Senate Transcript - May 7, 2007

p. 2413

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 May 7, 2007 11 3:33 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: The 10 invocation today will be given by the Reverend 11 Peter G. Young, Mother Theresa Community in 12 Albany. 13 REVEREND YOUNG: Thank you, 14 Senator. 15 Let us pray. 16 The wisdom of God is beyond 17 imagining, and God's goodness a bountiful and 18 boundless treasure. You, O Lord, unfailingly 19 enlighten our minds to open up new and better 20 means of sharing with each another here in 21 this Senate chamber, for our constituencies, 22 information, ideas and aspirations. 23 The discoveries of technology can 24 be of great assistance to our citizens of 25 New York, and it can bring them too, in times

p. 2414

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 of need, for our assistance of resources and 2 the quality of our life. We pray that our 3 creativity will give them assistance and love. 4 In Your name now and forever, amen. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 6 you very much. 7 Reading of the Journal. 8 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 9 Sunday, May 6, the Senate met pursuant to 10 adjournment. The Journal of Saturday, May 5, 11 was read and approved. On motion, Senate 12 adjourned. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Without 14 objection, the Journal stands approved as 15 read. 16 Presentation of petitions. 17 Messages from the Assembly. 18 Messages from the Governor. 19 Reports of standing committees. 20 Reports of select committees. 21 Communications and reports from 22 state officers. 23 Motions and resolutions. 24 Senator Farley. 25 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you,

p. 2415

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President. 2 On behalf of Senator Morahan, I 3 move that the following bills be discharged 4 from their respective committees and be 5 recommitted with instructions to strike the 6 enacting clause. That's 5061 and 5062. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: So 8 ordered. 9 SENATOR FARLEY: Mr. President, 10 amendments are offered to the following Third 11 Reading Calendar bills: 12 On behalf of Senator Volker, page 13 34, Calendar Number 531, Senate Print 3844; 14 Also for Senator Volker, on page 15 34, Calendar Number 532, Senate Print 3845; 16 And for Senator Maltese, 17 Mr. President, on page 45, Calendar Number 18 696, Senate Print 5374. 19 I offer the amendments and I ask 20 that the bills retain their place on the Third 21 Reading Calendar. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 23 amendments are received and adopted, and the 24 bills shall retain their place on the Third 25 Reading Calendar.

p. 2416

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Skelos. 2 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I 3 believe there's a substitution at the desk. 4 If we could make it at this time. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 6 Secretary will read. 7 THE SECRETARY: On page 20, 8 Senator Padavan moves to discharge, from the 9 Committee on Civil Service and Pensions, 10 Assembly Bill Number 5658 and substitute it 11 for the identical Senate Bill Number 2492, 12 Third Reading Calendar 176. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: 14 Substitution ordered. 15 Senator Skelos. 16 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 17 there will be an immediate meeting of the 18 Rules Committee in the Majority Conference 19 Room. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: 21 Immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in 22 the Senate Majority Conference Room. 23 The Senate will stand at ease. 24 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 25 ease at 3:37 p.m.)

p. 2417

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 2 at 3:46 p.m.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 4 Skelos. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 6 if we could return to reports of standing 7 committees, I believe there's a report of the 8 Rules Committee at the desk. I would ask that 9 it be read at this time. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Reports 11 of standing committees. 12 The Secretary will read. 13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno, 14 from the Committee on Rules, reports the 15 following bill direct to third reading: 16 Senate Print 5734, by Senator LaValle, an act 17 to amend the Education Law. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 19 move to accept the report of the Rules 20 Committee. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: All 22 those in favor of accepting the report of the 23 Rules Committee signify by saying aye. 24 (Response of "Aye.") 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER:

p. 2418

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Opposed, nay. 2 (No response.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 4 Rules Committee report is accepted. 5 Senator Skelos. 6 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 7 if we could go to the noncontroversial reading 8 of the calendar and take up Calendar Number 9 828, by Senator LaValle. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 11 Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: In relation to 13 Calendar Number 828, Senator Bruno moves to 14 discharge, from the Committee on Rules, 15 Assembly Bill Number 7950 and substitute it 16 for the identical Senate Bill Number 5734, 17 Third Reading Calendar 828. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: 19 Substitution ordered. 20 The Secretary will read. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 828, by Member of the Assembly Glick, Assembly 23 Print Number 7950, an act to amend the 24 Education Law. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read

p. 2419

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 the last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. 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 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 8 LaValle, to explain his vote. 9 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you very 10 much, Mr. President. 11 Just very briefly, many of the 12 members asked didn't we pass this bill, and we 13 did. But this bill has some of the technical 14 amendments that I talked about the other day. 15 And we decided, rather than passing one bill 16 in the Assembly, one in the Senate, and then 17 do a chapter amendment, we thought we would do 18 a unibill that incorporated the changes. 19 Some of the changes that were made 20 were people were worried that where we had 21 bank officers who also were trustees of a 22 college board, whether there would be a 23 conflict, whether they would be disallowed 24 participation. I think we clarified that. 25 Senator Farley brought up a

p. 2420

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 question dealing with the definition of 2 educational loans, and we covered that, 3 Senator Farley, on page 2, Section 620, 4 paragraph 4, in the definitions of educational 5 loans, so that those are specifically for 6 educational purposes. 7 And there were other things that we 8 wanted to make sure that we did not have an 9 unintended effect either on individuals or 10 lending institutions who, for charitable 11 purposes, give contributions to colleges, that 12 that was not a conflict. And that we covered 13 that, and we tightened that up a little bit. 14 This is a really great bill. The 15 Attorney General did good work, staffs in both 16 houses and the Attorney General's staff worked 17 very, very hard to accommodate all of the 18 input that we had from colleges and 19 universities, lending institutions. 20 So we will have protected, the 21 first state in the nation to protect students, 22 and students and their parents can enter into 23 a loan understanding that there's 24 transparency, disclosure and that there will 25 no longer be relationships between lending

p. 2421

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 institutions and our colleges and universities 2 that place question marks on the loans that 3 students take and the fact that an institution 4 is on the preferred lender list and there were 5 some shenanigans going on. All of that ends 6 with this bill. 7 And also this house should be very 8 proud that with passage of this -- and of 9 course Governor Spitzer, I would imagine, will 10 sign this -- will lead to federal legislation 11 so that students throughout this nation will 12 benefit. Right now, with passage and this as 13 law, New York State students and institutions 14 will really lead the nation and will give -- 15 there will be trust between the lending 16 institutions, the university, and the students 17 taking the loans out. 18 I vote yes, Mr. President. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 20 you, Senator LaValle. 21 Senator Farley, to explain his 22 vote. 23 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you very 24 much, Mr. President. 25 I applaud Senator LaValle for

p. 2422

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 sponsoring this legislation that protects 2 students and families in these conflicts of 3 interest between colleges and lenders. 4 This is another example of Senator 5 LaValle -- who was my classmate -- again, his 6 leadership in higher education. He's been 7 there. 8 I had one question about this final 9 bill in regard to the definition of 10 educational loan. The bill includes a 11 reference to any private loan issued by a 12 lending institution for the purposes of paying 13 or financing higher education expenses. Some 14 parents may pay for their children's tuition 15 by tapping into home equity lines, or they may 16 put it on their credit card. In those cases 17 the lender would not even be aware of the 18 borrower's intended use of it. 19 I asked Senator LaValle about this, 20 and he confirmed that the bill is not intended 21 to apply to any of these loans a borrower 22 might decide to use for educational purposes. 23 Instead, the legislation is intended to apply 24 only to those federal and private loans which 25 are intended by the lender for financing

p. 2423

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 higher education. 2 This is an important bill. As a 3 former professor at the University of Albany, 4 I'm pleased to vote in favor of this bill. 5 And I congratulate the sponsor. 6 Thank you, Mr. President. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 8 you, Senator Farley. 9 Senator Skelos. 10 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, I 11 too congratulate Senator LaValle on this 12 legislation. 13 And I notice that all members of 14 the Senate have sponsored it, and I'm glad 15 that everybody is voting for it today. So 16 congratulations to my colleagues in the 17 Minority for sponsoring a bill and this week 18 supporting it. 19 So congratulations. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 21 you, Senator Skelos. 22 Announce the results. 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 25 bill is passed.

p. 2424

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Skelos. 2 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 3 there will be an immediate meeting of the 4 Local Government Committee in the Majority 5 Conference Room. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 7 Local Government Committee will be meeting in 8 the Majority Conference Room. 9 The Senate will stand at ease. 10 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 11 ease at 3:53 p.m.) 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 13 Skelos. 14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 15 there will be an immediate meeting of the 16 Elections Committee in the Majority Conference 17 Room, and the Senate will stand at ease. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: There 19 will be an immediate meeting of the Elections 20 Committee in the Senate Majority Conference 21 Room, and the Senate stands at ease. 22 (The Senate continued to stand at 23 ease.) 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 25 Skelos.

p. 2425

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 2 there will be an immediate meeting of the 3 Higher Education Committee in the Majority 4 Conference Room. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: There 6 will be an immediate meeting of the Higher 7 Education Committee in the Senate Majority 8 Conference Room. 9 The Senate still stands at ease. 10 (The Senate continued to stand at 11 ease.) 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 13 Skelos. 14 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 15 there will be an immediate meeting of the 16 Rules Committee in the Majority Conference 17 Room, and the Senate will stand at ease 18 pending the report of the Rules Committee. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 20 you, Senator Skelos. 21 There will be an immediate meeting 22 of the Rules Committee in the Senate 23 Conference Room. 24 The Senate stands at ease. 25 (The Senate continued to stand at

p. 2426

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ease.) 2 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 3 at 4:28 p.m.) 4 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 5 house will come to order. 6 Senator Skelos. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 8 if we could again return to reports of 9 standing committees, there's a report of the 10 Rules Committee at the desk. I ask that it be 11 read at this time. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Reports 13 of standing committees. 14 The Secretary will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno, 16 from the Committee on Rules, reports the 17 following bills: 18 Senate Print 5028, by Senator 19 Bonacic, an act to amend Part O-1 of 20 Chapter 109 of the Laws of 2006; 21 5673, by Senator Saland, an act to 22 amend the Education Law; 23 5742, by Senator Bruno, an act to 24 amend the Real Property Tax Law and the Tax 25 Law;

p. 2427

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 And Senate Print 5755, by Senator 2 Bruno, an act in relation to the date for the 3 2007 primary. 4 All bills are ordered direct to 5 third reading. 6 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept 7 the report of the Rules Committee. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: All 9 those in favor of accepting the report of the 10 Rules Committee signify by saying aye. 11 (Response of "Aye.") 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: 13 Opposed, nay. 14 (No response.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 16 Rules Committee report is accepted. 17 Senator Skelos. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could 19 continue on the noncontroversial reading of 20 the calendar, regular order. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 22 Secretary will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 128, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 1092A, an 25 act to amend the Executive Law and the General

p. 2428

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Business Law. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 5 act shall take effect on the 180th day. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 7 the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll.) 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 10 Saland, to explain his vote. 11 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, 12 Mr. President. 13 Mr. President, this bill is a 14 response to a tragedy that occurred in my 15 Senate district a couple of years ago in which 16 a 2-1/2-year-old child, Matthew Lentz, strayed 17 out into his neighbor's yard, and a fence 18 which was a temporary fence, which should have 19 been replaced by a permanent fence after a 20 period of time, was in disrepair, easily 21 penetrable, and this young child made his way 22 through this fence that certainly did nothing 23 to secure the pool and fell into the pool and 24 was -- and lost his life by reason of the 25 failure to have had that permanent fencing.

p. 2429

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 And this bill is an attempt to 2 address that problem. We've passed this bill 3 before. I'm hopeful that we can get the 4 Assembly to respond similarly. And it 5 basically requires a reasonably expedited 6 process to ensure that temporary fencing will 7 be replaced by permanent fencing, and in turn 8 ensuring that tragedies such as befell this 9 poor child, Matthew Lentz, will not befall 10 others. 11 Thank you, Mr. President. And I 12 certainly vote in the affirmative. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: 14 Announce the results. 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 17 bill is passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 176, substituted earlier today by Member of 20 the Assembly Markey, Assembly Print Number 21 5658, an act to amend the General Municipal 22 Law and the Retirement and Social Security 23 Law. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 25 the last section.

p. 2430

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 2 act shall take effect July 1. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll.) 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 7 Padavan, to explain his vote. 8 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you, 9 Mr. President. 10 Firefighters and police officers in 11 this state stand between our citizenry and 12 terrible tragedies. And unfortunately, all 13 too often, from time to time we pick up the 14 paper and read about one firefighter or one 15 police officer who lost his life, as we did 16 just a week ago. 17 In 1979 the Legislature enacted a 18 statute that provided a cost of living 19 increase or index to the widows and children 20 of these brave men and women. Unfortunately, 21 that increase, that cost of living adjustment, 22 has not changed since then. And as we know, 23 the cost of living has gone up certainly at an 24 increased percentage over a period of that 25 many years.

p. 2431

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 And so what this bill will do is 2 raise that cost of living increase to 3 3 percent. It's not going to overcome all of 4 the past injustices, and certainly it's not 5 going to bring back the loved one and it's not 6 going to pay all the bills. But it's 7 certainly going to help. 8 And so I believe this bill is long 9 overdue and something we should enact and send 10 to the Governor quickly. 11 Thank you, Mr. President. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 13 you, Senator Padavan. 14 Announce the results. 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 17 bill is passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 390, by Senator Wright, Senate Print 2695B, an 20 act to amend the New York State Defense 21 Emergency Act. 22 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 23 please. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 25 bill is laid aside.

p. 2432

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 446, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 2895, an 3 act to amend the -- 4 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 5 please. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 7 bill is laid aside. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 447, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 2939, an 10 act to amend the General Municipal Law. 11 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 12 please. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 14 bill is laid aside. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 449, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 462, an 17 act to amend the Administrative Code of the 18 City of New York. 19 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 20 please. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 22 bill is laid aside. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 496, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 3825, an 25 act to amend the Real Property Law.

p. 2433

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 2 the last section. 3 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 4 act shall take effect immediately. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 6 the roll. 7 (The Secretary called the roll.) 8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 10 bill is passed. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 500, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 13 4037, an act to amend the New York City Civil 14 Court Act. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 16 the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 18 act shall take effect on the 30th day. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 20 the roll. 21 (The Secretary called the roll.) 22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 24 bill is passed. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number

p. 2434

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 514, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 836, an 2 act to amend the State Finance Law. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 4 the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 6 act shall take effect on the 120th day. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 8 the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 12 bill is passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 526, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 3648, an 15 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law. 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, 60. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 25 bill is passed.

p. 2435

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 530, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 3765, an 3 act to amend the Penal Law. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 5 the last section. 6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 7 act shall take effect on the 120th day. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 9 the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll.) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. Nays, 12 1. Senator Montgomery recorded in the 13 negative. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 15 bill is passed. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 546, by Senator Little, Senate Print 2758, an 18 act to amend the Tax Law. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: There 20 is a local fiscal impact note at the desk. 21 Read the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This 23 act shall take effect immediately. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 25 the roll.

p. 2436

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 (The Secretary called the roll.) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. Nays, 3 1. Senator Valesky recorded in the negative. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 5 bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 594, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 423, an 8 act to amend the Education Law. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 10 the last section. 11 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 12 please. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 14 bill is laid aside. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 609, by Senator Klein, Senate Print 2284, an 17 act to amend the Tax Law. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay the bill 19 aside, please. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 21 bill is laid aside. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 614, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 4060, an 24 act to amend the Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering 25 and Breeding Law.

p. 2437

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 2 the last section. 3 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 4 act shall take effect immediately. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 6 the roll. 7 (The Secretary called the roll.) 8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 10 bill is passed. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 638, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print 4442, 13 an act to amend the General Business Law. 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, 60. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 23 bill is passed. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 25 651, by Senator Lanza --

p. 2438

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 2 please. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 4 bill is laid aside. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 669, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 1466, an 7 act to amend the Education Law. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 9 the last section. 10 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 11 please. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 13 bill is laid aside. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 670, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 3577, an 16 act to amend the Education Law. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 18 the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 20 act shall take effect immediately. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 22 the roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll.) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The

p. 2439

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 bill is passed. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 673, by Senator Morahan, Senate Print 243, an 4 act to amend the Executive Law. 5 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 6 please. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 8 bill is laid aside. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 674, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 266, an 11 act to amend the Correction Law. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 13 the last section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 15 act shall take effect on the first of 16 November. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 18 the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll.) 20 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 21 the negative on Calendar Number 674 are 22 Senators Duane, Montgomery and Perkins. 23 Ayes, 57. Nays, 3. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 25 bill is passed.

p. 2440

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 675, by Senator Alesi, Senate Print 274, an 3 act to amend the Correction Law. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 5 the last section. 6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 7 act shall take effect immediately. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 9 the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll.) 11 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 12 the negative on Calendar Number 675 are 13 Senators Montgomery and Perkins. 14 Ayes, 58. Nays, 2. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 16 bill is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 679, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 3614 -- 19 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 20 please. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 22 bill is laid aside. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 680, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 3713, an 25 act to amend the Correction Law.

p. 2441

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 2 the last section. 3 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 4 act shall take effect -- 5 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 6 please. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 8 bill is laid aside. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 681, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 3718, an 11 act to amend the Executive Law. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 13 the last section. 14 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 15 please. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 17 bill is laid aside. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 683, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 4332, an 20 act to amend the Correction Law. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 22 the last section. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 24 act shall take effect immediately. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call

p. 2442

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 the roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll.) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 5 bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 705, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 456, an 8 act to amend the Executive Law. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 10 the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 12 act shall take effect on the first of January. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 14 the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 18 bill is passed. 19 Senator Skelos, that completes the 20 reading of the noncontroversial calendar. 21 SENATOR SKELOS: Well, there are 22 going to be several other bills on the 23 noncontroversial calendar, Mr. President. 24 But if we could stand at ease, 25 please.

p. 2443

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 2 you, Senator Skelos. 3 The Senate stands at ease. 4 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 5 ease at 4:40 p.m.) 6 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 7 at 4:47 p.m.) 8 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 10 Senate will come to order. 11 Senator Bruno. 12 SENATOR BRUNO: Can we at this 13 time return to the noncontroversial calendar 14 and take up Calendar Number 829. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 16 Secretary will read. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 829, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 5742, an 19 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law and the 20 Tax Law. 21 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 22 please. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 24 bill is laid aside. 25 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President,

p. 2444

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 can we at this time take up this bill on the 2 controversial calendar. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 4 Secretary will ring the bell. 5 The Secretary will read. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 829, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 5742, an 8 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law and the 9 Tax Law. 10 SENATOR DUANE: Explanation, 11 please. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: An 13 explanation has been asked for, Senator Bruno. 14 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 15 are we calling members to the chamber? I see 16 a lot of empty seats, and we have important 17 things to discuss. It would be nice if we 18 would be joined by our colleagues. Can we do 19 that? 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 21 bell is being rung at this moment, Senator. 22 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you for 23 being here, Senator Diaz and my colleagues. 24 This is critically important. 25 Mr. President.

p. 2445

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 2 Bruno. 3 SENATOR BRUNO: I think you and 4 our colleagues here recognize and understand 5 that providing property tax relief for the 6 overburdened, overtaxed property owner here in 7 New York State has been a priority and is a 8 priority. Consequently, this bill. And this 9 bill corrects a problem that was created in 10 the budget. 11 The Governor in his wisdom proposed 12 $1.5 billion in relief intended to go through 13 STAR. We came to an agreement that the 14 property tax rebates that we put together, the 15 Senate and the Assembly, over the last several 16 years would continue, but that we would 17 double -- double -- the amount of the rebates, 18 approximately. But the Governor in the 19 negotiations rethought the billion and a half 20 and changed the number to a billion-three, 21 shorting -- and I hope inadvertently on the 22 Governor's part, because we were trying to get 23 a budget done and as close to on time as it 24 could be done. So we agreed, in the context 25 of the 120-plus billion, to get things done on

p. 2446

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 the billion-three. 2 And what happened was that 3 seniors -- seniors like me, like maybe one of 4 you, or maybe two, or maybe three -- would get 5 shorted in the billion-three. They didn't get 6 the same amount, the doubling effect in the 7 budget that they should have received. 8 Now, we're all very conscious of 9 cash flow and a balanced budget. And at that 10 time the question was we had additional 11 revenue that we agreed on, three ways, of 12 $575 million, I think the number was, that 13 created additional revenue. 14 So the concern was how do you fund 15 the whole billion and a half with the records 16 that we were breaking in school aid? That was 17 the specific discussion by conference 18 committees, by staff. 19 Mr. President, it turns out -- and 20 Senator Nozzolio, I know that you are aware, 21 because I can hear you -- you are aware that 22 we ended up, in the closeout of the year, do 23 you know how much more than the $575 million 24 number came into the state? Who knows? 25 $331 million more than had been budgeted, more

p. 2447

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 than had been anticipated. 2 So we are recommending, through 3 passage of this legislation, that I hope on 4 behalf of the deserving seniors who are trying 5 to live in their homes, trying to pay their 6 bills, trying to pay for the escalating costs 7 of healthcare, trying to help their children 8 and their grandchildren -- and I have specific 9 numbers, and you should have a copy of the 10 effect this has in each and every district, 11 what they're going to get versus what they 12 will get with this $200 million additional 13 refund. 14 And by coincidence I just happen to 15 have Rensselaer County, my district, goes from 16 $289 to $664. Buys a lot of groceries, buys a 17 lot of prescriptions, buys a lot of what 18 seniors need to have a quality of life. 19 In Monroe County, with Senator 20 Robach's help and persuasiveness, goes from 21 $307 to $660, more than doubling. How great 22 is that? In Onondaga, from $297 to $652. 23 Now, I could go on. Nassau County, 24 $500 to $820. The point is substantial 25 increases. And the money is there. How do we

p. 2448

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 know it's there? Because we closed out the 2 year, the end of the budget, March 31st, and 3 came close to a billion instead of the 575. 4 So the money is there. The need is 5 there. The precedent is there, because we did 6 this last year and the year before, but just 7 in lesser amounts. 8 So I would hope -- we did a bill 9 earlier that passed unanimously in this house. 10 I would hope that we could send this 11 worthwhile legislation for property tax 12 rebates for seniors to the Assembly in a 13 unanimous way. 14 Thank you, Mr. President. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 16 you, Senator Bruno. 17 Senator Marcellino. 18 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 19 Mr. President. 20 I rise to commend Senator Bruno for 21 his leadership on this issue. This is an 22 extremely important issue in my district. 23 I've been home since we had the press 24 conference last week, been home in the 25 district and talking to residents in various

p. 2449

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 settings. The number-one issue is property 2 tax relief, there is no doubt about that. 3 Number-one issue. 4 And for many senior citizens, the 5 difference between staying in their home and 6 leaving are their property taxes. With costs 7 on every level rising -- gasoline, home 8 heating fuel, you name it, everything is going 9 up -- when property taxes also increase and 10 there is no limit and there is no way of 11 relieving it, then the senior citizens have to 12 make a distinction and a choice. And in many 13 cases that may be leaving the community that 14 they helped to build. 15 They are the history of our 16 community, they are the backbone of our 17 community, they helped create our communities, 18 and they're being driven out by extraordinary 19 costs. Property tax relief is an imperative 20 to them. 21 Nassau County, as the Senator just 22 said, would see a doubling from about $500 to 23 about $850 in property tax relief for senior 24 citizens. Suffolk County would also see a 25 doubling of their senior citizen levy.

p. 2450

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 This is an important issue to them. 2 That money in their pocket will help them make 3 choices that they have to and will give them 4 the relief so that they don't have to make 5 those critical choices of do I go buy the 6 medicine, do I take my prescription drugs, do 7 I take on the various food that I require. 8 Those kind of choices should never have to be 9 made. But in many cases, in some cases, our 10 senior citizens are forced to make those 11 choices. 12 So again, thank you, Senator Bruno, 13 for recognizing and picking up on the fact 14 that we have extra money in the budget, extra 15 money that came to us and that we want to put 16 back into the pockets of our senior citizens 17 so that they get the relief that they so 18 sorely require. 19 I urge that we pass this bill, send 20 it on to the Assembly, and I urge that they 21 pass it as well. The Governor should sign 22 this bill. It is a major piece of legislation 23 and extremely important to the people of my 24 district and to all of our constituents 25 throughout the State of New York.

p. 2451

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 I intend to vote aye on this very 2 important piece of legislation and urge 3 everyone in the chamber to do the same. 4 Thank you, Mr. President. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 6 you, Senator Marcellino. 7 Senator Robach. 8 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes. 9 Mr. President, I too want to applaud Senator 10 Bruno and the Majority for this bill. 11 As Senator Marcellino said, there's 12 no question, whether it's been surveys or when 13 I've held budget hearings, while people do 14 like programming, one of the things that 15 people talk about, the most onerous, 16 especially in upstate New York, is their 17 property tax. Especially senior citizens, who 18 are dealing with a host of issues from fixed 19 incomes, perhaps loss of one income, losing a 20 spouse, a number of issues. 21 And so I think this is the right 22 thing to do. But I also think it's good 23 because we are a body that does not collect or 24 get any revenue from property tax, but yet 25 we're taking our surplus or money left over,

p. 2452

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 and while we do have a lot of great 2 programming, taking that and giving it back to 3 senior citizens in the way they say they want 4 to get it back, relief of their property tax, 5 what they find the most onerous. 6 I hope this bill will pass 7 unanimously and become law. There is no 8 question that this is what we're here to do, 9 be responsive to the people that elected us. 10 I can't think of anything more responsive to 11 senior citizens on a fixed income than getting 12 this check back directly to them in a large 13 number, and urge all my colleagues to support 14 this important legislation. 15 Thank you, Mr. President. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 17 you, Senator Robach. 18 Senator Craig Johnson. 19 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Thank 20 you, Mr. Speaker. Will the sponsor yield for 21 a question? 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 23 Bruno, Senator Craig Johnson would like to ask 24 you to yield for a question. 25 SENATOR BRUNO: Yes,

p. 2453

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President. 2 I'm sorry for being on the phone. 3 I'm supposed to be down at the Crowne Plaza 4 speaking to the firemen who are assembled 5 there, on behalf of the Senate. But we have 6 to deal in priorities this afternoon. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 8 Johnson, Senator Bruno yields. 9 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Thank 10 you, Mr. President. I will be brief. 11 My question is, when talking about 12 providing this relief to senior citizens -- 13 and I agree with the members who have already 14 spoken and will be voting in the affirmative. 15 I want to get a clarification. This is 16 property tax relief for seniors who qualify 17 for the enhanced STAR program; it's not for 18 all senior citizens, it's simply the seniors 19 on enhanced STAR. That's my question I wish 20 to get a clarification and answer to. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Is 22 there a question, Senator Johnson? 23 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Yeah, the 24 question is, who does this property tax rebate 25 apply to? All senior citizens throughout

p. 2454

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 New York State, or simply seniors who qualify 2 and receive the enhanced STAR property tax 3 relief? 4 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President and 5 Senator, it is the enhanced people who qualify 6 for the enhanced STAR. They are the ones 7 specifically that participate. It's the 8 middle- and lower-income seniors. 9 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Thank you 10 very much. 11 I also rise to support this very 12 critical piece of legislation, like Senator 13 Marcellino, who I'm sure visited his district 14 over the past couple of days and has been 15 talking to seniors and talking to residents, 16 as have I. We've got school budget votes 17 coming up in a week, budget votes all 18 throughout Long Island. 19 You saw the newspapers where they 20 talked about how, notwithstanding the great 21 property tax relief we provided across this 22 state, school districts all across the state 23 are still asking for more from our residents, 24 asking for more from our senior citizens to 25 help support our school districts.

p. 2455

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 And it's this relief that we need 2 to provide, because it is our senior citizens 3 who qualify and who receive the enhanced STAR 4 who need that little extra and who will use 5 this money to pay for the prescriptions, who 6 will help to offset the cost of living that is 7 going up so quickly in Nassau County, in 8 Rockland County, in Erie County. 9 So I urge all the members here, and 10 I especially urge the Assembly to get on 11 board, to put forth this bill -- and get it 12 passed unanimously would be great -- so we can 13 get it to the Governor so the Governor can 14 sign it and provide the property tax relief 15 that our citizens not only require but need. 16 Thank you very much. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 18 you, Senator Johnson. 19 Senator Duane. 20 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 21 Mr. President. Would the sponsor yield, 22 please? 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 24 Bruno, Senator Duane would like you to yield 25 for a question.

p. 2456

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR BRUNO: With great 2 pleasure, Mr. President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 4 Duane, Senator Bruno yields. 5 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 6 Mr. President. 7 I am wondering if the sponsor could 8 just expound a little bit further on why this 9 issue was not accomplished during the budget 10 process. 11 SENATOR BRUNO: Thank you. Thank 12 you, Senator Duane. And thank you, 13 Mr. President, for this opportunity to expand 14 a little bit. 15 We in the Senate passed property 16 tax rebates to the tune of $6 billion over two 17 years -- $2.6 billion in the first year, 18 $3.4 billion in the second year. Part of our 19 budget, part of what we passed here. But the 20 Governor had submitted a budget with 21 $6 billion over three years to flow through 22 STAR. Not a property tax rebate as we had 23 done previously over two years, we and the 24 Assembly, which was signed by the previous 25 Governor. So what would have happened was

p. 2457

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 that seniors who got checks -- three, four, 2 five, six hundred dollars -- would have had no 3 checks. It would have gone into school 4 systems in STAR. 5 So during the negotiations, we 6 brought this up. And together, we, with the 7 Assembly, were able to convince the Governor 8 that it made a lot more sense to give people 9 back checks. Because we in New York State 10 have something like 53, 56 percent higher 11 property tax per household than the national 12 average. And that's unfortunate. And that's 13 what's moving people out of their homes, 14 seniors. 15 So during the negotiation we made 16 this point, and we did it in a well enough 17 fashion so that the Governor and all of the 18 people negotiating understood clearly that 19 this was a better way to help people in this 20 state maintain their quality of life, keep 21 their homes. And he agreed. 22 But he made the point, Look, we are 23 putting more and more money into education. 24 With your cooperation, we added $400 million 25 to the billion-four submitted by the Governor.

p. 2458

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 So the Governor made the point, in the debate 2 and in the discussions: Where's the other 3 400 million going to come from? 4 We said there's plenty of revenue 5 coming into this state, based on the good work 6 that we have done previously over the years 7 before you were Governor, and that the cash 8 will flow. 9 But the Governor insisted that 10 $200 million has to come off the billion-five, 11 because the money may not be there. 12 So what would you do? That's a 13 rhetorical question. We decided it's more 14 important to get a budget on behalf of the 15 people of this state, send the billion-eight 16 in education, the increases, keep the 17 hospitals open, keep the nursing homes 18 functioning, provide home care, do all the 19 other good things that we did in the budget. 20 We thought that was much more important than 21 holding up the budget. 22 Why? Because we were convinced the 23 cash would flow, the revenue would flow. And, 24 Senator Duane, lo and behold, we were right. 25 Think about it. We again were right on the

p. 2459

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 projections. 2 So with the closeout, there was an 3 extra $331 million over and above what had 4 been budgeted. So true to our thoughts, in 5 the spirit of what's right for people, 6 especially seniors, we revisit, Mr. President. 7 Based on what? Based on the $331 million that 8 the closeout showed. 9 So we did the budget, we had to at 10 the time close with the Governor. And, 11 Senator Duane, we did. But we shorted, in the 12 cash flow back to the property tax owner, 13 $200 million from the Governor's own budget 14 proposal. A billion-five proposed in his 15 budget, a billion-three passed, $200 million 16 short. Find another $331 million. 17 What better place for that money to 18 go? I see Senator Robach shaking his head in 19 agreement and many of you shaking your heads 20 in agreement. Right? Right. And Senator 21 Craig Johnson shakes his head in agreement. 22 So, Senator Duane, with all -- and 23 Senator Diaz, thank you. As former chair of 24 Aging in the city, you have the best interests 25 at heart, and we applaud you for that and we

p. 2460

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 thank you for that. And I'm sure that your 2 colleagues are going to recognize your 3 meritorious thinking. Is that correct? Your 4 good thinking. That's grammatically 5 incorrect, but you know what I mean. 6 On the merits, Senator Diaz, the 7 seniors will applaud you. I applaud you. I 8 think Senator Duane in his heart applauds you. 9 Senator Smith, do you applaud him? Yes, you 10 do. So we all applaud you for your good 11 thinking and your good judgment. 12 Now, Senator Duane, have I answered 13 your question? 14 (Laughter.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: 16 Senator, that's another rhetorical question. 17 Senator Duane. 18 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 19 Mr. President. Would the sponsor continue to 20 yield? 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 22 Bruno, do you yield to Senator Duane? 23 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, if 24 Senator Duane is certain of his request, I 25 would be happy to yield.

p. 2461

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 2 Senator yields. 3 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 4 Mr. President. And in anticipation of my 5 applause, I did have a few more things I 6 wanted to just clear up. 7 It was my understanding that all 8 six parties to the budget negotiation actually 9 agreed together on a budget, on a revenue 10 forecast. Is that correct? 11 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 12 that is correct. 13 Our number was closer to a billion. 14 The Assembly's was somewhere near here. And 15 the Governor had a different number. But by 16 way of compromising working, together, 17 partnering on behalf of the people of this 18 state, we accepted the lower number. So yes, 19 there was six-way agreement. 20 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 21 Mr. President. If the sponsor would continue 22 to yield. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 24 Bruno, do you yield? 25 SENATOR BRUNO: Yes,

p. 2462

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 3 Senator yields. 4 SENATOR DUANE: Mr. President, 5 just in the spirit of the porridge being too 6 hot or too cold, I would be remiss if I didn't 7 mention in premise to my question that the 8 Senate Minority projection was actually the 9 projection that everyone ended up with. 10 That said, Mr. President, I still 11 don't understand why -- well, let me ask it a 12 different way. Is there a companion Assembly 13 piece of legislation? 14 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, is 15 that a question? 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 17 Bruno, that is a question. 18 SENATOR BRUNO: Presently there 19 is not. But tomorrow there will be. 20 SENATOR DUANE: And through you, 21 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue 22 to yield. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 24 Bruno, do you yield? 25 SENATOR BRUNO: Yes,

p. 2463

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President. 2 SENATOR DUANE: Has the Governor 3 said that he would sign this legislation with 4 the unnamed, unnumbered Assembly companion 5 legislation? 6 SENATOR BRUNO: We have not 7 engaged in that very specifically. 8 But the Governor is on record in 9 support of property tax rebates and wanted to 10 direct them to the middle-income, lower-income 11 people of this state. So I would be amazed if 12 this Governor didn't sign the legislation when 13 it lands on his desk. 14 SENATOR DUANE: And through you, 15 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue 16 to yield. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 18 Bruno, do you yield? 19 SENATOR BRUNO: Yes, 20 Mr. President. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 22 Senator yields. 23 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you. Has 24 the Comptroller endorsed this particular piece 25 of legislation?

p. 2464

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR BRUNO: Well, 2 Mr. President, in situations like this -- 3 passage unanimously in the Senate; goes to the 4 Assembly, where it passes; the Governor signs 5 it -- and then the Comptroller weighs in, 6 basically says that makes a lot of sense or we 7 may have a problem. 8 But I believe it's the cart and the 9 horse and the chicken and the egg. So we have 10 to get this done and send it to the Governor 11 and get it signed, and then the Comptroller 12 can tell us what he thinks. 13 SENATOR DUANE: Through you, 14 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue 15 to yield. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 17 Bruno, do you yield? 18 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, I 19 will. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 21 Senator yields. 22 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 23 Mr. President. 24 Before my eggs are scrambled, I was 25 wondering if anyone had actually reached out

p. 2465

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 to the Comptroller just to get his point of 2 view whether or not he approved it or not. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 4 Senator wants to know whether his eggs have 5 been scrambled, Mr. President. 6 (Laughter.) 7 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, I 8 prefer mine once over lightly. But to each 9 his own. 10 The very learned colleague and the 11 Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Skelos, has 12 reminded me that the Comptroller certified the 13 budget that we sent him as balanced and 14 correct, and that included the extra 15 $331 million that hadn't been budgeted 16 originally or submitted. 17 So I would guess, by way of an 18 umbrella sort of recommendation and approval, 19 if you wanted to, you could accept that. But 20 if you didn't want to, we would then have to 21 submit it, and then he can make the judgment. 22 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 23 Mr. President. If the sponsor would continue 24 to yield. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator

p. 2466

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Bruno, do you yield to another question from 2 Senator Duane? 3 SENATOR BRUNO: Yes, 4 Mr. President. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 6 Senator yields. 7 SENATOR DUANE: If we acknowledge 8 that the yoke was not broken on the over-easy 9 eggs, then I'm curious to go all the way full 10 circle again to find out why this wasn't done 11 as part of the budget process. If everything 12 was so perfect and magnanimous then, why was 13 this not included at that time? 14 SENATOR BRUNO: Well, 15 Mr. President, Senator Smith, in all due 16 respect, was not able to convince the Governor 17 that his revenue number was right. And 18 because he couldn't convince the Governor, the 19 Governor didn't accept it, consequently said 20 we might have a potential problem with cash 21 flow. 22 So we had to find out after we had 23 agreements on the closeout, Senator, that 24 Senator Smith indeed was right with his 25 estimates. So we now revisit it based on the

p. 2467

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 additional dollars that you said were there, 2 that are there, that we now want to use in 3 this most appropriate way. This is a priority 4 for the middle-income, lower-income seniors of 5 this state. 6 Mr. -- well, I'm still here, so -- 7 I was going to ask a question. I was going to 8 ask, Mr. President, if I might, Senator Duane, 9 do you agree with that, that this should be a 10 priority for seniors to return this overage of 11 $331 million or some part of it? Do you agree 12 with that? Doesn't it make sense to 13 prioritize property tax rebates? 14 Through you, Mr. President, if 15 Senator Duane would yield and answer. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 17 Duane, you have the floor. 18 SENATOR DUANE: Yes, 19 Mr. President. And thank you. 20 Though let me answer that in this 21 way. I -- 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 23 Duane, are you asking Senator Bruno to yield 24 to a question? 25 SENATOR DUANE: Even though we've

p. 2468

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 sort of gotten a little bollixed up, as my 2 mother would say, I feel like I'm going to 3 answer the Senator's question and then proceed 4 beyond that just in the interests of civility 5 and collegiality and the wonderful atmosphere 6 that has been created in this chamber. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: When 8 you get ready to answer the question, then put 9 it through me, if you would. 10 SENATOR DUANE: Through you, 11 Mr. President, I'm going to respond to the 12 question. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 14 you, Senator Duane. 15 SENATOR DUANE: I strongly 16 believe that budget issues should be 17 accomplished during the budget. 18 And while I may very well end up 19 agreeing with the intent of this legislation, 20 I am certainly going to withhold my applause 21 until I see it -- I mean, there could be a 22 polite applause if it passes here, and maybe 23 more polite applause, because there are more 24 hands, if it passed the Assembly, if they 25 introduce a bill. And if the Governor were to

p. 2469

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 sign it, there might be a rousing cheer and a 2 standing ovation, perhaps. 3 But I think that it's more 4 appropriate for this to be part of the budget 5 process. Call me out there, but that's just 6 what I believe. 7 And, Mr. President, if I may speak 8 on the bill at this point. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 10 Duane, on the bill. 11 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 12 Mr. President. 13 Sadly, the business of government 14 and particularly when we're in session is 15 always a sacrifice for -- well, it certainly 16 is for me. I don't mean to speak for all of 17 the members here, but I have heard other 18 members raise the issue of things that they 19 miss in their home districts while we're here 20 in session and things that we've missed in the 21 Capital District while we're here doing the 22 people's business. 23 And I'm not complaining about that 24 in any way, but there is some amount of 25 bittersweetness about us having to work

p. 2470

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 through events that we might perhaps rather 2 attend than be here. But I guess that's why 3 they call it work. 4 One of the things that I'm always 5 concerned about -- and again, I don't want to 6 speak for all of my colleagues, but I think 7 that the majority of us feel that the best way 8 to go about our budgeting process, both the 9 spending side and the revenue side, is with as 10 much prudence as possible. And it's 11 interesting that the Majority Leader raised 12 the issue of missing out on speaking with the 13 firefighters. 14 On my schedule, sadly, I also had 15 PBA people that I was going to meet with later 16 on. And I say that with much sadness, as the 17 Senator that represented the World Trade 18 Center on 9/11. If anything, my esteem for 19 the firefighters and police officers has grown 20 exponentially -- though high already, is even 21 more so than that. 22 And the other thing that at that 23 time made it so difficult was the tremendous 24 revenue shortfall that we experienced as a 25 result of that terrible tragedy. In fact,

p. 2471

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 that year it was one of the things that made, 2 I think, our coming to agreement on budgeting 3 most difficult then and thereafter, to the 4 point that one year we actually never really 5 even had a budget. 6 So, honestly, my concern about how 7 this came about has as much to do with my 8 fears for what can happen to us in this 9 country for the future, having lived through a 10 tragedy in the past. And of course the 11 fiduciary issues are, you know, terrible. But 12 they paled in comparison to the horrible 13 sadness and the debilitating effect it had on 14 all of us who lived in New York City and in 15 fact lived in New York State and I'd like to 16 believe remains across this country. 17 So my questioning on this issue 18 sincerely only had to do with does it fall 19 within the realm of us being as fiduciarily 20 responsible as we possibly can, knowing that 21 tragedy could strike at any moment and our 22 expectations could be dashed. 23 Thank you, Mr. President. I think 24 some of my other colleagues have questions for 25 the sponsor.

p. 2472

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 2 you, Senator Duane. 3 Senator Libous. 4 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, 5 Mr. President. 6 I want to applaud Senator Bruno for 7 bringing this very important piece of 8 legislation to the floor. And actually I also 9 want to say that, Mr. President, I agree with 10 Senator Duane that under normal circumstances 11 when the budget is being negotiated, this is 12 the time when you're supposed to work these 13 things out. 14 And I know that earlier this year 15 we passed budget reform in this house. And 16 when we passed that budget reform, it called 17 for conference committees and a meeting of the 18 general conference committee. And, 19 Mr. President, I believe that the day this was 20 discussed at the general conference committee, 21 no one in the Assembly or, in all due respect 22 to my colleagues on the other side of the 23 aisle, anyone from the other side of the aisle 24 showed up, not only for that session but 25 several other sessions.

p. 2473

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 And under the bill that was passed 2 by this house by members here -- and, by the 3 way, was passed by the other house and signed 4 by the Governor -- it said that the budget was 5 supposed to be negotiated in an open session. 6 In one of those sessions, Mr. President, we 7 discussed this very important proposal. And 8 had you been there or had a representative 9 there, we would have talked about why this is 10 so important to all of the seniors in New York 11 State. 12 And, Mr. President, I like to 13 reflect on that moment because I remember 14 telling a story that day. And I told a story 15 about a woman who was 100 years old who lived 16 in Endicott, New York. And I told a story 17 about how I went to her birthday party and she 18 talked to me about how important it was that 19 she could still live with great dignity in her 20 home and how it was very nice, at a hundred 21 years old, she had more energy than probably 22 most of the people in this room, and that she 23 gardened, she still gardened, and she still 24 took care of her house. 25 And the one thing she said to me

p. 2474

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 was that "I couldn't do it without the STAR 2 program." 3 And certainly enhanced STAR, this 4 proposal that we have on the floor today, is 5 going to help her even further, because it 6 means in Broome County the average senior's 7 check will go from $331 to $728. 8 Now, I can't speak for all of you, 9 because we have various costs of living in 10 different parts of the state and I know that 11 there's always issues here about salary 12 adjustments and what it costs to live on Long 13 Island or in the city versus other parts. But 14 I can tell you this, that a senior on a fixed 15 income in Broome County, New York, can buy an 16 awful lot with that $728. 17 And this woman who celebrated her 18 100th birthday will be able to continue to 19 live with great dignity in her home. Because 20 again, as Senator Bruno mentioned, 21 Mr. President, there's a surplus. 22 And, you know, Senator Duane, 23 you're right: In most cases it's always good 24 if you can kind of get the fiscal 25 responsibilities done around budget time.

p. 2475

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 But, you know, our job is 24/7. Our job -- 2 well, our sessions sometimes runs out in June. 3 I've been here in December, I've been here in 4 September, been here, you know, all year long. 5 And I think we have a 6 responsibility that when we have a surplus -- 7 because as Senator Bruno mentioned, the good 8 work that this house has done over the 9 years -- that that surplus in this case needs 10 to be returned to the taxpayers. Because it's 11 not our money, it's their money. And we 12 sometimes forget that. We sometimes get 13 carried away and we spend the money as if it's 14 our money. But it's their money. 15 And in this case we're going to 16 give it back to those seniors that spent their 17 lives and dedicated their lives to our 18 communities and in this case Broome, Tioga and 19 Chenango County, where I represent, and I 20 think it's only fitting. 21 So, Mr. President, while we 22 sometimes wonder why things can't get done 23 during the budget process -- and as Senator 24 Bruno mentioned, it is a process of give and 25 take, and we don't always get everything we'd

p. 2476

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 like to do for our constituents. And I'm sure 2 our colleagues on the other side of the aisle 3 don't always agree with some of the things 4 that come out. But at the end of the day, we 5 did agree, and we voted and the Governor 6 signed it and it went on to the Comptroller 7 and he certified it. 8 But indeed, when you have extra 9 revenue -- because we've had a good year -- I 10 think this is the thing to do, to give the 11 money back to those who deserve it most. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 13 you, Senator Libous. 14 Senator Morahan. 15 SENATOR MORAHAN: Thank you, 16 Mr. President. Would Senator Bruno yield for 17 a question? 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 19 Bruno, do you yield to Senator Morahan for a 20 question? 21 SENATOR BRUNO: With great 22 pleasure, Mr. President. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 24 Morahan, Senator Bruno yields. 25 SENATOR MORAHAN: Thank you,

p. 2477

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President. 2 Senator, since I've been here, each 3 year revenue projections have been put forth 4 by the Assembly, the Senate, and the Executive 5 branch. Am I correct in recalling that in 6 each of those budget years the Senate 7 projection was more on target than either of 8 the other two players? 9 SENATOR BRUNO: Your memory 10 serves you correctly, Senator. We were almost 11 right on almost every year over the last 12 twelve years, including this particular year. 13 SENATOR MORAHAN: That was my 14 next question, if you would continue to yield. 15 With this year here, our projection 16 that was made earlier, before March 31st, 17 before we had an almost-on-time budget, was 18 also correct? 19 SENATOR BRUNO: Yes, Senator, 20 absolutely correct. In fact, we specifically 21 talked about the 575 being closer to a 22 billion. And if you add the 575 with the 331, 23 it's almost right on. So you're right again. 24 SENATOR MORAHAN: Thank you, 25 Senator.

p. 2478

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President, could I now ask if 2 Senator Duane would yield for a question? 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 4 Duane, do you yield to Senator Morahan for a 5 question? 6 SENATOR DUANE: Yes, 7 Mr. President. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 9 Senator yields. 10 SENATOR MORAHAN: Senator, on the 11 assumption that again this year, with the new 12 revenue projections coming in at the close of 13 the fiscal year, that the Senate projections 14 as originally projected are correct, how would 15 you spend that money? 16 SENATOR DUANE: Through you, 17 Mr. President -- through you, if -- I am going 18 to answer the question now, Mr. President. 19 I may very well end up voting for 20 this bill. But I would be remiss if as an 21 Irish person -- and I hope Senator Morahan 22 feels the same way, it would be an aberration 23 of Irish people -- that I'm a glass-half-empty 24 kind of guy. And I just want to be careful, 25 because feeling the glass is half full is

p. 2479

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 sinful in Irish -- no matter what's in the 2 glass. Because a half-empty glass of 3 something stronger than water is what we look 4 forward to. Rarely do we feel that we get 5 enough of the other stuff in our glasses. 6 But anyway, so that's -- I just 7 wanted to question with caution towards our 8 fiscal reality. And as I say, I may very well 9 end up voting for this piece of legislation. 10 SENATOR MORAHAN: Thank you, 11 Mr. President. Will Senator Duane continue to 12 yield? 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 14 Duane, do you yield to Senator Morahan? 15 SENATOR DUANE: I guess I'd 16 better say sadly, yes. 17 SENATOR MORAHAN: Senator, I'm 18 sure you're aware that after this bill would 19 pass here, and with the Assembly's agreement 20 to pass it in that house, and that the 21 Governor would sign this particular piece of 22 legislation, then the Comptroller would verify 23 that the revenue projections as given at the 24 outset with this bill are correct and that the 25 state budget remains in balance.

p. 2480

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Is that your understanding of the 2 process? 3 SENATOR DUANE: Through you, 4 Mr. President, again, that's such a cheery 5 spin on what happens around here. Often the 6 Assembly doesn't pass what we pass, and often 7 we don't pass what they pass. And sometimes 8 we pass what they pass but we add something on 9 to it that they don't want in theirs, and 10 sometimes they don't want to pass something, 11 they want to add something on. 12 I harken back to the great joy I 13 feel when into this house comes Quick Draw 14 combined with the Loft Law renewal. One never 15 knows around here, Mr. President, in what form 16 a bill will go from house to house and 17 ultimately to the Governor's desk for 18 signature and the imprimatur, if you will, of 19 the Comptroller. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 21 scrambled-eggs approach? 22 SENATOR DUANE: As best as I can. 23 SENATOR MORAHAN: Mr. President, 24 would Senator Duane continue to yield? 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator

p. 2481

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Duane, do you continue to yield? 2 SENATOR DUANE: Absolutely, 3 Mr. President. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 5 Senator yields. 6 SENATOR MORAHAN: Senator, would 7 you agree with me that for anything to get 8 done it has to start someplace, it has to 9 start in one house or the other or be a 10 program bill by the Governor? 11 SENATOR DUANE: Through you, 12 Mr. President, sometimes it does start in the 13 house here, but often it starts with the 14 grassroots or a phone call to a legislator 15 from a constituent. And a brilliant idea may 16 grow from that, and the egg may hatch. And as 17 an Irish person, I often like to eat my eggs 18 with a side of blarney. 19 SENATOR MORAHAN: Mr. President, 20 I tend to stay away from the ethnic humor that 21 may be put forth here by Senator Duane. But 22 it seems to me this is a very, very serious 23 piece of business, especially for our senior 24 citizens, homeowners in the State of New York, 25 who are very hard-pressed, as Senator Bruno

p. 2482

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 outlined in his opening remarks. 2 And I want to congratulate Senator 3 Bruno for starting the process of returning 4 money that we have collected from our 5 taxpayers back to those taxpayers so they can 6 deal with escalating school taxes, they can 7 deal with escalating pharmaceutical prices, so 8 they can deal with life. And I want to 9 commend Senator Bruno for that, and support 10 this bill, and I look forward to your 11 affirmative vote, Senator Duane. 12 Thank you, Mr. President. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 14 you, Senator Morahan. 15 Senator Little. 16 SENATOR DUANE: Mr. President, 17 just a point of personal privilege, because I 18 was mentioned in the previous Senator's 19 remarks. I would just like to take a moment 20 to respond, and to respond by saying I believe 21 I actually -- 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 23 Duane, I don't believe that that's in order at 24 this time. If you'd like to be recognized at 25 a later date for the purposes of a response,

p. 2483

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 we'll be glad to give you that opportunity. 2 SENATOR DUANE: You can count on 3 it, Mr. President. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 5 you, Senator Duane. 6 Senator Little. 7 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 I'd like to stand in support of 10 this bill and this piece of legislation and 11 congratulate Senator Bruno on putting it 12 forth. Because at the end of the budget 13 process, when I looked at the STAR program -- 14 which is very, very important to my 15 district -- only to discover that some of our 16 seniors who have, you know, in many ways some 17 of the lower incomes in the district, who are 18 were not getting an increase in their rebate 19 check as we were hoping everyone would. So to 20 have found there is a surplus of money and to 21 see that this surplus of money will be 22 returned to the taxpayers and go to our 23 seniors. 24 These are the seniors who are in 25 the enhanced program. And as you know, I

p. 2484

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 represent an area of the state that has a lot 2 of second homes and a lot of high property 3 values and increasing property values. So if 4 you're a senior living in a home that you may 5 have paid $40,000, $60,000, $80,000 for, you 6 could now find your assessment at $240,000 up 7 to $300,000, and yet even though your 8 assessment has doubled, tripled, quadrupled, 9 your income has not. 10 So to be able to help these seniors 11 meet their tax obligation is very, very 12 important to me. And I know it's very 13 important to the people in my district. And 14 I'm very pleased that we are able to put this 15 measure forth, and I hope that the Assembly 16 will join us in doing this so that we can help 17 some of the people in our state who really and 18 truly would benefit by staying in their own 19 home, who want to stay in their own home, and 20 who find themselves in circumstances, due to 21 the high taxes and lower income, that they 22 just cannot do it. 23 So thank you very much, and I 24 certainly support this legislation. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank

p. 2485

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 you, Senator Little. 2 Senator L. Krueger. 3 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you, 4 Mr. President. 5 If through you the sponsor would 6 yield for a question, please. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 8 Bruno, Senator L. Krueger would like to ask 9 you if you would yield to a question. 10 SENATOR BRUNO: Yes, 11 Mr. President. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 13 Senator yields. 14 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you, 15 Mr. President. 16 Senator Bruno earlier today in his 17 statement said that low-income and 18 middle-income senior homeowners were the most 19 deserving taxpayers in the state. 20 I just want to ask that as a 21 question. Is that your statement, Senator 22 Bruno, that the middle- and low-income seniors 23 who would receive this enhanced STAR program 24 are the most deserving in the state? 25 SENATOR BRUNO: I don't know,

p. 2486

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President, my specific words. But a great 2 need exists for middle-income and lower-income 3 people. That was my intent. I'm not sure how 4 I articulated that. 5 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you. 6 Mr. President, if through you the 7 sponsor would continue to yield, please. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 9 Bruno, do you yield to another question from 10 Senator Krueger? 11 SENATOR BRUNO: Yes, 12 Mr. President. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 14 Senator yields. 15 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you, 16 Mr. President. 17 What about renters who are senior 18 citizens who have incomes below $67,850? 19 Because my data shows me that the majority of 20 low-income seniors and middle-income seniors 21 in the State of New York actually are not 22 homeowners but in fact are renters. And it's 23 my understanding that no matter whether we 24 call it the STAR program, the enhanced STAR 25 program, a rebate check, a deduction from

p. 2487

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 their taxes, they don't see the money from 2 this proposal. 3 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, I 4 am being refreshed that during the budget we 5 enhanced the PIT, personal income tax, in the 6 city as an offset for what we were doing with 7 proposals in STAR that the Governor submitted 8 and what we responded with this legislation. 9 So I believe there's equity and 10 there's balance that we have tried to maintain 11 with the rest of the state and the city, 12 Mr. President, because we understand there is 13 a need with city dwellers and we understand 14 there's low-income, middle-income people 15 there. So we believe that with the Governor, 16 with the Assembly, with our colleagues here 17 that we have addressed that. 18 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you. 19 Mr. President, on the bill. Thank 20 you. 21 And I want to thank the sponsor for 22 his answers. And he highlighted something in 23 his last answer to me. Yes, we did some 24 minimal adjustment to the personal income tax 25 offset during the STAR negotiations during the

p. 2488

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 budget. 2 I go back to my colleague Senator 3 Duane's point earlier, we did a budget very 4 recently and we made some changes to the STAR 5 program. We did some small enhancements to 6 the personal income tax for renters in the 7 City of New York. We did a budget, we did tax 8 expenditures, we did revenue projections, we 9 spent money. That's where big tax cut bills 10 should go, within the budget negotiations. As 11 Senator Bruno just pointed out, as we did in 12 this chamber a very short time ago. 13 We shouldn't do freestanding 14 tax-cut bills without an ability to explain 15 how we're going to pay for the lost revenue or 16 what the trade-offs are for any additional 17 changes in lost revenue or new expenditures 18 for the State of New York. Those bills, those 19 discussions should take place within 20 negotiations of the budget for exactly the 21 reason and the debate we're having here today. 22 If you were to ask the question 23 mathematically who are the seniors in the 24 State of New York who actually pay the highest 25 taxes and conceivably are most deserving of

p. 2489

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 any excess revenue we might or might not have 2 in the State of New York, I would propose to 3 you that the math would not show it is simply 4 and only homeowners with incomes below $67,000 5 a year. 6 And though of course Senator Bruno 7 is correct when he talks about the higher 8 property taxes for homeowners in some parts of 9 the state than others, when you add the income 10 tax, as he pointed out, we have in New York 11 City, when you add the impact of excise and 12 sales taxes on people of different incomes, we 13 would actually find, if we took a look and we 14 did our homework, that in fact while certainly 15 senior citizens with incomes below $67,850 a 16 year with their own homes have a real concern 17 with the rate of taxes they pay, they are not 18 the lowest-income seniors in the state, they 19 are not the seniors with necessarily the most 20 disproportionately high tax bill when you add 21 all the costs together. 22 And yet again as we expand STAR, if 23 we expand STAR, what we find is that the five 24 largest cities in the state of New York, 25 because of the disproportionately large number

p. 2490

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 of people who are renters, end up yet again 2 seeing more of the revenue in the state budget 3 move to other than them. The STAR program has 4 always been a program that was imbalanced in 5 where the revenue flows to. And so in fact in 6 a STAR enhancement rebate program, we see yet 7 again an imbalance of who gets and who 8 doesn't. 9 And I would argue that any 10 decisions made by this house as far as if 11 there's, if there's extra revenue -- and I 12 don't think it's yet really been proved -- if 13 there is extra revenue to be returned to the 14 taxpayers, I would argue that that should be 15 done in a broad-based equitable manner that 16 does not disproportionately impact only the 17 subuniverse of people who are homeowners 18 outside of specific areas of the state of 19 New York. 20 So one of my colleagues before 21 pointed out that if you're a senior living, I 22 believe, in Broome County and you're going to 23 get another $728 rebate check, that that goes 24 a long way in Broome County. I agree. But if 25 you're a low-income senior renter in the City

p. 2491

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 of New York in my district and you see your 2 rent go up 7.5 percent per year, year in, year 3 out, even as a rent-controlled tenant -- and 4 it's your home. It's your home just as much 5 as if you're a 100-year-old woman who owns her 6 own home. If you're a 100-year-old woman 7 who's lived in the same apartment for the last 8 50 years and your rent is going up, by 9 statute, 7.5 percent each and every year, and 10 you're on the same fixed income as that 11 elderly woman in Broome County, you are 12 hurting badly. And your costs for all of your 13 taxes are hurting you badly. 14 And so I would argue not against 15 the argument that these are people who deserve 16 both our respect and our analysis of how we 17 decide to give back surplus revenue if we have 18 it -- and again, I have to keep saying "if" 19 because I just voted for a budget that said 20 that this was an agreed-upon revenue 21 projection, and that we basically spent the 22 money and committed some money to rainy day 23 funds and we know that we've got out-year 24 holes in our budget projections that we have 25 to plan for.

p. 2492

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 So I don't disrespect that this is 2 one model of putting revenue back in the hands 3 of one subuniverse of low-and-middle-income 4 seniors throughout the state of New York, but 5 I would argue it's an inequitable model. And 6 it's an inequitable model for us to say that 7 today, after the budget is done, as a 8 one-house bill we're going to promise a tax 9 cut to a subuniverse of the population. 10 And the fact is that as every STAR 11 bill disproportionately is unfair to the five 12 big cities of the State of New York and 13 disproportionately is unfair to renters in the 14 State of New York, I will vote against this 15 bill. Because we keep moving down a road with 16 STAR of expanding the inequities, and we are 17 trying to turn one group of deserving seniors 18 as if they were a universe of a fight against 19 another group of seniors who are somehow 20 undeserving or less deserving because they 21 spend their lives living in rented homes as 22 opposed to owned homes, and I think that's 23 wrong. 24 So I will vote against this bill 25 because it is inequitable, even when you

p. 2493

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 analyze the universe of who are low- and 2 middle-income seniors. It's inequitable in 3 how the money falls out because of the 4 modeling of STAR as a program against the 5 large cities of the state, and particularly 6 the City of New York. And I will vote against 7 this bill because tax cuts should be done 8 within the discussion and the debate and the 9 rubric and the parameters of a revenue fight 10 and an expenditure fight within the budget. 11 And we just did that, and we didn't do this. 12 So I will vote no. Thank you, 13 Mr. President. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 15 Leibell. 16 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you very 17 much, Mr. President. 18 And this has been a very 19 interesting discussion and debate to listen 20 to. Senator Bruno, I want to thank you for 21 bringing this to the floor, because I believe 22 this will be one of the most important pieces 23 of legislation that we will address during 24 this session. 25 We had the chance last week to

p. 2494

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 speak to some of the media and speak with them 2 about this issue, and if I could recap for you 3 my comments at that time. I represent a 4 district in the Hudson Valley where my 5 constituents pay some of the highest taxes not 6 just in the State of New York but in the 7 country. And for our senior citizens it's 8 been a particularly difficult burden. 9 And to respond to Senator Krueger, 10 I would note that in an area such as mine, 11 there is a sparsity of rental units that are 12 available. And in fact when someone owns a 13 home, that is frequently the best choice and 14 maybe the only choice that they actually could 15 have. 16 But ownership of a home where 17 you're paying very, very high property taxes, 18 as you get older and you're on a fixed income, 19 it can be a saga that ends only in defeat, 20 because you'll be forced to leave that home. 21 And I've seen that repeatedly now, not scores 22 of times but hundreds of times over the course 23 of years that I've been here. 24 And one of the saddest things 25 you'll see is when you go into a community and

p. 2495

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 realize that a family has been there, brought 2 up their children, been active in the 3 community -- frequently been volunteer 4 firefighters, emergency service personnel -- 5 who, because they're older now and living on a 6 fixed income, these high taxes are a noose 7 around their necks. It will in fact force 8 them to leave those homes that they've had and 9 they've raised their families in. That's one 10 of the saddest things you can see as a 11 legislator or as a neighbor. 12 So I'm very pleased to support this 13 legislation. I believe Senator Bruno is 14 keeping a commitment that he made during the 15 budget process to continue working in this 16 area, to make sure that our seniors not only 17 are not forced to leave New York State but in 18 fact will be allowed to stay in their homes. 19 Thank you, Mr. President. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 21 Diaz. 22 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, 23 Mr. President. 24 When I got elected and I campaigned 25 to get elected, I promised the people in my

p. 2496

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 district that I would vote my conscience and 2 that I would do the best of my ability to 3 support and to protect my constituents and the 4 people in the State of New York. 5 So Senator Bruno, I am not going to 6 ask you is the Governor going to sign this 7 bill. I'm not going to ask you that. I'm not 8 even going to ask you if the Assembly has a 9 bill or is the Assembly going to pass it. I'm 10 not going to ask you that. 11 I just want to tell you 12 congratulations. Because really, when it 13 comes to senior citizens, when it comes to the 14 protection of senior citizens, I have spent my 15 last ten years working and fighting for senior 16 citizens. And anything that anybody do for 17 senior citizens, does for senior citizens, I 18 appreciate. 19 If the Governor doesn't want to 20 sign this bill, if the Governor, Senator 21 Bruno, doesn't want to sign this bill, shame 22 on him. Shame on him. If the Assembly, my 23 colleagues, don't want to take this bill and 24 protect senior citizens, shame on them. 25 I didn't get elected to come here

p. 2497

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 to vote for a Democratic Governor or for a 2 Democratic side or to vote for a Republican 3 side. That was not the purpose of me getting 4 elected. The purpose of me getting elected 5 was to deliver services to the people in my 6 community. 7 I understand that the people in my 8 community, the senior citizens in my 9 district -- I don't know if I could find one 10 senior citizen in my district, I don't know if 11 I could find one that makes $67,000 a year. I 12 don't even know if I could find one, or above 13 that. My senior citizens are poor, 14 low-income. 15 So anything that we could do -- the 16 only thing that I regret in this bill, Senator 17 Bruno, the only thing that I regret -- and I'm 18 praising you for the bill, and I'm supporting 19 this bill. And if the Assembly doesn't want 20 to pass it, that is their loss. The only 21 thing that I regret is that the City of 22 New York is not getting more money. They 23 should be getting more money, the senior 24 citizens from the City of New York. 25 Saying that, saying that, a bill

p. 2498

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 like this, to be here four hours or two hours 2 or one hour questioning Senator Bruno or 3 questioning the purpose or the intent of this 4 bill when we all know that it's a good bill 5 and at the end we are going to vote for it -- 6 and Senator Johnson, Craig Johnson, I 7 congratulate you because you are seeing the 8 light of the day in this bill and you are 9 protecting senior citizens. And I hope that 10 the senior citizens in your district in Long 11 Island know that they have a champion here 12 protecting the senior citizens. 13 So, Mr. President, through you, I 14 want to congratulate Senator Bruno, a 15 Republican, doing this for senior citizens in 16 my district. That's something to be, you 17 know -- thank you, Senator Bruno. Thank you 18 again. And the seniors in my district will be 19 more than happy with me for me supporting this 20 bill. And not only the seniors in my 21 district, I think that the seniors in the 22 whole State of New York will be more than 23 happy with me supporting the bill. 24 And this is not a Republican bill, 25 this is not a Democratic bill, this is a

p. 2499

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 people's bill. And people should be supported 2 by everyone. So count my in the yes column 3 again. 4 Thank you, Mr. President. And 5 thank you, Senator Bruno. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 7 you, Senator Diaz. 8 Senator Padavan. 9 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you, 10 Mr. President. 11 Several speakers, beginning with 12 Senator Duane, made mention of the fact that 13 there was a budget negotiated based on certain 14 revenues and we should stick to that and not 15 go beyond it. I believe that was the essence 16 of their comment. 17 But those of us who have been 18 around for a while will recall -- and this has 19 happened many years, not every year -- we'd 20 have a supplemental budget, we'd have a 21 deficiency budget, we'd have special budget 22 bills. We passed a couple today. One of them 23 was a bill I spoke to earlier about increasing 24 the pension benefits for the widows and 25 families of firefighters. There's a fiscal

p. 2500

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 implication; it's $2.5 million. That was not 2 in the regular budget, but we passed it 3 unanimously. 4 So there's nothing hard and fast 5 about the revenue estimate of April 1st or 6 thereabouts. Because something happens on 7 April 15th; people start sending in their 8 payments. They pay their taxes. 9 Corporations, certain corporations pay their 10 revenues. And about this time, if not a 11 little earlier, we've got a very good idea of 12 what the state revenues are. 13 And as the Majority Leader stated 14 very specifically, we made an estimate that 15 turned out to be almost right on the button. 16 And that's now a fact. It's not an estimate 17 any longer, it's not a supposition, it is a 18 matter of reality. 19 Last week we had a bill on the 20 floor and I said to Senator Duane, who's over 21 there chatting with Senator Morahan, that he 22 was the only honest member of his side of the 23 aisle, because he got up and he said, "I made 24 a mistake, I shouldn't have sponsored the 25 bill, and I'm going to correct it by voting

p. 2501

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 against it." 2 Well, the Governor made a mistake. 3 He should have accepted our estimate. And 4 then we would have done then what we are doing 5 now. And that would have been perhaps far 6 more appropriate and certainly beneficial, and 7 we wouldn't be spending this time discussing 8 this issue. 9 But hopefully the Governor, like 10 Senator Duane did last week, will admit he 11 made a mistake and, when this bill comes to 12 him with the revenues that are now in place, 13 he will see the efficacy of our initiative 14 that began earlier in the budget process and 15 sign it into law. 16 Thank you, Mr. President. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 18 you, Senator Padavan. 19 Senator Farley. 20 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you very 21 much, Mr. President. 22 I appreciated what you had to say, 23 Senator Diaz. Good for you. 24 Let me just say this, that my 25 daughter has a co-op in metropolitan New York

p. 2502

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 City. She gets STAR. And all those seniors 2 there, there are a lot of co-ops and condos 3 and, incidentally, three-family units where a 4 person lives there, they get STAR. So there's 5 a lot of them that are going to be affected in 6 the metropolitan area. 7 But let me just say that as we 8 passed the largest budget in the history of 9 the State of New York, where we did a lot of 10 good things for a lot of people, my office was 11 absolutely inundated and stunned by the number 12 of seniors that called and said, "Gee, things 13 are going so well, how come STAR has been 14 decreased?" 15 And I applaud Senator Bruno and 16 this Majority for trying to address this. 17 Because in much of my district, a lot of my 18 district, they're very low income people that 19 really expected to see STAR enhanced and so 20 forth, and it wasn't. This is something that 21 we're about to correct, and I applaud 22 everybody in this chamber for addressing it. 23 It is a very important issue to a lot of 24 little people. 25 And when we go forward with this

p. 2503

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 budget, there's no question about it, we have 2 the money to send this back to the people who 3 need it the most. 4 That's why I think it's a great 5 thing. And I think I would urge every one of 6 my colleagues that really care about what I 7 consider one of the most sensitive and 8 threatened people in our society, the 9 low-income seniors and so forth, that they're 10 able to get a STAR that is really significant. 11 I urge you to all vote yes on this bill. 12 Thank you, Mr. President. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 14 you, Senator Farley. 15 Any Senators wishing to be heard? 16 The debate is closed. 17 Oh, sorry. Senator Nozzolio. 18 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Yes, 19 Mr. President. I thought I was on the list. 20 And I apologize for interrupting, but I do 21 believe that this measure cannot have enough 22 said about it. 23 Senator Bruno, we appreciate very 24 much you bringing to the floor today an issue 25 that impacts every one of our seniors in this

p. 2504

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 state and particularly in the areas that we 2 serve that have skyrocketing property tax 3 assessments where property is increasing in 4 value, citizens of the senior citizen status 5 have to make very important decisions, and 6 those decisions result in sacrifices -- 7 sacrifices as to whether those seniors will 8 choose to pay for their groceries, their 9 electric bill, their prescription medicine, or 10 their property taxes. 11 That this STAR program has been the 12 greatest program on behalf of seniors, but to 13 have Senator Bruno's legislation that will 14 enhance STAR and provide necessary assistance 15 to those who need it the most is something 16 that we should champion. Each and every 17 member of this chamber should join and support 18 Senator Bruno's legislation because our 19 seniors need that relief, our overburdened 20 property taxpayers demand that relief, and 21 that that's the least that we can do to 22 provide that. 23 Our responsibilities as Senators 24 and as representatives do not end when the 25 budget is enacted. We need to continue to

p. 2505

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 press policies that will make sense for our 2 citizens, and this measure makes dollars and 3 cents for our senior citizens. 4 Thank you, Mr. President. I rise 5 in support of this measure and urge its 6 passage. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Thank 8 you, Senator Nozzolio. 9 Senator Sabini. 10 SENATOR SABINI: Thank you, 11 Mr. President. 12 I rise with some concern because I 13 think while the intention of this legislation 14 is good, I'm skeptical as to its future. I 15 would much rather see us be considering 16 legislation I have that has an Assembly 17 sponsor, which would forestall property tax 18 pavements of all senior citizens if they so 19 choose until the estate paid them or until 20 they moved out of the boundaries of the state 21 of New York. That would guarantee seniors 22 wouldn't lose their homes because they'd have 23 that option not to lose their homes based on a 24 property tax payment. 25 So once again, in doing this,

p. 2506

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 perhaps this body should have hearings on 2 this, on the issue of property taxes for 3 senior citizens, because if we did that 4 perhaps we'd find out that people did have 5 real concerns about losing their homes no 6 matter what the cost of their property tax 7 were. 8 You know, some people are on a very 9 fixed income. Some are down to Social 10 Security. And if we give people the option of 11 forestalling their tax, as in the bill 12 Assemblyman Lafayette and I carry, we wouldn't 13 be in this position of having to worry about 14 whether they'd lose their homes. We would 15 guarantee they wouldn't. 16 So while this may be laudable 17 legislation and I may wind up voting for it -- 18 of course I don't vote for everything that I 19 necessarily put my name on -- but I would like 20 to see real consideration to a broad approach 21 to this that would guarantee that seniors 22 would never lose their home based on a 23 property tax bill. 24 Thank you. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Any

p. 2507

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Senators wishing to be heard? 2 The debate is closed. 3 The Secretary will ring the bell. 4 Read the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 6 act shall take effect immediately. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 8 the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 11 Schneiderman, to explain his vote. 12 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you, 13 Mr. President. 14 I appreciate this debate, and I 15 wish we had more opportunities to debate 16 fundamental issues before we get to this 17 point. 18 I must say that I agree with the 19 points made by Senator Krueger and 20 Senator Diaz about the concern that the City 21 of New York now subsidizes the rest of the 22 state by something on the order of $13 billion 23 or $14 billion a year, and yet our seniors do 24 not get their fair share of benefits of bills 25 like this. And that is a concern of mine.

p. 2508

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 But listening to the rest of this 2 debate, especially the insightful and 3 extraordinarily passionate appeal of Senator 4 Craig Johnson, the advocate for seniors in 5 Nassau County, I will be voting in support of 6 this bill. 7 Thank you. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 9 Schneiderman will be recorded in the 10 affirmative. 11 Announce the results. 12 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 13 the negative on Calendar Number 829 are 14 Senators L. Krueger and Perkins. 15 Senators absent from voting: 16 Senators Breslin and Seward. 17 Ayes, 56. Nays, 2. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 19 bill is passed. 20 Senator Bruno. 21 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 22 can we at this time return to the 23 noncontroversial calendar and take up Calendar 24 Number 830. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The

p. 2509

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Secretary will read. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 830, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 5755, an 4 act in relation to the date for the 2007 5 primary. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 7 the last section. 8 THE SECRETARY: Section 4 -- 9 SENATOR SABINI: Mr. President, 10 point of order. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 12 Sabini, state your point of order. 13 SENATOR SABINI: I don't think 14 we've got these bills on our desks. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 16 Sabini, I'm informed that the bills are in 17 your book. 18 SENATOR SABINI: They came out of 19 Rules Committee today, and I don't believe 20 they were put in the book. No one's opened my 21 book since I've been here. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 23 Sabini, I am informed that the bills were put 24 in before session began. 25 SENATOR SABINI: Mr. President, I

p. 2510

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 find that rather curious, since we just passed 2 them in committee. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 4 Sabini, are you stating a point of order? 5 SENATOR SABINI: Yes, I am. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: And 7 what are you curious about? 8 SENATOR SABINI: Why were they 9 put in the book before session if they just 10 passed in committee? 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: 12 Senator, your point of order is not well 13 taken. The bills were printed and placed on 14 the desk on May 3rd of 2007. 15 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: The bill 16 says May 4th on the print. 17 SENATOR SABINI: The bill says 18 May 4th on the print. 19 (Laughter.) 20 SENATOR SABINI: And I believe 21 it's the tradition of the house that when the 22 bills come off the floor of committee, which 23 we shouldn't be having in the first place, 24 they're placed on our desks after the 25 committee votes on them and they're not

p. 2511

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 given -- that's the tradition that's been here 2 since I've been here. 3 Mr. President, if I could just get 4 it clarified -- I'm willing to withdraw my 5 objection. I'd just like to get it clarified 6 as to what the procedure is. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 8 Sabini, it is my understanding that the bill 9 is on your desk. 10 SENATOR SABINI: Can I ask, then, 11 how it gets calendarized without coming out of 12 committee? If the bill was on my desk with a 13 calendar number on it, how did it achieve that 14 calendar number if it hadn't come out of 15 committee? 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: 17 Senator, when they're introduced, they're 18 placed in the book. Your point of order is 19 not well taken. 20 SENATOR SABINI: Mr. President, 21 how are they placed in the book if they 22 haven't come out of committee? They're not on 23 the floor yet. 24 Mr. President, I understand we 25 don't get these calendar numbers until we come

p. 2512

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 out of committee. So unless someone came in 2 and stamped all these on the floor, and I 3 didn't see anyone running around with a rubber 4 stamp, I think my point is well taken. I 5 would just like to know what the general 6 procedure is. 7 Mr. President, can I just offer to 8 solve this and have someone tell me it was the 9 wrong procedure and we can move on? Because 10 the bills are clearly calenderized now. But I 11 just don't understand how they got there with 12 a calendar number, and I just want to make 13 sure we're following the right procedure. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 15 Bruno. 16 SENATOR BRUNO: Just by way of 17 information, I believe this went through 18 Elections, went to Rules -- which happens 19 many, many times -- to the floor, has a 20 calendar number. This is a unibill with the 21 Assembly, identical form. 22 So I don't know if we're talking 23 procedure or if the Senator wants to talk 24 about the merits of this legislation. 25 SENATOR SABINI: I hadn't gotten

p. 2513

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 to the merits yet, Mr. President. I was just 2 trying to figure out how this got here with a 3 calendar number. 4 SENATOR BRUNO: Well, that's how 5 it got here, Mr. President. Through 6 Elections, through Rules, to the floor. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 8 calendar number was assigned in anticipation 9 of the bill being reported from the floor. 10 The fact that the bill was stamped 11 on May 3rd instead of May 4th was an error. 12 The bill should have been stamped on May 4th. 13 SENATOR SABINI: And so we often 14 do things here in anticipation? It's like 15 professional wrestling, we give the number 16 ahead of time because we know it's going to 17 pass? 18 (Laughter.) 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: 20 Senator, your point of order now is not well 21 taken. So if you wish to withdraw it, as you 22 indicated, and speak on the merits, feel free. 23 SENATOR SABINI: The point of 24 order may be wrong, but the analogy was really 25 on target, I think.

p. 2514

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 (Laughter.) 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. 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, 59. Nays, 10 1. Senator Maziarz recorded in the negative. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 12 bill is passed. 13 Senator Bruno. 14 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 15 can we at this time take up Calendar Number 16 798. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 18 Secretary will read. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 798, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 5028, an 21 act to amend Part O-1 of Chapter 109 of the 22 Laws of 2006. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: There 24 is a home-rule message at the desk. 25 Read the last section.

p. 2515

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 2 act shall take effect -- 3 SENATOR DUANE: Lay it aside, 4 please. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 6 bill is laid aside. 7 Senator Bruno. 8 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 9 can we take up Calendar Number 827. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 11 Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 827, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 5673, an 14 act to amend the Education Law. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Read 16 the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 18 act shall take effect immediately. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 20 the roll. 21 (The Secretary called the roll.) 22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 24 bill is passed. 25 Senator Bruno, that completes the

p. 2516

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 noncontroversial supplemental reading of the 2 calendar. 3 Senator Bruno. 4 SENATOR BRUNO: Mr. President, 5 can we at this time go to the controversial 6 calendar and take up Number 798, by Senator 7 Bonacic. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 9 Secretary will read. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 798, by Senator Bonacic, Senate Print 5028, an 12 act to amend Part O-1 of Chapter 109 of the 13 Laws of 2006. 14 SENATOR DUANE: Explanation, 15 please. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Senator 17 Duane asks for an explanation, Senator 18 Bonacic. 19 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, 20 Mr. President. 21 First of all, this is a home rule 22 bill. It's authorizing the Town of Sidney, in 23 Delaware County, to issue serial bonds in 24 relation to extending such authorization. 25 What had happened is this town had

p. 2517

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 owned a hospital, and there was tremendous 2 debt on this hospital and they didn't know 3 whether they were going to lose the hospital 4 to bankruptcy or not. What happened was there 5 was an infusion of $2 million to help save 6 this hospital. But in addition, to make up 7 the deficit that this town owed, they floated 8 bonds which were going to be paid by the 9 property taxpayers of Sidney to help keep 10 their hospital. 11 The expiration ended in April. We 12 want to extend it to July 15th of '07. That's 13 the purpose of the legislation. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Any 15 other Senator wishing to be heard? 16 SENATOR DUANE: Explanation 17 acceptable, Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 19 debate is closed. 20 The Secretary will ring the bell. 21 Read the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 23 act shall take effect immediately. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Call 25 the roll.

p. 2518

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 (The Secretary called the roll.) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 4 bill is passed. 5 Senator Skelos. 6 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 7 if we could lay the rest of the bills aside 8 for the day. 9 Is there any further business at 10 the desk? 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: Yes, 12 Senator Skelos, we have a motion. 13 Senator Nozzolio. 14 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, 15 Mr. President. 16 On page number 34 I offer the 17 following amendments to Calendar Number 522, 18 Senate Print Number 3440, on behalf of Senator 19 Golden, and ask that said bill retain its 20 place on Third Reading Calendar. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: The 22 amendments are received and adopted, and the 23 bill will retain its place on the Third 24 Reading Calendar. 25 Senator Skelos.

p. 2519

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 2 there being no further business to come before 3 the Senate, I move we stand adjourned until 4 Tuesday, May 8th, at 3:00 p.m. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WINNER: On 6 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until 7 Tuesday, May 8th, at 3:00 p.m. 8 (Whereupon, at 6:18 p.m., the 9 Senate adjourned.) 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

p. 2520

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910

Monday, May 7, 2007

Transcript

Bills on the floor