Tuesday, March 16, 2010

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 March 16, 2010 11 3:32 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 SENATOR DIANE SAVINO, 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 SAVINO: The 3 Senate will please come to order. 4 I ask everyone present to rise and 5 recite with me the Pledge of Allegiance. 6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited 7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: In the 9 absence of clergy, may we all bow our heads in 10 a moment of silence. 11 (Whereupon, the assemblage 12 respected a moment of silence.) 13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 14 reading of the Journal. 15 The Secretary will read. 16 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 17 Monday, March 15, the Senate met pursuant to 18 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, March 14, 19 was read and approved. On motion, Senate 20 adjourned. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Without 22 objection, the Journal stands approved as 23 read. 24 Presentation of petitions. 25 Messages from the Assembly.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Messages from the Governor. 2 Reports of standing committees. 3 Senator Klein. 4 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 5 I believe there's a report of the Finance 6 Committee at the desk. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: There 8 is a report of the Finance Committee at the 9 desk. 10 The Secretary will read. 11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kruger, 12 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 13 following nominations. 14 As Major General of the New York 15 Army National Guard, Patrick A. Murphy, of 16 Clifton Park. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 18 Kruger. 19 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Please move 20 that nomination. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are 22 there any Senators wishing to be heard on this 23 nomination? 24 Seeing none, the question is on the 25 motion to confirm the nomination. All those

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 in favor please signify by saying aye. 2 (Response of "Aye.") 3 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: 4 Opposed, nay. 5 (No response.) 6 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 7 motion carries. The promotion of Patrick A. 8 Murphy to Major General of the New York Army 9 National Guard is confirmed. 10 Major General Murphy is joined in 11 the gallery today by his wife Cherie. 12 Congratulations. 13 (Applause.) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 15 Secretary will continue to read. 16 THE SECRETARY: As chairman and 17 president of the Tax Appeals Tribunal, James 18 H. Tully, Jr., of Albany. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 20 Kruger. 21 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Madam 22 President, please move the nomination. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are 24 there any Senators wishing to be heard on this 25 nomination?

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Breslin. 2 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you very 3 much, Madam President. 4 I rise to salute the Governor for 5 choosing Jim Tully for this position. Jim has 6 an exemplary background. As most of you know, 7 he was a former Tax Commissioner from '75 to 8 '82. He's been a partner in DeGraff, Foye, 9 Conway & Holt-Harris in Albany for a number of 10 years. And he brings the experience, the 11 professionalism, and the integrity to that 12 position. 13 And we should compliment not only 14 the appointee but the Governor for making this 15 appointment. 16 Thank you, Madam President. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are 18 there any other Senators wishing to be heard 19 on this nomination? 20 Seeing none, all those in favor of 21 the nomination indicate by saying aye. 22 (Response of "Aye.") 23 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: 24 Opposed, nay. 25 (No response.)

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 2 motion carries. The nomination of James H. 3 Tully, Jr., of Albany, as chairman and 4 president of the Tax Appeals Tribunal is 5 confirmed. 6 Congratulations. 7 (Applause.) 8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 9 Secretary will continue to read. 10 THE SECRETARY: As a member of 11 the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 12 Allen Cappelli, of Staten Island. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 14 Kruger. 15 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Madam 16 President, please move the nomination. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are 18 there any Senators wishing to be heard on this 19 nomination? 20 Senator LaValle. 21 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you, 22 Madam President. 23 Normally it's always a privilege to 24 rise to support a nomination and a nominee. 25 In this case today, I rise to oppose the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 nomination of Allen Cappelli. 2 And I appreciated so much the 3 courtesy shown by our chairman of the Finance 4 Committee to have Mr. Cappelli come before the 5 committee as a reappointment. And usually we 6 waive reappointments. But in this case, 7 because the subject of the MTA is very, very 8 important, Mr. Cappelli came before our 9 committee and answered a number of questions, 10 anywhere between half an hour to 45 minutes. 11 The thing that is troubling to me 12 is that as a member of the board -- and he has 13 participated very fully in attending hearings 14 and committee meetings. He's on the finance 15 committee. In the finance committee, 16 Mr. Cappelli voted no on the MTA budget 17 because he felt that there would be service 18 cuts and things that were critically 19 important. 20 He reversed himself when it came to 21 the budget because Chairman Walder asked him 22 to vote yes for reasons of having a balanced 23 budget -- some potential that his vote, his 24 vote would make a difference in the bond 25 rating on any bonds that the MTA would move

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 forward. 2 Today, that budget and remarks he 3 made that were critically important that the 4 plan put forward by Citizen Ravitch was 5 important to the MTA and providing services. 6 So what do we have today? Today we 7 have a situation where we have an MTA tax that 8 has ravaged -- no pun -- our economic 9 well-being in many parts of this state. It 10 has also had service cuts in my area, the cuts 11 to the Ronkonkoma-to-Greenport line, cuts in 12 service to the Port Jefferson line. I live in 13 the Village of Port Jefferson, and people who 14 use that service are inconvenienced by the 15 cuts. 16 Most importantly, to a point, yes, 17 we can make cuts, you know, of certain 18 personnel and do certain things. But one of 19 the last -- the last question that I asked the 20 nominee was that in the year 2010, as opposed 21 to when the MTA was created -- and on Long 22 Island, when it was created, people went into 23 New York City to work. Today, 80-plus percent 24 either work intercounty or intracounty. 25 So my question and my question for

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 years has been, in terms of reform, that we 2 need to create a new paradigm. It is obvious 3 that the existing model, the existing 4 structure just doesn't work. And so I think 5 it's critically important for MTA board 6 members to force the process to change. This 7 is not something new. It is something that 8 has been discussed that we need to make new 9 changes, new modeling to provide services to 10 the commuter. 11 Today, one of my supervisors came 12 up with the jingle, I guess, "Taxation Without 13 Transportation." 14 So for many of the people in my 15 district, and I would remind -- one thing that 16 we do have in common, as a Staten Islander 17 with representing Eastern Long Island, Staten 18 Island wanted to secede from New York City and 19 the individuals in the East End wanted to 20 leave Suffolk County and form Peconic County. 21 So I think he understands the 22 chemistry of the constituency on Eastern Long 23 Island. But quite honestly, whether it's 24 Eastern Long Island or Western Nassau, it's 25 all the same.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 So, Madam President, with some 2 regret, I vote no on this nomination. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 4 Klein. 5 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 6 I'd like to second the nomination of Allen 7 Cappelli. 8 I have had the opportunity to know 9 and work with Allen during his tenure working 10 for Bronx Borough President Freddy Ferrer. 11 And when you look at Allen's 12 resume, you quickly realize that here's 13 somebody that served this community, served 14 this state, and someone who you can consider a 15 public man. 16 He worked for the Office of the 17 New York State Ombudsman. He was assistant 18 deputy superintendent to the New York State 19 Superintendent of Insurance. He was on the 20 Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. The 21 list goes on and on. 22 And I think the balance, besides 23 working in various government positions, is 24 his dedication to his community in Staten 25 Island.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 So I know the great county of 2 Staten Island has some individual problems 3 that I think certainly will be met by the 4 expertise of Allen Cappelli. I second the 5 nomination wholeheartedly. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 7 Saland. 8 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Madam 9 President. 10 Madam President, I in part want to 11 echo the comments of Senator LaValle. It 12 seems not too long ago that we were here 13 confirming Jay Walder as the CEO and chief 14 executive of the MTA. And I recall at that 15 time having had the opportunity to question 16 him when he was in the Finance Committee, 17 speaking of his qualifications on the one hand 18 and on the impact of the MTA in the region 19 that I represent on the other hand. 20 At that time, with a degree of 21 reluctance, given the fact that I thought he 22 truly had the bona fides but was fearful of 23 the fact that he would be more of the same, I 24 cast a vote in opposition to Jay Walder. And 25 I find myself being placed in somewhat the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 same predicament. 2 As a Senator who represents an area 3 which has come to be known in MTA parlance as 4 one of the "Quarter Pounders" -- in this case, 5 Dutchess County, which along with Putnam and 6 Orange and Rockland each have a quarter of a 7 vote -- we have a very modest number of 8 commuters, somewhere in the area of about 9 11,000. And we pay an average of well in 10 excess of $30,000 for the dubious distinction 11 of being part of Metro North. 12 In my district, quite candidly, MTA 13 is a four-letter word. It's a vilification. 14 It is something which is viewed not merely 15 with anger but with frustration and even 16 hatred. And the payroll tax that was imposed 17 upon our district was the straw that truly 18 broke the camel's back. 19 I saw Mr. Cappelli in the Finance 20 Committee. He certainly comported himself 21 well. I bear him no malice. But I can find 22 little or nothing redeeming about being a 23 revenue hostage in the MTA. 24 And when I asked Mr. Cappelli about 25 how it came to pass that the transit authority

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 found itself in binding arbitration, he 2 responded by advising me and the members of 3 the committee present at that time that that 4 was not a board decision. I believe the 5 question I asked him was whether it was a 6 board decision, and he said no, it was not. 7 That decision was made by Mr. Walder's 8 predecessor, Mr. Sanders. 9 And I found that just absolutely 10 appalling. And I don't know how one person 11 unilaterally could have imposed that binding 12 arbitration upon that system. And when I 13 asked if in fact there was any effort to 14 censure Mr. Sanders for having done that, the 15 response was, well, he had already been gone. 16 Well, you know, when you're on the 17 board, it's a heavy responsibility. And for 18 an agency that is renowned for being, on the 19 whole, insensitive, irresponsible, 20 inefficient -- and I can go on and on and 21 on -- you would think that that was truly over 22 the top. It was a dereliction of at least 23 some responsibility to let the public know 24 that you disagreed with this decision. And 25 whether it was a censure, whether it was some

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 form of criticism of the act, nothing was 2 forthcoming. 3 So I, as I said, bear no malice to 4 Mr. Cappelli. He's not from my neck of the 5 woods, so to speak. But I can't in good 6 conscience look to Mr. Cappelli and say 7 somehow or other there will be some difference 8 in the way the MTA is administered that 9 somehow or other my part of that enormous 10 undertaking is going to be any better served. 11 I just see more of the same, and more of the 12 same is enormous pain. 13 And I am compelled to vote in 14 opposition to his reconfirmation. 15 Thank you, Madam President. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 17 L. Krueger. 18 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you. 19 I would also like to rise to second the 20 nomination to continue on the MTA board of 21 Allen Cappelli. 22 I also was at the Finance Committee 23 meeting this morning where members of this 24 committee put him through a very rigorous set 25 of questioning about decisions made by the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 MTA, the board -- in fact, questioning our own 2 decisions here in the Legislature vis-a-vis 3 the MTA. 4 There was frustration voiced about 5 the MTA and public transportation in various 6 parts of the state. I point out that when you 7 go to hearings in New York City or outside New 8 York City, you hear frustrations all round. 9 But in fact, this gentleman has 10 held the highest standards as a board member 11 to fight for the best interests of public 12 transportation and the users of public 13 transportation throughout the state. And I am 14 very glad that people like Allen want to 15 continue to serve on the MTA board. 16 So I'm delighted to support his 17 reconfirmation to the MTA board. 18 Thank you very much for your 19 service. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 21 Leibell. 22 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you, 23 Madam President. 24 You've heard from a number of my 25 colleagues today that in Senate Finance today

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 we had a chance to hear from the nominee. And 2 we certainly appreciate that he was there to 3 answer our questions. 4 Let me say that in my many years in 5 office, both in the Assembly and the State 6 Senate, I doubt that I have seen greater anger 7 over any issue than this in our districts and 8 in my district in the Hudson Valley. 9 In our region, the MTA is 10 thoroughly disliked. There are many agencies 11 and authorities that run very well. 12 Unfortunately, this is not one of them. 13 You've heard the costs that are involved in 14 our passengers coming from our regions into 15 the city, how we are taxed to the fullest. I 16 have to tell you, the payroll tax is one of 17 the most disliked taxes you will ever find. 18 To sum it up, there's an anger, 19 there's a frustration out there on the behalf 20 of our constituents, our residents, towards 21 the MTA. The payroll tax is probably one of 22 the most crippling taxes that could be 23 inflicted upon our region of the state, which 24 already bears a high tax burden, one of the 25 highest in the United States.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 So I regret that as I stand here 2 I'm not able to support this nomination. I 3 would hope, though, that the nominee, if 4 confirmed, will go back to the MTA, let the 5 people who work there and the board members 6 know how disliked that entity is by the 7 constituents that I represent and that my 8 constituents deserve so much better than they 9 give. 10 Thank you. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 12 DeFrancisco. 13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you. 14 I rise to vote in favor of this nominee. 15 And having lived in Staten Island, 16 I know that it's Richmond County, not Staten 17 Island County. And I'm sure that was a slip 18 of the tongue by one of my colleagues. 19 But I understand that it's a very 20 difficult situation, the MTA. And I 21 understand the frustration of my colleagues. 22 It's amazing to me that anyone would want to 23 be on that board without compensation in view 24 of the headaches that that board provides. 25 I just want to mention one thing

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 that he said during the confirmation hearings 2 that I was very impressed with. He wants to 3 make sure that the service is there and cut 4 the bureaucracy, cut the administration, cut 5 the dead weight that has grown over the years 6 since well before the time he was on that 7 board. 8 So I understand the frustration of 9 my colleagues, and I would hope that some of 10 the things that he mentioned he will in fact 11 do. Because in a way, policy is in many ways 12 set by the board members. 13 The policy to have a payroll tax 14 was a policy set by this body, not the members 15 of the board. Certain people in this 16 conference here -- all of the people on this 17 side of the aisle -- voted against that 18 payroll tax. He didn't put the payroll tax 19 in. And we should not blame the appointees to 20 a board when we made that policy decision, or 21 at least some of us in this body did. 22 The reason I mention policy is 23 because we have the West Genesee High School 24 government policy class here. And 25 unfortunately, we don't have any bills to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 debate, any juicy bills that we can debate. 2 But policy is set in many ways by who the 3 Governor appoints and who we confirm. 4 Lastly, I remember when we went 5 into that whole discussion to as to how the 6 MTA was going to be saved. And I remember 7 vividly all my other 16 years in the Senate 8 that whenever there was a package for the MTA, 9 there was a package for roads and bridges 10 upstate. And I remember distinctly, when that 11 package was put together for the MTA to help 12 bail it out, that we were going to deal with 13 the roads and bridges of upstate, a plan for 14 the roads and bridges in October or in the 15 fall. Well, we're now in the spring, rapidly 16 approaching the summer and another fall, and 17 we still forgot about those roads and bridges. 18 I haven't forgotten. The upstate 19 representatives haven't forgotten. And we 20 would hope that we get to that extremely 21 important issue before this session is over. 22 Thank you, Madam President, and I 23 will vote aye on the nominee. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 25 Marcellino.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 2 Madam President. 3 I wish to thank Mr. Cappelli for 4 his willingness to serve and for his service 5 in government. He chose a very difficult 6 position to accept at a very difficult time in 7 our state's history. 8 When I listened to his testimony in 9 answer to my questions in the Finance 10 Committee hearing, I liked what I heard. He 11 talked about a bloated bureaucracy, he talked 12 about cutting it, he talked about maintaining 13 services, he talked about making sure that the 14 system was available for the people it was 15 designed to serve: the public. Not an elite 16 system, but a mass transit system. 17 He seemed to recognize the 18 problems, and he heard about the frustrations. 19 And I toyed with a positive vote here on the 20 floor because I did like what I heard from 21 this gentleman. 22 However, I do believe, after 23 thinking about it more and more, I do believe 24 that we have to send a message to the MTA 25 bureaucracy. We have to send a strong message

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 that their behavior is intolerable, that the 2 system is broken, that no one trusts this 3 particular agency, no one. 4 One day the books are balanced and 5 they're in surplus, the next day they're in 6 deficit. Right now I understand, from 7 Mr. Cappelli's testimony, they're looking for 8 $750 million to fill a gap. The MTA tax, 9 which was designed to prevent this from 10 happening, apparently has failed. It is not 11 providing the revenue needed. Instead, it's 12 costing jobs on Long Island. It's costing 13 jobs throughout this state. 14 We need to send a strong message to 15 the MTA board, and I hope Mr. Cappelli will 16 carry it. I hope he will. I'll be more than 17 willing to work with him, and I know my 18 colleague Senator LaValle and the gentlemen 19 who speak earlier will all be willing to work 20 with him for the benefit of the ridership, the 21 people who need the system. 22 My constituents want to be able to 23 get on the Long Island Railroad and travel 24 into the City of New York or to their jobs and 25 be able to afford it. Right now they can't.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Right now they're being priced out of the 2 system and they're being forced back into 3 their cars, someplace we don't want them. 4 We would rather see people riding 5 the trains and the buses. Bus service on Long 6 Island is an abomination. And the trains are 7 becoming just so expensive that the average 8 person simply can't afford it. So the reverse 9 is happening. We want them in the mass 10 transit, not in their cars. 11 So I'm going to vote no on this 12 nomination. Not because I'm opposed to 13 Mr. Cappelli, but I am opposed to the policies 14 and the behavior of the MTA as a whole. It's 15 got to change. And the message has to be sent 16 loud and clear from this Legislature that we 17 will not tolerate it any longer. 18 Enough is enough. They've got to 19 start performing, they've got to start living 20 within their means. They cannot be coming 21 back looking for more and more and more money, 22 more and more and more fee increases, more and 23 more and more fare increases, and providing 24 less and less service to the riding public. 25 That, Madam President, is totally intolerable.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 So I thank you for your indulgence 2 in allowing me to speak, but I will be voting 3 no on Mr. Cappelli's nomination. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 5 Dilan. 6 SENATOR DILAN: Yes, Madam 7 President, I rise in support of this 8 nomination. 9 And I just want to indicate that as 10 chairman of the Transportation Committee, we 11 did have Mr. Cappelli actually come before the 12 committee. And we did ask very tough 13 questions of Mr. Cappelli, because I too had 14 questions with regard to the way that the MTA 15 board has handled itself. 16 However, as a result of the 17 questioning that happened in the 18 Transportation Committee of Mr. Cappelli, we 19 found out that he's an advocate for the riders 20 of the system, he's imaginative, and of many 21 of the members that serve on that committee, 22 he is one of those that is very active and 23 also questions the system and ensures that the 24 MTA does the right things. And at those 25 meetings he too asked the tough questions of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the chairman and the bureaucracy at the MTA. 2 And for that reason and many more, 3 as an active member of the MTA board, my mind 4 was changed after questioning him. And I 5 believe that we should all confirm his 6 nomination. And at that time members of the 7 other side of the aisle, I believe, were also 8 impressed with his answers and also found out 9 the type of individual that he is. 10 And I don't think that we should be 11 blaming Mr. Cappelli for the economic state 12 that we're in in the State of New York, or 13 that of the MTA. 14 And I know there was a comment made 15 with respect to the capital budget, roads and 16 bridges, which have nothing really to do with 17 the MTA except for the fact that last year we 18 did do a two-year plan for them which 19 ultimately was rejected by the Capital Review 20 Board, where we had the commissioner of DOT 21 veto that capital budget. 22 So in essence, ladies and 23 gentlemen, the MTA does not have a capital 24 plan and the current capital plan that is in 25 effect to the end of this fiscal year is that

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 one that was done nearly five years ago. And 2 in the current budget, as we made a commitment 3 last year, we're looking to fund a new capital 4 plan. I just wanted to make that clear for 5 the record. 6 And again, I ask that we confirm 7 Mr. Cappelli. Thank you. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Thank 9 you. 10 Are there any other Senators 11 wishing to be heard on this nomination? 12 Senator Perkins. 13 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you, 14 Madam Chair. 15 I just want to take a moment, as 16 the chair of the Committee on Corporations, 17 Authorities and Commissions, particularly 18 concerned about the MTA and the important role 19 that it plays not only in our city but for our 20 region, and the need to have the caliber of 21 support that this nominee will be able to 22 provide for the system, especially during this 23 critical period when there are so many 24 challenges affecting our customers, affecting 25 our businesses.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And with the kind of vision and the 2 kind of leadership that Mr. Cappelli has 3 provided up to now, we will need even more so 4 as we go down this very, very difficult road. 5 He has obviously an outstanding 6 resume of public service. And in his capacity 7 on that board up to now, he has shown himself 8 to be someone that is sensitive and that is 9 very much concerned about the future, 10 especially from the perspective of the 11 customers for this system. 12 And it's the kind of vision and the 13 kind of leadership that I wish we could have 14 with regard to so many of our other public 15 authorities that we are going to see in him. 16 In fact, as we move towards more 17 transparency and accountability with the new 18 legislation that we have passed and was signed 19 by the Governor on public authority reform, 20 he's the one for the time. 21 And so I just wanted to make sure 22 that my voice was lent in support of this 23 nomination and encourage my colleagues to do 24 the same. 25 Thank you so much.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are 2 there any other Senators wishing to be heard 3 on this nomination? 4 Seeing none, the question is on the 5 motion to confirm the nomination. All those 6 in favor please signify by saying aye. 7 (Response of "Aye.") 8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: 9 Opposed, nay. 10 (Response of "Nay.") 11 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 12 motion carries. The reappointment of Allen 13 Cappelli of Staten Island, Richmond County, to 14 the MTA board is confirmed. 15 Congratulations. 16 (Applause.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 18 Secretary will continue to read. 19 THE SECRETARY: As a member of 20 the Administrative Review Board for 21 Professional Medical Conduct, Dattatraya 22 Wagle, of Williamsville. 23 As directors of the Municipal Bond 24 Bank Agency, Naomi Bayer, of Rye Brook, and 25 William Myers, of Ithaca.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 As members of the Dormitory 2 Authority, John B. Johnson, Jr., of Watertown, 3 and Charles G. Moerdler, of Riverdale. 4 As members of the Lake George Park 5 Commission, Dean Cook, of Ticonderoga, and 6 David G. Floyd, of Huletts Landing. 7 As a member of the State Park, 8 Recreation and Historic Preservation 9 Commission for the City of New York, Simon C. 10 Roosevelt, of New York City. 11 As members of the Veterans' Affairs 12 Commission, Luis Barsallo, of Waterford; James 13 R. Edgar, of Schenectady; Rebecca C. Keough, 14 of Fayetteville; Michelle Lindsay, of 15 Stillwater; and Kevin G. McKenna, of 16 Wynantskill. 17 As director of the New York State 18 Urban Development Corporation, Robert Dyson, 19 of Millbrook. 20 As members of the Advisory Council 21 on Agriculture, Leslie L. Cole, Jr., of 22 Livonia; Russell J. Kelly, Jr., of 23 Fultonville; Robert W. Nolan, of East 24 Patchogue; Robert B. Reynolds, Jr., of 25 Hamburg; Daniel W. Sievert, of Burt; James L.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Vincent, of Byron; and Charles E. Wille, of 2 Montgomery. 3 As members of the Advisory Council 4 on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, 5 Herbert Barish, of Nyack; Katharine 6 Briar-Lawson, of Wynantskill; Lawrence Brown, 7 Jr., of Brooklyn; Lynda Marlene Karig-Hohmann, 8 of Albany; Kathleen Riddle, of Larchmont; and 9 John Tavolacci, of East Williston. 10 As members of the Mental Health 11 Services Council, Todd L. Benham, of 12 Watertown; Janice Laverne Cooper, of Harrison; 13 David Hamilton, of Delmar; David R. Kaczynski, 14 of Schenectady; and Luis R. Marcos, M.D., of 15 New York City. 16 As members of the State Camp Safety 17 Advisory Council, Eric A. Bacon, of Camillus, 18 and Douglas W. Pierce, of Roslyn. 19 As members of the State Council on 20 the Arts, Jill Erika Braufman, of New York 21 City, and Natalie Merchant, of Tivoli. 22 As a member of the Board of 23 Visitors of the Hudson River Psychiatric 24 Center, Karen Bishop Pilner, of Pleasantville. 25 As a member of the Board of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Visitors for the New York State Home for 2 Veterans and Their Dependents at Batavia, 3 Gerald J. Diskin, of LeRoy. 4 As a member of the Board of 5 Visitors for the New York State Home for 6 Veterans and Their Dependents at Oxford, Mary 7 E. Smallcomb, of Vestal. 8 And as a member of the Board of 9 Visitors for the New York State Home for 10 Veterans and Their Dependents at St. Albans, 11 Elva L. Girton, of Wappingers Falls. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 13 Kruger. 14 SENATOR CARL KRUGER: Madam 15 President, please move those nominations. 16 Thank you. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are 18 there any Senators wishing to be heard on the 19 nominations? 20 Senator C. Johnson. 21 SENATOR CRAIG JOHNSON: Thank you 22 very much, Madam President. Good to see you 23 up there. 24 I rise to second the nomination of 25 Douglas W. Pierce as a member of the State

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Camp Safety Advisory Council. I commend the 2 Governor for reappointing Mr. Pierce, who is a 3 constituent of mine and, more importantly, a 4 friend for a number of years. 5 I can't think of anybody better to 6 serve on this board. If you look through his 7 resume, Doug -- I'm sorry, Mr. Pierce has 8 extensive experience, lifelong experience. 9 His family owns a number of camps in New York 10 State, both day camps and sleep-away camps. 11 But more importantly, I worked very 12 closely with Mr. Pierce last year to address 13 some very important safety issues involving 14 our camps. He's extremely knowledgeable, 15 extremely dedicated, and his reappointment 16 will really help make camping here in New York 17 State a better place. 18 I proudly support this nomination 19 and urge my colleagues to do so as well. 20 Thank you. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are 22 there any other Senators wishing to be heard 23 on the nominations? 24 Senator Marcellino. 25 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes, Madam

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 President. I too rise to second my colleague 2 Craig Johnson's words on this nominee. 3 I have known his family and his 4 father for a number of years. Good people. 5 They have served the county and they have 6 served the state and they've served their 7 industry well. 8 And I know that Mr. Pierce will do 9 a fine job in his position for which the 10 Governor has nominated him. I congratulate 11 the Governor on a very good nomination. 12 Thank you. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are 14 there any other Senators wishing to be heard 15 on the nominations? 16 Seeing none, the question is on the 17 motion to confirm the nominations. All those 18 in favor please signify by saying aye. 19 (Response of "Aye.") 20 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: 21 Opposed, nay. 22 (No response.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 24 motion carries. The nominations are 25 confirmed.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Returning to the order of business, 2 reports of select committees. 3 Communications and reports from 4 state officers. 5 Motions and resolutions. 6 Senator Klein. 7 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 8 can you please recognize Senator Libous. He 9 has one floor motion. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 11 Libous. 12 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, Madam 13 President. 14 On behalf of Senator Morahan, Madam 15 President, on page 14 I offer up the following 16 amendments to Senate Calendar Number 209, 17 Senate Print 1535, and ask that the said bill 18 retain its place on the Third Reading 19 Calendar. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: So 21 ordered. 22 Senator Klein. 23 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 24 I have a resolution at the desk. I ask that 25 the title of the resolution be read and move

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 for its immediate adoption. And I'd also like 2 to speak on my resolution. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 4 Klein, has this resolution been deemed 5 privileged and submitted by the office of the 6 Temporary President? 7 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has, 8 Madam President. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 10 Secretary will read. 11 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Klein, 12 legislative resolution urging the New York 13 State Congressional delegation to enact the 14 Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 16 Klein. 17 SENATOR KLEIN: Thank you, Madam 18 President. 19 Every once in a while an issue 20 comes around that you spend an awful lot of 21 time working on. And the issue of untaxed 22 cigarettes is certainly that issue in my 23 career. 24 I passed legislation when I was a 25 member of the State Assembly which was signed

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 into law in 2000, which at the time was 2 landmark legislation which banned the sale of 3 cigarettes over the Internet through mail 4 order. 5 We had a difficult time with the 6 enforcement. There was a challenge to the 7 legislation. It was eventually upheld by a 8 federal circuit court. Then Attorney General 9 Eliot Spitzer and myself negotiated with 10 credit card companies -- actually, credit 11 cards companies agreeing not to accept 12 payments with credit cards for cigarette 13 sales. We got Federal Express and UPS to once 14 again agree not to deliver these cigarettes. 15 But unfortunately, there was a 16 major loophole. And the loophole was that the 17 United States Postal Service was still 18 delivering these cigarettes. 19 This issue was very important for 20 two reasons. First of all, over the years 21 we've seen time and time again that when 22 cigarettes are sold over the Internet, it 23 allows young people to purchase cigarettes, no 24 questions asked. Cigarettes have been 25 delivered to young people as young as 14 years

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 of age. And that has to end. 2 The issue that certainly resonates 3 with many of us here, and especially during 4 these tough budget times, is the issue of 5 uncollected tax revenue. 6 My colleague Chairman Kruger over 7 the last year has done a tremendous job in 8 alerting the public to how much money we are 9 really losing every year to untaxed 10 cigarettes. The lion's share of those untaxed 11 cigarettes are those sold over the Internet. 12 Well, this past week the United 13 States Senate passed the Prevent All Cigarette 14 Trafficking Act, which will essentially ban 15 the delivery of cigarettes through the United 16 States Postal Service. I called 17 Congressmember Anthony Weiner today, who has 18 the companion bill in the United States 19 Congress, and supposedly the bill is going to 20 pass as early as tomorrow. 21 So the timing is excellent. This 22 is an opportunity for us to collect anywhere 23 from $500 million to a billion dollars in 24 uncollected tax revenue, money that the 25 taxpayers of the State of New York need so

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 much. And at the end of the day, we can 2 finally put an end to what I consider is the 3 illicit trade of selling cigarettes over the 4 Internet. 5 So I urge the New York State 6 Congressional delegation to enact the Prevent 7 All Cigarette Trafficking Act. 8 Thank you, Madam President. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 10 Libous. 11 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, Madam 12 President. 13 I want to rise and congratulate 14 Senator Klein for putting this resolution 15 forth. 16 He mentioned that when he was in 17 the Assembly, I was in the Senate, and we 18 worked together on a number of these issues 19 and actually were published in a book for our 20 efforts in going after this type of trade. 21 I think the time has come where 22 this bill, if hopefully it comes before 23 Congress tomorrow, is passed swiftly. And 24 certainly the efforts that have been put forth 25 in this house in the past, along with the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 efforts of Senator Klein when he authored the 2 legislation in the Assembly, show the 3 taxpayers of the state that indeed not only 4 are we going after the Internet trafficking of 5 illegal cigarettes, but at the same time there 6 is a tremendous revenue stream that can come 7 to the state. 8 So, Senator Klein, I want to 9 applaud you on this effort and support it 10 100 percent. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are 12 there any other Senators wishing to be heard 13 on this resolution? 14 Seeing none, the question is on the 15 resolution. All those in favor please signify 16 by saying aye. 17 (Response of "Aye.") 18 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: 19 Opposed, nay. 20 (Response of "Nay.") 21 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 22 resolution is adopted. 23 Senator Klein has indicated that he 24 would like to open this resolution up to the 25 entire body for cosponsorship. Anyone not

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 wishing to be a cosponsor please notify the 2 desk. 3 Senator Klein. 4 SENATOR KLEIN: Thank you, Madam 5 President. 6 At this time I move that we pass 7 the Resolution Calendar in its entirety, with 8 the exception of Senate Resolutions 4205, 9 4227, and 4108. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: All 11 those in favor of adopting the Resolution 12 Calendar in its entirety, with the exception 13 of Resolutions 4227, 4108, and 4205, please 14 signify by saying aye. 15 (Response of "Aye.") 16 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: 17 Opposed, nay. 18 (No response.) 19 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 20 Resolution Calendar is adopted. 21 Senator Klein. 22 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 23 at this time I move to take up Senate 24 Resolution 4205, by Senator Morahan. I ask 25 that the title of the resolution be read and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 move for its immediate adoption. And I know 2 Senator Maziarz wants to speak on this 3 resolution. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 5 Secretary will read. 6 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 7 Morahan, Legislative Resolution Number 4205, 8 memorializing Governor David A. Paterson to 9 proclaim March 2010 as Spread the Word to End 10 the Word Awareness Month in the State of 11 New York. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 13 Maziarz. 14 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 15 much, Madam President and Senator Klein. 16 This resolution was sponsored by 17 Senator Morahan. It is cosponsored by myself 18 and our colleague Senator Bill Perkins. 19 Spread the Word to End the Word is 20 an ongoing effort by the Special Olympics and 21 its supporters to raise the consciousness of 22 society about the dehumanizing and hurtful 23 effects of the word -- and I'm going to say 24 the word. This is a resolution not to say the 25 word, but in order for everyone to know what

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 we are talking about, the word is "retard" -- 2 and to encourage people to pledge to stop 3 using that "R" word. 4 Throughout the month of March, 5 youth and friends of the global movement 6 Special Olympics will be hosting rallies and 7 implementing grassroots outreach efforts to 8 encourage members of their communities to take 9 the pledge to stop using the "R" word in a 10 demeaning manner. 11 Respectful and inclusive language 12 is essential to the movement for the dignity 13 and humanity of people with intellectual 14 disabilities. However, much of society does 15 not recognize that. 16 We all know when we were young 17 people in school, you know, and we saw 18 somebody who may have had some mental 19 incapacities or may have had some mental 20 challenges, we would refer to them by the "R" 21 word. I think it was because we had no idea 22 how much that hurt people, how much that hurt 23 grandparents and parents who would hear their 24 children referred to by the "R" word. 25 Senator Morahan, who

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 unfortunately -- he's doing great. I talked 2 to him today, by the way. He is home -- could 3 not be here. But he wanted me to express his 4 support for this resolution and to ask all of 5 our colleagues to sign on as cosponsors of it. 6 And there are representatives of 7 the Special Olympics New York here today. 8 Hilary Kellogg is the director. And there are 9 several people in the gallery today from the 10 Special Olympics. 11 And I want to thank you for the 12 very special work that you do -- including one 13 of our Olympians is here today, Beth 14 Costello -- and thank Special Olympics for the 15 all the work they do across New York. This is 16 one thing that we can agree -- we disagree on 17 a lot of things down here, believe it or not. 18 Some of us, you know, have geographic 19 disagreements -- Long Island, New York City, 20 upstate, even Binghamton once in a while we 21 disagree with. 22 But one thing we all agree with is 23 to, number one, to congratulate you on your 24 campaign to stop the "R" word. You see the 25 sponsors, Senator Morahan, from the Hudson

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Valley region, my colleague Senator Perkins 2 from New York City, and myself, from upstate, 3 the far northwest corner of New York, all of 4 us join together in congratulating you for 5 this campaign, encouraging you to go further 6 to stop the use of the "R" word, and really to 7 salute you and thank you for all the great 8 work that Special Olympics do for some very 9 special, talented people in New York. 10 Thank you. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 12 Libous. 13 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, Madam 14 President. 15 I would ask if the rest of us could 16 go on as cosponsors, Senator. I'm sure 17 Senator Morahan would concur with that. And 18 we can join together and do something 19 extremely productive in this house this 20 afternoon with all 62 members of the Senate 21 supporting this resolution. 22 Madam President, I have been 23 blessed in my life and particularly my Senate 24 life for the last 22 years, in being involved 25 with the folks from Special Olympics. And I

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 see my good friend Neal Johnson here today. 2 If you have not been involved, I 3 would ask that you get yourself involved with 4 Special Olympics. Take the time out of your 5 schedule, visit when your local has the games, 6 whether they be the winter games or the summer 7 games, and experience for yourself the 8 exhilarating feeling in watching these 9 athletes compete and knowing that of all the 10 things we debate and discuss here in this 11 chamber, that we can come together in helping 12 those folks with developmental disabilities 13 have a wonderful life, a life full of fun and 14 activity. 15 And let me tell what you will get 16 out of that. You will get from them the love. 17 And you will feel it. And you will feel 18 energized after you leave a Special Olympics 19 event. 20 So, Senator Morahan, I'm glad 21 you're doing better. Thank you for this 22 resolution, Senator Maziarz for bringing to 23 the floor. 24 And to all of my friends who have 25 dedicated their lives to Special Olympics in

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 New York State, thank you for being here. And 2 I hope that that horrible word is never 3 uttered by any members of this house, and I 4 believe that it won't be ever again, and that 5 other New Yorkers will take it away from their 6 vocabulary. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 8 Perkins. 9 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you very 10 much, Madam President. 11 I want to, you know, express my 12 appreciation to my colleague who has been 13 leading this effort. You know, there are many 14 "R" words out here that we need to ban. 15 Sometimes they begin with "N," and sometimes 16 they begin with "B," sometimes they begin with 17 "F." 18 But today we want to talk about the 19 one that we have come to know about as the "R" 20 word, the "R" word that maybe, as young 21 people, we thought we could use without having 22 the appreciation of what it means to be called 23 retarded and what it means to those who may be 24 having their own challenges. But maybe we use 25 it carelessly, not meaning to hurt -- but

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 nevertheless we do, especially for those who 2 are on the other end of it and who have to 3 suffer the denigration implied by it. 4 And so I'm pleased to be a part of 5 this movement to ban the "R" word, to ban 6 those derogatory words that make us 7 second-class and, if I may, "niggerize" us 8 into moments of embarrassment, not only as 9 individuals, as a community, but also as a 10 society. 11 So this is an important resolution 12 because of how much it speaks to our values as 13 a body, our values as a state, our values as a 14 country. 15 And so to that movement that has 16 joined us today to help us understand and to 17 be sensitive to the use of this particular 18 word, I want to thank them for their 19 leadership, encourage them to continue to be 20 brave and to be visionary about themselves and 21 about what we can accomplish as legislators 22 and as citizens in this state. 23 And I again want to thank my 24 colleague for allowing me to be a part of this 25 effort to ban the "R" word once and for all.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Thank you so much. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 3 DeFrancisco. 4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you. 5 Senator Libous beat me to the 6 punch, because what I wanted to talk about was 7 the Special Olympics. 8 I had the honor of being at the 9 opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics, 10 the Special Olympics in Syracuse, and to 11 observe those opening ceremonies was truly a 12 pleasure. Not only were the Olympians there 13 from all the regions of the state, but the 14 community support, whether it be from the 15 Syracuse University Basketball Team, the 16 cheerleaders, the high school teams -- it was 17 really marvelous. 18 And the impression that I left with 19 the most is that, you know, I've gone to 20 enough sporting events in my life and 21 participated in many, many more, is that this 22 sporting event was truly special. Everybody, 23 no matter what the ability level was, truly 24 left this auditorium and left the fields or 25 the hills feeling that they were winners. And

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 that's a real important thing. 2 And I'll never forget, as long as I 3 live, there were two Syracuse University 4 basketball players at the lead of each region 5 that was represented in the Special Olympics. 6 And there was one young participant who had 7 her arm around Wes Johnson, the Most Valuable 8 Player in the Big East this year. Wouldn't 9 let go. She was grabbing onto him, he was 10 obviously her hero, and he was smiling from 11 ear to ear. And it showed the importance of 12 the affection going both ways at these 13 particular ceremonies. 14 And the last thing I want to say, 15 the other part that I remember, is the ovation 16 that Neal Johnson got every time his name was 17 mentioned. And the only thing I request in 18 return for cosponsoring this legislation is 19 that Neal doesn't run against me. 20 (Laughter.) 21 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you, 22 Madam President. I gladly cosponsor this bill 23 and speak in favor of it. Thank you. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Thank 25 you.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Robach. 2 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes, Madam 3 President. I too rise, very briefly. 4 This is somewhat, I guess, even a 5 little bit of not only an important day but an 6 emotional one in some regard for me. We all 7 love the Special Olympics. I've had a sister 8 who's now 47 years old who's participated in 9 it. 10 But more importantly, I've been so 11 proud of New York State, which has done so 12 much more for only Special Olympics, to let 13 people with extra challenges compete, enjoy 14 the athleticism, accomplishment, what we've 15 done in day treatment, also work experience, 16 giving people with developmental disabilities 17 in this state an opportunity to work, earn 18 some money, and housing and so many other 19 things. 20 And I just wanted to applaud and 21 say I think today is a good day, Senator 22 Maziarz, Senator Morahan, Senator Perkins, for 23 this resolution as well. We should stamp out 24 that word, because it really has come to mean 25 that those people somehow are judged

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 differently or substandard when all of us in 2 this room who deal with people on an everyday 3 basis know that every single person, every 4 human being has the same thing. We all want 5 to enjoy things, we all want to have comfort, 6 we all want to feel loved. 7 And it's no different for people in 8 the developmentally disabled population group. 9 Though they may be dealing with some extra 10 challenges, it's the same. 11 So today is a good day in this 12 chamber that we're doing this resolution, and 13 I hope is a further step of showing our love 14 for all of our citizens. And many of those, I 15 think, if you look at anybody's family, 16 somewhere in there, or your neighbor's family, 17 somebody is going to be in that group. It's 18 good that we continue to move down this path 19 of civility and wipe out this word that, at 20 best, is passe if not misrepresentative. 21 And I thank everyone for joining in 22 on this. Happy to do so as well. 23 Thank you, Madam President. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 25 Alesi.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, Madam 2 President. 3 We have some people in the 4 gallery -- and I know normally we don't 5 acknowledge them, but from my area that are 6 very special to me. And they're with someone 7 who is very special to all of us, someone who 8 would be the recipient of discrimination with 9 the word that we are today officially being 10 asked to ban. 11 Just as Senator Perkins pointed 12 out, there are other words in our English 13 language that we have already determined are 14 brutally harmful, discriminatory. Senator 15 Duane has pointed these out to us on numerous 16 occasions. 17 So there is a whole list of words 18 that we have come to know that are not just 19 discriminatory but, as I said, brutally 20 painful to those people that are on the 21 receiving end, and equally painful to their 22 families and their friends and the people that 23 work so hard to take special members of our 24 population and make sure that their lives are 25 meaningful.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 We talked about Special Olympics. 2 Tomorrow it is my hope that we will have the 3 opportunity to have a privileged resolution on 4 the floor acknowledging the 40th anniversary 5 of Special Olympics in New York State. 6 But let's be certain, the heroes 7 that we recognize in the Special Olympics -- 8 and they rightfully deserve our recognition 9 and our praise -- don't make up all of the 10 population of people who are challenged. So 11 recognizing that every one of us has an 12 obligation to be respectful and to be 13 intelligent in the way we speak about our 14 fellow human beings, include not just those 15 people that we're talking about today but all 16 of us, every member of our society. I 17 mentioned Senator Perkins and Senator Duane. 18 We're also, tomorrow, going to 19 recognize, as I said, the achievements of 20 Special Olympics. But we should also, while 21 we're doing that, recognize the achievements 22 of all those people who are good of heart and 23 pure of spirit and embrace -- not just because 24 we're standing here on the floor, but embrace 25 the true meaning of what this resolution is

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 meant to do. 2 In closing, I would again like to 3 welcome my friends here and thank them for 4 being an inspiration to us, and I'd also like 5 to thank Senator Morahan for his work on his 6 committee and his commitment to get this 7 resolution passed today. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are 9 there any other Senators that wish to speak on 10 this resolution? 11 Senator Larkin. 12 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, Madam 13 President. 14 You know, I just wish Tom could 15 have been here today, because he has devoted 16 so much time of his life before he ever came 17 here to this cause. 18 You know, I just heard my good 19 friend Jim Alesi talk about certain things. I 20 have always had the impression that, you know, 21 some people say, you know, they're disabled, 22 they're retarded. I hate that word. They're 23 physically challenged. 24 Every year at the United States 25 Military Academy we have one of the biggest

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 projects that goes on with our Special 2 Olympics, when all of these people come from 3 all over the Hudson Valley, and about a 4 thousand to 1500 cadets, male and female, get 5 involved with these individuals and show them 6 and promote them and entertain them in the 7 light that they are just as good as anybody 8 else. 9 And until one of these days when we 10 stop -- you know, it's true, Senator Perkins 11 just said about using words. Maybe we ought 12 to all extend ourselves and tell people that, 13 you know, they may be different, but they're 14 still the same as we are, human beings. 15 Thank you very much. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 17 LaValle. 18 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you, 19 Madam President. 20 I rise to speak on this resolution. 21 I think it's very important that we recognize 22 Special Olympics and people with special 23 needs. 24 In the mid-1970s, this state and 25 indeed our country really turned a corner in

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 providing legislation both at the state level 2 and federal level to provide a free and 3 appropriate education for students with 4 handicapping conditions. Those were the words 5 that were articulated in the mid-1970s. 6 With each decade, we have made huge 7 changes in opportunities for employment, 8 opportunities for housing, opportunities for 9 transportation. At one time those were things 10 that were kind of a dream put off, and it all 11 began to come together. 12 The Special Olympics provides 13 another opportunity for individuals to be all 14 that they can be. And today in our country, 15 and certainly in this state, there is nothing, 16 no impediment that an individual faces that 17 they cannot overcome. 18 And so we have made huge changes 19 since the 1970s to this 2010. And I look 20 forward to seeing that we can truly, truly, 21 truly have a brotherhood where there is no 22 discrimination and everyone has the 23 opportunity to be all that they can be. 24 Thank you, Madam President. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 there any other Senators wishing to be heard 2 on this resolution? 3 Seeing none, the question is on the 4 resolution. All those in favor please signify 5 by saying aye. 6 (Response of "Aye.") 7 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: 8 Opposed, nay. 9 (No response.) 10 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 11 resolution is adopted. 12 Senator Morahan has indicated that 13 he would like to open this resolution up to 14 the entire body for cosponsorship. Any 15 Senator wishing not to be on the resolution 16 please inform the desk. 17 Senator Klein. 18 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 19 at this time I move we take up Senate 20 Resolution Number 4227, by Senator Onorato. I 21 ask that the title of the resolution be read 22 and move for its immediate adoption and allow 23 Senator Onorato to speak on his resolution. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 25 Secretary will read.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 2 Onorato, Legislative Resolution Number 4227, 3 commemorating the 99th Anniversary of the 4 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire on March 25, 5 2010. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 7 Onorato. 8 SENATOR ONORATO: Thank you, 9 Madam President. 10 I rise today to invite everybody 11 here to join on this resolution by carrying on 12 the tradition of a very dear friend of our 13 ours, one of our former colleagues, Senator 14 Serph Maltese, who introduced this resolution 15 for many, many years, who lost members of his 16 immediate family in the fire. 17 And on next Wednesday, on 18 March 23rd, we will be having a ceremony right 19 downstairs in the mall right outside of the 20 Key Bank, at 1:30, for a ceremony with the 21 Commissioner of Labor. And we invite 22 everyone, if it's at all possible to put it on 23 your schedule, to take part in this ceremony. 24 Thank you. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Are

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 there any other Senators wishing to be heard 2 on this resolution? 3 There being none, the question is 4 on the resolution. All those in favor please 5 signify by saying aye. 6 (Response of "Aye.") 7 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: 8 Opposed, nay. 9 (No response.) 10 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: The 11 resolution is adopted. 12 Senator Onorato has indicated that 13 he would like to open this resolution up to 14 the entire body for cosponsorship. Any 15 Senator not wishing to be on the resolution 16 please inform the desk. 17 Senator Klein. 18 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 19 on behalf of Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson, 20 there will be a meeting of the Majority 21 Conference in the Majority Conference Room at 22 5 o'clock. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Meeting 24 of the Senate Majority in the Majority 25 Conference Room at 5 o'clock.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Klein. 2 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 3 is there any further business at the desk? 4 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: Senator 5 Klein, the desk is clear. 6 SENATOR KLEIN: There being none, 7 Madam President, I move that we adjourn until 8 Wednesday, March 17th, at 1:00 p.m. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT SAVINO: There 10 being no further business to come before the 11 Senate, on motion, the Senate stands adjourned 12 until Wednesday, March 17th, at 1:00 p.m. 13 (Whereupon, at 4:37 p.m., the 14 Senate adjourned.) 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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