Wednesday, February 24, 2010

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 February 24, 2010 11 2:43 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 SENATOR ANDREA STEWART-COUSINS, Acting President 19 ANGELO J. APONTE, Secretary 20 21 22 23 24 25

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 The Senate will please come to order. 4 I ask everyone present to rise and 5 recite with me the Pledge of Allegiance to our 6 Flag. 7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited 8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 10 In the absence of clergy, may we all bow our 11 heads in a moment of silence. 12 (Whereupon, the assemblage 13 respected a moment of silence.) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 The reading of the Journal. 16 The Secretary will read. 17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 18 Tuesday, February 23, the Senate met pursuant 19 to adjournment. The Journal of Monday, 20 February 22, was read and approved. On 21 motion, Senate adjourned. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 23 Without objection, the Journal stands approved 24 as read. 25 Presentation of petitions.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Messages from the Assembly. 2 Messages from the Governor. 3 Reports of standing committees. 4 Reports of select committees. 5 Communications and reports from 6 state officers. 7 Motions and resolutions. 8 Senator Klein. 9 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 10 I believe Senator Seward has a resolution at 11 the desk. I ask that the resolution be read 12 in its entirety and move for its immediate 13 adoption. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Senator Klein, has this resolution been deemed 16 privileged and approved by the office of the 17 Temporary President? 18 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has, 19 Madam President. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 The Secretary will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: By Senators 23 Seward and Stachowski, Legislative Resolution 24 Number 3812, mourning the untimely death of 25 New York State Trooper Jill E. Mattice on

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 January 20, 2010. 2 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this 3 Legislative Body to convey its grateful 4 appreciation and heartfelt regret in the 5 recognition of the loss of a courageous police 6 officer who dedicated her purposeful life and 7 career in faithful service to her family, 8 community, and the New York State Police; and 9 "WHEREAS, It is with profound 10 sadness that this Legislative Body records the 11 passing of New York State Trooper Jill E. 12 Mattice, who made the ultimate sacrifice on 13 January 20, 2010, while faithfully executing 14 her responsibilities, serving with dedication, 15 loyalty and compassion, and who devoted her 16 purposeful life and career to serve and 17 protect; and 18 "WHEREAS, A six-and-one-half-year 19 veteran of the New York State Police, 20 31-year-old Jill E. Mattice was assigned to 21 the Oneonta trooper barracks and worked as a 22 school resource officer for Unadilla Valley 23 Central School and Franklin Central School; 24 and 25 "WHEREAS, A friend and mentor to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the students she worked with, Trooper Jill E. 2 Mattice was a true professional and beautiful 3 person; and 4 "WHEREAS, She exemplified what it 5 truly means to give of herself in providing 6 vital police services in keeping with the 7 noble mission of the New York State Police; 8 and 9 "WHEREAS, The 123rd New York State 10 trooper to die in the line of duty, Trooper 11 Jill E. Mattice was the first female New York 12 State police officer to die in the performance 13 of her duties; and 14 "WHEREAS, A 1996 graduate of 15 Cleveland Hill High School, where she was an 16 accomplished athlete, active in volleyball, 17 basketball and softball, Trooper Jill E. 18 Mattice lived her life with great dignity and 19 genuine grace, always demonstrating a deep and 20 continuing concern for the welfare of others; 21 and 22 "WHEREAS, Recently married, Trooper 23 Jill E. Mattice is survived by her loving 24 husband, Troy Mattice, of Oneonta, New York; 25 and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 "WHEREAS, Armed with a humanistic 2 spirit, imbued with a sense of compassion, and 3 comforted by a loving family, Trooper Jill E. 4 Mattice leaves behind a legacy which will long 5 endure the passage of time and will remain as 6 a comforting memory to all she served and 7 befriended. She will be deeply missed and 8 truly merits the grateful tribute of this 9 Legislative Body; now, therefore, be it 10 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 11 Body pause in its deliberations to mourn the 12 untimely death of New York State Trooper Jill 13 E. Mattice, noting the significance of her 14 contributions on behalf of the citizens of 15 this noble Empire State and expressing its 16 deepest condolences to her family; and be it 17 further 18 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this 19 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 20 to the family of Trooper Jill E. Mattice." 21 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 22 Senator Seward. 23 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you, Madam 24 President. 25 I appreciate the body pausing today

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 to pass this resolution honoring the memory of 2 State Police Officer Jill Mattice, who was 3 born and brought up out in Senator 4 Stachowski's district, in Western New York. 5 Her parents still reside there. 6 But she had her career as state 7 police officer in my district, marrying a 8 local Oneonta young man and moving to our 9 area. 10 In addition to her 11 responsibilities, which she carried out with 12 great aplomb, as a state police officer for 13 the past six and a half years, in addition to 14 the normal duties as a state police officer, 15 she served two local schools as the school 16 resource officer and, in doing so, contributed 17 so much in a positive way to some young lives 18 in those school districts. 19 She tragically was killed in an 20 automobile accident back on January 20th, and 21 the life of this bright star of our State 22 Police was tragically extinguished. 23 And this is certainly a -- her 24 untimely death, a tragedy for the State Police 25 and of all New Yorkers and all police officers

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 everywhere. It was a tragedy for the 2 community that she served in our area, 3 certainly a tragedy for the Mattice family -- 4 she and her husband were just building a new 5 home in our area and were looking forward to a 6 great future together -- and of course a great 7 tragedy to her many, many friends. 8 But even though her life and career 9 was all too short, her legacy will live on 10 forever, because she did in fact touch the 11 lives of so many during her short career and 12 life. And for that we're eternally grateful. 13 And our hearts collectively go out 14 to her family and friends who continue to feel 15 her great loss. 16 Thank you, Madam President. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 18 Thank you, Senator Seward. 19 Senator Stachowski. 20 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: Yes, I'd 21 like to join Senator Seward in saying a few 22 words about Officer Mattice. She was a 23 terrific resource officer, had a tremendous 24 effect on the students that she touched. 25 Obviously she was born and raised

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 in Western New York, and she did her career 2 out in Senator Seward's district, as he 3 stated, and met a young man that she decided 4 to start her life with, and tragically it was 5 cut short. 6 Because of the effect she'll have 7 on touching all those students, her memory 8 will go on. And we just thank her family, not 9 only her new husband but her mother and father 10 and relatives, for sharing her with the state, 11 as she served as a State Police officer and a 12 very valuable resource officer in her school. 13 And we will sorely miss Jill 14 Mattice, and we hope her memory lives on 15 through the work she did with all the 16 students. 17 Thank you. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 19 Thank you, Senator Stachowski. 20 Are there any other Senators 21 wishing to be heard on the resolution? 22 Hearing none, the question is on 23 the resolution. All those in favor please 24 signify by saying aye. 25 (Response of "Aye.")

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 2 Opposed, nay. 3 (No response.) 4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 5 The resolution is adopted. 6 And certainly our collective 7 condolences go out to the Mattice family. 8 In addition, of course, this 9 resolution is open to cosponsorship, so anyone 10 not wishing to be on the resolution should 11 notify the desk. 12 Senator Klein. 13 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 14 there will be an immediate meeting of the 15 Finance Committee in Room 332, followed by an 16 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee. 17 Pending the return of the Rules 18 Committee, may we please stand at ease. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 Thank you, Senator Klein. 21 There will be an immediate meeting 22 of the Finance Committee, followed by an 23 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in 24 the Majority Conference Room, Room 332. 25 Pending the return of the Rules

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Committee, the Senate will stand at ease. 2 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 3 ease at 2:52 p.m.) 4 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 5 at 3:16 p.m.) 6 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 7 Senator Klein. 8 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 9 I believe there's a report of the Rules 10 Committee at the desk. I move that we adopt 11 the report at this time. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 13 The Secretary will read. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Smith, 15 from the Committee on Rules, reports the 16 following bill direct to third reading: 17 Senate Print 6430A, by Senator 18 Squadron, an act to amend the Public Housing 19 Law. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 All those in favor of accepting the report of 22 the Rules Committee please signify by saying 23 aye. 24 (Response of "Aye.") 25 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Opposed, nay. 2 (No response.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 The report of the Rules Committee is adopted. 5 Senator Klein. 6 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 7 do we have any substitutions at the desk? 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 Yes, we do. 10 The Secretary will read. 11 THE SECRETARY: On page 13, 12 Senator Sampson moves to discharge, from the 13 Committee on Cities, Assembly Bill Number 2575 14 and substitute it for the identical Senate 15 Bill Number 5693, Third Reading Calendar 107. 16 On page 14, Senator Schneiderman 17 moves to discharge, from the Committee on 18 Finance, Assembly Bill Number 8678A and 19 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 20 Number 5701A, Third Reading Calendar 117. 21 On page 15, Senator Sampson moves 22 to discharge, from the Committee on Judiciary, 23 Assembly Bill Number 3581 and substitute it 24 for the identical Senate Bill Number 2459, 25 Third Reading Calendar 122.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 On page 15, Senator Klein moves to 2 discharge, from the Committee on Judiciary, 3 Assembly Bill Number 2374A and substitute it 4 for the identical Senate Bill Number 2613A, 5 Third Reading Calendar 123. 6 On page 16, Senator Duane moves to 7 discharge, from the Committee on Health, 8 Assembly Bill Number 7729D and substitute it 9 for the identical Senate Bill Number 3164B, 10 Third Reading Calendar 129. 11 And in relation to Calendar Number 12 175, Senator Squadron moves to discharge, from 13 the Committee on Housing, Construction and 14 Community Development, Assembly Bill Number 15 9487B and substitute it for the identical 16 Senate Bill Number 6430A, Third Reading 17 Calendar 175. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 19 Substitutions ordered. 20 Senator Klein. 21 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 22 can we please move to a reading of the 23 calendar. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 25 The Secretary will read.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 42, by Senator Little, Senate Print 262A, an 3 act to amend the Real Property Tax Law, in 4 relation to the enhanced STAR exemption. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 6 Read the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 8 act shall take effect immediately. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 10 Call the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll.) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 14 The bill is passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 63, by Member of the Assembly Wright, Assembly 17 Print Number 1308, an act to amend the 18 Election Law. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 Read the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 22 act shall take effect immediately. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 24 Call the roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll.)

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 2 Announce the results. 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 5 The bill is passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 73, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 2398, an 8 act to amend the Correction Law, in relation 9 to permitting correction officers. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 Read the last section. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 13 act shall take effect immediately. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Call the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the roll.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 18 Announce the results. 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 The bill is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 75, by Senator Adams, Senate Print 3559A -- 24 SENATOR KLEIN: Lay the bill 25 aside for the day, please.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 2 The bill is laid aside for the day. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 85, by Senator Addabbo, Senate Print 4242, an 5 act to amend the Election Law, in relation to 6 deadline. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 8 Read the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 10 act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 12 Call the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll.) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Announce the results. 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 18 The bill is passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 91, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 1260A, an 21 act to authorize New Creation in Christ 22 Ministries to file. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 24 Read the last section. 25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 act shall take effect immediately. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 Call the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll.) 5 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 6 Announce the results. 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56. Nays, 8 2. Senators Bonacic and Larkin recorded in 9 the negative. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 The bill is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 96, by Senator Valesky, Senate Print 2829, an 14 act to amend the State Administrative 15 Procedure Act, in relation to detailing. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 Read the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 19 act shall take effect on the first of 20 September. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 22 Call the roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll.) 24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 25 Announce the results.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 The bill is passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 129, substituted earlier today by Member of 6 the Assembly Gottfried, Assembly Print Number 7 7729D, an act to amend the Public Health Law 8 and others, in relation to establishing 9 procedures. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 Read the last section. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 13 act shall take effect immediately. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Call the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the roll.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 18 Senator Hannon, to explain his vote. 19 SENATOR HANNON: Thank you, Madam 20 President. 21 The bill, titled the Family 22 Healthcare Decision Act, which also embraces 23 surrogate decision-making, deals with one of 24 the most sensitive subjects we have in all of 25 healthcare, and that is end-of-life

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 decision-making. 2 Starting somewhere in 1987, with a 3 further report in 1992, the New York State 4 Task Force on Life and Law has had a proposal; 5 I think I was the first Senator to introduce 6 it in the late '90s. For a whole host of 7 different reasons, it's been through a number 8 of different iterations. 9 Today, Senator Duane has brought 10 the bill to the floor. Assemblyman Gottfried 11 has passed it in the Assembly. And I think we 12 are coming to a conclusion of a lengthy 13 process. 14 It will not be the end of that 15 process, because dealing with such essential 16 decisions on life and death is something we 17 are continually exploring, becoming more 18 sensitive to, trying to be more advanced. 19 When the idea of this law began, we 20 didn't really talk about hospice, we didn't 21 talk about palliative care, we didn't talk 22 about end-of-life decision-making. We didn't 23 have people from all walks of life getting 24 graduate degrees in end of life, in ethics and 25 health. We now have that. We now have ethics

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 committees in hospitals that are much more 2 fully fleshed out than they were 15 years ago. 3 So we are at a point where we will 4 try to make it easier for patients in this 5 state to deal with that end-of-life 6 decision-making and actually, along the way, 7 regular healthcare decision-making when 8 they're incapable -- because right now the 9 court cases have made it extraordinarily 10 difficult to do this absent a healthcare 11 proxy. 12 And who knows who has a healthcare 13 proxy? Do we have a registry for healthcare 14 proxies? We have a long way to go in so many 15 different ways. But today does mark a point. 16 I do want to say that -- and I made 17 this clear to Senator Duane -- along the way 18 we passed healthcare decision-making for the 19 mentally retarded, people who never had the 20 capacity to ever have a healthcare proxy. 21 That set of statutes has been approved by the 22 Court of Appeals. It has an extraordinary 23 careful number of safeguards, as this bill 24 does. I would have liked, because we 25 discovered it along the way, to have used the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 standard that we use for the mentally retarded 2 here, and that's the standard, when you make 3 decisions, what's in the best interest of the 4 patient. Well, we don't do that. But we do 5 everything but that. 6 And when you do it, we had four 7 goals in mind for the mentally retarded 8 statute, the same four goals for here: To 9 clarify the decisions on health-sustaining 10 treatment are part of the natural healthcare 11 continuum; to allow decisions to end 12 life-sustaining treatment only where there is 13 the clearest of need, intent, and rationality; 14 and to use utilize existing legal standards 15 and to maintain judicial oversight at the end. 16 The goals are worthy. This is 17 difficult. We have over a hundred thousand 18 people in this state in nursing homes. We 19 have a lot more in critical stages in 20 hospitals. We're going to face a lot of 21 complications in years to come as the baby 22 boomers clog our nursing homes, assisted 23 living, and home care and hospitals. 24 But today is a good step. And, 25 Senator Duane, congratulations.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Thank you. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 Senator Hannon, how do you vote? 4 SENATOR HANNON: Yes. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 6 Senator Hannon to be recorded in the 7 affirmative. 8 Senator Smith. 9 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you very 10 much, Madam President. 11 Just very briefly, I also wanted to 12 lend my voice of congratulations to Senator 13 Duane. This particular Family Healthcare 14 Decision Act is what one that I think impacts 15 all of us. Anyone can search their family, 16 and I am sure there is someone related to you 17 or someone that you know who difficult choices 18 had to be made, and in some instances one was 19 not able available to make that difficult 20 choice on behalf of that person. 21 Senator Duane, Senator Breslin, all 22 of which -- Senator Hannon -- all of which 23 deserve congratulations, they've all had a lot 24 of work and time to put in this. 25 Every now and then a bill comes to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the floor of the Senate that we all can be 2 very proud of, that we can walk away from and 3 go back to our particular districts and 4 explain to them the good work that this body 5 does. Today is one of those days. 6 Senator Duane, you deserve a 7 tremendous amount of congratulations and 8 stick-to-it-iveness. A bill like this 9 sometimes takes a while. And with Senator 10 Duane's fortitude, it's happening today. 11 So I just wanted to lend my voice 12 of congratulations to him, to Senator Breslin, 13 and also to Senator Hannon. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Senator Smith will be recorded in the 16 affirmative. 17 SENATOR SMITH: Oh, I would say 18 aye. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 Senator Volker. 21 SENATOR VOLKER: Madam President, 22 I just want to congratulate Senator Duane on 23 this bill. 24 You know, it reminded me -- and I 25 first looked at it and I realized that there's

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 still some opposition to it. But you know 2 what? In the healthcare proxy area, you need 3 the wisdom of Solomon. I mean, there's always 4 going to be somebody who is going to be upset, 5 I guess, or whatever, because this is such a 6 tough issue. 7 But as somebody who has represented 8 people in their end days, so to speak, and 9 tried desperately to get them to sign 10 something because we need to have some sort of 11 control over their end days, so to speak -- 12 one of the things about it, too, has to do 13 with -- and it's not something that we like to 14 talk about, but it has to do with monetary 15 things. And there's money involved in it. Of 16 course, in my opinion, that's the last thing 17 maybe we should think of. But it is 18 important. 19 As a lawyer, I think that the need 20 is there for finality. And I think what 21 Senator Duane is doing here -- and Senator 22 Hannon before him, who struggled with this for 23 years -- is to develop a way to find finality. 24 And my congratulations to you, to Senator 25 Breslin, and everybody involved in this.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 I vote aye. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 Senator Volker to be recorded in the 4 affirmative. 5 Senator L. Krueger, to explain her 6 vote. 7 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you, 8 Madam President. 9 I too rise to congratulate Senator 10 Duane on finally, hopefully successfully 11 passing this bill. 12 I don't believe there's one person 13 in New York State who hasn't had the 14 experience of having to deal with a loved one 15 at the end of life, having to make extremely 16 difficult decisions. And it's becoming more 17 and more common as people are living to older 18 and older ages, and also becoming more and 19 more of a reality that many people at the end 20 of their lives may not have an immediate 21 family member with them. It's a changing 22 pattern of where people live, a changing 23 pattern of how many children people have, a 24 changing pattern of divorce and extended 25 families and different definitions of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 families. 2 I represent a district which I 3 think has more hospitals in it than any other 4 district in the state, and so as a result I 5 have a huge number of healthcare providers -- 6 doctors, social workers, nurses. And to have 7 had to have the conversation over and over 8 again with healthcare providers and 9 professionals and people going through the 10 same experiences I and my family have had to 11 go through, and have to explain that we didn't 12 have this law, has been so painful. 13 So many people will be benefited by 14 this law. We will be a more humane state. We 15 will allow families and professionals to make 16 the right decisions when unfortunately 17 sometimes people weren't able to make the 18 decision for themselves until it was too late. 19 And so I am very happy we're going 20 to pass the bill, and yet I have the regret of 21 knowing that it's been a couple of decades 22 where we didn't have this law, we could have 23 had this law, and a lot of suffering took 24 place because of it. 25 But again, today I am very proud to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 be a cosponsor and to be voting for this bill. 2 Thank you. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 Senator L. Krueger to be recorded in the 5 affirmative. 6 Senator Foley. 7 SENATOR FOLEY: Thank you, Madam 8 President. 9 I stand in strong support of this 10 legislation as well. It will empower families 11 to make the right decisions for their loved 12 ones. 13 I think particularly we can commend 14 the chair of the Health Committee, Senator 15 Duane, and also ranking member Senator Kemp 16 Hannon. 17 There's an interesting legislative 18 history to this policy matter, but today we're 19 here I think in strong bipartisan support to 20 help empower the families of our state to make 21 some very, very difficult and heart-wrenching 22 decisions about their loved ones. But this 23 legislation will help those families to make 24 the right decisions for those that they love 25 very deeply.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Thank you, Madam President. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 Senator Foley to be recorded in the 4 affirmative. 5 Senator Duane. 6 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Madam 7 President. 8 This bill has had a long journey. 9 And I do want to voice strong appreciation for 10 the stewardship of Senator Hannon along the 11 way, and of course Senator Sampson, who 12 represented this side of the aisle on the 13 Health Committee, and also my colleague 14 Assemblymember Gottfried. 15 It seems paradoxical that, you 16 know, legislation dealing with how it is that 17 we make really tough decisions about the care 18 of very, very ill people would be cause for 19 some kind of celebration. But in fact this 20 legislation will serve to take away one part 21 of the heartache that can be caused when a 22 family member is desperately, chronically ill. 23 And that's why I think people are speaking out 24 so strongly on this legislation. 25 You know, current law would allow

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 an individual to sign a healthcare proxy, you 2 know, to appoint a proxy to make these kind of 3 decisions. You know, I frankly was tempted to 4 come down and wave one and say I just signed 5 mine today, but in fact that's not true. But 6 for the past -- as many of you know, my mom 7 recently passed away, and I've had one sitting 8 on my desk in my office, in my district 9 office, and I haven't signed it yet. 10 So I think today's legislation is, 11 you know, a very strong reminder that I'd 12 better do it on Friday when I get back to my 13 office in the city. 14 And, you know, I'm one of the 15 80 percent. And frankly, I should know 16 better. I have seen a lot of death and 17 sadness in my life. And I guess, you know, I 18 don't like to think that I'm on that list, but 19 in fact we're all on that list. 20 So I do want to encourage, if there 21 are any other members of that have 80 percent 22 that hasn't filled one out here, that they 23 fill one out. And that will save them from 24 their family members having to actually turn 25 to the Family Healthcare Decisions Act.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 You know, it's rare that you can 2 get a hundred groups that lobby in Albany to 3 agree on something, and yet this is a piece of 4 legislation that more than a hundred groups 5 have asked us to bring to the floor and get 6 signed. 7 And I believe that we are going to 8 pass it today. The Assembly has passed it 9 this year as well. And I know the Governor is 10 going to sign it into law. And this is really 11 good government, and government which, as I 12 say, will save heartache for families when 13 they are going through incredibly difficult 14 times because of the sickness of a family 15 member. 16 So I'm voting yes. I encourage all 17 my colleagues to vote yes. And I think we've 18 made the burden of life a little bit easier 19 for New Yorkers and New York families. 20 Thank you, Madam President. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 22 Thank you, Senator Duane. And of course you 23 will be recorded in the affirmative. 24 If there are no further discussions 25 on the bill, please announce the results.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 2 the negative on Calendar Number 129 are 3 Senators Diaz, Golden and Lanza. 4 Ayes, 55. Nays, 3. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 6 The bill is passed. 7 Senator Klein, that completes the 8 reading of the noncontroversial calendar. 9 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 10 at this time can we please move to a reading 11 of the supplemental calendar. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 13 The Secretary will read. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 175, substituted earlier today by Member of 16 the Assembly V. Lopez, Assembly Print Number 17 9487B, an act to amend the Public Housing Law. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 19 Read the last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 21 act shall take effect immediately. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 23 Call the roll. 24 (The Secretary called the roll.) 25 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Squadron, to explain your vote. 2 SENATOR SQUADRON: Thank you, 3 Madam President. I rise on the bill. 4 This legislation will allow the 5 New York City Housing Authority to make use of 6 a one-time opportunity created in the ARRA 7 federal stimulus bill and get more than 8 $75 million a year permanently to benefit 9 New York City's public housing residents. 10 The opportunity needs that state 11 legislation. It has a hard deadline. And 12 it's happening. It's happening on time, here, 13 and it's going to benefit a whole lot of 14 New Yorkers. This is exactly the sort of 15 legislation that really speaks to what's 16 happening here in the Senate and the Assembly. 17 Before beginning, it's important to 18 highlight that it's also happening because 19 New York's public housing has long benefitted 20 from leaders who are effective fighters for 21 NYCHA tenants. The State Assembly has already 22 passed the bill, under the stewardship of 23 Housing Chair Vito Lopez, without whom it 24 would not have been possible. 25 Here in the Senate, the leadership

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 of Conference Leader John Sampson, Senate 2 Finance Chair Carl Kruger, Housing Chair Pedro 3 Espada -- all of whom have state and city 4 developments that would be affected and for 5 which they have fought and delivered for a 6 long time. 7 My other colleagues who also have 8 state and city developments that are so 9 important for them to protect, and for which 10 they have given so much: Senator Perkins, 11 Senator Huntley, Senator Diaz, Senator 12 Schneiderman, Senator Dilan, Senator Duane, 13 Senator Hassell-Thompson, Senator Savino. All 14 have state and city developments that will get 15 affected and will be supported by this bill. 16 Without all of their support, we would not be 17 passing this bill today, on time, in a way 18 that will dramatically affect more than 19 400,000 NYCHA tenants. 20 And it will be a very big deal for 21 them. More than $280 million in immediate 22 capital improvements of those 21 developments. 23 $75 million a year in federal money for all of 24 NYCHA. $30 million a year in capital for all 25 of NYCHA.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And again, it's not just these 2 18,000 units, more than 20,000 tenants, 21 3 developments -- it's everyone. Because right 4 now, since the state and city defunded their 5 developments, every single public housing 6 unit, every single public housing resident has 7 gotten less. Because the amount that we get 8 from the federal government, excluding these 9 units, gets spread out to everyone. 10 With this bill, everyone will get 11 more. Public housing will work better for 12 everyone in the City of New York. 13 The bill does three things. It 14 requires the Department of Housing and 15 Community Renewal to approve any deal to make 16 sure it's a fair deal for the state and 17 tenants, and developments are protected. It 18 also explicitly protects tenants and 19 developments so that these developments will 20 permanently stay public housing, so that these 21 tenants will get benefit without any bad side 22 effects. And it commits the state to continue 23 to pay off the debt on the 15 developments 24 that it built so that this deal can go 25 through.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Together, it's going to be the most 2 dramatic infusion of dollars that we have seen 3 for public housing in years. And it will lead 4 to the most dramatic improvements in public 5 housing that we have seen in years. 6 And I want to thank my colleagues, 7 I want to thank the Assembly sponsor for their 8 support in making this happen and for the way 9 that they have all fought for so long for 10 New York's nearly half a million public 11 housing residents. 12 I'll be voting aye. 13 Thank you, Madam President. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Senator Squadron to be recorded in the 16 affirmative. 17 Senator Smith. 18 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you very 19 much, Madam President. 20 Senator Squadron, to your credit, 21 you have offered a bill that clearly rights 22 some wrongs. There is a convoluted 23 combination of regulations that have placed a 24 number of our public housing units in New York 25 City in a lot of disrepair. And this

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 particular bill actually corrects some of 2 that. By virtue of them no longer being under 3 the authority or the resources of the state, 4 this particular bill, which will allow them to 5 receive federal money, will allow them to 6 maintain the kind of living conditions that 7 people deserve. 8 The district that I represent has 9 approximately 25 percent of the public housing 10 in Queens. And many times when I am through 11 those developments, the disrepair that is in 12 these particular units is one that no one 13 would want for themselves or their family or 14 friends. 15 This particular bill will now give 16 them a sense of a feeling that they are living 17 in standard and not substandard housing. 18 Everyone knows that there is nothing better 19 for your ego or for your state of mind than 20 having a good living condition. It's good for 21 you; it's good for your children. 22 This particular bill takes 23 properties that heretofore have had very 24 difficult times in their management and 25 upkeep, and will make sure that the pride that

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 we all have in the homes that we live in, 2 these individuals will have the same. 3 I am proud to be a supporter of 4 this bill. I vote aye for this bill, Madam 5 President. And I want to congratulate Senator 6 Squadron on a fine job. 7 Thank you. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 Senator Smith to be recorded in the 10 affirmative. 11 Senator Hassell-Thompson, to 12 explain her vote. 13 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 14 you, Madam President. 15 I rise to congratulate Senator 16 Squadron on this particular bill. 17 As someone who has 23 public 18 housing complexes in my district, this 19 obviously is of great concern to me on two 20 levels. One, that we finally infuse the kind 21 of money into those properties to facilitate, 22 as Senator Smith said, a better standard of 23 living that people have a right to expect. 24 And secondly, there has been very 25 careful monitoring of the language of this

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 bill to ensure that we do not lose this 2 affordable housing to the private market. 3 There has been some concern, there 4 have been some roundtables that have been 5 convened to ensure that we put forth the best 6 language possible to safeguard the public 7 housing that we have in our communities. And 8 so as someone who has been an advocate of 9 affordability -- how do we keep affordable 10 housing, how do we reduce the opportunities 11 for privatization -- I am very pleased that 12 this federalization is going to occur in all 13 of the properties, certainly, but in two very 14 critical properties in my district. 15 It will also alleviate the fact 16 that the very short amount of money that has 17 been available will not now have to go toward 18 these properties because, for the first time, 19 we will be properly infusing that money 20 necessary for ongoing operational expenses as 21 well as capital development. 22 And so I'm very pleased to be a 23 cosponsor of this bill. And as someone who 24 has helped to shepherd this bill to this 25 point, I'm very appreciative of this

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 opportunity. 2 Thank you, Madam President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 Senator Hassell-Thompson to be recorded in the 5 affirmative. 6 Senator L. Krueger, to explain her 7 vote. 8 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you, 9 Madam President. 10 I'm also happy to be a cosponsor of 11 the bill, delighted we are getting it done 12 today. Because, as was explained by the 13 sponsor, Senator Squadron, we're on a very 14 tight time frame to ensure that we move 15 legislation that assures that we can take 16 advantage of the federal window for new money. 17 You know, everybody likes to be 18 critical of public housing. And to be honest, 19 it's not always that hard. I want better from 20 NYCHA. I think we all do. But let's face it, 21 unless we maximize the dollars to ensure that 22 public housing in this state has the operating 23 revenue and the capital money to continue to 24 be viable, to continue to be there for our 25 residents throughout the State of New York, we

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 all do ourselves a disservice. 2 So this is a huge opportunity to 3 maximize federal money now and into the 4 future. It's the perfect win from a stimulus 5 perspective. We're going to draw in a large 6 amount of money, hundreds of millions of 7 dollars, to immediately do rehab construction 8 on these units, creating jobs, construction 9 jobs right there in our communities right now, 10 and have ongoing, in perpetuity, federal money 11 to help us operate this. It's a win/win. 12 I'm delighted the Senate is moving 13 this bill today. So thank you. And thank 14 you, Senator Squadron. I'll be voting yes. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 16 Senator L. Krueger to be recorded in the 17 affirmative. 18 Senator Huntley. 19 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Yes, Madam 20 President. 21 I will be supporting the bill, but 22 I have a lot of reservations about it. 23 First of all, I have two housing 24 complexes in my district. I have two. Which 25 has nothing to do with this bill, because

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 they're not -- they're funded by the city, 2 which means we will not benefit. Even though 3 they tell me that we will. 4 When the State of New York had 5 money, the housing projects were always in 6 disarray. This is nothing new. This money -- 7 which I hope, I just hope we're going to see a 8 difference. Because there's been many times, 9 and I've attended many meetings, from 10 community boards to meetings all over, about 11 people trying to make a better life for people 12 that live in housing. 13 And I'm just so happy my colleagues 14 are concerned about housing, because I've been 15 here a while and this is the first time I've 16 heard them mention housing. In fact, this is 17 the first time I've seen this bill. So 18 therefore, it was not circulated, because I 19 never read the bill. 20 But again, I will support it, 21 mainly for my colleague Ruth Hassell-Thompson 22 because she has a lot of housing developments 23 which this will help. So I will support it 24 for that reason only. 25 But in the future, I would like for

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 bills, regardless of where they go -- this 2 should have come to the City Committee. I 3 should have seen it. And I would hope that in 4 the future that my colleagues will realize 5 that you cannot leave people out. Everyone 6 had a right to review this bill. 7 Thank you. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 Senator Huntley to be recorded in the 10 affirmative. 11 Senator Diaz, to explain his vote. 12 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, Madam 13 President. 14 Today I just want to congratulate 15 Senator Squadron, because he obviously has 16 been thinking of the people from my district. 17 There are 21 public developments that have 18 been affected because they don't receive 19 federal help. And Senator Squadron, with this 20 legislation, is trying to remedy that damage. 21 Senator Squadron, I thank you. 22 Because one or two of those -- two of those 21 23 public housing developments are in my 24 district, one of them in Castle Hill, Castle 25 Hill Public Housing and Saint Mary's Park

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Public Housing. 2 And, Senator Squadron, let me tell 3 you that by you doing this, you are helping 4 2,025 units in Castle Hill, the equivalent of 5 5,421 people that live in Castle Hill. Of all 6 the 21, of all the 21 developments, the 7 biggest one in population is in my district, 8 Castle Hill -- 5,421 people that will be 9 benefitting from this bill in Castle Hill 10 Housing. And there are 2,331 people in Saint 11 Mary's Park. A total of 7,752 people will be 12 benefitting, and 3033 units. 13 So, Senator Squadron, I never do 14 this, but you the man. You are the man. 15 Thank you on behalf of the residents of Castle 16 Hill Housing. And on behalf of the residents 17 of Saint Mary's Park in my district, I thank 18 you. And if you continue doing this, maybe I 19 support you for mayor. 20 (Laughter.) 21 SENATOR DIAZ: So thank you, 22 Madam President, and I'm voting yes. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 24 Senator Diaz to be recorded in the 25 affirmative.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Espada, to explain his 2 vote. 3 SENATOR ESPADA: Surely. Thank 4 you, Madam President. 5 I want to applaud and obviously 6 support this legislation. I think officially 7 Senator Squadron not only gets one vote for 8 mayor today but should be enshrined in the 9 New York City Housing Authority Hall of Fame 10 for this. It's truly landmark legislation 11 that would affect so many. 12 All the laudable ends have been 13 explained. Two things. Chairman Rhea has a 14 tremendous challenge ahead of him. As 15 chairman of the New York City Housing 16 Authority, I think he too deserves tremendous 17 credit. And tremendous credit because during 18 this housing crisis and the economic crisis, 19 we need to think out of the box. And that 20 kind of thinking is what's going to get us out 21 of the doldrums and out of this economic 22 crisis. 23 So again, kudos to the chairman, to 24 Senator Squadron. And I must admit also that 25 this relinquishes a tremendous amount of guilt

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 for me, inasmuch as I grew up on Cauldwell 2 Avenue, facing the windows of Saint Mary's 3 Housing -- on stickball games, hitting those 4 Spaulding balls into those windows, now they 5 will be fixed. 6 So we thank you for that. You've 7 rid me of tremendous guilt. And we applaud 8 your efforts. 9 Thank you very much. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 Senator Espada to be recorded in the 12 affirmative. 13 Senator Duane, to explain his vote. 14 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, Madam 15 President. 16 You know, ever since I was even in 17 the City Council, I've worked with advocates 18 and struggled with people in my community on 19 how it is that we could make capital 20 improvements to our New York City Housing 21 Authority developments. And it was always 22 complicated by the fact that some of them were 23 state developments, and it just made 24 everything so much more difficult. So being 25 able to federalize them is really going to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 make my job easier. 2 You know, I have three developments 3 that are going to be positively impacted by 4 this. One is 344 East 28th Street, one is the 5 Amsterdam Addition of the Amsterdam Houses, 6 and the other is the Chelsea Addition of the 7 Chelsea-Elliott Houses. And, you know, to 8 equalize them is just -- it's a very, very 9 positive development. 10 And I know that people on both 11 sides of the aisle have tried to figure out a 12 way to bring operating as well as capital 13 fundies to state projects. And here, you 14 know, we're able to take advantage of, you 15 know, the Recovery Act funds. And really it's 16 just a great thing. 17 And that we're today going to pass 18 this legislation and it's not even the day 19 before is just a milestone here in the Senate. 20 And I want to thank Senator 21 Squadron, because he really has been dogged 22 and determined on this legislation. 23 And I also just want to -- and this 24 just goes to something that happened in the 25 past. But two people that I also worked with

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 on this that aren't really getting a mention 2 but who have kept this issue alive, one is 3 Senator Diane Savino -- who, you know, I 4 wouldn't take a step in this body without 5 making sure it's okay with Diane Savino -- and 6 also Senator Lanza. When we needed his help, 7 even though there wasn't really a huge, you 8 know, upside for him to do it, he stepped up 9 and did it. 10 So also, to both of you, thank you 11 for your work on the issue of the state 12 developments as well. 13 I vote yes, Madam President. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Senator Duane to be recorded in the 16 affirmative. 17 Senator Montgomery, to explain your 18 vote. 19 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, thank 20 you, Madam President. 21 I rise to also thank my colleague 22 Senator Squadron for his work on this very, 23 very important legislation. Because, as for 24 my district, we have some 30,000 residents who 25 live in public housing. I have housing that

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 starts at the Hudson River and ends almost at 2 the border in Ocean Hill. And those 30,000 3 residents actually are already living in 4 federally financed housing. 5 So the people in Red Hook and 6 Farragut and Ingersoll and Whitman and Marcy 7 and Tompkins and Sumner and Roosevelt and 8 Kingsborough and Brevoort and Lafayette 9 Gardens and all of my people, I want to say to 10 them, when they ask "What does this have to do 11 with us, how does this help us" -- well, it 12 helps us because based on this legislation, 13 when all of the residents are federalized, the 14 state developments will no longer be 15 essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul. So 16 they've been taking, really, from our people 17 to make it possible for us to serve all of the 18 people in public housing. So now this 19 corrects that problem. 20 And in fact, based on this, NYCHA 21 will receive $400 million immediately. And 22 every year from this point going forward, they 23 will receive $75 million annually in operating 24 costs, and additionally $30 million in capital 25 subsidies from the federal government.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Which means that the community 2 centers in my district, the public housing in 3 the 18th Senate District, even though they are 4 already federal, now we can have our community 5 centers fixed. And we can have jobs for 6 people who live in my district in public 7 housing, and after-school programs. And 8 they've asked me, "Senator, we need lights to 9 secure our buildings." They can now look to 10 receive that. 11 So I thank Senator Squadron. And 12 more importantly, Madam President, let me say 13 this: I thank the people who live in public 14 housing. They have written me in very large 15 numbers this year. They're very organized, 16 and they have put this as number one on their 17 agenda, and that is that we should do 18 something to help make the environment in 19 those communities safe, secure, and 20 maintained. And so this will allow us to do 21 it. Even though we don't have the funding in 22 our budget, the federal government is coming 23 to our rescue, and we appreciate that. 24 So I thank them, I thank Senator 25 Squadron, I thank my colleagues. Because

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 today this that we're doing affects hundreds 2 of thousands of families in the City of 3 New York and in other parts of the state as 4 well. 5 So thank you, and I vote yes. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 7 Senator Montgomery to be recorded in the 8 affirmative. 9 Senator Perkins, to explain his 10 vote. 11 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you, 12 Madam Chair. 13 You know, who in their right mind, 14 especially having grown up in public housing 15 and who has the privilege now of representing 16 a large portfolio of public housing 17 developments, would hesitate to see hundreds 18 of millions of dollars come to the public 19 housing portfolio of public housing 20 opportunities. 21 Especially when we know that there 22 are so many that are not getting what they 23 need by virtue of the fact that they were not 24 built by the federal government. And that it 25 has an impact on our state budget and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 subsequently other opportunities that we could 2 use that money for. 3 But, you know, I've had 4 reservations. Just the other day, the New 5 York Times reported, on February 21st, "After 6 years of poor conditions under the Public 7 Housing Authority, a night of sudden repairs." 8 The history of the Public Housing 9 Authority in terms of its commitment to the 10 residents of public housing is not one that 11 would make one have any faith in their ability 12 or even sometimes their willingness to do the 13 right thing. 14 Secondly, I know that on 114th 15 Street, between Adam Clayton Powell and 16 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, they vacated 17 half of the block of public housing with the 18 promise that they would rehab that block with 19 new infusions of money and that the tenants 20 would be relocated for a short period of time 21 and then come back to new housing, and then on 22 the other side of the block they would be 23 rehabbed and the tenants would come back for 24 that new housing opportunity. 25 Five years later, the block is

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 still abandoned. Worse than that, it has 2 become infested with dope dealers. So the 3 folks that were moved out are still out. And 4 as you know, when you move out temporarily, 5 you never unpack. You live out of -- and 6 these are not folks that did not move without 7 families, children and so forth. 8 So there's a good reason why one 9 would be reluctant to support a proposal being 10 spearheaded by the Public Housing Authority, 11 especially in this climate, where not only 12 have they been negligent in terms of their 13 responsibilities but also where you're seeing 14 instances of privatization of public housing, 15 privatization all over the country. 16 And in fact, some of you may on 17 occasion read the City Journal, in which there 18 is a fairly lengthy article talking about how 19 we can privatize public housing in New York 20 City and create housing opportunities in those 21 communities that will be subject to the 22 private market. And most of us know that's 23 another word for being unaffordable and 24 luxury. And it means that we have to be 25 displaced and move out to someplace else.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 So you would have to really 2 hesitate, with the history of the Public 3 Housing Authority, to want to jump into 4 something called a hundred million dollars or 5 whatever, hundreds of millions of dollars, 6 because their track record has not been good 7 and the climate has not been good. 8 And then add to that that the new 9 person in charge of public housing, the 10 general manager, comes from one of those 11 localities in New Orleans where he oversaw the 12 privatization of the public housing in that 13 area, and now he has joined us in New York 14 City. 15 So it's a scary scenario to have to 16 advocate to people in your community -- that 17 are already suffering that kind of neglect and 18 that kind of fear -- that this proposal is 19 going to be as it is promised. 20 I have four developments that are 21 amongst these 21: Drew-Hamilton Houses, the 22 Manhattanville Houses, Fred Samuels Houses, 23 and the Wise Towers. And of course I have a 24 larger portfolio of public housing throughout 25 my whole senatorial district, which again

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 indirectly would benefit. 2 But on the other hand, you know, 3 every once in a while you have to take a leap 4 of faith. You have to believe that maybe in 5 this particular moment in this particular time 6 that this will happen as it was promised to 7 happen. 8 And so with those reservations, 9 those severe reservations about privatization, 10 about the incompetence of the Public Housing 11 Authority in terms of living up to its 12 maintenance and operating responsibilities, 13 about the fact that we are still suffering, on 14 114th Street, from a situation in which the 15 block has been abandoned with the promise that 16 the people will be returned, I'm going to 17 reluctantly support this legislation, with the 18 reservations that I've shared, because on the 19 other hand it's what's before us, and I think 20 that if it goes forward clearly it will be a 21 good thing. 22 So I'll be voting aye. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 24 Senator Perkins to be recorded in the 25 affirmative.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Are there any other Senators 2 wishing to explain his or her vote? 3 Senator Savino. 4 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you, 5 Senator Stewart-Cousins. I will be brief. 6 Let me add my congratulations to 7 Senator Squadron for bringing this bill to the 8 floor. 9 When he first got elected, he came 10 to talk to me about what he felt was a serious 11 inequity with respect to New York City 12 housing, looking at how much money the State 13 of New York provided to the Housing Authority 14 for the maintenance and the support and the 15 operation of several of the units. 16 And I explained to him how it 17 happened that more than 12 years ago, the 18 State of New York decided to stop providing 19 funding to the Housing Authority. At the 20 time, the Housing Authority had $168 million 21 in a surplus, and they made a decision that 22 they could potentially use that money and they 23 didn't need money from the state. 24 It was probably not the smartest 25 decision to make, because once the state

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 stopped providing funding to state-run units, 2 they quickly went through the money they had 3 and brought us to where we are today. 4 Federalization of these units has 5 been an issue that we have all wanted for a 6 very long time. One of my congressional 7 members, Nydia Velazquez, has been working on 8 this for years. But what was missing was a 9 commitment from Washington. And now we have 10 that commitment from Washington and we have 11 access to the ARRA funds that will allow us to 12 do this. 13 And it's not just for the units 14 that are here that are outlined -- one of them 15 is mine, the Stapleton Houses, which will 16 affect 693 units and almost 2200 families 17 there. I, like Senator Hassell-Thompson, 18 represent just about -- she's got 23 19 developments, I have 21 developments between 20 Brooklyn and Staten Island. Any extra money 21 into either Brooklyn or Staten Island for 22 these units helps those that are not going to 23 be federalized, helping preserve public 24 housing and improve it. And that money has 25 been desperately needed for a long time.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 But I do want to say this is not 2 the first time that we have stepped forward in 3 an effort to try and correct issues that have 4 been unfair to the Housing Authority. Senator 5 Duane made mention of it, but I think it's 6 important that for some of you who weren't 7 here in 2007, we should at least give credit 8 to Senator Lanza, who did introduce the bill 9 and carry the bill in this body that allowed 10 the Housing Authority to finally begin to 11 capture the full shelter allowance for 12 families living in public housing that are on 13 public assistance. That was a longstanding 14 inequity, and it brought hundreds of millions 15 of dollars into the Housing Authority's 16 coffers at a time when we couldn't find a way 17 to do it. 18 So that was the first step; this is 19 the second step. And I'm very proud to be 20 voting on this bill today. 21 Thank you. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 23 Senator Savino to be recorded in the 24 affirmative. 25 Senator Schneiderman, to explain

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 his vote. 2 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you, 3 Madam President. 4 I am proud to rise in support of 5 this legislation. I too have projects that 6 will benefit from this money in my district. 7 And in the long list of people to 8 be thanked, I just want to note that Senator 9 Squadron also did mention to me that we really 10 also should be appreciative of the work our 11 representatives in Washington did. The fact 12 that this money is available is in large part 13 attributable to the work of our senior 14 senator, Chuck Schumer. 15 And I just wanted to make sure that 16 Senator Squadron's praise for Senator Schumer 17 and gratitude to Senator Schumer was noted for 18 the record. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 Thank you. And Senator Schneiderman will be 21 recorded in the affirmative. 22 Announce the results. 23 THE SECRETARY: In relation to 24 Calendar Number 175: Ayes, 58. Nays, 0. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 The bill is passed. 2 Senator Klein, that completes the 3 reading of the noncontroversial supplemental 4 calendar. 5 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 6 can you recognize Senator Ruth 7 Hassell-Thompson for a brief announcement. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 Senator Hassell-Thompson. 10 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 11 you, Madam President. 12 There will be an immediate meeting 13 of the Majority in the Majority Conference 14 Room, 332. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 16 Thank you. There will be an immediate meeting 17 of the Majority in the Majority Conference 18 Room, Room 332. 19 Senator Klein. 20 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 21 is there any further business at the desk? 22 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 23 Senator Klein, the desk is clear. 24 SENATOR KLEIN: There being none, 25 I move that we adjourn until Monday,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 March 1st, at 3:00 p.m., intervening days to 2 be legislative days. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 There being no further business to come before 5 the Senate, on motion, the Senate stands 6 adjourned until Monday, March 1st, at 7 3:00 p.m., intervening days being legislative 8 days. 9 (Whereupon, at 4:09 p.m., the 10 Senate adjourned.) 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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