. 6 However, this entire budget is in 7 defiance of a court order. And it's an issue 8 that we've been dealing with for a long time. 9 The issue of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity 10 has not been resolved in this bill. I know 11 that there are some plans to do some things 12 around capital. 13 But I cannot in good conscience 14 vote for a budget bill that in fact does not 15 provide for the educational needs of my 16 students. 17 There are 1.1 million 18 schoolchildren today -- today -- in the City 19 of New York who don't have enough resources, 20 they don't have become books in their 21 libraries, they don't have enough certified 22 teachers, they don't have English language 23 learning programs, they don't have enough 24 technology, they don't have after-school 25 programs, they don't have all of the things --

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(518) 371-8910 1 you know, music, art, and dance -- as regular 2 parts of the curriculum so they can develop a 3 well-rounded education. They don't have all 4 the things that young people need in order to 5 become productive citizens, valuable members 6 of the labor force, or whole people. 7 And so because of that, I am not 8 voting for this. I'm voting no. I think that 9 we're really missing the boat. Those who will 10 make the argument that we're doing a lot for 11 capital, that the base of the lawsuit was in 12 fact that we continue to use the traditional 13 formula for funding education across the 14 state. 15 And actually that is the heart, in 16 fact, of the disagreement, is that in fact the 17 formula itself is an unjust, unequal, and 18 unequitable formula. We need to change that 19 formula. And unfortunately, if we change that 20 formula, it in fact throws off the entire 21 budget. 22 So I'm in the position where I have 23 to vote against the entire budget so that we 24 can go back, renegotiate the budget in a way 25 that continues to do the good things that

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(518) 371-8910 1 we're doing but that also accounts for the 2 real level of funding -- not that I think that 3 we should have for New York City schools, not 4 that members of the Legislature think, but in 5 fact what the courts, what independent 6 nonprofit organizations have said and what 7 we've been demanded to do by the courts. 8 And I think that we can't go 9 further unless we do that. I vote no. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 11 Senator Parker will be recorded in the 12 negative. 13 Senator Skelos. 14 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, Mr. 15 President. 16 I rise in support of this 17 legislation. And I think one of the most 18 critical components of it, in terms of a new 19 initiative -- and I'm delighted that many of 20 my young constituents from Valley Stream South 21 High School are here -- is a grant to the 22 Long Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. 23 Senator Bruno indicated the 24 importance of maintaining our small businesses 25 throughout the state. And certainly the

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(518) 371-8910 1 fastest-growing component of small businesses 2 is within the Hispanic community. 3 And this new initiative, this new 4 investment with the Long Island Chamber of 5 Commerce -- and I know the nine Senators from 6 Long Island are all supportive of this -- will 7 help the small-business owners navigate 8 through the bureaucracies that may exist and 9 help establish business models so that their 10 small businesses can grow and someday be a 11 larger business and create jobs. 12 So I'm delighted to support this 13 economic development package, Mr. President. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 15 Senator Skelos will be recorded in the 16 affirmative. 17 Senator Ada Smith. 18 SENATOR ADA SMITH: Thank you, 19 Mr. President. 20 I attempt to separate apples from 21 oranges in voting on this budget. I agree 22 completely with my colleague Senator Parker 23 that we have not done enough to fulfill our 24 obligations under the CFE case. But this 25 piece of the budget is not dealing with

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(518) 371-8910 1 education. 2 And I want to acknowledge that 3 there are a lot of things here that many of us 4 have been fighting for over the years, 5 especially for small businesses and for 6 minority and women businesses, which has been 7 an emphasis in my platform. 8 Therefore, I will be voting for 9 this budget, in the hopes that we will come 10 back even after the budget and make the 11 necessary changes that we need to ensure that 12 we fulfill our obligations under the law. 13 Therefore, I will be voting aye. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 15 Senator Flanagan, to explain his vote. 16 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank you, 17 Mr. President. 18 A number of the members are 19 highlighting different sections of this bill. 20 The point I want to raise in the context of 21 this legislation is with regard to elections. 22 We had worked last year and part of 23 this year on HAVA and HAVA implementation, but 24 part of what got lost in the debate was 25 poll-site accessibility. We had a lot of

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(518) 371-8910 1 discussions about having 2 handicapped-accessible machines, but now for 3 the first time we have $5 million in the 4 budget for municipalities to help make sure 5 that you're not just able to look at the 6 machine from the outside, but you're actually 7 going to be able to get in the building. For 8 ramps, for doorways, for true accessibility. 9 And frankly, it's a shame that we 10 have to even deal with this subject. It 11 should have been something that happened a 12 long time ago. But a lot of people aren't 13 aware there's litigation all across the state 14 in different counties for failure to properly 15 comply with handicapped accessibility. 16 The Assembly did not want to do 17 this. They did ultimately come around. This 18 was the Senate position from the beginning, to 19 provide real money and real relief to 20 municipalities to make sure that everybody can 21 access the voting booth and the polling place 22 on Election Day. This is a very positive step 23 forward. 24 Thank you, Mr. President. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank

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(518) 371-8910 1 you, Senator Flanagan. 2 Senator Nozzolio, to explain his 3 vote. 4 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, 5 Mr. President, on the bill. I ask permission 6 to explain my vote. 7 Mr. President and my colleagues, 8 since the beginning of our state's history, 9 transportation has always meant job 10 development. That we became the Empire State 11 because we have the greatest transportation 12 infrastructure than any of our competitor 13 states. 14 That what this budget does, 15 particularly in the areas of transportation, I 16 think is noteworthy, and especially in those 17 areas like the central and western and 18 northern parts of the state that have so many 19 local roads. That what the expenditures in 20 this measure do is ensure that our local roads 21 and bridges are going to be taken care of, 22 maintained appropriately, and done so not at 23 the expense of our already overburdened 24 property taxpayers. 25 This expenditure of state funds

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(518) 371-8910 1 will help ensure that local governments -- 2 towns and counties -- can particularly hold 3 the line on property tax increases. Our 4 conference, this Senate, has been committed to 5 holding the line on property tax increases. 6 And this measure goes a long way in doing 7 that. 8 The road mileage at the local level 9 expands over 25,000 miles across our state. 10 We could extend those local roads and bridges 11 and that, in effect, spending those funds for 12 local roads and bridges means so much. This 13 conference stood for that increase of over 14 $20 million in ensuring the property taxpayer 15 will be the beneficiary. 16 Mr. President, I support this 17 measure. I congratulate all those on the 18 conference committee that supported the CHIPS 19 program in particular and fought hard for 20 local roads and bridges. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 22 you. Senator Nozzolio will be recorded in the 23 affirmative. 24 Senator Stavisky. 25 SENATOR STAVISKY: Thank you,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President. 2 The parts of this bill that deal 3 with economic development I think are 4 extremely important. And one of the areas of 5 economic development that I'm interested in is 6 the area of tourism, because I think this is a 7 tremendously underutilized area of our 8 economy. We have some beautiful areas in 9 New York State, and I think we ought to be 10 doing everything we can to encourage 11 development. 12 And I'm unhappy with the fact that 13 more of the "I Love New York" tourism dollar 14 is not being spent outside of New York State 15 to encourage people to come, whether the 16 advertising campaign takes place in Canada or 17 in the Midwest or in Asia and Europe. And 18 while I wish more of the "I Love New York" 19 campaign did exist outside of New York State, 20 I must tell you I get very offended when I'm 21 watching television at home in New York City 22 and I see a campaign for "I Love New York," 23 encouraging me to come visit. 24 So, Mr. President, I hope that in 25 the future this inequity will be resolved.

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(518) 371-8910 1 But I will vote for this bill. Thank you. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 3 Senator Stavisky will be recorded in the 4 affirmative. 5 Senator Alesi, to explain his vote. 6 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, 7 Mr. President. I know we have a lot of work 8 to do, so I will be brief. 9 But as chairman of the Committee on 10 Economic Development, I feel compelled to 11 congratulate the efforts of all those who were 12 involved in improving the lot of all of those 13 people that are looking to work and relieve 14 the burden that have been so much a part of 15 our life here. 16 We have expanded the Empire Zones. 17 We have listened to those that said we need 18 better roads and bridges, those from local 19 government and our citizens as well. And 20 everything that you see, even the forgiveness 21 of loans, UDC loans, with our colleges and 22 universities and requesting them to make those 23 payments into something else, that translates 24 into economic development. 25 This is all about job creation.

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(518) 371-8910 1 It's all about improving the quality of life 2 in New York State. And it is money wisely 3 spent as we improve the lives of every 4 overburdened taxpayer in New York State. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 6 Senator Alesi will be recorded in the 7 affirmative. 8 Senator Montgomery. 9 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, thank 10 you, Mr. President. 11 I just would like to -- first of 12 all, I concur with my colleagues on the large 13 issues around what they view as important in 14 the budget. But I just wanted to point out a 15 couple of things that I want to especially 16 compliment and thank the leaders for looking 17 out for, and one of them is the Empire Zone 18 administration. 19 Certainly I have a couple of Empire 20 Zones in my district, and they are extremely 21 important, especially as it relates to job 22 development and also being there to support 23 the revitalization of our economy in the city, 24 hopefully. And it's been very, very 25 disappointing to see that the Governor has not

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(518) 371-8910 1 decided that this is important, but certainly 2 the legislative leaders have, and I appreciate 3 that. 4 I also appreciate your attention to 5 a small but very important item in this 6 budget, the New York Industrial Retention 7 Network. It's extremely important, I think, 8 probably to other parts of the district. 9 And I also want to especially thank 10 you for your investment in the community 11 housing development organizations throughout 12 the state, the Neighborhood Preservation 13 Program and the Rural Preservation Program. I 14 listened to people from across the state talk 15 about how they were struggling in communities 16 across the state to help people maintain their 17 homes, to help rebuild communities. And 18 certainly in New York City, and my district in 19 particular, it's been an extremely important 20 source of revitalization and development of 21 affordable housing for people in our state. 22 And lastly, I want to say that I 23 met some young people from the Future Farmers 24 of America. And I'm not sure if this is the 25 only -- this is the only place that I see an

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(518) 371-8910 1 allocation for them. But I have been very 2 impressed by those young people. They come 3 from farms across the state, they come here 4 and they are able to articulate and share 5 their experiences. They're very excited about 6 the opportunities that they have to develop 7 their skills as farmers. And I suppose that 8 some of them will become actually the future 9 farmers of our state. 10 And so I'm appreciative that we've 11 supported them. I have a feeling that we 12 should probably be doing a lot more, because 13 those young people deserve a lot of attention. 14 That's a very important aspect of our state, 15 the agricultural and farming aspect of our 16 economy. 17 So overall, Mr. President, I'm 18 going to vote for this budget because it does 19 have some very important and significant areas 20 that I think we should be supporting. And 21 hopefully those areas that we need to have a 22 lot more discussion about, we will in the 23 future. 24 Thank you. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank

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(518) 371-8910 1 you. Senator Montgomery will be recorded in 2 the affirmative. 3 Senator LaValle. 4 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you, Mr. 5 President. 6 For each of us, there's always 7 something in this budget that is important to 8 our districts. But I would first like to 9 congratulate Senator Marcellino on the 10 environmental package. He did an outstanding 11 job, and I think for the environmental budget 12 this is probably one of the best. Having 13 $200 million for the Environmental Protection 14 Fund I think is very historic and very, very 15 important. 16 There's an item here of $50 million 17 for land acquisition, and certainly that is 18 statewide. But for my district, it is -- we 19 are at a very, very important juncture, 20 because what will be preserved or what will be 21 built on is an eight-year period of time. 22 When we look in eight years out, we will have 23 either built on everything that we're going to 24 build on or preserved what we need to 25 preserve.

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(518) 371-8910 1 So the money here for open space 2 acquisition, along with monies from the towns 3 and the county, will help us a great deal in 4 our mission in the First Senatorial District, 5 Eastern Long Island, to continue our 6 preservation efforts so that we can maintain 7 the quality of life for our citizens, not only 8 in the East End but in the County of Suffolk. 9 I'm going to be voting aye. Thank 10 you, Mr. President. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 12 you. Senator LaValle will be recorded in the 13 affirmative. 14 Announce the results. 15 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 16 the negative on Calendar Number 497 are 17 Senators L. Krueger, Parker, and Schneiderman. 18 Ayes, 56. Nays, 3. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 20 bill is passed. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 501, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 6459C, 23 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation 24 Law. 25 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN:

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(518) 371-8910 1 Explanation. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 3 Senator Johnson, an explanation has been 4 requested. 5 SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr. President, 6 this bill implements the appropriations which 7 were included in the previous bill, 6455C, in 8 accordance with Article VII of the 9 Constitution. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 11 Senator Krueger. 12 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you, 13 Mr. President. On the bill. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 15 Senator Krueger, on the bill. 16 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you 17 so much. Just to clarify a number of the 18 comments that people were making in explaining 19 their previous vote. 20 Many of the things people were 21 saying were good about the last bill are 22 actually in this bill, so that they weren't 23 relating to the previous bill which I voted 24 against. 25 And that some of the things that

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(518) 371-8910 1 were already mentioned on the floor here today 2 are important and good things, and one can 3 make the argument, as I do, that I can vote 4 for the language bill because of the sections 5 therein that address some of the key concerns 6 that my colleagues on the other side of the 7 floor were just making in their explanation of 8 their votes, but doesn't change the fact that 9 the previous bill actually is what I would 10 call the pork bill for New York State's budget 11 and is not justified. 12 But in this bill, it is true that 13 we are establishing language for the 14 Environmental Protection Fund, although it 15 will still require dealing with in a later 16 bill because of the way that the language of 17 the Governor was written into the budget bill. 18 And it does provide some of the 19 language for the MTA to expand its bond 20 authority, to accomplish its capital plan for 21 megaprojects that were discussed as being so 22 important to my colleagues in Long Island and 23 to my colleagues here in New York City. And 24 the language bill does ensure that there's 25 money put back in specifically for affordable

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(518) 371-8910 1 housing programs. 2 So again, I think that when I hear 3 my colleagues talk about "the budget" as any 4 given bill, as if you either support the 5 entire budget as proposed or individual 6 sections of the budget, I think it's key to 7 recognize that there's a reason that we take 8 the state budget and we divide it up into a 9 series of different pieces of legislation, 10 both appropriations bills and language bills. 11 Because the state budget is a 12 policy document. It determines the direction 13 we go and how we spend our money, how we do in 14 fact spend those dollars or not, and how we 15 collect those monies. 16 So even in response to an earlier 17 comment by Senator Bruno when he talked about 18 $3.5 billion in tax cuts that this house had 19 supported, well, some of us didn't support 20 that. I distinctly remember voting against 21 that bill. So the devil is in the details. 22 And this language bill, S6459C, 23 that we are currently voting on has some 24 important things in it that I do support and, 25 in fact, my colleagues have already explained

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(518) 371-8910 1 they support. But just for the record, two 2 different bills, two different sets of 3 questions before us. And people should 4 double-check, perhaps, which bill they're 5 addressing. 6 But I will be supporting this bill, 7 Mr. President. Thank you very much. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 9 you, Senator Krueger. You will be recorded in 10 the affirmative. 11 Any other Senator wish to be heard? 12 Debate is closed. Ring the bells. 13 Read the last section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 15 act shall take effect immediately. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 17 the roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll.) 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 20 Senator Parker, to explain his vote. 21 SENATOR PARKER: Yes, 22 Mr. Chairman, thank you. 23 Again, you know, I think that 24 there's some great things in this budget. I 25 am really torn about the decision.

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(518) 371-8910 1 But, you know, the priority, I 2 think, of this Legislature is to protect our 3 future. And there's nothing more important in 4 our future than our young people. And just on 5 behalf of the 1.1 million schoolchildren who 6 are now going to inadequate schools without 7 enough resources, I'm voting no on this budget 8 because it doesn't properly provide for them. 9 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 11 you, Senator Parker. You will be recorded in 12 the negative. 13 Announce the results. 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. Nays, 15 1. Senator Parker recorded in the negative. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 17 bill is passed. 18 Senator Skelos. 19 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 20 is there any further business at the desk? 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: No, 22 there is not. 23 SENATOR SKELOS: Would you please 24 recognize Senator Duane for a petition, a bill 25 out of committee.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 2 Senator Duane. 3 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Mr. 4 President. I have a motion at the desk. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 6 Secretary will read. 7 THE SECRETARY: Senate Print 8 6503, by Senator Duane, an act to amend the 9 Public Health Law. 10 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you. This 11 is for my bill, S6503, Manny's Law. 12 This bill would require hospitals 13 to provide patients with written information 14 in the patient's primary language on the 15 following. Whether the hospital offers 16 charity care or financial assistance, whether 17 the hospital receives from New York State for 18 the reimbursement of charity care provided by 19 the hospital, a pamphlet with information on 20 public health insurance programs, how patients 21 can apply for such programs, and the standards 22 for assessing eligibility for public insurance 23 programs. 24 And the bill also provides for a 25 strong civil cause of action for patients who

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(518) 371-8910 1 are not notified by hospitals of these 2 programs. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: A 4 little respect. Could we take the 5 conversations out of the chamber, please. 6 Senator Duane. 7 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Mr. 8 President. 9 I'm about to speak about the late 10 Manny Lanza. 11 Manny Lanza died of a ruptured 12 blood vessel because a New York hospital was 13 more concerned with how it was going to get 14 paid than how it was going to provide proper 15 treatment for him. And that's an outrage. 16 But Mr. Lanza's case is far from 17 the only one. The situation happens in 18 New York hospitals on a daily basis. While 19 the results often don't end in a death, there 20 is an incredible amount of undue stress placed 21 on patients who cannot afford to pay hospital 22 medical bills. The hospitals put pressure on 23 indigent patients to pay up. And if that 24 doesn't work, the hospitals send in debt 25 collectors to harass them.

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(518) 371-8910 1 To make matters worse, uninsured 2 patients are charged far more for hospital 3 services than those who are insured. 4 Insurance companies simply won't pay the 5 exorbitant prices that these indigent patients 6 are then forced to pay. 7 And there's no justifiable reason 8 for it. The State of New York already pays 9 hospitals over $847 million through its Bad 10 Debt and Charity Care funds. Twenty-two 11 New York City hospitals receive roughly 12 40 percent of this amount. These funds are 13 designed to provide hospitals with the ability 14 to pay for the medical care of the medically 15 indigent and write off any debt incurred by 16 patients who can't pay. 17 So in theory, the Bad Debt and 18 Charity Care funds sound wonderful. But there 19 is a problem. Almost every hospital fails to 20 notify patients about the availability of 21 these funds. If you walked into a hospital 22 today and asked about how to apply for these 23 funds, odds are nobody would be able to tell 24 you. 25 So this begs the question, what

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(518) 371-8910 1 exactly are the hospitals doing with all this 2 money? Why are poor patients being hounded by 3 collection agencies or, worse yet, just flatly 4 being denied medical treatment? Why did Manny 5 Lanza have to die? 6 It's tragic that we even need to do 7 this legislation. But the death of Manny 8 Lanza and the thousands of others who are 9 denied medical care proves that we do need it. 10 Hospitals have shown that they can't really be 11 trusted to do the right thing. I'll be 12 working hard in the legislative session to 13 make this law a reality, and it's my hope that 14 we will never again have someone die in 15 New York simply because they don't have enough 16 money to pay a medical bill. 17 But I have to say I'm pleased that 18 the Legislature listened to me, or in large 19 part listened to me. And I'm thrilled that my 20 bill has made such a strong impact that many 21 of my Manny's Law provisions are in the health 22 and mental hygiene bill that we will take up 23 tomorrow. 24 You know, one of the first things I 25 learned around here by being a member of the

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senate Minority is that you can get anything 2 done if you work hard enough -- hate crimes, 3 SONDA, clinic access, gun control legislation, 4 women's health and wellness, and now Manny's 5 Law -- as long as you're willing not to get 6 credit for it, apparently. 7 So I'm honored that my bill's 8 primary purpose made it into the state budget. 9 It will help countless New Yorkers whose only 10 crime is that they can't afford to pay a 11 medical bill. But if it helps just one person 12 to get the medical help that they deserve, if 13 it helps one family to not be hounded by 14 collection agencies, then I'm happy not to get 15 credit for this. 16 You know, since all of you in the 17 Senate -- and, frankly, in the other house as 18 well -- heard my message, I'm going to 19 withdraw my motion. 20 Thank you, Mr. President. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 22 you, Senator Duane. 23 The motion is withdrawn. 24 Senator Skelos. 25 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, Mr.

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(518) 371-8910 1 President. There being no further business to 2 come before the Senate, I move we stand 3 adjourned until Friday, March 31st, at 4 10:30 a.m. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: On 6 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until 7 Friday, March 31st, 10:30 a.m. 8 (Whereupon, at 12:10 p.m., the 9 Senate adjourned.) 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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(518) 371-8910