Wednesday, January 23, 2008

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 January 23, 2008 11 11:15 a.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 SENATOR THOMAS P. MORAHAN, Acting President 19 STEVEN M. BOGGESS, Secretary 20 21 22 23 24 25

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

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(518) 371-8910 1 Messages from the Governor. 2 Reports of standing committees. 3 The Secretary will read. 4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Farley, 5 from the Committee on Banks, reports the 6 following bill direct to third reading: 7 Senate Print 6622A, by Senator 8 Farley, an act to amend Chapter 591 of the 9 Laws of 2001 amending the Banking Law. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 11 bill will be reported direct to third reading. 12 The Secretary will read. 13 THE SECRETARY: Senator O. 14 Johnson, from the Committee on Finance, 15 reports the following nominations. 16 As Commissioner of the Department 17 of Taxation and Finance, Robert L. Megna, of 18 Rensselaer. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 20 Senator O. Johnson. 21 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Move the 22 nomination. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 24 question is on the nomination of Robert L. 25 Megna, of Rensselaer, to serve at the pleasure

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(518) 371-8910 1 of the Governor as Commissioner of the 2 Department of Taxation and Finance. All in 3 favor signify by saying aye. 4 (Response of "Aye.") 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 6 Opposed, nay. 7 (No response.) 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 9 ayes have it; the nominee is confirmed. 10 Robert L. Megna, Commissioner of 11 the Department of Taxation, you're here with 12 your brother Philip. We congratulate you on 13 your appointment and confirmation. 14 Congratulations and all the best wishes for a 15 good year. 16 (Applause.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 18 Secretary will read. 19 THE SECRETARY: As Major General 20 of the New York Naval Militia, Robert L. Wolf, 21 of Ossining. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 23 Senator O. Johnson. 24 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: Move the 25 nomination.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 2 Senator Johnson moves the nomination. 3 Senator Leibell. 4 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you, 5 Mr. President. If I could comment just 6 briefly for a moment. 7 I don't believe General Wolf will 8 be here today in the Capitol with us, but I am 9 very pleased that the Governor has sent over 10 General Wolf's name to receive a second star, 11 making him a major general. 12 I happen to have known General Wolf 13 now over the course of a great many years, and 14 I can tell you that he has had a most 15 distinguished career, a long career in active 16 duty as a United States Marine Corps officer, 17 serving all over the world and in many 18 responsible and very sensitive positions. 19 So we look forward to working 20 closely with General Wolf, who will also be 21 head of the state naval forces, our naval 22 militia, and we thank the Governor for what I 23 believe to be a very, very important and a 24 good nomination. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank

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(518) 371-8910 1 you, Senator. 2 The question is on the nomination 3 of Robert L. Wolf, of Ossining, to serve at 4 the pleasure of the Governor as the Major 5 General of the New York Naval Militia. All in 6 favor say aye. 7 (Response of "Aye.") 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 9 Opposed, nay. 10 (No response.) 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 12 Hearing none, the nomination is confirmed. 13 Congratulations to Major General 14 Wolf, wherever you may be. 15 Reports of select committees. 16 Communications and reports from 17 state officers. 18 Motions and resolutions. 19 Senator Skelos. 20 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 21 if we could adopt the Resolution Calendar at 22 this time. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: All in 24 favor signify by saying aye. 25 (Response of "Aye.")

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 2 Opposed, nay. 3 (No response.) 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 5 Resolution Calendar is adopted. 6 Senator Skelos. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 8 Resolution Number 4080, by Senator Griffo, is 9 at the desk. If we could have the title read 10 and move for its immediate adoption. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 12 Secretary will read. 13 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 14 Griffo, Legislative Resolution Number 4080, 15 congratulating Mildred Reape upon the occasion 16 of celebrating her 105th Birthday. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: All in 18 favor of the resolution say aye. 19 (Response of "Aye.") 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 21 Opposed, nay. 22 (No response.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 24 resolution is adopted. 25 Senator Skelos.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 2 if we could go to the noncontroversial reading 3 of the calendar. 4 Or do we have another motion? 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 6 Senator Bonacic, do you have a motion? 7 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 I move that Senate Bill 5028 be 10 discharged from its respective committee and 11 be recommitted with instructions to strike the 12 enacting clause. And that Senate bill is by 13 Senator Bonacic. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: So 15 ordered. 16 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, 17 Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 19 Senator Skelos. 20 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 21 if we could now go to the noncontroversial 22 reading of the calendar. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 24 Secretary will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number

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(518) 371-8910 1 15, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 1830, 2 an act to amend the Military Law. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read 4 the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 6 act shall take effect immediately. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 8 the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 11 Announce the results. 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 14 bill is passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 18, by Senator Leibell, Senate Print 3588, an 17 act to amend the Penal Law. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read 19 the last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 21 act shall take effect on the first of 22 November. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 24 the roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 2 Announce the results. 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 5 bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 22, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 4835, an 8 act to amend the General Business Law. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Read 10 the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 12 act shall take effect on the 180th day. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 14 the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 17 Announce the results. 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 51. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 20 bill is passed. 21 Senator Skelos. 22 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 23 the Senate will stand at ease. We'll call, 24 shortly, a meeting of the Rules Committee and 25 then come back to take up the calendar.

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(518) 371-8910 1 So if we could just stand at ease. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 3 Senate will stand at ease. And there will 4 shortly come up a meeting of the Rules 5 Committee, and then we will reconvene. 6 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 7 ease at 11:24 a.m.) 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 9 Senator Skelos. 10 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 11 there will be an immediate meeting of the 12 Rules Committee in the Majority Conference 13 Room. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: There 15 will be an immediate meeting of the Rules 16 Committee in the Majority Conference Room. 17 We will stand at ease until they 18 return with the report. 19 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 20 at 11:48 a.m.) 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 22 Senator Skelos. 23 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 24 if we could return to reports of standing 25 committees, there's a report of the Rules

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(518) 371-8910 1 Committee at the desk. I ask that it be read 2 at this time. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 4 Reports of standing committees. 5 The Secretary will read the report 6 of the Rules Committee. 7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno, 8 from the Committee on Rules, reports the 9 following bill direct to third reading: 10 Senate Print 5953A, by Senator 11 Bruno, an act to amend the Tax Law. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 13 Senator Skelos. 14 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept 15 the report of the Rules Committee. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: All in 17 favor of accepting the Rules Committee report 18 say aye. 19 (Response of "Aye.") 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 21 Opposed, nay. 22 (No response.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 24 report is accepted, Senator Skelos. 25 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,

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(518) 371-8910 1 at this time if we could take up Calendar 2 Number 90, Senate Print 5953A. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 4 Secretary will read. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 90, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 5953A, an 7 act to amend the Tax Law. 8 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Lay it 9 aside. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 11 bill is laid aside, Senator. 12 Senator Skelos. 13 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 14 if we could now go to the controversial 15 calendar. And if we could ring the bells, 16 please. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 18 Secretary will ring the bells, and we will now 19 move to the controversial calendar. 20 The Secretary will read. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 90, by Senator Bruno, Senate Print 5953A, an 23 act to amend the Tax Law. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 25 Senator Winner, you look like you have

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(518) 371-8910 1 consternation going on. You want to be 2 recognized, Senator? 3 SENATOR WINNER: Thank you, 4 Senator. I didn't know whether we were having 5 an amendment or whether we were on the bill. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: We're 7 on the bill, sir. 8 SENATOR WINNER: Okay, thank you. 9 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: I have an 10 amendment. 11 SENATOR WINNER: He has an 12 amendment, so I would defer. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 14 Senator Stachowski. 15 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Mr. 16 President, I believe there's an amendment at 17 the desk. I ask that the reading of the 18 amendment be waived, and I'd like to be heard 19 on the amendment. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 21 reading is waived, and you may be heard on the 22 amendment. 23 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Basically, 24 Mr. President, what this amendment does is it 25 adds a section into this bill that would be

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(518) 371-8910 1 like a recruitment section, which would 2 prohibit the outsourcing of jobs by 3 businesses, business entities receiving state 4 financial incentives. It would provide for 5 repayment thereof and a five-year ban on 6 assistance for violations of this provision. 7 It would provide for the 8 enforcement by the Attorney General. It would 9 require that state entities providing 10 financial incentives to business entities and 11 business entities receiving financial 12 incentives to each report thereon to the 13 Attorney General. And such reports would be 14 made available to the general public. 15 So basically all this amendment 16 does is into this bill we put in provisions to 17 safeguard the state's investment, seeing that 18 we do have limited resources. This would then 19 stop companies from taking state aid and then 20 either outsourcing the machinery or 21 outsourcing the jobs and not living up to the 22 provisions that they agreed to when they 23 accepted the state aid. 24 So with that, Mr. President, I ask 25 for everybody to please support this

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(518) 371-8910 1 amendment. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 3 you, Senator. 4 Anyone else wishing to be heard on 5 the amendment? 6 On the amendment, those Senators in 7 agreement please signify by raising your 8 hands. 9 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 10 agreement are Senators Adams, Breslin, Connor, 11 Diaz, Dilan, Duane, Gonzalez, 12 Hassell-Thompson, Huntley, C. Johnson, Klein, 13 L. Krueger, Montgomery, Onorato, Parker, 14 Perkins, Sampson, Savino, Schneiderman, 15 Serrano, Smith, Stachowski, Stavisky, 16 Stewart-Cousins, Thompson and Valesky. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 18 amendment is not agreed to. 19 Senator Skelos. 20 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 21 would you please recognize Senator Robach. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 23 Senator Robach. 24 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes, 25 Mr. President, just to explain my vote on this

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(518) 371-8910 1 bill. 2 This is really the culmination, I 3 think, a response to our constituency, which I 4 think not only in Rochester but across upstate 5 New York and perhaps downstate, for that 6 matter, where people clearly are looking for a 7 job, career opportunities, and other things to 8 do this. 9 So we have moved forward this 10 Upstate Now plan after a lot of thought, a lot 11 of dialogue with business groups, different 12 groups across the community to try and put 13 something in place -- not in speech, and not 14 rhetorically, but into statute, hoping that we 15 can move to some action in the other house, 16 sit down with the Governor in the light of 17 day -- open policy, conference committee, 18 whatever you want to call it, whatever 19 mechanism we can use -- and agree upon the 20 many things that I think we do agree upon to 21 stimulate the economy, and then also hopefully 22 hammer out what we don't agree upon. 23 And I would encourage everyone to 24 support this. Clearly, as I go around, 25 especially now with what's going on, people

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(518) 371-8910 1 want these things. They want job 2 opportunities. It's long overdue. This 3 package, ten-point plan, covers a lot of 4 things that will assist in coverage of 5 healthcare, strategic tax cuts, policies, 6 strategic investments that would be very good. 7 And not only do I emphasize this, I 8 think Mr. Burns from the Business Council said 9 it well: It's not just about the "upstate," 10 it also needs to be about the "now." 11 Last year we talked about strategic 12 investment for Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse 13 and things that could have went out the door. 14 We sat on a billion dollars even after we 15 publicly went out with the Governor and 16 announced agreement. It never came to 17 fruition. We can't allow this to happen. 18 So this is a substantial program -- 19 again, in law, not in speech -- to try and get 20 something going now. And it doesn't mean that 21 everything in here has to happen or can 22 happen. It means that we ought to stake out a 23 position and clearly go transparently, in the 24 light of day, to get something with urgency 25 done to help all of our constituents, the

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(518) 371-8910 1 economy, to retain those young people, to 2 retain people moving jobs and create career 3 opportunities in upstate New York. 4 And I would say upstate is 5 important. We've learned that the 6 cookie-cutter approach doesn't always work. 7 What might work in New York City may not work 8 in Rochester, may not work in Buffalo, may not 9 work in Syracuse. And I won't keep you here 10 long; I can show you a lot of policies we've 11 done that have worked better in New York City 12 than upstate New York. The time to do this is 13 now. 14 At the end of the day, regardless 15 of where you are located geographically, 16 implementing these to improve the economy will 17 help each and every one of us as well as 18 New Yorkers across the board. 19 Thank you. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 21 you, Senator. 22 Senator Winner. 23 SENATOR WINNER: Thank you, 24 Mr. President. Briefly on the bill. 25 You don't have to be much of an

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(518) 371-8910 1 economist to realize that the real reason why 2 the economy is not working very well in 3 upstate New York is really because of the 4 overall cost of doing business. 5 We can talk about our programs of 6 the past, which have been strategic in their 7 efforts to try and direct resources here and 8 there, and those efforts have been successful 9 in part and not successful in other part. 10 But overall, what everyone tells 11 you is the reason why we are uncompetitive in 12 New York is because the fundamental bottom 13 line costs are still far above the rest of the 14 states around us and make us noncompetitive. 15 And those costs are pretty obvious. They're 16 taxes, they're health insurance costs, and 17 they're certainly energy. 18 This plan specifically addresses 19 itself to those fundamental costs of doing 20 business in New York. Unlike the Governor's 21 budget proposal, unlike his proposal to 22 dedicate certain funds, some of which we agree 23 with, some of which we wish to reprioritize. 24 But overall, there's nothing in the Governor's 25 plan that reduces the basic cost of doing

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(518) 371-8910 1 business in New York, which is what we have to 2 do. 3 This plan directs $2.7 billion in 4 resources to do just that and make New York 5 more competitive, particularly in the upstate 6 regions. 7 We don't need plans such as the 8 Governor just proposed to increase costs, like 9 the proposed assessment increase on covered 10 lives for health insurance premiums, the 11 so-called tax on HMOs, which are going to be 12 nothing other than passed along. And we're 13 raising our health insurance premiums to 14 employers and employees in this state by 15 $365 million. That's going in the opposite 16 direction. That's not going in the right 17 direction of reducing the bottom line for 18 business and industry in this state. 19 So this plan is the first 20 well-thought-out plan to overall reduce the 21 costs. And while it's expensive, it's an 22 investment that has to be made if we're really 23 going to be serious about turning the corner 24 and making the upstate region a place to do 25 business, a place to have good career jobs,

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(518) 371-8910 1 and a good place to keep our kids from leaving 2 and going to greener pastures. And I urge its 3 unanimous passage. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 5 you, Senator. 6 Any other Senator wishing to be 7 heard? 8 The debate is closed. 9 The Secretary will ring the bell. 10 Read the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 12 act shall take effect immediately. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Call 14 the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 17 Senator Nozzolio. 18 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Mr. President, 19 I ask permission to explain my vote. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 21 Senator Nozzolio, to explain his vote. 22 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, 23 Mr. President and my colleagues. 24 Upstate New York is a very 25 beautiful place. And I daresay the Finger

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(518) 371-8910 1 Lakes region is the most beautiful in upstate, 2 and of all the states, if not one of the most 3 beautiful places in the world. But the Finger 4 Lakes region is facing hard economic times. 5 Its manufacturing base has been eroded. It is 6 fighting hard to be competitive in 7 agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing still. 8 But we need to do more to help the 9 upstate economy, and that's what this plan is 10 all about. This is a plan that will focus on 11 all the economy of New York State, but 12 particularly that in upstate. And that's why 13 I hasten to support it, I work hard to get 14 this measure through, and that I appreciate my 15 colleagues' support. 16 New York is a wonderful place to 17 live and work and raise a family. But the 18 oppressive taxation is overburdening all the 19 other benefits. This plan helps us ease that 20 taxation. It helps us bring more jobs to the 21 upstate economy. It helps secure a future for 22 upstaters for generations. 23 I should add that earlier today we 24 confirmed the commissioner of the Department 25 of Taxation. Well, a part of that issue is

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(518) 371-8910 1 that there's an unlevel playing field in 2 upstate New York where unlevel taxation 3 occurs, and that too is driving businesses out 4 that are paying their fair share of taxes. 5 We need to continue to press the 6 Tax Department to level the playing field and 7 to ensure that those businesses that are 8 competing with Indian retail sales businesses 9 are doing so on a level playing field where 10 taxation is spread evenly, fairly, across this 11 state. 12 Mr. President, this plan does a 13 great deal for the upstate economy. I 14 appreciate the support of my colleagues for 15 it. It's going to help our taxpayers and 16 bring jobs to our region. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 18 Senator Bonacic. 19 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you, 20 Mr. President. 21 I for one think that this economy 22 is going to get softer in the next six months. 23 We need bipartisan support now for job 24 creation. 25 One of the problems I have is,

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(518) 371-8910 1 being a Senator from the mid-Hudson, there's 2 talk about upstate/downstate. Quite frankly, 3 I don't know where the Hudson Valley -- how it 4 falls, whether it's upstate, downstate. When 5 I speak to some agencies, they say everything 6 above Albany is upstate and that's where we 7 should direct our resources. I speak to the 8 executive branch, and it's Albany, the 9 mid-Hudson, the Island and New York City is 10 downstate. 11 So whether we're upstate or 12 downstate, we are one state. And we can never 13 forget that. And our needs are different, to 14 different degrees. 15 We're not reinventing the wheel, 16 what it takes for bringing us out of a 17 recession, if we're there or not. Job 18 creation is simple. Cut down the cost of 19 doing business in New York, reduce taxes, 20 reduce utility costs, reduce insurance cost. 21 And if you do that, you will have job creation 22 and our economy in New York will get better. 23 And it needs bipartisan support. 24 So I ask for that support. I 25 support this plan for everybody in New York

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(518) 371-8910 1 State, whether it's upstate or downstate. 2 Thank you, Mr. President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 4 you, Senator Bonacic. 5 Senator Bonacic and Senator 6 Nozzolio will be recorded in the affirmative. 7 Senator Young, to explain her vote. 8 SENATOR YOUNG: Thank you, 9 Mr. President, to explain my vote. 10 I represent Western New York and 11 the Southern Tier, specifically, of Western 12 New York. We have suffered there 13 tremendously. We've been the hardest hit by 14 economic issues across the entire state, if 15 you look at the whole state. In Western 16 New York we've lost jobs, we've lost 17 population, and we need to do something to 18 turn it around. And this plan will do that. 19 A few months ago I met with 20 business and community leaders in my district, 21 and I presented to them Upstate Now. And they 22 gave a resounding endorsement to this plan. 23 They said it does everything that we need. It 24 helps manufacturers, it helps grow small 25 businesses, it provides energy relief, it

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(518) 371-8910 1 helps alleviate the high cost of healthcare to 2 small businesses. 3 And if you look at my district, we 4 have depended over the years on three major 5 components. It's small business, it's 6 manufacturers, and it's the agriculture 7 industry. 8 And I do want to mention to my 9 colleagues that you may notice in our plan, 10 I'm very happy that we led the way last year 11 with the proposal for a $50 million fund to go 12 toward developing agriculture-related 13 businesses. That's something that we did last 14 year when we passed this. We're going to do 15 it again this year. 16 So we have our work cut out for us. 17 But I would urge everyone to support this plan 18 because when you look at New York State, our 19 entire state has to be strong. We have to be 20 together. This is something very tangible 21 that is going to get results, going to get 22 results now. And there is urgency to this 23 plan. That's why it's Upstate Now. 24 I encourage everyone to join in and 25 support this, because our future depends on

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(518) 371-8910 1 it. 2 Thank you. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 4 Senator Young will be recorded in the 5 affirmative. 6 Senator Griffo. 7 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 Symbolism is good, but substance is 10 much more important and much more necessary. 11 And I think the plan that's being presented 12 today, the ten points, really will build the 13 foundation for meaningful relief. 14 And that's what we're trying to 15 advocate today, the sense of urgency that is 16 challenging the economy across the state but 17 particularly upstate. And while there's been 18 much rhetoric, the time for results is now 19 before this state, the Legislature, and the 20 executive. 21 So I am hopeful that as a result of 22 the package that's being presented, after 23 talking to community leaders and small 24 businesses, listening to their frustrations 25 and witnessing some of the challenges that are

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(518) 371-8910 1 facing communities across the upstate region, 2 that if we put in place programs as are being 3 advocated here in this proposal, they can 4 truly make a difference, they will invigorate 5 the economy and really make the necessary 6 improvements which will revitalize and allow 7 us to grow and prosper. 8 The statistics are there for us to 9 all look at, the exodus from the state. So 10 whether you're up or down, it's always around. 11 And what we need to accomplish is a program 12 such as this that has a meaningful -- makes a 13 meaningful difference, achieving a meaningful 14 result that will benefit all of our 15 constituency. 16 Thank you. I vote aye. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: 18 Senator Griffo will be recorded in the 19 affirmative. 20 Senator L. Krueger, to explain her 21 vote. 22 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you, 23 Mr. Chair. I rise to explain why I'll be 24 voting no on the bill. 25 You know, there are good pieces of

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(518) 371-8910 1 this bill. There would have been a good piece 2 if you'd voted for the amendment my colleague 3 put on the floor, which would say you couldn't 4 outsource these jobs out of New York once you 5 were creating them in the context of this 6 legislation. 7 And I have no disagreement with my 8 colleagues' concern about the upstate economy. 9 We all are concerned about the upstate 10 economy. And if we have read the newspapers 11 or listened to TV in the last couple of weeks, 12 we should be concerned about the downstate 13 economy, the U.S. economy, and the world 14 economy, because we are walking ourselves 15 right now into a recession. 16 Which is why I have to vote no 17 against this bill, because as one of my 18 colleagues just said, the estimated cost of 19 the bill is $2.7 billion, $2.7 billion. And 20 several sections of the bill don't have 21 financial analyses; they are to be determined. 22 So I think it's reasonable to say this bill 23 would cost over $3 billion. 24 So if this bill was attached to an 25 explanation of what my colleagues wanted to

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(518) 371-8910 1 cut out of the New York State budget equalling 2 $3 billion, or if my colleagues wanted to 3 explain what new revenue they would get to 4 make up for the lost billions of dollars, then 5 I might consider the discussion more 6 seriously. 7 But this is a bill that was passed 8 in June; it hasn't significantly changed. The 9 economy has. And unlike June, now we're at 10 the beginning of a budget process where our 11 job as legislators is to balance revenue and 12 expenditures. 13 So a bill that gives away over 14 $3 billion in revenue that's beyond a press 15 conference release is a bill that would 16 explain what you're cutting out of the state 17 budget to equal that amount of money or where 18 you're getting the revenue you're giving up 19 here. 20 This doesn't do that. Therefore, I 21 cannot vote for it. 22 Thank you, Mr. President. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 24 you, Senator Krueger. You will be recorded in 25 the negative.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator DeFrancisco, to explain his 2 vote. 3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I rise to 4 support this legislation. 5 And I am a little bit shocked that 6 the Senator from New York City would not be 7 supportive of this because this really applies 8 across the board. These bills will help 9 everybody across the board whether you're 10 downstate or upstate. 11 But more importantly, before either 12 she or I were in the Senate, I remember there 13 was a time in the history of New York City 14 where the city was bankrupt. And the whole 15 state, including upstate, came to the rescue 16 of the City of New York, and now they're 17 stronger than ever. 18 So there is a serious problem in 19 upstate. In my district, manufacturing jobs 20 are slowly going away, sometimes even more 21 quickly, much more quickly than we'd like to 22 say they are. 23 And the fact of the matter is that 24 some of these proposals were not only passed 25 last June, but they've been around for a long

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(518) 371-8910 1 time. Like eliminating taxes on 2 manufacturers, tax credits for things like 3 small businesses being able to provide 4 insurance for their employees, tax rebates for 5 property taxes, assistance in energy costs for 6 small businesses. You know, these are all 7 bills that are put in a package that we've 8 talked about before. 9 Well, it was important to pass this 10 bill last June. It's even more important to 11 pass this bill now, with the national economy 12 showing some serious problems. If we wait any 13 longer, the problems are going to be worse, 14 not only for upstate but throughout the state 15 of New York. The time is now to create jobs 16 by creating incentives and making business at 17 least competitive with other states. 18 And I'm sure that if we look at 19 this thing in the context of the budget 20 process, we will understand that with this 21 relief we're going to create more taxpayers 22 and we're going to create higher taxes from 23 the businesses that are prospering rather than 24 those that are leaving the state. 25 So I would urge everyone to

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(518) 371-8910 1 consider this very seriously. The time is 2 now. It ain't going to get any better. And 3 we'd better do something right now in the 4 context of what's happening nationally. 5 I vote aye. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 7 you, Senator DeFrancisco. You will be 8 recorded in the affirmative. 9 Senator Schneiderman. 10 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Yes, thank 11 you, Mr. President. 12 I'm glad we're starting the 13 discussion this year on the subject that has 14 been raised before the Majority conference got 15 to it, which is our need to invest in and 16 revitalize the upstate economy. 17 I would like to note that the 18 Governor has made this a high priority of the 19 state and has not just spoken about it 20 upstate, he's been in New York City and I've 21 seen him say to New York City audiences: We 22 have to do for upstate what the rest of the 23 state did for New York City. He's on it. 24 And maybe he's on it because he was 25 reminded about it before any of you guys

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(518) 371-8910 1 started talking, on December 13th, when the 2 Senate Democrats unveiled Right-NY, and 3 Senator Stachowski, Senator Thompson, Senator 4 Valesky and our leader, Senator Malcolm Smith, 5 made a comprehensive proposal, elements of 6 which are in the Governor's proposal for 7 revitalizing upstate and elements of which are 8 in your proposal for revitalizing upstate. 9 The one thing I would urge you to 10 do, my colleagues on the other side of the 11 aisle, is don't make this partisan, don't make 12 this us-versus-them. The rest of the people 13 in this state understand the needs for 14 upstate. We understand we are one New York. 15 And we don't have to live right in the middle 16 of the border area, like Senator Bonacic, to 17 understand it. 18 We want to help, but it is the 19 definition of insanity to do the same thing 20 over and over again and expect a different 21 result. And I respectfully submit that 22 Right-NY is a new proposal. I commend it to 23 you. We can't continue to do these grab bags 24 of little bits of tax credits, differentiating 25 between industries and geographical areas, and

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(518) 371-8910 1 expect to get a good result. 2 There are some good things in this 3 bill, particularly the alternative energy and 4 ag jobs. I will vote for it, knowing that 5 it's a one-house bill, and just for 6 negotiations. But we have to break away from 7 this old grab bag, haphazard economic 8 development policy of the Pataki-Bruno era and 9 move to something new. That's what's in 10 Right-NY. That's what's in the Governor's 11 proposal. 12 I vote yes with the understanding 13 that we will be back to this debate, I hope, 14 over and over again in the weeks to come. 15 Thank you, Mr. President. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 17 you, Senator. 18 Senator Schneiderman will be 19 recorded in the affirmative. 20 Senator Diaz. 21 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, 22 Mr. Chairman. 23 Before I explain my vote, I would 24 like to congratulate Senator DeFrancisco 25 because his daughter is acting in the movie

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(518) 371-8910 1 The Bucket List. 2 So congratulations. I know how 3 proud you feel about your daughter being an 4 actress in a movie. 5 I'm voting yes on this legislation 6 because I don't want to be painted as 7 downstate against upstate. I agree with 8 Senator Krueger: $3 billion, where are we 9 going to get it? But as Senator Barack Obama 10 says, we are one nation and one state. No 11 upstate, no downstate, we are here to work for 12 the State of New York. 13 And I want my colleagues from 14 upstate to know that we legislators from 15 downstate, we understand and we feel your 16 pain. And that's why I'm voting for this 17 bill, because I understand that upstate 18 economy needs help. 19 Where are we going to get the 20 money? Right now, don't ask me. I don't even 21 know. I'm going to agree with Senator Krueger 22 again; $3 billion is tough to swallow. 23 But to join my colleagues from 24 upstate, again, that's why I'm voting yes, to 25 at least to start talking about the problem

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(518) 371-8910 1 that upstate is facing. And this bill, even 2 though we don't have the money, this bill will 3 take us to that level where we could start 4 negotiating and talking about the problem that 5 my people from upstate are going through. 6 So, Mr. Chairman, I'm voting yes. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 8 you, Senator Diaz. You will be recorded in 9 the affirmative. 10 Senator Skelos. 11 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 12 I'm from Long Island, and I'm very happy to 13 support this legislation because, quite 14 frankly, there is a number of very positive 15 components that are going to help the entire 16 state. 17 My good friend Senator Schneiderman 18 indicated that we could be doing better. But 19 I think the Senate Majority has a track 20 record. And if we went back as we brought up 21 different legislation, I'm sure very similar 22 comments, negative comments, were made about 23 it. 24 Now, what's our track record? We 25 had Jobs Now, helped fund high-tech

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(518) 371-8910 1 development projects. We had Ge*NY*sis, 2 funded biotech development. Power for Jobs 3 provided low-cost power for manufacturing. We 4 had workers' comp reform that saved over a 5 billion dollars. And, because of the Senate 6 Majority, over $127 billion in tax cuts which 7 have benefited the economy throughout the 8 state of New York. 9 What we do not need is increases in 10 driver's license fees, which the Governor has 11 proposed. We do not need to tax healthcare 12 benefits and premiums on health insurance 13 where people throughout this state, and I know 14 on Long Island and elsewhere, are struggling 15 to make these payments. And we do not need 16 the over $1.7 billion in tax increases and 17 fees that the Governor has proposed. 18 So I'm very happy as a downstate 19 resident, as a Long Islander, to be supporting 20 this legislation -- unfortunately, Senator 21 Krueger has sought not to -- because if any 22 part of the state prospers, the rest of the 23 state will prosper. So if upstate prospers, 24 New York City will prosper, Long Island will 25 prosper. And I think that's the approach that

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(518) 371-8910 1 we should be taking. 2 So, Mr. President, I support this 3 legislation, and if you would record me in the 4 affirmative. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 6 you, Senator Skelos. You will be recorded in 7 the affirmative. 8 Senator Volker, to explain your 9 vote briefly. 10 SENATOR VOLKER: Yes, 11 Mr. President, to explain my vote. 12 This is an Upstate Now bill. And, 13 Senator Schneiderman, you said you announced 14 some stuff in December. We announced this a 15 year ago, well over a year ago. 16 Part of this bill applies to 17 New York City, by the way. You can't reduce 18 the corporate tax and some taxes without -- 19 you can't say I'm just going to do it in 20 upstate New York. That's a little bit of a 21 constitutional problem. So part of this bill 22 does apply to New York City. So when you're 23 voting against this bill, if you do, you're 24 voting against some issues that are directly 25 related to New York City also.

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(518) 371-8910 1 But I think the thing you have to 2 realize, this is not an all-encompassing 3 package that doesn't have anything related to 4 anybody else. We had an agreement with the 5 Governor last year, I thought the billion 6 dollar or the billion -- whatever the heck was 7 Governor to going to give -- we had an 8 agreement last year. I thought it was a good 9 idea last year. It was an even better idea 10 this year. 11 But my point is, we had agreed to 12 that last year. Now, it's been fleshed out 13 more in this budget. Some of the things that 14 are in this package are in the Governor's 15 budget, some of them. Some of them were in 16 some of the things that the Senate Minority 17 suggested. We're not saying that we know 18 everything. 19 But if this whole package passes -- 20 and we can find the money to take care of 21 this. I mean, you know, I hate to say this, 22 we got this deficit, but we've got over 23 $4 billion or $5 billion sitting there that's 24 been allocated for the last three, four years 25 that's never been put out. There's a huge

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(518) 371-8910 1 amount of money in economic development, a 2 billion worth of cash and a billion worth of 3 bonds. 4 And is anybody asking what happened 5 to the Javits money? As far as I know, only 6 $14 million of that out, of a billion dollars, 7 had gone out, and that was to take away the 8 tolls up in Buffalo, to take the two toll 9 barriers. Because everyone agreed to it right 10 at the end when George left. George Pataki, 11 I'm talking about. 12 The problem is, the governors, both 13 governors, this one and the previous one -- 14 who the previous governor I think was a 15 Republican -- were holding up all the money to 16 put the heat on the Legislature. It's 17 something we really haven't talked about too 18 much. 19 But the truth is we have money 20 backed up. So we have a potential deficit. 21 And Tom DiNapoli said the truth, except that 22 Tom DiNapoli couldn't tell whether all that 23 money went out or not. He's saying if all the 24 money went out that we have allocated, there'd 25 be a deficit.

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(518) 371-8910 1 But we have to realize there are 2 ways to handle this deficit, and there 3 certainly are ways to improve the economy of 4 the State of New York. If upstate New York 5 gets better, all of New York gets better. 6 Let's not forget that. 7 Just as New York City, the city has 8 a little problem right now in Western 9 New York, we know that, with the bridge. 10 New York City leaders are coming to us and 11 saying get that Peace Bridge done, because 12 it's hurting -- they think it may be hurting 13 New York City. We're trying to get that done, 14 because we are one state. 15 And so I can't imagine anybody 16 voting against this Upstate Now package. I 17 vote aye. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: Thank 19 you, Senator Volker. You will be recorded in 20 the affirmative. 21 The Secretary will announce the 22 results. 23 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 24 the negative on Calendar Number 90 are 25 Senators L. Krueger and Perkins. Also voting

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(518) 371-8910 1 in the negative, Senator Parker. 2 Absent from voting, Senators C. 3 Kruger and Sabini. 4 Ayes, 54. Nays, 3. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 6 bill is passed, Senator Skelos. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 8 is there any further business at the desk? 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: There 10 is no other further business at this desk, 11 Senator Skelos. 12 SENATOR SKELOS: There being 13 none, I move we stand adjourned until Monday, 14 January 28th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening days 15 being legislative days. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MORAHAN: The 17 Senate will be adjourned until Monday, 18 January 28th, 3:00 p.m., intervening days 19 being legislative days. 20 (Whereupon, at 12:25 p.m., the 21 Senate adjourned.) 22 23 24 25

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