Tuesday, March 13, 2007

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 March 13, 2007 11 11:10 a.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 SENATOR JAMES W. WRIGHT, 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 WRIGHT: The 3 Senate will come to order. 4 I ask everyone to please rise and 5 repeat with me the Pledge of Allegiance. 6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited 7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 9 invocation today will be given by Reverend 10 Peter G. Young, Mother Theresa Community of 11 Albany. 12 Father. 13 REVEREND YOUNG: Thank you, 14 Senator. 15 Dear God, as we gather in Your 16 name, we call in Your blessings to all of the 17 members of the Senate chamber. Enhance their 18 work with the power that only You have as our 19 Creator. 20 We pray that their legislative 21 efforts will provide our New York State 22 citizens with a quality of life that will 23 offer dignity and opportunity. 24 Amen. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Thank

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(518) 371-8910 1 you, Father. 2 Reading of the Journal. 3 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Monday 4 March 12, the Senate met pursuant to 5 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, March 11, 6 was read and approved. On motion, Senate 7 adjourned. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Without 9 objection, the Journal stands approved as 10 read. 11 Presentation of petitions. 12 Messages from the Assembly. 13 Messages from the Governor. 14 Reports of standing committees. 15 Reports of select committees. 16 Communications and reports from 17 state officers. 18 Motions and resolutions. 19 Senator Skelos. 20 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I 21 believe there are substitutions at the desk. 22 If we could make them at this time. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 24 Secretary will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: On page 23,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator O. Johnson moves to discharge, from 2 the Committee on Finance, Assembly Bill Number 3 6160 and substitute it for the identical 4 Senate Bill Number 3320, Third Reading 5 Calendar 291. 6 And on page 23, Senator O. Johnson 7 moves to discharge, from the Committee on 8 Finance, Assembly Bill Number 6161 and 9 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 10 Number 3321, Third Reading Calendar 292. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: 12 Substitutions so ordered. 13 Senator Skelos. 14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 15 if we could adopt the Resolution Calendar, 16 with the exception of Resolutions 891 and 899. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: All in 18 favor of adopting the Resolution Calendar, 19 with exception of Resolutions 891 and 899, 20 signify by saying aye. 21 (Response of "Aye.") 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: 23 Opposed, nay. 24 (No response.) 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The

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(518) 371-8910 1 Resolution Calendar is adopted. 2 Senator Skelos. 3 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 4 Resolution 777 was previously adopted. It's 5 by Senator Winner. He would like to open it 6 up for cosponsorship. If anybody wishes not 7 to sponsor it, they should notify the desk. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: We're 9 going to open 777 for cosponsorship. Please 10 contact the desk. 11 Senator Skelos. 12 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 13 if we could go to the noncontroversial reading 14 of the calendar, commencing with Calendar 15 Number 291 and 292. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 17 Secretary will read. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 291, substituted earlier today, Assembly 20 Budget Bill, Assembly Print Number 6160, an 21 act to amend Chapters 50, 53 and 55, making 22 appropriations for the support of government. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 24 the last section. 25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This

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(518) 371-8910 1 act shall take effect immediately. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 3 the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll.) 5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 47. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 7 bill is passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 292, substituted earlier today, Assembly 10 Budget Bill, Assembly Print Number 6161, an 11 act to amend Chapter 60 of the Laws of 2006, 12 relating to providing. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 14 the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 16 act shall take effect immediately. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 18 the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll.) 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 47. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 22 bill is passed. 23 We'll go to the regular order. The 24 Secretary will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number

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(518) 371-8910 1 126, by Senator Young, Senate Print 374, an 2 act to amend the Private Housing Finance Law. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 4 the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 6 act shall take effect immediately. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 8 the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 49. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 12 bill is passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 186, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 1448, 15 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 16 establishing. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 18 the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 20 act shall take effect on the first of 21 November. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 23 the roll. 24 (The Secretary called the roll.) 25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 49.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 2 bill is passed. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 201, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 43, an 5 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in 6 relation to increasing penalties. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 10 act shall take effect on the first of 11 November. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 13 the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll.) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 48. Nays, 16 1. Senator Montgomery recorded in the 17 negative. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 19 bill is passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 236, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 1471, an 22 act to amend Chapter 672 of the Laws of 1993, 23 amending the Public Authorities Law. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 25 the last section.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll.) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 49. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 8 bill is passed. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 298, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2101A, 11 an act making appropriations for the support 12 of government, LEGISLATURE AND JUDICIARY 13 BUDGET. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Read 15 the last section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 17 act shall take effect immediately. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 19 the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll.) 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Those 22 who are voting in the negative, would you 23 please raise your hands again so we can get 24 the count? Thank you. And please keep them 25 in the air.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Announce the results. 2 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 3 the negative on Calendar Number 298 are 4 Senators Adams, Breslin, Connor, Diaz, Dilan, 5 Duane, Hassell-Thompson, Huntley, C. Johnson, 6 Klein, L. Krueger, Montgomery, Oppenheimer, 7 Parker, Perkins, Sabini, Sampson, 8 Schneiderman, Serrano, Smith, Stachowski, 9 Stavisky, Stewart-Cousins, Thompson and 10 Valesky. 11 Ayes, 32. Nays, 25. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 13 bill is passed. 14 Continue with the reading of the 15 calendar. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 300, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2103B, 18 an act making appropriations for the support 19 of government, EDUCATION, LABOR AND FAMILY -- 20 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside 21 temporarily. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 23 bill is temporarily laid aside. 24 Could we have some quiet, please. 25 Take the conversations outside the chambers.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Thank you. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 303, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2107B, 4 an act to amend -- 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay it aside 6 temporarily, please. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 8 bill is laid aside temporarily. 9 That completes the noncontroversial 10 calendar, Senator Skelos. 11 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 12 there is a joint meeting of the Assembly and 13 the Senate concerning the election of the 14 Board of Regents. 15 So the Senate will stand at ease 16 until the meeting is over, and then we'll 17 reconvene. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 19 Senate will be at ease. 20 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 21 ease at 11:30 a.m.) 22 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 23 at 2:38 p.m.) 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 25 Will the Senate come into session, please.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Guests take their seats, members 2 take their seats. Any conversations, please 3 remove them from the chambers so we can get 4 started. 5 Anyone within the sound of my 6 voice, the session is now back in order. The 7 Senate is now back in session. 8 Senator Bruno. 9 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, I 10 believe you are ringing the bell to get 11 members to the chamber. 12 I know it's a particularly busy 13 day, but there are things that we have to do 14 here that are important. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 16 Senator, the bells are ringing, so to speak. 17 And as I said, anyone who is within 18 the sound of my voice, please return to 19 chambers as quickly as possible. 20 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, 21 Mr. President. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 Senator Onorato, why do you rise? 24 SENATOR ONORATO: Mr. President, 25 earlier this morning I was at the bill signing

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(518) 371-8910 1 for the workers' comp. Had I been in session 2 when the vote was taken on Calendar 298, 3 Senate Bill 2101A, I would have voted no. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 5 record will so reflect. 6 Senator Savino, why do you rise? 7 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 Also, I was at the bill signing for 10 the workers' compensation bill. And had I 11 been in the Senate chamber at the time, I 12 would like the record to reflect that I would 13 have voted in the negative on Calendar 298, 14 Senate 2101A. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 16 record will so reflect, Senator. 17 Senator Smith. 18 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you very 19 much, Mr. President. 20 Yesterday we had a vote that was 21 taken in here that was very thought provoking, 22 required a great deal of passion and 23 discussion on both sides of the aisle. 24 Members expressed their concern, they 25 expressed their differences, and there was a

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(518) 371-8910 1 great deal of enthusiasm, if you will. 2 I rise today to do two things. 3 One, to offer an apology to the Majority 4 Leader, one in terms of some of the language, 5 some of the aggression of the language that 6 was used to the members and to the members of 7 this house as well. 8 We have always had a very congenial 9 and professional relationship on both sides of 10 the aisle, and it is important to me to let 11 you know and understand that the passion that 12 you heard from the members yesterday was 13 nothing to do with personal issues, more so 14 the passion of the people from their districts 15 speaking through them. And for people who 16 have been sort of out in the wilderness, if 17 you will, for a long time, that passion came 18 forward. 19 But I do want to say to you and I 20 do want to apologize to the body that that is 21 by no means the way in which we would look to 22 conduct ourselves going forward. I say that 23 to the president as well. And that we look 24 forward to a very congenial relationship. 25 We have much to do on the budget,

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(518) 371-8910 1 much to do on time, and know that the respect 2 that this house has had, even prior to my 3 being here, and some of these members, is the 4 respect that we want this house to always have 5 as the upper chamber in this body of 6 government. 7 And again, I want to offer to the 8 Majority Leader no disrespect in all that was 9 said yesterday. I respect you, I respect the 10 members of this house, and we look forward to 11 working through the rest of the work that we 12 have to do here. 13 Thank you very much. 14 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you very 15 much. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 17 Senator Bruno. 18 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President and 19 colleagues, Senator Smith, thank you. 20 Appreciate the expression and the kind words. 21 And by way of apology, thank you for that. 22 And we do get overly enthusiastic 23 sometimes, because we are very passionate 24 about our feelings in this chamber. But this 25 is the greatest deliberative body in the

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(518) 371-8910 1 United States here in this chamber. And we 2 have handled ourselves in that way 3 continually. 4 And, you know, we did a press bill 5 signing with the Governor and with the 6 leaders, and afterwards made an observation 7 that we're in the heat of budget negotiation 8 and it gets heated, gets passionate. And 9 that's what democracy is all about. 10 And it was stated that democracy is 11 the worst form of government except for all 12 the others. And that was Winston Churchill, a 13 great Republican. 14 (Laughter.) 15 SENATOR BRUNO: Or maybe I'm 16 mistaken on that. I'm not sure of my history. 17 But if I'm not mistaken, 18 Mr. President, when you want to talk about 19 great, great individuals in the history of 20 this chamber and the history of the Senate, 21 and the history of the longest-serving 22 legislator in the entire United States of 23 America, Senator John Marchi, who is joining 24 us in the chamber now. 25 And Senator Marchi, with the

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(518) 371-8910 1 president, welcome. 2 (Standing ovation.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 4 Senator Bruno. 5 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 6 can we at this time return to the 7 noncontroversial reading of the calendar and 8 take up Calendar Number 300. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 10 Secretary will read. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 300, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2103B, 13 an act making appropriations for the support 14 of government, EDUCATION, LABOR AND FAMILY 15 ASSISTANCE BUDGET. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 17 Read the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 19 act shall take effect immediately. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 21 Call the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 24 Senator Bruno. 25 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,

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(518) 371-8910 1 can I explain my vote. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 3 Senator Bruno, to explain his vote. 4 SENATOR BRUNO: The bill that's 5 before us is part of the budget, and it's the 6 Senate's response as part of the budget. 7 I am surprised to hear and see 8 hands raised in opposition. This proposal 9 before us sets a record for education in 10 New York State. This proposal responds to the 11 Governor's proposal which was taking education 12 to $19.1 billion. This proposal takes it to 13 $19.6 billion, increases education in New York 14 City, the funds, by about $657 million or 15 $658 million. 16 It does so many other things that I 17 don't have time to go into. But it deserves 18 the support, since education has been a 19 priority in this chamber, certainly is on this 20 side of the house. And I would encourage our 21 colleagues to support funding education for 22 our young people in this state in this way 23 that's critically important. 24 We keep the foundation the Governor 25 put in place, but we equalize those dollars by

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(518) 371-8910 1 equalizing shares. And those of you that are 2 on the island, especially, and those in the 3 downstate suburban districts, you take a look 4 at the ramifications of distorting shares and 5 you will be doing a disservice to your young 6 people, to the teachers, to the parents. 7 So I would encourage you to take a 8 look and not be cavalier in voting in 9 opposition to the record-breaking support for 10 education in your districts. 11 Thank you, Mr. President. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 13 Senator Bruno will be recorded in the 14 affirmative. 15 Senator Saland. 16 SENATOR SALAND: On the bill, 17 please, Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 19 Senator Saland, you're explaining your vote at 20 this point in time. We're on a roll call. 21 SENATOR SALAND: Mr. President, 22 may I have the roll call withdrawn? 23 I'd like to go on the bill, please. 24 I don't want to be confined to two minutes. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO:

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(518) 371-8910 1 Without objection, the roll call is withdrawn. 2 Senator Saland. 3 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, 4 Mr. President. 5 Mr. President, certainly for the 6 past two or three years in this chamber and 7 for that matter -- 8 SENATOR BRUNO: Excuse me for 9 interrupting, Senator. I believe we have to 10 lay the bill aside and take it up on the 11 controversial calendar. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Lay 13 the bill aside. 14 The Secretary will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 303, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2107B, 17 an act to amend the Education Law. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 19 Read the last section, please. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 21 act shall take effect immediately. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 Call the roll. 24 (The Secretary called the roll.) 25 SENATOR SALAND: Lay it aside.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Lay 2 the bill aside, please. 3 Senator Bruno, that completes the 4 noncontroversial calendar. 5 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you. Can 6 we at this time take up the controversial 7 reading of the calendar. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 9 Yes, we can, Senator. 10 The Secretary will read the 11 controversial calendar. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 300, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2103B, 14 an act making appropriations for the support 15 of government, EDUCATION, LABOR AND FAMILY 16 ASSISTANCE BUDGET. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 18 Senator Saland. 19 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, 20 Mr. President. On the bill. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 22 Senator Saland, on the bill. 23 SENATOR SALAND: My apologies to 24 the chamber for failing to expedite this, but 25 I thought this was so critically important

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(518) 371-8910 1 that it warranted at least several minutes' 2 worth of explanation to explain what it is 3 that the Senate education proposal consists 4 of. 5 And first let me start off by 6 saying, as I started to do previously, that 7 for the past certainly three or so years, 8 those three little letters, CFE, have been in 9 the mind of so many people not only here in 10 Albany and in New York City but throughout the 11 state. 12 And in the context of the Court of 13 Appeals decision in CFE II, there was much 14 that was said by many people. And certainly 15 this Majority Leader, Senator Bruno, has made 16 it unequivocally clear that his concern was 17 for a statewide resolution to the needs of 18 so-called high-needs districts. 19 At that time and certainly 20 consistently thereafter, as the chair of the 21 Senate Education Committee, I too have spoken 22 of the importance of a statewide solution, not 23 merely a court-imposed resolution for one 24 particular entity raising separation-of-powers 25 issues and not dealing with the entire state.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Well, in fact, CFE III basically 2 say said yes, there was a separation-of-powers 3 issue, the Legislature and the Governor should 4 fix it. And I do believe that the Legislature 5 and the Governor are in the process of fixing 6 it. And the vehicle by which we do that is 7 the foundation formula. 8 And this foundation formula 9 provides considerable amounts of money, 10 $1.4 billion in Year 1 -- 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 12 Excuse me, Senator. 13 Can we have conversations taken out 14 of the room, please. Can I ask the members to 15 please return to your seats. If you have to 16 have a conversation, please take it outside so 17 that we can hear the debate. Thank you very 18 much. 19 Senator Saland. 20 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Mr. 21 President. 22 -- $1.4 billion in Year 1, 23 $4.8 billion over four years, and what many 24 would say would be that the foundation formula 25 is clear, it's fair, and it's reliable. And

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(518) 371-8910 1 I'm quoting, in that instance, I think exactly 2 Commissioner Mills when he testified before 3 the joint fiscal committees. 4 And I certainly can agree that it's 5 clear. To the extent that you know how to 6 follow the formula, it will be clear. And it 7 will be reliable. But regrettably, it's less 8 than fair. 9 And it's less than fair for some 10 304 districts throughout this state who 11 statutorily are being flat-lined. It's the 12 only way to describe it. They're being told 13 that they're getting too much money, money 14 that they're not entitled to. And in Year 4, 15 that amounts to some $1.1 billion. 16 So if you look at the current 17 formula that the Governor has proposed, some, 18 in Year 1, $982 million worth of increases on 19 the formula, $75 million of that goes to these 20 304 same harmless or flat-lined districts. 21 $8.5 million of that, of the 304 districts, 22 goes to the City of Yonkers, so the balance of 23 60-some-odd million is spread out over 303 24 districts and amounts to an increase of a 25 little more than 6.5 percent. If you go out

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(518) 371-8910 1 to Year 4, $309 million out of $4.8 billion is 2 a 6.3 percent increase. 3 What does that mean? Well, it 4 means that the lack of fairness is going to 5 result in these 304 school districts -- all of 6 which, with the exception of Yonkers, are 7 independent school districts and vote on their 8 school budgets -- they're going to be faced 9 with a situation in which they're getting a 10 3 percent increase on a relatively smaller 11 portion of their budget, the state aid portion 12 and the foundation aid portion, while the 13 lion's share of their budget, which they pay 14 by property tax, is not going to get any of 15 that automatic 3 percent increase. 16 And in fact, their overall budget, 17 if you look at the numbers basically over the 18 course of the last several years, has grown a 19 little better than 6 percent. 20 So that in Year 4, you will find or 21 they will find themselves in situations where 22 they will have to fund by property tax 85 to 23 95 percent of those increases. Which, by the 24 time you get to Year 4, will probably be 25 somewhere between 25 and 26 percent, just

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(518) 371-8910 1 staying at the same rate of inflation. 2 The 3 percent that the Governor 3 proposes, the subsidy he's providing for these 4 districts will compound to 12.5 percent. It's 5 basically a lose/lose situation for 304 6 districts. 7 Now, generally in a given year you 8 will see 80 to 90 budgets defeated going to 9 contingency. I can assure you, as sure as 10 we're seated here in this chamber, that by 11 Year 2 there will be enormous numbers of 12 contingency budgets in all of these 300-plus 13 districts, and certainly no later than Year 3. 14 Contingency will be a way of life for the 15 majority of these school districts, because 16 neighbor will be pitted against neighbor in 17 order to try and resolve the issue of how are 18 we going to fund when these districts have 19 been effectively flat-lined. 20 Now, somebody said to me during the 21 course of the budget hearings that this was 22 not a Robin Hood approach. And I said, "Well, 23 if it's not a Robin Hood approach, it's 24 certainly an Ebenezer Scrooge approach, and I 25 can only hope that the Governor has the same

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(518) 371-8910 1 epiphany that Ebenezer had." Because you're 2 basically condemning all of these districts to 3 a merciless state. 4 If this is about equity, if this is 5 about fairness, if this is providing funding 6 that's going to help the 900,000 students, 7 better than 50 percent of the students outside 8 of the City of New York, then something has to 9 be done to fix it. 10 And we've proposed to fix it. We 11 have proposed to fix it in a fashion that adds 12 some $358 million to our budget this year, 13 school-year budget about $479 million. And 14 what we do is we remove over 220 of those 15 save-harmless districts; more will fall off 16 next year as well. 17 So the end result is that districts 18 that through certainly no fault of their 19 own -- some of them are poor districts, some 20 of them are small-city school districts, some 21 of them are small-city school districts with 22 the same problems as big cities. And yet 23 they're ensnared within this foundation 24 formula that is a rather blunt instrument. It 25 doesn't account for nuances.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Now, we also don't believe that 2 public excess cost aid, special ed money, 3 should be buried in. You're prejudicing all 4 kinds of school districts as special ed costs 5 rise. Growth aid, again, prejudicing school 6 districts when they grow. You want a 7 disincentive for school districts to merge? 8 Throw reorganization aid into the foundation 9 formula. That's what we've done here. 10 So the bottom line is we're not 11 about to turn our back on 304 districts. We 12 wholeheartedly agree that we have to provide 13 greater equity and assistance to high-needs 14 districts. But to basically say to 45 percent 15 of the state's school districts, You're out of 16 here, this is not an interest for the state, 17 settle for the crumbs that we're giving you, 18 you're forevermore save harmless, is grossly 19 unfair by any standard and should be rejected. 20 And this proposal rejects that and provides 21 the funding to provide equity to those 304 22 districts. 23 Thank you, Mr. President. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 25 Senator Bruno.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President and 2 colleagues, with your indulgence I would like 3 to interrupt this debate and lay this aside 4 temporarily. 5 We're joined by His Eminence 6 Cardinal Egan and Bishop Hubbard and so many 7 of the other of the clergy. 8 And I believe that we have a 9 resolution there at the desk, Mr. President. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 11 bill will be laid aside at your request, 12 Senator Bruno, and we can return to motions 13 and resolutions. 14 SENATOR BRUNO: And, 15 Mr. President, I believe there's a privileged 16 resolution by Senator Lanza that I would ask 17 be read in its entirety and move for its 18 immediate adoption. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 20 Secretary will read Resolution Number 899, by 21 Senator Lanza. 22 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Lanza, 23 Legislative Resolution Number 899, commending 24 The Honorable John J. Marchi upon the occasion 25 of his designation as recipient of the John

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(518) 371-8910 1 Cardinal O'Connor Award for Extraordinary 2 Service by the New York State Catholic 3 Conference. 4 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this 5 Legislative Body to recognize and pay tribute 6 to an individual of distinguished purpose and 7 true commitment who dedicated his life and 8 career to public service and the pursuit of 9 excellence in the conduct of legislative 10 process; and 11 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such 12 concern, and in full accord with its 13 long-standing traditions, this Legislative 14 Body is justly proud to commend The Honorable 15 John J. Marchi upon the occasion of his 16 designation as recipient of the John Cardinal 17 O'Connor Award for Extraordinary Service by 18 the New York State Catholic Conference; and 19 "WHEREAS, This auspicious award is 20 bestowed upon The Honorable John J. Marchi in 21 recognition of his strong leadership and 22 courage in defense of human life, Catholic 23 education, and justice for the poor and 24 vulnerable during his historic fifty-year 25 tenure in the New York State Senate; and

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(518) 371-8910 1 "WHEREAS, His Eminence Edward 2 Cardinal Egan, along with Their Excellencies 3 The Most Reverend Bishops of New York State, 4 will offer prayerful appreciation to The 5 Honorable John J. Marchi on Tuesday, March 13, 6 2007, following the Holy Sacrifice of Mass to 7 be held at the Convention Center in the Empire 8 State Plaza; and 9 "WHEREAS, A native of Staten 10 Island, New York, the Honorable John J. Marchi 11 retired on December 31, 2006, after 12 representing the region for five decades. 13 During his time in the Senate, he was a strong 14 advocate for Staten Island issues as well as 15 in conservative and fiscal issues; and 16 "WHEREAS, The Honorable John J. 17 Marchi was instrumental in writing the state 18 laws to help New York City back from its 19 financial crisis and near bankruptcy in the 20 1970s; and 21 "WHEREAS, A longtime advocate for 22 the secession of Staten Island, The Honorable 23 John J. Marchi wrote a law which backed a 24 secession referendum. While the referendum 25 passed, the State Legislature has not let

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(518) 371-8910 1 Staten Island become its own city; and 2 "WHEREAS, In addition, The 3 Honorable John J. Marchi drafted both a model 4 city charter for a new City of Staten Island 5 and the law to close the Fresh Kills Landfill 6 on Staten Island; and 7 "WHEREAS, As a prominent New York 8 State Senator, the Honorable John J. Marchi 9 served Staten Island and the people of 10 New York State with intelligence and caring 11 dedication, continuously striving to 12 effectively fulfill the duties of his position 13 and contributing significantly to the quality 14 of life of his constituents and the 15 communities of the State of New York; now, 16 therefore, be it 17 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 18 Resolution body pause in its deliberations to 19 commend The Honorable John J. Marchi upon the 20 occasion of his designation as recipient of 21 the John Cardinal O'Connor Award for 22 Extraordinary Service by the New York State 23 Catholic Conference; and be it further 24 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this 25 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted

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(518) 371-8910 1 to The Honorable John J. Marchi." 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 3 Senator Lanza. 4 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you. Thank 5 you, Mr. President. 6 This really is a wonderful day for 7 all of us to be here to honor a great former 8 member of this august body and really a 9 person, one of the truly few I think in the 10 world, who can truly be described as a legend 11 in his own time. 12 And for me it's a particularly 13 wonderful occasion because, while you have all 14 been fortunate enough, many of you fortunate 15 enough to serve with the great John Marchi, I 16 was even luckier for 42 years to be his 17 constituent. 18 And I can tell you that I and my 19 family and all the people of Staten Island 20 have benefited by the indelible mark of 21 leadership which you have left for the people 22 of Staten Island, for the people of this great 23 state. And today we're here specifically to 24 honor you in receiving the John Cardinal 25 O'Connor Award for Extraordinary Service.

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(518) 371-8910 1 And what I learned about this award 2 is that it typically would go to a cardinal or 3 a bishop, and only in extraordinary 4 circumstances would it go to someone who is 5 not a cardinal or bishop. And I guess that 6 what that says, Senator Marchi, is that you 7 are an extraordinary circumstance. And you 8 are. 9 And this has been granted you in 10 this year, the 200th anniversary of the 11 Archdiocese of New York and the celebration 12 that will follow throughout this year. And I 13 think it's fitting that this award comes from 14 the Archdiocese and from the Catholic 15 Conference. 16 And I looked into what the 17 Archdiocese mission is all about here and why 18 it is so fitting. And what I found is that 19 the mission is about a history of faith, 20 service, and doing good in many areas of 21 society, to build a compassionate and just 22 society serving the needs of the poor, the 23 troubled, the frail, and the oppressed of all 24 religions, and sustaining numerous charitable 25 offices, agencies, programs, and to provide

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(518) 371-8910 1 compassionate and effective assistance to 2 those most in need. 3 That is the mission of the 4 Archdiocese in New York. And yet it almost to 5 a "T" perfectly describes your tenure in the 6 New York State Senate over fifty years. 7 So I just want to tell you how much 8 we are grateful, the people of this state, for 9 your service, how honored we are to have you 10 here today. 11 And as the person who succeeded 12 you, I can tell you most people in this house 13 and everywhere I travel say: "You know, 14 you've got some pretty big shoes to fill." 15 And what I tell them immediately is of course 16 I cannot do that. That's impossible. But who 17 could? 18 And so what I try to do to honor 19 your service is to emulate the way you went 20 about the work of the people, with dignity and 21 grace and compassion. And the best thing I 22 know I can do to thank you is to always put 23 the people first, the way you always have. 24 Thank you and God bless you, 25 Senator John Marchi.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President, I would like to open 2 up the resolution for cosponsorship by all my 3 colleagues. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: So 5 ordered. Anyone who doesn't wish to be on the 6 resolution notify the desk. 7 On the resolution, all in favor 8 signify by saying aye. 9 (Response of "Aye.") 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 11 Hearing no nays, the resolution is adopted. 12 Congratulations, Senator Marchi. 13 (Extended applause.) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 15 Senator Bruno. 16 SENATOR BRUNO: Would the chair 17 recognize Senator Marchi, with the indulgence 18 of our colleagues here. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 20 Without objection, the chair is proud to 21 recognize Senator Marchi. 22 SENATOR MARCHI: Well, I have to 23 be very candid and very truthful at this 24 point. I left, and when I see you all, it 25 grieves me that these were the happiest, most

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(518) 371-8910 1 joyous days of my life. 2 I have enjoyed every single minute 3 that I worked with you, all of you, from that 4 side all the way over here. Nobody is 5 excepted. Nobody is ruled out. And I miss 6 you all, and I love you all. And I'm deeply 7 touched. 8 And I just want to -- I don't want 9 to wear out my welcome, so I'll just say thank 10 you so much. You cannot imagine how happy a 11 day you've bestowed on me. I didn't deserve 12 this much, I really didn't. But having 13 received it, I'm so happy to accept it. 14 So thank you, and God bless you 15 all. 16 (Extended applause.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 18 Senator Bruno. 19 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, I 20 believe there is another privileged resolution 21 by Senator Lanza. It's Resolution 891. I 22 would ask at this time that it be read in its 23 entirety and move for its immediate adoption. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 25 Secretary will read Resolution Number 891.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Lanza, 2 Legislative Resolution Number 891, 3 commemorating the 200th anniversary of the 4 Archdiocese of New York. 5 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this 6 Legislative Body to honor and pay tribute to 7 those places and institutions within the State 8 of New York whose historic significance has 9 contributed to the culture and traditions of 10 our citizens; and 11 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such 12 concern, and in full accord with its 13 long-standing traditions, this Legislative 14 Body is justly proud to commemorate the 200th 15 anniversary of the Archdiocese of New York; 16 and 17 "WHEREAS, This auspicious occasion 18 is a wonderful time to reflect upon the 19 history of faith and service, a history that 20 mirrors the story of New York itself. To 21 celebrate its bicentennial, the Archdiocese of 22 New York has planned a yearlong series of 23 events beginning in April 2007; and 24 "WHEREAS, Bicentennial celebration 25 activities of the Archdiocese of New York will

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(518) 371-8910 1 include special liturgies and events in the 2 hopes that all members of the community will 3 be able to participate in the commemoration of 4 this historic anniversary; and 5 "WHEREAS, In addition, the 6 Archdiocese of New York is coordinating with 7 Catholic Charities of New York to institute an 8 Archdiocese of New York Day of Service to 9 celebrate its history of serving the broader 10 community; and 11 "WHEREAS, On April 8, 1808, the 12 Diocese of New York was established with The 13 Most Reverend R. Luke Concanen as its first 14 bishop. It was elevated to an Archdiocese in 15 1850; and 16 "WHEREAS, On March 15, 1875, His 17 Eminence John Cardinal McCloskey, the second 18 archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, 19 became the first cardinal archbishop of the 20 Roman Catholic Church in America; and 21 "WHEREAS, Currently, the 22 Archdiocese of New York is under the spiritual 23 guidance of His Eminence Edward M. Cardinal 24 Egan, who was installed on June 19, 2000, and 25 elevated to cardinal on February 21, 2001; and

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(518) 371-8910 1 "WHEREAS, With 2.5 million 2 Catholics in its fold, the Archdiocese of 3 New York consists of 402 parishes, 278 4 schools, both elementary and high schools, and 5 3,729 charitable ministries, which include 6 Catholic charities, hospitals, nursing homes, 7 and outreach programs; and 8 "WHEREAS, Throughout its rich 9 historical past and up to the present day, the 10 Archdiocese of New York has been sustained by 11 the beneficent efforts of countless 12 parishioners and ministries, past and present, 13 that have generously supported their community 14 with abundant kindness and good deeds; now, 15 therefore, be it 16 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 17 Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate 18 the 200th anniversary of the Archdiocese of 19 New York; and be it further 20 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this 21 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 22 to the Archdiocese of New York." 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: On 24 the resolution, Senator Bruno. 25 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,

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(518) 371-8910 1 thank you. Colleagues, Cardinal Egan. 2 We've just heard a chronicle, in a 3 very few minutes, of the history of the church 4 as represented over the last 200 years. And 5 all of us of the Catholic faith know that the 6 church goes back thousands of years. And the 7 Cardinal, when you listen to this resolution, 8 is the chief executive representative of all 9 of the people. 10 And when you realize the schools, 11 the hospitals, the charitable organizations, 12 the millions of people whose lives are touched 13 in such a positive way. 14 Cardinal Egan, you grace us with 15 your presence, and we're honored. And we have 16 the utmost of respect for the work that you do 17 and how you do it on behalf of all of the 18 people that you take care of and look after, 19 really, as a good shepherd. 20 And I would ask that the Cardinal 21 address the chamber, if you wish, at this 22 time. And thank you, colleagues. And thank 23 you, Mr. President. 24 Cardinal Egan. 25 CARDINAL EGAN: Senator Bruno,

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(518) 371-8910 1 thank you so very much for allowing me to 2 speak on this wonderful occasion. 3 And let me start out with the 4 youngest man in Staten Island. In case you 5 don't know, his name is John Marchi. 6 A few months ago I had the great 7 pleasure of helping to dedicate a building 8 there for the City College in Staten Island. 9 And it was a beautiful event. And on that 10 occasion, Senator Marchi and I spoke only in a 11 certain language that not everyone understood. 12 [In Italian.] And I'll translate 13 that for you, for the few here that don't 14 speak Italian. 15 I said: Senator, it's a great 16 honor to congratulate you as an outstanding 17 Senator in this great State of New York, as a 18 great Catholic, as a great friend, and as one 19 of the citizens of this Empire State of which 20 we can all be very, very proud. 21 And I know I'm very proud to count 22 myself a friend. 23 And I want to say that there's a 24 young lady with the Senator here by the name 25 of Maria Luisa, and she is the wonderful wife

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(518) 371-8910 1 of this great man. And I hope that we can all 2 say hello to Maria Luisa as well. 3 (Applause.) 4 CARDINAL EGAN: Finally, I know 5 you have a lot of important work to do, but I 6 do want to thank Senator Lanza most sincerely. 7 I have a secretary, Senator, from 8 Staten Island. And I've been told Staten 9 Island is the center of the world, and I 10 believe it. And I thank you for bringing from 11 the center of world the congratulations to our 12 archdiocese. 13 We're 200 years old now -- April 8, 14 2008, we'll be 200 years old. And beginning 15 April of this year, we're going to be 16 celebrating for an entire year to tell the 17 Lord how grateful we are for so many blessings 18 and to assure all of the State of New York 19 that we want to continue to be a people in 20 service, a people of courage, and a people of 21 faith. 22 Be sure that you understand that 23 this is a celebration, and be sure that you 24 understand that if you will join in, we'll be 25 very, very grateful.

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(518) 371-8910 1 So again, to Senator Lanza, to all 2 of you for allowing me to speak, thank you. 3 And I'm going to go because I know you have a 4 lot else to do, but just one final word. 5 [In Italian.] Senator, God love 6 you. 7 And Senator Lanza, thank you so 8 very much. And thanks to all of you. 9 (Standing ovation.) 10 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 11 would you recognize Senator Marchi for a 12 response to the Cardinal. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: I 14 thought it would be consecutive translation. 15 But Senator Marchi. 16 SENATOR MARCHI: Well, I just 17 wanted to plead guilty as charged. And I'm 18 certainly delighted to be with you. 19 And the Cardinal over here is a 20 great guy, you know. I finally found somebody 21 that I could speak Italian with, but the real 22 language. And we had a wonderful time just 23 bantering back and forth with the Cardinal, 24 who speaks Italian beautifully. He spent many 25 years in Rome as an advocate for the church,

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(518) 371-8910 1 and it was a joy to be with him and to have 2 his company and his language. 3 So thank you. I'm very grateful to 4 my leader here. These were the happiest days 5 of my life, believe me. 6 (Applause.) 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: On 8 the resolution, all those in favor please 9 indicate by saying aye. 10 (Response of "Aye.") 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 12 Hearing no nays, the resolution is adopted. 13 Senator Bruno. 14 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, 15 Mr. President. 16 We'll return back to the bill that 17 was on the floor, part of the controversial 18 calendar. 19 And I believe Senator Saland had 20 just finished. And if I may be recognized. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 22 Senator Bruno, the Secretary will read the 23 title. 24 And we have some speakers on the 25 list, some Senators who wish to be heard on

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(518) 371-8910 1 the bill. 2 SENATOR BRUNO: And I would like 3 to be heard on the bill. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 5 Okay. The Secretary will read. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 300, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2103B, 8 an act making appropriations for the support 9 of government. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 11 Senator Bruno. 12 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, 13 Mr. President and colleagues. 14 What we're voting on now, I think 15 it's important that all of us focus on what 16 we're doing because it's critically important. 17 And I don't have to remind anyone in this 18 chamber that we are sent here to be 19 representatives of the people. And those 20 people that send us here depend on us to do 21 the best that we can for them. They can't be 22 here sitting in your seats. You're here, and 23 we are here doing their work. 24 So there's a lot going on this 25 afternoon, and things are important to people,

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(518) 371-8910 1 to the institution of the Senate. I just 2 don't want to let this pass without people 3 being critically aware of what they're voting 4 on. 5 And Senator Stewart-Cousins, I want 6 you to just focus on the fact that this bill 7 that's before us has $9,535,000 more for your 8 schools, for your constituents, for your 9 children, for your parents of those children 10 than the Governor's proposal. 11 Now, you can elect with your 12 colleagues to vote to support them, or you can 13 support the Governor's budget. That's a 14 choice that you're elected to make. 15 Senator Oppenheimer, if I can just 16 share with you, $15.269 million, is that 17 important, again, to your parents, to your 18 taxpayers? 19 This is not anything that we should 20 take lightly. This is something that we 21 should focus on as elected representatives. 22 $15,269 million. You vote yes for that money 23 or you vote no for that money. That's what 24 you are elected to do. 25 And Senator Breslin -- and I'm just

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(518) 371-8910 1 skipping around at some of these bigger 2 numbers -- $8.688 million for your schools, 3 for your children of your constituents, for 4 your parents. Again, you can be 5 representative of the people or you can 6 represent the interests of the Governor in his 7 budget. Your choice. 8 Senator Stachowski, you are a 9 senior member here. There's $3,800,000 for 10 your constituents in the proposal that you're 11 going to vote on. 12 And Senator Thompson, $7 million 13 almost 200,000. Again, you vote yes to be 14 helpful and supportive, or you vote no. 15 And to Senator Smith, my esteemed 16 colleague, and all of you in New York, this 17 proposal has $115,825,000 more for the 18 Senators in New York, representing your 19 schools, your parents, your children. You 20 make a choice. 21 Senator Klein, $4,342,000 more 22 that's there as a proposal. That's for real. 23 This is for real. This isn't anything other 24 than thinking in the best interests of our 25 constituents.

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(518) 371-8910 1 And Senator Valesky, $3,200,000. 2 Now, I can go on and around this 3 room. But the important thing is that you be 4 aware that in this proposal there's 5 $500 million more for education than in the 6 Governor's budget that some people are in 7 lockstep to just support -- not based on 8 merit, not based on anything other than a 9 perceived allegiance. 10 Have allegiance to the people that 11 sent you here, that are depending on you to do 12 the best that you can for them. Have 13 allegiance to them, is my recommendation. And 14 months pass very quickly, and we're going to 15 be facing a constituency and they are going to 16 hold each and every one of us accountable. 17 Thank you, Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 19 Thank you, Senator Bruno. 20 Senator Farley. 21 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. 23 I rise in enthusiastic support of 24 this bill. Let me just say something. I've 25 been here for 30 years in the Senate, and this

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(518) 371-8910 1 house and this Majority has always been in the 2 forefront in leading on behalf of education. 3 There's no issue in my district 4 that is more important than school taxes and 5 quality education. You know, I represent the 6 Capital District here, along with Senator 7 Breslin and Senator Bruno, and we are becoming 8 the high-tech center of the entire eastern 9 United States. And nothing is more important 10 for that future than good schools, quality 11 education. And we have stepped up with this 12 piece of legislation. 13 There's no district, there's no 14 school district in my four counties that 15 doesn't do better under this than the 16 Governor's bill. Now, let me just say how 17 significant that is, because I have been 18 inundated by certain people saying make sure 19 you pass the Governor's bill. We've made it 20 better. We've made it better. 21 These are very, very important 22 issues to everybody in this house. Education 23 is the wave of the future. It's what's going 24 to keep this state healthy, it's going to keep 25 this state prosperous, and we have to invest

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(518) 371-8910 1 here. 2 You know, under all the governors 3 that we've had, Governor Spitzer made this a 4 priority. We made it better. This is a piece 5 of legislation that every member of this 6 house, every part of this state should support 7 because it does more for education, it does 8 more for the taxpayer. It's a good piece of 9 legislation, and I'm going to support it. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 11 Thank you, Senator Farley. 12 Senator LaValle. 13 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. 15 There is probably no greater issue 16 of importance than the legislation that we're 17 talking about vis-a-vis my senatorial district 18 and I'm sure each and every Senate district 19 throughout the state. 20 We are talking about a considerable 21 amount of money that we are spending on 22 education. And I never thought in my 23 political lifetime that I would see numbers 24 like $19.3 billion, $19.7 billion for aid to 25 education.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Bruno should be 2 congratulated because he has looked at the 3 state and the children of this state and he 4 has put forth a proposal that treats each 5 region of the state fairly, and its children, 6 so that every child in the state will have an 7 opportunity for a sound, basic education. 8 On top of that, if you think about 9 it, let's take the number $19.7 billion and 10 add to the STAR program that we passed years 11 ago that started at $3.4 billion, and we've 12 added to it through CPI increases. Last 13 year's STAR rebate program and, this year, 14 another program to increase, to our real 15 property taxpayers, another $6 billion over 16 two years. 17 We are making a real change. And 18 I'm not sure that many people realize that we 19 are using the revenues of the broad-based 20 taxes -- the income tax, the sales tax, the 21 business taxes -- to return back to our local 22 taxpayers to ensure that every child will have 23 a quality education and that every taxpayer 24 will be able to see light at the end of the 25 tunnel in terms of real property tax relief.

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(518) 371-8910 1 When we increase state aid by the 2 amounts that we are in this proposal, we are 3 allowing our school districts to do two 4 things: to provide a sound, basic education, 5 and actually a quality education; and also to 6 look at the other side of the equation, the 7 taxpayer, and provide property tax relief. 8 We're talking about real people 9 here. We're talking about the children in our 10 districts. And we, in every speech that is 11 made on education, every public office holder 12 says this is our future and we must invest in 13 our future. It's our children, that's what 14 we're talking about. That's why we have made 15 a decision to put aside some other spending 16 proposals, take that money and put it back 17 into a high priority, state aid to education. 18 This started not this year, it 19 started last year and the year before in terms 20 of significant increases in aid that allowed 21 our school districts to do what I've said, 22 provide a quality education and also provide, 23 for the hardworking taxpayer, real property 24 tax relief. 25 In all of the speeches and things

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(518) 371-8910 1 that I've been writing, I have asked my school 2 districts to be a team player, to provide one 3 of the negatives in the Long Island region, 4 which are high school property taxes, to be a 5 player, to reduce that impact, to make sure 6 that we're keeping our best and brightest 7 citizens and that we're attracting the best 8 and brightest. 9 I've heard people at Brookhaven 10 National Lab and the State University at Stony 11 Brook, the community college, saying they have 12 a hard time attracting the best and brightest 13 because the property taxes are too high. 14 So today we're speaking out very 15 loudly and clearly that we can do the two 16 things, provide a quality education and be an 17 economic player in reducing the impact. 18 The Riverhead School District is 19 sometimes looked at as a high-needs district. 20 Last year we were able to increase aid by 21 $1.8 million. This year, if this proposal is 22 enacted by the Legislature and the Governor 23 approves it, we'll see Riverhead receiving a 24 $2.7 million increase. 25 That's real in addressing the

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(518) 371-8910 1 problems of a growing area, growing in 2 population, growing in students, providing for 3 the diverse population that that district has 4 and providing a quality education, and at the 5 same time helping the taxpayers out. 6 For the first time in all the years 7 that I've been in office, the assessor of the 8 Town of Riverhead called me up and said, 9 "Senator, I want you to know that what you did 10 last year with the rebate program and the 11 additional state aid to the Riverhead School 12 District, you made a real difference in the 13 lives of the citizens of this town." And I 14 heard it over and over again. 15 So we have to remember that it's 16 not just numbers. We talk about a formula 17 that each year gets more and more complex to 18 meet the varying needs and complexities of the 19 more than 700 school districts. But these are 20 not numbers, these are people that we're 21 talking about. And when Senator Bruno 22 mentions these dollars to these communities, 23 they will make a difference in real terms to 24 not only the students but to the taxpayers. 25 I will vote in the affirmative when

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(518) 371-8910 1 my name is called, Mr. President. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 3 Thank you, Senator LaValle. 4 Senator Flanagan. 5 SENATOR FLANAGAN: Thank you, 6 Mr. President. On the bill. 7 I think it's important to point out 8 positive things and then discuss some of the 9 components of the Governor's educational plan. 10 A $1.4 billion increase, that's a good thing. 11 Not messing around with things like BOCES the 12 way we have done in the past, that's another 13 good thing. Property tax relief, at least in 14 some form, is a positive thing as well. 15 But in comparing what we're doing 16 here today and looking at the Governor's 17 budget, it's night and day. The Governor's 18 program, when you take in the school aid and 19 the property tax piece, is devastating for 20 Long Island. Senator Saland talked about this 21 in some detail. 22 There are 300 districts. Virtually 23 every district on Long Island is save 24 harmless. What the Governor has done in his 25 proposal is institutionalize a long-term

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(518) 371-8910 1 problem that will erode the growth of Long 2 Island and will go exactly in the face and the 3 opposite of what Senator LaValle just talked 4 about, attracting the best and brightest. 5 Because his foundation formula 6 takes 30 formulas and puts it in a box, but he 7 says to 300 districts, including every one 8 that I represent, that you don't really fit 9 into this neat little thing that I believe is 10 fair and equitable. So there's 300 districts 11 that I think suffer disproportionately. 12 And some of the school districts 13 who have real high needs, they do well and 14 they need money. But if you look at the 15 four-year plan that's advanced, they're 16 talking about 35 to 40 percent increases, when 17 school districts like mine and Senator Skelos 18 and my colleagues on Long Island, at best -- 19 at best -- you'll get 12 percent. 20 I don't see that as being fair. I 21 certainly don't see it as being equitable. 22 And if you look at a couple of things in 23 particular, I want to focus on one area which 24 frankly I can't believe there hasn't been a 25 lot more discussion of. I believe that we

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(518) 371-8910 1 should pull out the high tax aid that we did 2 last year. That was $20 million statewide, 3 $14 million for Long Island. Tax limitation 4 aid should be pulled out of the Governor's 5 formula. And, frankly, special ed. 6 I talk to my school districts just 7 like everybody else. The Governor's special 8 ed proposal is devastating. If you have a 9 school district right now and you have an 10 excellent special ed program and you take care 11 of those kids the way you're supposed to, 12 guess what? Next year all you're getting is 13 an inflationary increase. And that's the bulk 14 of the kids who are going to be affected by 15 this. 16 If you have a good program, you 17 have 100 kids this year and you have 150 kids 18 next year, you're only getting an inflationary 19 increase based on the 100 kids. So that 20 institutionalizes a problem. 21 And every time the special ed costs 22 go up, that makes it harder to fund music, 23 language, health, phys ed, everything else in 24 the schools. 25 Everyone wants to meet that

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(518) 371-8910 1 mission, but this proposal, our proposal 2 coming from the Senate Majority, adds 3 $90 million to correct -- not to give anything 4 extra, but to correct the problem that the 5 Governor has created. 6 So in his box, in his foundation 7 formula, those 400 districts do better. But 8 even with them, the special ed piece is very 9 problematic. And I believe as we move along 10 in this month we're going to hear more and 11 more from families and school districts and 12 SEPTA groups. And we should, because it's 13 very important. 14 On the property tax piece, when the 15 Governor advanced his budget, he talked about 16 how property taxes and school taxes go hand in 17 hand or hand in glove. This is also a big 18 problem for Long Island. 19 And here's a couple of basic 20 things. I liked the rebate check. My 21 constituents liked the rebate check. He takes 22 it away. We're not giving people checks 23 anymore. That's a nice thing, people like 24 getting checks. Because they know why? 25 They're getting it directly. The Governor

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(518) 371-8910 1 wants to give it to the school district and 2 changes the whole way we do it. Now it's 3 based on a sliding scale in relation to your 4 income. 5 So here's something that our 6 constituents will love. Now about 3 million 7 people are going to have to file a form with 8 Tax & Finance. And there's a very brief 9 window, it's only a couple of weeks where it's 10 all got to be in and it's all got to be 11 decided. We should make it simple, we should 12 make it across the board because property 13 taxes hurt no matter where you live. 14 We took a simple proposal from last 15 year and we tripled it. We want to continue 16 the rebate check. The Governor doesn't want 17 to do that. We want to keep it simple. The 18 Governor doesn't want to do that. We want to 19 make it fair for everybody. The Governor 20 doesn't want to do that. 21 And I'll give you one other 22 example. I believe, looking at the Governor's 23 proposal, we can compare it to the Regents. 24 Now, a lot of times in the past we've gotten 25 up and said, boy, the Regents are really way

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(518) 371-8910 1 out there in terms of what they're proposing. 2 The Governor's proposal creates a hundred more 3 save-harmless districts than the Regents. 4 That's almost hard to fathom. 5 So if you look at it in its 6 totality, this proposal goes a long way and it 7 recognizes that everybody has needs. It's 8 fair, it's equitable, and it's something that 9 should have been in the Governor's budget, but 10 we have to put it in ours. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 12 Thank you, Senator Flanagan. 13 Senator Little. 14 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you, 15 Mr. President. 16 I certainly am well aware that this 17 is record amounts of education money going to 18 our schools. As a representative of 53 school 19 districts within my Senate district, I feel 20 that it's important that they do get record 21 amounts of money this year. 22 It's a good investment for several 23 reasons. First of all, it invests in the 24 students in our district and helps them with a 25 better education. Secondly, it addresses the

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(518) 371-8910 1 New York City school needs without taking 2 money away from the schools in the rest of the 3 state. Third, it helps with property taxes. 4 And property taxes are the number-one issue in 5 my district, as I'm sure they are in most of 6 yours. 7 We already know what it did when we 8 did the Medicaid cap. The Medicaid cap helped 9 our counties reduce property taxes. Giving 10 more money to our schools will help them with 11 their school taxes, will help them reduce 12 their school property taxes and thereby help 13 the people within our districts live within 14 their homes. 15 So I support this bill and will be 16 voting in the affirmative. 17 Thank you. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 19 Thank you, Senator Little. 20 Senator Padavan. 21 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. 23 One of the critical issues that 24 we're dealing with in the City of New York 25 relates to the issue of class size.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Particularly in certain grades, middle school, 2 high school, we have children in classrooms 3 far in excess of that which is manageable and 4 appropriate to a quality education for those 5 children. Teachers are not able to spend the 6 amount of time necessary with kids who need a 7 little extra help during the course of the 8 class period or whatever the time frame may 9 be. 10 Now, class-size reduction has two 11 support mechanisms, two requirements that you 12 have to meet. One of them obviously is space. 13 Last year we did that, we did that in a very 14 significant way. We partnered with the City 15 of New York in providing a $13 billion capital 16 program over a period of five years, which is 17 well underway, to build more schools, to 18 expand existing schools, to modernize schools 19 and to do the things necessary to enable 20 classes to be greater in number and therefore 21 fewer in content. 22 Now, the other side of that book is 23 of course the teachers. We need more of them 24 and the other resources that go into the 25 classroom. Last year we increased state aid,

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(518) 371-8910 1 operating aid, for the City of New York by 2 approximately half a billion dollars, a 3 significant increase. This budget, because of 4 the recommendations of the Governor, which we 5 applaud, with our addition of $115 million 6 will increase aid to education in the City of 7 New York by $659 million. 8 Now, we're hopeful that before we 9 get through with this budget there will be 10 some specific language in it that deals with 11 how these increases should be spent, 12 particularly with regard to class size. But 13 without those additional monies, without that 14 funding, we will not be able to accomplish our 15 goal, where all the parents, where the 16 teachers, where the administrators, where the 17 chancellor and everybody and anybody who has 18 any interest in the quality of the education 19 of our children in the City of New York have 20 focused their concern. 21 This budget therefore provides the 22 resources to accomplish that goal. And anyone 23 from the City of New York has no choice but to 24 vote for it. 25 Thank you, Mr. President.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 2 Thank you, Senator Padavan. 3 Senator Duane. 4 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 5 Mr. President. 6 I certainly appreciated the 7 information that the Majority Leader shared 8 with us earlier on the school district runs. 9 However, I have to say that unlike yesterday, 10 when we received on the same day that we were 11 to vote on the healthcare budget the 12 resolution, on the same date so we at least 13 had a chance to look at them, we actually 14 don't have the school runs to which the 15 Majority Senators were referring. And even 16 though we've requested them, they have not 17 been provided. 18 So through you, Mr. President, if 19 Senator Johnson would yield, Senator O. 20 Johnson would yield. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: I 22 was going to say, he's right behind you. 23 Senator Johnson, do you yield for a 24 question? 25 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Yes,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 3 Senator yields. 4 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 5 Mr. President. 6 Senator Johnson, I was wondering if 7 you would be willing to provide me, and I 8 would be more than happy to make copies for 9 the rest of my conference, a copy of the 10 school runs to which the leader referred in 11 his comments. 12 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: I don't 13 think we all have copies of our final school 14 runs yet, though we do have some preliminary 15 information. 16 The City of New York doesn't have 17 school districts in the sense that we do in 18 the suburbs and upstate. You don't pay 19 $10,000 extra a year for your schools on top 20 of your normal income taxes and so on, but we 21 do. It's really almost immaterial to you, 22 because you don't know what school taxes are 23 because they don't amount to a hill of beans 24 in the big picture. But in the unincorporated 25 area outside the city, it's a big burden.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR DUANE: And so through 2 you, Mr. President, if Senator Johnson would 3 continue to yield. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 5 Senator, do you continue to yield? 6 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Yes. 7 SENATOR DUANE: I absolutely 8 understand that the New York City run is not 9 available. But as you can imagine, as a 10 conference that represents the entire state, 11 we would be most interested in seeing the 12 other runs. 13 And so I was wondering if the kind 14 Finance chair would be willing to supply me 15 with a copy of the runs which he does have. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 17 Senator Duane, if I can -- if we can just ask 18 through Senator Smith of Senator Bruno if 19 there's information that can be exchanged 20 between the two sides, I'm sure that can be 21 arranged between the two leaders. 22 SENATOR DUANE: Mr. President, 23 I'm sorry, you might have missed what I said 24 before. We actually have requested those 25 runs, and we have not been provided with them.

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(518) 371-8910 1 But, Mr. President, if you could 2 intercede on our behalf to get those runs, I 3 and the members of my conference would be most 4 appreciative of that. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 7 Senator Skelos. 8 SENATOR SKELOS: If I could ask 9 Senator Johnson to yield. 10 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Yes. 11 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, 12 Senator Johnson. 13 Without objection, I certainly have 14 the runs. I'm happy to give them to you. And 15 I would urge each and every member of your 16 conference, when they see the increases under 17 the Senate proposal over the Governor's 18 proposal -- because it's very simple. Senator 19 Stewart-Cousins, $9 million more. Senator 20 Oppenheimer, $15 million more. Senator 21 Breslin, $8 million more. Senator Stachowski, 22 $3 million more. Senator Thompson, $7 million 23 more. Senator Klein, $4 million more. 24 Senator Valesky, $3 million more. Senator 25 Craig Johnson, $14 million more.

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(518) 371-8910 1 I think it's very simple that the 2 vote of this conference, of the Democrat 3 minority, should be unanimous, unanimous with 4 the Senate majority in supporting this 5 legislation. Because if it isn't unanimous, 6 then quite honestly I just feel that there are 7 political chicanery going on with your 8 conference. 9 And I do believe every single one 10 of you should vote with the Senate majority 11 because we've brought regional responsibility 12 to what the Governor proposed. And it 13 shouldn't be a political charade. It should 14 be a message that we understand the needs of 15 every region. And certainly you as one of the 16 leaders, Senator Smith as one of the leaders 17 should be supportive, in particular as it 18 comes to Long Island and the fact that we are 19 now being treated fairly with the traditional 20 share that we've received over the years. 21 So I'm happy to give you these 22 runs. Use them in good health. And certainly 23 I would urge you as a responsible leader to 24 talk to your conference right now, make them 25 understand that the right way to go is for

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(518) 371-8910 1 every single member of your minority 2 conference to support the majority members, to 3 be unified and to go to Governor Spitzer and 4 say this is the right way to go, that we want 5 to provide a sound, basic education, as 6 Senator Saland said, to every region of the 7 state. 8 So I urge all of you and I urge 9 Senator Johnson, talk your leaders, get them 10 to support Long Island, the rest of the state. 11 Balance, fairness, the treatment of every 12 single child in the state fairly. 13 SENATOR DUANE: Mr. President, on 14 the bill. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 16 Senator Duane, on the bill. 17 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. We have just seen one very 19 small step across the aisle, but one 20 tremendous leap in reform, in that now we are 21 sharing this information. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 Does that mean a party vote in the 24 affirmative? 25 (Laughter.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: I 2 withdraw the question. 3 SENATOR DUANE: That is a very 4 loaded question, Mr. President. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Senator Duane, 6 if you would yield. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 8 Senator Duane, would you yield to a question? 9 SENATOR SKELOS: You know, I 10 was -- 11 SENATOR DUANE: I didn't say yes 12 yet. 13 SENATOR SKELOS: Well, okay. 14 SENATOR DUANE: Even though I 15 have not finished, I'm going to break with the 16 new tradition here and yield before I'm 17 finished saying what I was going to say. 18 I will yield, Mr. President. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 20 Your courtesy is appreciated, Senator. 21 SENATOR SKELOS: Senator Duane, 22 I'll be happy to listen to the eloquence of 23 your remarks, and then I will comment as to 24 whether I agree with them or disagree with 25 them.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR DUANE: That's an even 2 greater challenge, Mr. President. 3 No, I was just going to say that 4 we're certainly going to take a good look at 5 this. But though, as you may recall, there 6 was a vote already taken on this, and then we 7 without objection allowed there to be -- the 8 bill put on the controversial calendar. But a 9 couple of our members -- actually all of our 10 members had actually voted once on this, and, 11 interestingly, some of them had actually voted 12 with the best of their knowledge, figuring it 13 out without actually having this. 14 That said, Mr. President, I believe 15 that each and every member is going to vote in 16 the strongest possible way to fight for -- 17 indeed, maybe the better word would be 18 negotiate on behalf of all the school 19 districts in their districts. 20 But again, Mr. President, I very, 21 very much appreciate having this document. 22 And I look forward to now yielding to a 23 question and look forward to giving an answer. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 25 Just a point of order. The vote that was

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(518) 371-8910 1 taken, the prior vote was withdrawn, so it was 2 never recorded, so it doesn't exist on any 3 record. Where the floor will be open and when 4 we finish debate, a new vote will be called 5 for. 6 Senator Skelos. 7 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 8 Mr. President, but I must say it was indelibly 9 imprinted in my brain. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 11 Well, we can help you with that, Senator. 12 Senator Skelos. 13 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. 15 Now that you fully understand, 16 Senator Duane, that the roll call has been 17 withdrawn, the runs have been presented to 18 you -- in fact, I think most of them have -- 19 many of the districts have been mentioned, you 20 know what the positive effect is for the City 21 of New York and in fact for all the regions of 22 the state. 23 You know, sometimes in order to 24 have -- and we heard this many times from the 25 minority in the past -- to have a strong,

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(518) 371-8910 1 effective voice to negotiate with Governor 2 Spitzer and indicate to him that his proposal 3 does not provide a sound, basic education for 4 all the children of New York State, that all 5 of you vote in the affirmative for this 6 legislation, all of you vote in the 7 affirmative for this legislation so that we 8 can send a message, whether you're from Long 9 Island, the City of New York or upstate 10 New York, you want all children treated 11 fairly. 12 And any other vote other than that 13 would be an indication that if you're from the 14 City of New York and you vote against this, 15 you don't care about the island or you don't 16 care about upstate. 17 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. Through you, I will absolutely 19 take the Acting Majority Leader's comments 20 under advisement. 21 But I do have to say that though I 22 did reasonably well on my SATs, in the brief 23 period I've been holding these in my hands, 24 I -- and because I was so interested in the 25 debate that was going on and listening so

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(518) 371-8910 1 intently to everything that was being said -- 2 including by you, Mr. President -- I was 3 unable to read and digest all 20 pages, six 4 columns across of very, you know -- most of 5 them have six, seven, in some cases eight 6 figures. And I just, though I said indelibly 7 things were imprinted in my brain, this has 8 not yet been printed there. 9 I will try to get it digested as 10 soon as possible, and I will get back to you 11 on whether or not I'm following the advice 12 that's being so graciously provided. 13 Thank you, Mr. President. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 15 Thank you, Senator Duane. 16 Senator DeFrancisco. 17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would 18 Senator Duane yield to a question, please. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 20 Senator Duane, would you yield to Senator 21 DeFrancisco? 22 SENATOR DUANE: Yes, 23 Mr. President. 24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You 25 indicated, Senator Duane, that you really

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(518) 371-8910 1 wanted to negotiate school aid on behalf of 2 the students of the State of New York. 3 With that in mind, assuming that 4 after you've had a chance to read all of these 5 and you find out that these numbers are 6 greater for each district than the numbers 7 that are in the Governor's budget and greater 8 than the numbers that are in the Assembly's 9 budget, would you agree that the best possible 10 negotiating position for this body would be to 11 adopt the Senate's position so that there is 12 more money to negotiate from? Can you answer 13 that? 14 SENATOR DUANE: Mr. President, in 15 response to the good Senator's question, 16 before I even respond to that I think the 17 answer that I would like to receive is, what 18 was the tremendous fear on the part of the 19 majority in providing us with this document in 20 a more timely manner? 21 And when I get an answer to that 22 question, I will attempt to respond to the 23 question that was just posed to me. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 25 Senator DeFrancisco.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR DUANE: Although, 2 Mr. President, I must say that I think leaving 3 it as a giant leap for reform might be the 4 best way to sort of -- I was going to say 5 chill everyone out, but maybe -- what's the 6 word when everybody sort of just backs down, 7 dials it back a little? Not a moratorium, 8 dial it back. I'm going to stick with -- if 9 we just consider this a moment of tremendous 10 reform, we can all dial it back and continue 11 our -- what I hope will be fruitful, if I may 12 use that word, fruitful discussions on the 13 budget. 14 (Laughter.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 16 Senator Skelos. 17 SENATOR SKELOS: Would Senator 18 Duane yield? 19 SENATOR DUANE: Yes, 20 Mr. President. I have never yielded so much 21 in my life. But yes, Mr. President. 22 (Laughter.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 24 chair refuses to go there. 25 SENATOR SKELOS: If it's

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(518) 371-8910 1 important for the minority to study the runs 2 and for the city members to understand that 3 they're getting $115 million more, Long Island 4 is being treated back to our regional share, 5 no district is being hurt -- if you need a 6 short recess to be convinced to come back to 7 vote with us, we'd be happy to give you a 8 short recess to study them and come back. 9 And then I'm sure that every single 10 member of the Democrat conference will come 11 back and vote yes and join us in treating 12 every kid in this state fairly. 13 SENATOR DUANE: Through you, 14 Mr. President, if I may respond. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 16 Senator Duane, you've got the floor. 17 SENATOR DUANE: I just have to 18 say that the consequences of receiving this 19 document at such a last-minute moment have 20 made it such that I don't think we would be 21 able to accommodate that request. It wouldn't 22 really work well for our side at this point, 23 but I appreciate the offer. 24 But I feel like since the train has 25 left the station on this matter right now, in

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(518) 371-8910 1 an effort to keep things moving along in a 2 timely manner, we would prefer if we just keep 3 going through the process that we started. 4 We've had an awful lot of delays as it is 5 today. 6 Thank you, Mr. President. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 8 if Senator Duane would yield. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 10 Senator Duane, do you continue to yield? 11 SENATOR DUANE: Yes, 12 Mr. President. 13 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, 14 Senator Duane. 15 In fairness, then, are you 16 basically saying that if nobody has received 17 these runs and looked at them, if they vote 18 yes they're not being responsible to their 19 constituency? They haven't studied them, they 20 don't know the implications? 21 SENATOR DUANE: Mr. President, if 22 I may respond, it feels like a very personal 23 question. My colleagues are empowered by 24 their constituents to make decisions on how 25 they vote on a number of factors, and I could

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(518) 371-8910 1 not possibly suppose to be able to answer for 2 all of them at this moment. 3 In fact, at this exact moment I'm 4 not sure I could even answer for myself. And 5 in my own defense, I'll say because I did 6 better on my verbal SATs, as you can tell, 7 than I did on my math SATs. So it would take 8 me even a little longer to pore through these 9 figures. 10 And thank you, Mr. President. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 12 Thank you, Senator Duane. 13 Any other Senator wishing to be 14 heard on the bill? 15 Seeing none, the debate is closed. 16 Can we have the Secretary ring the 17 bells, get everybody back into their seats, 18 please. 19 And if those of you when we get to 20 the vote who are going to vote negative -- and 21 hopefully there will be none -- but if you 22 will, please hold your hand up so we can count 23 you accurately. When we get there. We're not 24 ready yet. 25 Read the last section, please.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 4 Call the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll.) 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 7 Those of you voting no, please hold your hands 8 up so we can count your votes accurately. If 9 you were in your seats, it would help. 10 Senator DeFrancisco, to explain his 11 vote. 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You know, 13 we had somewhat of the same discussion 14 yesterday, where some members of this body on 15 the other side of the aisle believe that we 16 should negotiate a settlement, negotiate the 17 right amount of money for healthcare, 18 negotiate the right amount of money for school 19 aid. 20 You know, how do you negotiate if 21 you're taking the lower number and you won't 22 support the higher number? 23 And some of the sophistry was 24 pretty well demonstrated in the dialogue with 25 the questions of Senator Duane: We don't have

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(518) 371-8910 1 the runs, so how can we make a decision? 2 Well, here's the runs. We can't read them 3 this quickly. Well, we'll take a little delay 4 or a recess. Well, we won't be able to do it 5 because my SATs were better in English than 6 they were in math. 7 I mean, what nonsense is this? 8 We're adults here. If we're going to 9 negotiate, you don't negotiate from the 10 Governor's budget, because that's the low 11 number. You negotiate from the higher budget 12 number with a better formula for every child 13 in this state. 14 So try to explain that in a logical 15 way, without trickology, as I learned 16 yesterday. Because that's what we're seeing, 17 and it just doesn't add up. 18 I vote aye. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 20 Senator DeFrancisco will be recorded in the 21 affirmative. 22 Senator Stachowski, to explain his 23 vote. 24 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: This 25 document is very interesting. It's not what I

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(518) 371-8910 1 would call a school run, but it's interesting. 2 And I know that your proposal puts 3 in more money, but it is your proposal. And 4 it's not the budget, it's not the finalized 5 document. I would hope that when we get to 6 the finalized document that you're victorious 7 and this is what we have, and we will all 8 stand up then and vote for it. 9 But during the budget process, this 10 is your proposal. You know how it affects 11 your districts, you think. I know that even 12 if this was a run, I've been told by my school 13 districts almost every year that we call them 14 and give them the run at budget time, the 15 final run, it doesn't turn out to be accurate 16 and they have to change it, and then it's a 17 different amount of money. 18 And I'd like to know what my 19 districts get. It's nice that somebody told 20 me twice now, two different people, that I'm 21 getting $3 million more for all my districts. 22 And that would be great, and hopefully that 23 happens. And during the conference 24 committees, and from my perspective, I'll be 25 supporting whatever will get more money into

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(518) 371-8910 1 my districts as long as it fits into the total 2 budget and we don't spend more than we bring 3 in. And that it's balanced and we can show 4 the Governor, when we change anything we 5 change, that it's a balanced budget as he put 6 in, because that's part of the reform package 7 that we all recently voted for. 8 So with that, I'll be voting no. 9 But I would love to say that I hope that this 10 ends up the final package. If that's the 11 case, then I'll be voting yes when it is the 12 budget. 13 But to stand here and tell 14 everybody that you're voting against your 15 children because you're not voting for our 16 proposal, when we don't know how it fits into 17 the total package with every other part of the 18 budget, I can't do that. I've got to vote for 19 a sound, balanced budget. I've got to see all 20 the proposals. 21 I hope that you're successful in 22 the fight, and at that point I'll be happy to 23 stand up and congratulate you and vote for the 24 budget, not for just the one-house Senate 25 proposal.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Thank you. I vote no. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 3 Senator Stavisky, to explain her vote. 4 SENATOR STAVISKY: Mr. President, 5 I note that the CUNY and SUNY budgets are not 6 increased as much as the need. And hopefully 7 when we convene the conference committees, 8 we'll be able to resolve some of these 9 differences. 10 But there are many inadequacies 11 beyond just the lack of information on the 12 school aid run. And the school aid runs, I 13 must say, is a very complicated issue and 14 requires days of research and poring over the 15 numbers. 16 And for all of these and other 17 reasons, I vote no. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 19 Thank you, Senator. 20 Announce the results, please. 21 I'm sorry. Senator Robach, to 22 explain his vote. 23 SENATOR ROBACH: Mr. President, 24 to explain my vote. 25 While my SAT score was excellent,

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(518) 371-8910 1 what I pride myself on is good common sense, 2 and hopefully some political savvy of being in 3 touch with the people I have the honor and 4 privilege of representing. 5 And I'm happy to cast my vote in 6 the affirmative for this proposal for two main 7 reasons. One, I think as we've all worked 8 towards parity -- and I mean everyone, 9 including the Governor -- this proposal now 10 not only just focuses on New York City, but I 11 think collectively we've looked at the issues 12 addressing other parts of the state, other 13 student needs and other high-needs districts, 14 including the one that I have in Rochester, 15 which I think is a very, very good thing and a 16 needy school district as well. 17 But we went above and beyond that 18 and now added to other districts that I 19 represent, making this very easy for me to 20 support for the money it will bring back, a 21 little bit above and beyond what the Executive 22 proposal was. 23 But what really makes this the 24 win-win situation -- and in upstate New York, 25 this is critical -- we talk about

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(518) 371-8910 1 accountability, we talk about money, but we 2 also talk about taxes wrapped up in that. And 3 there is no question that the proposal we put 4 forward, and this is the time to vote for it 5 now, if you're from upstate New York, and get 6 this in the negotiation, people want that 7 check back directly to them. 8 This increases that amount 9 dramatically, it gives them the money. It 10 doesn't blur it, it doesn't hide it. It's 11 like the move "Jerry Maguire." The public is 12 cynical of us. Show me the money. We did 13 that once. Why would we want to take that 14 away? 15 I am more than happy, in budget 16 negotiations or conference committees -- I'd 17 like to have the meeting directly with the 18 Governor -- I think it would be a terrible 19 mistake to take that out. And so I'm hoping, 20 as my colleague Bill Stachowski said, that 21 that will be in the final version. 22 But again, I think that it would be 23 more likely if we stood in unison instead of 24 only one side of the aisle supporting that 25 very popular measure that people across the

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(518) 371-8910 1 state have applauded, have liked, and need. 2 So I'm happy to cast my vote in the 3 affirmative, Mr. President. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 5 Thank you, Senator Robach. 6 Senator Seward, to explain his 7 vote. 8 SENATOR SEWARD: Yes, thank you, 9 Mr. President. 10 I think it's important to keep it 11 very, very simple. In my mind, the proposal 12 before us, in keeping it simple, it says two 13 important things to me. 14 Number one, under the proposal 15 before us, every single school district and 16 the children and the teachers in each of those 17 school districts does better than the 18 Governor's proposal. 19 Number two, under this proposal 20 every single homeowner, a hard-pressed school 21 property taxpayer, does better than under the 22 Governor's proposal. 23 It's that simple, in my mind. The 24 math adds up for the children, the math adds 25 up for the faculty, the math adds up for the

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(518) 371-8910 1 property taxpayers of this state. 2 Mr. President, I vote aye. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 4 Thank you, Senator Seward. 5 Announce the results, please. 6 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 7 the negative on Calendar Number 300 are 8 Senators Adams, Breslin, Connor, Diaz, Dilan, 9 Duane, Hassell-Thompson, Huntley, Klein, 10 L. Krueger, Montgomery, Onorato, Oppenheimer, 11 Parker, Perkins, Sabini, Sampson, Savino, 12 Schneiderman, Serrano, Smith, Stachowski, 13 Stavisky, Thompson and Valesky. 14 Absent from voting: Senator C. 15 Kruger. 16 Ayes, 35. Nays, 25. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 18 bill is passed. 19 The Secretary will continue to 20 read. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 303, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2107B, 23 an act to amend the Education Law. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 25 Read the last section.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 4 Call the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll.) 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 7 Again, if you would hold your hands high and 8 if you would stay in your seats, that would 9 help the Secretary to count. 10 Announce the results, please. 11 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 12 the negative on Calendar Number 303 are 13 Senator Adams, Breslin, Connor, Diaz, Dilan, 14 Duane, Hassell-Thompson, Huntley, Klein, 15 L. Krueger, Montgomery, Onorato, Oppenheimer, 16 Parker, Perkins, Sabini, Sampson, Savino, 17 Schneiderman, Serrano, Smith, Stachowski, 18 Stavisky, Thompson and Valesky. 19 Absent from voting: Senator 20 C. Kruger. 21 Ayes, 35. Nays, 25. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 23 bill is passed. 24 Senator Skelos, I believe we have 25 some housekeeping we'd like to finish.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR SKELOS: I believe 2 Senator Lanza has a motion. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 4 We'll return to motions and resolutions. 5 Senator Lanza. 6 SENATOR LANZA: Mr. President, I 7 move that the following bills be discharged 8 from their respective committees and be 9 recommitted with instructions to strike the 10 enacting clause: Senate Number 3311. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: So 12 ordered. 13 Senator Skelos. 14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 15 is there any further business at the desk? 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 17 desk is clean. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: There being 19 none, I move we stand adjourned until 20 Wednesday, March 14th, at 11:00 a.m. 21 And please recognize Senator Duane. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 Ladies and gentlemen, we're not finished yet. 24 Senator Duane. 25 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President. 2 There will be an immediate meeting 3 of Minority Budget Committee members 4 immediately after session in Room 315. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: A 6 meeting of the Minority Budget Committee 7 members in Room 315 after session. 8 The Senate stands adjourned until 9 tomorrow, 11:00 a.m. 10 (Whereupon, at 4:17 p.m., the 11 Senate adjourned.) 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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(518) 371-8910