Wednesday, March 17, 2010

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 March 17, 2010 11 3:35 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 for a moment of silence. 12 (Whereupon, the assemblage 13 respected a moment of silence.) 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Senator Klein. 16 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 17 I would like to introduce the Honorable Joseph 18 Teresi, from the Supreme Court of Albany 19 County, who will be swearing in a new Senator 20 today. 21 Judge Teresi. 22 JUDGE TERESI: I, Jose Peralta -- 23 SENATOR PERALTA: I, Jose 24 Peralta -- 25 JUDGE TERESI: -- do solemnly

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 swear -- 2 SENATOR PERALTA: -- do solemnly 3 swear -- 4 JUDGE TERESI: -- that I will 5 support the Constitution of the United 6 States -- 7 SENATOR PERALTA: -- that I will 8 support the Constitution of the United 9 States -- 10 JUDGE TERESI: -- and the 11 Constitution of the State of New York -- 12 SENATOR PERALTA: -- and the 13 Constitution of the State of New York -- 14 JUDGE TERESI: -- and will 15 faithfully discharge -- 16 SENATOR PERALTA: -- and will 17 faithfully discharge -- 18 JUDGE TERESI: -- the duties 19 of -- 20 SENATOR PERALTA: -- the duties 21 of -- 22 JUDGE TERESI: -- Senator of the 23 State of New York -- 24 SENATOR PERALTA: -- Senator of 25 the State of New York --

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 JUDGE TERESI: -- Thirteenth 2 District -- 3 SENATOR PERALTA: -- Thirteenth 4 District -- 5 JUDGE TERESI: -- according to 6 the best of my abilities -- 7 SENATOR PERALTA: -- according to 8 the best of my abilities -- 9 JUDGE TERESI: -- so help me God. 10 SENATOR PERALTA: -- so help me 11 God. 12 JUDGE TERESI: Congratulations, 13 Senator. 14 SENATOR PERALTA: Thank you. 15 (Extended standing ovation.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 Congratulations, Senator Peralta. 18 Senator Peralta is joined on the 19 Senate floor today by his wife, Evelyn; his 20 son, Miles; his parents, Rosa and Jose; his 21 brothers Edgar and Mayo; his sister-in-law 22 Evelyn; his sister Cindy; and his cousin 23 Leonore. 24 Again, we welcome you, Senator 25 Peralta, and congratulations.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 (Applause.) 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 Senator Klein. 4 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 5 at this time can you please recognize Senator 6 Sampson for an introduction. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 8 Senator Sampson. 9 SENATOR SAMPSON: Thank you very 10 much, Madam President. 11 At this time I want to congratulate 12 our newest colleague, Senator Jose Peralta. 13 But most of all, I want to congratulate your 14 wife, Evelyn; your son, Miles; and truly, most 15 of all, your parents, Jose and Rosa, because 16 if not for them, you wouldn't be in the 17 position you are today. 18 The Senator joins us in extremely 19 difficult times in New York. New Yorkers are 20 struggling not only to pay the bills, keep 21 their jobs, but most of all feed their 22 families. This is truly unacceptable. 23 Today, the Senate welcomes a new 24 member who will help us find that common 25 ground in bipartisan solutions to the crisis

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 we all face. And as myself and Senator Skelos 2 understand, we love bipartisanship. Am I 3 correct, Senator Skelos? 4 As a first-generation 5 Dominican-American and the first ever elected 6 to the State of New York Senate, Jose Peralta 7 knows about struggle. He knows about the 8 difficult choices that families are making on 9 a day-to-day basis just to survive. 10 His parents came to this country in 11 search of the American dream and a better life 12 for their children, just like my parents came 13 to America looking for a better way of life 14 for their children. Now, Senator Peralta 15 joins us to make it happen. 16 As a graduate of the New York City 17 public schools system, but most of all the 18 CUNY system, he understands what a quality 19 education means. It means opportunity. 20 As a leading advocate for 21 protecting the rights of new immigrants, 22 Senator Peralta knows the importance of 23 offering steppingstones to economic and social 24 equality. 25 As a vocal supporter of tenants

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 rights, Senator Peralta knows quality and 2 affordable housing is the foundation for good 3 schools, safe streets, but most of all 4 successful businesses. 5 Senator, I want to welcome you here 6 to this chamber. It's so important, 7 especially during this period of time, to let 8 everyone know that decorum but, most of all, a 9 sense of calm is here in the State Senate. 10 A lot of people have different 11 names that they've tried to characterize us, 12 but people need to understand that what we are 13 fighting for is making sure people can pay 14 their bills, put food on their table, give 15 their children an opportunity that they didn't 16 have, but most of all making sure healthcare 17 is accessible for everyone. 18 Senator, for joining us in that 19 fight. We will continue in that fight to make 20 sure that everyone, the 19.5 million people 21 here in the State of New York, are fully 22 represented -- not by 32 Senators, but all 62 23 Senators in the State of New York, because we 24 owe that to the people of the State of 25 New York.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Congratulations. 2 (Applause.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 Senator Klein. 5 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 6 can you please recognize Senator Skelos for an 7 introduction. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 Senator Skelos. 10 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you very 11 much, Madam President. 12 It's just like deja vu, referring 13 to you as Madam President as we did a little 14 less than a year ago. 15 And my first caveat to Senator 16 Peralta -- and we do welcome you -- is when it 17 comes to June, if Senator Espada starts going 18 like this to you and smiling at you, be 19 careful. 20 (Laughter.) 21 SENATOR SKELOS: Whenever we have 22 a new Senator that is sworn in, it really is a 23 great occasion for all of us, both Republicans 24 and Democrats, because although we have -- we 25 certainly have differences as we move through

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the legislative process, there is a mutual 2 respect that we have for each other within 3 this chamber. 4 And certainly as we move through 5 the balance of this legislative year, 6 hopefully there will be bipartisanship, 7 hopefully there will be transparency, 8 hopefully there will be openness in the 9 process. 10 I know, with all of us, I'm going 11 to agree with Senator Sampson that there will 12 be no tax increases or fee increases in this 13 budget, there will be spending cuts, there 14 will be economic development, there will be 15 real property tax relief, and what we all 16 agree upon, there will be no debt and no 17 borrowing to get us by the situation we are in 18 right now. 19 So, Senator Peralta, I look at you 20 and I go back to 26 years ago when I was first 21 sworn in, and I was holding my son, who was at 22 that time six -- no, actually, he was less, he 23 was three or four. And I look at you now with 24 your family and your son, and reflect upon how 25 fast time goes and how, you know, we see our

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 children grow, we see how we grow 2 professionally, hopefully, within this body. 3 But it's always great to see a new 4 young Senator with their family, with their 5 children. And so I welcome you on behalf of 6 our conference. I know that we will work 7 cooperatively together. As I said, there will 8 be differences of opinion. But I also want to 9 say that, with Senator Sampson, I think the 10 tone is changing here, I think you are seeing 11 an attempt to have more bipartisanship. 12 And the bottom line is the end 13 result, and hopefully we can get there in a 14 direction that we all can live with in a 15 positive way for the people of this state. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 Thank you, Senator. 18 The reading of the Journal. 19 The Secretary will read. 20 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 21 Tuesday, March 16, the Senate met pursuant to 22 adjournment. The Journal of Monday, March 15, 23 was read and approved. On motion, Senate 24 adjourned. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Without objection, the Journal stands approved 2 as read. 3 Presentation of petitions. 4 Messages from the Assembly. 5 Messages from the Governor. 6 Reports of standing committees. 7 Reports of select committees. 8 Communications and reports from 9 state officers. 10 Motions and resolutions. 11 Senator Klein. 12 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 13 are there any substitutions at the desk? 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 There are substitutions at the desk. 16 The Secretary will read. 17 THE SECRETARY: On page 10, 18 Senator Thompson moves to discharge, from the 19 Committee on Environmental Conservation, 20 Assembly Bill Number 4110A and substitute it 21 for the identical Senate Bill Number 4950A, 22 Third Reading Calendar 83. 23 On page 15, Senator Valesky moves 24 to discharge, from the Committee on Finance, 25 Assembly Bill Number 5873 and substitute it

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 for the identical Senate Bill Number 4284, 2 Third Reading Calendar 203. 3 On page 15, Senator Morahan moves 4 to discharge, from the Committee on Elections, 5 Assembly Bill Number 3910A and substitute it 6 for the identical Senate Bill Number 1535A, 7 Third Reading Calendar 209. 8 On page 16, Senator C. Johnson 9 moves to discharge, from the Committee on 10 Investigations and Government Operations, 11 Assembly Bill Number 6484A and substitute it 12 for the identical Senate Bill Number 6134A, 13 Third Reading Calendar 214. 14 And on page 19, Senator Oppenheimer 15 moves to discharge, from the Committee on 16 Rules, Assembly Bill Number 10196 and 17 substitute it for the identical Senate Bill 18 Number 7054, Third Reading Calendar 260. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 Substitutions ordered. 21 Senator Klein. 22 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 23 I believe there's a resolution at the desk by 24 Senator Volker. I ask that the resolution be 25 read in its entirety and move for its

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 immediate adoption. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 Senator Klein, has this resolution been deemed 4 privileged and submitted by the office of the 5 Temporary President? 6 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has, 7 Madam President. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 The Secretary will read. 10 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 11 Volker, legislative resolution honoring 12 St. Patrick and all persons of Irish descent 13 upon the occasion of the 2010 celebration of 14 St. Patrick's Day. 15 "WHEREAS, A native of Roman 16 Britain, Patrick was the son of Calpornius, a 17 civil servant and deacon; and 18 "WHEREAS, Tradition has it that at 19 age 16 Patrick was captured, along with all 20 the servants of his father's estate, by Irish 21 marauders, then sold to a Druid chief and 22 taken to what is now known as County Antrim, 23 in the Province of Ulster, Ireland; and 24 "WHEREAS, During his six years of 25 captivity, Patrick's occupation as a slave was

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the tending of flocks of swine and sheep; and 2 "WHEREAS, While in Ireland, Patrick 3 learned the Irish language and customs; and 4 "WHEREAS, During this period, 5 Patrick experienced a religious awakening, 6 with the Christian teachings of his family and 7 pastors taking hold during his captivity; and 8 "WHEREAS, Driven by visions urging 9 him to return to his native land, Patrick 10 escaped his captors, undertaking a perilous 11 journey in the process; and 12 "WHEREAS, Upon his return home, 13 Patrick dedicated his life to religion, 14 studying in France, where he was ordained a 15 priest and later consecrated a bishop; and 16 "WHEREAS, It was Pope Celestine I 17 who named him Patricius and sent him back to 18 Ireland, where he tangled with the Druids over 19 religious beliefs and where his efforts to 20 convert the Irish to the Catholic faith were 21 untiring, as seen today in the significant 22 presence of God in Irish life; and 23 "WHEREAS, It was the example and 24 fervor of Patrick's faith that inspired and 25 rekindled the lamp of learning in Ireland

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 which shone throughout the British Isles and 2 the rest of Europe, and which sustained the 3 people of Ireland through famine, oppression 4 and exile; and 5 "WHEREAS, As United States 6 President John Fitzgerald Kennedy observed, 7 Ireland has hemorrhaged herself to enrich the 8 lifebloods of other nations around the world, 9 where its sons and daughters have risen to 10 prominent positions as pioneers, educators, 11 military commanders, and government leaders, 12 even ascending to the presidency of both 13 France and the United States; and 14 "WHEREAS, It was his faith that 15 earned Patrick not only sainthood but the 16 everlasting love and respect of the Irish 17 people; and 18 "WHEREAS, As we honor St. Patrick, 19 whose life mirrored a deep and abiding example 20 of the challenges of sainthood, we are mindful 21 of the history of the Irish people and their 22 struggle against oppression, religious 23 intolerance, and political, social and 24 economic barriers; now, therefore, be it 25 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Body pause in its deliberations to most 2 joyously commemorate the life and good works 3 of St. Patrick and to express its sincerest 4 prayers and hopes that the 1998 peace 5 agreement known as the Good Friday Accord will 6 lead to a lasting reconciliation between the 7 Christian populations of Northern Ireland and 8 bring true peace and freedom for all the 9 people of Northern Ireland; and be it further 10 "RESOLVED, That copies of this 11 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 12 to His Excellency Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop 13 of New York; Raymond W. Kelly, 248th Grand 14 Marshal of the New York City St. Patrick's Day 15 Parade; and John P. Dunleavy, chairman of the 16 New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade, on the 17 17th of March, 2010." 18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 19 Senator Volker. 20 SENATOR VOLKER: Thank you, Madam 21 President. 22 As Senator Padavan just said to me, 23 the tradition is that St. Patrick was actually 24 a relative of Italian descent. And although 25 that has been some subject of dispute, it is

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 probably correct that he was of Italian 2 descent. 3 People ask me sometimes, because my 4 name is Volker, whether I am of Irish descent. 5 And the answer is I absolutely am. My 6 great-grandfather on my father's side came 7 from Alsace-Lorraine, Stuttgart. He was tired 8 of being British one year and French the next. 9 But on my grandfather's side on my mother's 10 side, my grandfather came directly from 11 Ireland, Martin O'Neill. And I have numerous 12 relatives with Irish names. 13 And I've been at times the vice 14 chairman of the American Irish Legislators. 15 We've already had our St. Patrick's Day party, 16 which was very, very successful. And a number 17 of you were there, and we appreciate it very 18 much. 19 I would like to wish everybody here 20 a joyous St. Patrick's Day. And I would 21 suggest that everybody here tip a glass of 22 something to the Irish people and to 23 St. Patrick. 24 And thank you for the opportunity 25 to read a history of St. Patrick. And best of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 luck, and happy St. Patrick's Day. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 Thank you so much, Senator. 4 Are there any other Senators 5 wishing to speak on the resolution? 6 Senator Volker has asked that we 7 open the resolution for everyone in the 8 chamber. Should you not wish to be on the 9 resolution, please notify the desk. 10 Now, the question is on the 11 resolution. All those in favor signify by 12 saying aye. 13 (Response of "Aye.") 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Opposed, nay. 16 (No response.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 18 The resolution is adopted. 19 Senator Klein. 20 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 21 I believe there's a resolution at the desk by 22 Senator Maziarz. I ask that the title of the 23 resolution be read and move for its immediate 24 adoption. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Klein, has this resolution been deemed 2 privileged and submitted by the office of the 3 Temporary President? 4 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has, 5 Madam President. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 7 Thank you. 8 The Secretary will read. 9 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 10 Maziarz, legislative resolution commemorating 11 the 100th Anniversary of the Albion Future 12 Farmers of America. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 14 Senator Maziarz. 15 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 16 much, Madam President. 17 Just very briefly, I want to rise 18 to invite all my colleagues to sign onto this 19 resolution congratulating and memorializing 20 the 100th anniversary of these young people at 21 Albion High School who have for 100 years been 22 one of the first Future Farmers of America 23 chapters in the State of New York and 24 interested in our leading industry, 25 agriculture.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And they've done a great job over 2 the past hundred years. And the students that 3 are involved today do an excellent job about 4 this very important industry in our state. 5 Thank you, Madam President. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 7 Thank you, Senator Maziarz. 8 Are there any other Senators 9 wishing to speak on the resolution? 10 Hearing none, the question is on 11 the resolution. All those in favor signify by 12 saying aye. 13 (Response of "Aye.") 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Opposed, nay. 16 (No response.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 18 The resolution is adopted. 19 And Senator Maziarz has already 20 asked all of us, should we wish, to cosponsor, 21 to be part of this resolution. Of course any 22 Senator wishing not to be on the resolution 23 should inform the desk. 24 While we are paused for a moment, I 25 just wanted to take the privilege to recognize

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 some students from my district, the 35th 2 District, who are from the Greenburgh Academy, 3 joined by parents of some of the students and 4 their advisor, Kurt Kennemeyer. 5 These students are here just to see 6 what happens in the chambers. And also they 7 are here at my invitation, because they went 8 for a 10-day journey to South Africa, where 9 they brought aid to AIDS orphans and fed 10 people and understood how important they were 11 to people all over the world. So these 12 students are to be congratulated. 13 We have in our midst Kariel Paul, 14 Martin Rosario, Ainello Prisco, Pihwa Ni, and 15 Adrian Ceneno, all humanitarians at this very, 16 very young age. Thank you so much for what 17 you've done. 18 (Applause.) 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 Senator Klein. 21 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 22 I believe there's a resolution at the desk by 23 Senator Alesi. I ask that the title of the 24 resolution be read and move for its immediate 25 adoption.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 2 Senator Klein, has this resolution been deemed 3 privileged and submitted by the office of the 4 Temporary President? 5 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has, 6 Madam President. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 8 The Secretary will read. 9 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Alesi, 10 Senate resolution memorializing Governor David 11 A. Paterson to proclaim March 17, 2010, as 12 Special Olympics New York Day in the State of 13 New York, in recognition of the celebration of 14 the 40th anniversary. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 16 Senator Alesi. 17 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, Madam 18 President. 19 My colleagues, we universally 20 acknowledge that March 17th is St. Patrick's 21 Day. And all of us collectively, without 22 regard to our own background, where we come 23 from, know that the 17th is a special day. 24 As you know, the Assembly passed a 25 resolution just a few days ago also asking the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Governor to recognize March 17th as another 2 special day for some very special people, and 3 those are the people involved in Special 4 Olympics. 5 And so the resolution at hand asks 6 the Governor to declare March 17th as 7 acknowledging and remembering, memorializing 8 March 17th as the 40th anniversary of the 9 Special Olympics. 10 In the gallery we have some of 11 those Special Olympians and the people that 12 work with them, the people that through their 13 noble pursuit, their volunteerism, the 14 families, the staff, and of course the 15 athletes themselves -- as you can see, some of 16 them wearing their medals. 17 An inspiration to all of us. 18 Because as we know, yesterday we passed 19 another special resolution. And as they 20 continue to pursue the things in their various 21 endeavors in sports -- and I know I was 22 talking with Kathryn today, and some of the 23 other ones earlier, about what sports they are 24 involved in -- that they are pursuing not only 25 excellence, as we should all strive to, but

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 they do it in such a meaningful and friendly 2 way. And an inspiration to all of us, things 3 that we could learn from them and apply to our 4 own everyday lives. 5 I welcome them. And as the 6 resolution states, it does call on the 7 Governor to make March 17th Special Olympics 8 Day. 9 And in closing, I know I wanted to 10 defer my time to Senator Libous, who for two 11 years in a row was the state chairman of the 12 New York State Special Olympics. 13 And I couldn't let the opportunity 14 go by to once again welcome Senator Peralta to 15 this esteemed chamber. 16 Thank you, Madam President. And 17 good luck to all of the athletes. And thank 18 you for your inspiration. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 Thank you, Senator. 21 (Applause.) 22 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 23 We really congratulate you for all that you 24 do. In your efforts, you inspire us. Thank 25 you.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Libous, did you wish to 2 speak? 3 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, Madam 4 President. I just want to rise, as I did 5 yesterday, and again salute our special 6 Olympians. 7 I was privileged, like a lot of our 8 colleagues, to attend the 11 o'clock 40th 9 anniversary today. And it was a show of the 10 red shirts, as Neal Johnson has said, and our 11 athletes that are there. 12 I want to say that every time I am 13 around those folks who are involved in Special 14 Olympics, I get an extra spring in my step. 15 And today I learned that -- can anybody here 16 dead lift about 450 pounds? Well, guess what. 17 We have a Special Olympian who can. And 18 that's a pretty remarkable feat for anybody. 19 So I again say happy 40th 20 anniversary to Special Olympics. I look 21 forward, as I know my colleagues do, to 22 working with you, being with you, and handing 23 out many of those great medals that you so 24 deserve each time that you compete. 25 God bless you.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 (Applause.) 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 Is there any other Senator wishing to speak on 4 the resolution? 5 Senator Alesi. 6 SENATOR ALESI: Madam President, 7 would you be kind enough to open sponsorship 8 to all members? 9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 10 Certainly, Senator Alesi. 11 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 13 The question is on the resolution. All those 14 in favor please signify by saying aye. 15 (Response of "Aye.") 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 Opposed, nay. 18 (No response.) 19 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 20 The resolution is adopted. 21 And, Senator Alesi, as you've 22 heard, has indicated that he would like all of 23 us to cosponsor the resolution. Of course, 24 any Senator wishing not to be on the 25 resolution should notify the desk.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Congratulations again. 2 (Applause.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 Senator Klein. 5 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 6 at this time can we please move to a reading 7 of the calendar. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 The Secretary will read. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 69, by Senator Klein, Senate Print -- 12 SENATOR LIBOUS: Lay it aside, 13 please. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 The bill is laid aside. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 86, by Senator Foley, Senate Print 5945A, an 18 act to amend the Election Law, in relation to 19 authorizing registration records. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 Read the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 23 act shall take effect immediately. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 25 Call the roll.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 (The Secretary called the roll.) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 The bill is passed. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 147, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 3632B, 7 concurrent resolution of the Senate and 8 Assembly proposing an amendment to Section 26 9 of Article 6 of the Constitution. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 Call the roll. 12 (The Secretary called the roll.) 13 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 14 Announce the results. 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 The bill is passed. The concurrent resolution 18 is adopted. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 232, by Senator Addabbo, Senate Print 6906, an 21 act to amend the Election Law, in relation to 22 write-in votes. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 24 Read the last section. 25 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. 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, 58. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 The bill is passed. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 233, by Senator Addabbo, Senate Print 6907, an 12 act to amend the Election Law, in relation to 13 poll-site marking utensils. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 Read the last section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 17 act shall take effect immediately. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 19 Call the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll.) 21 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 22 Announce the results. 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 25 The bill is passed.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 234, by Senator Addabbo, Senate Print 6908, an 3 act to amend the Election Law, in relation to 4 write-in votes. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 6 Read the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 8 act shall take effect immediately. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 10 Call the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll.) 12 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 13 Announce the results. 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 16 The bill is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 237, by Senator Breslin, Senate Print 6769, an 19 act to amend the Lien Law, in relation to lien 20 filings. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 22 Read the last section. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 24 act shall take effect immediately. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS:

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Call the roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 Announce the results. 5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 7 The bill is passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 240, by Member of the Assembly Gottfried, 10 Assembly Print Number 723, an act to amend the 11 Public Health Law and the Insurance Law. 12 SENATOR KLEIN: Lay the bill 13 aside for the day, please. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 15 The bill is laid aside for the day. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 244, by Senator Stachowski, Senate Print 18 6816A, an act to amend the Alcoholic 19 Beverage -- 20 SENATOR KLEIN: Lay the bill 21 aside for the day, please. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 23 The bill is laid aside for the day. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 25 249, by Senator Huntley, Senate Print 3485, an

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law, in 2 relation to authorizing release. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 4 Read the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 6 act shall take effect immediately. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 8 Call the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll.) 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 Announce the results. 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 58. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 14 The bill is passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 250, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 1417A, 17 an act to amend the Education Law, in relation 18 to changing eligibility dates. 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 Senator Klein, that completes the 7 reading of the noncontroversial calendar. 8 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 9 at this time can we please move to a reading 10 of the controversial calendar. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 12 The Secretary will ring the bell. 13 Members are all asked to come to 14 the chamber for the controversial reading of 15 the calendar. 16 The Secretary will read. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 69, by Senator Klein, Senate Print 706D, an 19 act to amend the Tax Law. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 21 Senator Padavan. 22 SENATOR PADAVAN: Thank you, 23 Madam President. 24 I'm not going to ask Senator Klein 25 to yield to a question or two, because I

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 know -- I think we all know what this bill 2 does, and we all know the problem that we're 3 dealing with. 4 I recently sent all of you a memo 5 talking about the problems that we have in 6 New York State as it relates to problem 7 gambling. Parenthetically, let me advise all 8 of you, if you didn't notice that memo, that 9 March, nationally, is Gambling Awareness 10 Month. 11 And in recognition of that fact, 12 our State Commission of the Office of 13 Substance Abuse proposed that we not advertise 14 for one week during this month all of the 15 various games of chance that are sponsored and 16 promoted by the State of New York, and to use 17 that money to make more people aware of the 18 problems of compulsive gambling and problem 19 gambling. And of course, as you might expect, 20 she was totally ignored. 21 And what this bill does, it ignores 22 the fact that in New York State we have over a 23 million people -- and this is not my number, 24 it's a number that comes as a result of a 25 survey and a study sponsored by our state

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 agency and echoed by the Office of Compulsive 2 Gambling, Commission on Compulsive Gambling -- 3 over a million people who are problem or 4 addicted compulsive gamblers. 5 The damage they do to themselves is 6 significant. You can multiply that number by 7 three in terms of those who are affected -- 8 family members, businesses -- by virtue of the 9 problems that manifest themselves vis-a-vis 10 these individuals. Larceny, incarceration, 11 social services, business failure, all the way 12 down the list. And among them, suicides, as a 13 result of getting addicted. 14 And who is the major culprit? The 15 State of New York. Who has promoted, year 16 after year, every year virtually I've been 17 here, one more gambling venue after the other. 18 And when the VLTs were promoted, 19 you know, they were with certain 20 restrictions -- 16 hours a day, 2:00 a.m. 21 curfew. That's eliminated by this bill. It 22 now goes to 140 hours per week, which if you 23 divide it by seven is roughly 20 hours a 24 day -- actually, exactly 20 hours a day. So 25 except for four hours in each 24-hour cycle,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 these racinos will be going full-steam. Las 2 Vegas of the East -- gambling all the time. 3 In addition, what the bill does, it 4 puts in statute the replicative types of 5 gambling that we find in casinos -- roulette, 6 baccarat, poker, all in there by virtue of 7 law. And that's what this bill would do. So 8 you have virtual casinos. You have one in 9 Yonkers, you have one upstate, and of course 10 we know about the one proposed for Aqueduct. 11 And who will fall victim to these 12 new opportunities? Well, all the studies, 13 again, tell us they are middle-to-low-income 14 people. 15 And the economists tell us time 16 after time -- and it's very rare that 17 economists will agree, but they all agree that 18 unless you attract people great distances to 19 your region or state, you don't make any 20 money. They call it a zero-sum game. 21 As a matter of fact, there's an 22 economist in one of the states, one of the 23 universities, who says for every dollar 24 gambled, you lose three because of the 25 businesses that are impacted upon, the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 individuals who are impacted upon, the costs 2 that I mentioned earlier, and so on. 3 So here we are in the month of 4 March, National Gambling Awareness month. And 5 what are we doing? We're increasing gambling 6 opportunities in the State of New York. What 7 a travesty. At least you could have waited 8 until April, Senator, you know, when we 9 weren't in the middle of this month of 10 awareness where our state commission is trying 11 to do something positive, failed and being 12 ignored, and all the other things that are 13 going on. 14 Well, I think you got the point. I 15 think it's about time we said no, we've got 16 enough. And this bill certainly falls in the 17 category of being more than enough. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 19 Senator Saland. 20 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, Madam 21 President. On the bill. 22 This particular bill I believe is 23 proposing to amend a section of the law which 24 was buried in one of our budgets several years 25 ago. And at the time there were a number of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 restrictions imposed, the purpose of which was 2 to deal with some of the many issues that 3 Senator Padavan has just raised in his 4 comments, comments which I certainly can 5 substantially identify with and which account 6 for the reason why I previously voted against 7 this bill. 8 But I'd like to look at this in 9 another context. In our lust for revenue -- 10 and that's what this is about, our lust for 11 revenue -- we are seeking to take this already 12 dubious means of raising revenue and expanding 13 upon it. 14 And for those people who are now 15 discussing, whether it be in forums, in the 16 media, in op-ed pieces, the so-called Ravitch 17 proposal, what kind of signal are we sending 18 when we can't even curb our voracious appetite 19 in this minute corner of the state's revenue 20 spectrum when given the opportunity, should 21 that opportunity befall us, to have the 22 Ravitch Commission proposal as part of our 23 governance? It is really sort of bar the 24 doors. God only knows what will happen once 25 we have done that.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 So if we can't police ourselves in 2 this relatively minuscule area, why would 3 anybody hold that hope that the Ravitch 4 proposal will do anything that will enable us 5 to police ourselves any better? 6 I will be voting in the negative. 7 Thank you, Madam President. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 9 Senator Diaz. 10 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, Madam 11 President. 12 Senator Saland just said that 13 because of the fiscal situation that we are 14 facing in the State of New York, we should not 15 say no to gambling. 16 But, you know, gambling, gambling 17 is a habit. Gambling is people get addicted 18 to it. And I see -- I have seen people that 19 have lost their homes, their families. I have 20 seen people that have gambled the rice and 21 beans of their children, because when they get 22 used to gambling, they do -- people do all 23 kinds of things that they don't think. 24 I understand, Madam President, that 25 we have a very difficult fiscal situation with

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the state and that we are supposed to come up 2 with ideas to bring money. 3 Well, I have brought ideas. No 4 gambling, good ideas. And Senator Saland and 5 the Senator have not joined together with me. 6 For example, I have been telling 7 this chamber that we could find $500 million 8 if we forced the credit card companies to send 9 the taxes straight to the state coffers and 10 not back to the merchants. Easy. Let's force 11 the credit card companies to send the taxes 12 that are owed to the state straight to the 13 state and not back to the merchants, and the 14 state will save $500 million. 15 I have said let's purchase 16 prescription drugs from Canada, and the state 17 will save 40 percent on it, about 18 $800 million. 19 So I have brought ideas -- not 20 gambling. But we prefer gambling. We prefer 21 gambling, where people could gamble their 22 homes, their rice and beans, their children's 23 clothes, their rings. 24 I cannot support gambling. I 25 understand that the state is in a very

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 difficult situation, but gambling is out of 2 the question for me. So therefore, I cannot 3 support a bill like this. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 5 Senator Klein. 6 SENATOR KLEIN: Thank you, Madam 7 President. On the bill. 8 You know, I certainly respect 9 Senator Padavan's long-held belief in 10 opposition to gambling. But on this 11 legislation we're merely expanding and 12 changing the hours in racinos around the State 13 of New York, and we're now allowing what's 14 known as electronic table games. They fit 15 into the constitutional definition of what is 16 a VLT, or a video lottery terminal. They're 17 still games of chance, there's no skill 18 involved. It's sort of like a scratch-off 19 lottery in a video lottery terminal. 20 And the basic fact is we need 21 revenue. And last year 38 percent of the 22 people who gambled in Atlantic City were from 23 New York State. So these are people who 24 already choose, in their spare time, to 25 gamble.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And the revenue that we generated, 2 whether we like it or not, from the Division 3 of Lottery is very, very large. Last year the 4 State of New York derived 13 percent of their 5 total education revenue from the Division of 6 Lottery. 7 This legislation, by expanding the 8 hours of play as well as expanding or allowing 9 electronic table games, will generate anywhere 10 from $150 million to $170 million a year in 11 additional education revenue. So in other 12 words, not money that just goes to various 13 things, but earmarked specifically for 14 education. 15 So I represent Yonkers Raceway. 16 That money also goes specifically to help 17 Yonkers public schools, because there was 18 legislation that was written in the past that 19 allows the host track or host racino to get 20 extra revenue, extra money for the education 21 system in their specific localities. 22 So I urge a yes vote. Especially 23 during a time when we're heading into probably 24 the most difficult budget season any of us 25 will ever, ever see, we certainly need that

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 additional money for education in the State of 2 New York. 3 I thank you, Madam President. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 5 Thank you, Senator Klein. 6 Are there any other Senators 7 wishing to be heard on the bill? 8 Hearing none, the debate is closed. 9 The Secretary will please ring the bells. 10 Read the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 12 act shall take effect on the 30th day. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 14 Call the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 17 Announce the results. 18 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 19 the negative on Calendar Number 69 are 20 Senators DeFrancisco, Diaz, Espada, Flanagan, 21 Fuschillo, Hannon, O. Johnson, LaValle, 22 Leibell, Marcellino, Padavan, Saland and 23 Volker. 24 Absent from voting: Senators 25 Duane, Golden and C. Kruger.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Ayes 43. Nays, 13. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 3 The bill is passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Klein, 5 that completes the controversial reading of 6 the calendar. 7 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 8 can you please recognize Senator Ruth 9 Hassell-Thompson, please. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 11 Senator Hassell-Thompson. 12 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 13 you, Madam President. 14 I rise to announce that immediately 15 following session today there will be a 16 meeting of the Majority in Room 332. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 18 There will be a meeting of the Majority 19 Conference immediately after session in 20 Room 332. 21 Senator Klein. 22 SENATOR KLEIN: Madam President, 23 is there any further business at the desk? 24 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 25 Senator Klein, the desk is clear.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR KLEIN: There being no 2 further business, Madam President, I move that 3 we adjourn until Thursday, March 18th, at 4 10:00 a.m. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT STEWART-COUSINS: 6 There being no further business to come before 7 the Senate, on motion, the Senate stands 8 adjourned until Thursday, March 18th, at 9 10:00 a.m. 10 (Whereupon, at 4:32 p.m., the 11 Senate adjourned.) 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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