Gaveled in 12:17 PM · Albany, New York · 2009–10 session
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 November 18, 2009 11 12:17 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 19 SENATOR DAVID J. VALESKY, Acting President 20 ANGELO J. APONTE, Secretary 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, November 16, the Senate met in 19 Extraordinary Session pursuant to adjournment. 20 The Journal of Sunday, November 15, was read 21 and approved. On motion, Senate adjourned. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 23 Without objection, the Journal stands approved 24 as read.
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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Smith. 2 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, 3 Mr. President. Good afternoon to you. 4 Would you please recognize Senator 5 Neil Breslin. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 7 Senator Breslin. 8 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you very 9 much, Mr. President. 10 I rise to ask for a moment of 11 silence for the first woman from my district 12 who was killed in action in Iraq, Amy Seyboth 13 Tirador, a staff sergeant, on November 4th, 14 wounded in action, a former Bronze Medal award 15 winner, someone who had served in action as a 16 medic and then transferred to become a 17 linguist. 18 But someone who served her country 19 and served it well, and died at the young age 20 of 29 doing our country's work. 21 Thank you, Mr. President. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 23 Senate will rise for a moment of silence. 24 (Whereupon, the assemblage
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(518) 371-8910 1 respected a moment of silence.) 2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 3 Senator Smith. 4 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, 5 Mr. President, there will be an immediate 6 meeting of the Rules Committee in the Majority 7 Conference Room, 332. 8 Pending the return of the Rules 9 Committee, we will stand at ease. But I do 10 ask that all members stay very near to the 11 chamber because it will be a very brief Rules 12 Committee meeting. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: An 14 immediate meeting of the Committee on Rules in 15 Majority Conference Room 332. 16 The Senate will stand at ease 17 pending the report of the Rules Committee. 18 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 19 ease at 12:20 p.m.) 20 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 21 at 12:47 p.m.) 22 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 23 Senate will return to order. 24 Senator Smith.
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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR SMITH: Mr. President, I 2 believe there is a report of the Rules 3 Committee at the desk. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There 5 is a report of the Rules Committee. 6 The Secretary will read. 7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Smith, 8 from the Committee on Rules, reports the 9 following bill direct to third reading: 10 Extraordinary Session Senate Print 11 Number 8, by Senator Dilan, an act to amend 12 the Vehicle and Traffic Law and the Penal Law. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 14 Senator Smith. 15 SENATOR SMITH: Mr. President, I 16 move that we accept the report of the Rules 17 Committee at this time. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: All in 19 favor of accepting the report of the Rules 20 Committee signify by 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 report of the Rules Committee is adopted. 3 Senator Smith. 4 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, 5 Mr. President. At this time could we please 6 move to the reading of the calendar. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 8 Secretary will proceed with a reading of 9 Extraordinary Session Calendar Number 3. 10 Senator Smith, we have a 11 substitution at the desk. 12 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, Mr. 13 President, I believe there is a substitution 14 at the desk. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There 16 is. 17 The Secretary will read. 18 THE SECRETARY: In relation to 19 Calendar Number 7, Senator Dilan moves to 20 discharge, from the Committee on Rules, 21 Assembly Bill Number 8 and substitute it for 22 the identical Senate Bill Number 8, Third 23 Reading Calendar 7. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
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(518) 371-8910 1 Substitution ordered. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 7, by the Assembly Committee on Rules, 4 Assembly Print Number 8, an act to amend the 5 Vehicle and Traffic Law and the Penal Law. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 7 Senator Smith. 8 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, 9 Mr. President. Could we wait one moment as 10 they deliver the calendars? Give us about a 11 minute. 12 Mr. President, could you please 13 recognize Senator Volker. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 15 Senator Volker. 16 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President, I 17 just want to inform the members that although 18 Senator Tauriello was a member here some years 19 ago, Senator Joseph Tauriello, a former member 20 of this house and former Parole 21 Commissioner -- an uncle who was a 22 Congressman, one of the most distinguished 23 families in the Buffalo region -- died during 24 the night.
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(518) 371-8910 1 And I'd just like to inform the 2 members we have no information yet on the 3 arrangements. And of course we will prepare a 4 resolution as soon as we can. But I'd just 5 like to notify the members. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Thank 7 you, Senator Volker. 8 Senator Smith. 9 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, 10 Mr. President. Is there a message of 11 necessity at the desk? 12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There 13 is a message from the Governor at the desk. 14 SENATOR SMITH: Mr. President, I 15 move that we accept the message of necessity. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: All in 17 favor of accepting the message of necessity 18 please signify by saying aye. 19 (Response of "Aye.") 20 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 21 Opposed, nay. 22 (No response.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 24 message of necessity is accepted.
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(518) 371-8910 1 Read the last section. 2 THE SECRETARY: Section 15. This 3 act shall take effect on the 30th day. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: Call 5 the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll.) 7 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 8 Senator Smith, to explain his vote. 9 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, 10 Mr. President. Thank you very much. 11 Colleagues, members of our body, 12 today the Senate, in its continued leadership 13 on this issue, is taking up a bill, Leandra's 14 Law, which we both know without the leadership 15 of Senator Martin Dilan and Senator Fuschillo 16 this bill would not be on the floor of this 17 chamber today. 18 We have Mr. Rosado, who is with us 19 today. 20 And, colleagues, what we are about 21 to pass is a bill that will make this the 22 toughest law in the country, second to 23 Arizona, one which will have tremendous impact 24 not only on New York State but the rest of the
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(518) 371-8910 1 country. 2 Mr. President, I am clear about how 3 important this bill is. I want to thank 4 Mr. Rosado for all the effort that he has put 5 forward, the time he has placed. He was here 6 yesterday, went home, came back today, was in 7 our offices, spent a lot of time with Senator 8 Fuschillo, a lot of time with Senator Dilan. 9 And I want to thank our leadership 10 Senator Sampson as well, Senator Skelos, all 11 of which gave part to this effort, one of 12 which I think we can be very proud, but more 13 importantly, the fact that this is going to 14 save lives. 15 I do again, Mr. President, want to 16 underscore the importance of Senator Dilan and 17 Senator Fuschillo. I think that bipartisan 18 effort speaks to what this house is about, 19 speaks to what this house should be about, and 20 makes a clear example of what we can do as a 21 body in terms of doing the right thing by the 22 people of the State of New York. 23 At this time, Mr. President, I ask 24 that you would recognize Senator Dilan and
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(518) 371-8910 1 then Senator Fuschillo. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 3 Senator Smith to be recorded in the 4 affirmative. 5 Senator Dilan. 6 SENATOR DILAN: Yes, thank you 7 very much, Mr. President. 8 First of all, to our leader Malcolm 9 Smith, I would like to say thank you for the 10 opportunity of pushing this legislation 11 through. 12 I first want to just indicate that 13 once we pass this bill today -- and at some 14 point it will be signed by the Governor 15 today -- it will be the toughest DWI law in 16 the nation. And it will be protecting the 17 lives of children and other individuals. 18 It will provide for a felony charge 19 for a blood alcohol content level of .08. And 20 also it would require an interlock device on 21 vehicles. 22 So I just want to say thank you 23 very much to Governor Paterson for proposing 24 this legislation. Again, I'd like to thank
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(518) 371-8910 1 our leadership and Senators Malcolm Smith and 2 John Sampson for providing the support that 3 they did. 4 And I want to also reach across the 5 other side of the aisle and thank a special 6 thanks to Senator Fuschillo, who was really a 7 prime mover in this legislation. Earlier this 8 year, this house passed Senator Fuschillo's 9 bill for interlocking devices. 10 And I want to thank you for your 11 help and strong leadership on this issue. And 12 I want to say that with your help and your 13 support is one of the reasons why this 14 legislation is coming to fruition. Also 15 because of your support, we in a bipartisan 16 way were successful in getting the Assembly to 17 move this bill through and not weaken this 18 bill. 19 So, Senator Fuschillo, special 20 thanks to you, your staff. 21 And we also have to mention that 22 the media was very influential in getting the 23 Assembly to do the right thing. And yes, 24 Mr. Ken Lovett, I want to thank the Daily News
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(518) 371-8910 1 for all the work they did on this issue also. 2 So the media does do some good things 3 sometimes. Thank you. 4 (Laughter.) 5 SENATOR DILAN: I also want to 6 thank some advocate groups. We had Mothers 7 Against Drunk Driving, MADD. They were very 8 helpful on this issue. I want to thank all 9 the advocates that were involved. The 10 District Attorneys Association throughout the 11 State of New York were also involved with this 12 issue. 13 I want to thank the central staff, 14 especially Kathy Grainger, Ken Dow, Aly 15 Paulino; my staff, Matt Trapasso and Tom 16 Benware, for all their help. And I know at 17 some point Senator Schneiderman will be 18 thanking the staff from the Codes Committee 19 for their help on this issue. 20 And to everyone here, I just want 21 to say thank you. 22 And to Lenny Rosado, I want to say 23 congratulations and thank you for your 24 daughter.
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(518) 371-8910 1 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 2 Senator Dilan to be recorded in the 3 affirmative. 4 Senator Fuschillo. 5 SENATOR FUSCHILLO: Thank you, 6 Mr. President. 7 And Senator Dilan, thank you very 8 much for your support and your leadership. 9 Senator Smith, Senator Skelos, 10 special thanks to both of you as well. You've 11 kept your word. We wouldn't water the bill 12 down. We wouldn't go to .18, we stayed at 13 .08, and that's why it was critically 14 important. 15 When our kids are born and we take 16 them out of the hospital, that's when our 17 guard of protection starts; we put them in a 18 child's seat when we drive away from the 19 hospital. When they first walk in our houses 20 or apartments, we start clearing everything, 21 because we don't want them to hit anything. 22 When they start to learn how to ride a 23 bicycle, we do it on a grass field somewhere, 24 and we hold onto that seat with our dear life,
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(518) 371-8910 1 and they have a helmet, some have kneepads or 2 elbow pads. And God forbid they fall -- we're 3 there to pick them up right away. 4 And when they get older and learn 5 how to drive -- (gasping) -- we go, Oh, my 6 God. It's our biggest fear. But we drive 7 with them until we feel comfortable. And now 8 I have a kid in college, and I'm still 9 worried. And some of my colleagues who have 10 grandkids say it gets worse when you have 11 grandkids because you worry even more. 12 Well, the kids that are in the car 13 of an adult who is so irresponsible that 14 they're drunk deserve even greater protection. 15 And that's why we're here today. 16 You know, this summer we witnessed 17 one of the most bloodiest times of our lives 18 with the Taconic Parkway crash, where seven 19 people were murdered. And that's what they 20 were, murdered by a drunk driver. Innocent 21 people. 22 And then on October 11th, another 23 drunk driver murdered a young girl that I 24 never met, but I feel like I've known her.
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(518) 371-8910 1 And probably all of New York, if they've been 2 following this crash and tragic event, knows 3 this little girl, Leandra Rosado. 4 And I got to know her father a 5 couple of weeks ago, Lenny, who is relentless 6 in his pursuant to make sure that a tragic 7 event like this never happens again. 8 You know, lenny got sole custody of 9 his daughter, Leandra, probably when she was 10 five or six. And she was everything to him -- 11 sole custody, single parent of a beautiful 12 girl. And I carry this around with me, that 13 Lenny gave this to me. This is her, ladies 14 and gentlemen. She was murdered by a drunk 15 driver who under current laws, one of the 16 charges would have been just a misdemeanor. 17 But today, all of us in a 18 bipartisan fashion are making this work that 19 individuals who drive drunk with children in 20 the car will face a felony. 21 And as Senator Dilan said, we did 22 the ignition interlock before. We're doing it 23 again. Toughest laws in the nation, and it 24 should start here in New York State.
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(518) 371-8910 1 Let me thank my colleague in the 2 Assembly as well, Harvey Weisenberg, who says 3 I always give him bills and jam him. But I 4 know he'll get it done in that house as well. 5 He wouldn't give up. 6 And I must say, regrettably, that I 7 think the media shamed the Assembly into doing 8 this. 9 And such a commonsense approach 10 into protecting and saving people's lives, we 11 should have done it a long time ago. 12 Mr. Rosado, God bless you. Thank 13 you for all you've done. And God bless your 14 daughter. 15 I'll be voting in the affirmative. 16 Thank you, Mr. President. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 18 Senator Fuschillo to be recorded in the 19 affirmative. 20 Senator Duane. 21 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. 23 I too want to thank Senator Dilan 24 for his really great work and just his
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(518) 371-8910 1 steadfastness on this issue, and Senator 2 Fuschillo also for his work on this, beginning 3 with also the horrible, horrible tragedy on 4 the Taconic from earlier this year, and also 5 the Governor on his leadership on this issue. 6 I think that Leandra's death, 7 horrible and tragic, did something else. It 8 brought out the best in us here in 9 government -- the executive branch, the 10 legislative branch, both houses, both parties. 11 I also want to thank Leandra's dad, 12 Lenny, for -- you know, just for allowing 13 us -- and pushing us, but really more allowing 14 us to use this tragedy as a way to try to make 15 something better going forward and to provide 16 prevention going forward and to make it so 17 that perhaps -- not perhaps, we will be saving 18 lives. 19 It is really sad to think that a 20 child really has no control over their destiny 21 in a case like this and their only choice is 22 to trust a parent or the adult in their lives. 23 And when we let them down, it's a terrible, 24 terrible thing that we do.
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(518) 371-8910 1 I think that the -- something I've 2 been very supportive and passionate about, the 3 idea, the policy of using interlock devices is 4 very, very important. And I have never seen a 5 downside to it, and I'm glad that we'll be 6 mandating the use of interlocking devices. 7 You know, the death of someone 8 because of substance abuse, it affects entire 9 families and in this case entire communities. 10 And in the tragic death of Leandra, my 11 community is continuing to mourn her death. 12 And, you know, alcoholism, substance abuse, it 13 kills people. It ruins families, it ruins 14 lives, it ruins communities. 15 Now, you know, we passed a great 16 piece of legislation here, Timothy's Law. We 17 have to finish our work, make sure that 18 substance abuse is covered as well. We have 19 to make sure that when a problem of substance 20 abuse is identified -- not just for the person 21 who may be the addicted one, but because of 22 its impact on the entire family -- that help 23 is there, that help is paid for, that help is 24 covered. That's the other side of prevention.
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(518) 371-8910 1 We of course have to punish people 2 that do terrible things, no matter what the 3 reasons are that they did it. People need to 4 be responsible, made responsible for their 5 actions. And when someone is ready to admit 6 that they have a problem or when a family is 7 ready to deal with a problem, a problem with 8 someone in that family, we also have to be 9 ready with the help that they need. 10 So this is a tremendous thing that 11 we did today. It's a great thing that we did 12 today. And we get to mark it today. And 13 tomorrow, we have to redouble our efforts to 14 do even more to prevent a tragedy like this 15 from ever happening again. 16 I'm voting yes. And again, thank 17 you to all of the parties that were involved 18 in this. From a personal and from a 19 government place, I vote yes, Mr. President. 20 Thank you. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 22 Senator Duane to be recorded in the 23 affirmative. 24 Senator Stachowski.
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(518) 371-8910 1 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Yes, 2 Mr. President, I too would like to rise to 3 commend Senator Dilan on his leadership on 4 this, and thank Senator Fuschillo for all the 5 help he provided to Senator Dilan. 6 I'd also like to congratulate 7 Assemblyman Weisenberg and the Governor for 8 their involvement with this bill. 9 It's very important that we make 10 sure that crimes of this nature have the 11 punishment that they deserve, and here we're 12 finally doing that. But we're also trying to 13 send a message and a preventive piece with the 14 Breathalyzer piece. 15 But also, by strengthening the law 16 this way, maybe somebody that's going to be 17 going out will have a second thought about 18 having a cocktail or a glass of wine when they 19 know they're going to either be picking their 20 children up or they're taking their children 21 someplace. Because sometimes just the 22 strength of the penalty will hopefully save 23 somebody's life. 24 And it doesn't just affect the
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(518) 371-8910 1 family that loses a child. I think every time 2 any of us see a story on the news, either read 3 about it or see it on television, it bothers 4 you. And it bothers you a lot. And 5 especially when you see something that 6 involves a senseless death that didn't have to 7 happen, that could have been prevented just by 8 somebody not getting behind a wheel or giving 9 the keys to somebody else. 10 This bill will go a long way, 11 hopefully, to not only strengthen the 12 penalties, stop people that have a problem 13 from driving, but also giving second thought 14 to many people that might have had a beer or 15 might have had a glass of wine or whatever 16 drink of choice they would have had when they 17 know they're going to be either picking up 18 their child, driving their child, or have 19 anything to do with their car and their 20 children. 21 So I'd like to congratulate once 22 again all the people involved in putting this 23 together, and I'm proud to be voting for it 24 today.
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(518) 371-8910 1 Thank you, Mr. President. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 3 Senator Stachowski to be recorded in the 4 affirmative. 5 Senator Schneiderman. 6 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you, 7 Mr. President. 8 Thanks to all involved in this 9 effort. And I just want to say, in addition 10 to thanking our great Transportation chair and 11 our leader on this, Senator Dilan, Senator 12 Fuschillo, all the people who have worked for 13 this -- and I do share Senator Fuschillo's 14 sentiment that Harvey Weisenberg fought the 15 power and won in the other house. 16 But, Mr. Rosado, I just want to 17 make sure that you understand that this is not 18 just a matter of saving lives with this bill. 19 This is a horrific problem, but this is a 20 problem we can fix. And I deal a lot of law 21 enforcement issues all the time. Sometimes 22 they're issues you think, well, we can 23 minimize the problem, we can't ever eliminate 24 it.
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(518) 371-8910 1 We are in the process right now, I 2 believe -- and this bill is an important step 3 in that process -- of changing public 4 awareness in the United States. This is a 5 matter that 10 years from now, ladies and 6 gentlemen, people will look back and say, How 7 on earth did they let millions of people drive 8 around drunk, injuring and killing people? 9 How did they do it? 10 We have the ability to fix this 11 problem. We have the ability to stop this. 12 We have the ability for everyone in the United 13 States to say, I wouldn't even think about 14 getting in a car drunk and trying to drive. 15 That's the trajectory we are on, ladies and 16 gentlemen. We are going to change public 17 awareness this way. 18 Think of the changes in public 19 awareness about other issues relating to 20 safety. When I was a kid, no one wore seat 21 belts. It was just sort of an afterthought, 22 it was an irritation, it was just something 23 you'd sit on. Now you wouldn't even think of 24 getting in your car without putting on a seat
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(518) 371-8910 1 belt. 2 This bill expanding the penalties, 3 expanding the use of interlock devices, makes 4 a huge difference. But I assure you, 5 Mr. Rosado, this is just a part of a process 6 that we're engaged with that will only end 7 when here in the United States we have the 8 attitude that's actually prevalent in some 9 European countries, that no one would even 10 think of getting behind the wheel after 11 drinking. 12 We will solve this problem. We 13 will save many, many more lives. I thank you 14 and your friends and family for your courage. 15 You have taken your tragedy and brought it 16 forward to benefit all the people of the State 17 of New York. 18 I vote yes, and I'm committed to 19 working with my colleagues here to continue 20 this process until the day when there are no 21 drunk driving accidents in the State of 22 New York. We can achieve this. I'm honored 23 to support this bill, Mr. President. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Schneiderman to be recorded in the 2 affirmative. 3 Senator Huntley. 4 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Yes, 5 Mr. President. 6 I would like to first congratulate 7 Senator Dilan for this bill, and all my other 8 colleagues who had input. 9 And it's -- unfortunately, it took 10 a bill of this nature to come after all these 11 years. Many years ago, 1977, to be exact, a 12 family that I personally knew who left on a 13 trip for Easter to see her mother -- her, her 14 husband, and two very cute little boys. And 15 we all said goodbye to them, and we never saw 16 them again. 17 On their way back home, they were 18 hit by a drunk driver, two college youngsters 19 who were also headed to see their relatives. 20 And they were hit over an embankment into the 21 water, and they drowned. We never saw them 22 again. 23 So this is a bill that took a long 24 time coming. But again, Senator Dilan, I
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(518) 371-8910 1 thank you. And I thank all the colleagues. 2 And I do hope that this will put an end to 3 some of the drunk driving. 4 Thank you. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 6 Senator Huntley to be recorded in the 7 affirmative. 8 Senator Marcellino. 9 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 10 Mr. President. 11 I would like to add my 12 congratulations to the hard work. And I know 13 how hard the job was for Senator Dilan and for 14 Senator Fuschillo and their 15 stick-to-it-iveness in working with the 16 family. 17 And I want to thank the family for 18 coming up here and keeping our feet to the 19 fire, because it was important to do that. 20 And the leadership for having the 21 courage to bring this bill forward, both sides 22 of the aisle. This is a good thing we're 23 doing today. 24 This is a tough law, no doubt about
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(518) 371-8910 1 it. This is a very tough law with very tough 2 penalties. So I suggest to you, ladies and 3 gentlemen -- and to the media -- that our work 4 is not done here. We cannot just go home 5 after taking this vote and say, you know, 6 We've done our job, it's over, our 7 responsibility is finished. 8 We have a responsibility to go out, 9 use all of our visible means to spread the 10 word that this bill is going to be law 11 immediately when the Governor signs it. And 12 I'm assuming that's going to be as soon as he 13 gets it on his desk. 14 This is a tough law which we have 15 to spread the word to our constituents, to 16 everyone in this state that if you drink and 17 you're carrying your children -- and frankly, 18 whether you're carrying your children or 19 not -- if you drink and you are legally drunk, 20 there are going to be some extremely tough 21 penalties that you're going to pay. 22 This bill makes it a felony. This 23 is not a slap on the wrist. This is not a 24 misdemeanor. This is a tough, tough law.
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(518) 371-8910 1 Anybody in this chamber gets convicted of a 2 felony, we're out of here. And you know it. 3 If you carry a license -- an attorney, a 4 doctor, a CPA, a real estate agent -- you lose 5 your license or potentially could lose your 6 license. 7 This is a tough bill. We must 8 spread the word that there are severe 9 penalties if you violate this law. 10 Ladies and gentlemen, I will vote 11 yes. I'm very proud to vote yes for this bill 12 because it's going to, I believe, save lives 13 in the long run. But the sooner we get the 14 word out to our constituents and the sooner 15 that people realize that this is the law of 16 the land today for the State of New York, the 17 sooner that saving of lives will start. 18 So I'm proud to vote yes, and I 19 again extend my congratulations to the efforts 20 of both my colleagues for their hard work and 21 their willingness to be bipartisan and 22 collegial in this nature. 23 Thank you, Mr. President. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:
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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Marcellino to be recorded in the 2 affirmative. 3 Senator Johnson. 4 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Thank you 5 very much, Mr. President. 6 I too rise this afternoon in 7 support of this piece of litigation. I want 8 to add my thank yous and kudos to Senator 9 Dilan for his leadership on this bill and 10 especially standing firm and tough with the 11 State Assembly when they made it clear that 12 they wanted to water this thing down. 13 I want to also commend my very good 14 friend on the other side of the aisle, Chuck 15 Fuschillo, who for years before I entered this 16 body has been known on Long Island and all 17 throughout New York State as a leader in 18 combatting drunk driving. 19 I obviously thank the leadership, 20 both on the Majority side, on our side, as 21 well as the Minority, for pushing this bill, 22 and thank the Governor, Assemblyman 23 Weisenberg, another friend from Long Island. 24 I also want to thank Mothers
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(518) 371-8910 1 Against Drunk Driving, who have been 2 spearheading and shepherding this bill for a 3 long time. 4 I want to welcome and thank for his 5 advocacy Mr. Rosado. Mr. Rosado, like Senator 6 Fuschillo, I've kept Leandra's photo on my 7 desk ever since you gave it to me last week. 8 I've kept it here as a reminder to make sure 9 that we got this legislation done and done 10 right, for the memory of your daughter. 11 But I want also want to talk a 12 little bit, if I can, about this legislation 13 and how it affects my district in particular. 14 Because that tragic crash on July 26, 2009, 15 rocked the world of a small community in my 16 district, of Floral Park, the village of 17 Floral Park, where on that day, that community 18 saw the tragic deaths of not one, not two, but 19 three little girls. Emma Hance, age 9, Alison 20 Hance, age 7, and Kate Hance, age 5, who were 21 killed in a minivan being driven by their 22 aunt, an aunt whose toxicology report revealed 23 that she had a blood alcohol level of .19. 24 Now, I think what's very critical
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(518) 371-8910 1 about this bill is it does two things for the 2 State of New York. It's about punishment and 3 it's about prevention. The punishment is very 4 clear. It strengthens a law, a necessary law 5 to protect our most vulnerable. 6 Senator Fuschillo commented about 7 having a son now at Binghamton and commented 8 about the grandparents who serve in this 9 august body. Well, I have three children, 10 none of whom are even close to college, who 11 are part of those most vulnerable. The 12 children who are just 7 and 4½ and seven 13 weeks. 14 And their voice oftentimes, as 15 parents -- we know when we hear our children 16 their voice oftentimes can be loud and at 17 times ignored. And the problem here is that 18 when children are stuck in a situation where 19 they try as hard as they can to warn that 20 there may be a driver who may be drunk, 21 they're ignored. 22 If you look at what happened in the 23 Taconic Parkway accident, during the situation 24 when Mr. Hance, the father of those three
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(518) 371-8910 1 kids, was on the phone with his sister, one 2 daughter warned him and informed him that the 3 driver, her aunt, seemed to be having 4 problems. And yet she was ignored. 5 We as a body, as a legislature and 6 as elected officials, have to act when parents 7 don't seem want to act in the best interests 8 of their children. And that's what we're 9 doing today. We're passing a law to protect 10 our children. When their voice may be ignored 11 or, more importantly, they may not even be 12 aware. 13 And so we need this legislation. I 14 thank you, Senator Dilan, for passing it. 15 But equally as important is the 16 prevention angle, the notion of interlocutory 17 devices. For years Senator Fuschillo has had 18 a bill, I've had a bill, others in the Senate 19 have had competing bills, all with the same 20 purpose -- to mandate, mandate the use of 21 these devices. 22 And now one piece of this critical 23 legislation is adding the word "shall" when it 24 comes -- if you are convicted or even get a
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(518) 371-8910 1 conditional discharge involving a drinking and 2 driving incident, you shall have one of these 3 devices put on and put in your car to prevent 4 further drunk driving incidences, to prevent 5 it. 6 So finally today we are taking a 7 new step in a new direction to prevent 8 drinking and driving in this state. So again, 9 I thank the sponsors of this legislation. I 10 thank the leadership. This is a good day for 11 the State Senate, it's a good day for the 12 State of New York that we are making it tough 13 on those who put all of us at risk on the 14 road. 15 I'll be voting aye. Thank you very 16 much, Mr. President. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 18 Senator Craig Johnson to be recorded in the 19 affirmative. 20 Senator Stavisky. 21 SENATOR STAVISKY: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. 23 Five years ago I sat on the other 24 side of the aisle urging passage of what was
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(518) 371-8910 1 then known as Vasean's Law. And for weeks we 2 brought Vasean's mother -- Vasean was a child 3 in my district who was hit by a drunken 4 driver. And we roamed the halls with Monique 5 Dixon and others and a lot of people. And it 6 took many, many weeks to convince the Assembly 7 that this legislation was needed. It 8 increased the penalties for DWI. 9 I am proud to stand here today, 10 after a relatively short period of time, 11 watching the Senate a bipartisan manner enact 12 this legislation. To the family of Leandra, 13 we can only say, as parents -- and as aunts 14 and uncles -- that what happened is almost 15 unimaginable. I don't think there's a worse 16 situation than when a parent loses a child. 17 And I was listening to what people 18 were saying, and what occurred to me is that 19 we're not really talking as legislators so 20 much as people with families who empathize 21 with what happened to you. And we just try to 22 make things a little bit better. 23 And I'm very proud today that we 24 are working together. Because it's because of
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(518) 371-8910 1 Senator Fuschillo and certainly because of 2 Senator Dilan and Senator Smith and Senator 3 Sampson that we're going to enact this 4 legislation. And it shows that when we want 5 to, we can act in the best interests of 6 everybody without regard to partisanship, work 7 together in best interests of the people of 8 our state. 9 I vote aye. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 11 Senator Stavisky to be recorded in the 12 affirmative. 13 Senator Savino. 14 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you, 15 Mr. President. 16 First, I want to thank both 17 Senators Dilan and Fuschillo for bringing this 18 bill. And of course our Assembly colleague, 19 Harvey Weisenberg, for pushing it. And the 20 Daily News for taking on this campaign. 21 To Mr. Rosado, my profound 22 sympathies on the loss of your daughter. 23 A lot has been said about this 24 bill, that it achieves the goals of
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(518) 371-8910 1 prevention, deterrence, and the 2 appropriateness of punishment. And all those 3 things are true. 4 But I want to pick up on the 5 comments of Senator Marcellino, who talked 6 about our obligation after this bill is 7 passed, about making sure that people 8 understand the ramifications of this. 9 I have held a lot of titles in my 10 life. State Senator now. Before this, I was 11 the vice president of a union. Before that, I 12 was a caseworker. 13 At the age of 18, I obtained the 14 title of adult child of an alcoholic after my 15 mother finally went into treatment. But 16 before that, I was the daughter of a drunk. 17 Not one, but two. 18 My mother loved her children. But 19 she was in the grips of a disease that robbed 20 her of her judgment every day. She put us at 21 risk time and time again, whether it was in a 22 car or through neglect. And while she did 23 that, family members and neighbors ignored 24 what they were seeing under their nose.
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(518) 371-8910 1 And so, Senator Marcellino, you are 2 right. Just passing this bill will not change 3 the behavior of anybody who is incapable of 4 rational thought. We have an obligation to 5 not turn a blind eye to our family members who 6 we know are alcoholics or drug addicts. And 7 we all know them. 8 We have an obligation not to turn a 9 blind eye to our neighbors who we see behaving 10 in a way that puts their children at risk 11 because of a disease that they inherited. It 12 is a biopsychosocial disease; we know that. 13 But it is a disease that devastates families 14 and lives every day. 15 So while this bill is important, we 16 have to make sure that we make people aware of 17 it and we step in and we do something to 18 prevent a Leandra Rosado from being killed 19 because we didn't want to confront that person 20 that we know is an active alcoholic. We have 21 that obligation. 22 I vote aye on this bill and I hope 23 that we all take up our call that we must 24 answer to prevent this from happening to any
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(518) 371-8910 1 other family. 2 Thank you. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 4 Senator Savino to be recorded in the 5 affirmative. 6 Are there any other Senators who 7 wish to explain their vote? 8 Seeing none, the Secretary will 9 announce the results. 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. Nays, 11 0. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 13 bill is passed. 14 Mr. Rosado, thank you for your 15 tireless advocacy in helping to ensure this 16 bill become law. 17 (Standing ovation.) 18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 19 Senator Smith, that completes the 20 noncontroversial reading of Senate 21 Extraordinary Session Calendar Number 3. 22 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, 23 Mr. President. 24 Is there any further business at
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(518) 371-8910 1 the desk? 2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: There 3 is none. 4 SENATOR SMITH: Mr. President, I 5 ask that we will stand at ease, colleagues. I 6 ask that we stay as close to the chamber as we 7 can, and we will have further notice of 8 today's action a short period of time. 9 So we should stand at ease. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: The 11 Senate will stand at ease. 12 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 13 ease at 1:24 p.m.) 14 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 15 at 3:19 p.m.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 17 Senator Klein. 18 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, I 19 have an announcement to make. 20 There will be session at 6 o'clock. 21 Again, session will convene at 6:00 p.m. And 22 there will be, first, a Majority conference at 23 5:30. 24 Again, a Majority conference at
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(518) 371-8910 1 5:30, session at 6:00 p.m. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 3 Majority conference at 5:30. Session will 4 reconvene at 6:00 p.m. 5 The house will stand at ease until 6 then. 7 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 8 ease at 3:20 p.m.) 9 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 10 at 6:31 p.m.) 11 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: 12 Senator Klein. 13 SENATOR KLEIN: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. 15 I'd like to adjourn at the call of 16 the Temporary President. I repeat, adjourn at 17 the call of the Temporary President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY: On a 19 motion by Senator Klein, the Senate stands 20 adjourned subject to the call of the Temporary 21 President. 22 (Whereupon, at 6:32 p.m., the 23 Senate adjourned.) 24
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Highest impact first.