Monday, May 15, 2006

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 May 15, 2006 11 3:03 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 LT. GOVERNOR MARY O. DONOHUE, President 19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary 20 21 22 23 24 25

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(518) 371-8910 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 3 Senate will 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 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 10 invocation today will be given by the Reverend 11 Peter Young. 12 REVEREND YOUNG: Dear God, as we 13 gather in Your name in these closing days of 14 the 2005-2006 session, we accept the strength 15 of Your guidance to meet the challenges of 16 these major pieces of legislation that are on 17 our agendas. 18 We pray that You will guide us and 19 help us in these decisions now and forever. 20 Amen. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Reading 22 of the Journal. 23 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 24 Sunday, May 14, the Senate met pursuant to 25 adjournment. The Journal of Saturday, May 13,

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(518) 371-8910 1 was read and approved. On motion, Senate 2 adjourned. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Without 4 objection, the Journal stands approved as 5 read. 6 And we welcome the Lieutenant 7 Governor. 8 THE PRESIDENT: Presentation of 9 petitions. 10 Messages from the Assembly. 11 Messages from the Governor. 12 Reports of standing committees. 13 Reports of select committees. 14 Communications and reports from 15 state officers. 16 Motions and resolutions. 17 Senator Fuschillo. 18 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Madam 19 President, thank you very much. 20 On behalf of Senator Saland, I wish 21 to call up Senate Print Number 6762, recalled 22 from the Assembly, which is now at the desk. 23 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 24 will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number

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(518) 371-8910 1 546, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 6762, an 2 act to authorize the Town of Wappinger. 3 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: I now move to 4 reconsider the vote by which the bill was 5 passed. 6 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 7 will call the roll upon reconsideration. 8 (The Secretary called the roll.) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 41. 10 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: I now offer 11 the following amendments. 12 THE PRESIDENT: The amendments 13 are received. 14 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: On behalf of 15 Senator Spano, I wish to call up Senate Print 16 Number 4155A, recalled from the Assembly, 17 which is now at the desk. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 19 Secretary will read. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 385, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 4155A, an 22 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law. 23 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: I now move to 24 reconsider the vote by which the bill was 25 passed.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 2 the roll on reconsideration. 3 (The Secretary called the roll.) 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 41. 5 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: I now offer 6 the following amendments. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 8 amendments are received. 9 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: On behalf of 10 Senator Bonacic, on page number 43 I offer the 11 following amendments to Calendar Number 726, 12 Senate Print Number 6952A, and ask that said 13 bill retain its place on Third Reading 14 Calendar. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 16 amendments are received, and the bill will 17 retain its place on the Third Reading 18 Calendar. 19 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: On behalf of 20 Senator Morahan, on page number 59 I offer the 21 following amendments to Calendar Number 937, 22 Senate Print Number 7664, and ask that said 23 bill retain its place on Third Reading 24 Calendar. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The

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(518) 371-8910 1 amendments are received, and the bill will 2 retain its place on the Third Reading 3 Calendar. 4 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: On behalf of 5 Senator Marcellino, on page number 65 I offer 6 the following amendments to Calendar Number 7 1002, Senate Print Number 6737, and ask that 8 said bill retain its place on Third Reading 9 Calendar. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 11 amendments are received, and the bill will 12 retain its place on the Third Reading 13 Calendar. 14 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: On behalf of 15 Senator LaValle, on page number 64 I offer the 16 following amendments to Calendar Number 995, 17 Senate Print Number 1477, and ask that said 18 bill retain its place on Third Reading 19 Calendar. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 21 amendments are received, and the bill will 22 retain its place on the Third Reading 23 Calendar. 24 Senator Skelos. 25 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I

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(518) 371-8910 1 believe there's a substitution at the desk. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 3 Secretary will read. 4 THE SECRETARY: On page 57, 5 Senator Morahan moves to discharge, from the 6 Committee on Veterans and Homeland Security, 7 Assembly Bill Number 2747 and substitute it 8 for the identical Senate Bill Number 1500, 9 Third Reading Calendar 918. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 11 substitution is ordered. 12 Senator Skelos. 13 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 14 there's a resolution at the desk, 5170, by 15 Senator Robach. If we could have it read in 16 its entirety and move for its immediate 17 adoption. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 19 Secretary will read. 20 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 21 Robach, Legislative Resolution Number 5170, 22 congratulating the Hilton High School Girls 23 Cross Country Team and Coach Mike Szczepanik 24 upon the occasion of capturing the Nike Team 25 National Cross Country Championship.

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(518) 371-8910 1 "WHEREAS, Excellence and success in 2 competitive sports can be achieved only 3 through strenuous practice, team play and team 4 spirit, nurtured by dedicated coaching and 5 strategic planning; and 6 "WHEREAS, Athletic competition 7 enhances the moral and physical development of 8 the young people of this state, preparing them 9 for the future by instilling in them the value 10 of teamwork, encouraging a standard of healthy 11 living, imparting a desire for success, and 12 developing a sense of fair play and 13 competition; and 14 "WHEREAS, The Hilton Girls Cross 15 Country Team are the Nike Team Cross Country 16 Champions; and 17 "WHEREAS, The second annual Nike 18 Team Nationals Competition was held on 19 December 3, 2005, in Portland, Oregon. The 20 Hilton Girls Cross Country Team earned the 21 all-expense-paid trip and participated from 22 November 30 through December 4, 2005; and 23 "WHEREAS, Although the times were 24 off due to the mud and water on the track, the 25 Hilton Girls Cross Country Team defeated the

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(518) 371-8910 1 competition, scoring 85, with number-one- 2 ranked Saratoga High School coming in second 3 at 112. The race was 5,000 meters; and 4 "WHEREAS, Prior to the Nike event, 5 the Hilton Girls Cross Country Team won their 6 second consecutive Section Five title and 7 Coach Mike Szczepanik was named Monroe County 8 Section Five Coach of the Year; and 9 "WHEREAS, In addition to earning a 10 spot to compete for the national title, 11 runners had the opportunity to experience a 12 weekend of events related to the sport, both 13 on and off the course, including educational 14 seminars and activities; and 15 "WHEREAS, The athletic talent 16 displayed by this team is due in great part to 17 the efforts of Coach Mike Szczepanik, a 18 skilled and inspirational tutor, respected for 19 his ability to develop potential into 20 excellence; and 21 "WHEREAS, The team's overall record 22 is outstanding, and the team members were 23 loyally and enthusiastically supported by 24 family, fans, friends and the community at 25 large; and

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(518) 371-8910 1 "WHEREAS, The hallmarks of the 2 Hilton Girls Cross Country Team, from the 3 opening event of the season to participation 4 in the championship, were a sisterhood of 5 athletic ability, of good sportsmanship, of 6 honor and of scholarship, demonstrating that 7 these team players are second to none; and 8 "WHEREAS, Athletically and 9 academically, the team members have proven 10 themselves to be an unbeatable combination of 11 talents, reflecting favorably on their school; 12 and 13 "WHEREAS, Coach Mike Szczepanik 14 Sports has done a superb job in guiding, 15 molding and inspiring the team members toward 16 their goals; and 17 "WHEREAS, Sports competition 18 instills the values of teamwork, pride and 19 accomplishment, and Coach Mike Szczepanik, 20 Assistant Coach Jeff Merkel and these 21 outstanding athletes have clearly made a 22 contribution to the spirit of excellence which 23 is a tradition of their school; now, 24 therefore, be it 25 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative

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(518) 371-8910 1 Body pause in its deliberations to 2 congratulate the Hilton Girls Cross Country 3 Team, its members -- Amanda Griggs, Caileen 4 Childs, Nicole Griffiths, Allison Sawyer, 5 Caroline Schultz, Shelby Herman, Ashley Jones, 6 Erin Pratt, Teresa Buechel, Kristen Campbell, 7 Ashlea Keene, Hillary O'Sullivan, and Rebecca 8 Smarcz -- and Coach Mike Szczepanik on their 9 outstanding season and overall team record; 10 and be it further 11 "RESOLVED, That copies of this 12 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 13 to the Hilton Girls Cross Country Team and to 14 Coach Mike Szczepanik." 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 16 Robach, on the resolution. 17 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes, 18 Mr. President, if I could just rise to say how 19 delighted I am to have the girls, their coach, 20 some of their parents here joining us today. 21 This really was quite an 22 accomplishment. I've been here for four years 23 now, and we've had a lot of great young people 24 through this chamber for different 25 accomplishments, but this is my first one of

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(518) 371-8910 1 national caliber. And we're delighted to have 2 them here. 3 In addition to overcoming 4 successfully these rainy conditions, that cool 5 track, and winning, they have really excited 6 the entire community of Hilton. They are 7 great, great kids. I think they have a 8 cumulative average of 3.7 in addition to their 9 great athleticism. Their work ethic, their 10 personalities are just wonderful. 11 And I am so proud and privileged to 12 represent them. I am glad they're here today 13 to do this. You know, the only thing I can 14 say is not only do they represent Hilton very 15 well, New York State and its national 16 championship of 20 other schools qualifying, I 17 think they really epitomize everything a young 18 student athlete should be, both in terms of 19 attitude and accomplishment. 20 And I am really delighted again to 21 recognize them, put this in the record so they 22 can come back here with their kids, 23 highlighting their record here in New York 24 State. 25 And I would say, though he's not on

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(518) 371-8910 1 the floor, the only other team that made this 2 national tournament from New York was 3 Saratoga, which is represented by another 4 Senator named Joe. But I want you to know 5 that Joe Robach's girls there won this for 6 Rochester and us. And I'm not going to let 7 the Majority Leader forget that either. 8 If I could just take one minute, 9 since the girls came down here for this. If I 10 could ask them to stand very quickly. We 11 having Amanda Griggs, Caileen Childs, Nicole 12 Griffiths, Allison Sawyer, Caroline Schultz, 13 Shelby Herman, Ashley Jones, Erin Pratt, 14 Teresa Buechel, Kristen Campbell, Ashlea 15 Keene, Hillary O'Sullivan, and Rebecca Smarcz. 16 You've already been introduced or talked 17 about: Coach Szczepanik and Coach Merkel. 18 Ladies, congratulations. Great 19 job. Thanks for being with us here today in 20 the Capitol. 21 (Applause.) 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 23 Maziarz, on the resolution. 24 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 25 much, Mr. President.

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(518) 371-8910 1 I want to add my congratulations 2 along with Senator Robach. Up until a few 3 years ago, I represented the Hilton School 4 District and the town of Parma and the western 5 part of Monroe County. 6 And these champions are truly, as 7 Senator Robach pointed out, they're not only 8 great athletes but great students too, and 9 that's really important. 10 And I want to welcome them to 11 Albany, and their coaches, and offer my 12 personal congratulations and the 13 congratulations of all of us. 14 Many times here we see state 15 champions every year, but very rarely do we 16 get national champions here. And to achieve 17 that great milestone at so young in life is a 18 real tribute to you, to your coaches, and 19 mostly to your parents. 20 Thank you, Mr. President. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: On the 22 resolution, all those in favor signify by 23 saying aye. 24 (Response of "Aye.") 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT:

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(518) 371-8910 1 Opposed, nay. 2 (No response.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 4 resolution is adopted. 5 On behalf of Senator Bruno and all 6 of the members of the New York State Senate, 7 please accept our congratulations and 8 appreciation for your visit to the Capitol and 9 your representation of the State of New York. 10 Best of luck. 11 Senator Skelos. 12 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 13 there will be an immediate meeting of the 14 Rules Committee in the Majority Conference 15 Room. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: There 17 will be an immediate meeting of the Rules 18 Committee in the Majority Conference Room. 19 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could 20 stand at ease. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 22 Senate will stand at ease. 23 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 24 ease at 3:15 p.m.) 25 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened

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(518) 371-8910 1 at 3:23 p.m.) 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 3 Fuschillo. 4 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr. 5 President, may we please return to the reports 6 of standing committees. I believe there's a 7 report of the Rules Committee at the desk. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 9 Secretary will read. 10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno, 11 from the Committee on Rules, reports the 12 following bill direct to third reading: 13 Senate Print 7909, by Senator 14 Wright, an act to amend the Tax Law. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 16 Fuschillo. 17 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr. 18 President, I move to accept the report of 19 Rules Committee. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: All in 21 favor of accepting the report please signify 22 by saying aye. 23 (Response of "Aye.") 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: 25 Opposed, nay.

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(518) 371-8910 1 (No response.) 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 3 report is accepted. 4 Senator Fuschillo. 5 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr. 6 President, may we please have the reading of 7 the noncontroversial calendar. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 9 Secretary will read. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 432, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 5849B, 12 an act to amend the Parks, Recreation and 13 Historic Preservation Law. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 15 the last section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 17 act shall take effect immediately. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 19 the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll.) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 23 bill is passed. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 25 577, by Senator Maltese, Senate Print 101, an

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(518) 371-8910 1 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 5 act shall take effect June 1, 2007. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 7 the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll.) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 11 bill is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 750, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 7316A, an 14 act to amend the Labor Law. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 16 the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 18 act shall take effect immediately. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 20 the roll. 21 (The Secretary called the roll.) 22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 24 bill is passed. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number

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(518) 371-8910 1 753, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 7321A, 2 an act to amend the Labor Law. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 4 the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 6 act shall take effect on the first of 7 November. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 9 the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll.) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 13 bill is passed. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 788, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 6862, 16 an act to authorize. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 18 the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 20 act shall take effect immediately. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 22 the roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll.) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53. Nays, 25 2. Senators Bonacic and Larkin recorded in

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(518) 371-8910 1 the negative. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 3 bill is passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 841, by Senator Little, Senate Print 7347, an 6 act to amend the Civil Service Law. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 10 act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll.) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 16 bill is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 842, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 7355, an 19 act to amend the Retirement and Social 20 Security Law, and others. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 22 the last section. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 9. This 24 act shall take effect immediately. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call

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(518) 371-8910 1 the roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 4 Duane. 5 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 6 Mr. President. 7 I'm going to vote for this bill, 8 which provides a disability retirement benefit 9 for those veterans injured in combat. It's a 10 very good bill. 11 But it does remind me that many 12 New Yorkers, including veterans, suffer from 13 posttraumatic stress disorder. And because we 14 don't have Timothy's Law, they are unable to 15 get help for this psychological problem. 16 So it's vital that we pass 17 Timothy's Law this session, and I don't 18 understand why we're not doing it. And so 19 while I'm voting yes on this bill, I'm hopeful 20 that in the very near future we will have 21 Timothy's Law on the floor of the Senate and 22 be able to vote for it. 23 Thank you, Mr. President. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 25 Duane recorded in the affirmative.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Report the results. 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 4 bill is passed. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 909, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 7147, an 7 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 9 the last section. 10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 11 act shall take effect immediately. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 13 the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll.) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55. Nays, 16 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 18 bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 913, by Senator Little, Senate Print 7346, an 21 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 23 the last section. 24 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 25 act shall take effect immediately.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 2 the roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll.) 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55. Nays, 5 2. Senators Duane and L. Krueger recorded in 6 the negative. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 8 bill is passed. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 916, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 178A, an 11 act relating to the procurement process of 12 homeland-security-related goods and services. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 14 the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 16 act shall take effect immediately. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 18 the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll.) 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 22 bill is passed. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 918, substituted earlier today by Member of 25 the Assembly Towns, Assembly Print Number

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(518) 371-8910 1 2747, an act to amend the Real Property Tax 2 Law. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 4 the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 6 act shall take effect on the first of January 7 next succeeding. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 9 the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll.) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 13 bill is passed. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 951, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 7520, an 16 act to amend the Tax Law. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 18 the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 20 act shall take effect immediately. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 22 the roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll.) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The

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(518) 371-8910 1 bill is passed. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 959, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 7298, an 4 act in relation to building aid payable. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 6 the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 8 act shall take effect immediately. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 10 the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll.) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 14 bill is passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 965, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 505, an 17 act to amend the General Municipal Law. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: There 19 is a home-rule message at the desk. 20 Read the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 22 act shall take effect immediately. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 24 the roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56. Nays, 2 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 4 bill is passed. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 975, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 6966, an 7 act to amend the County Law. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: There 9 is a local fiscal impact note at the desk. 10 Read the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 12 act shall take effect immediately. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 14 the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 18 bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 980, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 7238, an 21 act in relation to creating the East Fishkill 22 Public Library District. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 24 the last section. 25 THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This

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(518) 371-8910 1 act shall take effect immediately. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 3 the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll.) 5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 7 bill is passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 1003, by Senator Balboni, Senate Print 6822, 10 an act to amend the Waterfront Commission Act. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 12 the last section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 14 act shall take effect upon enactment into law 15 by the State of New Jersey legislation 16 identical. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 18 the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll.) 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 21 Balboni, to explain his vote. 22 SENATOR BALBONI: Yes, 23 Mr. President. 24 This is the first of several 25 measures that this house will be considering

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(518) 371-8910 1 dealing with port security. 2 After the Dubai Ports World 3 controversy, we did a bunch of studies and 4 investigations as to how the port security 5 actually worked. And what we found out is 6 that the Waterfront Commission that handles 7 one-third of the security concerns at the port 8 had insufficient capabilities when it came to 9 determining who should be licensed and who 10 should not in terms of the operation of the 11 port. 12 And what we found out is that 13 New Jersey has already passed this bill, and 14 it is waiting for us to get our act together 15 and pass the same bill, which would give the 16 Waterfront Commission the ability to prevent 17 someone from getting a license if they have 18 any connection to terrorist groups. 19 I believe this is a very good step 20 towards security, and I'm hopeful that the 21 Assembly will join us and make sure that this 22 becomes law for both states. 23 I vote aye, Mr. President. Thank 24 you. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator

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(518) 371-8910 1 Balboni will be recorded in the affirmative. 2 Report the results. 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 5 bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 1004, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 7109, 8 an act to amend the Waterfront Commission Act. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 10 the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This 12 act shall take effect upon the enactment into 13 law by the State of New Jersey identical 14 legislation. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 16 the roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll.) 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 20 bill is passed. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 1005, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 7181, 23 an act to amend the Waterfront Commission Act. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 25 the last section.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 8. This 2 act shall take effect upon the enactment into 3 law by the State of New Jersey identical 4 legislation. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 6 the roll. 7 (The Secretary called the roll.) 8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 10 bill is passed. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 1016, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 7909, an 13 act to amend the -- 14 SENATOR SAVINO: Lay it aside. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 16 bill is laid aside. 17 That completes the noncontroversial 18 reading of the calendar. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 20 Senator Fuschillo. 21 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr. 22 President, may we please have the 23 controversial reading of the calendar at this 24 time. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The

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(518) 371-8910 1 Secretary will read. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 1016, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 7909, an 4 act to amend the Tax Law. 5 SENATOR SAVINO: Explanation. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 7 Senator Wright, an explanation has been 8 requested. 9 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you, 10 Mr. President. 11 SENATOR BRUNO: Before us this 12 afternoon we have historic comprehensive 13 energy legislation that, first of all, begins 14 by reducing the sales tax on gasoline. 15 This is a bill that was -- the 16 concept was first introduced this past fall by 17 my colleague Senator Robach, has been before 18 this house on several occasions, and has been 19 adopted by this house. We have now reached an 20 agreement with the Assembly so that we can 21 move forward. 22 So the cornerstone of this bill 23 this afternoon is to reduce the sales tax, cap 24 it at a flat tax of 8 cents against a $2 25 threshold, which was the capped amount that we

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(518) 371-8910 1 had targeted and believe most local budgets 2 are predicated on. It not only diminishes the 3 increasing effect of sales tax, it also 4 discontinues the practice of a tax upon a tax, 5 which is a unique aspect of sales tax as it 6 relates to gasoline. 7 We've all recognized that in 8 previous debates on this floor we've spent a 9 great deal of time talking about the global 10 economy, the adverse affects of escalating gas 11 prices and how that has hurt New Yorkers, the 12 working men and women of this state, and the 13 economy of this state. We have also very 14 consciously recognized the limited impact that 15 the State of New York can make on those 16 gasoline taxes, that being the tax aspect of 17 that gas price. 18 So we have gone a long way this 19 afternoon, by reaching agreement, to reduce 20 that tax by one-third, then cap it, and then 21 make it a flat tax as we go forward. That, I 22 believe, is historic in the history of sales 23 tax as it relates to gasoline and is important 24 assistance to the taxpayers of this state. 25 Furthermore, the bill contains

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(518) 371-8910 1 several additional elements, one at the behest 2 and advance and sponsorship of my colleague, 3 Senator Padavan, authorizing the City of 4 New York to provide relief to its residents by 5 eliminating the -- or reducing the sales tax 6 on residential heating fuels. This authorizes 7 the city to do that. It would certainly 8 provide much-needed relief to many New Yorkers 9 and is a relief that is currently being 10 enjoyed by numerous residents across the state 11 in other counties. 12 The bill further goes on to create 13 a personal income tax credit for the 14 replacement of home heating systems that are 15 Energy Star-compliant, the intent being to 16 foster a use of energy efficiency, greater 17 conservation, and thereby ensuring long-term 18 benefits and implementing a long-term policy 19 that blends reduction of taxes with 20 renewables, with energy efficiency and 21 conservation. 22 A fourth piece provides that 23 consumers will receive personal income tax 24 credits for the purchase of home heating fuel 25 that contains biodiesel. It establishes a

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(518) 371-8910 1 formula by law that incentivizes the 2 utilization of biodiesel; again, a long-term 3 aspect of our energy policy. 4 And the last piece requires that 5 the State Thruway Authority and NYSERDA 6 develop a plan by the end of this calendar 7 year to make alternative fuels, such as 8 ethanol, available at Thruway service areas. 9 When you look back at what started 10 in the fall of this year under the leadership 11 of Senator Bruno, and a number of energy 12 initiatives that were advanced at that time 13 and adopted with bipartisan support in this 14 house, they have now in many instances become 15 law, either through actions of this house, 16 through the budget, or actions today. 17 So we look forward to advancing 18 this bill, making it law and completing the 19 process that we began last fall. 20 Thank you, Mr. President. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 22 you, Senator Wright. 23 Senator Sabini. 24 SENATOR SABINI: Mr. President, I 25 believe there's an amendment at the desk. I

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(518) 371-8910 1 ask that the reading be waived and I be 2 allowed to be heard on the amendment. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 4 Reading of the amendment is waived and, 5 Senator Sabini, you may be heard on the 6 amendment. 7 SENATOR SABINI: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 What we do today is a good first 10 step in this bill. It's a step that we 11 offered to take last fall. But it's really a 12 Band-Aid approach to what is, as I hope we all 13 recognize, a much larger problem. 14 And that is the problem of 15 increasing prices of fossil fuel, lessening 16 supply, the fact that it's a global economy, 17 that we all are affected, our gas prices are 18 affected by the fact that the nations of China 19 and India, two major powers in the world, are 20 at the point in their auto economy where the 21 United States was 60 or 70 years ago and 22 they're catching up at a quick rate. 23 So our discussion here shouldn't be 24 just about short-term political gain. We 25 understand that the public is appalled at the

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(518) 371-8910 1 price of gas. It's even higher in Europe, $6 2 a gallon in London. The reality is that we 3 need to get a comprehensive plan afoot. 4 And while putting a cap on the tax 5 on gasoline by the gallon is a good thing, and 6 I intend to support it, I think we can do 7 better. And we can establish, in effect, a 8 Marshall Plan for energy independence within 9 New York State by New York State. So I offer 10 an amendment which is in the form of Senator 11 Parker's legislation, the "State Workforce 12 Fuel Reduction and Conservation Act." 13 Americans consume six times the 14 world average in energy consumption per year. 15 We're the third most populous state in this 16 union, containing 15 percent of the population 17 of our country. So New York is a big user of 18 energy, and New Yorkers are big users of 19 energy. 20 We can make choices every day and 21 every minute of the day to make things better 22 for everyone -- turning machines off when not 23 in use, buying energy efficient appliances, 24 consumption conservation measures that we can 25 use, doing sustainable energy measures that we

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(518) 371-8910 1 can do. But most of all, what this bill can 2 do is to offer the advice of "Physician, heal 3 thyself": We can direct the State of New 4 York, through this amendment, to get its own 5 energy house in order. 6 New York's agencies and authorities 7 annually consume 50 million gallons of diesel 8 fuel and 55 million gallons of heating oil a 9 year. Our state's workforce numbers 160,000. 10 Because the average American uses 500 gallons 11 of gasoline each year, driving about 12 12,000 miles on average, at $3 per gallon, 13 that's $1500 a year in fuel cost per worker. 14 That needs to go down. 15 We should address things like 16 nonessential driving by state employees. We 17 should lessen the state use of SUVs. These 18 things could be done by executive order today 19 if the Governor wanted to. And although there 20 have been modest efforts by the administration 21 to enact by executive orders some 22 energy-efficient standards for state buildings 23 and vehicles, there really hasn't been the 24 leadership we need. 25 This legislation aims to do that.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Implementing a strategy of conservation and 2 efficiency measures, backed by strong 3 educational components, outlined in this 4 amendment will be an effective strategy. 5 We have to curtail our dependence 6 on foreign oil, making historic strides in 7 improving our environmental quality and 8 reducing our energy consumption. Here are 9 some bullet-point things that this amendment 10 will address. 11 It directs OGS to review the 12 state's vehicular fleet as well as the use of 13 that fleet to determine whether 14 alternative-fuel vehicles can be used and 15 whether trip reduction can be used to reduce 16 gasoline consumption. 17 The amendment would direct OGS to 18 develop and properly promote a comprehensive 19 car pooling program. It would direct all the 20 state agencies to perform fuel-efficient 21 audits of their own transportation systems and 22 fleets. It would authorize agencies to 23 implement commuter-trip reduction programs 24 that would encourage employees who drive alone 25 to work to consider using alternative

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(518) 371-8910 1 commuting modes such as carpool, mass transit, 2 biking or even walking. And it would 3 authorize agencies and authorities to permit 4 alternative work schedules, telecommuting or 5 other ways to save gasoline consumption. 6 It would direct the DMV to develop 7 programs to educate the driving public on 8 conservation techniques and would direct on 9 OGS to develop a plan to reimburse state 10 employees for their mass transit costs. 11 The best way to work our way out of 12 this energy crisis is through a concentrated 13 effort by everyone -- individuals, state 14 government, all of us. Let's make New York a 15 leader on this issue and support a state 16 conservation program that would be in addition 17 to the pennies we're going to save people, 18 which is good, but I think none of us really 19 believe that that measure is going to actually 20 help solve New York's gasoline crisis. 21 So I urge a yes vote on the 22 amendment and thank Senator Parker for his 23 work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to 24 consider the amendment seriously and vote yes. 25 Thank you.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: On the 2 amendment, those Senators in agreement please 3 signify by raising your hands. 4 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 5 agreement are Senators Andrews, Breslin, 6 Connor, Coppola, Diaz, Dilan, Duane, Gonzalez, 7 Klein, L. Krueger, C. Kruger, Montgomery, 8 Onorato, Oppenheimer, Paterson, Sabini, 9 Savino, Schneiderman, Serrano, A. Smith, 10 Stachowski, Stavisky, and Valesky. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 12 amendment is not agreed to. 13 Senator Robach. 14 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes, 15 Mr. President. I rise to support this bill. 16 And I want to really applaud 17 Senator Wright, the Energy chairman, Senator 18 Padavan, Senator Bruno for making a bill I 19 think that focused exclusively on just capping 20 the gas tax originally, expanding that and 21 even making it better. Including some of 22 these other components is going to definitely 23 help the overburdened men and women, working 24 men and women of this state, overburdened 25 taxpayers here. And I think that's exactly

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(518) 371-8910 1 what they're asking for. 2 Passing the bill last year on 3 capping the gas tax and taking that lead role, 4 I know -- whether it's been online petitions, 5 any press events that we've had -- when people 6 have been interviewed, overwhelmingly the 7 public in New York has said they want some 8 relief. And while no one is opposed to 9 long-range plans, we have to do what we can do 10 today. And sometimes a Band-Aid is better 11 than just letting it bleed. 12 And so I'm very, very happy that 13 we're today, that this house, through 14 aggressive action, driving this issue, trying 15 to save people, whatever it be at the pump and 16 other places of energy, we are going to be 17 able to get agreement with the other side and 18 really give them some degree, some relief, I 19 think is very, very meaningful, very, very 20 important. 21 Again, other organizations -- AAA 22 has had petitions, and it has been 23 overwhelmingly supported by people all across 24 this state, young and old, urban, suburban, 25 you name it. So I think this is a good day

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(518) 371-8910 1 not only for the policy of giving something 2 back but, more importantly, that by us driving 3 it in this house and the public speaking up, 4 we now have agreement in both houses. 5 And I want to applaud all involved. 6 You know, again, not to sound too elemental, 7 I'd say this is a populist move. And there's 8 nothing wrong with us being populist; that's 9 who we serve, the people we represent. And 10 I've heard loud and clearly, being the prime 11 sponsor of that gas cap bill, even from people 12 in other people's districts, how much they 13 want that. Today we're getting it done. 14 And I proudly cast my vote in the 15 affirmative and encourage others to do so as 16 well. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 18 Senator Robach will be recorded in the 19 affirmative. 20 Senator Padavan. 21 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. 23 First, let me thank Senator Wright 24 for his leadership and all of those who were 25 involved in the development of this

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(518) 371-8910 1 legislation and negotiations with the Assembly 2 to bring it to a point of fruition that we're 3 dealing with today. 4 First let me comment on some of the 5 things we heard in the course of the amendment 6 that was proposed. 7 I would remind the members of this 8 house that this state and this Senate has 9 taken the leadership, time and time again, as 10 it relates to developing alternative means of 11 generating power and energy: stimulation of 12 wind energy, hydroenergy, all ways of 13 developing alternative sources of fuel other 14 than fossil fuel. Which, was pointed out, is 15 our major problem, since it's an international 16 issue. 17 But even in this bill we go even 18 further. I draw your attention to those 19 portions of it that deal with alternative fuel 20 credits, technology credits, developing 21 alternative and better means of creating 22 energy. 23 Green building credit; buildings 24 that grow grass and other types of plants on 25 their roofs to not only keep away heat but

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(518) 371-8910 1 also to reduce the need for air-conditioning. 2 Qualifying emerging technology 3 credits. Credit for qualified fuel cell, 4 electric generating equipment, biofuel 5 production, and clean heating fuel credits. 6 All of these things are in this 7 bill. So we're going even a step further, 8 perhaps many steps further in terms of dealing 9 with the broader issue of conservation and 10 developing alternative fuels. 11 But I also want to talk about one 12 item that Senator Wright did mention, and that 13 relates to home heating fuel. Thirty-seven 14 counties in New York State followed suit, 15 meaning did what we as a state did, in 16 eliminating the sales tax on home heating 17 fuel. Several others have reduced their local 18 sales tax. 19 The one major taxer is the City of 20 New York. And if you go back in time to the 21 creation of the Emergency Financial Control 22 Board and other restrictions that were placed 23 on the city, the sales tax was committed to 24 pay off bonds. Well, that is no longer 25 necessary.

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(518) 371-8910 1 And if you look at your home 2 heating fuel, those of us in the city and 3 elsewhere, mine has doubled. I have oil in my 4 home. It has doubled in recent years. And 5 that sales tax that the city continues to 6 apply was a windfall, is a windfall. 7 Now, what this bill allows the city 8 to do is to follow suit with all the other 9 counties throughout New York State and 10 eliminate the local sales tax, which is a 11 substantial savings to homeowners and co-op 12 dwellers and others in the City of New York. 13 Now, those of us in the city have a 14 chore ahead of us. This is an authorization. 15 We now have to get after our respective city 16 councilmen and -women, and the mayor, to 17 implement it. And there's going to be some 18 resistance to do that. It has been a 19 windfall, and we know the city has a surplus 20 as a result of that windfall. 21 Just think of the millions and 22 millions of dollars collected in sales taxes 23 beyond that which were collected a couple of 24 years ago, specifically related to home 25 heating fuel. That, I believe, is something

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(518) 371-8910 1 that should be returned to the homeowners and 2 others who have been subjected to that tax. 3 So we will have a job of convincing them to 4 implement this authorization. 5 But this is the first step, and the 6 most important one. So again, Mr. President, 7 I congratulate those who were involved in 8 putting this all together and bringing us to 9 the point that we're now at. And I will be 10 voting aye. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 12 you, Senator Padavan. You will be recorded in 13 the affirmative. 14 Senator Marcellino. 15 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 16 Mr. President. 17 I too would like to thank my 18 colleagues Senator Wright, Senator Robach, 19 Senator Padavan, and Senator Bruno for his 20 leadership in working out an arrangement with 21 the other house so that we could be voting on 22 this bill today, this very important bill 23 today. 24 I also want to thank the many men 25 and women throughout the state who sent emails

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(518) 371-8910 1 and letters and made phone calls to members of 2 the other chamber and got them to come up with 3 legislation after a year or so when this house 4 had passed, at least two times, a bill that 5 would have capped the tax on gasoline and 6 provided much needed to relief to our 7 hardworking and overburdened drivers in this 8 state, a much-needed bill. A lot of promises 9 were made, a lot of rhetoric was given out, 10 but no action on the other side until just 11 recently, after the pressure was applied by 12 the public, who said enough, enough is enough. 13 Gasoline prices have risen, have 14 literally doubled -- more than doubled -- 15 since 2003. But for a few lucky winners of 16 the lottery, I don't know anybody in my 17 district whose income has doubled in that same 18 time frame. 19 This is a most difficult product. 20 It is not a stand-alone product. It's not 21 like a head of cabbage, where you can make a 22 choice -- the price of cabbage goes up, you 23 make a decision whether or not to buy it. 24 Gasoline affects everything. I 25 live on Long Island; many of you live upstate,

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(518) 371-8910 1 in rural areas. We need our cars. They're 2 not a luxury for us, they're a necessity. We 3 have no mass transit to speak of. We're not 4 the city. We don't have subways and buses 5 that we can rely upon. We need our vehicles 6 to get to and from school, to and from work, 7 get our children to soccer games and all kinds 8 of situations. 9 This is the most important thing. 10 The price of milk is dependent upon the price 11 of gasoline, because it's trucked in. 12 Everything we have is trucked in to us in one 13 way or another. Even turning on the switch is 14 dependent upon the price of oil to get 15 electricity. And as Senator Padavan rightly 16 pointed out, home heating oil in the future, 17 future months to come, it will get cold again 18 soon, and we've got to address that too. 19 This bill takes major steps toward 20 doing just that. It deals with the present 21 problems on gasoline. It deals with the 22 present pressure on the driving public and the 23 middle class that doesn't have a lot of 24 discretionary money to play with. Their funds 25 are being eaten up. The average driver is

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(518) 371-8910 1 said to spend at least $5,000 a year on just 2 gasoline. That's a huge amount of money out 3 of their income. 4 So we need to address that. We 5 need to give them relief. But we also go to 6 the future, as Senator Wright correctly 7 pointed out. We're looking to incentivize 8 alternative fuels -- biodiesel to heat our 9 homes, ethanol on the Thruway, in the gas 10 stations, to fuel our vehicles. We're looking 11 to do many different things, including 12 increasing conservation by providing a home 13 heating oil tax credit so that anybody who 14 changes their home heating system can get a 15 tax credit for that too. 16 This is a good piece of 17 legislation. It deserves our support. I call 18 on now all of our county legislators 19 throughout this state to come together and 20 pass that tax on too. This is not like the 21 clothing tax. This is significant. We should 22 be passing that on to our driving public and 23 our constituents. 24 I also call upon the Governor to 25 sign this bill as soon as he gets it. That's

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(518) 371-8910 1 a most important thing. Our taxpayers, the 2 driving public, absolutely requires it -- no, 3 I take that back. They demand it. 4 Ladies and gentlemen, I vote aye. 5 I urge everyone in the chamber to join me in 6 that call. 7 Thank you very much, Mr. President. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 9 you, Senator Marcellino. 10 Senator Alesi. 11 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, 12 Mr. President. 13 First of all, I'd like to thank 14 Senator Wright and Senator Robach and all 15 others, and of course Senator Bruno for his 16 leadership on this issue. 17 I'd like to speak, as my colleagues 18 have, on the benefits to our consumers and our 19 taxpayers who have been overburdened for far 20 too long with taxes. 21 But I think that I'd also like to 22 take this opportunity, as chairman of the 23 Committee on Commerce and Economic Development 24 and Small Business to point out that this is 25 an absolutely crucial thing that this

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(518) 371-8910 1 Legislature can do for those small businesses 2 and large businesses, in fact, that rely on 3 transportation, that uses gasoline and pays 4 sales tax on that gasoline. 5 Yes, it is a good thing for all of 6 our consumers, for those people who have to 7 drive to work, for those people that have to 8 pick their children up at care centers and 9 things of that nature. But for every business 10 that has a vehicle on the road that uses 11 gasoline that has to pay sales tax, this is a 12 very good thing for the economy of New York 13 State. 14 And in terms of the savings that 15 those businesses will enjoy, they will then 16 pass on savings because they're lowering their 17 cost of doing business. So the consumers in 18 this state are not only going to save money 19 when they're purchasing gasoline, but 20 hopefully they'll also save on goods and 21 services that are purchasing from our 22 businesses and small businesses in New York 23 State. 24 And actually, that's the kind of 25 thing that can improve the economy and drive

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(518) 371-8910 1 economic activity. And it sends a powerful 2 message to business that you can continue to 3 rely on this Legislature to do good things. 4 As we have shown with our tax cuts and 5 incentives for business all across New York 6 State, we want to help business in this state, 7 we want to help retain and create jobs. 8 And we have heard this time and 9 time again: This is a tax cut? Yes, it is. 10 And tax cuts work. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 12 you, Senator Alesi. 13 Senator Bonacic. 14 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, 15 Mr. President. 16 I too stand to thank Senator Bruno, 17 Senator Wright, and my other colleagues in 18 their leadership in passing this reduction in 19 the gas tax. 20 You know, many constituents reached 21 in and they were upset at the fast escalation 22 of the way the prices jumped at the pump. 23 They couldn't understand. And they said: Do 24 something about it. What can you do? And I 25 would try to be honest with them. I'll say:

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(518) 371-8910 1 It's limited what we can do. But we will do 2 something that was in our control. 3 And we did that by reducing the 4 sales tax 4 cents per gallon. And if the 5 county wants to follow our lead, they could 6 double this benefit to our constituents who 7 rely heavily on their car. 8 But if we're ever going to look for 9 a solution to the energy crisis, it's much 10 bigger than us here. And it involves 11 participation by the federal government, it 12 involves having the oil industry more 13 accountable if price gouging is going on, at 14 the distributor level, at the retail level. 15 And those that take advantage of volatility in 16 the price should be punished severely. 17 Conservation. We have to be more 18 intelligent and change our habits. And that 19 is going to take time. Because, let's face 20 it, New Yorkers and Americans are in love with 21 their cars. 22 So it requires so many different 23 attacks to the problem. And alternate energy 24 of course is part of the solution, whether 25 it's wind turbines, whether it's hydro. And

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(518) 371-8910 1 you've heard all of the other technology 2 that's out there. 3 But, and last but not least, I 4 think the auto industry and the way they make 5 the cars, we have to have hybrids that will 6 increase the mileage per car. 7 But in conclusion, these are 8 long-term solutions. And I compliment my 9 colleagues on the other side of the aisle that 10 have raised some of these issues. 11 So we're not fooling ourselves 12 here. We know there is some benefit today 13 because we're just trying to show we're trying 14 to help. But there's still pain out there. 15 The price per gallon is still high. And it's 16 looking at all of these areas long-term. 17 Hopefully we can have a real national energy 18 policy and we can produce long-term savings to 19 our consumers and our businesses. 20 Thank you very much, Mr. President. 21 I vote aye. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 23 you, Senator Bonacic. You will be recorded in 24 the affirmative. 25 Senator Connor.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, 2 Mr. President. 3 You know, I have this feeling that 4 I am part of a Legislature and that we as a 5 Legislature are standing in front of a 6 stampeding herd of elephants and we have one 7 little pea shooter among us to stop them. 8 Because while I'm voting for this, 9 and what we're doing today is something, and I 10 guess something is better than nothing, I 11 really don't think we ought to be proclaiming 12 that we've solved the energy crisis and 13 American dependence on Middle Eastern oil. 14 This is a little teeny, tiny drop in a bucket 15 here. 16 And unfortunately, there's very, 17 very little the state can do. Yes, we can 18 save people a few pennies a gallon and watch 19 in a few weeks when the oil companies raise 20 those prices and they creep up and those 21 pennies are chewed up. And we can certainly, 22 as a state government, encourage some 23 development of alternative energy sources. 24 But our resources as a state are woefully 25 inadequate to really get something real going

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(518) 371-8910 1 that will solve this problem. 2 The economics of this bill kind of 3 mystifies me. We want to stop people from 4 smoking cigarettes, and we raise the taxes. 5 And now we're hoping people will conserve 6 gasoline and so we and try and lower the 7 price. That's a little mystifying to me. 8 The interesting thing for my 9 colleagues from upstate, and particularly from 10 the suburbs and the far suburbs, is those 11 beautiful homes with a quarter-acre or a 12 half-acre, green upon all around them, are 13 incredibly energy inefficient. 14 And those big old cities that we so 15 often have turned our backs over these past 16 decades, and from which people have fled to 17 supposedly better environments -- if you look 18 at all the studies now, a city like New York 19 City is the most energy-efficient part of this 20 state. Where people live in multiple 21 dwellings, it is cheaper to heat. Where 22 people depend on mass transit, it is cheaper 23 to move people. 24 And when people move out in the 25 suburbs and have to drive to get a quart of

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(518) 371-8910 1 milk and are heating a single-family home that 2 the wind attacks from all four sides, 3 depending on which way it's blowing, it's 4 much, much, incredibly more inefficient. The 5 energy consumption for a million or two people 6 in a suburban setting doesn't even equal -- 7 the energy, I should say, taken to sustain a 8 city of 8 million does not even equal the 9 amount of energy consumed by a couple of 10 million people in the suburbs. 11 So it ought to readjust the way we 12 think about things, not just in this aspect, 13 but in where we think is the best way for the 14 future. The future belongs to our rebuilding, 15 reborn cities. That future belongs there 16 unless America can figure out a way to get 17 awfully cheap energy out of corn or some other 18 replenishable organic substance. 19 I will vote for this because it's 20 something and I guess it's all we can do, but 21 we haven't exactly taken -- nor can we, this 22 is not a criticism -- a giant stride towards 23 solving the problem. Because the powers of 24 the state government compared to the powers 25 that vest in that enormous federal government

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(518) 371-8910 1 headed by those two big former oilmen, and the 2 resources at their disposal, are what has to 3 be focused in the right direction. 4 And that hasn't happened, and it's 5 not likely we suddenly woke up in the last 6 year and said: Oh, my, we have a problem. 7 We've had this problem, we've known about this 8 problem for a couple of decades. And the 9 United States' response has been woefully 10 inadequate, at times, virtually imperialistic, 11 and, frankly, a "we got ours and forget about 12 the world." 13 And you look at Brazil, which a 14 couple of decades ago we described as part of 15 the Third World, and Brazil is 16 energy-self-sufficient because they looked 17 ahead a couple of decades and figured out how 18 to convert virtually after all their 19 consumption to ethanol, which is replenishable 20 every year when the crops come in. 21 So I appreciate the sponsors of 22 this and the effort that went into coming up 23 with this bill. But let's not kid ourselves. 24 It's all we can do, and it's woefully, 25 pitifully little that we're doing.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Thank you. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 3 you, Senator Connor. You will be recorded in 4 the affirmative. 5 Senator Schneiderman. 6 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you, 7 Mr. President. On the bill. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 9 Senator Schneiderman, on the bill. 10 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I join my 11 colleagues on both sides of the aisle in 12 strongly supporting some provisions of this 13 bill. 14 I certainly think that the tax 15 credit provisions are examples of what we can 16 be doing at the state level. Senator Sabini's 17 amendment offered examples of how we can save 18 hundreds of millions of dollars a year. There 19 are other bills that have been introduced. 20 There are things that have been done in other 21 states. Senator Connor is correct; this is 22 mostly a federal problem. But there is a lot 23 we can do at the state level. 24 The creativity shown by other 25 states with energy planning, portfolio

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(518) 371-8910 1 standards, requiring energy-efficient 2 mortgages, these are all things that the State 3 of New York could do. Unfortunately, in the 4 last decade we have lagged many other states 5 in terms of energy policy. 6 I would also particularly like to 7 commend my colleagues on the other side of the 8 aisle for one modification of this bill that 9 took place after many of us on this side of 10 the aisle voted against an earlier version, 11 that there is an effort now to provide for 12 some -- to ensure that the savings from this 13 legislation get passed through to the 14 consumer. 15 But before we dislocate our 16 shoulders patting ourselves on the back, I 17 would urge that there is much more work to do 18 on that front. There's not really a good 19 mechanism in place to ensure that the 20 consumers receive the benefits of this. I 21 note that in the Times Union on May 12 there 22 was a statement from someone, a spokesperson 23 for the oil industry, that they doubted that 24 the consumers would see any of it. 25 So let's make sure that if we're

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(518) 371-8910 1 going to try and pass something that is 2 questionable as a matter of energy policy in 3 an effort to help relieve consumers from the 4 crushing burdens of higher fuel costs, that 5 that money actually gets to the consumers, it 6 is not a windfall for the oil companies. I 7 note that in the Assembly they're looking at 8 legislation to prevent that from happening. 9 We do have more work to do. There 10 is a lot more we can do as a state. This is a 11 step. I'm going to vote in support of this. 12 But if we do not ensure that there is 13 enforcement, as my colleagues on this side of 14 the aisle have said repeatedly and have 15 demonstrated their strong feelings about with 16 their votes, it doesn't amount to anything. 17 So let's make sure this gets to the 18 consumers. I will vote yes. I'm pleased that 19 there is an effort to do that in this draft of 20 the legislation. And I think this is 21 something -- in spite of Senator Marcellino's 22 exhortations, I think we may see this bill 23 again if the Governor follows through on some 24 of his earlier statements. And it may be that 25 there are more things we can do to ensure that

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(518) 371-8910 1 consumers get the benefits at that point in 2 time. 3 I will be voting yes, 4 Mr. President. Thank you. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 6 you, Senator Schneiderman. You will be 7 recorded in the affirmative. 8 Senator Volker. 9 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President, I 10 thought we were kind of explaining our votes. 11 Let me just say very quickly that 12 it's always fascinating to me that -- when I 13 hear that the City of New York is efficient. 14 The only reason that New York City is not in 15 an absolute electric crisis is because of 16 9/11. 17 It's unbelievable the 18 misunderstanding of New York City. We just 19 don't have enough power to send down to you. 20 Because New York City uses a tremendous amount 21 of upstate power. When the new World Trade 22 Center comes back up and the 10 percent that 23 went down with it -- which is unbelievable, by 24 the way -- New York City is going to have a 25 crisis of epic proportions.

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(518) 371-8910 1 You can talk all you want about oil 2 companies, but the fact that we have not 3 allowed any new refineries in this country -- 4 and your party has been very, very strong on 5 that issue. You can't locate anything around 6 New York City. It's refineries that are the 7 problem. If we still had refineries in this 8 country, we'd have low prices. But there's no 9 sense in talking about it. What's done is 10 done. 11 I just want to say one thing to 12 you. When you repeal a sales tax, when you 13 cap it, the benefit has got to go to the 14 people. There's no way around it. I don't 15 know how some oil person -- because a lot of 16 the oil people don't even know how this stuff 17 works. 18 I figure this will save my 19 family -- I was trying to figure what it would 20 save my family. And remember, we're 21 upstaters. We're not in New York City, where 22 you can take rapid transit and all that sort 23 of stuff. We have to drive. You'll save 24 between $200 and $300, is what I figure. 25 We're not maximum drive -- if I was driving a

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(518) 371-8910 1 lot, it would be more. And I figured it out 2 based on every fill-up of a gas tank. 3 So you say, Well, you might not 4 save it. You've got to save it. Once you cap 5 it, it's saved. There's no other way around 6 it. That's the way it is. I mean, they can't 7 get around it. The theory because it's 8 confusing you can get around it is baloney. 9 And that's why New York City 10 doesn't want to chip in, and that's why my 11 county is not chipping in. Because my 12 county -- who, by the way, is making money 13 hand over fist, not only from gasoline, but 14 from the Sabres winning in Buffalo. And it's 15 a huge downtown cost. I'm told that the 16 deficit has shrunk in Erie County by something 17 in the area of $12 million to $15 million 18 because of what's been happening, the activity 19 in downtown Buffalo and in the County of Erie. 20 People have no idea what sports 21 does when you sell everything and when you've 22 got the hotels and motels filled up and all 23 that. That's what the New York City wanted 24 with the Olympics, and I understand that. 25 It's huge.

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(518) 371-8910 1 But the bottom line is that we 2 stood for a long time trying to get the 3 Assembly to do something. I said, Well, why 4 don't we suspend the whole sales tax until the 5 end of the year? Well, the reason we don't do 6 that is because the Governor would never go 7 for that. And that probably would be such a 8 huge amount of money, that could be a problem. 9 But by capping it at 2 bucks, it 10 probably is going to cost the state in this 11 fiscal year probably in the area of 12 $300 million to $350 million. Which is a lot 13 of money, but it's worth it given the times 14 that we're in. 15 And by the fall, the prices will be 16 below $2.50, which is fine. Remember, it will 17 still be in effect, this $2. And if it goes 18 below $2, it trips out. So you're at $2 and 19 that's it. So there's no way you can lose; 20 that is, the consumers. The people that say 21 it can lose are probably federal people who 22 don't know exactly what to do. Although they 23 have done the right thing, and that is they 24 got rid of the oxygenation, which ultimately 25 will have some impact on the whole thing.

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(518) 371-8910 1 But I remind everybody, those four 2 refineries in New Orleans, Louisiana, are 3 still down. Two of them may never come back 4 up again. Two of them are going to come back 5 shortly. That's what tripped this whole 6 crisis off. 7 Of course, there's one other thing. 8 When the American oil companies controlled the 9 marked, we had low prices. But thanks to 10 environmentalism and the Clean Air Act and all 11 the rest of the stuff, we lost control of the 12 oil market. It's now run by people outside of 13 this country. We can talk all we want about 14 alternative fuels and all that. It's not the 15 supply of oil. The problem is the 16 distribution. It always has been, and it will 17 be for about 30 to 40 years. It will be more 18 the distribution than anything else. 19 But, you know, it's hard to deal 20 with that because no one really wants to deal 21 with it. Senator Wright is even more familiar 22 with it than I am. But on the other hand, in 23 this country we forget -- for instance, this 24 state, by the way, has done more to clean up 25 our air than any state in the union ever has.

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(518) 371-8910 1 The only reason we don't have the cleanest 2 industrial state in the union is because of 3 New Jersey. New Jersey's pollution drifts 4 across New York City, Queens, and across that. 5 Otherwise, we'd have the cleanest air in the 6 darn country. 7 Buffalo, in Western New York, has 8 the cleanest air of any new or old industrial 9 city in the country. Never speaks of this, by 10 the way, by the people in Western New York, 11 but it's very clean. 12 The bottom line is this is going to 13 save money. Senator Wright, good job; Senator 14 Bruno, the members of our conference. Thank 15 you for helping us, Senator Schneiderman and 16 your people. We always appreciate the help. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 18 you, Senator Volker. 19 Senator Montgomery. 20 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, 21 Mr. President. Thank you. 22 I want to rise and also thank 23 Senator Wright, who has worked very hard on 24 giving us at least a beginning of a way of 25 addressing the energy crisis, especially the

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(518) 371-8910 1 gasoline-price crisis. 2 But I must say that the part that 3 I'm very excited about that I think is 4 incomplete, however, is the last part, I think 5 it's Part E in the legislation, in that, where 6 we refer to the role of NYSERDA, the New York 7 State Energy Research and Development 8 Authority. 9 NYSERDA has been extremely critical 10 to having -- giving us an opportunity to 11 explore some meaningful alternatives as it 12 relates to conservation and energy use. And I 13 think that we need to look at what they have 14 been doing and to put some of that in force. 15 I.e., I think we need to look at 16 the possibility of requiring that builders and 17 developers plan for green construction in new 18 construction. That is not being discussed, to 19 my knowledge, or required of developers, 20 certainly in New York City. I know that 21 NYSERDA has been involved, certainly in 22 New York City in particular, and around the 23 state, in looking at helping buildings, 24 existing housing developments retrofit so that 25 they are able to utilize other sources for

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(518) 371-8910 1 their energy; i.e., fuel cell production as 2 well as cogeneration and other energy sources, 3 alternatives. 4 I think that it makes sense now for 5 us to go back to NYSERDA and work with them to 6 see that we can in fact implement on a broader 7 scale some of those advances that they've 8 already begun to make. 9 I wish that this legislation 10 included incentives for people. I know that 11 there is some -- I've had discussions with 12 colleagues who say we don't need to provide 13 incentives because people are already buying 14 fuel-efficient cars. 15 But, Mr. President, when I look at 16 our own parking lot downstairs, I see quite a 17 number of gas-guzzlers. And I think that we 18 need to go on a campaign to ask people to quit 19 the gas-guzzlers. 20 At least we're making a statement 21 that we think this is a very serious issue, 22 not just for now, not just for addressing this 23 emergency, but for looking long-term. We 24 must, I think, become more energy independent, 25 and one way of doing that is to change the way

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(518) 371-8910 1 that we look at how we ride around and what 2 kinds of cars we purchase. 3 And lastly, Mr. President, Section 4 E, for me, we need at least a Section F which 5 talks a lot more about a heavy investment in 6 the production end as it relates to 7 alternative fuels. We have a huge 8 agricultural potential in terms of the 9 agriculture in our own state, making that very 10 much a part of this energy-independent 11 movement, and including them in our programs 12 and our plans so that as we look to develop 13 alternative sources of energy, we're looking 14 at building an economy within our own state 15 which is an early-on participant and 16 beneficiary of this program. 17 So there are some missing pieces. 18 I certainly am going to support this 19 legislation, because I think it certainly is a 20 beginning. But I think that I've heard many 21 times Senator Marcellino refer to some of 22 these issues. I hope that the majorities in 23 both houses, the minorities in both houses -- 24 all of us have ideas. I think we all have 25 experiences of one sort of another, to one

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(518) 371-8910 1 degree or other with this program, with 2 this -- with the need for us to address this 3 issue comprehensively so that all of the 4 constituents in the state, no matter where -- 5 agricultural, rural, the suburbs, the 6 cities -- that we're all able to come together 7 and devise a plan that speaks to energy in our 8 state. 9 So with that, Mr. President, I 10 again thank Senator Wright. And I'm looking 11 at Senator Marcellino, because I'm expecting 12 him to come forward with some of his bills 13 that he's promised that he is going to be 14 working on. And hopefully we can have 15 discussions together on what those might be. 16 Thank you very much. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 18 you, Senator Montgomery. 19 Senator Oppenheimer. 20 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Thank you. 21 I was just jogged out of my sort of 22 somnambulant state here by a couple of things 23 I've been listening to, and I'd like to talk 24 very briefly about them. 25 The Regional Plan Association has

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(518) 371-8910 1 been pursuing what Senator Connor was just 2 talking about for at least three decades now. 3 And that is to make us aware that we don't 4 have to get into our car if we look at things 5 a little bit differently. And that is the 6 rebuilding of center cities. 7 Now, this is in part determined by 8 the need for residential dwellings close in to 9 more vibrant cities. And so in Westchester 10 County I am very pleased to say we are leading 11 this movement, probably nationwide. We are in 12 the process of just a very dynamic rebuilding 13 of our cities. 14 White Plains, a very large city, 15 New Rochelle, a large city, were in terrible 16 decline. We have, over the last decade, 17 attracted developers, and there are very large 18 apartment houses, 30 stories high -- maybe 19 that's overkill. But it is certainly a sign 20 that we are turning around the economies of 21 these inner cities that were in really bad 22 shape about twenty years ago. 23 If that happens, that means that 24 there will be less need to drive a car, 25 because these cities are located on rail

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(518) 371-8910 1 lines. And the rail lines go into New York 2 City; there are buses that fan out to all the 3 other parts of the county. 4 This is really an emphasis that we 5 have to really pursue, because we have to do 6 less driving. It's not a question of cost. 7 Believe me, the costs in America are much less 8 than the costs in most other countries in the 9 world. 10 So it's a question of we have to 11 think of what the air quality is, we have to 12 think of what we're doing to the earth, we 13 have to think of what we're doing to the 14 water. There's so many aspects to this. We 15 have to learn to drive less. 16 Now, I agree if it's in some 17 upstate area that is rural, that's another 18 problem. But in your cities, I think you have 19 your infrastructure in place. You don't have 20 to attack and put residential areas in green 21 spaces that we hope to remain open. And if we 22 concentrate in the downtown areas, that's 23 where your sewers are, that's where your water 24 is, your fresh water, that's where your 25 transportation is. And we have to really take

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(518) 371-8910 1 a look back at what the Regional Plan 2 Association has been talking about for thirty 3 years now. I just thought I'd enter that in 4 the record. 5 I'm voting yes. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 7 you, Senator Oppenheimer. You will be 8 recorded in the affirmative. 9 Senator Wright, to close. 10 SENATOR WRIGHT: Thank you very 11 much, Mr. President. And I appreciate the 12 observations of all of my colleagues this 13 afternoon. 14 But I would point out that it's the 15 taxpayers of this state that understand what 16 we're doing today. And that is we're reducing 17 their taxes. From what we can find in 18 researching, we're reducing the sales tax on 19 gasoline for the first time in the history of 20 this state. That is something that we should 21 all be proud of. 22 Yes, it has a positive impact on 23 the cost of gasoline. Yes, that has a 24 positive impact on the energy situation for 25 working men and women who every day have to

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(518) 371-8910 1 pay the cost to drive to work, to drive to 2 school, to drive for healthcare, to visit 3 their family and friends, et cetera. 4 Regardless of whether you're in a 5 rural portion of the state or a metropolitan 6 area of the state, it will benefit you. 7 Regardless of whether you're an individual or 8 a small business, it will benefit you. It's 9 all about making sure there is not a windfall 10 tax achieved, be it at the state level -- we 11 will be returning some $450 million to the 12 taxpayers. 13 And with the efforts of local 14 government -- and I would encourage each and 15 every one of you to encourage your local 16 governments to do likewise. If they adopt it, 17 it doubles the impact in terms of the tax 18 benefit to the consumer. 19 And we have thought about the 20 consumer. Now, we've talked about making sure 21 that competition will keep them honest. But 22 we've also built in an enforcement piece, an 23 enforcement piece using the Office of Consumer 24 Affairs, using Taxation & Finance. And they 25 have measures available to them -- the

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(518) 371-8910 1 Wholesale Pricing Index, they have access to 2 provider and wholesaler's records. So there 3 are means of enforcing this. 4 Our job was to provide a rather 5 stiff penalty, $5,000 per incident per day. I 6 believe that will go a long way to ensuring 7 that 1 percent that may abuse the system is 8 penalized. Most of the small businesses, men 9 and women in small business in this industry 10 are just as concerned about the price as we 11 are. 12 So I think we've addressed the 13 concerns that have been raised. As to some of 14 the other concerns that have been advanced, to 15 his credit the Governor has, in fact, moved 16 ahead on alternative fuels. He has moved 17 ahead on alternative vehicles. The Office of 18 OGS is in the process of implementing a plan 19 of CNG and stations to provide CNG at state 20 facilities throughout this state, doing it on 21 a statewide basis. 22 So I think the administration has 23 been moving forward. I know that in working 24 in partnership with them, we can continue to 25 achieve advancements.

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(518) 371-8910 1 And while we're talking about sales 2 tax today, and we're talking about other 3 provisions of tax benefit, it's not just 4 today. If you look at what has been 5 accomplished in this legislative session, 6 there's biofuel production tax credit, long 7 term; cellulosic biofuel facilities 8 investment, long term; clean fuel vehicle tax 9 exemptions, long term. Sales tax exemptions 10 for solar, long term. Fuel tax credits, long 11 term. And appliance and equipment energy 12 efficiency standards -- first in the nation -- 13 long term. 14 The State of New York has a long 15 history of addressing the energy concerns of 16 its people, its taxpayers, its ratepayers. 17 Today is but one more step to move forward to 18 reduce the cost of living and working in 19 New York State and at the same time setting an 20 example for the nation of how energy policy 21 should be addressed. 22 Mr. President, I thank my 23 colleagues and I encourage their affirmative 24 votes. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank

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(518) 371-8910 1 you, Senator Wright. 2 Debate is closed. 3 The Secretary will read a 4 substitution. 5 THE SECRETARY: In relation to 6 Calendar Number 1016, Senator Wright moves to 7 discharge, from the Committee on Rules, 8 Assembly Bill Number 11331 and substitute it 9 for the identical Senate Bill Number 7909, 10 Third Reading Calendar 1016. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 12 Substitution is ordered. 13 The Secretary will ring the bell. 14 Read the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 16 act shall take effect immediately. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 18 Senator Saland, to explain his vote. 19 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, 20 Mr. President. I rise to commend Senator 21 Wright. 22 I've been listening to the debate, 23 and I think everybody agrees that this is not 24 advanced as some panacea that's miraculously 25 going to cure all the ills of everything

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(518) 371-8910 1 that's transpired to date, driving the gas 2 costs to where they are currently. Certainly 3 supply and demand, what's going on in the 4 Middle East, and a host of other things that 5 are involved are things well beyond our 6 control. There has been some certainly 7 comprehensive investigation and comprehensive 8 action that more appropriately would occur on 9 a national level. 10 Yet this is what we can do in the 11 State of New York. This is giving a break to 12 already overburdened taxpayers. This is doing 13 our best to reduce the price at the pump as 14 well as provide other means of alternatively 15 dealing with fuels and fuel sources. 16 So again, my commendations to 17 Senator Wright. And certainly I would support 18 this measure and think we have managed to 19 accomplish an agreement here which, after a 20 great number of months in which the Senate was 21 at the point, we have come to closure. 22 Thank you. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 24 Secretary will call the roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 2 Senator Balboni, to explain his vote. 3 SENATOR BALBONI: Mr. President, 4 this issue, if anyone takes a look at the 5 media, you'll see a very healthy dose of 6 skepticism. In addition to which, in this 7 chamber itself, there are many concerns raised 8 that in fact this is an imperfect solution. 9 But what must be kept in mind is 10 that this is not only what New York State is 11 doing for its state residents, but this is 12 also part of a national effort. The National 13 Conference of State Legislators has a report 14 out that indicates that over half of the 15 states in the nation are currently doing 16 something to reduce taxes on gasoline. 17 And so we play an important role, 18 not just in terms of what we're doing here 19 specifically, but rather nationally to 20 continue to put great pressure on the federal 21 government to understand that they need to do 22 something as it relates to taxes also. 23 And you know what, ladies and 24 gentlemen, keep this in mind. With a 25 $4 billion surplus, why not do this now.

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(518) 371-8910 1 I vote aye. Thank you. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 3 you, Senator Balboni. 4 Senator Nozzolio, to explain his 5 vote. 6 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, 7 Mr. President. 8 Mr. President and my colleagues, 9 this is an excellent step in the right 10 direction. It is providing leadership and 11 results for our already overburdened 12 taxpayers, and I congratulate this house for 13 accepting this measure. 14 Skyrocketing gasoline prices 15 whether you drive to work, go to daycare, go 16 to the grocery store, it's a way of life 17 upstate, and upstate is hit hardest by the 18 spike in gasoline prices and the spike in 19 taxes as a result. 20 We've taken good steps here with 21 this legislation. My colleagues are so right 22 that a rational national energy policy needs 23 to be established, it needs to be established 24 in a variety of ways that ensures a broader 25 supply, ensures alternative fuels, ensures

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(518) 371-8910 1 alternative vehicles, all of which we in 2 New York are poised to establish posthaste. 3 But right now, immediately, this 4 puts money in the pockets of our taxpayers who 5 deserve it, and particularly those who need to 6 drive so far to meet their everyday 7 necessities. Results, results for our 8 taxpayers. 9 I vote aye, Mr. President. It's an 10 excellent measure, a step in the right 11 direction. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 13 you, Senator Nozzolio. You will be recorded 14 in the affirmative. 15 Senator DeFrancisco. 16 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I also vote 17 aye. 18 And you know, I just want to 19 address one part of the bill. I know there's 20 many parts that are going to provide relief to 21 taxpayers. I want to talk about the gasoline 22 tax and one aspect of it that hasn't really 23 been addressed yet. 24 When we first passed our bill in 25 December, in order to cap the sales tax on

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(518) 371-8910 1 gasoline at sales prices of $2 a gallon, there 2 was a very important point: not only to 3 provide relief for the taxpayers, but to 4 eliminate a windfall that the state was 5 receiving. 6 We could talk about whether or not 7 this is going to be a major impact on the cost 8 of gasoline. It probably isn't. But what's 9 happened is when the gasoline prices are going 10 out of whack, beyond our control for the large 11 part, the state is gaining a windfall and 12 adding to the burden of the taxpayer as the 13 price of gasoline goes up. 14 And since December, while we've 15 been waiting for the Assembly to come along, 16 there's been tens of millions of dollars that 17 the state has collected from taxpayers that 18 made their burden even greater on the price 19 they pay for gasoline. 20 So this bill ends the windfall and 21 allows the taxpayers to keep their dollars, 22 instead of paying more taxes because the price 23 is going up -- and it still may continue to go 24 up -- to end that windfall. And to not end it 25 would have been unconscionable.

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(518) 371-8910 1 I vote aye. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 3 you, Senator DeFrancisco. You will be 4 recorded in the affirmative. 5 Senator Seward. 6 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you, 7 Mr. President. I rise to add my voice and my 8 vote in favor of this very important 9 legislation. 10 It's been said that we in New York 11 cannot control gas prices. Obviously we 12 cannot control the weather or the hurricanes 13 that hit us last year. We can't control 14 international oil consumption or oil 15 production, for that matter. Many, many 16 aspects of this issue beyond the reach of 17 New York State. 18 However, there are some things we 19 can control in New York, and the level of 20 taxation and the way that we tax a gallon of 21 gasoline is one such way that we can have some 22 control over. And this legislation, by 23 capping that tax, is real relief for 24 overburdened taxpayers of this state. 25 Now, some have said it's only

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(518) 371-8910 1 pennies a gallon. But you know what? Those 2 pennies add up. This bill will provide close 3 to $400 million of relief for the motoring 4 public in this state. That's real dollars, 5 and that's certainly going to be helpful. 6 I was at a gas station a week or so 7 ago, and a gentleman came up to me and said: 8 "You know, Senator, I am not able to meet my 9 mortgage payment this month because of these 10 high gas taxes." 11 So this is an issue that hits 12 New Yorkers in very practical ways. It hits 13 that family budget. Because as the price of 14 gas goes up, that money has to come from 15 somewhere in a family's budget. 16 So I agree with my colleagues who 17 said the State of New York should not be 18 enjoying a financial windfall because of the 19 high gas prices which have also increased the 20 taxes. So this legislation deals with that. 21 I'm also very pleased that we're 22 taking a balanced approach under this bill, 23 promoting conservation through a tax credit 24 for the replacement of home heating systems 25 which are more efficient. Also promoting

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(518) 371-8910 1 alternative fuels and the distribution system 2 for those fuels. 3 This is a well-balanced approach 4 that helps everyday New Yorkers with an 5 everyday problem that they face. 6 Mr. President, I vote aye. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 8 you, Senator Seward. You will be recorded in 9 the affirmative. 10 Senator Leibell, to explain his 11 vote. 12 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you, 13 Mr. President. I'd like to also rise in 14 support of this legislation. 15 I think we have all heard from the 16 constituency, we have heard from the consumers 17 of New York State at their outrage of the 18 price of gasoline. This has especially 19 impacted on those of us who represent 20 districts that are more suburban and rural. 21 This legislation is certainly not a 22 complete solution, but it does offer some 23 degree of price and tax relief to our 24 constituents. It gives us also an opportunity 25 to examine this problem in greater depth.

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(518) 371-8910 1 This is a problem that has international 2 implications, and it certainly is a problem 3 that we are not going to see in our lifetimes 4 get any better. 5 This legislation leads us, though, 6 to a point in time where we can now 7 aggressively consider alternative forms of 8 energy. We should start to do that in 9 New York State. We should start to do it more 10 aggressively. I realize we can't establish a 11 national energy policy. But if we were a 12 separate economy in New York State, if we were 13 going to be compared to other nations, we 14 would be one of the largest economies in the 15 world. That means that we can do certain 16 things. 17 We in state government, also in 18 municipal government, should lead the way. We 19 should make sure that our energy sources, our 20 vehicles, our buildings are heated by 21 alternative sources. 22 So this is a good piece of 23 legislation, but it only begins the debate. 24 Thank you, Mr. President. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank

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(518) 371-8910 1 you, Senator Leibell. You will be recorded in 2 the affirmative. 3 Announce the results. 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 6 bill is passed. 7 Senator Fuschillo. 8 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr. 9 President, is there any other business at the 10 desk? 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Yes, 12 we have a motion. 13 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Please 14 recognize Senator Flanagan. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 16 Senator Flanagan. 17 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. 19 On behalf of Mr. President, could 20 we call up Print Number 3091A. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 22 Secretary will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 698, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 3091A, 25 an act to amend the Banking Law.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Mr. President, 2 I ask that we move to reconsider the vote by 3 which the bill was passed. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 5 the roll on reconsideration. 6 (The Secretary called the roll.) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 8 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Mr. President, 9 I now offer the following amendments. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 11 amendments are received. 12 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank you. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 14 Senator Fuschillo. 15 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr. 16 President, is there any other business at the 17 desk? 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: There 19 is no other business at the desk, Senator. 20 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: There being 21 no further business, I move we adjourn until 22 Tuesday, May 16th, at 3:00 p.m. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: On 24 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until 25 Tuesday, May 16th, at 3:00 p.m.

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(518) 371-8910 1 (Whereupon, at 4:42 p.m., the 2 Senate adjourned.) 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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(518) 371-8910