Monday, May 4, 2009

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 May 4, 2009 11 5:46 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 SENATOR ANDREA STEWART-COUSINS, Acting President 19 ANGELO J. APONTE, Secretary 20 21 22 23 24

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 The Senate will please come to order. 4 I ask everyone present to rise and 5 recite with me the Pledge of Allegiance to our 6 Flag. 7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited 8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 10 The invocation today will be delivered by 11 Reverend Peter G. Young, of Mother Theresa 12 Community in Albany, New York. 13 REVEREND YOUNG: Thank you, 14 Senator. 15 Today is our opportunity to honor 16 our local Siena basketball heroes and a most 17 esteemed Senator Marchi. 18 Today, the John Marchi Ferry named 19 in his honor transports our New York State 20 citizens to his beloved Staten Island. May we 21 this in chamber remember his 50 years of 22 dedicated service as a Senator. 23 As was expressed in his funeral 24 service today, we too will share our thanks

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 with those years of service and his 2 friendship. God has given us a marvelous 3 example of charity that may be a Senator to 4 admire with memories of his charity for those 5 that are weak, are sick and unfortunate. 6 Grant that your legislative efforts 7 will serve to better the lives of your people 8 here in our great Empire State. 9 Amen. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 Thank you. 12 The reading of the Journal. 13 Secretary will read. 14 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 15 Sunday, May 3, the Senate met pursuant to 16 adjournment. The Journal of Saturday, May 2, 17 was read and approved. On motion, Senate 18 adjourned. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 Without objection, the Journal stands approved 21 as read. 22 Presentation of petitions. 23 Messages from the Assembly. 24 Messages from the Governor.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Reports of standing committees. 2 Reports of select committees. 3 Communications and reports from 4 state officers. 5 Motions and resolutions. 6 Senator Klein. 7 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 8 I believe Senator Breslin has a resolution at 9 the desk. I ask that the resolution be read 10 in its entirety and move for its immediate 11 adoption and allow Senator Breslin the 12 opportunity to speak on his resolution. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 14 Thank you, Senator Klein. 15 The Secretary will read. 16 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 17 Breslin, Legislative Resolution Number 1729, 18 congratulating the Siena College Men's 19 Basketball Team upon the occasion of capturing 20 the 2009 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 21 Championship. 22 "WHEREAS, Excellence and success in 23 competitive sports can be achieved only 24 through strenuous practice, team play and team

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 spirit, nurtured by dedicated coaching and 2 strategic planning; and 3 "WHEREAS, Athletic competition 4 enhances the moral and physical development of 5 the young people of this state, preparing them 6 for the future by instilling in them the value 7 of teamwork, encouraging a standard of healthy 8 living, imparting a desire for success, and 9 developing a sense of fair play and 10 competition; and 11 "WHEREAS, On Monday March 9, 2009, 12 the 2008-2009 Siena College Men's Basketball 13 Team achieved unparalleled excellence for the 14 second year in a row by capturing their second 15 consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference 16 (MAAC) Basketball Championship; and 17 "WHEREAS, Using a super second half 18 to defeat Niagara 77-70 in front of 9,744 fans 19 in downtown Albany, the 2008-2009 Siena 20 College Men's Basketball Team became one of 21 the college's best teams ever. This win is 22 the first time that Siena has won back to back 23 MAAC tournament titles in school history; and 24 "WHEREAS, The 2008-2009 Siena

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 College Men's Basketball Team earned their 2 second straight invitation to the prestigious 3 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament. This 4 is Siena's fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament; 5 and 6 "WHEREAS, The MAAC championship win 7 against Niagara gave Siena their 21st 8 consecutive victory at home. It ties Siena 9 for the third longest home winning streak in 10 the country; and 11 "WHEREAS, The inspired play of the 12 2008-2009 Siena College Men's Basketball Team 13 built an unprecedented loyal following of 14 students, faculty, staff, alumni and local 15 community support; and 16 "WHEREAS, The 2008-2009 Siena 17 College Men's Basketball Team was marked by 18 both inspired team play and individual 19 excellence, epitomized by the selection of 20 senior co-captain Kenny Hasbrouck as the 21 tournament's Most Valuable Player and by the 22 selection of junior point guard Ronald Moore 23 and junior Alex Franklin to the All-Tournament 24 team, along with Hasbrouck; and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 "WHEREAS, The athletic talent 2 displayed by this team is due in great part to 3 the efforts of Head Coach Fran McCaffery and 4 his talented team of assistant coaches, 5 skilled and inspirational tutors respected for 6 their ability to develop potential into 7 excellence; and 8 "WHEREAS, Athletically and 9 academically, the 2008-2009 Siena College 10 Men's Basketball Team members have proven 11 themselves to be an unbeatable combination of 12 talents reflecting favorably on their school; 13 and 14 "WHEREAS, Head Coach Fran McCaffery 15 and his team of assistant coaches have done a 16 superb job in guiding, molding and inspiring 17 the 2008-2009 Siena College Men's Basketball 18 Team members toward their goals; and 19 "WHEREAS, Sports competition 20 instills the values of teamwork, pride and 21 accomplishment, and Head Coach Fran McCaffery 22 and his assistant coaches and the 2008-2009 23 Siena College Men's Basketball Team's 24 outstanding athletes have clearly made

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 contribution to the spirit of excellence which 2 is a tradition of their school; now, 3 therefore, be it 4 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 5 Body pause in its deliberations to 6 congratulate the 2008-2009 Siena College Men's 7 Basketball Team, its members, and Head Coach 8 Fran McCaffery and his assistant coaches on 9 their outstanding season, overall team record, 10 capturing the 2009 Metro Atlantic Athletic 11 Conference Championship, and their NCAA 12 Tournament participation; and be it further 13 "RESOLVED, That copies of this 14 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 15 to the members of the 2008-2009 Siena College 16 Men's Basketball Team and to Head Coach Fran 17 McCaffery and his assistant coaches." 18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 19 Senator Breslin. 20 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you very 21 much, Madam President. 22 And welcome, Siena College 23 basketball. 24 And first of all, I apologize for

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 delaying you. I know Coach McCaffery, if you 2 had scheduled practice for 5:00 and Kenny 3 showed up at quarter to 6:00, you would have 4 said: "That's fine, just shoot some layups 5 and we'll get going." Facetiously stated. 6 But this is a special group of 7 young men led by a wonderful staff and a 8 wonderful athletic director, John D'Argenio. 9 This is a team from a school of 10 around 3,000 kids. And last year they won the 11 conference, led by Kenny Hasbrouck, who is the 12 league's Most Valuable Player this year and 13 Honorable Mention All-American, along with 14 Ronald Moore, along with Alex Franklin, this 15 year with Ryan Rossiter and Josh Duell, the 16 two freshmen, Owen and Kyle. 17 And all of you just played such an 18 essential and clear role in the success of 19 Siena. And you gave us, the fans -- and I'm 20 an unabashed Siena fan. Not a graduate, but 21 my brother and I, although not as famous as 22 the two nuns who come to every game, have been 23 season ticketholders for 25 years, and over 24 25 years. And you give us our wintertime

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 enjoyment. 2 And last year, after winning the 3 title to go face Vanderbilt, a team that had 4 been continuously in the top ten throughout 5 the year -- and it wasn't a close game. Siena 6 routed Vanderbilt. 7 And then this year, unfortunately 8 to be paired against Ohio State, one of the 9 largest colleges in the United States, with a 10 great basketball tradition, and to come away 11 with one of the most exciting games that I've 12 ever witnessed. And I'm sure for you, 13 Coach Fran, one of most heart-wrenching games 14 that you've ever been a part of. 15 Then on to face the number-one team 16 in the country, Louisville, in a game that no 17 one gave Siena a chance. And up until the 18 last few minutes, Siena was right in the game, 19 a game that could have gone either way. 20 Well, our community is extremely 21 proud of you, Fran, and you, Mitch and John, 22 and the entire team. Because each of you 23 played a role. And I think what impressed us 24 as fans most was the unselfishness of each of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 you playing as a team. And I never saw an 2 individual part. 3 And as you guys know, particularly 4 in basketball, there's no "I" in team. And 5 you exemplified what college basketball is, 6 and I commend you and congratulate you. 7 Thank you very much, Madam 8 President. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 10 Thank you, Senator. 11 Senator Farley. 12 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Madam 13 President. 14 As a Senator from the Capital 15 District, I just want to say how proud that I 16 am of Siena and this team. And the 17 camaraderie that exists at that school is 18 really unique and wonderful. 19 Siena was the absolute toast of the 20 nation in that tournament, the smallest school 21 in the tournament. And I think they had the 22 entire nation rooting for them. And they 23 really put not only this magnificent school on 24 the map, they have shown that Fran McCaffery,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 their incredible coach, has made Siena a 2 national powerhouse. 3 And I'll tell you, as so many 4 students that go there, they have one of the 5 highest contributions of alumni to their 6 school of any school in the nation 7 percentagewise. And it's an outstanding 8 school, and it is the basketball team that 9 really is the cohesive part of the school that 10 brings those students together. 11 I know that not only does the 12 Capital District love Siena and its basketball 13 team, the whole nation does. And we're very, 14 very proud of all that you accomplished this 15 year, and we look forward to another great 16 year. 17 Incidentally, we're losing a great 18 player. But there's an awful lot of them 19 coming back, and they're going to be even 20 better next year, and we wish them well. 21 Thank you, Madam President. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 23 Thank you, Senator. 24 Senator Maziarz.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 2 much, Madam President. 3 Madam President, I am going to 4 reluctantly -- and I stress the word 5 "reluctantly" -- support this resolution. And 6 I say reluctantly because, Senator Breslin, I 7 thought it was unnecessary that you mentioned 8 not once, but twice in this resolution that 9 Siena defeated Niagara University. 10 (Laughter.) 11 SENATOR MAZIARZ: I think one 12 time would have been more than enough, Senator 13 Breslin. 14 So, Madam President, again, I 15 congratulate the Siena Basketball Team. And I 16 agree with Senator Farley, that the entire 17 nation was rooting for Siena, except perhaps a 18 small part of the nation on Mount Eagle Ridge 19 in Niagara Falls. 20 Thank you very much, Madam 21 President. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 23 Thank you. 24 Senator Leibell.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you, 2 Madam President. 3 I will join with my colleagues. 4 And unlike Senator Farley and Senator Breslin, 5 I do not represent the Capital District. But 6 like many of my colleagues in the Legislature, 7 I've had children who have gone to Siena and 8 have had two who have gone through and have 9 loved it. 10 We all know what a great school 11 this is. And they gave tremendous enjoyment 12 not only to the residents of this area but 13 throughout New York State and throughout the 14 country this year through their great 15 accomplishments. 16 It's a great, great school, and 17 we're tremendously proud of all of them. 18 Thank you. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 Senator McDonald. 21 SENATOR McDONALD: Thank you, 22 Madam President. 23 I am a Capital District legislator 24 and a long-time season ticketholder for Siena.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 And so many of my residents and so many of my 2 staff and friends went to Siena. Great 3 school. 4 And what I'm especially proud of of 5 the Siena team is they're not only great 6 athletes, they're great young men. And they 7 also have a great ladies' team, and they're 8 also tremendous citizens in our community. 9 And I'm so proud of them and their 10 coach. But the most important thing I'm proud 11 of is the quality of their character and how 12 much they care about the community. 13 Thank you. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Thank you, Senator. 16 Senator DeFrancisco. 17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'm not a 18 Capital District legislator, I never paid for 19 any college tuitions at Siena, and I'm not a 20 Siena graduate. I'm from Syracuse, and I went 21 to Syracuse University undergrad and Duke Law 22 School. So I usually have plenty of teams to 23 root for during the NCAA tournament. 24 But I'll tell you -- and I'm a

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 basketball nut -- I've never seen a team play 2 together so well and against such high odds 3 and do so well as Siena. It was just really 4 an impressive showing last year, but 5 especially this year as well. 6 So congratulations. And I wish 7 you, as an Orangemen and a Blue Devil fan, I 8 wish you many more years of success. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 10 Senator Libous. 11 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, Madam 12 President. 13 I too want to stand and join my 14 colleagues in honoring the Siena Basketball 15 Team and you, Coach, for all the great efforts 16 you've done for the last several years. 17 You've really put together one great 18 organization. 19 And I'm from Binghamton, and our 20 team made it to the NCAAs for the very first 21 time, following your lead. And I hope that 22 Siena goes for many years to come and we can 23 continue to follow in those footsteps. 24 But it is a great honor to have so

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 many great, talented athletes from a school 2 that is not a large school but a school that 3 has just a great, solid foundation. So I want 4 to salute all of the men and women who are 5 part of this team and part of the college. 6 Congratulations. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 8 Thank you, Senator. 9 Are there any other Senators that 10 wish to be heard on the resolution? Hearing 11 none, the question is on the resolution. All 12 those in favor please signify by saying aye. 13 (Response of "Aye.") 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Opposed, nay. 16 (No response.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 18 The resolution is adopted. 19 (Standing ovation.) 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 Thank you for making us all so proud. 22 Now, at the request of the sponsor, 23 the resolution is open for multisponsorship by 24 the entire house. Any member wishing not to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 be a multisponsor of the resolution should so 2 inform the desk. 3 Senator Klein. 4 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 5 are there any substitutions at the desk? 6 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 7 Yes, there are, Senator Klein. 8 The Secretary will read. 9 THE SECRETARY: On page 15, 10 Senator Lanza moves to discharge, from the 11 Committee on Codes, Assembly Bill Number 7014 12 and substitute it for the identical Senate 13 Bill Number 3564, Third Reading Calendar 170. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Substitution ordered. 16 Senator Klein. 17 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 18 I have several motions. 19 First, on behalf of Senator 20 Breslin, I wish to call up Senate Print Number 21 738, recalled from the Assembly, which is now 22 at the desk. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 24 The Secretary will read.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 75, by Senator Breslin, Senate Print 738, an 3 act to amend the Executive Law. 4 SENATOR KLEIN: I now move to 5 reconsider the vote by which the bill was 6 passed. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 8 Call the roll on the reconsideration. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 12 The bill is before the house. 13 SENATOR KLEIN: I now offer the 14 following amendments on behalf of Senator 15 Breslin. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 The amendments are received. 18 SENATOR KLEIN: My second, Madam 19 President, is on behalf of Senator Addabbo. I 20 move that the following bill be discharged 21 from its respective committee and be 22 recommitted with instructions to strike the 23 enacting clause: Senate Number 4037, on 24 behalf of Senator Addabbo.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 2 So ordered. 3 Senator Klein. 4 SENATOR KLEIN: The next, on 5 behalf of Senator Thompson, I move the 6 following bills be discharged from their 7 respective committees and be recommitted with 8 instructions to strike the enacting clause: 9 Senate Numbers 1246 and 4914, on behalf of 10 Senator Thompson. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 12 So ordered. 13 Senator Klein. 14 SENATOR KLEIN: The next, 15 Madam President, on behalf of Senator Espada, 16 on page number 16 I offer the following 17 amendments to Calendar Number 183, Senate 18 Print 2871, and ask that the said bill retain 19 its place on the Third Reading Calendar. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 So ordered. 22 SENATOR KLEIN: And last, on 23 behalf of Senator Monserrate, on page 17 I 24 offer the following amendments to Calendar

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Number 193, Senate Print Number 2575, and ask 2 that the said bill retain its place on the 3 Third Reading Calendar. Again, on behalf of 4 Senator Monserrate. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 6 So ordered. 7 Senator Klein. 8 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 9 can we at this time move for a reading of 10 Senate Calendar 41. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 12 The Secretary will read. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 8, by Member of the Assembly Paulin, Assembly 15 Print Number 755A, an act to amend the 16 Executive Law. 17 SENATOR LIBOUS: Lay it aside, 18 please. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 The bill is laid aside. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 147, by Senator Dilan, Senate Print 3625, an 23 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Read the last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 3 act shall take effect on the 90th day. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 5 Call the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll.) 7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 8 Announce the results. 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 The bill is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 158, by Senator C. Kruger, Senate Print 552, 14 an act to amend the Election Law, in relation 15 to providing. 16 SENATOR VALESKY: Lay the bill 17 aside for the day. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 19 The bill is laid aside for the day. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 159, by Senator Thompson, Senate Print 1213, 22 an act to amend the -- 23 SENATOR LIBOUS: Lay it aside, 24 please.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 2 The bill is laid aside. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 170, substituted earlier today by Member of 5 the Assembly Bing, Assembly Print Number 7014, 6 an act to amend the Penal Law and the General 7 Business Law. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 Read the last section. 10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 11 act shall take effect immediately. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 13 Call the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 16 Announce the results. 17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 19 The bill is passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 184, by Member of the Assembly Weinstein, 22 Assembly Print Number 2574, an act to amend 23 the Domestic -- 24 SENATOR LIBOUS: Lay it aside,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 please. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 The bill is laid aside. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 202, by Senator L. Krueger, Senate Print 3583, 6 an act to amend the Arts and Cultural Affairs 7 Law, in relation to the American Museum of 8 Natural History. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 10 Read the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 12. This 12 act shall take effect immediately. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 14 Call the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 Announce the results. 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 The bill is passed. 21 Senator Valesky, that completes the 22 reading of the noncontroversial calendar. 23 SENATOR VALESKY: Madam 24 President, if we could at this time move to a

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 controversial reading of the calendar, 2 beginning with Calendar Number 159, Senator 3 Thompson's bill. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 5 If the Secretary would please ring the bells. 6 Members are all asked to come to 7 the chamber for the controversial reading of 8 the calendar. 9 The chamber will come to order, 10 please. 11 The Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 159, by Senator Thompson, Senate Print 1213 -- 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Please come to order. 16 SENATOR LIBOUS: Madam President, 17 can we have order in the house. I can't hear 18 the Journal clerk read the bill. 19 Thank you. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 The Secretary will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 159, by Senator Thompson, Senate Print 1213, 24 an act to amend the Public Authorities Law.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR LIBOUS: Explanation, 2 please. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 Senator Thompson. 5 SENATOR THOMPSON: Gladly. Thank 6 you for recognizing me. 7 This is I think a long overdue 8 piece of legislation giving the City of 9 Buffalo two seats on the Niagara Frontier 10 Transportation Authority. 11 This body first began to provide 12 bus service in Buffalo back in 1923. It 13 initially was International Bus Company, and 14 the International Railway Company as well. 15 Later, in 1947, the proposed Niagara Frontier 16 Rapid Transit Commission began to provide 17 additional services to residents in Buffalo. 18 Since 1967, it's operated as the Niagara 19 Frontier Transit Authority Corporation. 20 The other communities upstate that 21 have large transit service include the City of 22 Rochester, which has the Rochester-Genesee 23 Regional Transportation Authority. There, the 24 city of Rochester has three members appointed

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 to this transit authority. The City of 2 Syracuse, which operates a system as well, 3 that city also has three appointments to that 4 transit authority. 5 The City of Buffalo does not have 6 any direct representation or appointments to 7 that board. 8 A couple of things I also believe 9 it's important to note to explain why this 10 bill is important. In 1985, the Niagara 11 Frontier Transit Authority put together -- 12 they finally started a rail system. It goes 13 six miles, six miles down one street. It 14 starts downtown on Main Street and goes uptown 15 on Main Street. It has not expanded in 16 24 years. 17 And there are lots of groups -- 18 people from the city, the suburbs, all 19 throughout the region -- who have been working 20 diligently to try to expand the rail system 21 from going up Main Street and down 22 Main Street. That's what our system has. 23 This is about representation. As 24 we all know, the stimulus money, whether you

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 agree with it or disagree with it, has monies 2 for transit systems. Our system, whether it's 3 this year or in years past, has failed to 4 expand beyond one street. 5 Now I want to put this in the 6 context as well that the City of Buffalo, 7 approximately 40 percent of the people in the 8 City of Buffalo do not have a car. And most 9 of the growth in terms of jobs has been in the 10 suburbs. So then you wonder why we have 11 double-digit poverty and Buffalo is the 12 second-poorest city in America when 25-plus 13 percent of the people don't even have a car. 14 So this is about access in the 15 planning and the decision-making of that 16 authority. That's not to say that they have 17 not -- there are no residents from the City of 18 Buffalo that are on that board. But why can 19 Rochester and Syracuse have representation for 20 years on their authority yet the City Council 21 and the mayor of Buffalo don't have one? And 22 these groups have three, and we're only asking 23 for two. 24 So thank you.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 2 Thank you, Senator. 3 Senator Volker. 4 SENATOR VOLKER: Madam President, 5 Senator Thompson failed to recognize or point 6 out the City of Buffalo provides no funding 7 for the Niagara Frontier Transit Authority. 8 In fact, the interesting thing 9 about the rail line that he's talking about is 10 I have been told in the past it is the most 11 profitable rail line that is a rapid transit 12 line in the country. Of course, one reason is 13 is because it's a short line. 14 The people who have been asking so 15 badly to extend the line -- by the way, 16 they're not from Buffalo. Most of the people 17 that have been looking to extend the line are 18 from Amherst and from the suburbs. And the 19 only thing is, when they hear it might cost 20 $6 billion or $8 billion, they get a little 21 different take on it. 22 The NFTA police are paid for by the 23 people of the counties of Erie and Niagara. 24 All the services of the NFTA are paid for

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 strictly by the two counties. The City of 2 Buffalo receives an enormous amount of 3 services, and they have their own people on 4 the board. 5 The question, I guess, is if the 6 city wishes to have direct appointments to the 7 board, then maybe they should start providing 8 some funding. Like other cities do, by the 9 way. Because I believe Rochester does and I 10 believe Syracuse does. But not in Buffalo. 11 And the reason is that we have 12 treated Buffalo extremely well. No school 13 system in the United States of America gets as 14 much money as Buffalo gets. I don't think 15 there's any transit system that I know of, 16 certainly in this state, that gets as much 17 free transportation -- and by that I mean 18 doesn't pay for anything -- as the City of 19 Buffalo. 20 And yet we also provide for 21 appointees from both Niagara County, Niagara 22 Falls, City of Buffalo, and so forth. 23 Now, the problem is that this 24 system has worked very well. And the question

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 that's asked is why should the mayor of the 2 City of Buffalo and the City Council have an 3 appointment when they provide no funding, they 4 do no direction for the NFTA. 5 That was, by the way, deliberate 6 from the beginning, because -- 7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 8 Senator Thompson, why do you rise? 9 SENATOR THOMPSON: I would just 10 ask if my colleague Senator Volker will yield 11 for one question. 12 SENATOR VOLKER: I certainly 13 will. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Senator Thompson. 16 SENATOR THOMPSON: Through you, 17 Madam President. If Senator Volker would 18 answer whether or not city residents pay 19 county taxes. 20 SENATOR VOLKER: Of course city 21 residents pay county taxes. But most of the 22 funding for the NFTA does not come from county 23 taxes. There are special funds that are set 24 up for the NFTA that do not involve the City

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 of Buffalo. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 Senator Thompson, why do you rise? 4 SENATOR THOMPSON: Could you ask 5 Senator Volker if he can explain those and 6 also, in the same vein, would he -- the 7 handshake agreement about the sales tax that 8 was temporary also in the 1980s that Buffalo 9 still is struggling to get its fair share of 10 that as well. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 12 Senator Volker, do you continue to yield? 13 SENATOR VOLKER: Yeah. Buffalo 14 did get its fair share of the sales tax. In 15 fact, Assemblyman Tokasz and I, over a lot of 16 objections, provided some additional money to 17 the City of Buffalo. 18 And let me just follow it up by 19 saying that the city refused to share the 20 revenue from the new gambling facility in 21 Buffalo. We thought we had an agreement, but 22 the budget came out and the budget gave all 23 the money to the City of Buffalo. And even 24 though the mayor had said that he was willing

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 to negotiate with the county executive. 2 So everyone realizes the mayor of 3 the City of Buffalo is a Democrat. The Common 4 Council is a Democratic common council. The 5 county executive is a Republican. The board, 6 of course, is a Democratic board. There are 7 Republican members on the board, but it's a 8 Democratic board. 9 It seems to me that until the city 10 provides some sort of assistance to the NFTA 11 and provides some sort of cooperation -- and 12 by the way, we understand that the problem 13 here also is that the representative of the 14 County of Niagara also wants people on the 15 board. Even though, again, the City of 16 Niagara Falls provides no money for the NFTA. 17 So the reason I can't support this 18 is that this is a county function. The city 19 is taken care of by the county. And 20 therefore, and since we already appoint -- not 21 we, but the NFTA -- and this body confirms 22 people from the city to the board, they 23 certainly have adequate representation and 24 they don't need any more people on the NFTA

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 board. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 Senator Maziarz. 4 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 5 much for the recognition, Madam President. 6 Would Senator Thompson yield to a 7 question? 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 Senator Thompson, do you yield? 10 SENATOR THOMPSON: Absolutely. 11 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Senator 12 Thompson, I don't blame you for wanting -- you 13 represent the City of Buffalo, and you want -- 14 SENATOR THOMPSON: And Niagara 15 Falls. 16 SENATOR MAZIARZ: And several 17 other areas, too. 18 But you represent the City of 19 Buffalo, and you want your constituents to be 20 represented. 21 Let me ask you this. The largest 22 entity that the Niagara Frontier Transit 23 Authority operates is the Buffalo Niagara 24 International Airport. It services the most

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 people. That's really a base of a great deal 2 of their funding. And that's located in, I 3 believe, the Town of Cheektowaga, which is 4 represented by Senator Stachowski. 5 Do you believe that the Town of 6 Cheektowaga should have some representatives 7 on the NFTA board of directors? 8 SENATOR THOMPSON: I believe that 9 today's bill is about the City of Buffalo 10 getting representation. If the Town of 11 Cheektowaga wants representation, that's up to 12 them. 13 This is really about expanding a 14 light rail system which many people have been 15 recommending to the NFTA for years, to take 16 Genesee Street from the airport, to go to 17 downtown Buffalo -- like they do in Chicago, 18 Atlanta, New York City, and everywhere else -- 19 where they can have train service from the 20 airport to downtown Buffalo. 21 And years ago, actually -- Senator, 22 I'm sure you're probably aware of this -- you 23 used to be able to take a trolley, when 24 trolley services were available, from the city

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 to the suburbs. But, you know, in the 2 24 years that we've had light rail 3 transportation in Buffalo, it has not expanded 4 to the suburbs. Because you know where it 5 stops? At the city line. Right at Bailey and 6 Amherst. 7 And you know why? It's interesting 8 it has not expanded because of bills like this 9 that we're trying to stop. Because if more 10 people from Niagara Falls and Buffalo were on 11 that board, it would have expanded it a lot 12 longer many years ago. 13 I think our colleagues should know 14 that the Buffalo rail system stops at the city 15 line. You know why it stops? Because people 16 fought it from expanding when it was first 17 started in the 1980s. 18 My colleague should know that this 19 rail system stops at the city line. City 20 residents have to take a bus to get to the 21 suburbs. It's tragic that we're even debating 22 this. Because this won't cost us any money. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 24 Senator Maziarz.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Madam 2 President, through you. I appreciate that. 3 But my question was about the 4 residents of Cheektowaga, which have the 5 largest entity of operations for the Niagara 6 Frontier Transportation Authority. I mean, 7 aren't the people of Cheektowaga -- shouldn't 8 they have some representation on the NFTA 9 board? 10 SENATOR THOMPSON: Again, I think 11 I stated if he wants to do that, he can 12 introduce a bill that I will coauthor it with 13 him. 14 I think we also need to take into 15 impact that yes, the airport is big, but that 16 Buffalo also has numerous train stations. And 17 I've never had anyone do an analysis of the 18 square footage of all of those train stations 19 and all the bus depots that are in the City of 20 Buffalo compared to the square footage that's 21 held by the airport. 22 But I welcome any time people want 23 representation and it's meaningful. That's 24 why I have a bill, as my colleague Senator

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Volker talked about, not only for Buffalo but 2 for the City of Niagara Falls, where people as 3 well in the City of Niagara Falls, which is 4 the largest municipality in Niagara County, 5 people there in that small community that used 6 to hold 100,000 people, those folks don't have 7 adequate representation. They have a couple 8 of people; some of them live in the city of 9 Niagara Falls, some of them don't. 10 But the mayor is working hard, the 11 council is working hard to improve mass 12 transit coming into the city, and we need to 13 see that rail system go from downtown Buffalo 14 or from the airport, be able to go to Buffalo 15 and go all the way to Niagara Falls. There's 16 no reason why people should come to Western 17 New York and not be able to go from 18 Cheektowaga to Niagara Falls by train like 19 they can in every other major city in America 20 that has a system. 21 That's what this public policy 22 debate -- climate change, global warming. 23 This light-rail rapid transit and expanding 24 public transit systems, that's what this

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 debate is about. It's not about politics and 2 patronage. This is about 24 years ago we 3 started a system so that people can move 4 easily through the region. And we have failed 5 the people. 6 Billions and billions of dollars 7 have been given to cities all over America to 8 expand their rail system, and Western New York 9 has not done that. All we do is get more 10 green buses, retrofit some of the trains. But 11 we don't believe in trying to expand the rail 12 system. We like the status quo. We keep 13 it -- we say you can take a bus into the city 14 or you can drive into the city, park your car 15 at the city line, and take the train downtown. 16 But by God, we don't let you take a train from 17 Cheektowaga, Amherst, Clarence, West Seneca, 18 Orchard Park, East Aurora, and take a train 19 all the way to the City of Buffalo. 20 That's what happens in Atlanta, 21 Georgia. That's what happens in Westchester. 22 That's what happened in all other places 23 except for Buffalo or Western New York. 24 That's what this debate is really about. Not

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 about four seats. Four seats are helpful, 2 they're very helpful. But this is about 3 expanding a rail system. 4 That's why we can't get -- that's 5 why New York City is getting is $1.1 billion. 6 And how much are we getting upstate for mass 7 transit? A couple of hundred thousand 8 dollars. Because we looked to the little 9 vision upstate, not the way other folks are 10 doing it across the country. 11 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you. 12 Madam President, through you, I would ask if 13 the Senator would continue to yield and try to 14 answer my question. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 16 Senator Thompson, do you continue to yield? 17 SENATOR THOMPSON: Sure. Gladly. 18 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Back to -- you 19 know, I appreciate what you said about Atlanta 20 and Niagara Falls, but I want to get back to 21 Cheektowaga. Because, as I said, the largest 22 entity is the Buffalo Niagara International 23 Airport. 24 So do I understand you to say,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Senator, that if I introduce a bill that gives 2 the Town of Cheektowaga two representatives or 3 one representative, let's say, on the Niagara 4 Frontier Transportation Authority, that you 5 would do cosponsor it with me? 6 SENATOR THOMPSON: Whatever you 7 choose. I think the issue is really -- I said 8 to each of the things that you've said 9 already. So we state that for the record. 10 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Okay. Thank 11 you. 12 SENATOR THOMPSON: The main issue 13 here is that making sure that Buffalo, like 14 Syracuse and like Rochester, has seats. And I 15 think we need to stay on the issue at hand. 16 So yes. But I don't understand why 17 is it not good for -- it's good enough for 18 Syracuse, it's good enough for Rochester, but 19 it's not good enough for Buffalo. And I think 20 that's where we have to understand that it's 21 not fair, it's just simply indefensible to say 22 that for 24 years that train system has 23 stopped at the city line. 24 And I would like to ask my

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 colleague a question when he gets finished. 2 In case he has any more questions. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 Senator Maziarz, would you like Senator 5 Thompson to continue to yield? 6 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Yes. But I 7 believe Senator Thompson asked me a question. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 And I didn't know whether you were through 10 asking him to yield. If indeed you are, then 11 will you yield? 12 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Yes, I do. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 14 Senator Thompson, Senator Maziarz yields. 15 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Now, you want 16 me to answer the question that you just asked? 17 SENATOR THOMPSON: No, I got 18 another -- I've got a question for you. 19 I'd just like to ask my colleague 20 whether or not you believe it's acceptable 21 that the NFTA has not expanded beyond Main and 22 Bailey, stopping at the city line, for the 23 last 24 years, whether or not you think that's 24 acceptable.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Through you, 2 Madam President, the answer to that question 3 is no. 4 SENATOR THOMPSON: That's the 5 only reason why this bill is happening. 6 And I'd just like to say as well 7 that when I was on the City Council, I fought 8 vigorously to support -- passed resolutions, 9 got petitions, you name it. Gladys Gifford, 10 Citizens Regional Transportation Corporation, 11 been very involved with that for years. I've 12 had town meetings in Niagara Falls and 13 Buffalo, inviting them to come out. That's 14 what this is about. 15 This is not about whether it's 16 Democrat or Republican. This is about doing 17 the missed opportunities. Whether it was a 18 Republican president or a Democratic 19 president, they've all been pumping money into 20 expanding transit systems in communities. And 21 until we change the mindset on that board, 22 whether they're appointed by a Democrat or a 23 Republican, they've got to understand that 24 they've got to support this expansion. That's

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 all. 2 I'll yield if he has any other 3 questions. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 5 Senator Volker, why do you rise? 6 SENATOR VOLKER: I didn't know if 7 you were finished -- 8 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Oh, go ahead. 9 I'm not finished, but I'll yield to Senator 10 Volker. 11 We have to resolve this issue of 12 Cheektowaga, Madam President. That's all I'm 13 trying to do. 14 SENATOR VOLKER: Well, I'll tell 15 you something. Senator Thompson, I wish what 16 you said is true. You see, Senator Thompson, 17 I was around when this whole thing started. 18 It stopped at the city line because that was 19 the end of the money. The federal government 20 would not provide any more money. The city 21 wouldn't provide any money. 22 And by the way, the Common Council 23 now has been moving not to expand the rapid 24 transit, but they want to take the rails off

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 of Main Street. They not only don't want to 2 expand it, they want to take the rails off of 3 Main Street. 4 Yes, we did try. And I was one of 5 those who went to Washington and worked here 6 in Albany to try get an expansion. The cost 7 was so prohibitive. And we were fought, by 8 the way, by a group called environmentalists. 9 You know, they didn't want the rapid transit 10 out into the suburbs because they felt it was 11 environmentally not good. 12 So when you say that somehow people 13 in the City of Buffalo have been fighting to 14 expand it, I don't know anything about that. 15 I have never heard the City of Buffalo asking 16 for expansion of the rapid transit system 17 except for a very small number of people. 18 They're very nice people. And when you say to 19 them where is the money going to come from, 20 they say, Well, that's not our problem. 21 Well, it is our problem. You've 22 talked about Washington. Washington, what do 23 they spend, $14 billion, if I'm not mistaken, 24 on their transit system. The City of Buffalo,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 remember, contributes nothing, has never 2 contributed anything to the NFTA. 3 So my response to you, the only 4 reason that the system stopped where it did 5 stop was because basically they ran out of 6 money. And no one at the time was able to 7 come up with the money to expand it, and that 8 is a fact. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 10 Senator Thompson, why do you rise? 11 SENATOR THOMPSON: If Senator 12 Volker will yield for a question, please. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 14 Senator Volker, do you yield? 15 SENATOR VOLKER: Sure. 16 Certainly. 17 SENATOR THOMPSON: And this is 18 such a sensitive issue, and I really don't 19 like to get into highly charged issues. 20 Senator Volker, you don't have to get into a 21 long big thing about it. 22 Senator Volker -- through you, 23 Madam Chair, if Senator Volker can 24 comfortably -- and I don't want to put him too

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 heavily on the spot. But I am a student of 2 history as well. And no, I was not in the 3 Legislature at the time, but I've been so 4 involved in this issue. 5 But if he could just honestly say 6 whether or not there were too many protests 7 from people on a whole host of issues related 8 to nonenvironmental issues that also 9 contributed to the fact why that system -- 10 yes, money was part of the issue, but there 11 were some issues that rang far deeper than air 12 quality and which route the rail systems 13 should go down, Millersport Highway or 14 whichever route into Amherst. 15 There were other issues beyond that 16 that I don't think are appropriate for the 17 floor of the Senate. But I think that we need 18 to be more forthright in saying that this was 19 not all about the cost in money. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 Senator Volker, do you have a response? 22 SENATOR VOLKER: I really don't 23 know what the question was. I didn't see any 24 question.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 But I have to tell you something. 2 You can tell me all you want that there were 3 other issues, but I can still tell you it came 4 down to money. 5 Because I was one of the people, 6 along with Arthur O. Eve and a number of other 7 people, who were looking around for money for 8 various projects in Western New York, and one 9 of them was the rapid transit project. And I 10 have to be honest with you, we never really 11 received a lot of support from the City of 12 Buffalo. Most of the support came from 13 outside the City of Buffalo, not the city 14 itself. 15 So that's been my experience, and I 16 have to be perfectly honest with you. And so 17 that's the reason we are opposed to the city 18 appointing more people to the board. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 Senator Maziarz. 21 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Madam 22 President, on the bill. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 24 Senator Maziarz, on the bill.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR MAZIARZ: May I make a 2 suggestion to my colleague Senator Thompson. 3 He said, when he asked a question, he said 4 of -- he said "I'd like a short answer." If 5 you want a short answer, Senator Thompson, I 6 suggest you don't ask Senator Volker the 7 question, okay? 8 (Laughter.) 9 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Now, that was a 10 little joke. I wanted to get some levity in 11 here, Senator, because you seem angry. But I 12 know some people sometimes they mistake 13 passion for anger, you know. 14 But anyway, on the bill, Madam 15 President. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 Senator Maziarz, on the bill. 18 SENATOR MAZIARZ: I think our 19 rescue in this whole thing, unbelievably, may 20 be the people of Cheektowaga. Because I am 21 going to take my colleague up on his idea. He 22 stated that he would cosponsor a bill with me. 23 It will be on his desk tomorrow morning, to 24 put at least two residents of the Town of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Cheektowaga, the home of the airport -- which 2 I think makes a lot more money for the NFTA 3 and clearly services a lot more people than 4 does the very short rapid rail transit. 5 Which, by the way, is a very good 6 train ride. I remember when my kids were a 7 little bit younger, we used to drive down to 8 U.B. to the Park and Ride and go into the 9 ballpark on the train. It was the best way of 10 getting to the ballpark. 11 But this is bad legislation. And 12 hopefully, Madam President, and unbelievably, 13 that we may in fact be saved by the New York 14 State Assembly on this piece of legislation. 15 Thank you, Madam President. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 Thank you, Senator. 18 Senator Thompson. 19 SENATOR THOMPSON: On the bill. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 Senator Thompson, on the bill. 22 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yeah, I'd like 23 to just first thank you for recognizing me and 24 also thank my colleagues, whether they support

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 or disagree with the bill. 2 This bill actually passed the 3 Assembly last year in June. And as many bills 4 used to do, it died in the Senate. And this 5 bill actually provides additional 6 representation for the City of Buffalo. And 7 hopefully later this session we can do 8 something that will provide greater 9 representation to the City of Niagara Falls. 10 As I stated earlier, Syracuse has 11 three appointments, Rochester's government has 12 three appointments as well. Buffalo has zero. 13 It's unfair. It needs to be changed. 14 Also, I would like to say that we 15 shouldn't get distracted with the politics of 16 division. But this is about really expanding 17 light rail, expanding bus service, making sure 18 that the people who use the service the most 19 have some voice. 20 And that I am glad to sponsor this 21 bill, and it did pass the Assembly and I'm 22 sure will pass again, and that the people in 23 Buffalo are already looking to have a voice at 24 the seat of power with the NFTA.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Thank you. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 Senator Ranzenhofer. 4 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Yeah, if I 5 could ask a couple of questions to Senator 6 Thompson. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 8 Senator Thompson, do you yield for some 9 questions? 10 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes. Yes. 11 Yes, absolutely. 12 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Thank you. 13 Through you, Madam President. 14 Senator Thompson, can you just tell us how 15 come the City of Buffalo hasn't contributed 16 any money towards the rapid transit system if 17 they are so interested in rapid transit? 18 SENATOR THOMPSON: My position is 19 that city residents are county residents, so 20 if the county contributes money, then the city 21 contributes money. 22 I don't understand how people 23 constantly try to separate the city from the 24 county when the city residents pay sales tax,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 city residents pay county taxes, city 2 residents vote for a county executive, city 3 residents give the same authority to the 4 legislature to make their appointments. So 5 city residents are county residents. They're 6 not mutually exclusive. 7 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Through 8 you, Madam President. I understand that the 9 money comes from the same pocket -- 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 Senator Ranzenhofer, do you want Senator 12 Thompson to continue to yield? 13 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Yes. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Senator, will you continue to yield? 16 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes. 17 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: I 18 understand that the taxpayers, no matter where 19 you live, are contributing. 20 But where is the equity in not 21 having the City of Buffalo government -- if it 22 says that it is so supportive of rapid 23 transit, why has the city government refused 24 for the last 24 years to contribute any money

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 towards the system? 2 SENATOR THOMPSON: Through you, 3 Madam President. It's my understanding that 4 the largest users of the bus and rail system 5 are residents of the City of Buffalo. I'm not 6 sure if my colleague is aware of that. If 7 Buffalo residents went on strike for a week, 8 as they did down south, that system would 9 probably come to a halt. 10 The issue always comes up to, 11 whether it's a share in the sales tax or 12 anything else, the residents of Buffalo and 13 the taxpayers of Buffalo are county residents 14 as well. So why do we always get into this 15 game of semantics saying, well, Buffalo 16 residents are not county residents? 17 The last I understood is that 18 whether it's a county judgeship, it's the 19 county executive, county comptroller, county 20 DA, those residents are -- Buffalo residents 21 vote in those elections. 22 The key here is that we need to 23 have representational power the same way folks 24 from Rochester and Syracuse have

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 representational power. And we currently 2 don't. We are at the mercy of the county 3 legislature and the governor of the State of 4 New York. And that simply is not fair. 5 That's simply -- 6 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 7 Excuse me. Can we have order in the chamber. 8 People are having difficulty hearing the 9 debate. 10 Thank you, Senator. 11 SENATOR THOMPSON: That's simply 12 not fair. 13 I would humbly submit that I am 14 sure there was a reason why residents from 15 Syracuse and Rochester have representation. I 16 used to go to SUNY Brockport. I used to get 17 on that service. And I'm actually pleased 18 that Rochester and Syracuse have 19 representation on that board. I think it's 20 commendable. 21 And we're simply asking for a seat 22 at the table. 23 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Madam 24 President, through you. Senator Thompson --

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 2 Are you asking Senator Thompson to continue to 3 yield? 4 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Yes, I am. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 6 Senator Thompson, do you continue to yield? 7 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 Senator Ranzenhofer. 10 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Senator 11 Thompson, can you tell me how much money in 12 this year's budget was appropriated for the 13 expansion of the light rail system in Buffalo? 14 SENATOR THOMPSON: Excuse me, I 15 can't hear you. 16 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Can you 17 tell us how much money was appropriated in 18 this year's budget for the expansion of the 19 light rail system in Buffalo? 20 SENATOR THOMPSON: I have not 21 read Mayor Brown's budget that was submitted 22 on May 1st -- 23 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: State 24 budget.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR THOMPSON: Excuse me? 2 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: The state 3 budget. The budget that was passed here. 4 SENATOR THOMPSON: The state 5 budget this year for expansion? 6 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Madam 7 Chairman, through you. How much did you 8 include for the expansion? 9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 10 Senator Ranzenhofer, please speak up. 11 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: I asked how 12 much money did you include this year for the 13 expansion of the light rail system in Buffalo. 14 SENATOR THOMPSON: Oh, I'd gladly 15 love to answer that. 16 Well, first let me say that this 17 year we did not put any money for capital 18 money. It's my understanding that the capital 19 appropriation process is underway. 20 But I would hope that once we get 21 this bill passed and begin to lobby the 22 federal lawmakers, hopefully within the next 23 three to five years we'll have some money to 24 expand the rail system.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 There are lots of discussions 2 underway about expanding the rail system. I 3 do agree with my colleague about some of the 4 rails downtown. That is a separate issue from 5 downtown to expanding across the city into the 6 suburbs. Downtown is because if you go to -- 7 the train downtown, you can't drive cars on 8 the tracks unless you do it the way they do in 9 Philadelphia and Boston and some other cities, 10 where you can drive on the trolley tracks with 11 your cars. We currently don't allow for that 12 in Buffalo. 13 So will we expand our rail system? 14 I believe if we get more people from Buffalo 15 and Niagara Falls on that system. And now 16 that I'm in the majority, I will gladly work 17 to put some money aside to expand the system. 18 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Through 19 you, if -- do I take that to mean that -- 20 another question, please. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 22 You're asking him to continue to yield? 23 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Yes. Yes. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Thompson, do you continue to yield? 2 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes. But I 3 answered him. I said no, there's no money. 4 We're doing the capital now. 5 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Okay. I 6 tried to sort of figure out where the short 7 answer was in that long colloquy. 8 Again, Madam President, will the 9 Senator yield for another question? 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 Senator Thompson, do you continue to yield? 12 SENATOR THOMPSON: Gladly. 13 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Thank you. 14 Do you know how much the City of Rochester and 15 the City of Syracuse contribute for their 16 metro systems? 17 SENATOR THOMPSON: I'm not 18 certain of what they contribute to their 19 system. But you have it, I'd love to have 20 that information if you have it with you. 21 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Do you know 22 whether or not they do or not? 23 SENATOR THOMPSON: Excuse me? 24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Are you asking for a continuation? 2 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Yes. Yes. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 Senator Thompson, do you continue to yield? 5 SENATOR THOMPSON: Gladly. 6 Absolutely. 7 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Do you know 8 whether or not either of the cities 9 contributes? 10 SENATOR THOMPSON: I'm not 11 certain if they contribute. I don't 12 understand why it's relevant. But go ahead. 13 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Another 14 question. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 16 Senator Thompson, do you continue to yield? 17 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes. 18 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Using your 19 analysis that city taxpayers are county 20 taxpayers and that's why the city hasn't 21 contributed any money over the last 24 years, 22 wouldn't it also be fair to say that the 23 appointments of the county also include the 24 city? So therefore, under your logic, that

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 the city is also well represented? 2 SENATOR THOMPSON: Well, through 3 you, Madam President, I think clearly the fact 4 that the city residents came out for a hearing 5 to protest the rate increase in overwhelming 6 numbers back in December, and the person who 7 was chairing the meeting -- who is not a City 8 of Buffalo resident and I don't believe is a 9 Niagara Falls resident -- was just out of 10 control. So I don't believe we have proper 11 representation. 12 Secondly, if we have more adequate 13 representation, the train system would not 14 stop at the Amherst line. And I would just 15 ask my colleague if he wants to join me in 16 expanding the rail system that stops at the 17 end of my district and the beginning of his. 18 So that's what this is about, so 19 that people can have adequate service to the 20 jobs that are throughout the region. And so 21 that people can stop spending so much money on 22 gas and give people more transportation 23 options. They can have more options. And 24 that just simply does not exist the way it

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 should. 2 And there have been people on both 3 sides of the aisle who have understood this 4 issue, who have been working on this issue for 5 many years. And now we are in a position, I 6 believe, to get some traction on this. 7 As I said, when I was on the City 8 Council, I sponsored resolutions in support of 9 this. There have been groups who have rallied 10 and demonstrated and protested out front of 11 the NFTA because they refused to even submit 12 capital plans with even a possible expansion. 13 That's how tragic this situation is. Where 14 the feds have actually contacted them and said 15 please take some of this money. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 Senator Ranzenhofer. 18 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: On the 19 bill. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 Senator Ranzenhofer, on the bill. 22 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: This really 23 is not about the expansion of the rapid rail 24 system. This is not about a host of other

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 issues that we've talked about. This is 2 really about appointments to an NFTA board. 3 The NFTA board is not just the 4 rapid rail system. It's the bus system in 5 Western New York, it's the airport in Western 6 New York. And the reason why there is 7 currently no Buffalo representation is because 8 in the early 1990s when the trains stopped, 9 Buffalo refused to make any contribution to 10 get them going. 11 And Erie County made a 12 contribution, and that's why they have 13 representation on the board. If Buffalo had 14 made that type of contribution, they would 15 have representation on the board. 16 But you have, Madam President, the 17 Towns of Amherst, Cheektowaga, where Senator 18 Maziarz mentioned, Tonawanda, the Town of 19 Niagara, Town of Wheatfield, Village of 20 Kenmore, Village of Williamsville -- you have 21 communities that are much more affected by the 22 total NFTA system than the City of Buffalo. 23 And you have many more municipalities that are 24 more affected than the City of Buffalo.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 So my sense is that if you want 2 representation on the board, then make a 3 contribution to run the system. You can't say 4 that you want representation on the board, 5 when you currently have representation through 6 the governor and through the county, but not 7 be willing to make any financial contribution 8 towards the running of the actual system. 9 I think it would be very 10 instrumental to know whether or not the other 11 cities have representation because they make 12 contributions. I would believe that they do. 13 Thank you. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Senator Maziarz. 16 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 17 much, Madam President. 18 Would the sponsor yield for more 19 questions? 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 Senator Thompson, do you continue to yield? 22 SENATOR THOMPSON: Sure. Glady. 23 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 24 much, Senator.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Senator, you mentioned on at least 2 seven occasions that it was unfair that 3 Buffalo did not have representation and that 4 Rochester and Syracuse do have representation. 5 And Senator Volker pointed out on at least 6 four different times that the City of 7 Rochester and the City of Syracuse both 8 contribute. I'm not as familiar with Syracuse 9 as I am Rochester. I believe Rochester 10 actually contributes a portion of their sales 11 tax to the RGRTA. 12 But I guess my first question is, 13 did you hear Senator Volker's explanation? 14 You don't have to agree with it, but did you 15 just -- 16 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes, of 17 course, I think I'm a pretty good -- I have no 18 choice but to hear; the question is about 19 listening. And I did both. 20 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Okay. Would 21 the Senator continue to yield for another 22 question? 23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 24 Do you continue to yield?

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes, 2 absolutely. 3 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Senator, you 4 asked I think it was Senator Volker if -- you 5 know, aren't the people of Buffalo Erie County 6 residents and don't the people in Buffalo pay 7 Erie County sales tax. 8 Are the people of the Cheektowaga 9 Erie County residents, and do they pay Erie 10 County sales tax? 11 SENATOR THOMPSON: Of course the 12 answer is yes. And this is a political game. 13 And I don't think that the people of any 14 community need to see the Senate degenerate 15 into partisan stuff on the Senate floor. 16 The issue for me is about the bill 17 at hand. And the bill at hand is something 18 that Buffalo, like Rochester and Syracuse, 19 should have an appointment on the board. 20 And in terms of the sales tax, I 21 believe it's important to note that for years, 22 for years everyone knows in Western New York 23 that Buffalo has been fighting to get a 24 greater share of the sales tax. Buffalo

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 currently receives less of sales tax revenue, 2 based on the formula, than the City of 3 Rochester. And I think my colleague very 4 well -- both of my colleagues understand that. 5 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you. 6 Through you, Madam President, will Senator 7 Thompson continue to yield? 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 Senator Thompson, do you continue to yield? 10 SENATOR THOMPSON: Absolutely. 11 SENATOR MAZIARZ: How does the 12 difference in transportation aid compare for 13 the NFTA and the RGRTA, Senator? 14 SENATOR THOMPSON: Excuse me? 15 I'm not -- I don't understand that. Maybe you 16 can better explain that to me. 17 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Through you, 18 Madam President, you were making the 19 comparison of the sales tax between Buffalo 20 and Rochester. 21 SENATOR THOMPSON: Oh, yeah. 22 Okay, I can respond to that. Very good 23 question. I want to thank my colleague for 24 that question.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 The reason why that is important, 2 Madam President, is because the inference was 3 made that Rochester contributes to the 4 regional transit system. Well, it should be 5 important to note, the reason why they do 6 that, as my colleague Senator Volker 7 indicated -- which I have not verified -- he 8 said that it was because of the sales tax. 9 Well, Rochester receives a far 10 greater percentage of the sales tax revenue 11 based on the formula than Buffalo. And Mayor 12 Brown, previously Mayor Masiello, all of them 13 tried to get a higher percentage. We got a 14 couple of dollars in the bucket a couple of 15 years ago. But no, we still do not receive 16 our fair share of sales tax revenue. 17 So as we increase that, perhaps 18 maybe Buffalo can contribute more. But 19 remember, Buffalo is the second poorest city. 20 Our residents ride the system more than any 21 other residents. And it's not a matter of 22 choice. Forty percent of the residents in 23 Buffalo have a car. It may even be less than 24 that today.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 So that's what this is about. Bus 2 system, expansion of the rail system to the 3 suburbs, and we don't have our fair share of 4 sales tax. And that's something that we need 5 to look at but has not been properly addressed 6 yet. 7 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Madam 8 President, through you. My question wasn't 9 about the sales tax. I'd appreciate it if 10 Senator Brown [sic] would answer Senator 11 Volker's question when he's debating with 12 Senator Volker. 13 My question was about 14 transportation aid, state transportation aid, 15 the comparison between the City of Buffalo and 16 the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority 17 and the City of Rochester and the RGRTA. Is 18 the Senator aware of the difference between 19 state transportation aid to those two 20 entities? 21 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 22 Senator Thompson, do you continue to yield? 23 SENATOR THOMPSON: I'm not 24 certain of that. But if he wants to share

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 that with me, I'm willing to listen and learn. 2 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you, 3 Madam President. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 5 Thank you, Senator. 6 Senator Griffo. 7 SENATOR GRIFFO: Will Senator 8 Thompson yield? 9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 10 Senator Thompson, will you yield? 11 SENATOR THOMPSON: Gladly. 12 SENATOR GRIFFO: Senator 13 Thompson, just for a point of clarification, 14 would you be adding two additional seats to 15 the authority in this legislation? 16 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes. Unpaid. 17 SENATOR GRIFFO: Would Senator 18 Thompson continue to yield? 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 Senator Thompson, do you continue to yield? 21 SENATOR THOMPSON: Gladly, to my 22 fellow Brockport alum. 23 SENATOR GRIFFO: So, Senator 24 Thompson, would this be enlarging this public

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 authority, then? 2 SENATOR THOMPSON: By two seats, 3 yes. 4 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you, 5 Senator Thompson. 6 SENATOR THOMPSON: Thank you. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 8 Senator Griffo. 9 SENATOR GRIFFO: On the bill, 10 Madam President. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 12 Senator Griffo, on the bill. 13 SENATOR GRIFFO: I have listened 14 to the debate here. And I have found that 15 when you grow authorities, authorities are 16 insulated from the public, there is no 17 assurance that you will be expanding service, 18 but you will expand the bureaucracy. 19 And what I have seen from 20 authorities that have existed and continue to 21 exist, like the Thruway Authority, that no 22 good thing can come from them. Because this 23 doesn't assure that we're going to see the 24 type of service that you may be debating here

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 today, but it is going to grow this authority. 2 And I'm a little leery of any 3 authority growth. I think we should be moving 4 towards consolidation and elimination of 5 authorities at this point in time. 6 Thank you, Madam President. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 8 Thank you, Senator Griffo. 9 Are there any other Senators 10 wishing to be heard at this time? 11 Hearing none, the debate is closed. 12 The Secretary will please ring the 13 bells. 14 Read the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 16 act shall take effect on the 30th day. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 18 Call the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll.) 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 Announce the results. 22 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 23 the negative on Calendar Number 159 are 24 Senators Alesi, Bonacic, DeFrancisco, Farley,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Flanagan, Fuschillo, Golden, Griffo, Hannon, 2 O. Johnson, Lanza, Larkin, LaValle, Leibell, 3 Libous, Marcellino, Maziarz, McDonald, 4 Morahan, Nozzolio, Padavan, Ranzenhofer, 5 Robach, Saland, Seward, Skelos, Volker, Winner 6 and Young. 7 Excused for the day, Senator 8 Little. 9 Ayes, 32. Nays, 29. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 The bill is passed. 12 The Secretary will continue to 13 read. 14 SENATOR VALESKY: Madam 15 President. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 Senator Valesky. 18 SENATOR VALESKY: Madam 19 President, Senator Craig Johnson has asked 20 that we lay Calendar Number 8 aside for the 21 day, if we could do that. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 23 The bill is laid aside for the day. 24 Senator Valesky.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR VALESKY: And at this 2 time would you call up Calendar Number 184, 3 Senator Sampson's bill. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 5 The Secretary will read. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 184, by Member of the Assembly Weinstein, 8 Assembly Print Number 2574, an act to amend 9 the Domestic Relations Law. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 Senator Saland. 12 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Madam 13 President. Would Senator Sampson yield for a 14 question? It might be two questions. I'll 15 try and do it in one. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 Senator Sampson, will you yield? 18 SENATOR SAMPSON: I will always 19 yield for a question from Senator Saland. 20 SENATOR SALAND: Well, perhaps -- 21 let me ask if Senator Sampson will be kind 22 enough to explain the bill, and then I'll ask 23 him my question. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Sampson. 2 SENATOR SAMPSON: Through you, 3 Madam President. Basically, this bill just 4 establishes an automatic stake in matrimonial 5 actions to prevent either parties from either 6 depleting assets, draining assets, or 7 basically transferring assets while the 8 marital proceeding is going on. It exempts 9 usual household expenses and also reasonable 10 attorney's fees. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 12 Senator Saland. 13 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, 14 Madam President. Through you, Madam 15 President. 16 Senator Sampson, assume for the 17 moment -- and I don't know if I could find the 18 answer to my question in the language or 19 perhaps it's in another section of law. 20 Assume for the moment that one of the 21 parties -- husband, wife -- is engaged in 22 business. And they might normally, were it a 23 harmonious relationship, perhaps take a loan, 24 be it a home equity line or a second mortgage

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 on their house. 2 This clearly would prevent them 3 from doing it certainly on their own. How 4 would they then go about accomplishing that? 5 And I'll ask you the second 6 question also. The person who is maintaining 7 the home -- let's say the people have split, 8 and there is a home and someone is in the 9 home. Let's assume some extraordinary expense 10 comes up that is not a routine household 11 expense. You know, some freak storm, you 12 know, does serious damage to the building, and 13 it's not all covered by insurance. 14 Is there some section of the law 15 that we're amending that provides for these 16 particular types of issues? Or is it merely 17 the matter of making an application to the 18 court for the ability to address these types 19 of issues? And if so, where does that 20 authority lie? 21 SENATOR SAMPSON: Through you, 22 Madam President. Basically it would require 23 you to make an application to the court 24 because -- if you couldn't find the other

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 spouse, for whatever reason. And that would 2 be customary expenses that usually come into 3 the course of owning a home. 4 Because if in fact there is a 5 storm, a catastrophic storm, and you need to 6 fix the roof, you can make an application to 7 the court or you can argue that this is a 8 customary expense because of the situation 9 that existed, so therefore the court would 10 then allow you to go ahead. Or you can 11 unilaterally go ahead because you can make the 12 argument that this is unforeseen 13 circumstances. 14 But usually in the normal course of 15 business of being a homeowner, that if there's 16 a catastrophic storm or something like that 17 that causes disrepair, I'm quite sure the 18 court would allow you to go ahead and fix the 19 home so you can maintain the equity in the 20 value of the home. 21 SENATOR SALAND: I would assume 22 that the court certainly would be able to do 23 that. 24 And I'm just trying to define the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 process, both the process and the other thing 2 that would be of concern to me would be that 3 in these types of instances where there might 4 be unusual or extraordinary expenses that were 5 bona fide expenses, that there be some means 6 by which to expedite the hearing before the 7 court so that the issue is addressed in a 8 timely fashion so that either the repairs can 9 be made in a timely fashion or, if the 10 business is hard-pressed, threatened with some 11 type of closure, or if in fact there's some 12 bona fide opportunity, that there's the 13 ability to do this in some expedited fashion 14 or perhaps some preference that gets you in 15 front of the court to make it happen. 16 SENATOR SAMPSON: Through you, 17 Madam President. Yes, Senator Saland. 18 SENATOR SALAND: Is that already 19 in law? 20 SENATOR SAMPSON: It is not in 21 law. But if you -- with respect to -- read 22 the -- and when you talk about in law, the 23 other party can make the motion to the court, 24 make an order to show cause and ask for

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 expedient relief with respect to the situation 2 that arose. 3 So in law, in law -- through you, 4 Madam President -- you can move for an order 5 to show cause if extenuating circumstances 6 like that exist. 7 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, 8 Senator Sampson. Thank you. Thank you, 9 Madam President. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 Thank you, Senator Saland. 12 Are there any other Senators 13 wishing to be heard on the bill? 14 Hearing none, the debate is closed. 15 The Secretary will ring the bell. 16 Read the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 18 act shall take effect on the first of the 19 calendar month next succeeding. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 Call the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 24 Announce the results.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 2 0. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 The bill is passed. 5 Senator Valesky. 6 SENATOR VALESKY: Madam 7 President, is there any further business 8 before the desk? 9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 10 Senator Valesky, the desk is clear. 11 SENATOR VALESKY: There being no 12 further business, I move that we adjourn until 13 Tuesday, May 5th, at 3:00 p.m. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 There being no further business to come before 16 the Senate, on motion, the Senate stands 17 adjourned until Tuesday, May 5th, at 3:00 p.m. 18 (Whereupon, at 7:06 p.m., the 19 Senate adjourned.) 20 21 22 23 24

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc.

(518) 371-8910