Monday, April 30, 2007

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 April 30, 2007 11 3:12 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 SENATOR GEORGE H. WINNER, Jr., Acting President 19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary 20 21 22 23 24 25

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 3 Senate will come to order. 4 I ask everyone present to please 5 rise and repeat with me the Pledge of 6 Allegiance. 7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited 8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: In the 10 absence of clergy, may we bow our heads in a 11 moment of silence. 12 (Whereupon, the assemblage 13 respected a moment of silence.) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Reading 15 of the Journal. 16 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 17 Sunday, April 29, the Senate met pursuant to 18 adjournment. The Journal of Saturday, 19 April 28, was read and approved. On motion, 20 Senate adjourned. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Without 22 objection, the Journal stands approved as 23 read. 24 Presentation of petitions. 25 Messages from the Assembly.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Messages from the Governor. 2 Reports of standing committees. 3 Reports of select committees. 4 Communications and reports from 5 state officers. 6 Motions and resolutions. 7 Senator Skelos. 8 SENATOR SKELOS: If you could 9 recognize Senator Nozzolio, please. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 11 Nozzolio. 12 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, 13 Mr. President. 14 Amendments are offered to the 15 following Third Reading Calendar bills: 16 Senate Print Number 2695A, page 17 number 25, Calendar Number 390, by Senator 18 Wright; 19 Senate Print Number 1756, Calendar 20 Number 475, page number 29, by Senator Rath; 21 And Senate Print Number 3316, 22 Calendar Number 579, page number 36, by 23 Senator Winner. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 25 you, Senator Nozzolio.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 The amendments are received and 2 adopted, and the bills will retain their place 3 on the Third Reading Calendar. 4 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, 5 Mr. President. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 7 Bonacic. 8 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, 9 Mr. President. 10 This is a motion to amend a bill 11 recalled from the Assembly. On behalf of 12 Senator Volker, I wish to call up Print Number 13 1263, recalled from the Assembly, which is now 14 at the desk. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 16 Secretary will read. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 67, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 1263, an 19 act to amend the Penal Law. 20 SENATOR BONACIC: Mr. President, 21 I now move to reconsider the vote by which 22 this bill was passed. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 24 Secretary will call the roll on 25 reconsideration.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 (The Secretary called the roll.) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 45. 3 SENATOR BONACIC: Mr. President, 4 I now offer the following amendments. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 6 amendments are received and adopted, and the 7 bill will retain its place on the Third 8 Reading Calendar. 9 Senator Bonacic. 10 SENATOR BONACIC: Second order of 11 business, Mr. President, I wish to call up 12 Senator Volker's bill, Print Number 650, 13 recalled from the Assembly, which is now at 14 the desk. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 16 Secretary will read. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 36, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 650, an 19 act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law and 20 others. 21 SENATOR BONACIC: Mr. President, 22 I move to reconsider the vote by which this 23 bill was passed and ask that the bill be 24 restored to the order of third reading. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 the roll on reconsideration. 2 (The Secretary called the roll.) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 49. 4 SENATOR BONACIC: Mr. President, 5 I now move to recommit Senate Print Number 6 650, Calendar Number 36 on the order of the 7 Third Reading Calendar, to the Committee on 8 Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, 9 with instructions to that committee to strike 10 out the enacting clause. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: So 12 ordered. 13 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 16 you, Senator Bonacic. 17 Senator Skelos. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 19 there will be an immediate meeting of the 20 Judiciary Committee in the Majority Conference 21 Room. And the Senate will stand at ease. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 23 Senate stands at ease. 24 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 25 ease at 3:16 p.m.)

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 2 at 3:24 p.m.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT NOZZOLIO: 4 Senator Skelos. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 6 there will be an immediate meeting of the 7 Rules Committee in the Majority Conference 8 Room, and we'll stand at ease pending the 9 return of the Rules report. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT NOZZOLIO: There 11 will be an immediate meeting of the Rules 12 Committee in the Senate Majority Conference 13 Room. 14 The Senate will stand at ease. 15 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 16 ease at 3:25 p.m.) 17 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 18 at 3:28 p.m.) 19 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 21 Skelos. 22 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could 23 return to reports of standing committees, I 24 believe there's a Rules report at the desk. I 25 ask that it be read at this time.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Reports 2 of standing committees. 3 The Secretary will read. 4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno, 5 from the Committee on Rules, reports the 6 following bill: 7 Senate Print 5313, by Senator 8 DeFrancisco, an act to amend the Judiciary 9 Law. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 11 Skelos. 12 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept 13 the report of the Rules Committee. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: All 15 those in favor of accepting the Rules 16 Committee report signify by saying aye. 17 (Response of "Aye.") 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: 19 Opposed, nay. 20 (No response.) 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 22 Rules Committee report is accepted. 23 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 25 Skelos.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR SKELOS: There's a 2 resolution at the desk by Senator Maziarz. If 3 we could have it read in its entirety and move 4 for its immediate adoption. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 6 Secretary will read. 7 Can we have some order in the 8 chamber, please. 9 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 10 Maziarz, Legislative Resolution Number 1793, 11 honoring Theresa Hallatt upon the occasion of 12 her coronation as Miss Teenager of New York 13 State 2006. 14 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this 15 Legislative Body to act, in accord with its 16 long-standing traditions, honoring the youth 17 of today and leaders of tomorrow whose 18 character and achievements best exemplify the 19 ideals and values cherished by this great 20 state and nation; and 21 "WHEREAS, Theresa Hallatt, a young 22 woman of singular distinction, has so 23 eminently distinguished herself as a young 24 woman of superlative ability, talent and 25 maturity, establishing a standard of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 excellence and purposefulness of life rarely 2 achieved in youthful years; and 3 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is 4 justly proud to honor Theresa Hallatt upon the 5 occasion of her coronation as Miss Teenager of 6 New York State 2006 -- 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Excuse 8 me. 9 Can we have some order in the 10 chamber. 11 THE SECRETARY: "And WHEREAS, 12 This Legislative Body is justly proud to honor 13 Theresa Hallatt upon the occasion of her 14 coronation as Miss Teenager of New York State 15 2006 at a pageant held in Norwich, New York, 16 on August 19, 2006; and 17 "WHEREAS, A senior at Spencerport 18 High School, Theresa Hallatt is an honors 19 student who loves participating in French 20 Club. In fact, her winning speech was about 21 her trip to France and London with the 22 school's French Club for spring break last 23 year; and 24 "WHEREAS, Besides learning about 25 European cultures, Theresa Hallatt also enjoys

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 making jewelry and competing in the All 2 American Soap Box Derby. She holds two 3 championships in derby racing: 2004 Stock 4 West Champion and 2006 Super Stock West 5 Champion. While competing in the World 6 Championship of the All American Soap Box 7 Derby, she placed 48th in the world; and 8 "WHEREAS, With her new title, 9 Theresa Hallatt has developed a platform 10 through the Crisis Nursery of Rochester, an 11 organization that helps take care of babies 12 and children that need a place to stay; and 13 "WHEREAS, In addition, Theresa 14 Hallatt volunteers with Operation Christmas 15 Child, a Christian relief organization that 16 helps gather boxes full of gifts and 17 necessities for less fortunate children around 18 the world; and 19 "WHEREAS, Upon graduation, Theresa 20 Hallatt aspires to attend medical school and 21 follow her dream of becoming an 22 anesthesiologist; and 23 "WHEREAS, Through her active 24 involvement in the community and her sincere 25 dedication to children, Theresa Hallatt is a

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 role model for her peers; and 2 "WHEREAS, She best exemplifies the 3 best potential in our most precious resource, 4 our youth. She has brought enduring honor to 5 her family and her community through her many 6 achievements; and 7 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is 8 moved to honor Theresa Hallatt, recognizing 9 the value of her labors and the promise of her 10 future; now, therefore, be it 11 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 12 Body pause in its deliberations to honor 13 Theresa Hallatt upon the occasion of her 14 coronation as Miss Teenager of New York State 15 2006; and be it further 16 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this 17 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 18 to Theresa Hallatt." 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 20 Maziarz. 21 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 22 much, Mr. President. 23 I too want to join and introduce my 24 colleagues to Theresa, Ms. Teenager of 25 New York State, from Spencerport in Monroe

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 County. You heard all about Theresa and her 2 fine accomplishments. 3 You know, all too often in this 4 state and in this nation we read newspaper 5 articles about high schoolers, teenagers who 6 are doing bad things. And here we have an 7 example, a statewide example -- although I'm 8 proud for my district -- who shows the 9 overwhelming majority of great kids that we 10 have in the great school systems that we have 11 throughout New York State. 12 And the Secretary read all the 13 accomplishments of Theresa at the very young 14 age of 17. But one of the things that I 15 wanted to specifically mention was this Crisis 16 Nursery of Rochester. 17 This is an institution -- a home, 18 really -- where police officers go to a home 19 and, you know, many times it's a domestic 20 violence situation and one parent goes off to 21 jail, the other parent may go off to the 22 hospital. Where do the kids go? 23 And one retired police officer was 24 in this situation one time on Christmas Eve, 25 and there was really no place to take very

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 young children. And this police officer, when 2 she retired, formed this Crisis Nursery of 3 Rochester. And now when there's a situation 4 like this and the police officers have no 5 place to take the kids, they take them to this 6 nursery, which is suitable for young children. 7 It's a great haven for young children. 8 Theresa volunteers to help that 9 Crisis Nursery, and she's a great example for 10 other young people throughout this state. 11 Theresa is joined here today by her 12 parents. Congratulations to you, Theresa. 13 You're a great example for high schoolers all 14 across New York. Thank you for being here. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 16 you, Senator Maziarz. 17 Senator Nozzolio, on the 18 resolution. 19 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, 20 Mr. President. On the resolution. 21 I rise to congratulate Senator 22 Maziarz for bringing to this house an 23 accomplished young woman. 24 And we from Wayne County -- and by 25 "we," along with Senator Maziarz, myself,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Senators Robach and Alesi -- are very proud of 2 the fact that Theresa hails from Monroe 3 County, was selected to be Miss New York State 4 in a competitive contest where individual 5 young women from all across this state 6 competed. And we're certainly glad that the 7 selection was Theresa, and congratulate her, 8 from Monroe County. 9 And congratulations to her, and we 10 wish her all the best of luck and continued 11 success in her career. 12 And thank you, Senator Maziarz, for 13 the resolution. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 15 you, Senator Nozzolio. 16 The question is on the resolution. 17 All in favor of adopting the resolution 18 signify by saying aye. 19 (Response of "Aye.") 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: 21 Opposed, nay. 22 (No response.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 24 resolution is adopted. 25 Congratulations.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 (Applause.) 2 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 4 Skelos. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could go 6 to the noncontroversial reading of the 7 calendar. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 9 Secretary will read. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 88, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 1629, an 12 act to amend the Labor Law, in relation to 13 appointments. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 15 the last section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 17 act shall take effect immediately. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 19 the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll.) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56. Nays, 22 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 24 bill is passed. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 122, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 1890, an 2 act to amend the Labor Law and the State 3 Finance Law, in relation to the New York State 4 Worker Protection Board. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 6 the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This 8 act shall take effect on the 90th day. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 10 the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll.) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56. Nays, 13 1. Senator Duane recorded in the negative. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 15 bill is passed. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 144, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 699B, 18 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation 19 Law, in relation to special permits. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 21 the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 23 act shall take effect immediately. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 25 the roll.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 (The Secretary called the roll.) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 4 bill is passed. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 279, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 1774, an 7 act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to 8 extending. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 10 the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 12 act shall take effect immediately. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 14 the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 18 bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 313, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 1711, an 21 act to amend the Retirement and Social 22 Security Law, in relation to benefits payable. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 24 the last section. 25 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 act shall take effect on the 90th day. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 3 the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll.) 5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 7 bill is passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 338, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print 2969A, 10 an act to amend the General Business Law, in 11 relation to prohibiting. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 13 the last section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 15 act shall take effect on the first of January. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 17 the roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll.) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 21 bill is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 340, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print 3555, 24 an act to amend the General Business Law, the 25 Real Property Law, and the Executive Law, in

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 relation to providing. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This 5 act shall take effect immediately. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 7 the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll.) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 11 bill is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 377, by Senator Hassell-Thompson, Senate Print 14 2120, an act to amend the New York City Civil 15 Court Act, in relation to candidates. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 17 the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 19 act shall take effect immediately. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 21 the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll.) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 25 bill is passed.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 524, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 3566, an 3 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 4 relation to waiver. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 6 the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 8 act shall take effect on the 30th day. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 10 the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll.) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. Nays, 13 1. Senator Perkins recorded in the negative. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 15 bill is passed. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 529, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 3672, 18 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 19 the definition of dangerous contraband. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 21 the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 23 act shall take effect on the first of 24 September. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 the roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll.) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 57. Nays, 4 1. Senator Perkins recorded in the negative. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 6 bill is passed. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 542, by Senator Little, Senate Print 1104, an 9 act to amend the Tax Law, in relation to 10 extending. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 12 the last section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 14 act shall take effect immediately. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 16 the roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll.) 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 20 bill is passed. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 551, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 233, an 23 act to amend the Environmental Conservation 24 Law, in relation to deer season. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 the last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 3 act shall take effect on the 180th day. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 5 the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll.) 7 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 8 the negative on Calendar Number 551 are 9 Senators Duane, Perkins, Serrano and Seward. 10 Ayes, 54. Nays, 4. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 12 bill is passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 554, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 2743, an 15 act to amend the Environmental Conservation 16 Law, in relation to making technical 17 corrections. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 19 the last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 21 act shall take effect immediately. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 23 the roll. 24 (The Secretary called the roll.) 25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 2 bill is passed. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 555, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 2759, 5 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation 6 Law, in relation to protecting information. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 10 act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll.) 14 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 15 the negative on Calendar Number 555 are 16 Senators Perkins and Serrano. 17 Ayes, 56. Nays, 2. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 19 bill is passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 570, by Senator Little, Senate Print 1135, an 22 act to amend the Town Law, in relation to 23 authorizing the designation of hamlets. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 25 the last section.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll.) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 8 bill is passed. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 585, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 4156, an 11 act to amend Chapter 465 of the Laws of 1994, 12 amending Chapter 285 of the Laws of 1891. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 14 the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 16 act shall take effect immediately. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 18 the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll.) 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 22 bill is passed. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 591, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 3752A, an 25 act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law, in

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 relation to providing. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 5 act shall take effect on the same date and in 6 the same manner as Chapter 7 of the Laws of 7 2007. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 9 the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll.) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 13 bill is passed. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 592, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print -- 16 SENATOR BRUNO: Lay it aside for 17 the day. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 19 bill is laid aside for the day. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 593, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 4006, an 22 act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law, in 23 relation to disclosure. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 25 the last section.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll.) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 8 bill is passed. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 596, by Senator Little, Senate Print 2793A, an 11 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to 12 continuing education. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 14 the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 16 act shall take effect on the first of January. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 18 the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll.) 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 22 bill is passed. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 598, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 3673, an 25 act to amend the Education Law, in relation to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 volunteer recruitment. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 5 act shall take effect on the 120th day. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 7 the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll.) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 11 bill is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 712, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print -- 14 SENATOR BRUNO: Lay it aside. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 16 bill is laid aside. 17 Senator Bruno, that completes the 18 reading of the noncontroversial calendar. 19 Senator Bruno. 20 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 21 can we at this time take up the controversial 22 calendar. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 24 Secretary will ring the bell. 25 Calendar Number 712, the Secretary

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 will read. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 712, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 4 5313, an act to amend the Judiciary Law. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 6 Bruno. 7 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President and 8 colleagues, I want to commend Judge Kaye for 9 forwarding or supporting the piece of 10 legislation that's before us now. 11 And I want to commend Senator John 12 DeFrancisco, who has been in a leadership 13 position, recognizing how important it is that 14 we recognize the service of judges in this 15 state, who have been lagging for years in 16 terms of any escalation at all in their pay. 17 And the bill that the Chief Judge 18 had constructed also includes a commission, as 19 you all know, that addresses statewide 20 offices, commissioners and the Legislature, 21 and has an automatic COLA in it. 22 I'd like to just read a sentence 23 from the support memo of the League of Women 24 Voters. It says: "Compensation decisions for 25 the three branches of government must stand on

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 their own merit, not linked to other policy or 2 political debates of the day, and must be 3 objective, transparent, and nonpartisan." 4 Now, that really says it all. 5 Senator Smith, when I look at the 6 bill, there are, I believe, 62 Senators on 7 this bill. Sixty-two Senators. All of the 8 members in this chamber Thursday supported the 9 legislation that is on the floor. 10 I would expect that, as sponsors, 11 that we would be passing this unanimously and 12 forwarding it to the Assembly for their 13 appropriate action. And I would also expect 14 that this not be linked to other issues like 15 campaign finance reform or you name whatever 16 other issue anybody wants to support. 17 Thank you very much. League of 18 Women Voters. I want you all to get a copy of 19 this. It says: "Importantly, this 20 legislation would also depoliticize pay raises 21 and prevent any Governor from extorting 22 favored legislation from the Legislature in 23 return for pay raises." 24 Question. Question. Would Senator 25 Smith stand for a question?

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 2 Bruno, are you asking Senator Smith to yield? 3 SENATOR BRUNO: I've got the 4 floor. Why would I ask him to yield? 5 (Laughter.) 6 SENATOR BRUNO: He doesn't have 7 to yield. He hasn't spoken on the bill. 8 Sorry, Mr. President. 9 I'm asking if he would stand for a 10 question. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 12 Smith, would you yield to a question from 13 Senator Bruno? 14 SENATOR SMITH: Yes. 15 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, 16 Senator Smith. You're very, very congenial, 17 and you're very informed, and I would like to 18 ask you one basic, simple question. 19 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, sir. 20 SENATOR BRUNO: Are you going to 21 support the legislation that you have led your 22 conference to sponsor on the floor today? And 23 if not, why not? 24 SENATOR SMITH: No, I am not 25 going to support the bill today, as we have

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 discussed earlier. 2 As many members know, from the day 3 that I was elected the Minority Leader, I was 4 the first one who took a tremendous amount of 5 bullets from all of the press because my first 6 act, my first statement after being elected as 7 Minority Leader was that the members deserve a 8 pay raise. 9 Many people have said that Albany 10 is dysfunctional and until we clean up the 11 members that are here, that they don't deserve 12 to get a pay raise. 13 Well, my argument was Albany -- the 14 members are not dysfunctional. Maybe the 15 process. Maybe the system. Maybe the lack of 16 rules reform that we have asked for, that 17 Senator Paterson asked for, that Marty Connor 18 asked for over the years as leaders -- that 19 needs to be changed. 20 Bringing bills to the floor, 21 bringing bills out of committee, equality of 22 resources, as Senator Bonacic has put a bill 23 forward as well as Senator Griffo talked about 24 resources being equal to everybody. That has 25 always been asked for, and that was something

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 that I agreed with and I still agree with 2 today. Those are the kind of things that make 3 the system that is broken here. 4 Now, I say that all to say that I 5 am absolutely, positively in support of pay 6 raises and equity pay raises for members as 7 well as judges. However, you know and each 8 one of the members know that over the last 9 several years everyone has said to us: You 10 need to make sure you do the proper reforms in 11 Albany so that we, the public, will regain our 12 confidence in our institution. 13 Now, we have probably one of the 14 greatest institutions in this country, the 15 Senate of the State of New York. However, the 16 public has said to us: You know something, 17 Senator Bruno, you know something, Senator 18 Bonacic, you know something, Senator Robach, 19 you know something, Senator Golden? I'm not 20 sure if I have the confidence in what you guys 21 do up in Albany anymore, so what I would like 22 is for you to make some changes. 23 Which we did. We did the ethics 24 bill, which was a sign of reform. We did what 25 people fought about, which was civil

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 confinement, which we did. Which was reform. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 3 DeFrancisco, why do you rise? 4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I just had 5 a question for Senator Smith if he'd respond, 6 please. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 8 DeFrancisco, we're a little off track here. 9 But Senator Bruno really has the floor. He 10 asked Senator Smith to yield for a question, 11 and Senator Smith is now responding. And 12 we're trying to get this thing back into order 13 here. 14 SENATOR BRUNO: I'm almost sorry 15 that I asked. 16 (Laughter.) 17 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, 18 Senator. I appreciate you allowing me to 19 complete my statement. 20 So civil confinement, along with 21 ethics, we did. We reformed. We have a 22 campaign finance bill, along with other 23 priorities, Article 10 siting, public 24 authorities. There are some things that as a 25 conference, as a body, we need to make sure we

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 get done before we tell the public we are 2 interested in satisfying our own personal 3 interests. 4 Now, I'm for pay raises. I believe 5 we deserve that. But I also want to make sure 6 when I go back to my neighborhood I can say, 7 to the people in my district: I've made sure 8 I rebuilt your confidence in our body before I 9 took care of myself. 10 I just believe if we pay ourselves 11 or put a commission in place and tell the 12 public we are more interested in taking care 13 of ourselves as opposed to taking care of 14 making sure their belief in us is rebuilt, I 15 think that is a problem. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 17 Bruno. 18 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, 19 Senator Smith, for that very lengthy and 20 exhaustive explanation. 21 One more question, short question, 22 short answer, if you would indulge me. 23 SENATOR SMITH: Must I guarantee 24 a short answer? 25 SENATOR BRUNO: Yes.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, I do yield 2 to the question. 3 SENATOR BRUNO: And I just will 4 again refer to the League of Women Voters, 5 nonpartisan, objective, bipartisan. They 6 refer to this as an outstanding reform, part 7 of the reforms of the Legislature. 8 What happened from Thursday and 9 Friday when we talked about you and your 10 conference supporting this unanimously and 11 this moment? What happened in your life? 12 SENATOR SMITH: In my life? I 13 lost my last golf round. 14 (Laughter.) 15 SENATOR BRUNO: Why have you, as 16 relates to your position -- something 17 happened -- 18 SENATOR SMITH: Yes. Yes. 19 SENATOR BRUNO: -- from Thursday 20 and Friday when we talked -- 21 SENATOR SMITH: Yes. Yes. 22 SENATOR BRUNO: -- to this 23 moment. What happened? I didn't -- 24 SENATOR SMITH: You didn't let me 25 answer the question.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR BRUNO: -- hear the 2 sounds of a steamroller, but maybe I missed 3 it. 4 (Reaction from the floor.) 5 SENATOR SMITH: What's with the 6 peanut gallery over here? 7 (Laughter.) 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 9 Smith, do you wish to be heard on the bill? 10 SENATOR SMITH: No, I would like 11 to answer the question. I will answer the 12 question. 13 Nothing. You said be short. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 15 Smith, are you asking Senator Bruno to yield? 16 SENATOR SMITH: No, I answered 17 the question. 18 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, 19 Senator Smith, for that very direct answer. 20 Thank you, Mr. President. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 22 DeFrancisco. 23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You know, 24 it's really a shame that this topic is being 25 responded to with levity, because it's a very,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 very serious issue that I've worked on for a 2 long time. 3 And I think the most important part 4 of this bill is that the bill presents a new 5 process on how these decisions are made. It 6 is unseemly for judges to come to the 7 Legislature on bended knee to try to get pay 8 raises and they don't happen for nine or ten 9 years simply because there's other issues that 10 are tied into them. 11 It's the same thing with executive 12 branch members or legislators. Every year 13 it's a political football. What chip are you 14 going to play in the unending poker game of 15 state government? And that is the most 16 ridiculous way to resolve these issues. 17 Last year when Judge Kaye came out 18 with a bill almost identical to this one, you 19 know, it was really a breath of fresh air. 20 Because there's independent commissions in the 21 future making these decisions after the judges 22 get their pay raise this year that they truly 23 deserve. And then forever, there will never 24 be this debate again. As the League of Women 25 Voters said, the issue will be determined on

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 its merits by an independent group. Reform. 2 True reform. And it protects the separation 3 between the governmental units. 4 Now, everyone here has their own 5 points of view on life. But if anyone for one 6 moment believes that nothing happened between 7 Friday, when everyone's name was on this bill, 8 till today, they're either naive or not being 9 honest with themselves. And it's pretty 10 obvious what happened just from the press 11 release from Senator Smith. 12 That's not the way an independent 13 branch of government works. And I know there 14 are many colleagues on the other side of the 15 aisle -- probably most, if not all, would love 16 to stand up and vote for this bill. You know 17 why? Because it's the right thing to do. 18 And speaking for reform that we 19 need before we do reform is amazing. We got 20 to do more reform before we do this reform. 21 Well, ladies and gentlemen, I would 22 urge you that you look at your consciences 23 here, tell, if you're really being honest with 24 yourselves, whether you believe that this is a 25 bill that should be voted for, and vote for

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 the bill so there's a reasonable chance we 2 could get this through the Assembly, who also 3 was in favor of it up till Friday, and nothing 4 happened to them between Friday and now. 5 We need a vote here not only to 6 change the judges' structure of salaries but 7 also to change a process, reform a process. 8 Please take the politics out, which apparently 9 is what everyone wants to have happen, and 10 vote on the merits of this bill. Just like 11 future raises will be voted on by the merits 12 by people looking at objective standards. 13 So I urge all of you to join with 14 us in this bill and support it today. 15 Thank you. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 17 you, Senator DeFrancisco. 18 Senator Diaz. 19 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, 20 Mr. President. 21 When I was a member of the New York 22 City Council, my salary was $90,000 a year. 23 And I was the chairman of the Aging Committee, 24 so I had an extra $10,000. So I used to make 25 $100,000 as a City Council member.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 And I decided to get a cut in 2 salary to come here to the Senate. Because I 3 am not an elected official to make money, I am 4 an elected official to make a statement, to 5 make statements, and to do what I believe and 6 to do what I think is right for the community. 7 So I have an office with four staff 8 members. People say that we are part-time. 9 My staff, my office receives every single day, 10 Senator Bruno, from 25, 30, and 40 11 constituents. My staff come to the work at 12 9 o'clock in the morning, and sometimes at 13 12 midnight they're still in the street, in 14 different meetings. 15 And I'm not ashamed to say that I 16 deserve a raise, because I work for it, 17 full-time. This Saturday I left my home and 18 my wife at 8 o'clock in the morning, and I 19 came home at 11 o'clock at night. I'm a 20 full-time worker. And my community and the 21 people in the 32nd Senatorial District that I 22 represent know me and know that I work, that I 23 am always in my office. 24 So I'm not ashamed to say that I 25 don't care what the -- oh, what is the press

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 going to say? Let the press say whatever they 2 want to say. 3 And I also believe that the judges 4 deserve a salary increase. But I also believe 5 that the Governor, if he wants to have a 6 reform, financial reform on us, he should also 7 have a reform on himself. I just read this 8 week, this week I read in the New York Post 9 that the Governor is asking some people for 10 over a million dollars, and he will -- they 11 will get some access. 12 So a millionaire, the mayor of the 13 city or a millionaire, they could pay for 14 their own campaign. We black and Hispanic 15 minorities, we will not be even able to 16 compete with them in campaigns. 17 So that's the issue. Financial 18 campaign reform has nothing to do with this. 19 I will vote for financial campaign reform when 20 the Governor puts a limit on how much the rich 21 people could put out from their pocket. As 22 long as rich people could put all the money 23 they want, there will be no financial campaign 24 reforms. 25 So, Senator Bruno, I am supporting

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 your bill and I'm voting for that bill. 2 Because I deserve a raise, because I work for 3 it. And my constituents know that I work for 4 it. And not only me, I also want an increase 5 for my staff and for all the staff that work 6 so hard. They deserve also an increase in 7 salary, because they do work and they are 8 there day and night. And nobody cares about 9 the staff members. 10 So I'm telling you, for my staff, 11 all of you Senators here, let's not only get 12 an increase for us, let's also consider our 13 staff members. They deserve an increase in 14 salary too. 15 So, ladies and gentlemen, I'm 16 proud, I'm proud to support this bill. 17 Because I work for it. And that is my job, is 18 my constituents. It has nothing to do with 19 financial reform. 20 So thank you very much. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 22 you, Senator Diaz. 23 Senator Thompson. 24 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes, 25 Mr. President, I rise in opposition to this

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 bill for a couple of quick reasons. 2 One, as a new member of the Senate, 3 I believe that this is the wrong time to link 4 these two very important issues together. 5 The best man at my wedding, who is 6 also one of my best friends, Judge Craig 7 Hannah, who was just elected to City Court in 8 Buffalo -- a very good friend of mine, we've 9 been friends for over 20 years -- would be 10 affected by this bill. And I have a number of 11 friends that would be affected by the bill as 12 judges. 13 I believe that they should be 14 separate and that the commission should be a 15 separate item. They should not be linked 16 together. 17 I also believe that the fact that 18 the City of Buffalo, the workers -- police 19 officers, firefighters, teachers, street and 20 sanitation workers, laborers in the City of 21 Buffalo have not had a raise in five years. 22 You have the Erie County Control Board that's 23 been in existence for about two years. 24 Workers in Western New York are 25 suffering. So I can't in good conscience vote

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 for myself or anyone else a raise at this 2 point when the workers in Western New York 3 have not had a raise in five years. And so I 4 think it would send a terrible message for me, 5 as a lawmaker from Western New York, which is 6 economically suffering from the last 7 twenty-plus years, and vote for a pay raise at 8 this point in time. 9 The other thing I think is 10 important is Albany needs an extreme makeover. 11 Yes, there's been some reforms -- 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 13 Padavan. 14 SENATOR THOMPSON: -- there's 15 been some changes, but I also believe that we 16 need to continue -- 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 18 Thompson, excuse me. 19 Senator Padavan, why do you rise? 20 SENATOR PADAVAN: Yes. Would the 21 Senator yield to a question? 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 23 Thompson, do you yield to Senator Padavan? 24 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes, 25 absolutely.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 2 Senator yields. 3 SENATOR PADAVAN: Senator, with 4 all due respect to the concerns you have, and 5 I'm sure they're valid ones with regard to the 6 workers in Western New York, you made two 7 statements. One, that you could not vote for 8 this bill in good conscience, for it was a 9 bill for a raise for yourself. 10 I correct you in the latter case. 11 It's not a raise for yourself. It's not a 12 raise for anybody. It's establishing a 13 commission. 14 But my question to you is your 15 conscience, which of course is important to 16 you and important to everybody -- 17 SENATOR THOMPSON: Absolutely. 18 SENATOR PADAVAN: -- why did your 19 conscience allow you to be a sponsor of this 20 bill? 21 SENATOR THOMPSON: Sir, as you 22 may know, we get information on a regular 23 basis. And when I found out the exact content 24 of the bill, I was in complete opposition. 25 And I've been extremely upset. No

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 reporter called me. I know that the reporters 2 in Western New York called a number of the 3 members of the Western New York Senate 4 delegation. And if I would have received a 5 call over this weekend, I would clearly have 6 told them that I was in opposition to this 7 bill. 8 I have a bill in the Senate right 9 now to lift the wage freeze for the City of 10 Buffalo if they meet certain criteria. If you 11 help to lift the wage freeze for the City of 12 Buffalo, I would gladly support a pay raise. 13 But I cannot, with -- firefighters, 14 police officers, teachers, street sanitation 15 workers, people who fill the potholes have not 16 received a pay raise in five years. How can I 17 in good conscience support this when these 18 same people from AFSCME, CSEA, the police 19 officers, Local 282 firefighters -- they 20 supported me, and they sent me here for one 21 thing, to make sure that we lift the wage 22 freeze. And we have not done that. And I 23 don't support this bill. 24 Thank you. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 DeFrancisco, why do you rise? 2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I request 3 that he yield for a question. 4 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes, sir. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 6 Thompson yields. 7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: So is it 8 true that you're saying before giving your 9 name as a sponsor to this bill, you didn't 10 read it? 11 SENATOR THOMPSON: What I am 12 saying to you, sir -- 13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It's 14 simple. 15 SENATOR THOMPSON: Excuse me? 16 Repeat your question. 17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Are you 18 saying -- it's a very simple question -- that 19 before you agreed to cosponsor this bill you 20 did not read it? 21 SENATOR THOMPSON: I did not 22 receive the information. 23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You did not 24 read it. 25 SENATOR THOMPSON: I did not

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 receive the information. 2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Okay. One 3 other question. Would he yield? 4 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 5 DeFrancisco asks you to yield, Senator 6 Thompson. 7 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 9 Thompson yields. 10 SENATOR THOMPSON: I had a budget 11 memo, like many other people receive a budget 12 when you're asked to sponsor any bill. Did I 13 receive the complete bill? No, I did not. 14 But when I -- if you send me a bill 15 and say "Senator Thompson, would you support a 16 bill," I get a budget memo. And if I believe 17 with the majority of the context of the budget 18 memo, generally I will support the bill. 19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would you 20 yield to another question? 21 SENATOR THOMPSON: Sure. 22 Certainly. 23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator 24 Thompson, are you saying that you were 25 expecting a budget bill after the budget is

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 done? 2 SENATOR THOMPSON: Excuse me? 3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Are you 4 suggesting you were waiting for the budget 5 bill after the budget has been passed? 6 SENATOR THOMPSON: No, I didn't 7 say that. 8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: One other 9 question. Would you yield? 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Will 11 the Senator yield? 12 SENATOR THOMPSON: Sure. 13 Certainly. 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You had 15 indicated that this bill should be separated 16 from the judges; correct? 17 SENATOR THOMPSON: I said the 18 commission on salaries for legislators should 19 be separated from the judicial pay raises. 20 Yes, I did say that. 21 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would you 22 yield to another question? 23 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes, sir. 24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would you 25 tell me whether or not, if they were

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 separated, you would vote for a judicial pay 2 raise? 3 SENATOR THOMPSON: Depending on 4 whether or not the issue with the -- the other 5 control board issue is resolved. 6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The issue 7 with Buffalo? 8 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes. Which 9 has been clocked in with the clerk, which has 10 not been afforded the go-to out of committee 11 yet. 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you. 13 SENATOR THOMPSON: Thank you. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 15 Saland. 16 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, 17 Mr. President. 18 Mr. President, in looking at this 19 bill, I just wanted to make sure I counted the 20 number of names on the bill. There were some 21 62 names on the bill, one for each member of 22 this chamber. And the bill is dated 23 April 25th. And that bill, as has been 24 pointed out, was seemingly embraced fully by 25 every member of this chamber. And something

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 between the time every member of this chamber 2 agreed to be a sponsor and this moment in time 3 that places us in this chamber happened. 4 And I think we all have an idea of 5 what it was that happened. And I'm sure 6 there's a significant amount of pain being 7 experienced by some of my colleagues who saw 8 fit to put their name on this bill and have 9 now seen fit to take their name, in effect, 10 off the bill by voting against the very bill 11 that they had agreed to sponsor. 12 I can understand the need at times 13 to work with the Governor of your own party. 14 But I can also understand, every bit more 15 importantly, the importance to assert your 16 independence as a legislative body. And we 17 have had these battles on more than one 18 coalition with the prior Governor, who was of 19 the party of this Majority. 20 And I found interesting and 21 commented during the course of the debate that 22 we had on the Governor's healthcare proposal 23 how the very same proposal, virtually the same 24 proposal, had been with virtual unanimity 25 rejected by our friends on the other side of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 the aisle. And yet the fact that this 2 Governor had made it very important that there 3 be compliance with his wishes, that that 4 somehow or other created certainly, if not an 5 intellectual metamorphosis, what I will call 6 politely a political metamorphosis. 7 The last time I checked, and it's 8 been a long time since I've dusted off my 9 history books as a former history major, we 10 rejected the monarchy, I think, in 1776. And 11 General George Washington was offered the 12 monarchy, and he declined the monarchy simply 13 because he didn't think that that was the 14 appropriate thing for this nation to embrace. 15 And it would be a sad commentary 16 when one got up in the morning, looked in the 17 mirror, the Executive of this state spoke to 18 himself in the mirror, made all the decisions 19 in the mirror, and then decided that we would 20 all march forward in lockstep, much as we 21 would were we mindless, willy-nilly little 22 puppets on the strings of a marionette master. 23 So the issue really transcends this 24 particular bill, because nobody who's a member 25 of this Legislature is getting a raise

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 pursuant to this bill. This bill establishes 2 a process, in conjunction with what very 3 importantly is a process sought by the Chief 4 Judge of the Court of Appeals. 5 And it may well be that come 2009, 6 some of us will not be here. Some of it may 7 be because we failed the electorate test. 8 Some of it may be because we've decided to go 9 other places. 10 So it's a sham to say that this is 11 about the issue of you must have more reform 12 because this isn't reform enough to get there. 13 Let us face the stark reality and acknowledge 14 there are some very sore arms. 15 I noticed when the Minority Leader 16 was speaking, he was using his right arm only, 17 with his left arm in his pocket. I was 18 fearful that his left arm was broken. I 19 really wasn't quite sure. But I later saw him 20 withdraw it from his pocket, so I assumed that 21 in fact there was no gross physical injury to 22 whatever transpired to create this enormous 23 metamorphosis. 24 I think, ladies and gentlemen, it 25 really is a matter of pride as a member of the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Legislature -- notwithstanding the issue that 2 may be contained in this particular measure, 3 all the merits that it may offer us -- I think 4 it's a matter of pride of an independent 5 Legislature that we refuse to be bullied that 6 requires us to vote in favor of this bill. 7 Thank you, Mr. President. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 9 you, Senator Saland. 10 Are there any other Senators 11 wishing to be heard? 12 The debate is closed. 13 The Secretary will ring the bell. 14 Senator Bruno. 15 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 16 can we at this time read the last section and 17 then start calling the roll? Because there 18 may be members that want to explain their 19 vote, and it will give us a chance to get the 20 other members to the chamber. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 22 you, Senator Bruno. 23 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 25 the last section.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 9. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll.) 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 7 Diaz, to explain his vote. 8 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, sir. 9 I'm voting yes -- 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Excuse 11 me, Senator. Would you suffer an 12 interruption? 13 Would the negative votes please 14 kindly keep your hands raise raised so that we 15 can get an accurate count. Thank you. 16 Senator Diaz, sorry. 17 SENATOR DIAZ: Yes, I'm voting 18 yes on this bill. 19 And I also would like to remind my 20 colleagues that it isn't fair to subject the 21 judges to any more because of this game that 22 we're playing here. I mean, the judges in the 23 county of the Bronx work very hard, they are 24 hard-working people who work real hard. I 25 think that that's a county, as in Manhattan

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 and Brooklyn, that judges are so busy, they 2 are so busy in those counties that they 3 deserve those increases. 4 And I think that we should vote yes 5 and give them those increases. And if any 6 legislator here feels ashamed because they 7 don't deserve it because they're not in their 8 office and don't work and the committee never 9 see them, that's their problem. But we have 10 nothing to feel ashamed of. And the judges 11 are waiting for us to move on this today. 12 Thank you, sir. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 14 Diaz is voting in the affirmative. 15 Senator Connor. 16 SENATOR CONNOR: Thank you, 17 Mr. President. 18 I feel, in my 30th session, 19 obligated to explain my vote. Although 20 frankly, to me, it's inexplicable. This is 21 the fourth time I'm voting no on a bill I 22 think is a good one and I cosponsored. 23 And I can't quite explain it. I 24 look around and think maybe my boyhood dream 25 has come true. When I was ten, I wanted to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 run away and join the circus. 2 (Laughter.) 3 SENATOR CONNOR: And be that as 4 it may, I vote no. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 6 Connor will be recorded in the negative. 7 Senator Larkin. 8 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, 9 Mr. President. 10 I'm shocked as I look to my left 11 today. I had a bill that was sent to me on 12 Thursday, and it said all of my colleagues 13 were going to respond positively to all of the 14 judges' requirements. I called judges that 15 had called me, and I said: Colleagues on the 16 left and the right got together and said 17 you'll have a pay raise, you'll do this, 18 you'll do that. 19 And then today I got this notice 20 from Senator Smith that, well, all wasn't 21 cozy. They were not going to sign on with the 22 GOP. 23 Now, you know what I was thinking 24 about? If I was a grammar school teacher, I 25 would wonder what I'm going to tell the kids

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 today. On Wednesday, we're all together. On 2 Monday, somebody gave us a lollipop and we 3 were going to suck on the lollipop and be 4 very, very nice. And that was our reward for 5 reneging on our promise to those who have been 6 communicating to us for over a year. 7 I think that this is crazy. I 8 spent 23 years of my life in the military. 9 And those who have been associated with it, 10 including our leader, always knew that an 11 officer's word was his bond. 12 Every one of you took an oath of 13 office, and what you said when you went on 14 that bill last week was that I will uphold my 15 responsibilities and I will commit to do A, B, 16 C. 17 And then this morning it was dark 18 out, it was raining a little bit. And what 19 did we find out? You can't be trusted. And 20 if I offend you, that's your problem, not 21 mine. But you said on Wednesday I will be a 22 sponsor and I agree with A, B, C, D, all of 23 it. 24 And, Senator Thompson, when you 25 said you didn't know it was a pay bill and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 that your people haven't had a raise in five 2 years? We've had one raise in 19. You ought 3 to have somebody check it for you. 4 I think this is a shame. You might 5 think it's easy, you might -- I didn't 6 interrupt you, Senator Smith. I don't think 7 it's courtesy to interrupt my by talking to 8 the Majority Leader at this time. 9 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, sir. 10 SENATOR LARKIN: I just think 11 that what we're saying here is that we can't 12 be trusted, we have no self-respect, I will do 13 whatever the Governor tells me to do. 14 I remember just last year this side 15 of the aisle would say: "Oh, you're doing it 16 for Pataki." You have no idea how many times 17 we whacked what Governor Pataki wanted because 18 it wasn't in the best interests of the people 19 of the State of New York. 20 I'm sick and tired of getting 21 letters from judges and judges telling me you 22 don't understand the cost of living, this, 23 this, this. Well, you just had a chance. If 24 it ever comes up again, I don't know if I'll 25 vote for it.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 But I'm going to tell every judge 2 back home that the League of Women Voters said 3 this is a good bill, it resolves the issues 4 that we've dealt with. And when they say 5 something, what happened, I'm going to tell 6 them to call the Minority Leader or to call 7 the Governor. 8 Because someone on Wednesday was a 9 trusted friend of the people of the State of 10 New York, and on Monday there's a question 11 about who can be trusted. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 13 Larkin will be recorded in the affirmative. 14 SENATOR LARKIN: Yes, sir. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 16 Skelos. 17 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. 19 I'm going to support this 20 legislation. And I want to thank the sponsor, 21 Senator DeFrancisco, the chairman of 22 Judiciary, who has worked with Chief Judge 23 Kaye really for months, if not more, to bring 24 this legislation that has been recommended by 25 the Chief Judge of the State of New York, to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 bring it to the floor for a vote. 2 And I want to thank Senator Bruno 3 also. Because we talk about reform, and this 4 legislation is probably one of the most 5 important reform measures that we can bring to 6 the floor because, number one, it truly makes 7 our judiciary independent. We take the 8 judiciary and the money that they make out of 9 our politics up here that exists from time to 10 time -- this takes it out of our politics and 11 makes them truly independent. 12 And as was mentioned by Senator 13 Bruno, Senator DeFrancisco, Senator Saland, 14 this is not an automatic pay raise for the 15 Legislature. This is a bipartisan, 16 independent commission that will make 17 recommendations -- yes, about the Legislature, 18 but also in terms of the entire legislative 19 branch. 20 Now, my colleagues in the Minority 21 all signed on to this bill. My guess is by 22 voting no, they want to go back to the old 23 way: Voting after an election -- when the 24 people have reelected them and they've gone 25 out and said "I'll never support a pay raise,"

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 that they'll vote for it after an election. 2 The old way. 3 This is a great reform measure, an 4 incredibly important reform measure. But 5 right now, from my good friends on the other 6 side of the aisle, I just see hypocrisy. And 7 unfortunately, there is an awful lot of 8 hypocrisy right now in Albany. 9 You know, we have a Governor who's 10 talking about campaign finance reform. And I 11 have invites here for a million dollars: 12 Bundle your money, give it to me. A million 13 dollars so I can go to a barbecue, so I can go 14 to a holiday party with his family. And on 15 and on, depending on the amount. Absolute 16 hypocrisy. 17 And then we have the budget 18 process, where our good friends on the other 19 side of the aisle said -- and over the years, 20 it's different members; they're not here right 21 now, Senator Krueger -- "I will never vote for 22 a message of necessity, it's the wrong way to 23 go." 24 And many of my colleagues here on 25 the other side of the aisle signed a petition

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 by the Citizens Action Committee, I think it 2 is, that they will not support messages of 3 necessity. 4 What did they do during the budget 5 process? The Governor said, "You're going to 6 support my message of necessity." They did. 7 They voted for his draconian cuts to our 8 healthcare system. 9 And then when the Senate saved them 10 from themselves and protected our nursing 11 homes and our hospitals so that we can get 12 quality care, what did they do? They voted 13 for it. And I guarantee you press releases 14 went out how they saved the hospitals and the 15 nursing homes. 16 And they voted against school aid 17 increases throughout the state. And what did 18 they do? I'm sure put out press releases, 19 when the Senate Majority corrected the 20 inequities of the Governor, and said we were 21 there, we did it. 22 So I would hope -- because there's 23 still time to change your vote. Be 24 independent. Don't be mice. Be independent. 25 Vote your conscience because you know it's the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 right thing to do. You know it's the right 2 thing to do to support this commission. So 3 please. We have a little bit more time. 4 Please, reach inside of you, find your 5 conscience, find your pride, do the right 6 thing. Be reformers and support this 7 legislation. 8 Mr. President, I'm going to vote 9 aye on this legislation. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 11 Skelos will be recorded in the affirmative. 12 Senator Parker. 13 SENATOR PARKER: To explain my 14 vote. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 16 Parker, to explain his vote. 17 SENATOR PARKER: First, 18 Mr. President, let me thank Senator Skelos for 19 his great revisionist history. And it's nice 20 to have a perspective on history and what has 21 happened here. 22 The reality is that we're in the 23 business of government, where the process is 24 as important as the outcome. It is not 25 simply -- the ends don't necessarily always

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 justify the means. And so it's important that 2 when we do things, that we look at how we're 3 doing things. 4 The reality is this conference has 5 been at the forefront of reform for at least 6 the four years that I've been here, for at 7 least that time. And all the things that 8 we're doing now that we have been partnering 9 with the Governor on doing, they're finally 10 coming to the fore because we finally have 11 another partner in government who understands 12 how important reform is. 13 And, frankly, because you lost some 14 seats based on the fact that your conference 15 did not understand what reform was. And 16 because, when you went to Nassau and tried to 17 fight Craig Johnson, who was a real candidate 18 for reform, why he's a member of the Senate 19 and your candidate wasn't. 20 The reality is we have been here on 21 these issues year after year after year. And 22 when it came to campaign finance reform, we 23 were there. When we talked about how we 24 reformed the rules in this body. When we 25 talked about how you in fact need to look at

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 lobbyists and the influence that lobbyists 2 have on this body and the government, we were 3 there. 4 And go check the record. You can 5 check newspaper records, you can check bills, 6 you can look at our petitions to discharge 7 bills out of this actual body that your 8 conference voted against. 9 And this is another example when 10 we're saying put the process first. There are 11 people -- our constituents do not trust us. 12 Why? Because year after year after year, bad 13 process and bad bills have come out of this 14 Legislature. 15 This is an opportunity for us to do 16 what we need to do which is right. And not 17 that this is a bad bill. This is a very, very 18 good bill, and nobody in this body is saying 19 it's not. We're simply saying that the 20 process is important. It's important to show 21 people that before we took care of some of the 22 intricate matters, that we took care of the 23 broad scope of campaign finance. 24 I am amazed that nobody in here is 25 appalled by soft money and what effect soft

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 money has on our elections. I'm appalled that 2 nobody here really is scared to limit their 3 contributions so that we don't have the 4 largest contribution limits in the entire 5 country. 6 It's absolutely ridiculous how much 7 money we spend on campaigns. I frankly would 8 like to spend less time raising money and more 9 time servicing my constituents. Now, that may 10 not be the case for everybody here; let me 11 speak for myself. And so if you want to go 12 around and spend your time raising money 13 instead of bringing back healthcare and 14 education and housing, then you should do 15 that. 16 But I for one want to vote for real 17 reform and have an opportunity to bring a 18 campaign finance bill that's going to have a 19 significant impact on making sure that this 20 government has integrity. That's with an "I", 21 gentlemen and ladies. Integrity. We need to 22 bring that back to this body. 23 And really, by bringing that 24 campaign finance bill to this floor and having 25 an opportunity to vote on that, we're going to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 do this. 2 And this bill can always be done. 3 This bill can always be done. I mean, we 4 have, you know, eight weeks left after this 5 week to take care of this. So let's table 6 this now, because being that we have time, we 7 have time to table this right now. Bring the 8 campaign finance bill to the floor. We'll 9 vote on it, pass it, and then we'll pass this 10 bill. In fact, we can do it in the same 11 calendar. And I'm sure if this number came 12 before that number, we'd vote for that and 13 then we'd vote for this. 14 So I applaud your efforts to become 15 reformers. Welcome aboard. And now let's 16 drive on to the future and reform this 17 Legislature the way we need to. 18 I'll be voting in the negative. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 20 Parker in the negative. 21 Senator Alesi. 22 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, 23 Mr. President. This couldn't be a more timely 24 opportunity for me to speak on this bill and 25 explain my vote.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Parker just said when it 2 was time for this thing, they were there. 3 When it was time for that thing, they were 4 there. When it was time for this thing, they 5 were there. When it was time for that thing, 6 they were there. When it was time to sponsor 7 the bill, they were there. When it was time 8 to vote for the bill, they're on the second 9 floor. 10 (Laughter.) 11 SENATOR ALESI: I know I am, 12 Mr. President and my colleagues. I would just 13 like the record to show that I voted yes 14 before I voted yes. 15 (Laughter.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 17 Alesi will be recorded in the affirmative. 18 Senator Thompson, to explain his 19 vote. 20 SENATOR THOMPSON: Let me just 21 say, Mr. President, I think you have done a 22 very good job of trying to keep this meeting 23 moving along. 24 But one of the things I think is 25 also important to note is that there are other

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 things beyond this bill that still need to be 2 changed as well. 3 And so when we talk about looking 4 at groups like the League of Women Voters, 5 they put out an annual legislative guide. And 6 I would just say that the folks across the 7 aisle, as you think about holding up their 8 banner on this issue, why don't we also take a 9 careful and critical look at some of the other 10 issues that they have put forward for many 11 years. 12 And I think that that's something, 13 as we talk about being progressives, we talk 14 about being for reform, I think we ought to 15 take a look at that as well. 16 I am opposed to this bill until we 17 separate them. I do believe -- even though it 18 would be a difficult vote, Senator 19 DeFrancisco, given the fact that we do have a 20 control board in the City of Buffalo and the 21 County of Erie. But I could, under the right 22 circumstances, could see supporting the 23 judicial pay raises. 24 But I cannot support, at this point 25 in time, voting for that commission. I will

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 not do that under any situation right now. 2 Thank you. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 4 Thompson will be recorded in the negative. 5 Senator Serrano. 6 SENATOR SERRANO: Thank you, 7 Mr. President. 8 I usually don't speak very often on 9 the floor, and all of my colleagues know that. 10 But even I am taken aback at the level of 11 sarcasm that we're hearing from the other 12 side. We're supposed to be adults here and 13 have graduated, I hope, to a level of civility 14 in which we can have a discussion and a 15 disagreement, even, without this level of 16 sarcasm. 17 But I think we should be very 18 clear -- and I want to be very clear -- that, 19 Senator DeFrancisco, I think that this is a 20 good bill. But things have changed in that we 21 have now an opportunity to put forth 22 additional reforms. 23 And this is what the voters have 24 asked for. The voters have said, time and 25 time again, that there are certain items of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 reform that need to happen before we move 2 forward with anything else, especially 3 something like pay raises, which I support. 4 So reform first. And I think the 5 Governor is right. And I think for a reformer 6 like myself, having this Governor is in many 7 ways a dream come true, because he's 8 championing the issues that we all care about. 9 So I think that this is really not 10 a level of hypocrisy, but just us taking 11 advantage of an opportunity. And we should 12 always take advantage of an opportunity to put 13 forward additional reform, because the people 14 of New York State have said that they do not 15 believe in this legislative body anymore. And 16 I for one care about the work that I do. And 17 reform first doesn't just help us, it helps 18 all of us on both sides of the aisle. 19 So I would hope that, before we 20 start calling names and engaging in 21 finger-pointing, that we think about the 22 motives behind this and the motives of reform 23 first. 24 Thank you. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Serrano, how do you vote? 2 SENATOR SERRANO: No. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 4 Serrano will be recorded in the negative. 5 Senator Volker, to explain his 6 vote. 7 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President, I 8 usually don't speak on what amounts to a -- 9 this is a very political issue here. 10 (Laughter.) 11 SENATOR VOLKER: But I have to 12 say, Senator Parker, I heard the New York 13 Times talk about campaign financing in this 14 state. It's all nonsense. I mean, there are 15 some states don't have any campaign finance 16 laws. We don't have the worst campaign -- 17 that's nonsense. It's always been nonsense. 18 In fact, one of the interesting 19 issues about that is it's a question of why 20 certain people are not in the bill, certain 21 groups, while others are. That's the 22 McCain-Feingold problem, and why it's going to 23 probably be thrown out. Because certain 24 groups are included in the -- by the way, 25 they're conservative groups. The liberal

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 groups are left out there. Isn't that 2 interesting? But that's beside the point. 3 This probably, by itself -- forget 4 all the other collateral stuff -- is the most 5 important reform we will do this year. And we 6 will do it. It will be done before this year 7 is out, I firmly believe. 8 Why? Because for one thing, this 9 Legislature has been caught between judicial 10 hypocrisy and gubernatorial hypocrisy. And 11 I'm not talking about this Governor. I'm 12 talking about the nonsense that's been 13 happening to us in the courts, where our power 14 has been dramatically lessened with case after 15 case that the Court of Appeals has heard. We 16 can't forget that. I can't forget it. 17 And I resent the fact that the 18 media had gone along with that. I know they 19 don't particularly like us. This is a 20 democracy; that's the problem. They would 21 prefer some sort of a monarchy, it seems like. 22 And I'm the first one to say that. 23 But I want to tell you something. 24 It isn't just the legislative part of this, it 25 is the judicial part of this. The judiciary,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 despite the fact they haven't acted very 2 well -- and I think we know that, and 3 especially downstate. Even upstate, some 4 judges have done some dumb things, and we know 5 that. 6 They're right, though. They're 7 right that if we're going to have an 8 independent judiciary, we need to move on. 9 And we need to pay them properly. And in the 10 future, we should have a mechanism so this 11 situation doesn't happen again. 12 That's the real issue here. I 13 mean, from my perspective, it's the right 14 thing to do. And one of the problems with 15 this Senate -- and I like to think the Senate 16 Majority, but normally both sides -- we've 17 always had a tendency to do the right thing, 18 even though it sometimes is politically not 19 the best thing to do. 20 I don't know how many times I've 21 heard people say to me "Why is it we always 22 have to be the ones to do the right thing?" 23 The answer is, it's our destiny to do it. And 24 you eventually, all of you, I believe, you 25 will vote the right way. Maybe not today, but

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 in the future you will. Because it is the 2 right thing to do, it is reform, and it should 3 be done. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: How do 5 you vote, Senator Volker? 6 SENATOR VOLKER: I vote aye. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 8 Volker will be recorded in the affirmative. 9 Senator Marcellino, to explain his 10 vote. 11 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 12 Mr. President. 13 I hadn't intended to speak on the 14 issue. I was going to vote aye, and I will 15 vote aye. But what I'm hearing is kind of a 16 change in comment here. I'm hearing a call 17 for reform, yet it isn't a problem that the 18 Legislature can be blackmailed into voting the 19 way a Governor, regardless of what party, 20 wishes. 21 We're supposed to be an independent 22 body here. We're supposed to be independent, 23 think for ourselves and not be held hostage by 24 the executive branch for any reason, pay 25 raises or otherwise.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 This is just the first time. Every 2 issue has become linked. Threats, ultimatums. 3 Don't vote for my bill by 3 o'clock? If you 4 don't agree with me, I'll go into your 5 districts and campaign against you. 6 Well, the Governor went down to my 7 district. I'm up here legislating; 200 miles 8 away in my district, he's down attacking me 9 for not supporting legislation that he's 10 pushing for finance reform. While he's 11 sending out notices for million-dollar 12 fundraisers, which do the opposite things of 13 what he's saying. Talk about hypocrisy. 14 I don't understand this. If we're 15 supposed to do something independent, if we're 16 supposed to be a Legislature, then let's act 17 like one. When George Pataki did something we 18 thought was wrong, this side of the aisle 19 voted to override his vetoes in the budget 20 process. We were joined by our colleagues. 21 Mr. Spitzer, Governor Spitzer is 22 doing something wrong. He wants to hold your 23 vote hostage. He wants to try to roll you 24 every time you disagree with him. That's 25 wrong. If he disagrees and he wants to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 campaign, fine. But that shouldn't buy your 2 vote. That shouldn't hold up your vote. Your 3 vote should be on behalf of the people of your 4 district, on behalf of the people of this 5 state. And that should be the only issue in 6 your mind when you are voting, not whether or 7 not you're going to get a pay raise. 8 When we negotiate and when we work 9 together, we get budget reform, we get ethics 10 reform, we did the bill on loans, the loan 11 scam that the Attorney General pointed out. 12 We can do all these good things when we work 13 together in an appropriate manner, showing 14 respect for all sides. 15 Not when you're being held up, not 16 with a gun to your head, not by being 17 blackmailed. This isn't the way to govern. 18 This is not the way to govern. 19 And, you know, when you give your 20 word, you should keep it. Sixty-two names are 21 on this bill. There should be 62 votes aye. 22 I vote aye. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 24 Marcellino will be recorded in the 25 affirmative.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Senator DeFrancisco, to close. 2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I attended 3 the Law Day ceremonies today at the Court of 4 Appeals. And one of the main things that 5 Judge Kaye talked about was a pay raise and 6 also the process that's in effect now is 7 totally dysfunctional and is something that 8 has to be changed. 9 And an earlier speaker indicated 10 that process is important. Well, if this bill 11 doesn't go through the Senate and the 12 Assembly, then the process will continue to be 13 the dysfunctional process, as labeled by me 14 and the chief judge and I think everybody in 15 this chamber. 16 So process is what this bill is all 17 about. It's about a pay raise for judges and 18 process from this point forward for everyone 19 else. To make it clear, the Legislature 20 cannot possibly get a pay raise until 21 January 1 of 2009, and that's only if an 22 independent commission recommends it. 23 So the point I'm trying to make is 24 that this is a true reform, recognized by 25 recognized by many as a true reform. And to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 suggest for a moment that we have to wait for 2 other reforms where there's no agreement -- 3 when you've got one that works that everyone 4 agrees to right here and now, ready to go -- I 5 think is a big mistake. 6 Secondly, unlike one of the prior 7 speakers, I don't think it's going to get done 8 this year. If this bill doesn't get done, I 9 don't see it happening. I don't see this 10 process changing this year, and I don't see 11 the process changing next year. And I've been 12 involved in this legislation from Judge Kaye 13 for a couple of years now. I don't see it 14 happening. 15 So if that's the way the process is 16 going to go, I want to be recorded yes for 17 reform today. And hopefully the Assembly will 18 see that this is a good bill and pass it and 19 get on with it and get on with other issues 20 that are as important to this Legislature. 21 I vote aye. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 23 you, Senator DeFrancisco. 24 Senator Duane. 25 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President. With apologies to Senator 2 DeFrancisco. I'm afraid that my desire to 3 speak wasn't noticed. 4 But I don't want to miss the 5 opportunity, because I do -- I have a 6 confession to make. The fact is, I changed my 7 mind. I changed my mind. 8 If Governor Spitzer thinks that he 9 can put real campaign finance reform on the 10 table and get it accomplished at the same 11 time, you know what? I'm going to give him 12 the benefit of the doubt. If he thinks he can 13 bring the five leaders or six leaders 14 together, you know what? I'm willing to give 15 him a little bit more time. I'm going to give 16 him the benefit of the doubt. 17 I mean, there are things that I 18 want to see happen. The most important thing 19 to me, and I know not everybody agrees with 20 this, is to try to replicate what the City of 21 New York did with their campaign finance 22 reform and put public funding in. It's very, 23 very important to me. I think that that would 24 be very helpful. 25 I know there are people around the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 state that don't necessarily agree with that, 2 that don't want public dollars used for that. 3 But I think it's a very good use of public 4 dollars. We disagree all the time on how 5 public dollars should be spent. 6 I don't like tying, you know, 7 something to something else. I didn't like it 8 last semester when we were going to tie civil 9 confinement to pay raises, and we ended up 10 with what I think is bad civil confinement 11 policy. We didn't get pay raises anyway. 12 That's Albany. I've had nine fun, 13 dysfunctional years here in Albany of tying 14 things together. Every couple of years I vote 15 on extending the Loft Laws and Quick Draw at 16 the same time. It doesn't make any sense to 17 me at all, but that's the choice that I'm 18 provided with when it's time for me to vote. 19 You know, the other thing I've 20 realized here is that nothing is ever really 21 over. Right? Two things happen. You wait a 22 long time for everything, and it's never 23 really over. Rockefeller Drug laws, I waited. 24 We just did a teeny, tiny bit; it's not over. 25 There's more to do. Death penalty is not even

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 over yet. DNA, gay rights, on and on and on. 2 You wait, then you get a little 3 bit; you wait, you get a little bit. Even 4 mental health parity is not completely done. 5 Something was done, but it's not all done. 6 Nothing is ever over in Albany. Nothing is 7 ever, ever finished. Maybe that's the way 8 government is supposed to be. Maybe the 9 job -- or probably the job is never done. 10 So, you know, it's quite possible 11 that my vote today is going to put me in 12 purgatory for a little extra time. But it's 13 possible by the end of this year that my time 14 in purgatory will actually be decreased. I'm 15 going to vote no, Mr. President, and hope that 16 I will be redeemed sooner rather than later. 17 Thank you. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 19 Duane will be recorded in the negative. 20 Are there any other Senators that 21 wish to be explain their vote? 22 Senator O. Johnson. 23 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Mr. 24 President, this demonstration in fabricating 25 excuses really hurts me personally to see it

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 take place, to see the demeaning of this side 2 of the aisle by nothing, emanating from the 3 second floor, which has turned their votes 4 around. 5 This bill has been on the floor for 6 a year and a half, under consideration. 7 Everyone knows it's the right thing to do. 8 But because someone wants to exercise his 9 power to take away the power of some of the 10 legislators to exercise their independent 11 judgment on behalf of the state, on behalf of 12 their constituents -- and having it turn 13 around is tragic. It's demeaning. I can't 14 say any more. 15 That we are three separate bodies, 16 and we should function as a separate body and 17 use our own best judgment for our 18 constituency. We shouldn't be bullied by 19 anyone. And it's tragic that this happened 20 today. To sit here and witness this and 21 listen to this hurts me and really hurts 22 democracy in this state. 23 I vote aye. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 25 Johnson will be recorded in the affirmative.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Smith. 2 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, thank you 3 very much, Mr. President. 4 And let me thank all my colleagues 5 on both sides of the aisle for expressing in a 6 very open way their feelings about an issue 7 that, as Senator Duane said, I don't believe 8 is dead. It's not over. 9 But more importantly, I don't know 10 if the fact that we have the right to change 11 our mind, just like anyone over on the other 12 side of the aisle has the right to change 13 their mind -- I don't think you should hold or 14 condemn anyone to that fact. I think that's 15 just a right that we have as legislators. 16 Whether we changed our mind because 17 we had additional negotiations or because 18 things change -- that happens. That happens. 19 What I think is more important, what we should 20 be talking about and hopefully we will do this 21 after, is how do we get there. 22 There is not a person in this room 23 that at some point in time has not changed 24 your mind. And I don't think you should be 25 vilified for doing so. Yes, you may have a

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 difference of opinion. Yes, you may feel as 2 though, because we don't agree, that you have 3 that right to justify what you say about us. 4 But the bottom line is, you know, 5 don't take it this personal. You should not 6 take it this personal. The judges will get 7 their raises at some point. The legislative 8 commission will come to fruition. 9 We want to make sure that campaign 10 finance reform, which was under discussion up 11 until the end of last week -- which was at the 12 time we went on the bill, prior to that 13 discussion ending. And so it stopped, and so 14 we stopped. But I don't think you should take 15 it that personal. 16 Don't take it that personal. Every 17 single member here on this side of the aisle 18 is just as bright, is just as smart as the 19 members on that side of the aisle. Each one 20 these members have their own right and 21 capability of doing what they think is right. 22 You want to throw the Governor in the mix and 23 say the Governor made us do this, the Governor 24 made us to do that. I mean, we can say that 25 Pataki made you do this, Pataki made you do

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 that, you were impetus as well. I mean, that 2 gets us nowhere. 3 All I'm saying to you is Senator 4 Bruno and I continuously have very good 5 dialogues. Do we agree? No. Do Shelly and I 6 agree all the time? No. Do the Governor and 7 I agree all the time? No. 8 (Reaction from the floor.) 9 SENATOR SMITH: But the bottom 10 line is -- the bottom line is -- the bottom 11 line is -- and that's okay. You can laugh at 12 Malcolm. Fine, Malcolm's in the middle. But 13 you know what? It's what happens at the end. 14 It's what happens at the end. 15 And I will tell you as I stand 16 here, and Joe and I will get through this. 17 You may not get there with us, but Joe and I 18 will get through this. And what will happen 19 at the end of the day is you will come back 20 and say: Joe, you know what? This is a 21 better deal. You know why? Because, Joe, I'm 22 going to protect some of the members in 23 upstate New York that have some challenges 24 like Senator Volker. They just chastised him 25 in the papers. They may chastise Senator

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Robach, they may chastise some of the other 2 members. All I'm saying to you is, as a body 3 we can get there together. And as a body we 4 will get there together. 5 I'm going to be voting no, not 6 because I don't think it's the right bill -- 7 DeFrancisco, you did a great job on the bill. 8 A lot of effort. And I'm saying to you, at 9 the end of the day, before we leave here, we 10 should all be in the right place together once 11 we complete the campaign finance reform bill, 12 which all of us know is important to the 13 people of our districts. 14 So I'm voting no. I'm sorry that 15 many of you feel so personal about it. I 16 didn't take this personal. I don't take the 17 criticism personal. That's the price of 18 leadership. That's what you are over here, 19 you've got 29 leaders over here. We're 20 prepared to accept the criticism. But we know 21 at the end of the day we will get it done. 22 Thank you. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 24 Smith will be recorded in the negative. 25 Senator Bruno.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, I 2 hope I stand to really close the discussion 3 and the debate. 4 And by way of my vote, I'm going to 5 vote in favor, of course. 6 But I want to just share how 7 disappointing what is happening in this 8 chamber this afternoon is to me personally. 9 And it ought to be to you, too. It ought to 10 be to you, too. 11 Because, Senator Smith, in all due 12 respect to you and to your colleagues, how do 13 we govern? How do we govern? When we shake 14 hands and we make an agreement with you, with 15 the Speaker, to move a bill and then -- yes, 16 you have a right to change your minds. Yes, 17 you do, Senator. Anybody does. 18 But you don't, I believe, have a 19 right to walk away from people who send you 20 here, elect you to be representative, and cave 21 in to this Governor every time he intimidates 22 you. I don't believe that you have a right to 23 do that on every single issue. 24 You say you disagree with the 25 Governor? You name one issue that you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Smith, have disagreed with this 2 Governor. 3 We are not -- and I want to be 4 clear on this, we're not going to take this 5 issue up again in this chamber. Not while I'm 6 here. We will not taking this issue up again. 7 Why? Because we discussed this, and we agreed 8 that this would be it. And I agreed with 9 Speaker Silver that this would be it. 10 And then I understand you meet with 11 the Governor and he says: No, I will 12 represent your interests, I will speak for 13 you, I will speak for the Speaker. 14 Then how on earth can we govern? 15 How can I govern with you? How can I govern 16 with the Speaker? We are going to deal with 17 the Governor and no one else. I'm sorry to 18 say what I'm saying, but the Governor has said 19 he speaks for you. And he says: I speak for 20 the Speaker. That's wrong. 21 We are a separate branch of 22 government, duly elected to be representative. 23 And frankly, you ought to be embarrassed and 24 you ought to be ashamed of yourself. 25 We can be collegial. We are

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 friends. And as the Governor says, we'll have 2 our differences and then we'll laugh and tell 3 jokes after. We can do that. But this is 4 serious, serious, serious business. 5 I'm going to tell you now -- I've 6 been in this business a long time -- I am not 7 going to go behind closed doors and discuss 8 campaign finance reform. Not unless this 9 Governor cancels his birthday 10 million-dollars-to-get-in party. Okay? If he 11 cancels that, I would like to publicly discuss 12 campaign finance reform. And we can do a bill 13 if he cancels his million-dollar fundraiser. 14 Million dollars, half a million, quarter of a 15 million. That is, as has been said, 16 hypocritical. 17 And we're not going to go behind 18 closed doors and discuss that and link it to 19 the issue that's before us. And you know 20 that's what happened. This got linked. This 21 bill that's before us, that we unanimously 22 agreed on, got linked, got linked by the 23 Governor dictating that this would be linked 24 to campaign finance reform and maybe some 25 other issue.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 That is wrong, Senator. As a 2 friend, as a colleague to all of you, I am 3 saying it is wrong. And to this Governor, he 4 is wrong to take the authority that is vested 5 in you, when you take your oath of office, and 6 say: I will dictate what happens and not you, 7 as representatives of your constituency. 8 And, Senator Diaz, my 9 congratulations to you for having the 10 character, the courage, the integrity to stand 11 up and speak on behalf of yourself and the 12 constituency that sends you here. 13 And I can say now, you ought to be 14 mortified and embarrassed when you put your 15 name on a bill and then in a cavalier way say, 16 Oh, our whole conference -- Senator Smith -- 17 changed their minds. Changed their minds why? 18 Because the Governor changed it for you over 19 the weekend. It's wrong. 20 Mr. President, it is wrong. I 21 could stay here and go on at great length and 22 repeat: It is wrong. But I want to be clear. 23 This bill is not going to come back in any 24 form on this floor this session. 25 So you vote the way you want to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 vote. This doesn't make it through the 2 Assembly, well, then, you answer to the 3 judges, to Judge Kaye -- who spent years 4 negotiating this with the Legislature, 5 years -- why it doesn't become law. That will 6 be your responsibility and not ours. 7 And I want to thank my colleagues 8 for having the courage of their own 9 convictions. 10 Thank you, Mr. President. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 12 you, Senator Bruno. 13 (Applause.) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 15 Bruno will be recorded in the affirmative. 16 Announce the results. 17 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 18 the negative on Calendar Number 712 are 19 Senators Adams, Breslin, Connor, Dilan, Duane, 20 Gonzalez, C. Johnson, Klein, L. Krueger, 21 Montgomery, Oppenheimer, Parker, Perkins, 22 Sabini, Sampson, Savino, Schneiderman, 23 Serrano, Smith, Stachowski, Stavisky, 24 Stewart-Cousins, Thompson and Valesky. 25 Absent from voting: Senators

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Huntley and C. Kruger. 2 Ayes, 34. Nays, 24. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 4 bill is passed. 5 Senator Bruno, that completes the 6 controversial reading of the calendar. 7 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 Is there any further business to 10 come before the Senate at this time? 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: No, 12 there is not. 13 SENATOR BRUNO: There being none, 14 I would move that we stand adjourned until 15 tomorrow, Tuesday, May 1st, at 3:00 p.m. 16 Thank you, Mr. President. I move 17 we stand adjourned. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 19 you, Senator Bruno. 20 On motion, the Senate stands 21 adjourned until May 1st at 3:00 p.m. 22 (Whereupon, at 5:00 p.m., the 23 Senate adjourned.) 24 25

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910