Tuesday, May 12, 2009

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 May 12, 2009 11 3:43 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 SENATOR DAVID J. VALESKY, Acting President 19 ANGELO J. APONTE, Secretary 20 21 22 23 24

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(518) 371-8910 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 3 Senate will please come to order. 4 I ask everyone present to please 5 rise and recite with me the Pledge of 6 Allegiance. 7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited 8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: In the 10 absence of clergy, may we bow our heads in a 11 moment of silence. 12 (Whereupon, the assemblage 13 respected a moment of silence.) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 15 reading of the Journal. 16 The Secretary will read. 17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 18 Monday, May 11, 2009, the Senate met pursuant 19 to adjournment. Senator Breslin in the chair 20 upon designation of the temporary president. 21 Prayer by the Reverend Peter G. Young, Mother 22 Theresa Community, Albany, New York. The 23 Journal of Friday, May 8, 2009, was read and 24 approved.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 2 Without objection, the Journal stands approved 3 as read. 4 Presentation of petitions. 5 Messages from the Assembly. 6 Messages from the Governor. 7 Reports of standing committees. 8 Senator Klein. 9 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, 10 are there any substitutions at the desk? 11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There 12 are, Senator Klein. 13 The Secretary will take them up at 14 this time. 15 THE SECRETARY: Page number 19, 16 Senator Thompson moves to discharge, from the 17 Committee on Environmental Conservation, 18 Assembly Bill Number 3423 and substitute it 19 for the identical Senate Bill Number 1635, 20 Third Reading Calendar 252. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 22 Substitution ordered. 23 THE SECRETARY: Page number 20, 24 Senator Addabbo moves to discharge, from the

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(518) 371-8910 1 Committee on Codes, Assembly Bill Number 3871A 2 and substitute it for the identical Senate 3 Bill Number 4755, Third Reading Calendar 256. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 5 Substitution ordered. 6 THE SECRETARY: Page number 20, 7 Senator Valesky moves to discharge, from the 8 Committee on Finance, Assembly Bill Number 9 1846 and substitute it for the identical 10 Senate Bill Number 3088, Third Reading 11 Calendar 260. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 13 Substitution ordered. 14 THE SECRETARY: Page number 20, 15 Senator Valesky moves to discharge, from the 16 Committee on Investigations and Government 17 Operations, Assembly Bill Number 4358 and 18 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 19 Number 3078, Third Reading Calendar 264. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 21 Substitution ordered. 22 THE SECRETARY: On page 20, 23 Senator Craig Johnson moves to discharge, from 24 the Committee on Investigations and Government

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(518) 371-8910 1 Operations, Assembly Bill Number 1055A and 2 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 3 Number 4460, Third Reading Calendar Number 4 266. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 6 Substitution ordered. 7 THE SECRETARY: Page number 21, 8 Senator Morahan moves to discharge, from the 9 Committee on Transportation, Assembly Bill 10 Number 2393, and substitute it for the 11 identical Senate Bill Number 4014, Third 12 Reading Calendar Number 269. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 14 Substitution ordered. 15 THE SECRETARY: Page number 21, 16 Senator Duane moves to discharge, from the 17 Committee on Health, Assembly Bill Number 730 18 and substitute it for the identical Senate 19 Bill Number 3834, Third Reading Calendar 20 Number 272. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 22 Substitution ordered. 23 THE SECRETARY: Page number 21, 24 Senator Duane moves to discharge, from the

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(518) 371-8910 1 Committee on Health, Assembly Bill Number 724 2 and substitute it for the identical Senate 3 Bill Number 3841, Third Reading Calendar 273. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 5 Substitution ordered. 6 THE SECRETARY: Page number 21, 7 Senator Duane moves to discharge, from the 8 Committee on Health, Assembly Bill Number 763 9 and substitute it for the identical Senate 10 Bill Number 3907, Third Reading Calendar 11 Number 274. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 13 Substitution ordered. 14 Senator Klein, that completes the 15 substitutions that are at the desk. 16 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, I 17 believe there's a report of the Finance 18 Committee at the desk. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 20 Senator Klein, there is a report of the 21 Finance Committee at the desk. 22 The Secretary will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kruger, 24 from the Committee on Finance, reports the

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(518) 371-8910 1 following nominations. 2 As a member of the Workers' 3 Compensation Board, new appointment, Robert E. 4 Beloten, of Queens. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 6 Senator Kruger. 7 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Move the 8 nomination, please. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 10 question is on the motion to confirm -- 11 Senator Stavisky, why do you rise? 12 SENATOR STAVISKY: I rise in 13 support of the nomination of my constituent, 14 Robert Edward Beloten. 15 He has a very impressive 16 background, bringing nearly 20 years of 17 experience working for the New York State 18 Workers' Compensation Board as a hearing 19 officer, a law judge, and other positions 20 within the Workers' Compensation Board. 21 He's also served our state in other 22 capacities and as a senior associate with a 23 law firm dealing with clients involved in 24 workers' compensation issues.

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(518) 371-8910 1 He served clerkships, 2 interestingly, with the Honorable Pearle 3 Applebaum, from Queens, and with a former 4 member of the Assembly, Supreme Court Judge 5 Herbert Posner. 6 So I am delighted to recommend the 7 nomination, and I congratulate him. I know 8 that he's going to be serving for many more 9 years to come as an exemplary member of the 10 Workers' Compensation Board. 11 Thank you, Mr. President. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank 13 you, Senator Stavisky. 14 Are there any other Senators who 15 wish to be heard on the nomination? 16 Seeing none, the question is on the 17 nomination of Robert E. Beloten, of Queens, 18 for an appointment to the Workers' 19 Compensation Board. All in favor signify by 20 saying aye. 21 (Response of "Aye.") 22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 23 Opposed, nay. 24 (No response.)

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 2 nomination of Robert E. Beloten, of Queens, as 3 a member of the Workers' Compensation Board is 4 confirmed. 5 Mr. Beloten joins us in the 6 gallery. Congratulations. 7 (Applause.) 8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 9 Secretary will continue to read. 10 THE SECRETARY: As a member of 11 the Workers' Compensation Board, new 12 appointment, Alfreida Foster-Tolbert, of 13 New York City. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 15 Senator Kruger. 16 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Please move 17 the nomination. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 19 Senator Thompson, why do you rise? 20 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes, it's with 21 great privilege and honor that I support and 22 vote for this beautiful young lady that I've 23 had the pleasure of knowing for a number of 24 years.

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(518) 371-8910 1 And in addition to that, I knew her 2 late husband very well. We met, actually, in 3 2000, in Washington, D.C. -- actually, we met 4 a couple of years earlier, but really I think 5 our bond came together more in 2000, at a 6 training in Washington, D.C., and our paths 7 crossed numerous times. 8 And Frieda worked for the previous 9 Governor, doing a great job. And I'm sure 10 that she will be very successful in this 11 current capacity. 12 So I proudly support Mrs. Tolbert's 13 nomination. 14 Thank you. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank 16 you, Senator Thompson. 17 Senator Stavisky. 18 SENATOR STAVISKY: On the 19 nomination. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: On the 21 nomination. 22 SENATOR STAVISKY: I too rise to 23 congratulate the Governor on his nomination of 24 Freida Foster-Tolbert.

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(518) 371-8910 1 I first met Ms. Tolbert when she 2 came before the Higher Education Committee for 3 confirmation as a member of the Board of 4 Trustees of the City University of New York. 5 She has been a manager in a public 6 affairs program. She has extensive experience 7 working for the State of New York and 8 especially brings a commitment and a 9 dedication seen in a family where public 10 service has a long, long tradition. 11 And I'm delighted to congratulate 12 her on her nomination to the Workers' Comp 13 Board. 14 Thank you, Mr. President. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank 16 you, Senator Stavisky. 17 Are there any other Senators who 18 wish to be heard? 19 The question is on the motion to 20 confirm Alfreida Foster-Tolbert, of New York 21 City, as a member of the Workers' Compensation 22 Board All. In favor signify by saying aye. 23 (Response of "Aye.") 24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:

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(518) 371-8910 1 Opposed, nay. 2 (No response.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 4 motion to confirm Alfreida Foster-Tolbert, of 5 New York City, as a member of the Workers' 6 Compensation Board is hereby carried. 7 Congratulations, 8 Ms. Foster-Tolbert. 9 (Applause.) 10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 11 Secretary will continue to read. 12 THE SECRETARY: As a member of 13 the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, 14 new appointment, Mark D. Croce, of Buffalo. 15 As a member of the Capital District 16 Transportation Authority, new appointment, 17 Georgeanna Lynch, of Saratoga Springs. 18 As members of the Central New York 19 Regional Transportation Authority, new 20 appointments, Mary O. Davis, of Rome, and 21 David H. Hawthorne, of Fulton. 22 As members of the New York State 23 Bridge Authority, new appointments, Carl Vane 24 Lashua, of Beacon; Joseph Ramaglia, of

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(518) 371-8910 1 Campbell Hall; and Francis N. Vecellio, of 2 Kinderhook. 3 As a member of the Ogdensburg 4 Bridge and Port Authority, new appointment, 5 Ramona A. Breen, of Ogdensburg. 6 As a member of the Port of Oswego 7 Authority, new appointment, Kathryn E. Torba, 8 of Oswego. 9 As members of the Rochester-Genesee 10 Regional Transportation Authority, new 11 appointment, Francis J. Falzone, of Macedon, 12 and reappointment, Barbara J. Jones, of 13 Rochester. 14 As a member of the Board of 15 Directors of the Roosevelt Island Operating 16 Corporation, new appointment, Howard Polivy, 17 of New York City. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 19 Senator Kruger. 20 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Move the 21 nominations, please. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 23 question is on the motion to confirm the 24 nominations as read by the Secretary.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Maziarz, why do you rise? 2 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 3 much, Mr. President. 4 I would just like to go on record, 5 Mr. President, as noting for the record that 6 we have had a longstanding policy, when it 7 comes to appointing members of the Niagara 8 Frontier Transportation Authority, that if 9 they are new appointees that they would appear 10 in person. 11 And in my discussions with the 12 chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, that 13 was not done in the case of Mark D. Croce, of 14 Buffalo. 15 Now, I don't know Mr. Croce; he may 16 be a very fine person. He's a very successful 17 businessperson, from what I read in the 18 newspaper, anyway. 19 But I just think it's a disservice 20 to the people of Western New York and the 21 Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority that 22 we did not have the opportunity to ask 23 Mr. Croce questions. 24 There's a lot of things happening

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(518) 371-8910 1 with the Niagara Frontier Transportation 2 Authority. There's a new airport opening up 3 in the town of Wheatfield, in the town of 4 Niagara. And I would have loved to have asked 5 Mr. Croce about his opinion of the bus service 6 in Niagara County, any ideas on the expansion 7 of the bus service. 8 But we didn't get that opportunity 9 because of this break in longstanding, 10 longstanding tradition and policy. I would 11 just like to note that for the record, 12 Mr. President. 13 Thank you. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank 15 you, Senator Maziarz. The record so reflects 16 your concern. 17 Senator Thompson. 18 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes, just for 19 the record, I think that -- it's my 20 understanding that just a couple of months ago 21 a gentleman was appointed to this committee, a 22 new appointment -- I was asked to support his 23 candidacy -- by the name of Michael Hughes, a 24 professional with the Kaleida Health System.

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(518) 371-8910 1 And it's my understanding from sitting on the 2 Finance Committee that Mr. Hughes did not come 3 in. 4 And since I've been in the Senate 5 for the last two years, I can't honestly 6 recall any new appointments that have come 7 through where the people actually came from 8 Western New York to come to Albany for an 9 unpaid board position. 10 It's been my understanding since 11 I've been here for the last two years, for the 12 most part, the boards where people do not get 13 compensated, that they have not been asked or 14 requested or required to endure that 15 expenditure. 16 So I respectfully disagree with the 17 previous speaker. I understand their concern. 18 But I think this person who is volunteering 19 should not be treated any differently from the 20 last two or three appointments that came 21 through between this year and the last two 22 years. 23 Thank you. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank

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(518) 371-8910 1 you, Senator Thompson. 2 Senator Maziarz. 3 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you 4 again, Mr. President. Just to correct the 5 record. 6 My good friend Senator Thompson is 7 once again totally incorrect. And I think if 8 we had talked to Senator Volker, I know that 9 there was this example of Mr. Hughes. 10 However, Mr. Hughes had the courtesy of 11 visiting each member of the Western New York 12 delegation personally back in Western New York 13 and had a personal situation where he couldn't 14 come here on that particular appointed day. 15 I've never met Mark Croce. As I 16 said, he may be a very capable individual. I 17 think it's a disservice to the people. 18 And even though they're not paid to 19 be on the Niagara Frontier Transportation 20 Authority, it is a most important 21 decision-making body. And it has always been 22 the tradition that because of that particular 23 situation, the Niagara Frontier Transportation 24 Authority, that nominees have always come up

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(518) 371-8910 1 here. 2 Senator Volker has been here an 3 awful long time. And let the record show that 4 Senator Volker is nodding in the affirmative, 5 Mr. President. 6 Thank you. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank 8 you, Senator Maziarz. 9 Are there any other Senators who 10 wish to be heard? 11 Seeing none, the question is on the 12 motion to confirm the nominations as 13 previously read by the Secretary. All those 14 in favor please signify by saying aye. 15 (Response of "Aye.") 16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 17 Opposed, nay. 18 (No response.) 19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 20 motion carries, and the nominations are hereby 21 confirmed. 22 Returning to the order of business, 23 reports of select committees. 24 Communications and reports from

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(518) 371-8910 1 state officers. 2 Motions and resolutions. 3 Senator Klein. 4 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, I 5 have a motion. 6 On behalf of Senator Foley, I move 7 that the following bill be discharged from its 8 respective committee and be recommitted with 9 instructions to strike the enacting clause: 10 Senate Bill 4026. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: So 12 ordered. 13 Senator Klein. 14 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, at 15 this time may we adopt the Resolution Calendar 16 in its entirety, with the exception of Senate 17 Resolution Number 1856. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: All 19 those in favor of adopting the Senate 20 Resolution Calendar in its entirety, with the 21 exception of Resolution Number 1856, please 22 signify by saying aye. 23 (Response of "Aye.") 24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:

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(518) 371-8910 1 Opposed, nay. 2 (No response.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 4 Resolution Calendar is adopted. 5 Senator Klein. 6 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, 7 may we at this time take up Senate Resolution 8 Number 1856. I ask that the resolution be 9 read and move for its immediate adoption, and 10 give Senator Little the opportunity to speak 11 on her resolution. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 13 Secretary will read. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senate Resolution 15 Number 1856, legislative resolution 16 memorializing Governor David A. Paterson to 17 proclaim May 11-17, 2009, as Fibromyalgia 18 Awareness Week in the State of New York. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 20 Senator Little, on the resolution. 21 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. 23 Once again, the Legislature is 24 proclaiming a week for fibromyalgia awareness.

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(518) 371-8910 1 And the key word here is "awareness." Because 2 fibromyalgia affects many, many people in this 3 state and in this country. It affects men, 4 women and children, although it mainly affects 5 women. 6 And it's more than a disease, it's 7 actually a syndrome that has no known cause 8 and no known cure. It's a syndrome that has 9 extreme fatigue, chronic joint pain, and a 10 real debilitating ability to lead a normal 11 life. 12 I have a friend that has 13 fibromyalgia, and she described to me waking 14 up in the morning and feeling as though she 15 had the dentist's lead shield over her, and 16 the inability to actually be able to get out 17 of bed and to function that day. 18 Because we have paid some attention 19 to fibromyalgia, we are looking at ways to 20 make their life easier. There are now some 21 drugs that are available. But for many, many 22 women, the main way of curing this is through 23 some other forms: through dietary, through 24 acupuncture -- my friend goes acupuncture once

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(518) 371-8910 1 a month -- through massage, through altering 2 your life so that you can function through 3 this syndrome and this real, real debilitating 4 disease. 5 Another friend who's a physician 6 said this is one of the worst diagnoses that 7 you can give to a woman, because you can't 8 really tell them how they got it and you can't 9 tell them that they will be cured from this. 10 It's something that a person has to learn to 11 live with. 12 So the more we make people aware of 13 this fibromyalgia and how it affects people 14 and how it can be controlled, the better off 15 we will be. Many, many people go through two 16 to three years of medical visits before 17 they're even diagnosed with this, so awareness 18 is key. 19 And I thank all of you for joining 20 me in this resolution. And I know that anyone 21 who wishes to join the resolution certainly is 22 welcome to, and we appreciate your 23 participation. 24 And thank you to the many people

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(518) 371-8910 1 who came down today talking about fibromyalgia 2 and making us more aware of how it has 3 affected their lives and what can be done to 4 really help improve the lives of other people 5 who are affected by this. 6 Thank you very much. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank 8 you, Senator Little. 9 And before calling the question on 10 the resolution, the Secretary will read 11 Resolution Number 1856 in its entirety. 12 THE SECRETARY: "WHEREAS, An 13 estimated 10 million people in the United 14 States, 6 to 8 percent of the population, and 15 millions of people worldwide have been 16 diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a disease for 17 which there is no known cause or cure; and 18 "WHEREAS, A chronic disorder that 19 increases at alarming rates, fibromyalgia 20 causes fatigue and debilitating pain in women, 21 men, and children of all ethnicities; and 22 "WHEREAS, Patients with 23 fibromyalgia often have to learn to live with 24 widespread pain throughout their bodies,

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(518) 371-8910 1 extreme fatigue, sleep disorders, stiffness 2 and weakness, migraine headaches, numbness and 3 tingling, and impairment of memory and 4 concentration; and 5 "WHEREAS, It often takes an average 6 of five years to receive a diagnosis of 7 fibromyalgia, and medical professionals 8 frequently are inadequately educated on the 9 diagnosis and treatment of fibromyalgia; and 10 "WHEREAS, Increased awareness and 11 expanded knowledge of the realities of life 12 with fibromyalgia will allow the community at 13 large to better support people who struggle 14 with the challenges of this chronic pain 15 disorder; and 16 "WHEREAS, A nonprofit charitable 17 organization and the publisher of Fibromyalgia 18 AWARE, the first and only consumer magazine 19 for fibromyalgia, the National Fibromyalgia 20 Association has joined together with other 21 groups around the country to promote 22 fibromyalgia awareness and support, including 23 improved education, diagnosis, research and 24 treatment; and

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(518) 371-8910 1 "WHEREAS, In addition, the National 2 Fibromyalgia Association is urging 3 fibromyalgia patients and their supporters, 4 healthcare providers, and the general public 5 to demonstrate their caring by sharing the 6 road patients walk, the facts about 7 fibromyalgia, and the ever-growing awareness 8 about the etiology of this disorder and 9 potential treatments; and 10 "WHEREAS, The community's focus on 11 fibromyalgia and its impact on patients' lives 12 will help guarantee hope for a better future 13 for people with fibromyalgia; and 14 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body 15 recognizes the needs of those chronically ill 16 people who suffer from fibromyalgia and urge 17 all of our citizens to support the search for 18 a cure and assist those individuals and 19 families who deal with this devastating 20 disorder on a daily basis; now, therefore, be 21 it 22 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 23 Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize 24 Governor David A. Paterson to proclaim

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(518) 371-8910 1 May 11-17, 2009, as Fibromyalgia Awareness 2 Week in the State of New York; and be it 3 further 4 "RESOLVED, That copies of this 5 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 6 to the Honorable David A. Paterson, Governor 7 of the State of New York, and the National 8 Fibromyalgia Association." 9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 10 question is on the resolution. All in favor 11 signify by saying aye. 12 (Response of "Aye.") 13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 14 Opposed, nay. 15 (No response.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 17 resolution is adopted. 18 At Senator Little's request, it is 19 open for cosponsorship by all members of the 20 house. Any member wishing not to cosponsor 21 the resolution should notify the desk. 22 Senator Klein. 23 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, 24 can we move at this time to a reading of

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senate Calendar Number 46. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 3 Secretary will proceed with the reading of 4 Senate Calendar 46. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 207, by Senator Thompson, Senate Print 3782, 7 an act to amend the Environmental Conservation 8 Law, in relation to the management of marine 9 fish subject to interstate and federal fishery 10 management plans and migratory game birds. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Read 12 the last section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 14 act shall take effect immediately. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Call 16 the roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll.) 18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 19 Senator LaValle, to explain his vote. 20 SENATOR LaVALLE: Mr. President, 21 I have on many occasions risen to talk about 22 how the fisheries off of Long Island have been 23 managed to the point where it has affected 24 many of the communities that I represent and

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(518) 371-8910 1 the individuals that are involved in fishing. 2 We all understand that we need to 3 protect the resource; there's not a person 4 that is in disagreement with that. But 5 overmanaging and over-making restrictions is 6 not a good thing. 7 And the communities that I 8 represent in the East End where families -- 9 and I've said this several times on this 10 floor -- have been in the fishing industry 11 going back a hundred or more years are not in 12 the business anymore. They're done. They're 13 finished. 14 And so this is another restrictive 15 act that we don't need, and I vote in the 16 negative. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 18 Senator LaValle to be recorded in the 19 negative. 20 Senator Volker. 21 SENATOR VOLKER: In the negative. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 23 Senator Volker also to be recorded in the 24 negative.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Thompson, to explain his 2 vote. 3 SENATOR THOMPSON: Yes, just on 4 the bill. 5 Mr. President, this piece of 6 legislation I believe is important. I don't 7 believe it's a situation where it's more 8 overregulation. This bill simply says that 9 every two years DEC will not have to continue 10 to come back to the Legislature. 11 If for some reason that we find 12 that there's egregious actions or abuse, that 13 then I think this Legislature, as always, as 14 it has done in the past on other issues, will 15 then come back and address it. 16 But I believe that this -- we have 17 not received one memo of opposition to this 18 legislation. And when members on both sides 19 of the aisle have brought issues before me in 20 committee that are of concern that I or my 21 staff or various staffs may not be as 22 knowledgeable about, we have often this year 23 tried to accommodate many of those issues. 24 So we have not received one memo of

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(518) 371-8910 1 opposition. I support this bill, I think it's 2 a fair bill, and I would encourage my 3 colleagues to do the same. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 5 Senator Thompson to be recorded in the 6 affirmative. 7 Can we once again have a show of 8 hands of those Senators voting in the 9 negative. 10 The Secretary will announce the 11 results. 12 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 13 the negative are Senators DeFrancisco, 14 LaValle, Marcellino, Maziarz, and Volker. 15 Ayes, 57. Nays, 5. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 17 bill is passed. 18 Senator Little will also be 19 recorded in the negative on Calendar 20 Number 207. 21 The Secretary will announce the 22 results. 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56. Nays, 24 6.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 2 bill is passed. 3 The Secretary will continue to 4 read. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 218, by Member of the Assembly Galef, Assembly 7 Bill Number 7505, an act to amend the Real 8 Property Tax Law, in relation to coordinated 9 assessment programs. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Read 11 the last section. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 13 act shall take effect immediately. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Call 15 the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the roll.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 18 Announce the results. 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 20 1. Senator Maziarz to be recorded in the 21 negative. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 23 bill is passed. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number

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(518) 371-8910 1 225, by Senator Aubertine, Senate Bill 4065, 2 an act to amend the Civil Practice Law and 3 Rules, in relation to acknowledgment of 4 service forms. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Read 6 the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 8 act shall take effect immediately. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Call 10 the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll.) 12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 13 Results. 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 16 bill is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 232, by Senator Addabbo, Senate Print 4035, an 19 act to amend the Election Law, in relation to 20 county board of election addresses on voter 21 registration forms available -- 22 SENATOR LIBOUS: Lay it aside, 23 please. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The

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(518) 371-8910 1 bill is laid aside. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 238, by Senator Breslin, Senate Print 1031, an 4 act to legalize, validate, ratify and confirm 5 a transportation contract of the South Colonie 6 Central School District. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 10 act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll.) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 15 Results. 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 18 bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 239, by Senator Stachowski -- 21 SENATOR ROBACH: Lay it aside. 22 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, 23 will you lay it aside for the day, please. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The

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(518) 371-8910 1 bill is laid aside for the day. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 260, substituted earlier today by Member of 4 the Assembly Morelle, Assembly Print Number 5 1846, an act to amend the Executive Law, in 6 relation to prohibiting state agencies from 7 offering loans to their employees. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Read 9 the last section. 10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 11 act shall take effect on the 90th day after it 12 shall have become law. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Call 14 the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 17 Results. 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 20 bill is passed. 21 Senator Klein, that completes the 22 noncontroversial reading of the calendar. 23 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, 24 can we now go to a reading of the

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(518) 371-8910 1 controversial calendar. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 3 Secretary will ring the bells. 4 I ask all Senators to proceed to 5 the Senate chamber as we take up the one bill 6 that is on the controversial calendar. 7 The Secretary will place 8 Calendar 232 before the house. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 232, by Senator Addabbo, Senate Bill 4035, an 11 act to amend the Election Law, in relation to 12 the -- 13 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 15 Senator Libous. 16 SENATOR LIBOUS: It's awful noisy 17 in here. I cannot hear the Journal clerk 18 reading the bill, and there's a lot of 19 conversations going on. If you could call for 20 some order, please. 21 It's important that I hear the 22 title and explanation of this bill. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: If we 24 may have some order in the chamber so that

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Libous and others have the opportunity 2 to hear it clearly. 3 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, 4 Mr. President. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: We're 6 on the controversial calendar. Are there any 7 Senators who wish to be heard? 8 SENATOR LIBOUS: Explanation, 9 please. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 11 Senator Addabbo, an explanation of the bill 12 has been requested. 13 SENATOR ADDABBO: Sure. Good 14 afternoon, Mr. President. 15 What this bill, Senate Print 4035, 16 basically does is codify some procedures and 17 practices already done. But additionally, it 18 takes one extra step. It will allow the 19 correct address of the county Board of 20 Elections to be preprinted on the form as the 21 person who is registering online prints the 22 form out. 23 What we have now are individuals 24 writing the incorrect address for the county

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(518) 371-8910 1 Board of Elections, and the registration form 2 is being lost. 3 Some people, especially in the five 4 boroughs, they live in Staten Island, but the 5 correct county name is Richmond County. 6 People live in Brooklyn, the correct county 7 name is Kings County. 8 Some individuals live near or close 9 or at a county border. So to have the correct 10 county Board of Elections address printed on 11 the registration form, this bill will allow 12 the Board of Elections to preprint it on the 13 downloadable form. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank 15 you, Senator Addabbo. 16 Senator Lanza. 17 SENATOR LANZA: Mr. President, 18 would the sponsor yield for a few questions? 19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 20 Senator Addabbo, do you yield? 21 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes, Mr. 22 President. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 24 sponsor yields.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you, 2 Mr. President. Through you. 3 Senator Addabbo, has the Board of 4 Elections indicated that 60 days, which I see 5 is the day this law would become effective, is 6 sufficient for them to gear up in order to 7 implement under the terms of this legislation? 8 SENATOR ADDABBO: Mr. President, 9 through you. As many of you know, the 10 Committee for Elections has been going around 11 the state at public hearings. In our hearings 12 at Buffalo, we had both commissioners from the 13 State Board of Elections, Commissioners James 14 Walsh and Doug Kellner, testify. Neither of 15 them had opposition to this bill nor the 16 effective date. 17 SENATOR LANZA: Would the sponsor 18 continue to yield? 19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 20 Senator Addabbo, do you continue to yield? 21 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes, 22 Mr. President. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 24 sponsor yields.

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR ADDABBO: I'm sorry, that 2 testimony was in the New York public hearing. 3 Not the Buffalo one, but New York City. 4 SENATOR LANZA: So, Senator 5 Addabbo, I'm still not clear. Has the Board 6 of Elections indicated that 60 days is 7 sufficient for them to implement the changes 8 they would need to implement in order to 9 comply with this legislation? 10 SENATOR ADDABBO: Mr. President, 11 I'll try and use smaller words here. 12 Basically, what happened was when 13 they had given testimony there was no 14 opposition to either the implementation date 15 or the procedure, number one. 16 Number two, there was no indication 17 of any negative statements by either 18 commissioner on this bill. 19 SENATOR LANZA: Mr. President, 20 would the sponsor continue to yield? 21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 22 Senator, do you yield? 23 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes, 24 Mr. President.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 2 sponsor yields. 3 SENATOR LANZA: Senator Addabbo, 4 you can use any words you want. I still 5 haven't heard whether or not the Board of 6 Elections has indicated that they have said 7 that 60 days is sufficient. 8 So big words, small words, I'll 9 take whatever you've got. If you're willing 10 to answer the question, I'd love to have the 11 answer. 12 SENATOR ADDABBO: Mr. President, 13 through you. Again, no indication, Senator 14 Lanza, no indication that they are against the 15 effective date of this bill. 16 SENATOR LANZA: Mr. President, 17 would the sponsor continue to yield? 18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 19 Senator Addabbo, do you yield? 20 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes, 21 Mr. President. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 23 sponsor continues to yield. 24 SENATOR LANZA: Through you,

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(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President. So we're not sure, with 2 respect to the first question, whether or not 3 60 days is sufficient for them to make the 4 changes they need. 5 With respect to the cost, do we 6 have an indication from them or any agency how 7 much this will cost the taxpayers of the State 8 of New York? 9 SENATOR ADDABBO: Mr. President, 10 through you. When the cost issue came up, 11 Senator Lanza, at the hearing, the cost issue 12 was minimal. And again, no opposition by 13 either chair of the Board of Elections. 14 SENATOR LANZA: Would the sponsor 15 continue to yield. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Senat 17 or Addabbo, do you yield? 18 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes, Mr. 19 President. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 21 sponsor continues to yield. 22 SENATOR LANZA: Through you, 23 Mr. President. Senator Addabbo, like 24 everything else in life, cost is relative.

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(518) 371-8910 1 When you say "minimal," I'm not sure what I 2 can go back home and tell the people of Staten 3 Island what that means. 4 So beyond that, do we have any 5 specific indication of the cost of this 6 legislation? 7 SENATOR ADDABBO: Mr. President, 8 through you. Keep in mind, Senator Lanza, 9 that this practice, online voter registration, 10 is a practice already being done. What we're 11 looking at is just programming it to put the 12 proper county Board of Elections address. 13 Therefore, again, I believe that 14 the cost is minimal. And nothing -- even in 15 the tough fiscal situation that even our city 16 Board of Elections feels that they are in, 17 they never brought that up as an issue with 18 Senate Bill 4035. 19 SENATOR LANZA: Mr. President, 20 would the sponsor continue to yield? 21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 22 Senator Addabbo, do you continue to yield? 23 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes, 24 Mr. President.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 2 sponsor yields. 3 SENATOR LANZA: Senator Addabbo, 4 do we have an indication from the Board of 5 Elections -- if in fact this were to pass and 6 we have 60 days to implement it -- how much 7 overtime would need to be authorized by the 8 various county Board of Elections to get the 9 job done? 10 SENATOR ADDABBO: Mr. President, 11 through you. I don't believe any overtime. 12 It is a simple programming issue. The 13 database already exists. Obviously, address 14 finders already exist. It's a simple 15 programming issue that requires, I believe, no 16 overtime whatsoever. 17 SENATOR LANZA: Would the sponsor 18 continue to yield? 19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 20 Senator Addabbo -- 21 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 23 Senator continues to yield. 24 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Mr. President, through you. You know, again, 2 I'll move on, but I really don't have an 3 answer to my question, so I can't tell the 4 taxpayers back home how much this will cost. 5 To say "minimal," again, in a budget the size 6 that we have here, tens of millions of dollars 7 might by you be considered minimal. To the 8 people back home, that might be considered 9 egregious. But again, I'll move on. 10 Is the technology presently in 11 place to ensure that this can actually happen? 12 For instance, if I were a new -- and again, I 13 want to add that I support any effort that 14 makes it easier for people to efficiently and 15 honestly register to vote in this state. I 16 know that's where you're going here, Senator, 17 and I commend you. But I just have concerns 18 with what this bill does with respect to 19 putting that into practice. 20 If I'm a new registrant and I type 21 in my name and an address, as we all know, we 22 can have the same street address in numerous 23 counties. Do we presently have a system that 24 would be able to zero in on the correct county

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(518) 371-8910 1 for a new registrant? 2 SENATOR ADDABBO: Mr. President, 3 through you. Senator Lanza, it would pick up 4 the zip code. The zip code would indicate 5 which county. 6 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you, 7 Mr. President. Thank you, Senator Addabbo. 8 SENATOR ADDABBO: Thank you, 9 Senator Lanza. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank 11 you, Senator Lanza. 12 Senator Marcellino. 13 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Senator 14 Addabbo -- would the Senator yield? 15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 16 Senator Addabbo, do you yield? 17 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes, Mr. 18 President. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 20 sponsor yields. 21 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Senator, I 22 just have one question. 23 Is there anything in law right now 24 that would prevent the Board of Elections from

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(518) 371-8910 1 just doing this if they were asked to do it? 2 SENATOR ADDABBO: Mr. President, 3 through you. I would think not, Senator 4 Marcellino. The fact that they have not done 5 it so far. 6 And you know, we may have a 7 cooperative working relationship now with the 8 Board of Elections, and maybe years from now 9 we may not. So it's safer to codify. 10 You know, as I mentioned earlier, 11 this bill codifies practices already being 12 done. And it may seem redundant to some, but 13 we are therefore codifying the practice and 14 taking it an extra step. 15 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 16 Senator. 17 SENATOR ADDABBO: Thank you. 18 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr. 19 President, on the bill. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 21 Senator Marcellino, on the bill. 22 SENATOR MARCELLINO: We have here 23 a situation where the New York State 24 Legislature is enacting a law to tell a

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(518) 371-8910 1 commissioner, to force a commissioner to do 2 something that is frankly common sense. Just 3 plain common sense. 4 Both commissioners, representative 5 of the parties involved, could simply say, 6 Let's do this. It makes sense to do it, put 7 it up the website, put this thing so it's a 8 benefit to every person running for office 9 that the correct address be on the website so 10 that the ballot gets mailed to the appropriate 11 place. I don't understand the need. 12 In EnCon, in the Environmental 13 Committee this morning, we did legislation 14 requiring the City of New York to put out 15 garbage pails. We're requiring the City of 16 New York to put out more garbage pails. 17 You know, it seems to me that 18 that's a City Council prerogative, we didn't 19 need the State Legislature to do this, but yet 20 the State Legislature moved a bill to force 21 the city to put out more garbage pails. I 22 don't understand this. 23 We did another bill out of the same 24 committee early on to ask the commissioner or

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(518) 371-8910 1 to force the commissioner of the DEC to put 2 information on his website, on the 3 department's website, something that could be 4 done by simply somebody sending a memo to the 5 commissioner, Pete Grannis, and saying: "Dear 6 Pete, we think it's a great idea, why not do 7 this?" I am sure Pete -- I know him, most of 8 us do -- would do it. Yet we force him to do 9 it by law. 10 I do not understand the passing of 11 bills that frankly do not and should not get 12 to the level of this Legislature. I mean, if 13 I was in the city, I think I would be a little 14 annoyed that the State Legislature is 15 micromanaging my city. 16 I would be equally distressed if 17 the federal government came in here and 18 micromanaged the state government. We'd be 19 annoyed. We wouldn't want them telling us 20 what to do. It's not their prerogative. 21 It's not our purpose here to tell 22 the commissioner what to do on something that 23 is frankly common sense. Common sense. Just 24 do it. Why are we wasting the time of the

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(518) 371-8910 1 Legislature in enacting laws like this? 2 In my mind -- no offense, Senator, 3 I understand what you're trying to do. It 4 makes a lot of sense. One would think it 5 would be done automatically by the 6 commissioner, because it is common sense. 7 And as these other examples, we 8 shouldn't be involved in this sort of thing. 9 A memo could do this. 10 Thank you. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank 12 you, Senator Marcellino. 13 Senator DeFrancisco. 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would 15 Senator Addabbo answer a question. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 17 Senator Addabbo, do you yield? 18 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes, 19 Mr. President. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 21 sponsor yields. 22 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator 23 Addabbo, I'm reading the justification for 24 this bill, and it says that voters who are in

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(518) 371-8910 1 a new area and even some of those that have 2 resided there for a considerable time may not 3 know what county they reside in. 4 My question basically is this. 5 Don't you think we have to at least give 6 people enough credit and require enough 7 responsibility before they vote to know what 8 county they reside in without the government 9 being forced to do something automatically for 10 them? 11 SENATOR ADDABBO: Mr. President, 12 through you. In just more detail -- maybe the 13 wording may be a little off -- but it's where 14 somebody believes they live in Brooklyn, and 15 they do live in Brooklyn, but the proper name 16 is Kings County. Some people may not know the 17 proper name of the county in which they live. 18 Like I referred to, Staten Island being 19 Richmond County. That basically is what that 20 sentence is to address. 21 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would 22 Senator Addabbo yield to another question? 23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 24 Senator Addabbo, do you continue to yield?

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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR ADDABBO: Yes, 2 Mr. President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 4 sponsor yields. 5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: In the bill 6 memo it also says that it also enables the 7 public and groups involved in voter 8 registration in order to get this information 9 automatically. 10 Isn't that really the reason that 11 this bill is being proposed, to assist groups 12 who organize registration drives for various 13 voters? Isn't that the real reason? 14 SENATOR ADDABBO: Mr. President, 15 through you. In all honesty, this is to help 16 the individual voter -- prospective voter, 17 qualified voter -- to register. 18 There are groups that do voter 19 registration drives, that may be a fringe 20 benefit. But this bill is specifically to 21 benefit the individual person who wants to 22 register online. 23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: On the 24 bill.

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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 2 Senator DeFrancisco, on the bill. 3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It would 4 seem to me that an individual who wants to 5 vote and has to fill out a piece of paper, 6 online or otherwise, ought to be able or at 7 least be required and responsible to know what 8 county they're in. And to be able to fill 9 that little form out with the county in which 10 they reside. And if they're confused about 11 it, maybe they could call somebody. 12 But to have a system that requires, 13 I think at some expense, the Board of 14 Elections to do something automatically that 15 is something that individual should be 16 responsible for -- I mean, we're getting to 17 the point now where an individual doesn't have 18 to be responsible for anything, that the 19 government is going to take care of everything 20 for them. 21 And it seems to me the real 22 reason -- and I understand Senator Addabbo's 23 answer, but the real reason isn't to help 24 people who don't know where they live or what

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(518) 371-8910 1 county they're in, the real reason is to help 2 voter registration drives. 3 And to me, that doesn't justify the 4 additional cost and an additional mandate on 5 government which is going to -- which is, with 6 all our additional mandates, we're continuing 7 to bankrupt this state and having businesses 8 close like they have, Mr. President, in our 9 county recently. Magna closed, the Crucible 10 Steel just went into bankruptcy, Syracuse 11 China closed. All the big manufacturing 12 businesses in our community. 13 And unless we start with some of 14 these little things that are -- should be the 15 responsibility of individuals and stop 16 requiring government to do things, we're never 17 going to get to reverse this trend of 18 government being responsible for everything. 19 So I'm going to vote no on this 20 legislation. Thank you, Mr. President. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank 22 you, Senator DeFrancisco. 23 Senator Schneiderman. 24 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: On the

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(518) 371-8910 1 bill, Mr. President. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 3 Senator Schneiderman, on the bill. 4 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: I have to 5 say I listened to the dialogue so far with 6 what started out as amusement and then turned 7 to bafflement and now has turned to a little 8 bit of incomprehension tending towards anger. 9 Yes, democracy costs money, ladies 10 and gentlemen. It does cost money. We can 11 save a lot of money by having all the polling 12 places only open an hour a day. Mm-mm, 13 there's a practical, cost-saving solution. 14 This bill is an absolute 15 no-brainer. All it does is make it easier for 16 people to vote yes. Senator DeFrancisco, all 17 this does is help voter registration drives. 18 This helps get more people to participate in 19 the democratic process. 20 Now, some of you come up with 21 reasons to oppose all of the bills to open up 22 the democratic process, to make it easier to 23 ensure that everyone eligible to vote can 24 vote.

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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Addabbo is beleaguered by 2 these types of argument on bills that I would 3 suggest are fundamentally and quintessentially 4 American bills. This legislation we're moving 5 through Elections this year is continuing the 6 wonderful trend of our history, with some ups 7 and downs, to open up the process so more 8 people can vote, so it's easier to vote, so 9 it's easier to find out where you should vote 10 and who you're eligible to vote for. 11 This is an extraordinarily modest 12 bill. It's not going to cost a lot of money. 13 As has been pointed out, it's being done in 14 much of the state already. This is democracy. 15 And if you're not willing to invest in that, 16 then I think it's fundamentally un-American. 17 So I would suggest that everyone 18 here should think back to how we start the 19 sessions with the Pledge of Allegiance and 20 take an American vote, vote to open the 21 process, support Senator Addabbo's bill. 22 I vote yes. Thank you, 23 Mr. President. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank

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(518) 371-8910 1 you, Senator Schneiderman. 2 Senator DeFrancisco, why do you 3 rise? 4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I think to 5 analogize my concerns with this bill with 6 limiting the number of hours that you're able 7 to vote is a bad analogy, to put it mildly. 8 And secondly, I think what we 9 always seem to forget in these chambers is 10 that to be an American and to be in a 11 democracy requires a little bit of effort and 12 a little bit of responsibility. And this may 13 not be the best example, but it's a small 14 example of where we're going down this 15 slippery slope where government has got to do 16 everything to make it easier for anybody to do 17 anything. 18 If you have the right to vote in 19 this country and you don't have enough 20 responsibility to know what county you live 21 in, well, I don't think that's right. There's 22 many countries that don't have this ability. 23 And to come to this country and not 24 at least know where your county is so you can

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(518) 371-8910 1 fill in a voter registration form I think is 2 wrong. 3 And I don't think that the fact 4 that voter groups want to try to register you 5 is a justification for people not to be 6 responsible and exercise their right to vote 7 in a responsible way. 8 Thank you, Mr. President. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank 10 you, Senator DeFrancisco. 11 Are there any other Senators who 12 wish to be heard on the bill? 13 Seeing none, the debate is closed. 14 The Secretary will ring the bell. 15 I ask all Senators to proceed immediately to 16 the chamber so that we may commence with the 17 roll call. 18 The Secretary will read the last 19 section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 21 act shall take effect on the 60th day after it 22 shall have become a law. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Call 24 the roll.

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(518) 371-8910 1 (The Secretary called the roll.) 2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 3 Senator Perkins, to explain his vote. 4 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you very 5 much, Mr. President. 6 I will be brief, because this 7 obviously is a very significant piece of 8 legislation as it relates to voting rights. 9 But it brings to mind some guests 10 that are here, who were here for farmworkers 11 rights. And so I just wanted to take a moment 12 to acknowledge them and the struggle that 13 they're going through as we are also looking 14 at the struggles of improving our voting 15 rights machinery and improving the 16 opportunities for people to participate. And 17 I wanted to just make sure that they knew that 18 we have them in mind as well. 19 Thank you very much. I vote aye. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 21 Senator Perkins to be recorded in the 22 affirmative. 23 The Secretary will announce the 24 results.

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(518) 371-8910 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. Nays, 2 1. Senator DeFrancisco to be recorded in the 3 negative. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 5 bill is passed. 6 Senator Klein, that completes the 7 reading of the controversial calendar. 8 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, is 9 there any further business at the desk? 10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There 11 is no further business. 12 SENATOR KLEIN: There being none, 13 Mr. President, I move we that adjourn until 14 Wednesday, May 13th, at 11:00 a.m. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: On a 16 motion by Senator Klein, the Senate stands 17 adjourned until Wednesday, May 13th, at 18 11:00 a.m. 19 (Whereupon, at 4:37 p.m., the 20 Senate adjourned.) 21 22 23 24

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(518) 371-8910