Wednesday, December 13, 2006

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 December 13, 2006 11 12:46 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 SENATOR RAYMOND A. MEIER, Acting 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 MEIER: The 3 Senate will come to order. 4 I ask everyone present to please 5 rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. 6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited 7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: In the 9 absence of clergy, may we bow our heads in a 10 moment of silence. 11 (Whereupon, the assemblage 12 respected a moment of silence.) 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reading 14 of the Journal. 15 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 16 Tuesday, December 12, the Senate met pursuant 17 to adjournment. The Journal of Monday, 18 December 11, was read and approved. On 19 motion, Senate adjourned. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Without 21 objection, the Journal stands approved as 22 read. 23 Presentation of petitions. 24 Messages from the Assembly. 25 Messages from the Governor.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Reports of standing committees. 2 Communications and reports from 3 state officers. 4 Motions and resolutions. 5 Senator Golden. 6 SENATOR GOLDEN: Mr. President, I 7 wish to call up my bill, Senate Print Number 8 8428, recalled from the Assembly, which is now 9 at the desk. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 11 Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 2179, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 8428, an 14 act to amend the Administrative Code of the 15 City of New York. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 17 Golden. 18 SENATOR GOLDEN: Mr. President, I 19 now move to reconsider the vote by which this 20 bill was passed and ask that the bill be 21 restored on the order of third reading. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 23 roll on reconsideration. 24 (The Secretary called the roll.) 25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 2 is restored to the order of third reading. 3 Senator Golden. 4 SENATOR GOLDEN: Mr. President, I 5 now move to discharge, from the Committee on 6 Rules, Assembly Print Number 11711 and 7 substitute it for my identical bill. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 9 Substitution ordered. 10 The Secretary will read. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 2179, substituted earlier by the Assembly 13 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print Number 14 11711, an act to amend the Administrative Code 15 of the City of New York. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 17 Schneiderman. 18 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes, thank 19 you, Mr. President. On the bill. 20 I just want to make sure it's clear 21 to my colleagues this is simply a recall of a 22 Senate bill and we're now moving to pass the 23 identical Assembly bill. It's a cross, it's 24 something we have to correct, and it passed 25 unanimously, 60 to nothing, when it was

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(518) 371-8910 1 introduced earlier in the session. 2 So this is more administrative than 3 anything else, and I would urge my colleagues 4 once again to support this legislation. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 6 last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 8 act shall take effect immediately. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 10 roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll.) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 14 is passed. 15 Senator Bruno. 16 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, I 17 would ask for an immediate meeting of the 18 Finance Committee in the Majority Conference 19 Room. 20 And I would ask that presently the 21 Senate stand at ease. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 23 Immediate meeting of the Finance Committee in 24 the Senate Majority Conference Room. 25 The Senate will stand at ease

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(518) 371-8910 1 pending the report of the Finance Committee. 2 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 3 ease at 12:48 p.m.) 4 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 5 at 1:55 p.m.) 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 7 Skelos. 8 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 9 if we could return to the order of motions and 10 resolutions and adopt the Resolution Calendar 11 in its entirety. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Motions 13 and resolutions. 14 All those in favor of adopting the 15 Resolution Calendar in its entirety signify by 16 saying aye. 17 (Response of "Aye.") 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 19 opposed, nay. 20 (No response.) 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 22 Resolution Calendar is adopted. 23 Senator Skelos. 24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I 25 believe there's a report of the Finance

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(518) 371-8910 1 Committee at the desk. I ask that it be read. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 3 Secretary will read the report of the Finance 4 Committee. 5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson, 6 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 7 following nominations. 8 As a member of the State Board of 9 Parole, Lisa Beth Elovich, of Selkirk. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 11 Johnson. 12 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 13 nomination. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 15 question is on the nomination of Lisa Beth 16 Elovich as a member of the State Board -- I'm 17 sorry. 18 Senator Nozzolio. 19 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, 20 Mr. President. 21 Mr. President and my colleagues, I 22 stand with great pride in endorsing the 23 candidacy of Lisa Beth Elovich of Selkirk for 24 nomination to the Board of Parole. 25 She came before the New York State

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senate Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and 2 Corrections and was unanimously approved, as 3 she was approved in the Senate Finance 4 Committee. 5 She brings a broad, diverse 6 background of experience and qualification to 7 this board, the Board of Parole, which is 8 extremely important in the criminal justice 9 process in ensuring justice in this state, in 10 her role as a prosecutor, as a judicial 11 hearing officer. Just a wonderful combination 12 of qualifications that will ensure the 13 continued good service on the Parole Board. 14 An excellent nomination, and I 15 fully support it. 16 Thank you, Mr. President. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 18 Farley. 19 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, 20 Mr. President. I rise to support the 21 nomination of Lisa Elovich. 22 Let me just say that she's a 23 remarkable young woman, a good lawyer, 24 somebody that served in the Attorney General's 25 office with distinction. Everything she's

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(518) 371-8910 1 done, she's done well. A graduate of Hofstra 2 Law School, where my son went, and also the 3 University of Maryland, where I came into the 4 bar. 5 But anyway, she also has a 6 distinction of being, I think, the only woman 7 promoter of boxing matches and has really done 8 a great job with that, with Pugnacious 9 Promotions, and as so many of us that have 10 gone and seen the matches that she's promoted. 11 But we're very fortunate to have 12 somebody of her competence to be able to serve 13 on the Parole Board, and I congratulate the 14 Governor for this great appointment. 15 I wish you well, Lisa. We're lucky 16 to have you. Thank you very much for serving. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 18 Skelos. 19 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I 20 rise to support the nomination of Lisa 21 Elovich. 22 Senator Farley, it says Lisa 23 Elovich of Selkirk. I guarantee you that her 24 heart is really in Long Beach, which is in my 25 district, because once you have the Long Beach

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(518) 371-8910 1 sand in your shoes you never really leave. 2 But I've had opportunity to know 3 Lisa, attended her bat mitzvah a number of 4 years ago, and to know her family very, very 5 well. It's a wonderful family -- her mother, 6 Helen, father, Larry. And certainly she is 7 well qualified for this position. 8 So, Lisa, we're proud of you, and 9 congratulations. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 11 Ada Smith. 12 SENATOR ADA SMITH: Thank you, 13 Mr. President. 14 While it does not reflect on this 15 particular nominee -- I wanted to state for 16 the record that we have some very fine 17 nominees this time, and I know that they will 18 do an excellent job. But as a matter of 19 principle, I will not be voting in the 20 affirmative for any nominee whose term extends 21 past 12/31/07. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 23 question is on the nomination of Lisa Beth 24 Elovich as a member of the State Board of 25 Parole. All those in favor signify by saying

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(518) 371-8910 1 aye. 2 (Response of "Aye.") 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All 4 those opposed, nay. 5 (No response.) 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 7 nominee is confirmed. 8 Ms. Elovich is with us today in the 9 gallery. We congratulate you and wish you 10 well with your important duties. 11 (Applause.) 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 13 Secretary will continue to read. 14 THE SECRETARY: As a member of 15 the Crime Victims Board, Alton R. Waldon, Jr., 16 of Cambria Heights. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 18 Johnson. 19 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 20 nomination. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 22 question is on the -- I'm sorry, Senator 23 Nozzolio. I'll get this right. I'm new here. 24 Senator Nozzolio. 25 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: -- have a

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(518) 371-8910 1 little time to do that, Senator. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: I know. 3 (Laughter.) 4 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, 5 Senator, my colleagues. 6 I rise to support this excellent 7 nomination as appointment to the Crime Victims 8 Board on behalf of the entire Senate Committee 9 on Crime Victims, Crime, and Corrections, 10 which didn't take long to review his 11 qualifications, because the qualifications of 12 Al Waldon are noted by all of us who had the 13 honor of serving with him in this 14 distinguished body as well as the Assembly. 15 The judiciary's loss certainly will 16 be the Crime Victims Board's gain. That Al is 17 passionate about supporting many, many 18 endeavors, and none the least of which are 19 those who are the victims of crime. 20 That it was an honor to serve with 21 him. Many memories across the aisle, great 22 colloquies, great questions. I might not have 23 thought so at the time, but I certainly 24 respected his great acumen and desire to 25 protect crime victims.

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(518) 371-8910 1 An excellent appointment, 2 nomination, and that the Crime Victims 3 Committee unanimously endorsed his candidacy 4 for this important position. 5 Thank you, Mr. President. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 7 Maltese. 8 SENATOR MALTESE: Mr. President, 9 I rise to add a second to the nomination of 10 our former colleague, Senator Al Waldon, to 11 this very, very critical board. 12 His background, his humble roots, 13 he has achieved such a great deal in his life; 14 the fact that he is willing to serve on this 15 board, this very important board, is a 16 testament to his public spirit and devotion to 17 the public weal. 18 Certainly as a Congressman, as a 19 Senator, as a commissioner, and as a 20 distinguished jurist, his background is second 21 to none to serve. And I am pleased to support 22 the nomination of Al Waldon. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 24 Sabini. 25 SENATOR SABINI: Mr. President, I

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(518) 371-8910 1 rise in support of this nomination. 2 Judge Waldon is a man who has 3 served this state in so many capacities that 4 in fact the squib sheet that our conference 5 got doesn't even list them all because it's so 6 lengthy. 7 He served in both houses in this 8 Legislature, served as a member of the State 9 Investigations Commission, was the first 10 African-American congressman from the borough 11 of Queens, something I had a hand in doing. 12 And I did that knowing that he was a 13 fair-minded, intelligent, and honest public 14 servant. He went on to the Court of Claims, 15 and now this nomination for the Crime Victims 16 Board. 17 While I share the concern that a 18 number of these nominations are for terms too 19 long, in the case of Judge Waldon any service 20 the state gets from him I think is a good 21 thing. I think he's a fantastic public 22 servant. 23 And I know his late wife, Barbara, 24 is looking down today and smiling on this, 25 because she was always with him at every

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(518) 371-8910 1 juncture. 2 And I want to congratulate the 3 Governor for this appointment. 4 Thank you, Mr. President. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any 6 other Senator wish to be heard on the 7 nomination? 8 Senator Maziarz. 9 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 10 much. 11 Just very briefly, I just want to 12 say I wholeheartedly support this nomination. 13 It's good to see you back here, Al, 14 and it's good to know that there's life after 15 the Senate, too, Al. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All 17 those in favor of confirming the nomination of 18 Alton R. Waldon, Jr., as a member of the Crime 19 Victims board signify by saying aye. 20 (Response of "Aye.") 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 22 opposed, nay. 23 (No response.) 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 25 nominee is confirmed.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Waldon is with us in the 2 gallery today. Welcome back home, sir, and 3 congratulations. 4 (Standing ovation.) 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 6 Secretary will continue to read. 7 THE SECRETARY: As a member of 8 the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 9 Norman Seabrook, of the Bronx. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 11 Johnson. 12 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 13 nomination. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 15 Nozzolio. 16 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. President, 17 I did not want to rise first, but I didn't 18 want this opportunity to go by without 19 thanking the nominee for his wonderful work on 20 behalf of correction officers in this state. 21 That Norman Seabrook has 22 represented the New York City correction 23 officers for many years, and has done so with 24 distinction. We look to him as a tremendous 25 resource so that this conference, and

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(518) 371-8910 1 particularly the committees that Senator 2 Volker and I work on, are involved in 3 protecting our correction officers. 4 And that his willingness to serve 5 on the MTA authority is certainly an important 6 step, but it should be noted that his great 7 work on behalf of correction officers in this 8 state is extremely important, and we are 9 extremely grateful for this work. 10 Thank you, Mr. President. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any 12 other Senator wish to be heard on the 13 nomination? 14 Senator Golden. 15 SENATOR GOLDEN: Thank you, 16 Mr. President. 17 I too rise for Norman Seabrook. 18 He's been a great leader and a great help to 19 us in the City of New York, and he's done 20 great things across this state to enhance the 21 union that he has represented for so many 22 years. 23 And having the knowledge that he 24 does have here in the City of New York will do 25 a great job at the MTA in bringing his

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(518) 371-8910 1 managerial skills to that MTA and helping it 2 run a better, more efficient system. 3 My hat is off to him, and I second 4 this nomination myself too, sir. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 6 Maltese. 7 SENATOR MALTESE: Mr. President, 8 I also wish to second the nomination. I 9 commend the Governor on the appointment. 10 Certainly we've seen in the past 11 years a lot of Norman Seabrook lobbying on 12 behalf of his members, as is proper. Earlier, 13 at the Finance Committee, he was termed by 14 Senator Libous a people's representative, and 15 truly he is. What he has accomplished for his 16 fellow officers in the Correction Officers 17 Benevolent Association is legendary. 18 And certainly he never forgot the 19 fact and provided for widows and children as 20 well as scholarships for his members. He is 21 truly a representative of the people and an 22 exemplary nomination for this board. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 24 Sabini. 25 SENATOR SABINI: Thank you,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President. On the nomination. 2 As the ranker on Transportation, I 3 was delighted that the nomination of Norman 4 Seabrook came through. He represents working 5 men and women, New York's bravest in the 6 correction officers' union. And I believe in 7 his role of doing that, he will look out for 8 the ridership, because he represents working 9 men and women in New York City and in the MTA 10 region as a whole. 11 So that I believe he'll have a 12 perspective that will be pro-ridership, and 13 we'll be able to work with the new 14 administration, hopefully, at the MTA to bring 15 about better budgetary practices and better 16 service for the ridership. 17 As someone who represents a large 18 number of members of COBA, I wholeheartedly 19 endorse his nomination. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 21 Savino. 22 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you, 23 Mr. President. I also am proud to stand in 24 support of this nomination. 25 In my previous life as a municipal

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(518) 371-8910 1 labor leader, I had the pleasure of serving 2 with Norman Seabrook on the municipal labor 3 committee, and I know firsthand his 4 dedication, not just to his members of the 5 correction officers but to the rest of the 6 municipal workforce and, in general, the City 7 of New York. 8 And he is going to bring with him 9 to the MTA board something that is sorely 10 lacking, and that is an in-depth understanding 11 of the labor relations process. So I am proud 12 to support the nomination of Norman Seabrook. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 14 Hassell-Thompson. 15 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 16 you, Mr. President. 17 Most of the words that I wanted to 18 say on behalf of this nominee have already 19 been spoken. But I would like to reiterate 20 the fact that with the kinds of problems that 21 the MTA has been experiencing, he will bring a 22 clarifying voice. And I know that he will 23 serve us well. 24 And as someone who represents the 25 Bronx, I am always more than happy to see good

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(518) 371-8910 1 people come out of the Bronx and do well. 2 Congratulations. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any 4 other Senator wish to be heard on the 5 nomination? 6 The question, then, is on the 7 confirmation of Norman Seabrook as a member of 8 the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 9 All those in favor signify by saying aye. 10 (Response of "Aye.") 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 12 opposed, nay. 13 (No response.) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 15 nominee is confirmed. 16 Mr. Seabrook is with us today in 17 the gallery. Congratulations and best wishes. 18 (Applause.) 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 20 Secretary will continue to read. 21 THE SECRETARY: As members of the 22 Adirondack Park Agency, Frank L. Mezzano, of 23 Lake Pleasant, and William H. Thomas, of North 24 Creek. 25 As a member of the New York State

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(518) 371-8910 1 Bridge Authority, Richard A. Gerentine, of 2 Marlboro. 3 As a member of the Niagara Frontier 4 Transportation Authority, Kevin Helfer, of 5 Buffalo. 6 As members of the New York State 7 Energy Research and Development Authority, 8 Frank Bifera, of Slingerlands; Robert B. 9 Catell, of Garden City; and Vincent A. 10 Deiorio, Esquire, of White Plains. 11 As a member of the Ogdensburg 12 Bridge and Port Authority, Roger Leland 13 McBath, of Lisbon. 14 As members of the Port of Oswego 15 Authority, David W. Buske, of Oswego, and 16 Thomas W. Schneider, of Oswego. 17 As members of the Thruway 18 Authority, E. Virgil Conway, of Bronxville, 19 and Kevin J. Plunkett, of Tarrytown. 20 As banking members of the State 21 Banking Board, John M. Scarchilli, of Latham; 22 Alan Shamoon, of Great Neck; and George J. 23 Vojta, of Bronxville. 24 As a public member of the State 25 Banking Board, Daniel J. Hogarty, of Troy.

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(518) 371-8910 1 As a member of the Correction 2 Medical Review Board, Robert J. Muller, of 3 Lake George. 4 As members of the Small Business 5 Advisory Board, Terence G. McGlynn, of Sleepy 6 Hollow, and Frank P. Naudus, of Lido Beach. 7 As a member of the State 8 Environmental Board, Robert R. Quinn, of 9 Sackets Harbor. 10 As a member of the board of 11 directors of the Roosevelt Island Operating 12 Corporation, Charlee M. Miller, of New York 13 City. 14 As a member of the board of 15 directors of the Great Lakes Protection Fund, 16 Michael J. Elmendorf, II, of Watervliet. 17 As a member of the Board of 18 Trustees of Cornell University, Jerold R. 19 Ruderman, of Scarsdale. 20 As members of the Board of Trustees 21 of the New York State Higher Education 22 Services Corporation, W. Anthony Goodwin, of 23 Webster, and Thomas J. Murphy, of Latham. 24 As a member of the State Board for 25 Historic Preservation, Joseph J. Ryan, of

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(518) 371-8910 1 Buchanan. 2 As members of the Empire State 3 Plaza Art Commission, Joseph G. Perrella, of 4 Niskayuna; Henry J. Schmidt, of Williamsville; 5 and Arete Swartz Warren, of New York City. 6 As members of the Interstate 7 Environmental Commission, Judith Baron, of 8 Brooklyn, and Rose Trentman, of New York City. 9 As a member of the Long Island 10 State Park, Recreation and Historic 11 Preservation Commission, Bernadette Castro, of 12 Lloyd Harbor. 13 As a member of the Palisades 14 Interstate Park Commission, Barnabas McHenry, 15 of New York City. 16 As a member of the Saratoga-Capital 17 District State Parks, Recreation and Historic 18 Preservation Commission, Paul C. Barrett, of 19 Delmar. 20 As a member of the Taconic State 21 Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation 22 Commission, William M. Mooney, III, of 23 Yonkers. 24 As members of the Thousand Islands 25 State Park, Recreation and Historic

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(518) 371-8910 1 Preservation Commission, Harold B. Johnson, 2 II, of Watertown, and Debra L. Sephton, of 3 Clayton. 4 As a member of the Republic Airport 5 Commission, Richard H. Grant, of Farmingdale. 6 As members of the Stewart Airport 7 Commission, Drew A. Kartiganer, of Newburgh; 8 Philip J. Singara, of Hurley; and James C. 9 Wright, of New Windsor. 10 As members of the Passenger Tramway 11 Advisory Council, Russell R. Coloton, Jr., of 12 Hunter, and Bernard P. McGarry, of Albany. 13 As a member of the Public Health 14 Council, Francis J. Serbaroli, Esquire, of 15 New York City. 16 As members of the State Hospital 17 Review and Planning Council, Russell W. 18 Bessette, M.D., of Orchard Park; Margaret M. 19 Johnson, Esquire, of New York City; Megan 20 Veronica Kearney, of New York City; Richard H. 21 Ketcham, of Fredonia; Marc I. Korn, of East 22 Amherst; and Joel M. Zinberg, of New York 23 City. 24 As a member of the State Fire 25 Prevention and Building Code Council, Thomas

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(518) 371-8910 1 B. Vanderbeek, of Suffern. 2 As a member of the Board of 3 Visitors of the New York State Home for 4 Veterans and their Dependents at Batavia, D. 5 James Mastelenis, of Wyoming. 6 As a member of the Board of 7 Visitors of the Buffalo Psychiatric Center, 8 Harold Fabinsky, of Orchard Park. 9 As a member of the Board of 10 Visitors of the Elmira Psychiatric Center, 11 Patricia Lucas, of Elmira. 12 As a member of the Board of 13 Visitors of the Helen Hayes Hospital, Mary 14 Eileen O'Brien, of Orangeburg. 15 As a member of the Board of 16 Visitors of the Metro New York Developmental 17 Disabilities Services Office, Fredricka J. 18 Pol, of the Bronx. 19 As a member of the Board of 20 Visitors of the New York State Home for 21 Veterans and their Dependents at Oxford, 22 Joseph J. Benenati, Jr., of Oxford. 23 And as a member of the Board of 24 Visitors of the St. Lawrence Psychiatric 25 Center, Imogene Wager, of Ogdensburg.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 2 Bonacic. 3 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, 4 Mr. President. 5 I stand in support of the names 6 that have been recited for the appointments to 7 the various authorities and boards. But in 8 particular, I want to speak to two members of 9 the Thruway Authority, Virgil Conway and Kevin 10 Plunkett. 11 Prior to these two gentlemen being 12 confirmed for the New York State Thruway, we 13 have not had geographical balance on the 14 New York State Thruway. All the members that 15 are presently serving are from Albany north. 16 Just recently, within the past two 17 months, there was a decision made that the 18 New York State Thruway has given a one-year 19 notice not to take care of the maintenance on 20 Interstate I-84, and they want to turn that 21 over to the Department of Transportation. 22 Now, I traveled that road every day 23 when it was maintained by the Department of 24 Transportation, and I can tell you it was not 25 maintained properly. There were safety

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(518) 371-8910 1 concerns with snowplowing and ice and poor 2 maintenance throughout the seasons. When the 3 New York State Thruway took it over, we saw a 4 change for the best in the way I-84 was 5 maintained. 6 And as these two gentlemen now 7 serve or will be serving shortly on the 8 New York State Thruway, I am telling them 9 today that I, and I believe other 10 representatives of the Mid-Hudson area, will 11 oppose the New York State Thruway turning over 12 maintenance to the Department of 13 Transportation. 14 I congratulate all of the members 15 that are being appointed today, and I wish 16 them well in their mission. 17 Thank you, Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 19 question is on the confirmation of the 20 nominees. All those in favor signify by 21 saying aye. 22 (Response of "Aye.") 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 24 opposed, nay. 25 (No response.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 2 nominees are confirmed. 3 Senator Fuschillo. 4 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Mr. 5 President, there will be a meeting of the 6 Rules Committee in the Majority Conference 7 Room. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Meeting 9 of the Rules Committee in the Majority 10 Conference Room. 11 Senator Fuschillo. 12 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: The Senate 13 will stand at ease pending the report. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 15 Senate will stand at ease. 16 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 17 ease at 2:26 p.m.) 18 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 19 at 2:46 p.m.) 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 21 Skelos. 22 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 23 if we could return to reports of standing 24 committees, there's a report of the Rules 25 Committee at the desk. I ask that it be read.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reports 2 of standing committees. 3 The Secretary will read the report 4 of the Rules Committee. 5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno, 6 from the Committee on Rules, reports the 7 following bills: 8 Senate Print 8513A, by Senator 9 Libous, an act to establish the Flood 10 Assessment Relief Act of 2006; 11 8515, by Senator Golden, an act to 12 amend the Penal Law; 13 And Senate Print 8518, by the 14 Senate Committee on Rules, an act to amend the 15 Vehicle and Traffic Law and the Penal Law. 16 All bills ordered direct to third 17 reading. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Move we accept 19 the report of the Rules Committee. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All 21 those in favor of accepting the report of the 22 Rules Committee signify by saying aye. 23 (Response of "Aye.") 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 25 opposed, nay.

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(518) 371-8910 1 (No response.) 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 3 report is accepted. 4 Senator Skelos. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 6 if we could take up the Rules Committee, 7 noncontroversial. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 9 Secretary will conduct the noncontroversial 10 reading of the Rules report. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 2268, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 8513A, 13 an act to establish the Flood Assessment 14 Relief Act of 2006. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 16 last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 18 act shall take effect immediately. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 20 roll. 21 (The Secretary called the roll.) 22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 24 is passed. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number

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(518) 371-8910 1 2269, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 8515, an 2 act to amend the Penal Law. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 4 last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 6 act shall take effect immediately. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 8 roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 12 is passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 2270, by the Senate Committee on Rules, Senate 15 Print 8518, an act to amend the Vehicle and 16 Traffic Law and the Penal Law. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Read the 18 last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This 20 act shall take effect immediately. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 22 roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll.) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill

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(518) 371-8910 1 is passed. 2 Senator Skelos. 3 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I 4 believe Calendar Number 2268 is not live at 5 this time. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: That's 7 correct, Senator. 8 SENATOR SKELOS: So I guess if 9 we'd move to reconsider the vote by which it 10 shouldn't have passed. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 12 Secretary will call the roll on 13 reconsideration on S2268. 14 (The Secretary called the roll.) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Lay the 17 bill aside. 18 SENATOR BALBONI: Mr. President. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 20 Balboni. 21 SENATOR BALBONI: Yes, could you 22 please take up Calendar Number 2268. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 24 Secretary will read Senate Bill 2268. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number

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(518) 371-8910 1 2268, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 8513A, 2 an act to establish. 3 SENATOR BALBONI: Mr. President, 4 is there a message of necessity at the desk? 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Yes, 6 there is. 7 SENATOR BALBONI: I would move to 8 take up the message. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All 10 those in favor of accepting the message of 11 necessity signify by saying aye. 12 (Response of "Aye.") 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 14 opposed, nay. 15 (No response.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 17 message is accepted. 18 The bill is before the house. 19 The Secretary will read the last 20 section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 22 act shall take effect immediately. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Call the 24 roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The bill 3 is passed. 4 SENATOR BALBONI: Mr. President, 5 after we all say happy birthday to Suzi 6 Oppenheimer, we'd like to just stand in recess 7 for a minute. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 9 Senate will stand at ease. 10 Senator Schneiderman. 11 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: If I could 12 be heard on that, Mr. President. 13 Indeed, this is a day where we're 14 facing many difficulties. But certainly those 15 difficulties would be harder to face if we 16 were not in the presence of our wonderful 17 colleague, Senator Oppenheimer, who has to 18 leave now for a round-the-world tour of 19 birthday festivities, I believe, but will be 20 with us for a while longer today. Happy 21 birthday. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Happy 23 birthday, Senator. 24 The Senate will stand at ease. 25 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at

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(518) 371-8910 1 ease at 3:01 p.m.) 2 ACTING SENATOR FLANAGAN: Senator 3 Skelos. 4 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 5 there will be an immediate meeting of the 6 Finance Committee in the Majority Conference 7 Room. 8 ACTING SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank 9 you. 10 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 11 at 4:15 p.m.) 12 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 14 Senator Skelos. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 16 if we could return to reports of standing 17 committees, there's a report of the Finance 18 Committee at the desk. I would ask that it be 19 read at this time. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 21 Reports of standing committees. 22 The Secretary will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson, 24 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 25 following nomination.

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(518) 371-8910 1 As Welfare Inspector General, Brian 2 P. Sanvidge, of Troy. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 4 Senator Johnson. 5 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 6 nomination. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: All 8 those in favor of the confirmation of Brian P. 9 Sanvidge, of Troy, as Welfare Inspector 10 General signify by saying aye. 11 (Response of "Aye.") 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Those 13 opposed, nay. 14 (No response.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 16 nominee, Brian P. Sanvidge, is hereby 17 confirmed as Welfare Inspector General. 18 We are joined today by the nominee, 19 Brian, of course; his mom, Edna Sanvidge; his 20 brother Kelly; his brother Jack; his friend 21 Christina Spinelli; and his sister-in-law, 22 Kathleen Sanvidge. 23 Brian, congratulations. You have a 24 very big job -- 25 (Applause.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: You 2 have a very big job ahead of you. And you've 3 done a great job in the Department of Labor, 4 and we certainly wish you all the best. Thank 5 you. 6 Senator Skelos. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 8 if we could continue with the Finance 9 Committee nominations. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 11 Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson, 13 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 14 following nominations. 15 As members of the Board of Trustees 16 of the City University of New York, Sam 17 (Solomon A.) Sutton, of Brooklyn, and Jeffrey 18 S. Wiesenfeld, of Great Neck. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 20 Senator Johnson. 21 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 22 nominations. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: All 24 those in favor of the confirmation of Sam 25 Sutton, of Brooklyn, and Jeffrey Wiesenfeld,

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(518) 371-8910 1 of Great Neck, as trustees of the City 2 University of New York -- 3 Senator Golden. 4 SENATOR GOLDEN: Thank you, 5 Mr. President. 6 I rise today to second the 7 nomination of my good friend Sam Sutton as a 8 member of the City University Board of 9 Trustees. 10 When I met Sam some years ago, I 11 was deeply moved by his dedication to 12 education and his philanthropic work in the 13 Sephardic community. Sam Sutton has a highly 14 regarded reputation in the community due to 15 his dedication to improving and expanding 16 educational opportunities for working 17 families. As president of Bikur Holim, a 18 premier community-based social service 19 organization, Sam takes time from his 20 successful business to volunteer over 20 hours 21 per week to help those in need. 22 Sam's work extends to his home -- 23 beyond his home and also into his home, for 24 him and his family, as he's touched the lives 25 of nearly a dozen foster children, many of

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(518) 371-8910 1 whom were placed with him for extended periods 2 of time. 3 Vision is an appropriate term to 4 describe his philosophy in helping New York's 5 working families to afford the cost of an 6 education. Last year, Sam and I, along with 7 thousands of parents, students and educators, 8 worked to help the parents pay for educational 9 expenses by working to get a childcare tax 10 credit here in the State of New York. 11 These acts of philanthropy 12 exemplify the vision and commitment that Sam 13 Sutton will bring to the CUNY Board of 14 Trustees. And today it's my honor to support 15 Sam Sutton as a member of the CUNY Board of 16 Trustees, as well as Jeff Wiesenfeld, who I 17 also second today his nomination as a member 18 of the City University Board of Trustees. 19 And since 1999, Jeff has played an 20 active role in restoring the City University 21 of New York back into a premier system of 22 higher education. Today CUNY is once again 23 attracting and producing the best and the 24 brightest students, from Rhodes Scholars Lev 25 Sviridov and Eugene Shenderov to recent Truman

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(518) 371-8910 1 Fellows in Intel Science first-prize winners. 2 Jeff Wiesenfeld shares the accolades of those 3 fine students. 4 In addition to his extensive 5 background in higher education, Jeff's service 6 to the State of New York has been exemplary 7 and makes him worthy of being named to the 8 City University Board of Trustees. Jeff has 9 been active for many years in our community 10 and is a strong voice for those causes in 11 which he believes. Active with many local and 12 national organizations, he possesses a high 13 level of caring and involvement. 14 I congratulate Jeff and Sam and 15 wish them both great success as they are named 16 to the City University of New York Board of 17 Trustees. 18 Thank you, Mr. President. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Thank 20 you, Senator. 21 Senator Balboni. 22 SENATOR BALBONI: Mr. President, 23 as you know, the island of Manhattan is 24 densely populated and a huge place. So what 25 would be the chances of walking down the

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(518) 371-8910 1 street and having to run into one of our 2 nominees here just the other day? Well, 3 that's what happened with Jeff and I. 4 And that's the thing about Jeff; he 5 is ubiquitous. He is everywhere. But he is 6 so focused and passionate about education. 7 He's been a huge agent for positive change at 8 CUNY the last couple of years. And I believe 9 that this reappointment is going to continue 10 CUNY's evolution towards excellence, and so I 11 wholeheartedly support that nomination. 12 And for the other nominee, I'd just 13 like to send greetings from a legislator from 14 Nassau County, Craig Johnson, who believes 15 that this is another great reappointment. 16 I support both of them heartily, 17 Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Thank 19 you, Senator Balboni. 20 Senator Parker. 21 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you very 22 much, Mr. President. 23 I'm actually rising to add my voice 24 to the chorus of those who are congratulating 25 these new additions to the CUNY board. In

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(518) 371-8910 1 particular, Sam Sutton, who has worked very 2 closely in my district, is a leader in the 3 Jewish community and somebody who cares deeply 4 about education. 5 And so I think we're doing a great 6 thing today for the state, for the City 7 University, and for the students who are going 8 to benefit from these new additions to the 9 CUNY board. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Thank 11 you, Senator Parker. 12 Senator Maltese. 13 SENATOR MALTESE: Mr. President, 14 I too commend the Governor on his choice of 15 two distinguishes nominees for the Board of 16 Trustees. 17 I want to speak particularly on 18 Jeff Wiesenfeld. I've known Jeff for very, 19 very many years, through many of his positions 20 of public service, whether it was working for 21 Senator D'Amato or Governor Pataki, Queens 22 Borough President Claire Shulman, Queens 23 Congressman Tom Manton. 24 Through all these stages of his 25 career, he has always been a very dedicated

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(518) 371-8910 1 public servant. He shows that again by his 2 service on the many, many nonprofit boards, 3 particularly the Crohn's and Colitis 4 Foundation and the Yiddish theater. 5 As a former resident of downtown 6 Manhattan and a devotee of the Yiddish theater 7 and Molly Picon and Menashe Skolnik, I commend 8 him for that. And it is an important part of 9 education, tradition and background. 10 But his service on the Board of 11 Trustees has been over a great many years -- 12 nine years now, I believe, nine-plus years -- 13 and he continued in his role as a trustee the 14 great traditions of the chairman of CUNY Anne 15 Paolucci, from 1996 and '97 as chairman, 16 certainly Herman Badillo, and Benno Schmidt. 17 He is a great public servant, a 18 great educator, and I wish to commend the 19 Governor and Jeff Wiesenfeld in his future 20 duties as a trustee of CUNY. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Thank 22 you, Senator Maltese. 23 Senator Morahan. 24 SENATOR MORAHAN: Thank you, 25 Mr. President.

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(518) 371-8910 1 I rise also to lend my support to 2 the renomination or to the confirmation, 3 rather, of Jeff Wiesenfeld as a trustee of 4 CUNY. 5 Several years ago, when Jeff was 6 first appointed and nominated by the governor, 7 Governor Pataki, and then confirmed by this 8 Senate, there was great expectation and great 9 challenge for Jeff as to the duties that he 10 would assume and the challenges that he would 11 face. 12 I'm happy to report, from all that 13 I know and all that's been reported to me, 14 that he has continued to do what was expected, 15 he has turned the college around, he has 16 started to bring CUNY back into one of the top 17 schools in the nation. And I think that's a 18 great tradition that we've had in the city of 19 New York. 20 And I just want to congratulate 21 Jeff on this confirmation and say a job well 22 done deserves another term. And 23 congratulations, Jeff. 24 Thank you. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Thank

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(518) 371-8910 1 you, Senator Morahan. 2 Senator Stavisky. 3 SENATOR STAVISKY: Thank you, 4 Mr. President. I too want to congratulate 5 these two nominees. 6 To Sam Sutton, who provides 7 recognition not only for himself but the 8 Sephardic community, he has great potential as 9 a CUNY trustee, and I'm convinced he will be 10 an outstanding one. 11 And as far as Jeff Wiesenfeld is 12 concerned, the former borough president, 13 Claire Shulman, called me the other day and 14 said, "Be sure that you consider Jeff's 15 nomination." 16 Jeff has brought passion -- which 17 is the word that Eliot Spitzer has been 18 using -- he has brought passion back to 19 government. Jeff is passionate about Queens 20 College. 21 But I want to relate a little 22 incident that I don't know if Jeff remembers, 23 but I never forgot: his kindness toward my 24 husband about ten years ago. Jeff was working 25 for Governor Pataki at the time. There was --

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(518) 371-8910 1 I believe it was a bill signing at the office 2 building on Third Avenue concerning Holocaust 3 survivors. And the people were gathering and 4 Leonard was having some trouble walking. He 5 had just had surgery. And Jeff went out of 6 his way to be kind and considerate toward 7 Leonard, which I never forgot. And neither 8 did Leonard. 9 This was an important issue to him 10 because he is, I believe, the son of Holocaust 11 survivors, and this was for reparation monies 12 provided by the state. 13 So I congratulate Jeff. And I know 14 he's done an outstanding job in the past and 15 he's going to continue to bring passion, which 16 is so sorely missing, as well an intelligent 17 and a good attitude toward CUNY. I am very 18 proud of the CUNY system. I think it is a 19 great institution that's going to be even 20 greater in the years ahead under Chancellor 21 Goldstein. 22 So I look forward to working with 23 these two gentlemen in the years ahead. 24 Thank you. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Thank

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(518) 371-8910 1 you, Senator Stavisky. 2 Senator Carl Kruger. 3 SENATOR KRUGER: Mr. President, 4 today, as so many have looked for so long at 5 the City University system with a sense of 6 cynicism and despair and questioned where it 7 was going, we've learned that the leadership 8 that Jeff has offered and now, with the 9 combined efforts that Sam will bring to the 10 table, will further amplify our mission and 11 our statement that City University is moving 12 in the right direction, that it has regained 13 traction, and it has become one of the premier 14 institutions that it all so often was before. 15 So today, as we confirm these two 16 nominees, we send out a very clear and 17 compelling message to all those naysayers for 18 so long that questioned our motives and our 19 intentions of City University. City 20 University is alive, it's doing well, and 21 under this combined leadership will offer a 22 new generation of change and inspiration. 23 Thank you. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Thank 25 you, Senator Kruger.

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(518) 371-8910 1 All those in favor of the 2 confirmation of the nomination of Sam (Solomon 3 A.) Sutton, of Brooklyn, and Jeffrey S. 4 Wiesenfeld, of Great Neck, for appointments to 5 the Board of Trustees of the City University 6 of New York signify by saying aye. 7 (Response of "Aye.") 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Those 9 opposed, nay. 10 (No response.) 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 12 nominations are confirmed. 13 Gentlemen, congratulations. 14 Oh, I'm sorry. Senator Krueger. 15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you 16 very much. 17 I just wanted to make sure I was on 18 record that I am not able to endorse the 19 reappointment of Jeffrey Wiesenfeld to the 20 CUNY board. So I would like to be recorded in 21 the negative on that one individual. 22 Thank you. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: I'm 24 sorry, Senator Krueger. Recorded in the 25 negative on which one of the two?

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: On Jeffrey 2 Wiesenfeld. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: That 4 will be noted in the record. 5 Senator Schneiderman. 6 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I'm going 7 to join my colleague Senator Krueger in voting 8 yes on one nominee and no on Mr. Wiesenfeld. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 10 Senator Schneiderman, could you indicate which 11 one was the affirmative? 12 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes on 13 Mr. Sutton. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Mr. 15 Sutton was in the affirmative or in the 16 negative? 17 Mr. Sutton in the affirmative. 18 Mr. Wiesenfeld is in the negative. 19 Anyone else? Okay. Both of these 20 nominees are confirmed. 21 Congratulations, Sam Sutton and 22 Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, and good luck in your 23 appointments. Thank you very much. 24 (Applause.) 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ:

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Skelos. 2 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 3 there will be an immediate conference of the 4 Majority in the Majority Conference Room, and 5 the Senate will stand at ease. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 7 Immediate conference of the Majority in 8 Room 332. 9 And there is also a conference of 10 the Minority in the Minority Conference Room. 11 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you, 12 Mr. President. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 14 Senate will stand at ease. 15 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 16 ease at 4:35 p.m.) 17 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 18 at 7:10 p.m.) 19 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 21 Skelos. 22 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 23 if we could return to reports of standing 24 committees, there's a report of the Judiciary 25 Committee at the desk. If we could take it up

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(518) 371-8910 1 at this time. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reports 3 of standing committees. 4 The Secretary will read the report 5 of the Judiciary Committee. 6 THE SECRETARY: Senator 7 DeFrancisco, from the Committee on Judiciary, 8 reports the following nominations. 9 As Interim Supreme Court Justice of 10 the Tenth Judicial District, Honorable John N. 11 Byrne, of the Bronx. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 13 DeFrancisco. 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you, 15 Mr. President. 16 Each of the nominees that are going 17 to be put forward this evening, their 18 qualifications have been fully reviewed and 19 they have all appeared before the Senate 20 Judiciary Committee and been unanimously 21 passed on to this full body for our 22 consideration. 23 The first nominee, Honorable John 24 N. Byrne, has more experience in trial work 25 and being a trial judge than just about

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(518) 371-8910 1 anybody that I've had come before the 2 committee. He is being nominated by the 3 Governor as an interim Supreme Court justice 4 of the Tenth Judicial District. And I move 5 his nomination before this full body at this 6 time. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All 8 those in favor of the confirmation of 9 Honorable John Byrne as a justice of the 10 Supreme Court signify by saying aye. 11 (Response of "Aye.") 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 13 opposed, nay. 14 (No response.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 16 nominee is confirmed. 17 Justice Byrne is with us today in 18 the gallery. And we congratulate you and we 19 wish you well with your duties. 20 (Applause.) 21 THE SECRETARY: As Interim 22 Supreme Court Justice of the Eighth Judicial 23 District, Honorable Frank Caruso, of Kenmore. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 25 DeFrancisco.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You know, I 2 meant to say this before we got started, and I 3 apologize to all the nominees. But if you 4 remember, when we first spoke before you went 5 through the nomination process, that I gave 6 you all a warning. 7 And believe me, none of the delays 8 were due to your fault; it's just that other 9 business take place in the Senate while people 10 are waiting for their name to come before this 11 full body. So I apologize on behalf of the 12 entire Senate for the delay. 13 Honorable Frank Caruso is being 14 nominated by the Governor as interim Supreme 15 Court justice of the Eighth Judicial District. 16 And I move his nomination and call on Senator 17 Maziarz to second the nomination, if you'd 18 please recognize him, Mr. President. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 20 Maziarz. 21 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 22 much, Mr. President and Senator DeFrancisco. 23 It's an honor for me to speak on 24 behalf of this nominee, Frank Caruso. I've 25 known Frank for a number of years now, been

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(518) 371-8910 1 associated with him both professionally and 2 personally. And I think that the Governor 3 could not have made a better choice for this 4 position of Supreme Court justice. 5 Judge Caruso has served for many 6 years in the town of Tonawanda as a local 7 justice there, has done an excellent job, and 8 recognized by many organizations throughout 9 all of Western New York for his hard work, not 10 just on the bench but for his work with the 11 community, his community involvement. 12 He's a really topnotch person. 13 He's got a great family; wife, Paula. Just a 14 really good person. 15 And I proudly second this 16 nomination, Mr. President. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 18 Rath. 19 SENATOR RATH: Mr. Chairman, I 20 would also like to second Judge Caruso's 21 nomination. 22 The Governor, in his wisdom, has 23 appointed a very fine jurist, a very fine 24 person, the kind of person that the bench and 25 the bar unanimously were very anxious to be

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(518) 371-8910 1 sure that Judge Caruso was here, confirmed, 2 and has an opportunity to serve our community 3 in this new role, as he has served it in the 4 past in so many various roles with such great 5 distinction. 6 So my highest commendation to the 7 Governor. And congratulations, Judge. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 9 Coppola. 10 SENATOR COPPOLA: Thank you, 11 Mr. President. 12 It's my honor and pleasure to rise 13 in support of the nominee, Honorable Frank 14 Caruso, for this position. 15 Frank is a very close personal 16 friend of mine. I've known him for many 17 years. And I can tell you all that he is a 18 wonderful person, family man, a father, a 19 husband. I congratulate him on this 20 appointment; his wife, Paula, who's here with 21 him. 22 I know that he'll make a great 23 addition to the Supreme Court. Anybody who 24 comes in contact with Judge Caruso would tell 25 you that they think he is a great lawyer and a

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(518) 371-8910 1 great judge. And as Senator Maziarz said, 2 there is nobody more deserving. 3 And I applaud the Governor for this 4 wonderful appointment, and I congratulate 5 Judge Caruso. And I vote yes. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 7 Volker. 8 SENATOR VOLKER: Let me just say 9 that Frank Caruso is a long-time friend of 10 mine, has been a very good judge up until this 11 time, and I can assure everybody that he'll be 12 a super addition to the Supreme Court. 13 It's a great nomination, and I 14 congratulate you, Frank, and good luck. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 16 question is on the confirmation of Honorable 17 Frank Caruso as interim justice of the Supreme 18 Court. All those in favor signify by saying 19 aye. 20 (Response of "Aye.") 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 22 opposed, nay. 23 (No response.) 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 25 nominee is confirmed.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Justice Caruso is with us today in 2 the gallery. We congratulate you, Judge, and 3 wish you well. 4 (Applause.) 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 6 Secretary will continue to read. 7 THE SECRETARY: As Westchester 8 County Family Court Judge, Honorable Charles 9 F. Devlin, of Chappaqua. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 11 DeFrancisco. 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I move the 13 nomination of Honorable Charles F. Devlin, of 14 Chappaqua, as Westchester County Family Court 15 judge. 16 And I'd request that you please 17 recognize Senator Spano for a second. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 19 Spano. 20 SENATOR SPANO: Thank you, 21 Mr. President. 22 It's my pleasure to second the 23 nomination of Charlie Devlin as a Family Court 24 judge from Westchester County. 25 I've had the opportunity to know

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(518) 371-8910 1 and work very closely with Judge Devlin for a 2 long time. He has been a career professional 3 in our court system and is an expert on 4 guardianship matters, on elder law, on helping 5 people with disabilities, on dealing with 6 people who are incapacitated. And in each of 7 those areas, he has excelled. 8 As a member of the county court, he 9 has made us proud. Serving as an acting 10 member of the Supreme Court, he has also 11 continued to excel in everything that he has 12 done. And now he will put that same type of 13 experience in dealing with issues that are so 14 sensitive for family members as a member of 15 the Family Court. 16 So it is appropriate and it's a 17 pleasure for me, probably in my final time 18 that I will speak as a member of this body, to 19 speak in favor of someone who has been such an 20 outstanding person, a great member of the bar 21 and a great judge from Westchester County, and 22 second the nomination of Judge Charles Devlin 23 for Family Court judge. 24 Thank you, Mr. President. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any

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(518) 371-8910 1 other Senator wish to be heard on the 2 nomination? 3 The question, then, is on the 4 confirmation of Charles F. Devlin as a judge 5 of the Westchester County Family Court. All 6 those in favor say aye. 7 (Response of "Aye.") 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 9 opposed, nay. 10 (No response.) 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 12 nominee is confirmed. 13 Judge Devlin is with us today in 14 the gallery. We congratulate you, Judge, and 15 wish you well with your duties. 16 (Applause.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 18 Secretary will read. 19 THE SECRETARY: As a judge of the 20 Court of Claims, Honorable Thomas A. Adams, of 21 Rockville Centre. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 23 DeFrancisco. 24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I rise 25 to move the nomination of Honorable Thomas A.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Adams, also known as Adamo, as a judge of the 2 Court of Claims. 3 And I'd request that you call on 4 Senator Skelos to second the nomination. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 6 Skelos. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 It's my pleasure to nominate and 10 second the nomination of Judge Tom Adams. 11 I've had the pleasure of knowing Tom and his 12 wife Joann, who is here, I would say for about 13 30 years. They have a wonderful family. 14 Their two children are attorneys. 15 Tom's entire life has been 16 committed to working within our judicial 17 system -- as a young district attorney, as a 18 law secretary, as a district court judge, 19 Supreme Court judge, served on the appellate 20 division. And now the Governor is appointing 21 him, for which I'm most grateful, to the Court 22 of Claims. And I thank Senator Bruno also for 23 his support. 24 But with all the credentials -- and 25 people can have wonderful qualifications -- I

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(518) 371-8910 1 think the most important thing, when you talk 2 about Tom Adams, is his temperament. I have 3 never heard any lawyer, active, practicing 4 attorney say anything bad, harsh about Tom 5 Adams. Anything -- all I've ever heard is how 6 he's treated all litigants with respect. And 7 certainly I think that is most telling on why 8 we should be supporting the nomination of Tom 9 Adams to the Court of Claims. 10 So, Tom, I congratulate you -- we 11 have to vote first -- I congratulate you, and 12 I know you're going to be a great judge on the 13 Court of Claims. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 15 Hannon. 16 SENATOR HANNON: Yes, I'd like to 17 rise and echo the remarks that Senator Skelos 18 has made. 19 I've had occasion in recent years 20 to be in a couple of occasions where Justice 21 Adams was speaking, explaining points of law, 22 explaining points of appellate procedure. And 23 I thought he had both great insight, great 24 learning experience for members of the bar, 25 and he did it in such a clear way to allow

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(518) 371-8910 1 people to comprehend the process and 2 understand how, when it's well done, it can be 3 so successful. 4 And this is coming from a judge 5 who's been sitting on a court that has been 6 especially hardworking in recent years, so 7 hardworking they've overcome everybody saying 8 that they're well behind in their workload. 9 They've caught up, they're doing a great job. 10 So I think that one of the most 11 outstanding choices that we have tonight in 12 terms of votes is Tom Adams. 13 And I congratulate you, and I think 14 you've still got to wait till we vote. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 16 Marcellino. 17 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. 19 I rise to congratulate Judge Adams 20 on his appointment. And I think the Governor 21 has made a wise choice. 22 I've known Tom before he became a 23 judge in the Supreme Court and watched him 24 throughout his career on the bench. He's a 25 fine person, good family person. Not such a

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(518) 371-8910 1 great golfer, but a good guy. And it's been a 2 pleasure to know him. And I know he will do 3 very, very well in the Court of Claims and 4 serve the state well and the people of this 5 state. 6 Congratulations, Tom. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 8 Fuschillo. 9 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Let me just 10 concur with the comments from my colleagues. 11 I know he's an outstanding jurist. 12 But as an individual, he's incredible. Him 13 and his family truly care about their 14 community. He's worked hard his entire life 15 to make it a better place. 16 This is an outstanding appointment 17 and recommendation by the Governor, and I'm 18 proud to get up and second the nomination. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 20 LaValle. 21 SENATOR LaVALLE: Mr. President, 22 I would like to add my voice from Suffolk 23 County to those of my colleagues from Nassau 24 about the judge-to-be of the Court of Claims, 25 because he is everything that Senator Skelos

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(518) 371-8910 1 said in terms of legal scholarship but, 2 equally as important, he has the right 3 judicial temperament. 4 And his good work has traveled all 5 the way to the far reaches of Suffolk County, 6 so it's a pleasure to second his nomination. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any 8 other Senator wish to be heard on the 9 nomination? 10 The question, then, is on the 11 confirmation of Thomas A. Adams as a judge of 12 the Court of Claims. All those in favor say 13 aye. 14 (Response of "Aye.") 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 16 opposed, nay. 17 (No response.) 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 19 nominee is confirmed. 20 Judge Adams is with us today in the 21 gallery, and we congratulate him and wish him 22 well. 23 (Applause.) 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 25 Secretary will continue to read.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: As a judge of the 2 Court of Claims, John C. Cherundolo, of 3 Syracuse. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 5 DeFrancisco. 6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'm very 7 proud to move the nomination of John C. 8 Cherundolo for a Court of Claims position. 9 John is from my district. I've 10 known him for as long as I've been practicing 11 law. He's been doing trial work for over 12 30 years. He is an exemplary member of the 13 bar. He's been in "Who's Who in American 14 Lawyers" for the last decade. And he was in 15 the top 8 or 6 percent of his class when he 16 was in law school. He's been selected to be 17 on the judicial screening committee for the 18 Fourth Department for many, many years. 19 And he's just a quality individual. 20 He's a generous man who's been helpful to many 21 causes in our community. And, you know, I'm 22 just happy that he's willing to take this 23 position, because he's been so successful in 24 his chosen career. 25 And I'm very, very happy that the

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(518) 371-8910 1 Governor has chosen him and nominated him, and 2 I would urge the full support of the Senate. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any 4 other Senator wish to be heard on the 5 nomination? 6 The question, then, is on the 7 confirmation of John Cherundolo as a judge of 8 the Court of Claims. All those in favor 9 signify by saying aye. 10 (Response of "Aye.") 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 12 opposed, nay. 13 (No response.) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 15 nominee is confirmed. 16 Judge Cherundolo is with us today. 17 We congratulate you and wish you well. 18 (Applause.) 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 20 Secretary will continue to read. 21 THE SECRETARY: As a judge of the 22 Court of Claims, Gerald W. Connolly, of 23 Watervliet. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 25 DeFrancisco.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I rise 2 to move the nomination of Gerald W. Connolly 3 as a judge of the Court of Claims. 4 And I'd request that you recognize 5 Senator Breslin to second the nomination. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 7 Breslin. 8 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you, 9 Senator DeFrancisco. 10 I rise to second the nomination of 11 Jerry Connolly, Gerald Connolly, who is a 12 deputy counsel in the Governor's office 13 dealing with criminal matters. He's a 14 graduate of Manhattan College, Fordham Law 15 School, has a very rich background with the 16 Westchester County district attorney's office, 17 and well known because -- mostly because of 18 his two brothers. 19 One brother is the law clerk to the 20 Honorable Joe Teresi, who we all know. The 21 other brother, Steven, is the law clerk to 22 Judge McDonough, who we approved only recently 23 in June. And I know that Gerald will be 24 striving, as he assumes his new 25 responsibilities as Court of Claims judge, to

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(518) 371-8910 1 in some way equal the output, the dedication, 2 and the legal abilities of his two brothers. 3 And I heartily congratulate the 4 Governor for picking such a quality person to 5 go to the Court of Claims. 6 Thank you, Mr. President. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 8 Breslin, the chair notes that your brothers 9 feel the same way about you. 10 (Laughter.) 11 SENATOR BRESLIN: I'll take care 12 of you later, Mr. President. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 14 question, then, is on the confirmation of 15 Gerald W. Connolly as a judge of the Court of 16 Claims. All those in favor signify by saying 17 aye. 18 (Response of "Aye.") 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 20 opposed, nay. 21 (No response.) 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 23 nominee is confirmed. 24 Judge Connolly is with us today in 25 the gallery. He's joined by his wife,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Patricia; his daughter, Casey; his parents, 2 Gerald and Ida, and brothers Mike and Steve. 3 Judge, congratulations. 4 (Applause.) 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 6 Secretary will continue to read. 7 THE SECRETARY: As a judge of the 8 Court of Claims, Honorable Mary O. Donohue, of 9 Troy. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 11 DeFrancisco. 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I rise to 13 move the nomination of Mary O. Donohue, judge 14 of the Court of Claims. 15 And I'd request that you recognize 16 Senator Bruno to second the nomination. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 18 Bruno. 19 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, 20 Mr. President. And thank you, Senator 21 DeFrancisco and colleagues. 22 I'm honored to be here moving the 23 nomination for the Court of Claims for our 24 present Lieutenant Governor, presiding officer 25 here in the Senate, who has served a

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(518) 371-8910 1 constituency for almost an adult lifetime. 2 First woman elected district attorney in the 3 County of Rensselaer, a teacher, mother, wife, 4 elected to office repeatedly. She is really 5 what we would personify as a public servant. 6 I am proud that the Governor sees 7 fit to submit the nomination, and I am proud 8 to stand in endorsement and ask my colleagues 9 to move a great, outstanding lady, our 10 Lieutenant Governor, our present presiding 11 officer, Lieutenant Governor, our friend Mary 12 Donohue. 13 (Applause.) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 15 Hassell-Thompson. 16 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 17 you, Mr. President. 18 I didn't mean to lead the applause 19 so quickly. But I did want the opportunity, 20 like my colleagues, to talk for a moment about 21 Mary Donohue and her role here. 22 Six years ago, when I first came to 23 the Senate, it just felt good to see a woman 24 standing at the head of the Senate. It will 25 be very good to have a different person,

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(518) 371-8910 1 perhaps, standing at the head of the Senate in 2 January. 3 But Mary Donohue and I had the 4 opportunity to meet outside of these chambers, 5 and she's an outstanding human being. And I 6 think that the role that she will continue to 7 play on the Court of Appeals will continue to 8 convey that. 9 So I want to add my congratulations 10 on this nomination to her and to wish her the 11 very best of luck in all of her endeavors. 12 Thank you, Mr. President. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 14 Maziarz. 15 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 16 much, Mr. President. I rise with pleasure to 17 second this nomination also. 18 You know, we've all come to know 19 Lieutenant Governor Donohue on a personal 20 basis, having worked here in the Senate. And, 21 you know, we all bring guests in here, 22 constituents, friends of ours, sometimes 23 people that are going through very difficult 24 challenges in their lives -- crime victims, 25 parents who've had tragedy with their

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(518) 371-8910 1 children. And you always noticed that when 2 the Lieutenant Governor came in, she always 3 took the time to say hello to people, to talk 4 to them, really to care with them. 5 And she's been a great professional 6 here, a very good personal friend. This is a 7 new challenge for you. But as Senator Bruno 8 pointed out, from the DA's office, from the 9 bench, and from that podium to the Court of 10 Claims is just another challenge, and I am 11 sure you will gladly take on and work with as 12 much professionalism and care and concern for 13 those people who appear before you as you 14 always have. 15 So congratulations and best of 16 luck. You've earned this job, and you've 17 earned the respect of both sides of this 18 chamber. 19 Thank you. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 21 Volker. 22 SENATOR VOLKER: Very quickly, I 23 just want to say that it's been a pleasure to 24 have Mary Donohue as the presiding officer of 25 this house.

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(518) 371-8910 1 She is a class-act woman. She is 2 the kind of person who I think could do just 3 about any job -- certainly any judgeship. And 4 frankly should have had another judgeship, but 5 that's neither here nor there. 6 She is a person that's become a 7 good friend of mine. And also her husband is 8 a very good guy, because I've come to know 9 him. 10 But I just want to say that 11 wherever life takes you, Mary, that although 12 the Court of Claims is the next step, but 13 there's no question in my mind that whatever 14 you do, you will be super-successful. 15 And thank you for your kindness to 16 me and to all the members of the Senate. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 18 Little. 19 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you. I 20 would just like to add my comments to my 21 colleagues' as our Lieutenant Governor becomes 22 a judge of the Court of Claims, and to wish 23 her well. 24 Certainly I consider her a friend 25 throughout the years, as I was in the Assembly

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(518) 371-8910 1 and here in the Senate. And we have something 2 anything else in common, is that we were both 3 born as O'Connors. 4 So it's really a pleasure for me to 5 congratulate Judge Mary Donohue in her new 6 venture and wish her the best of everything. 7 Thank you. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 9 Libous. 10 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I 11 too want to stand and join my colleagues in 12 congratulating Mary Donohue. 13 Over the course of her term as 14 Lieutenant Governor I've had the opportunity 15 to spend some time with her, not only in my 16 district but here in Albany. And when I sat 17 where Joe Robach did, I would often, during 18 recesses, spend time at the chair where you 19 are, Mr. President, and just talk about life 20 in general. 21 She is a wonderful woman. She was 22 a great judge before and will continue and be 23 a great judge again. And I wish her the very 24 best. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any

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(518) 371-8910 1 other Senator wish to be heard on the 2 nomination? 3 Senator Paterson. 4 SENATOR PATERSON: Yes, 5 Mr. President. Unaccustomed as I am to 6 talking about the office of Lieutenant 7 Governor, I'd like to say that for the four 8 years that I've been leader -- and I know that 9 I spoke for Senator Connor, who also served 10 with Mary Donohue -- she was always very 11 gracious, very cooperative with us, is a very 12 fine human being. I would suggest sometimes 13 underutilized, because, as Senator Volker 14 said, she really excels at almost any task 15 that she tends to. 16 And we have really enjoyed this 17 time in the Senate working with her. Some of 18 us have gotten to know her a little bit 19 outside. When the final votes were in, she 20 offered all kinds of advice and assistance to 21 me and my staff over the past six weeks. 22 And we are going to miss her around 23 the immediate area of the Capitol, but hope 24 that on the Court of Claims that they will 25 appreciate her as much as they did in the

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(518) 371-8910 1 judiciary before her service here in the 2 Lieutenant Governor's role and certainly after 3 it. 4 She has a very fine family, an 5 adoring son and daughter who are proud of her 6 today. And we're all proud of her and very 7 excited about the new mission in her life, and 8 hope that somebody can partially fill the 9 shoes that she will leave when she leaves at 10 the end of the year. 11 Thank you. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 13 Skelos. 14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I 15 just want to echo what so many of my 16 colleagues have said. 17 I've had the pleasure of working 18 with the Lieutenant Governor, judge-to-be 19 soon, for a number of years, and she's always 20 conducted herself with the utmost of 21 professionality. So I'm honored to second the 22 nomination. 23 But I think it's also important to 24 note, after all the years that we've been 25 listening to Senator Paterson, that as the

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(518) 371-8910 1 Lieutenant Governor we will not have to listen 2 to him as much anymore. 3 (Laughter.) 4 SENATOR SKELOS: But I am 5 delighted, Mary, to second your nomination. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any 7 other Senator wish to be heard on the 8 nomination? 9 Senator DeFrancisco, the chairman 10 of the Judiciary Committee, for the purpose of 11 closing. 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you, 13 Mr. President. 14 I'm really happy for our Lieutenant 15 Governor. First of all, it's not easy to 16 preside over a group of individuals with very 17 diverse points of view. Sometimes it got 18 contentious. And each time it did, Mary 19 Donohue always acted with dignity and with 20 respect for everyone in this chamber. 21 And as she was saying earlier, 22 she's really going back home to the bench. 23 And I'll tell you, the people who will appear 24 before her will be very well served, and I'm 25 very happy for her that she's going back to

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(518) 371-8910 1 something that she really and truly enjoys, 2 being a judge and dispensing justice. 3 So congratulations. I'm very happy 4 for you. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: I would 6 just like to say before I call the vote that 7 I'm very privileged that one of the last 8 things I get to do as a member of this body is 9 to preside over the confirmation of a really 10 great person, a great Lieutenant Governor and 11 a great jurist, Mary O. Donohue. 12 The question, then, is on the 13 confirmation of Mary Donohue as a judge of the 14 New York State Court of Claims. All those in 15 favor signify by saying aye. 16 (Response of "Aye.") 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 18 opposed, nay. 19 (No response.) 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 21 nominee is confirmed. 22 Judge Donohue is with us in the 23 gallery, with her husband, Tony Ricci, and her 24 daughter, Sara. 25 (Standing ovation.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 2 Secretary will continue to read. 3 THE SECRETARY: As a judge of the 4 Court of Claims, Kimberly A. O'Connor, of 5 Guilderland. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 7 DeFrancisco. 8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'd like to 9 move the nomination of Kimberly A. O'Connor, 10 of Guilderland, as a judge of the Court of 11 Claims. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any 13 other Senator wish to be heard on the 14 nomination? 15 The question, then, is on the 16 confirmation of Kimberly O'Connor as a judge 17 of the New York State Court of Claims. All 18 those in favor signify by saying aye. 19 (Response of "Aye.") 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 21 opposed, nay. 22 (No response.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 24 nominee is confirmed. 25 Judge O'Connor is with us in the

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(518) 371-8910 1 gallery today. She's accompanied by her 2 husband, Tom; her daughter, Lauren; and her 3 parents, Dottie and Dick Usas. 4 Judge O'Connor, congratulations. 5 (Applause.) 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 7 Secretary will continue to read. 8 THE SECRETARY: As a judge of the 9 Court of Claims, Richard Platkin, of Glenmont. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 11 DeFrancisco. 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I move the 13 nomination of Richard Platkin as a judge of 14 the Court of Claims and would request that you 15 call on Senator Spano for a second. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 17 Spano. 18 SENATOR SPANO: Thank you, 19 Mr. President. It's my pleasure to second the 20 nomination of Richard Platkin to the Court of 21 Claims. 22 Richard Platkin has had an 23 outstanding career working as a law clerk to a 24 federal judge and has certainly been no 25 stranger to the members of this chamber or the

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(518) 371-8910 1 other house, having served as assistant 2 counsel, deputy counsel, and most recently as 3 counsel to the Governor. 4 He has always been a person who you 5 will get a straight answer from, a person who 6 will give you a very intellectual discussion 7 as to why the Governor would always want to 8 veto my bills, even though you were wrong most 9 of the time. 10 But you were accessible and direct, 11 and those are the qualities that certainly 12 will follow you as you continue on to start 13 your career as a member of the bench. 14 You've certainly made us proud, 15 you've served the Governor well, you've served 16 the people of this state very well. And it's 17 my pleasure to second your nomination this 18 evening. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 20 Volker. 21 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President, I 22 just want to say that I will miss that great 23 voice of his on the phone telling me: "I'm 24 sorry, Senator, but we've got to veto your 25 bill. It's a great bill, but it's not ready

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(518) 371-8910 1 yet." 2 Anyway -- no, seriously, I just 3 want to say that you're probably one of the 4 best attorneys that I've ever been involved 5 with. You do have some strange ideas -- no, 6 no, no. Seriously, you've been an excellent 7 counsel to the Governor. You actually have 8 done an exceptional job. I want to thank you 9 for your courtesy to me and for the fact that 10 you have served George Pataki extremely well. 11 Good luck to you in your future as 12 a judge. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any 14 other Senator wish to be heard on the 15 nomination? 16 The question is on the confirmation 17 of Richard Platkin as a judge of the Court of 18 Claims. All those in favor signify by saying 19 aye. 20 (Response of "Aye.") 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 22 opposed, nay. 23 (No response.) 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 25 nominee is confirmed.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Judge Platkin is with us today in 2 the gallery. He is accompanied by his wife, 3 Laura. 4 And we wish you well, judge. 5 (Applause.) 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 7 Secretary will continue to read. 8 THE SECRETARY: As a judge of the 9 Court of Claims, Dineen Riviezzo, of Brooklyn. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 11 DeFrancisco. 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I rise to 13 move the nomination of Dineen Riviezzo as a 14 Court of Claims judge. 15 This candidate has an incredible 16 record of public civil service, from being the 17 Inspector General and also being involved with 18 the New York State Commission of Investigation 19 and previously the office of the New York 20 State Inspector General. Before that, she did 21 a lot of trial work with a major law firm. 22 A great cross-section of ability in 23 order to perform this function, and I move her 24 nomination. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any

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(518) 371-8910 1 other Senator wish to be heard on the 2 nomination? 3 The question, then, is on the 4 confirmation of Dineen Riviezzo as a judge of 5 the Court of Claims. All those in favor 6 signify by saying aye. 7 (Response of "Aye.") 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 9 opposed, nay. 10 (No response.) 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 12 nominee is confirmed. 13 Judge Riviezzo is with us today in 14 the gallery. She's accompanied by her mother, 15 Clorinda. 16 Congratulations, Judge. 17 (Applause.) 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 19 Secretary will continue to read. 20 THE SECRETARY: As a judge of the 21 Court of Claims, Gina Lopez Summa, of Syosset. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 23 DeFrancisco. 24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'd move 25 the nomination of Gina Lopez Summa as judge of

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(518) 371-8910 1 the Court of Claims. 2 And I was going to recognize 3 Senator Dilan -- there he is. Okay, I didn't 4 see you. 5 SENATOR DILAN: Mr. President, I 6 am very proud to second the nomination of Gina 7 Lopez Summa to the Court of Claims. Ms. Lopez 8 Summa is a very competent and intelligent 9 attorney who is currently the general counsel 10 for the New York State Human Rights Division 11 since 1999. 12 I have known her for a very long 13 time. And she also was involved in the County 14 of Kings in many professional levels within 15 the judicial system. And I know that she will 16 be an asset to the New York State judicial 17 system. 18 I would also like to congratulate 19 her husband, who's here today, and her very 20 proud father, Assemblyman Vito Lopez. 21 Congratulations, Gina. I move the 22 nomination. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 24 Robach. 25 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President. I too am happy to rise to 2 second this nomination. 3 In addition to Gina's great resume 4 and legal accomplishments, this is one of 5 those nice stories, I think, especially for 6 those of us who come from governmental 7 families. As Senator Dilan pointed out, her 8 dad, our colleague Assemblyman Vito Lopez, is 9 someone who has spent the majority of his 10 adult life contributing in elected office. 11 And I know he always encouraged his children, 12 in this case, his daughter, who's now becoming 13 a judge, to pursue that too, who's gone on to 14 get her legal degree and move on to that. 15 And I know it's not only a happy 16 day for all New Yorkers that we're getting 17 someone of this quality, but I know it's an 18 extreme amount of happiness in the Lopez 19 family as well. And these are nice stories 20 when you see people do the work to get to 21 where they need to be, and they can contribute 22 and continue the great legacy of the Lopez 23 family of contributing to public service here 24 in New York. 25 I'm happy to second and move the

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(518) 371-8910 1 nomination. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 3 Ada Smith. 4 SENATOR ADA SMITH: Thank you, 5 Mr. President. 6 I rise to thank the Governor for 7 this wonderful nomination. I've had the 8 privilege to know Gina for many, many years. 9 And as a youngster, she was bright and 10 articulate. And as an adult, she is 11 competent. And as a judge, she will make us 12 all proud. 13 And I am honored to be able to 14 second the nomination of Gina Lopez Summa. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 16 Maltese. 17 SENATOR MALTESE: Mr. President, 18 I'm very pleased to second this nomination. 19 From the beginning, in college, 20 when she graduated St. John's University 21 magna cum laude, to Brooklyn Law School, where 22 she was coeditor of the Law Review, she's 23 indicated this proficiency and expertise in 24 the law. Throughout her career, despite her 25 relative youth, as a court attorney and as a

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(518) 371-8910 1 law clerk to a Supreme Court justice, she 2 showed that talent and ability that has stood 3 her in good stead through these years. 4 In her three-year service to the 5 New York City Commission on Human Rights, and 6 in her seven years both as general counsel and 7 as manager with the New York State Commission 8 of Human Rights, she has shown a depth of 9 knowledge and a compassion, a spirit of 10 compassion that will stand her in good stead 11 as a jurist. 12 I congratulate her husband, I 13 congratulate her family, I congratulate her 14 father on having a daughter who will make such 15 a splendid jurist. And I congratulate the 16 Governor on this nomination. 17 I'm very pleased and proud to 18 second the nomination. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 20 Golden. 21 SENATOR GOLDEN: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. 23 I too rise to second the nomination 24 of Gina Lopez Summa and welcome her and her 25 husband and her family to this historic

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(518) 371-8910 1 chamber. 2 Gina, working since 1994 in the 3 Brooklyn Law School and getting her graduate 4 degree and working on, as my colleague Senator 5 Maltese pointed out, working for at that time 6 Judge Marsha Steinhardt and Judge Gustin 7 Reichback, and continuing working in her legal 8 degree today at the New York City Commission 9 of Human Rights, she has done a great service 10 for our city and state, and she's done an 11 excellent job, will be an excellent candidate 12 and an excellent judge in the Court of Claims. 13 And once again, I want to 14 congratulate her and her family and of course 15 her father, who's done such great things here 16 in the Assembly and in the County of Kings for 17 the city and the state of New York. 18 God bless the Lopez and the Summa 19 family. Continue your great work. 20 Thank you. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 22 Marcellino. 23 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 24 Mr. President. I rise to second the 25 nomination of a fellow resident of Syosset.

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(518) 371-8910 1 I don't know the judge-to-be 2 personally, but I do know her father. And I 3 do believe in the adage that apple doesn't 4 fall far from the tree. You've got a very 5 good tree to keep near. Good luck. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 7 Volker. 8 SENATOR VOLKER: I think Carl 9 just took away a line -- I was just going to 10 say that I read her bio, a great bio. But 11 knowing her father as well as I do, I do 12 believe strongly in family trees. And her 13 father is a wonderful man. And I am sure that 14 she'll make a super judge. 15 So I just wanted to second her 16 nomination. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any 18 other Senator wish to be heard on the 19 nomination? 20 The question is on the confirmation 21 of Gina Lopez Summa as a judge of the Court of 22 Claims. All those in favor signify by saying 23 aye. 24 (Response of "Aye.") 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those

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(518) 371-8910 1 opposed, nay. 2 (No response.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 4 nominee is confirmed. 5 Judge Lopez Summa is with us in the 6 gallery. She's accompanied by her husband, 7 Keith, and her father, Assemblyman Vito Lopez. 8 Congratulations, Your Honor. 9 (Applause.) 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 11 Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: As a judge of the 13 Court of Claims, Honorable Timothy J. Walker, 14 of Eden. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 16 DeFrancisco. 17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I move the 18 nomination of Honorable Timothy J. Walker to 19 the Court of Claims and request that you 20 recognize Senator Rath to second the 21 nomination. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 23 Rath. 24 SENATOR RATH: Thank you, Senator 25 DeFrancisco. And I rise with great pleasure

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(518) 371-8910 1 to second the nomination of Judge Walker. 2 Although Judge Walker is a 3 constituent of Senator Volker's, I've come to 4 know Judge Walker quite well the last several 5 years, and know him to be a man of integrity 6 with great respect and honor for the law, with 7 great judicial temperament, someone who is 8 highly sought after in Western New York to be 9 continuing as a judge. And so we're very 10 happy to see that he will be with us. 11 And congratulations, Judge. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 13 Maziarz. 14 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 15 much, Mr. President. I rise also to second 16 his nomination. 17 Judge Walker has been on the bench 18 now for a short period of time and has done a 19 great job. I know that my very good friend 20 who he's worked very closely with, Judge 21 Richard Kloch in the Court of Claims, has 22 nothing but high praise for Judge Walker's 23 work. 24 And he will do an excellent job, 25 and it's a great appointment on behalf of the

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(518) 371-8910 1 Governor. And I just congratulate Judge 2 Walker and his family for this great, great 3 step. 4 Thank you, Mr. President. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 6 Volker. 7 SENATOR VOLKER: I just wanted to 8 say quickly that although Tim Walker is not 9 actually a constituent of mine now, because 10 Senator Stachowski stole Eden from me in the 11 reapportionment, but he is a longtime friend 12 and a good man, a fine judge, has been a fine 13 judge and one of the best lawyers in Western 14 New York. 15 And I just want to say 16 congratulations to the Governor and 17 congratulations, of course, to Tim Walker for 18 getting an appointment to the Court of Claims. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any 20 other Senator wish to be heard on the 21 nomination? 22 The question, then, is on the 23 confirmation of Timothy J. Walker as a judge o 24 the Court of Claims. All those in favor 25 signify by saying aye.

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(518) 371-8910 1 (Response of "Aye.") 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 3 opposed, nay. 4 (No response.) 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 6 nominee is confirmed. 7 Judge Walker is with us in the 8 gallery. He is accompanied by his wife, 9 DianaRae; his daughter, Raelynn; his son, 10 Joshua; and his mother, Ellen. 11 Judge, congratulations. 12 (Applause.) 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 14 Secretary will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: As a judge of the 16 Court of Claims, Honorable Henry F. Zwack, of 17 Stephentown. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 19 DeFrancisco. 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I move the 21 nomination of Honorable Henry F. Zwack as a 22 judge of the Court of Claims. 23 And I would request that you 24 recognize Senator Bruno to second the 25 nomination.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 2 Bruno. 3 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, 4 Mr. President and colleagues. 5 Again, I rise with great pleasure 6 to nominate and encourage you all to support 7 Henry Zwack. Henry Zwack has served as town 8 attorney, as a legislator, as county executive 9 of Rensselaer, in community service, an 10 emergency medical technician, volunteer 11 fireman, youth minister at St. Joseph's 12 Church. Henry has really dedicated his life 13 to being in public service. 14 So I am as proud as I can be. He's 15 presently the executive commissioner of OASAS, 16 where he served previously as general counsel. 17 You all know Henry for his public work and his 18 community service. I'm proud to move his 19 nomination. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Any 21 other Senator wish to be heard on the 22 nomination? 23 The question, then, is on the 24 confirmation of Henry Zwack as a judge of the 25 Court of Claims. All those in favor signify

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(518) 371-8910 1 by saying aye. 2 (Response of "Aye.") 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 4 opposed, nay. 5 (No response.) 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 7 nominee is confirmed. 8 Judge Zwack is with us in the 9 gallery today. He's accompanied by his wife, 10 Laura, and his sons Michael and John. 11 Judge, congratulations and best 12 wishes to you. 13 (Applause.) 14 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 16 Bruno. 17 SENATOR BRUNO: Can we ask the 18 members to stand at ease in the regular 19 session. And please gavel us back into the 20 extraordinary session. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Members 22 will stand at ease in the ordinary session of 23 the Senate. 24 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 25 ease at 7:55 p.m.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 2 at 7:58 p.m.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 4 Senate will please come to order. 5 Senator Bruno. 6 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 7 can you gavel us back into regular session. 8 Oh, that's what you did? 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: I love 10 doing this, so I'll be happy to. 11 (Laughter.) 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 13 Senate will come to order. 14 Senator Bruno. 15 SENATOR BRUNO: Can we return to 16 motions and resolutions, Mr. President. 17 You have a resolution by Senator 18 Hannon. I would recommend the title be read 19 and move for its immediate adoption. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Motions 21 and resolutions. 22 The Secretary will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 24 Hannon, Legislative Resolution Number 6664, 25 honoring the Garden City High School Field

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(518) 371-8910 1 Hockey Team and Coach Diane Chapman on the 2 occasion of capturing the 2006 New York State 3 Class B Championship. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All 5 those in favor of the resolution signify by 6 saying aye. 7 (Response of "Aye.") 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Those 9 opposed, nay. 10 (No response.) 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 12 resolution is adopted. 13 Senator Bruno. 14 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 15 can I ask my colleagues to indulge us, please, 16 for an immediate of meeting of the Finance 17 Committee in the Majority Conference Room. 18 And we will return to the chamber in probably 19 three or four minutes to finish up this part 20 of the business. 21 Thank you, Mr. President. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: 23 Immediate meeting of the Finance Committee in 24 the Senate Majority Conference Room. 25 The Senate will stand at ease

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(518) 371-8910 1 pending the return of the Finance Committee 2 report. 3 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 4 ease at 8:00 p.m.) 5 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 6 at 8:08 p.m.) 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 8 Bruno. 9 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 10 can we return to reports of standing 11 committees. 12 I believe there is a report from 13 the Finance Committee at the desk. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Reports 15 of standing committees. 16 SENATOR BRUNO: Can we have some 17 attention, Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Can we 19 have some order in the chamber, please. 20 Reports of standing committees. 21 The Secretary will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson, 23 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 24 following nomination. 25 As a member of State Council on the

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(518) 371-8910 1 Arts, Laura L. Ballori, of New York City. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 3 Johnson. 4 SENATOR JOHNSON: Move the 5 nomination. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 7 question is on the confirmation of Laura L. 8 Ballori as a member of the State Council on 9 the Arts. All those in favor signify by 10 saying aye. 11 (Response of "Aye.") 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: All 13 those opposed, nay. 14 (No response.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: The 16 nominee is confirmed. 17 Senator Paterson. 18 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 19 I'd just like to recognize some of the members 20 of our conference who are completing their 21 service in the Senate -- Senator Marc Coppola, 22 from Buffalo, who came here earlier this year, 23 and certainly Senator Carl Andrews, who came 24 here in February of 2002, was a Congressional 25 candidate this year, and Senator Ada Smith,

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(518) 371-8910 1 who has been among us since 1989, completing 2 18 years of service to the Senate. We knew 3 some of them better than others, but they all 4 served with a great amount of distinction. 5 And I'd just like to thank my 6 deputy, Eric Schneiderman, and the friends I 7 have all through the Senate chamber. 8 I want to wish Senator John Marchi, 9 in his next career, that it be longer than 10 this career. 11 And certainly Senator Dale Volker, 12 who one night over a beverage talked me into 13 capital punishment, but I sobered up by the 14 next day. 15 (Laughter.) 16 SENATOR PATERSON: But he was 17 able to get me to do that one night. 18 And friends of mine, Senator Mike 19 Balboni and Senator Tom Libous, and also 20 Senator Spano, who I consider a friend. 21 And I would like to thank the 22 deputy Majority Leader, Senator Dean Skelos, 23 whose most recent remarks I didn't think were 24 germane to the subject he was speaking on 25 earlier. And he'll learn more about that in

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(518) 371-8910 1 the next coming years. 2 (Laughter.) 3 SENATOR PATERSON: And my very 4 dear friend and colleague Senator Joe Bruno, 5 who I spent four years with, and we really 6 never had a cross word during that entire four 7 years. 8 Senator Breslin, our ranker on 9 Finance; Senator Velmanette Montgomery, who 10 came in right before me; and Senator Ruth 11 Hassell-Thompson. 12 I confined it to all the people I 13 can see, but there are many others who I will 14 miss. Even though it's not that great a 15 change for me, it's still a coming out of 16 one's comfort zone. 17 And I've enjoyed serving with all 18 of you. I wish you all the happiest of 19 holidays, and hope to be here and make things 20 happen on day one. 21 Thank you. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: Senator 23 Bruno. 24 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 25 colleagues, Senator Paterson, we're going to

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(518) 371-8910 1 be short, direct, to the point, as we usually 2 are. 3 Senator Paterson will be moving his 4 chair. He's moving up in this chamber and in 5 this world. And we're going to look forward 6 to that. 7 And, David, I trust that in law 8 school, among other things, they teach you how 9 to count. 10 (Laughter.) 11 SENATOR BRUNO: And we have 12 Senator Marchi, serving 50 years, the 13 longest-serving legislator in the entire 14 United States. Think about that distinction. 15 We're indebted to him for his 16 public service, for the role model that he 17 really just plays for all of us here in this 18 chamber, in the state, and throughout the 19 United States. 20 And Ray Meier, our presider up 21 here, who is going to be leaving us after 22 10 years. Ray, thanks for your friendship, 23 for your service -- in the district as county 24 exec, here. You really have been among the 25 best, and thank you. And I'm sure that we are

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(518) 371-8910 1 going to stay in communication as we progress 2 along with our careers. 3 And Senator Spano, one of our 4 leaders here, 20 years in the Senate, eight 5 years in the Assembly. Public service back -- 6 I think the youngest Assemblyman, elected at 7 age 25. Still looks about 25. 8 Nick, thank you. Thanks for your 9 service, thanks for diligence, thanks for all 10 the good things that you have done for your 11 district and the people of this state. 12 And you know, it's kind of a little 13 sadness here as we conclude a legislative 14 year. Did some great things, some wonderful 15 things. But life, life is challenging 16 sometimes, and life changes. So we hope 17 sincerely, both sides of the aisle, as doors 18 close, doors open. 19 And we all look forward to the 20 future this year and into the coming year with 21 great optimism and great expectation that 22 we're going to continue as partners. We're 23 now partners in governing -- here, the other 24 house, with the Executive, to serve the people 25 of this great state to the best of our

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(518) 371-8910 1 abilities. 2 So, Senator, colleagues, there 3 being no further business to presently come 4 before the Senate, I would move that we stand 5 adjourned, subject to the call of the Majority 6 Leader, intervening days to be legislative 7 days. 8 And I wish you all safe passage, a 9 happy, healthy coming season, and hopefully we 10 will all meet again on January 3rd. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MEIER: On 12 motion, the Senate stands adjourned, subject 13 to the call of the Majority Leader. 14 Intervening days will be legislative days. 15 (Whereupon, at 8:15 p.m., the 16 Senate adjourned.) 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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