Tuesday, April 11, 2006

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 April 11, 2006 11 11:05 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 this 10 morning to give the invocation is Reverend 11 Scott Harris, pastor of Grace Bible Church in 12 Wappingers Falls, New York. 13 REVEREND HARRIS: Heavenly 14 Father, our Creator, You in whom we have our 15 being, in whom we breathe, I come humbly 16 before You this morning asking Your grace and 17 mercy on these who serve You in government, on 18 these men and women whom You have declared to 19 be Your servants. 20 You have entrusted upon them a 21 great and awesome responsibility in making 22 decisions that affect not only the lives of 23 the millions of people in this State of 24 New York, but those who are touched by the 25 citizens of this state. Father, give them

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(518) 371-8910 1 wisdom to discern truth from error, right from 2 wrong, that they may uphold justice. 3 Your word tells us as well that You 4 have established government for the purpose of 5 justice, to revenge upon those who practice 6 evil. Your word tells us that they are Your 7 ministers. 8 Father, I'd also ask You to give 9 them a heart of compassion, to uplift the 10 downtrodden. Again, I ask You to give Your 11 servants the knowledge, the wisdom to make 12 decisions that are, in all of these areas, 13 fitting before you, that Your people may live 14 tranquil and quiet lives before You in all 15 godliness. 16 And then finally, Father, give them 17 a spirit of cooperation, that they may do what 18 is fitting before You and best for the people 19 of this State of New York. 20 I ask this in the name of my 21 savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, for Your sake 22 and glory. Amen. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Reading of the 24 Journal. 25 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Monday, April 10, the Senate met pursuant to 2 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, April 9, 3 was read and approved. On motion, Senate 4 adjourned. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Without 6 objection, the Journal stands approved as 7 read. 8 Presentation of petitions. 9 Messages from the Assembly. 10 Messages from the Governor. 11 The Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: The Governor 13 returned without executive approval Line Items 14 6 through 19 of Senate Bill Number 6450C, 15 Chapter 50, entitled "An act making 16 appropriations for the support of government: 17 Public Protection and General Government 18 Budget." 19 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos. 20 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 21 I move to lay said line items as vetoed by the 22 Governor upon the table. 23 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered. 24 The Secretary will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: The Governor

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(518) 371-8910 1 returned without executive approval Line Items 2 Number 20 through 21 of Senate Bill Number 3 6456C, Chapter 56, entitled "An act to amend 4 the State Finance Law." 5 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos. 6 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 7 I move to lay said line items as vetoed by the 8 Governor upon the table. 9 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered. 10 Reports of standing committees. 11 The Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson, 13 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 14 following nominations. 15 As a member of the Metropolitan 16 Transportation Authority, Andrew M. Saul, of 17 Katonah. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Johnson. 19 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 20 nomination. 21 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 22 the nomination please signify by saying aye. 23 (Response of "Aye.") 24 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 25 (No response.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: The nominee is 2 hereby confirmed. 3 Congratulations and best wishes. 4 Andrew M. Saul of Katonah is here, and we wish 5 you the very best in your new position. 6 (Applause.) 7 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 8 will continue to read. 9 THE SECRETARY: As a nonvoting 10 member of the Metropolitan Transportation 11 Authority, Andrew Albert, of New York City. 12 As an alternate nonvoting member of 13 the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 14 James F. Blair, of Ossining. 15 As a member of the New York Job 16 Development Authority, David H. Feinberg, 17 Esquire, of New York City. 18 As a member of the Genesee State 19 Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation 20 Commission, Dawn M. Keppler, of Medina. 21 As a member of the State Park, 22 Recreation and Historic Preservation 23 Commission for the City of New York, Pia 24 Lindstrom, of New York City. 25 As a member of the Passenger

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(518) 371-8910 1 Tramway Advisory Council, Tom Sanford, of 2 Ballston Spa. 3 As a member of the Board of 4 Visitors of the Capital District Developmental 5 Disabilities Services Office, Susan P. 6 O'Connor, of Delmar. 7 And as a member of the Board of 8 Visitors of the Central New York Developmental 9 Disabilities Services Office, Mary E. 10 Patricia, of Oneonta. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Johnson. 12 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 13 nominations. 14 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 15 the nominees please signify by saying aye. 16 (Response of "Aye.") 17 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 18 (No response.) 19 THE PRESIDENT: The nominees are 20 all hereby confirmed. 21 The Secretary will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson, 23 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 24 following bills direct to third reading: 25 Senate Print 7264A, by the Senate

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(518) 371-8910 1 Committee on Rules, an act to amend Chapter 50 2 of the Laws of 2006, enacting the Public 3 Protection and General Government Budget. 4 And Senate Print 7265, by the 5 Senate Committee on Rules, an act to amend the 6 Social Services Law. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Without 8 objection, the bills are all directed to third 9 reading. 10 Reports of select committees. 11 Communications and reports from 12 state officers. 13 Motions and resolutions. 14 Senator Skelos. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 16 I believe there are substitutions at the desk, 17 if we could make them at this time. 18 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 19 will read. 20 THE SECRETARY: On page 35, 21 Senator DeFrancisco moves to discharge from, 22 the Committee on Codes, Assembly Bill Number 23 8295 and substitute it for the identical 24 Senate Bill Number 4842B, Third Reading 25 Calendar 646.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Bruno moves to discharge, 2 from the Committee on Finance, Assembly Bill 3 Number 10652A and substitute it for the 4 identical Senate Bill Number 7264A, Third 5 Reading Calendar 704. 6 And Senator Bruno moves to 7 discharge, from the Committee on Finance, 8 Assembly Bill Number 10653 and substitute it 9 for the identical Senate Bill Number 7265, 10 Third Reading Calendar 705. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Substitutions 12 ordered. 13 Senator Farley. 14 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Madam 15 President. 16 On behalf of Senator Spano, I wish 17 to call up his bill Print Number 2898, which 18 was recalled from the Assembly, and it's now 19 at the desk. 20 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 21 will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 456, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 2898, an 24 act to amend the Penal Law. 25 SENATOR FARLEY: Madam President,

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(518) 371-8910 1 I now move to reconsider the vote by which 2 this bill was passed. 3 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 4 will call the roll upon reconsideration. 5 (The Secretary called the roll.) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 50. 7 SENATOR FARLEY: Madam President, 8 I now offer the following amendments. It's 9 not on here, but anyway I offer the following 10 amendments. 11 THE PRESIDENT: The amendments 12 are received, Senator. 13 SENATOR FARLEY: And I move that 14 the bill be restored to the Third Reading 15 Calendar. 16 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is so 17 restored to third reading. 18 Thank you, Senator Farley. 19 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you. 20 Madam President, on behalf of 21 Senator Volker, I move to recommit Senate 22 Print Number 3353A, Calendar Number 295 on the 23 order of third reading, to the Committee on 24 Health, with instructions to strike the 25 enacting clause.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered, 2 Senator. 3 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, Madam 6 President. 7 If we could adopt the Resolution 8 Calendar, with the exception of Resolutions 9 4510, 4519, and 4569. 10 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 11 so adopting the Resolution Calendar please 12 signify by saying aye. 13 (Response of "Aye.") 14 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 15 (No response.) 16 THE PRESIDENT: The Resolution 17 Calendar is so adopted. 18 Senator Skelos. 19 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 20 could we have the title read on Resolution 21 4510, by Senator Marcellino. 22 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 23 will read. 24 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 25 Marcellino, Legislative Resolution Number

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(518) 371-8910 1 4510, commemorating the 36th Anniversary of 2 Earth Day on April 22, 2006. 3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos. 4 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 5 could we adopt the resolution and open it up 6 for cosponsorship. 7 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 8 adopting the resolution signify by saying aye. 9 (Response of "Aye.") 10 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 11 (No response.) 12 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 13 adopted. 14 Any member who does not wish to 15 cosponsor the last resolution please notify 16 the desk. 17 Senator Skelos. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 19 could we take up Resolution 4519, by Senator 20 Maltese, have the title read, move for its 21 immediate adoption, and open it up for 22 cosponsorship. 23 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 24 will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: By Senator

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(518) 371-8910 1 Maltese, Legislative Resolution Number 4519, 2 memorializing Governor George E. Pataki to 3 proclaim April 23, 2006, as a Day of 4 Remembrance for the Polish Martyrs of the 5 Katyn Forest. 6 THE PRESIDENT: The question is 7 on the resolution. All in favor please 8 signify by saying aye. 9 (Response of "Aye.") 10 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 11 (No response.) 12 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 13 adopted. 14 Any member who does not wish to 15 cosponsor the last resolution please notify 16 the desk. 17 Senator Skelos. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Could we take up 19 resolution 4569, by Senator Maltese, have the 20 title read and move for its immediate 21 adoption, and then open it up for 22 cosponsorship. 23 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 24 will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: By Senator

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(518) 371-8910 1 Maltese, Legislative Resolution Number 4569, 2 commemorating the 91st Anniversary of the 3 Armenian Genocide on Friday, April 21, 2006. 4 THE PRESIDENT: The question now 5 is on the resolution. All in favor please 6 signify by saying aye. 7 (Response of "Aye.") 8 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 9 (No response.) 10 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 11 adopted. 12 Any member who does not wish to 13 cosponsor the last resolution please notify 14 the desk. 15 Senator Skelos. 16 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 17 there's a resolution at the desk by Senator 18 Gonzalez. If we could have the title read and 19 move for its immediate adoption. 20 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 21 will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 23 Gonzalez, Legislative Resolution Number 4573, 24 commemorating the 19th Annual Somos El Futuro 25 Conference, to be held April 28-30, 2006, and

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(518) 371-8910 1 commending the creative talents of Carla Pinza 2 as she is honored during the conference. 3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos. 4 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could 5 adopt the resolution. 6 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 7 the resolution please signify by saying aye. 8 (Response of "Aye.") 9 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 10 (No response.) 11 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 12 adopted. 13 Senator Skelos. 14 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 15 if you would recognize Senator Parker. 16 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Parker. 17 SENATOR PARKER: I believe 18 there's a resolution at the desk, 19 Resolution 4471. 20 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution 21 has already been passed, Senator Parker. 22 Would you like to speak on the resolution? 23 SENATOR PARKER: Yes, Madam 24 President, on the resolution. 25 THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed

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(518) 371-8910 1 on the resolution. 2 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you very 3 much. 4 As many of you know, one of the 5 only really uniquely art forms to come out of 6 the United States of America, if you may, is 7 jazz. And on Friday, March 31, 2006, 8 unfortunately we lost one of our great legends 9 of jazz. Jazz has been something that's been 10 integral not just for the African-American 11 experience but for the American experience 12 itself. And that legend is jazz saxophonist 13 Jackie McLean. And Jackie McLean, at the age 14 of 74, was recently lost to us. 15 Jackie McLean was born May 17, 16 1931, the son of a jazz guitarist in Harlem. 17 He lived down the block from Bud Powell and 18 Sonny Rollins, two other legends and, you 19 know, built his craft on playing with those 20 gentlemen. 21 He was somebody who gave a great 22 deal to jazz and to American culture because 23 he was able to not just imitate other people's 24 styles, but he was able to create his own 25 style, creating what's been known as free

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(518) 371-8910 1 jazz. 2 But he was somebody who understood 3 where he had come from. So he had spent time 4 studying with the great masters of his time, 5 including Charlie Parker, who he emulated a 6 great deal. He played with Miles Davis. He 7 played with Art Blakey and the Jazz 8 Messengers. Somebody who, in the New York 9 tristate area, was often seen at places like 10 the Village Vanguard. 11 But he was probably most known for 12 his work not just as a performer, but also as 13 a teacher. He left actually kind of in his 14 midcareer, in the '70s, to go teach at the 15 Hartt School of Music at the University of 16 Hartford. And there he took a small music 17 program and built a full degree program in 18 jazz, where many renowned jazz artists still 19 go and play and get teaching from. 20 We're going to miss Jackie McLean, 21 not just because of his music and his 22 performance but what he's done for our young 23 people and what he's done not just for, again, 24 African-American culture but what he's 25 contributed to American culture.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Rest well, my fellow traveler on 2 this journey of life. And thank you for all 3 you've given us, not just for your music but 4 also for your teaching. 5 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution 6 was previously adopted. 7 Senator Skelos. 8 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 9 Resolution 3002, by Senator Fuschillo, was 10 previously adopted. If we could have it read 11 in its entirety and then recognize Senator 12 Fuschillo. 13 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 14 will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 16 Fuschillo, Legislative Resolution Number 3002, 17 congratulating the Merrick/North Merrick 18 Little League 12-year-olds Team upon the 19 occasion of capturing the 2005 New York State 20 12-year-olds Little League Baseball 21 Championship. 22 "WHEREAS, Excellence and success in 23 competitive sports can be achieved only 24 through strenuous practice, team play and team 25 spirit, nurtured by dedicated coaching and

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(518) 371-8910 1 strategic planning; and 2 "WHEREAS, Athletic competition 3 enhances the moral and physical development of 4 the young people of this state, preparing them 5 for the future by instilling in them the value 6 of teamwork, encouraging a standard of healthy 7 living, imparting a desire for success, and 8 developing a sense of fair play and 9 competition; and 10 "WHEREAS, the Merrick/North Merrick 11 Little League 12-year-olds Team are the 12 District 31 and Long Island 12-year-olds 13 Little League Baseball Champions. They 14 continued their winning streak on August 2, 15 2005, by defeating East Greenbush by a score 16 of 10-5 to capture the New York State 17 Championship; and 18 "WHEREAS, The athletic talent 19 displayed by this team is due in great part to 20 the efforts of Manager Paul Christopher and 21 Coaches Dave Marcello, Ed Stalzer, Brooks 22 Thomas, and Gary Weitzman, skilled and 23 inspirational tutors respected for their 24 ability to develop potential into excellence; 25 and

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(518) 371-8910 1 "WHEREAS, The team's overall record 2 is outstanding, and the team members were 3 loyally and enthusiastically supported by 4 family, fans, friends and the community at 5 large; and 6 "WHEREAS, The hallmark of the 7 Merrick/North Merrick Little League 8 12-year-olds Team, from the opening game of 9 the season to participation in the 10 championship, were a brotherhood of athletic 11 ability, of good sportsmanship, and of honor, 12 demonstrating that these team players are 13 second to none; and 14 "WHEREAS, Manager Paul Christopher 15 and Coaches Dave Marcello, Ed Stalzer, Brooks 16 Thomas, and Gary Weitzman have done a superb 17 job in guiding, molding and inspiring the team 18 members toward their goals; and 19 "WHEREAS, Sports competition 20 instills the values of teamwork, pride and 21 accomplishment, and Manager Paul Christopher 22 and Coaches Dave Marcello, Ed Stalzer, 23 Brooks Thomas, and Gary Weitzman and their 24 outstanding athletes have clearly made a 25 contribution to the spirit of excellence which

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(518) 371-8910 1 is a tradition of their community; now, 2 therefore, be it 3 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 4 Body pause in its deliberations to 5 congratulate the Merrick/North Merrick Little 6 League 12-year-olds Team, its members -- Joey 7 Christopher, Justin Fields, Justin Harrison, 8 Evan Krohn, Nick Marcello, Patrick Murphy, 9 Josh Nigro, Joey Saladino, Robbie Stalzer, 10 Jake Thomas, and Ross Weitzman -- Manager Paul 11 Christopher, and Coaches Dave Marcello, 12 Ed Stalzer, Brooks Thomas, and Gary Weitzman 13 upon the occasion of capturing the 2005 14 New York State 12-year-olds Little League 15 Baseball Championship; and be it further 16 "RESOLVED, That copies of this 17 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 18 to the Merrick/North Merrick Little League 19 12-year-olds Team, Manager Paul Christopher, 20 and Coaches Dave Marcello, Ed Stalzer, Brooks 21 Thomas, and Gary Weitzman." 22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 23 Fuschillo. 24 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you, 25 Madam President.

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(518) 371-8910 1 You know, I feel like this is 2 deja vu. Again, two years in a row, we're 3 honoring the Merrick/North Merrick Little 4 League team. Last year, my son was on the 5 team, and it was a great day. And I want to 6 welcome all the kids and their parents here. 7 But I want to congratulate them on 8 their success. And I don't want to rub it in 9 that they crushed East Greenbush, Madam 10 President, to win the state championship. Not 11 a good idea. But, you know, I just had to put 12 that on the record book. 13 But I want to welcome all the kids 14 and congratulate you on your success. One of 15 the managers is here, Brooks Thomas. 16 But I want to compliment Paul 17 Christopher, the manager of the team. Twelve 18 months out of the year, when possible, if it's 19 not raining or snowing, wherever we go in our 20 community, when we drive by a baseball field, 21 Paul is on the field. I don't know if it's 22 your wife, Jeannie, telling you to get out of 23 the house, get on the field, but you are 24 always there. 25 And I have to compliment you

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(518) 371-8910 1 because when I went to the game out in Commack 2 when they beat East Greenbush and won the 3 state championship, what I saw was a team full 4 of kids that understood sportsmanship, they 5 understood respect for the other players. And 6 you've done a great job. 7 And I'm going to ask all the kids 8 to please rise, as my colleagues here in the 9 Senate salute you on becoming the New York 10 State champions. Congratulations, boys. 11 (Applause.) 12 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Madam 13 President, I do want to just note that two 14 years ago East Greenbush did defeat this team. 15 So, you know, this was a sweet victory last 16 summer. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 18 Senator. I was just about to mention that, 19 but better that you say it than I do. 20 (Laughter.) 21 THE PRESIDENT: And you know, in 22 everything in life, including in sports, it's 23 important to be a gracious loser. So in that 24 mode, I was happy to meet you earlier today 25 and to have my picture taken with you.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Baseball is my son Justin's 2 favorite sport. He played Little League and 3 now plays varsity baseball. And I'm sure you 4 guys are going to go on to great things, as 5 evidenced by your successes already. 6 Congratulations and best wishes for 7 continued success. 8 (Applause.) 9 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Skelos. 10 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam President, 11 if we could take up the noncontroversial 12 reading of the calendar. 13 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 14 will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 631, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 3174, an 17 act to amend the General Business Law, in 18 relation to itinerant vendors. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 20 section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 22 act shall take effect immediately. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 24 (The Secretary called the roll.) 25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54. Nays,

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(518) 371-8910 1 1. Senator Maltese recorded in the negative. 2 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 3 passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 630, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 2726A, an 6 act to amend the General Business Law, in 7 relation to the sale of laser pointing 8 devices. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 10 section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 12 act shall take effect on the first of 13 September. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55. 17 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 18 passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 633, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 4987A, 21 an act to amend the General Business Law, in 22 relation to prohibiting the sale. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 24 section. 25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This

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(518) 371-8910 1 act shall take effect on the 60th day. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll.) 4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Duane, to 5 explain your vote. 6 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Madam 7 President. 8 This bill would ban the sale of 9 salvia divinorum, which is a powerful 10 hallucinogenic, and that's a good idea. But 11 people who use such a product, I'm guessing, 12 probably have a drug addiction. And I'm 13 guessing that children who live with such a 14 person live in a scary and chaotic household. 15 Let me give you an example of 16 someone using salvia divinorum. Brett 17 Chidester committed suicide -- he was 17 years 18 old, he lived in Wilmington, Delaware -- and 19 his family blames the drug. Brett was a 20 straight A student who ranked top in his state 21 in Spanish and was making plans for college 22 and to buy his girlfriend roses for 23 Valentine's Day. 24 On January 23rd, he put a charcoal 25 grill inside a tent in his father's garage,

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(518) 371-8910 1 lit the grill, and crawled inside the tent. A 2 suicide note described revelations that echo 3 descriptions of salvia experiences posted by 4 users to various salvia-related websites. 5 "How can I go on living after I 6 learn the secrets of life?" he wrote. "It 7 took me 17 years, but I finally figured it 8 out. I can't tell you that here, because that 9 kind of information can cause chaos." 10 Obviously some delusions there. 11 His mother, Kathleen Chidester, 12 says her son bought salvia on a website. His 13 father, Dennis, says police took salvia from 14 his room. Kathleen says she believes Brett 15 was depressed and used salvia because it was 16 legal. His suicide note left no doubt in her 17 mind that salvia had something to do with his 18 death. 19 You know, it's obvious that Brett 20 was using this drug and had a mental illness 21 or that the drug created a mental illness. 22 This drug manifests very dangerous and harmful 23 behaviors, and they led to his suicide. He 24 obviously needed mental health treatment, and 25 obviously the people living in his household

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(518) 371-8910 1 now need mental health services as well. 2 But if he lived in New York State, 3 he wouldn't be able to get the mental health 4 and chemical addiction treatment that he 5 needed. 6 And here we are, this is the end of 7 another week in Albany, and the Senate has not 8 yet passed Timothy's Law. We're going away 9 for the holidays, and we're leaving this 10 important bill behind. I don't understand why 11 we don't pass this law. We need to pass 12 Timothy's Law this session. 13 I vote yes, Madam President. 14 THE PRESIDENT: You will be so 15 recorded as voting in the affirmative. 16 The Secretary will announce the 17 results. 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 19 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 20 passed. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 639, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 465, an 23 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 24 custodial interference. 25 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last

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(518) 371-8910 1 section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 3 act shall take effect on the first of 4 November. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll.) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 8 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 9 passed. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 640, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 466, an 12 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 13 establishing. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 15 section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 17 act shall take effect on the first of 18 November. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll.) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56. Nays, 22 1. Senator Montgomery recorded in the 23 negative. 24 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 25 passed.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 642, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 544A, an 3 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 4 possession. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 6 section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 8 act shall take effect on the first of 9 November. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll.) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 13 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 14 passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 644, by Senator Winner, Senate Print 1428, an 17 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to the 18 imposition. 19 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it 20 aside. 21 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is laid 22 aside. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 645, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 3743D, an 25 act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to the

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(518) 371-8910 1 criminal sale. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 3 section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 5 act shall take effect on the first of 6 November. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll.) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 10 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 11 passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 646, substituted earlier by Member of the 14 Assembly Weinstein, Assembly Print Number 15 8295, an act to amend the Civil Practice Law 16 and Rules. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 18 section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 20 act shall take effect immediately. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll.) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 24 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 25 passed.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 654, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 423, an 3 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in 4 relation to speeding. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 6 section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 8 act shall take effect on the 180th day. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll.) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56. Nays, 12 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative. 13 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 14 passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 655, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 424A, an 17 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in 18 relation to form of number plates. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 20 section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 22 act shall take effect immediately. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 24 (The Secretary called the roll.) 25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 2 passed. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 657, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 1043, an 5 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law and 6 the Administrative Code of the City of New 7 York. 8 THE PRESIDENT: There is a local 9 fiscal impact note at the desk. 10 Read the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 12 act shall take effect immediately. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll.) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 16 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 17 passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 704, substituted earlier today by the Assembly 20 Committee on Rules -- 21 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it 22 aside. 23 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is laid 24 aside. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number

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(518) 371-8910 1 705, substituted earlier today by the Assembly 2 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print Number 3 10653 -- 4 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Lay it 5 aside. 6 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is laid 7 aside. 8 Senator Skelos, that completes the 9 reading of the noncontroversial calendar. 10 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, Madam 11 President. If we could go to the 12 controversial reading of the calendar. 13 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 14 will ring the bell. 15 The Secretary will read. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 644, by Senator Winner, Senate Print 1428, an 18 act to amend the Penal Law. 19 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: 20 Explanation. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Winner, 22 an explanation has been requested. 23 SENATOR WINNER: Thank you, Madam 24 President. 25 This is a very simple measure that

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(518) 371-8910 1 amends a section of the Penal Law that would 2 require or authorize the suspension of a motor 3 vehicle operator's license for an individual 4 who has failed to provide a fine for the 5 unlawful possession of marijuana. 6 This measure is thought necessary 7 by the Magistrates Association and other 8 judges who believe that due to the fact that 9 there is no jailable offense for a violation 10 of the underlying Penal Law, there is no 11 sanction available to compel from a defendant 12 the payment of the fine, and therefore these 13 fines are often ignored. 14 More importantly, Madam President, 15 any opportunity to compel that individual 16 defendant into substance abuse treatment and 17 the like is thwarted by the inability of the 18 court to have any supervision over that 19 defendant, because they cannot compel his 20 performance with the sanctions of the court. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 22 Schneiderman. 23 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Very 24 briefly on the bill, Madam President. 25 Quite a few of us have opposed this

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(518) 371-8910 1 measure, although sympathetic to the concern 2 about the difficulty collecting fines. Quite 3 frankly, this seems to be a situation where 4 we're cutting off our nose to spite our face. 5 If you take away someone's driver's license, 6 they can't get to a job to pay the fine, they 7 can't get to substance abuse treatment even if 8 they're in substance abuse treatment. 9 So as Senator DeFrancisco noted in 10 a previous debate, there's got to be another 11 remedy. There just is no coherent nexus 12 between your driver's license and your failure 13 to pay a marijuana fine. And in fact, taking 14 away someone's driver's license penalizes the 15 family, makes it harder for people to work, 16 and really is not a way to move the process 17 forward of trying to collect fines. 18 So with that problem still hanging 19 out there, I will be once again voting no. 20 Thank you. 21 SENATOR WINNER: Madam President. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Winner. 23 SENATOR WINNER: Will Senator 24 Schneiderman yield for a question? 25 THE PRESIDENT: Senator

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(518) 371-8910 1 Schneiderman, will you yield for a question? 2 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes. 3 SENATOR WINNER: Senator, do you 4 believe that someone ought to pay a fine 5 that's imposed by a court for violation of a 6 section of the Penal Law? 7 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I believe 8 people should pay fines. 9 I believe that we passed statutes 10 saying you should collect sales tax on Indian 11 reservations; that law should be followed. I 12 believe that when the Legislature passes laws 13 or overrides a veto, that the executive branch 14 should follow the law. So there are a lot of 15 things I believe in that other people don't 16 believe in, but I certainly believe you should 17 pay a fine. 18 My point is that this, I believe, 19 as a practical matter, will make it less 20 likely that someone will be able to pay a fine 21 and will penalize the person's family also. I 22 think there's got to be a more creative 23 approach to this than taking away a driver's 24 license. 25 SENATOR WINNER: Well, Senator, I

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(518) 371-8910 1 also believe in the three examples that you 2 brought up as well. 3 But my problem here is that the 4 Magistrates Association and others have 5 indicated that this is a widespread problem 6 whereby these fines are repeatedly ignored. 7 And therefore, I believe that sanctions 8 imposed by a court under the appropriate 9 circumstances should be adhered to by those 10 individuals. 11 And I'm hopeful that maybe you have 12 a suggestion as to how we can get those 13 determinations and orders by the court to be 14 adhered to. In particular, I wonder what your 15 response is to the suggestion by the 16 Magistrates Association that many of those 17 individuals really need the sanction of the 18 court to ensure that they have substance abuse 19 treatment. 20 And also, with regard to driver's 21 licenses, that's a particularly treasured 22 piece of right that the individual possesses. 23 And I believe that with that in jeopardy, 24 there will be more of an opportunity to have 25 that individual adhere to that order of the

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(518) 371-8910 1 court. 2 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Well, I 3 don't think anyone here has any question that 4 there's a problem getting people to pay fines 5 in this and other areas. 6 The point that I think some of us 7 have tried to make on both sides of the 8 aisle -- and the reason this bill has no 9 support, I don't think, in the Assembly -- is 10 that this is a not a practical solution to the 11 problem. This is not going to make it more 12 likely that people will get substance abuse 13 treatment, will be able to continue in their 14 jobs. 15 We're not just looking at this in 16 some abstract sense. I mean, you can cut off 17 people's hands also. That's not a practical 18 solution. Taking away a driver's license is 19 not the way to get someone who has a substance 20 abuse problem back on the track to being a 21 productive member of our state, taking care of 22 their family, going to their job, going to 23 substance abuse treatment. 24 You know, we favor more access to 25 substance abuse treatment. Senator Duane is

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(518) 371-8910 1 speaking about the need for us to pass a law 2 to guarantee that people have help with any 3 mental health problems that they might 4 encounter. 5 Our objection is simply practical 6 here. This is not the way to address a 7 problem which we all agree exists. We're 8 sympathetic to the problem of collecting the 9 fines. It's not limited to this particular 10 type of offense. We have problems collecting 11 fines, child support, a lot of things. 12 There are different approaches. 13 This one, taking away a driver's license, 14 simply is not a practical solution to the 15 problem, in our view, and that's why I'm 16 voting no. But certainly not for any lack of 17 sympathy with the problem. 18 SENATOR WINNER: Senator, I think 19 my specific question is: What sanction do you 20 feel would be appropriate under these 21 circumstances? I don't think that you're 22 probably suggesting that we have the 23 opportunity to jail these individuals. 24 And also, with regard to driver's 25 licenses, Senator, we take them away from

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(518) 371-8910 1 people who don't pay their child support. I 2 wonder whether or not you feel that having 3 them taken away under those circumstances is 4 creating too much of a hardship for those 5 individuals. 6 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I think -- 7 I mean, I'm happy to have this discussion. 8 This is the kind of discussion we should have 9 in committee if we had such discussions in 10 committee. And I'd be happy to talk to the 11 sponsor about it. 12 I do not think that taking away 13 driver's licenses is a very effective way to 14 compel compliance with the law. And in fact, 15 I think it does penalize family members under 16 a variety of circumstances. 17 So I don't think that getting 18 people out of the system -- and this also 19 comes up in the context of the rights of 20 undocumented immigrants. We want everyone to 21 have a driver's license, to be in the system, 22 to be able to get to and from work or to 23 substance abuse treatment. If someone has a 24 substance abuse problem, let the judge order 25 that they go to substance abuse treatment. I

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(518) 371-8910 1 understand that this is a difficult problem, 2 but this is not a practical solution. I would 3 suggest -- 4 SENATOR WINNER: Senator, I don't 5 think it's -- 6 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: If I could 7 just finish, I would suggest that rather than 8 take everyone's time on a spring day, we 9 should recommit this bill to Codes and 10 continue the discussion there under the 11 auspices of the great arbiter of criminal 12 justice remedies, Senator Volker. 13 But with that, you know, I'm happy 14 to engage in further discussion outside the 15 chamber today. I'm just not sure how much 16 we're advancing the debate, since this is not 17 going to pass the Assembly and we do have some 18 more pressing matters to take up this 19 afternoon. 20 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Winner, 21 do you want to ask Senator Schneiderman to 22 yield again, or you're all finished? 23 SENATOR WINNER: No, I'm very 24 confident that we'll be moving forward in a 25 direction that is different from where Senator

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(518) 371-8910 1 Schneiderman wishes to lead us. Thank you. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Stavisky, 3 I believe, wanted to speak. 4 SENATOR STAVISKY: If the sponsor 5 would yield for, really, one question which 6 has been partially answered. 7 SENATOR WINNER: Certainly. 8 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Winner 9 does yield. 10 SENATOR STAVISKY: I have voted 11 for this in the past. 12 You mentioned child support as 13 being one of the conditions for -- or lack of 14 payment of child support as one of the 15 conditions for taking away the driver's 16 license. Are there any other circumstances 17 under which -- any other crimes under which 18 this would apply? In other words, are there 19 any other situations -- 20 SENATOR WINNER: Well, there's 21 certainly violations of the motor vehicle law 22 regarding losing driver's licenses. 23 SENATOR STAVISKY: Aside from 24 those. 25 SENATOR WINNER: Whether there

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(518) 371-8910 1 are other ones, I'm not familiar with them 2 right now. 3 SENATOR STAVISKY: Oh, okay. 4 Thank you. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Connor. 6 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Madam 7 President. 8 While I certainly have concerns 9 about imposing penalties that are unrelated to 10 the actual wrong that a person has committed, 11 whether it's not paying a fine or whatever, it 12 seems to me we have done that in the past. 13 And the perfect example is child support 14 enforcement, which I supported that 15 legislation which resulted in, you know, if 16 someone violates an order for child support, 17 you lose your driver's license. 18 Certainly in this instance, you 19 know, I've heard a discussion among my 20 colleagues here talking about the need for we 21 want to get somebody in substance abuse 22 programs and so on. If that be the case, if 23 the person has a serious substance abuse 24 problem, I can actually see more relationship 25 between that and their driving privilege than

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(518) 371-8910 1 in other instances. Because, you know, there 2 is -- if the person is not paying their fine, 3 not complying with court orders for treatment, 4 there is a possibility that they could 5 actually do harm driving a motor vehicle until 6 they are treated. 7 So I'm not quite so offended by 8 this bill, since we've gone down that road 9 before. I suspect that when someone gets a 10 notice that their license is being revoked, it 11 will be kind of a wake-up call to get in there 12 and pay the fine and do something about it. 13 And, you know, you can't exist without either 14 a driver's license or an ID from Motor 15 Vehicles these days. It's -- you know, we've 16 had those debates about ID, identification. 17 So I'm going to vote for this, 18 because it seems to me I think to some good 19 effect we've used this penalty in the past for 20 those who are in violation or not paying child 21 support. So the fact is on the books, and I 22 think all of us supported it, is this penalty 23 is used of revoking a driver's license in the 24 case of child support. So I don't see what's 25 wrong with this bill either.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Thank you. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Diaz. 3 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, Madam 4 President. Would the sponsor yield for one or 5 two questions, please. 6 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Winner, 7 do you yield for a question? 8 SENATOR WINNER: Yes, Madam 9 President. 10 THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed, 11 Senator. 12 SENATOR DIAZ: Senator, I'm 13 reading the bill. It says the bill provides 14 for the suspension of a driver's license of a 15 person convicted of unlawful possession of 16 marijuana who fails to pay a fine imposed by 17 the court. 18 Would this apply also for those 19 that are convicted and fail to pay the fine 20 for possession of heroin? 21 SENATOR WINNER: Senator, this is 22 specifically for the marijuana statute. It 23 wouldn't be applicable for heroin, because a 24 heroin possession -- 25 SENATOR DIAZ: So the answer is

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(518) 371-8910 1 no? 2 SENATOR WINNER: Allow me to 3 answer, Senator. 4 A violation for a possession of 5 heroin statute inherently authorizes the court 6 to impose a jail sentence. The difference 7 between this section and the heroin possession 8 section is that there's no jail authorized by 9 the court -- or authorized by the statute to 10 be imposed upon that defendant. So under 11 those circumstances, it's an entirely 12 different circumstance. 13 The court is saying right now that 14 because it is not a jailable offense, a 15 fine -- the failure to pay the fine carries no 16 sanction, and therefore it can be readily 17 ignored. 18 SENATOR DIAZ: So through you, 19 Madam President, would he still -- would the 20 good Senator still yield for me. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Would the Senator 22 yield for another question, Senator Winner? 23 SENATOR WINNER: Yes, Madam 24 President. 25 THE PRESIDENT: He yields,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator. 2 SENATOR DIAZ: So you're telling 3 me that there is no way, no how, that a person 4 that is found in possession of heroin would 5 ever be fined? He or she will always be put 6 in prison? No one would be fined? 7 SENATOR WINNER: Senator, I 8 indicated, I believe, in my response that a 9 person who is sentenced to a fine for the 10 possession of heroin has another sanction 11 available to him if in fact he fails to pay 12 that fine, and that is jail. 13 SENATOR DIAZ: Time out. 14 My question -- this bill applies to 15 a person that is found guilty of possession of 16 marijuana and fails to pay the fine. My 17 question, a simple question, if a person is 18 found guilty of possession of heroin and is 19 fined and he or she fails to pay the fine, 20 would this apply to them? 21 SENATOR WINNER: No, it would 22 not, Senator. 23 SENATOR DIAZ: Would the sponsor 24 continue to yield. 25 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Winner,

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(518) 371-8910 1 will you yield for another question? 2 SENATOR WINNER: Yes, Madam 3 President. 4 THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed, 5 Senator Diaz. 6 SENATOR DIAZ: If a person, he or 7 she is found guilty of the possession of crack 8 and she or he fails to pay that fine, would 9 this apply to them? 10 SENATOR WINNER: Senator, the 11 whole purpose, again, of this statute is to 12 authorize a sanction in the event that you 13 have a fine imposed for violation of a 14 marijuana possession statute. 15 In those instances that you've 16 cited, there is another sanction available in 17 the event that you've failed to pay the fine. 18 And that is the court can put you in jail. 19 In this statute, if you don't pay 20 the fine for marijuana, the court can't do 21 anything to you. And that is why the 22 Magistrates Association members have written 23 me in a number of correspondence to ask me to 24 put this bill in so that they can have the 25 ability to have a sanction for failure to

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(518) 371-8910 1 comply with their court order. It's a very 2 simple statute. 3 SENATOR DIAZ: And I must -- 4 SENATOR WINNER: But it has 5 nothing to do with crack, it has nothing to do 6 with heroin, it has nothing to do with 7 anything other than a marijuana offense under 8 the Penal Law. 9 SENATOR DIAZ: I'm just playing 10 Columbo here. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Diaz, do 12 you wish to proceed on the bill? 13 SENATOR DIAZ: Through you, Madam 14 President, would the sponsor continue to 15 yield. 16 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Winner, 17 do you yield for another question? 18 SENATOR WINNER: Yes, Madam 19 President. 20 THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed 21 with a question, Senator Diaz. 22 SENATOR DIAZ: Okay. If a person 23 is found guilty and fails to pay the fine for 24 marijuana possession, would that person become 25 a fugitive of the law or not?

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR WINNER: Senator, again, 2 for the sake of repetition, if in fact they 3 don't pay the fine, there's nothing that they 4 can do to him. 5 Except maybe if he had another 6 violation of the same statute and you went 7 before that same judge the second time, he 8 might say: You know, I remember you from the 9 last time you were in here, and you didn't pay 10 my fine, so therefore maybe I'm going to get 11 even with you under those circumstances. 12 But the statute does not authorize 13 any type of a sanction whatsoever for failure 14 to pay the fine. 15 SENATOR DIAZ: So one last 16 question. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Winner, 18 will you yield for one last question? 19 SENATOR WINNER: Madam President, 20 I will yield for one last question. 21 THE PRESIDENT: He does yield. 22 SENATOR DIAZ: So anyone that is 23 listening to us could go and sell marijuana 24 and could expect that if they're found guilty 25 and they don't pay the fine, nothing will

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(518) 371-8910 1 happen to them? 2 SENATOR WINNER: Senator, did you 3 say "sell marijuana" or did you say "possess 4 marijuana"? 5 SENATOR DIAZ: Possession of 6 marijuana. Nothing happens to them if they 7 are found guilty and they are fined by the 8 court and they fail to pay the fine, nothing 9 happens to them? 10 SENATOR WINNER: For the small 11 amount that constitutes a violation for which 12 the underlying statute does not call for 13 imprisonment or any jail time, yes, you are 14 correct, nothing can happen to them. 15 Thank you, Senator. 16 SENATOR DIAZ: Nothing can happen 17 to them. 18 Okay, thank you, Madam President. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Does any other 20 member wish to be heard? 21 Senator Krueger. 22 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you, 23 Madam President. Briefly on the bill. 24 So I listened to the debate, and I 25 was reading through the penal code sentencing

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(518) 371-8910 1 charts. And there's endless numbers of 2 misdemeanors that involve fines. So I 3 empathize with my colleague's frustration 4 that -- what happens if you don't pay your 5 fine. And I would assume that those 6 frustrations must be out there across the 7 board on many, many different issues in the 8 state. 9 And there was a question raised, I 10 believe by Senator Winner in a dialogue, about 11 what could we do instead of taking people's 12 driver's license. Because I share my 13 colleague Senator Schneiderman's concern that 14 taking someone's driver's license, 15 particularly outside the city of New York, 16 decreases their ability to get to work to get 17 the wages to continue to pay things, including 18 their fines. 19 So in answer to the question what 20 else could we do, I might simply suggest to 21 the sponsor that we could use the powers of 22 the Legislature to garnish wages or to 23 intercept tax refunds and credits, which would 24 get the money to the courts but would not put 25 us in a situation where we're establishing a

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(518) 371-8910 1 precedent of selecting specific misdemeanor 2 fines and going after driver's licenses. 3 Which in this case the driver's 4 license has no correlation to the crime, but 5 again would address the question perhaps of 6 your magistrates in Steuben County and perhaps 7 in other counties that they should be able to 8 draw down this money. 9 Certainly garnishment of wages and 10 interception of tax refunds is used by the 11 State of New York in many different 12 circumstances. So I suppose I'd propose this 13 as an alternative remedy to the dilemma, 14 because, again, this proposal doesn't seem to 15 be moving forward in the other house. 16 And even though I did vote for this 17 bill last year, having heard the discussion 18 and realizing what I think is the flaw in 19 taking someone's ability to get to work and 20 earn an income away from them because they 21 failed to pay a fine, that I think garnishment 22 and interception of tax credits and refunds 23 might be a better model to address the 24 problem. So I'll be voting no this year. 25 Thank you, Madam President.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Connor. 2 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, Madam 3 President. 4 You know, once upon a time, 1975, I 5 believe it was, '76, a historic moment took 6 place in this chamber. A bill passed by one 7 vote. The late Senator Abe Bernstein -- I see 8 some of my colleagues who were -- was 9 brought -- I wasn't here -- was brought in, 10 literally, had had an amputation and was 11 brought from the hospital in here to cast the 12 deciding vote. 13 The vote was to decriminalize the 14 possession of small amounts of marijuana; in 15 street lingo, a joint or two. Now I'm hearing 16 a debate that's confusing everything, and it's 17 upsetting, because this was historic. 18 New York passed historic legislation. This 19 was a much more conservative body then, it was 20 much more conservative times, yet that passed. 21 And it passed at a time when, through the late 22 '60s and early '70s, a lot of youth were being 23 stigmatized for precisely that. 24 So when I hear a colleague talk 25 about misdemeanors and crimes, it is not a

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(518) 371-8910 1 crime, it is not a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor 2 is a crime. Possession of small amounts of 3 marijuana is not a crime, it is what is known 4 as a violation. 5 Violations are very minor things. 6 They do not result in a criminal conviction. 7 They are not a crime. You can answer the 8 question, when you apply for a job, "Have you 9 ever been convicted of a crime?" The answer 10 is no. "Have you ever been arrested for a 11 crime?" The answer is no. 12 It's why a kid with a joint today 13 gets a desk appearance ticket. It's like 14 getting a ticket for parking. It is not a 15 crime. So to say the other penalties for the 16 other misdemeanors we should use here -- it's 17 not a misdemeanor. The other misdemeanors are 18 crimes. 19 And, Madam President, that was an 20 important change in the law. I understand 21 what Senator Winner is doing now. It's so 22 took the stigma out of it that there's no way 23 to even enforce a $50 or $100 fine. 24 So I'm supporting this legislation, 25 but I'd just like the record to be straight.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Anything you read in the Penal Law about 2 misdemeanors has no application here. 3 Thank you, Madam President. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Diaz. 5 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, Madam 6 President. Would -- Madam -- Madam President, 7 through you. 8 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Diaz, you 9 have the floor. 10 SENATOR DIAZ: Yeah, through you, 11 will Senator Connor yield for a question. 12 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Connor, 13 will you yield for a question? 14 SENATOR CONNOR: Certainly. 15 SENATOR DIAZ: Senator Connor, 16 Senator Winner just said -- and we all heard, 17 and you also said it now -- that it is a small 18 quantity of possession of marijuana. And that 19 is not a crime, according to you. 20 SENATOR CONNOR: It is not a 21 crime. According to the law, Senator. 22 SENATOR DIAZ: It is not a crime? 23 SENATOR CONNOR: Nope. 24 SENATOR DIAZ: So if it is not a 25 crime, and the court and the law will do

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(518) 371-8910 1 nothing to anyone that doesn't pay the fine, 2 why do you want to take the license away? 3 SENATOR CONNOR: Senator -- 4 SENATOR DIAZ: I'm surprised you 5 voted for this. Thank you. 6 SENATOR CONNOR: Senator, I'll 7 give you another example. Parking ticket. 8 It's not a crime. A parking ticket in the 9 City of New York is not a crime. 10 It can cost you -- a $100, $125 11 fine. If you don't pay a parking ticket in 12 New York City, you can't be put in jail for 13 that. You haven't committed a crime. But 14 they will collect that fine. And how do they 15 do that? Oh, they suspend your motor vehicle 16 registration if you don't pay it over time. I 17 mean, they can do other things, too, like come 18 and find your car and tow it away and keep it. 19 So the idea that you in effect put 20 people on notice who haven't paid the fine 21 doesn't offend me. I know it's going to 22 happen. If you don't pay the $50 fine for 23 having a joint and you get a notice in the 24 jail saying your license is going to be 25 suspended, you're going to go pay the $50

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(518) 371-8910 1 fine. That will be the end of it. Nobody can 2 put you in jail, nobody can put handcuffs on 3 you. 4 SENATOR DIAZ: Madam President, 5 through you -- 6 THE PRESIDENT: You have already 7 spoken twice on this bill, Senator Diaz. 8 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Senator 9 Diaz can ask a question. Senator Connor still 10 has the floor. 11 Oh, I'm sorry, Senator Diaz still 12 has the floor because Senator Connor was 13 questioning him. 14 SENATOR DIAZ: I'm waiting. 15 SENATOR CONNOR: Madam President, 16 Senator Diaz still has the floor, I believe. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Diaz. 18 SENATOR DIAZ: Okay, thank you, 19 Madam President. 20 Through you, Madam President, will 21 Senator Connor yield for another question. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Connor, 23 do you yield for a question? 24 SENATOR CONNOR: Yes, Madam 25 President, gladly.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE PRESIDENT: You may proceed 2 with a question, Senator Diaz. 3 SENATOR DIAZ: If a person fails 4 to pay a parking ticket in New York City, 5 would they suspend their license? 6 SENATOR CONNOR: They can. They 7 usually suspend -- 8 SENATOR DIAZ: No, no, no, I'm 9 not asking if they can or not. Will they 10 suspend the license? 11 SENATOR CONNOR: No, they suspend 12 the registration of the motor vehicle and they 13 lose their motor vehicle insurance. 14 SENATOR DIAZ: Would they suspend 15 their license -- 16 SENATOR CONNOR: And if they 17 drive the car, then they lose their license. 18 SENATOR DIAZ: Will you please 19 restrict yourself to answer my question. 20 Would they suspend that license, 21 yes or no? 22 SENATOR CONNOR: Well, I'm sorry, 23 Madam President, I'm entitled to answer a 24 question on the floor in any way I choose. 25 It's not cross-examination where I have to

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(518) 371-8910 1 answer yes or no. And I'm certainly not a 2 hostile witness to Senator Diaz. 3 (Laughter.) 4 SENATOR CONNOR: In fact, we're 5 very good friends, Madam President. 6 SENATOR DIAZ: Oh, and getting 7 better. 8 SENATOR CONNOR: So let me answer 9 it my way. 10 And my way is they will suspend 11 your motor vehicle registration. They will 12 suspend, therefore, your motor vehicle 13 insurance. And if you don't address that, you 14 will eventually get a notice saying your 15 driver's license is suspended because you 16 don't have insurance on the unregistered 17 vehicle that you have. 18 So yes, parking tickets in New York 19 City can ultimately lead to the loss of a 20 driver's license. They are not crimes. 21 That's the ultimate step. Usually they've 22 towed your car away first, or they've seized 23 your bank account. And they do a lot of other 24 nasty things. But they get those fines paid. 25 Even though the underlying violation is just

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(518) 371-8910 1 that, it's a violation. It's not a crime, 2 it's not a misdemeanor. 3 A misdemeanor is a crime. And 4 possession of marijuana or illegal parking is 5 not a crime. 6 Thank you. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Padavan. 8 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you, 9 Madam President. 10 THE PRESIDENT: You're welcome. 11 SENATOR PADAVAN: Very briefly. 12 There are a handful of Senators in 13 this chamber today who were here in 1976 when 14 we adopted the Marijuana Reform Act that 15 Senator Connor has referred to. It was a very 16 difficult debate. There were some of us, 17 Senator Volker and I and others, who felt 18 there was a better way of dealing with the 19 issue to take away stigma associated with a 20 criminal conviction that young people would 21 have, yet at the same time providing some 22 reason to keep kids away from drugs. 23 We failed in that initiative. We 24 were concerned that the use of marijuana, 25 because it would be nothing more than a minor

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(518) 371-8910 1 violation with a fine, would increase among 2 young people who would say, Well, it's no 3 longer a crime. And even if we get caught, it 4 really doesn't amount to much. 5 And we were right. Marijuana use, 6 particularly among young people, increased 7 significantly in the years that followed. 8 Now, what Senator Winner is doing 9 here, he's providing a mechanism that can be 10 very, very beneficial. The thing that young 11 people value perhaps more than anything else 12 is their driver's license. And what he's 13 saying to them and others, number one, you 14 don't pay the fine -- and of course underlying 15 that is having received the violation for 16 marijuana use -- you're going to lose your 17 driver's license. And that can be a way of 18 keeping them away from drugs. 19 And Senator Connor is also correct 20 when he points out, along with DWI, driving 21 while under the influence of drugs is a very, 22 very unfortunate thing that occurs all too 23 often in our society today and can be very 24 dangerous to everyone. So there is a 25 connection between driving and drug use; in

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(518) 371-8910 1 this case, marijuana. 2 So obviously this is the right 3 thing to do. And I thank Senator Winner for 4 his efforts at doing it. And a lot of 5 history -- we could talk about by the hour 6 about the Marijuana Reform Act. But 7 nevertheless, I think this is a good bill and 8 ought to be enacted. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Does any other 10 member wish to be heard? 11 Then the debate is closed. 12 The Secretary will ring the bell. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Read 14 the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 16 act shall take effect on the first of 17 November. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Call 19 the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll.) 21 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: The 22 Secretary will announce the results. 23 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 24 the negative on Calendar Number 644 are 25 Senators Diaz, Dilan, Duane, Gonzalez,

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(518) 371-8910 1 L. Krueger, Montgomery, Parker and 2 Schneiderman. 3 Those Senators absent from voting: 4 Senators Breslin, DeFrancisco and Paterson. 5 Ayes, 47. Nays, 8. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: The 7 bill is passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 704, substituted earlier today by the Assembly 10 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print Number 11 10652A, an act to amend Chapter 50 of the Laws 12 of 2006, enacting the Public Protection and 13 General Government Budget. 14 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: 15 Explanation. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Senator 17 Johnson, an explanation has been requested. 18 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes, Mr. 19 President. 20 This is a budget cleanup bill. The 21 budget bills had various technical changes 22 that required certain changes to be made to 23 satisfy the Governor, who felt that some of 24 our provisions were unconstitutional, though 25 we don't believe they were. And this bill

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(518) 371-8910 1 just cleans those up. This is the 2 appropriations bill to provide that change in 3 law, make everything, we feel, constitutional 4 and legal. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Senator 6 Schneiderman. 7 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you, 8 Mr. President, on the bill. 9 This bill and the following bill 10 are technical cleanup bills to a budget that 11 has been thrown into a sea of uncertainty by 12 the executive branch. However, I recognize 13 this is an effort by the Legislature simply to 14 make technical corrections and come into 15 compliance with other areas of the law. I 16 will therefore be voting in the affirmative. 17 Thank you, Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Senator 19 Montgomery. 20 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Mr. 21 President. I would like to ask the sponsor 22 for an explanation, through you. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: He's 24 already given an explanation. Do you have a 25 question?

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Excuse me. 2 Would you yield for a question, Senator? 3 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Senator 4 Johnson, will you yield for a question? 5 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes, Mr. 6 President. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Senator 8 Montgomery. 9 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: All right. 10 Senator Johnson, I note that there is an 11 additional $33 million in capital project 12 appropriation for the Atlantic Yards Railway 13 redevelopment project. My question is, is 14 this an additional 33, making the total 15 66 million in capital project funding for 16 Atlantic Yards? 17 SENATOR JOHNSON: It is an 18 additional 33 million, yes, it is. 19 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: So it's 66. 20 Through you, Mr. President, I'd 21 like to ask Senator Johnson to yield for 22 another question. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Senator 24 Johnson, will you continue to yield? 25 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes, Mr.

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(518) 371-8910 1 President. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Go 3 ahead, Senator Montgomery. 4 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Senator 5 Johnson, for years going out, for the next 6 30 years, assuming that the way that we will 7 raise this money is through bonding -- is that 8 how it's going to be? 9 SENATOR JOHNSON: Normally, yes, 10 that would be the case. 11 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Do we then 12 know what will be the additional cost for 13 raising that money? And how will that 14 additional cost be paid for? 15 In other words, I'm trying to find 16 out what is the cost of raising $66 million 17 for this particular project and who will pay 18 for it. 19 SENATOR JOHNSON: Well, of 20 course, any bonds which are issued by the 21 state are paid through the state. We don't 22 know what the terms are at this point. We 23 don't know the terminology, we don't know the 24 interest rates that might exist. So it's 25 pretty hard to say.

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(518) 371-8910 1 But let's say every other thing 2 which we feel is a good economic development 3 project is paid for, ultimately, through the 4 budget. 5 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: So, 6 Mr. President, just one further question if 7 Senator Johnson would yield. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Senator 9 Johnson, will you yield? 10 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes, Mr. 11 President. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Senator 13 Montgomery. 14 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: So, Senator 15 Johnson, assuming that the state will pay, 16 this will add an additional how much to our 17 state debt payment once this $66 million is 18 bonded out? 19 SENATOR JOHNSON: I know you're 20 concerned about the state debt, as I am, and 21 the federal debt, et cetera. It looks like 22 we'll never get paid up; right? And we kind 23 of worry about that. 24 But this is so infinitesimal in 25 comparison to the state debt that's out there,

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(518) 371-8910 1 I don't feel that anyone here would notice it. 2 It wouldn't make that much of a difference. 3 But it would help create jobs and 4 keep the economy going in that area, which is 5 really important to all of us, probably 6 bringing in more money that way. 7 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Mr. 8 President, just briefly on the bill. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Senator 10 Montgomery, on the bill. 11 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes. I note 12 that Senator Johnson has indicated that this 13 would be a very minor -- so minor of an 14 addition to our debt service that we would not 15 notice. But certainly I will notice, and I 16 think the taxpayers of the State of New York 17 will notice. 18 It's going to add to our debt 19 payments quite substantially, especially when 20 it's added on to all of the other proposed 21 capital bonding that was going to be required 22 vis-a-vis this budget. 23 And let me just say this. There is 24 currently -- since this project is in my 25 district, I have not been convinced of the

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(518) 371-8910 1 balance in terms of the economic development 2 benefits versus what we're putting into it in 3 terms of tax dollars by citizens in the State 4 of New York. 5 So I don't believe that this is 6 such an important economic development. There 7 could be some other economic development 8 projects that would benefit us much, much 9 more. So I think that this is really an 10 inappropriate use of taxpayers' dollars. 11 And certainly it's going to require 12 my son and Senator Johnson's children and 13 grandchildren to pay this kind of debt, that 14 they will notice. Because to the extent that 15 they are not able to benefit from a prosperous 16 state economy, based on the fact that we've 17 saddled them with debt for the next 30, 40 18 years, they're going to notice. And I don't 19 think it's fair, and it's not right. 20 So I'm voting no on it. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Thank 22 you, Senator Montgomery. 23 Are there any other Senators 24 wishing to be heard? 25 Senator Krueger.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you, 2 Mr. President. Briefly on the bill. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: On the 4 bill. 5 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you. 6 And I'll address this on both of 7 the cleanup bills at once. 8 Some of us voted for some of the 9 budget bills and against some of the budget 10 bills. I am certainly in that situation. And 11 yet we are in a situation where we have sort 12 of one shot at cleanup bills on all of these 13 budget bills. 14 We also have, I think, the added 15 dilemma that we're being asked to vote for 16 cleanup bills on budget bills that we're still 17 waiting to learn about vetoes from the 18 Governor. He has sent down one set of vetoes 19 on some of the budget bills but still has a 20 clock ticking for additional vetoes. 21 So it's my understanding that 22 regardless of where we go today on these 23 budget cleanup bills -- and I assume, of 24 course, that they'll pass -- we don't really 25 know what the outcome of any of this will be,

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(518) 371-8910 1 both because we're still awaiting vetoes and 2 there are already vetoes that come down that 3 don't match with these cleanup bills. 4 And I've also been advised that 5 under constitutional rules, we only have one 6 shot at these cleanup appropriation and 7 language bills. So we might realize later we 8 should have waited a little longer to see 9 where the Governor was going. 10 But having said that, I want to 11 highlight for the record that while I will 12 vote for these bills, there are many issues 13 that we still have not addressed in the budget 14 this year. And perhaps since we're going to 15 be dealing with vetoes, overrides, 16 constitutional challenges, there might still 17 be time to have serious discussion from a 18 policy perspective, if not a dollar 19 perspective, on some of these issues. 20 One, I continue to be 21 extraordinarily concerned that we pass budgets 22 that authorize hundreds of millions of dollars 23 for back-door borrowing for projects that may 24 not even be known, better yet be proven to be 25 generators of long-term economic activity. We

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(518) 371-8910 1 continue to bond out these back-door borrowing 2 deals so that the public will end up paying a 3 much higher rate in the long term and will, in 4 my opinion, have little if no participation in 5 knowing how we're spending these monies, 6 having an opportunity to share their views, 7 and in fact in many cases, especially dollars 8 and bonds and borrowing that go through public 9 authorities, the Legislature may have no 10 oversight role. 11 My colleague Senator Montgomery 12 highlighted just one issue, $66 million in 13 borrowing for one sports project in her 14 district. I guess I find it interesting that 15 at least in the cleanup bills we've discovered 16 that we actually, by mistake, authorized 17 $300 million instead of $150 million for two 18 other sports complexes, so we're taking back 19 150 million. I guess a big oops. 20 But it raises the question to me 21 again of why is the State of New York 22 borrowing so much money for private sports 23 complexes when we have basically no new money 24 in this budget for creation of affordable 25 housing or new significant housing initiatives

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(518) 371-8910 1 in the State of New York. 2 While we put money in for capital 3 funds for schools, we did not address 4 operating aid for our schools in this budget. 5 We did not make our aid formulas transparent 6 or equitable. 7 We did not reform Empire Zones or 8 require accurate accounting of the state costs 9 per job created, and if there are actually any 10 jobs created, although we expanded, in several 11 sections of these bills, the authority of 12 Empire Zones and expanded the number of 13 businesses who might be able to participate in 14 these yet unreformed models of tax exemptions 15 and credits. 16 We have still failed to adequately 17 extend the Power for Jobs program, preventing 18 businesses from going into multiyear contracts 19 or even addressing the question of why you 20 could actually lose money through NYPA in the 21 Power for Jobs program. 22 We have failed to address many 23 issues on the environment. We have not funded 24 the Environmental Protection Fund. We have 25 failed to include wetlands protection. We

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(518) 371-8910 1 have failed to include adequate funding for 2 community preservation. 3 We have failed to adequately invest 4 in family planning services or to increase 5 desperately needed monies for food and 6 nutrition programs, including the Women, 7 Infants and Children program in this state. 8 We have not completed our work, 9 despite the fact that we are at a moment where 10 we're being asked to clean up the undone 11 business of the budget. 12 So for the record, while I will 13 vote for these cleanup bills because of some 14 of the things in them, we haven't technically 15 finished the cleanup, we've just used up our 16 opportunity to go back and revisit the 17 questions. So I will vote yes. But again, 18 for the record, there is so much better we 19 could be doing for the State of New York. 20 Thank you Mr. President. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Are 22 there any other Senators wishing to be heard? 23 Debate is closed. 24 The Secretary will ring the bell. 25 The Secretary will read the last

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(518) 371-8910 1 section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This 3 act shall take effect immediately. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Call 5 the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll.) 7 THE SECRETARY: In relation to 8 Calendar Number 704, ayes, 54. Nays, 1. 9 Senator Montgomery recorded in the negative. 10 Absent from voting: Senators 11 Breslin, DeFrancisco and Paterson. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: The 13 bill is passed. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 705, substituted earlier today by the Assembly 16 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print Number 17 10653, an act to amend the Social Services 18 Law. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Senator 20 Schneiderman. 21 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. 23 This is the language bill that 24 accompanies the appropriation bill we just 25 voted on. I will be voting in favor of it,

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(518) 371-8910 1 for the same reasons that I articulated 2 earlier, although subject to some of the same 3 concerns stated by Senator Krueger, that we 4 will have, for better or worse, another 5 opportunity to address budget issues this 6 year. 7 But for the moment, I think 8 cleaning up the language and coming into 9 compliance with other areas of the law is the 10 right thing to do. So I'll be voting in the 11 affirmative. 12 Thank you. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Thank 14 you, Senator Schneiderman. 15 Read the last section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 17 act shall take effect immediately. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Call 19 the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll.) 21 THE SECRETARY: In relation to 22 Calendar Number 705, ayes, 55. Nays, 0. 23 Those Senators absent from voting: 24 Senators Breslin, DeFrancisco and Paterson. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: The

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(518) 371-8910 1 bill is passed. 2 Senator Skelos. 3 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 4 is there any further business at the desk? 5 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: There 6 is none. 7 Senator Stachowski. 8 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr. 9 President, I move the following bills be 10 discharged from their respective committees 11 and be recommitted with instructions to strike 12 the enacting clause: S1734. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: So 14 ordered. 15 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Thank you. 16 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 17 would you please recognize Senator Parker. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Senator 19 Parker. 20 SENATOR PARKER: Mr. President, I 21 believe I have a motion at the desk. I'd like 22 to have it called up at this time. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: The 24 Secretary will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: Senate Print

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(518) 371-8910 1 6722, by Senator Parker, an act to amend the 2 Energy Law. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Senator 4 Parker. 5 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you, 6 Mr. President. 7 This bill is modeled after a bill 8 that was reported from the Assembly Energy 9 Committee just last week, and it restates and 10 amends Article VI of the Energy Law that 11 governs state energy planing. 12 Under this legislation, a state 13 energy planning board would be responsible for 14 analyzing and authorizing energy planning 15 policy and developing a state energy plan in a 16 reliable study over four years. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: Excuse 18 me, Senator Parker. 19 If we could just get a little order 20 in the chamber. We're almost done here. 21 Thank you. 22 Continue, please. 23 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you, Mr. 24 President. 25 As you know, we have a serious

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(518) 371-8910 1 issue in this state as it relates to energy. 2 Planning is really one of the missing parts of 3 what the debate has not encompassed, and we 4 really need to get there. This bill actually 5 does that. 6 Since its expiration on December 7 31, 2001, the state has been without any 8 long-range planning mechanism for our state 9 energy needs, which is critically important in 10 these times of escalating prices, supply 11 disruptions, and the critical need for 12 New York State to move from fossil fuel 13 dependence to clean energy independence. 14 This bill establishes a state 15 energy planning board that will be responsible 16 for facilitating all energy planning for the 17 state. Prior to the development of a final 18 energy plan, the board is required to hold a 19 series of public hearings and opportunities 20 for public comment and will include long-range 21 plans from all New York electricity providers 22 and distributors. 23 Under this plan, based on an 24 analysis of electricity demand forecasts, 25 energy supply sources, transmission facilities

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(518) 371-8910 1 and regional market analysis, the board shall 2 adopt a state energy plan. This legislation 3 will upgrade the expired state energy planning 4 process by requiring the state energy plan to 5 include an elimination of the lease cost means 6 of meeting the state's energy needs by 7 including, but not limited to, looking for 8 alternative ways to meet energy needs other 9 than through construction of large central 10 station power plants. 11 The legislation also will provide a 12 mechanism to replace old, inefficient and 13 heavy polluting facilities. Additionally, the 14 bill requires the New York Power Authority and 15 the Long Island Power Authority to participate 16 in the planning process and to submit periodic 17 strategic operational and capital plans. 18 Because fossil-fuel-burning plants 19 and nuclear power plants are major pollution 20 sources, they require significant 21 environmental scrutiny. Reauthorization of 22 Article VI is necessary to make sure that our 23 energy planning policies and programs include 24 a cost/benefit analysis and risk assessment of 25 energy supply sources.

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(518) 371-8910 1 The energy planning process in this 2 bill includes a requirement that current 3 policies and programs minimize public health 4 and environmental impacts. An environmental 5 justice analysis and the identification of 6 policies and programs that maximize 7 cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, and 8 conservation, including the use of renewables. 9 With greater focus on efficiency, 10 conservation and renewable energy sources, 11 this bill will help New York to develop a 12 comprehensive energy plan that is cognizant of 13 economic pressures as well as environmental 14 concerns. 15 I'd like to ask everybody in this 16 house to go on record in supporting energy 17 planning for this state, and so I urge a yes 18 on this motion. Thank you. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: All 20 those Senators in favor of the petition out of 21 committee please signify by raising your 22 hands. 23 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 24 agreement are Senators Connor, Coppola, Diaz, 25 Dilan, Duane, Gonzalez, Klein, L. Krueger,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Montgomery, Oppenheimer, Parker, Sabini, 2 Sampson, Savino, Schneiderman, Serrano, 3 Stachowski, Stavisky and Valesky. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: The 5 petition is not agreed to. 6 Senator Skelos. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 8 there being no further business to come before 9 the Senate, I move we stand adjourned until 10 Monday, April 24th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening 11 days being legislative days. 12 Happy holidays to all. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT ROBACH: On 14 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until 15 Monday, April 24th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening 16 days being legislative days. 17 (Whereupon, at 12:35 p.m., the 18 Senate adjourned.) 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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(518) 371-8910