Tuesday, March 29, 2011

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 March 29, 2011 11 3:24 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 SENATOR JOSEPH A. GRIFFO, Acting President 19 FRANCIS W. PATIENCE, 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 GRIFFO: The 3 Senate will come to order. 4 I ask all present to please rise 5 and join with me as we recite the Pledge of 6 Allegiance to our Flag. 7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited 8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: For 10 today's invocation we have Pastor Richard 11 Buccio, from Hyde Park Baptist Church in 12 Hyde Park, New York. 13 Pastor. 14 PASTOR BUCCIO: Let's pray. 15 Our precious heavenly Father, Lord, 16 I am truly thankful, Lord, to be here in the 17 privilege of praying for all of these 18 individuals, our Senators, Lord, that 19 represent New York. 20 Lord, they have an awesome 21 responsibility, Lord, as they make decisions 22 that impact not only themselves but they 23 impact many people from this great state. 24 Lord, the decisions they make will also impact 25 people in the future.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 So, Lord, I ask would You please 2 bestow upon them Your mercy, Your grace, Your 3 love. Lord, give them wisdom beyond their 4 means. I pray, Lord, that they may, as they 5 make their decisions, include You. 6 Lord, You are the Great Creator. 7 Lord, it says in Your scriptures that You put 8 kings on thrones and You take kings off. 9 Lord, You have appointed these people. So 10 please, Lord, give them the know-how and the 11 ability to do the right thing. I pray these 12 things in my Savior's name, Jesus Christ. 13 God bless you all. Amen. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 15 you, Pastor. 16 The reading of the Journal. 17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 18 Monday, March 28th, the Senate met pursuant to 19 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, 20 March 27th, was read and approved. On motion, 21 Senate adjourned. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Without 23 objection, the Journal stands approved as 24 read. 25 Presentation of petitions.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Messages from the Assembly. 2 The Secretary will read. 3 THE SECRETARY: On page 19, 4 Senator Lanza moves to discharge, from the 5 Committee on Environmental Conservation, 6 Assembly Bill Number 108 and substitute it for 7 the identical Senate Bill Number 3870, Third 8 Reading Calendar 244. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 10 substitution is so ordered. 11 Messages from the Governor. 12 Reports of standing committees. 13 Reports of select committees. 14 Communications and reports from 15 state officers. 16 Motions and resolutions. 17 Senator Libous. 18 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 19 on behalf of Senator Zeldin, I move to commit 20 Senate Print Number 4074, Calendar Number 262 21 on the order of third reading, and I want to 22 commit it to the Committee on Commerce and 23 Economic Development. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: So 25 ordered.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Libous. 2 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 3 at this time I'd like to adopt the Resolution 4 Calendar, with the exception of Resolution 5 Numbers 1071, 1087, and 1100. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: At this 7 point we will accept the motion to adopt the 8 Resolution Calendar, with the exceptions of 9 Resolutions 1071, 1087, and 1100. 10 All in favor of passing the 11 Resolution Calendar signify by saying aye. 12 (Response of "Aye.") 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 14 Opposed? 15 (No response.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 17 Resolution Calendar is adopted. 18 Senator Libous. 19 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I 20 believe there's a privileged resolution at the 21 desk, Number 1071, by Senator Hannon. May we 22 have it read in its entirety and then please 23 call on Senator Hannon. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: I would 25 ask that the chamber come to order as we call

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 on Senator Hannon for this memorializing 2 resolution. 3 The Secretary will read first. 4 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 5 Resolution 1071, by Senators Hannon, Saland, 6 Skelos, Libous, Seward, Klein, and Duane, 7 mourning the death of Dr. Richard F. Daines, 8 distinguished citizen and devoted member of 9 his community. 10 "WHEREAS, It is the custom of this 11 Legislative Body to pay tribute to citizens of 12 the State of New York whose lifework and civic 13 endeavor serve to enhance the quality of life 14 in their communities and the great State of 15 New York; and 16 "WHEREAS, Dr. Richard F. Daines of 17 Stanfordville, New York, died on Saturday, 18 February 26, 2011, at the age of 60; and 19 "WHEREAS, The son of a physician, 20 Dr. Richard F. Daines was raised in Utah and 21 earned a Bachelor of History degree from Utah 22 State University in 1974; and 23 "WHEREAS, Dr. Richard F. Daines 24 served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus 25 Christ of Latter Day Saints in Bolivia from

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 1970 to 1972. He received his medical degree 2 from Cornell University Medical College in 3 1978 and served a residency in internal 4 medicine at New York Hospital; and 5 "WHEREAS, Dr. Richard F. Daines 6 distinguished himself in his profession and by 7 his sincere dedication and substantial 8 contribution to the welfare of his community; 9 and 10 "WHEREAS, Serving as a physician in 11 New York City for over 25 years, Dr. Richard 12 F. Daines worked at St. Barnabas Hospital in 13 the Bronx, where he began practicing in 1978. 14 His skills and compassion, coupled with his 15 ability to speak Spanish, made him a valued 16 member of the staff and a favorite among his 17 patients. He became the hospital's senior 18 vice president for professional affairs and 19 medical director in 1994; and 20 "WHEREAS, From 2002 to 2007, 21 Dr. Richard F. Daines was medical director at 22 St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where he 23 served as both president and CEO. He often 24 worked shifts in the emergency department 25 there to observe firsthand the care patients

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 received; and 2 "WHEREAS, In 2007 Dr. Richard F. 3 Daines became New York State's 14th 4 Commissioner of Health. He served in this 5 capacity until 2010. Recently, he joined the 6 New York Academy of Medicine as a visiting 7 scholar; and 8 "WHEREAS, Commissioner Daines took 9 great pride in the skills and professionalism 10 of his Health Department employees and public 11 health workers at county health departments, 12 traveling to all 62 counties of New York to 13 promote local public health activities, often 14 accompanied by his father, Newel; and 15 "WHEREAS, Dr. Richard F. Daines' 16 commitment to excellence, and his spirit of 17 humanity, carried over into all fields of 18 enterprise, including charitable and civic 19 endeavors; and 20 "WHEREAS, A former Scoutmaster and 21 Eagle Scout, Dr. Richard F. Daines would often 22 invite members of Troop 525 to his farm in 23 Stanfordville; and 24 "WHEREAS, A devoted family man, 25 Dr. Richard F. Daines is survived by his wife

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 of 36 years, Linda; three children, William, 2 Katherine and Andrew; a grandson, Charles 3 Richard; his parents, Dr. Newel and Jean 4 Daines; and siblings Pamela Johnson, George 5 Daines, Janet Stowell and Peter Daines, as 6 well as many cousins, nieces and nephews; and 7 "WHEREAS, Armed with a humanistic 8 spirit, imbued with a sense of compassion, and 9 comforted by a loving family, Dr. Richard F. 10 Daines leaves behind a legacy which will long 11 endure the passage of time and will remain a 12 comforting memory to all he served and 13 befriended; now, therefore, be it 14 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 15 Body pause in its deliberations to mourn the 16 death of Dr. Richard F. Daines, distinguished 17 citizen and devoted member of his community; 18 and be it further 19 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this 20 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 21 to the family of Dr. Richard F. Daines." 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 23 Hannon. 24 SENATOR HANNON: Thank you, 25 Mr. President.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Being a Commissioner of Health in 2 this state requires an extraordinary range of 3 talent and skills and good disposition and 4 energy. And in Richard F. Daines, New York's 5 14th Commissioner of Health, he certainly 6 brought those qualities to the forefront. 7 He was fundamentally a good person, 8 as those of us know who had the fortune to 9 work with him. He was a good doctor. In 10 fact, I don't think I've ever said publicly 11 one of his classmates told me that at Cornell 12 he was the top of his class. He never ever 13 said that himself. He was therefore a good 14 student. He was also a good manager, a good 15 executive, having come up both as a practicing 16 physician and as a hospital executive. 17 It's ironic that we would be 18 bringing this resolution up as we're on the 19 cusp of beginning our budget bills, and at one 20 point in that sequence there will be the 21 health budget. 22 For Dr. Daines, he brought many 23 emphases to health and the different 24 departments of health that we have in terms of 25 categories. First of all, he had to deal with

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 what is popularly known as the Berger 2 Commission, which finished its work just 3 before he took office and called for the 4 closing of a number of hospitals, the mergers 5 of others. 6 And I don't think that he ever 7 imagined that he would be spending most of his 8 time at the beginning commuting between Albany 9 and Buffalo to deal with the seemingly 10 intractable recommendations of Berger in 11 Erie County. 12 But he also spent a lot of emphasis 13 on such things as childhood obesity. He was 14 known for the video he did in regard to the 15 soda tax. But underlying all of that was a 16 deep concern that the future of the health of 17 the population of this state depended on what 18 we would be doing for the children of this 19 state and their health and whether or not we 20 would stem the tide of diabetes by stemming 21 the tide of childhood obesity. 22 Sometimes one of the things that 23 happens in government is you work so hard and 24 the tragedy or disaster that people predict 25 doesn't take place. Well, we certainly had a

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 very genuine scare that there might have been 2 a pandemic when the H1N1 onslaught came about. 3 And the Department of Health and the local 4 counties' departments of health, along with 5 our hospital reporting network, were certainly 6 prepared and worked overtime to make sure that 7 if anything untoward happened in this state 8 that the state would be prepared and the 9 population would be protected. 10 I could go on and on about the 11 number of other issues we worked on -- HIV 12 testing, the hearings we had around the state 13 on the most esoteric of all financial 14 formulas, called bad debt charity care. 15 But let's get back to the fact that 16 Commissioner Daines was somebody who seemed to 17 enjoy the job thoroughly, took the advantage 18 of going through the public health departments 19 to visit every county in the state, 20 remembering that he as a Mormon was getting a 21 chance to go through the state where Mormonism 22 had been founded -- and in fact telling us at 23 one point that in his little farm in Dutchess 24 County he found some tombstones that were 25 those of his relatives, so that there was a

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 full circle to his life. 2 I'm going to let some other folks 3 make comments, but I just want to acknowledge 4 that we have joining us today on the floor the 5 current Commissioner, Nirav Shah. Also the 6 Deputy Commissioner of Public Health, Dr. Gus 7 Birkhead, along with Maryellen Jacobson, who 8 was Dr. Daines' special assistant and 9 currently serves as the Commissioner's special 10 assistant; Jim Clancy, Claudia Hutton. 11 And then in the gallery, some of 12 whom might be nodding off because they've been 13 working on the health budget for the past 14 couple of months, Debra Pellerin, from the 15 department; Diane Mathis; Jim Clyne; Wendy 16 Saunders; Mark Kissinger; Carla Williams; Lora 17 Lefebvre; Valerie Grey, who's now with State 18 Ed; Robert Durlak; Barbara Devore; Barbara 19 Wallace; Barbara Dennison; Robert Burhans; and 20 Michael Nazarko. 21 Thank you, Mr. President. And 22 we're going to keep the resolution open for 23 all to cosponsor. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 25 you, Senator Hannon.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Duane. 2 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 3 Mr. President. 4 I first got to know and know of 5 Dr. Daines when he was president at 6 St. Lukes-Roosevelt. And honestly, it was -- 7 he was not at all who I expected him to be, in 8 terms of what ideology or positions he might 9 put forward. And what I learned then and what 10 I really got to know when he was Commissioner 11 of Health was that that is what he cared about 12 and what rose above all else in his life of 13 public service was health, and specifically 14 public health. 15 It is a paradox that some of the 16 issues that I worked so closely with him on 17 were issues that would seem on the face of it 18 that we would approach from completely 19 different places. And yet we -- and mostly 20 because of who -- I would say 99 percent 21 because of who he was -- worked collegially 22 and bipartisanly, as you can see by who's 23 speaking today, to get work accomplished. 24 And so the ones that, as I say, 25 just seem so paradoxical that we worked on,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 for instance, was the Family Health Care 2 Decisions Act. And another was -- and this 3 was years in the making, and Senator Hannon 4 can certainly attest to this one as well -- 5 was our very far-reaching and I think 6 new-day-and-age testing bill for HIV. 7 And I would say the legacy that we 8 all share is that states around the country 9 now reach out to us and want to replicate that 10 legislation. And it really is a legislative 11 triumph but also an enormous triumph for 12 Dr. Daines, and there are people here who 13 worked on that in the Health Department for 14 years. 15 I'm going to come back to this and 16 say this again, but he was the Health 17 Department's greatest champion. There was 18 never a meeting with Dr. Daines when he was 19 Commissioner where he did not laud the work of 20 the people in the Health Department. And he 21 would say "I am so fortunate to work with 22 people who care so deeply about the people in 23 the State of New York and how it is that the 24 Health Department can serve them." Every 25 time, every time he talked about that. He was

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 so proud of the work of the department and the 2 people who worked in the department. 3 And I'm sure that other people had 4 this experience with him as well, but even 5 when I would talk to him about my personal 6 health issues, he was wonderful. I believe 7 everyone felt they could approach him to 8 discuss every public health issue and every 9 personal health issue. 10 You know, people here probably know 11 I have my differences with the Scouts. But 12 Dr. Daines was the greatest Boy Scout ever. 13 And I mean that in that his wholesomeness, his 14 good-naturedness, his desire to do service. 15 And I am very sorry, personally and 16 professionally, for his loss and that I won't 17 be able to reach out to him in New York City. 18 But I have to return and say I am especially 19 sorry for the hardworking people in the Health 20 Department because you all have lost a great, 21 great champion. 22 And I know that Dr. Daines' faith 23 has carried him to a place where I believe 24 he's happy. And his legacy of public service 25 for our state, in good times and in bad, is a

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 legacy which will not be forgotten and a great 2 loss to his family and to our state and to 3 public health in our great state. 4 Thank you, Mr. President. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 6 you, Senator Duane. 7 Senator Breslin. 8 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you, 9 Mr. President. 10 I think both Senator Hannon and 11 Senator Duane have captured the essence of 12 Dr. Daines. 13 Sitting here, I think the reference 14 that Senator Duane made to being a Boy Scout 15 was probably very, very appropriate, that he 16 really was the penultimate Eagle Scout. 17 You know, we eulogize on this floor 18 over years a lot of wonderful people who have 19 done great things, but sometimes the 20 adjectives we use we repeat over and over, and 21 the adjectives that we use sometimes we don't 22 think about. But when I think of Dr. Daines, 23 I know when I look at his staff up there they 24 would probably describe him as a perfect boss, 25 someone who was exceedingly, exceedingly

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 humble but got his message across. 2 And when Senator Hannon mentioned 3 that he was first in his class at Cornell 4 Medical School, it was always a mystery to me 5 how someone a few years ago before that could 6 have been a history major in college and then 7 gone on to medical school and graduated number 8 one in their class. 9 He had all those attributes that, 10 as I said before, we tend to bandy around and 11 sometimes use all too frequently. And when 12 they really mean something, you want to make 13 sure that you convey the importance of those 14 attributes about Dr. Daines. 15 I never heard him -- I'm sure his 16 staff did -- I never heard him raise his 17 voice. I always saw him as extremely 18 organized and disciplined. I think he exuded 19 a public servant in his honesty, his 20 accessibility. Whenever you called him, you 21 were able to get him very quickly, unlike a 22 lot of other appointed and elected officials. 23 To me he was, among the people I 24 have seen in my years here in this house, the 25 consummate public servant. The public servant

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 that we all want to be. The public servant 2 that always went a little beyond where others 3 went and always, always, always stayed with 4 his principles. And as you know, his 5 principles, sometimes in espousing them and 6 articulating them he wasn't successful. But 7 he never compromised. He presented his 8 principles and he presented them in a very 9 articulate way. 10 And, you know, for a man who kept 11 in wonderful physical condition to pass away 12 at the age of 60 is such a dramatic loss to 13 all of us in this body, to everyone in the 14 Health Department, and to everyone, 15 particularly all citizens of the State of 16 New York. 17 So I am so much better for having 18 known him. And he will be a very difficult 19 act to replace. 20 Thank you very much, Mr. President. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 22 you, Senator Breslin. 23 Senator Stewart-Cousins. 24 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Yes, 25 thank you, Mr. President.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 I rise also to certainly join my 2 colleagues to speak about Dr. Daines and the 3 influence that he had on my district. It is a 4 grateful district that remembers Dr. Daines. 5 When Senator Hannon spoke about the 6 Berger Commission and all that went with the 7 recommendations, one of the hospitals to be 8 closed was Dobbs Ferry Hospital. And Dobbs 9 Ferry Hospital wasn't just a hospital, but it 10 was part of a network. And the network 11 allowed for all sorts of activities throughout 12 the district, through different facilities and 13 St. John's Hospital, to continue to serve 14 everyone in that district all along the river 15 towns. 16 And when the Berger Commission 17 decided that Dobbs Ferry should go, it took a 18 lot of innovative thinking, it took a lot of 19 community input, but it took the listening ear 20 of a professional who understood how to keep a 21 facility there that housed the Ashikari Breast 22 Center, which is nationally known -- women who 23 are suffering from breast cancer go to Dobbs 24 Ferry Hospital -- how to keep that facility 25 there with urgent care but also to recreate it

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 so that it could deal with the types of 2 preventative medicine that Dr. Daines and all 3 of us cared so much about. 4 So instead of having the hospital 5 as we would know it, what it is now is a place 6 where, again, women suffering from breast 7 cancer can be treated very, very well, as well 8 as information on diabetes and obesity and 9 asthma and all the things that hopefully, if 10 we take care of our health now, will prevent 11 premature death and chronic illnesses. 12 It took a lot to be able to 13 redesign something that meant something going 14 forward for a community within the context of 15 the Berger Commission's recommendations. 16 Dr. Daines was able to do that. And because 17 of that, people will live longer, healthier 18 and more productive lives. 19 So again, we certainly mourn his 20 loss but thank him for the legacy that he's 21 left. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Is 23 there any other Senator wishing to be heard? 24 The question is on the resolution. 25 All in favor signify by saying aye.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 (Response of "Aye.") 2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 3 Opposed? 4 (No response.) 5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 6 resolution is adopted. 7 Senator Libous. 8 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 9 could I ask my colleagues to please rise and 10 have a moment of silence for Richard Daines, 11 please. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: I would 13 ask all members to please rise in a moment of 14 silent tribute to Dr. Richard F. Daines. 15 (Whereupon, the assemblage 16 respected a moment of silence.) 17 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I 18 also believe that Senator Hannon will open up 19 this for cosponsorship. So as we normally do, 20 if someone is not interested in cosponsoring 21 this resolution, please let the desk know. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 23 resolution is open for cosponsorship. If you 24 choose not to be a cosponsor, please notify 25 the desk.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Libous. 2 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 3 there's a resolution at the desk, Number 1087, 4 by Senator Ranzenhofer. I ask that you have 5 it read, its title, and call on Senator 6 Ranzenhofer. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 8 Secretary will read. 9 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 10 Resolution Number 1087, by Senator 11 Ranzenhofer, mourning the untimely death of 12 former Buffalo Sabres professional hockey 13 player Richard Lionel (Rick) Martin, 14 distinguished athlete and citizen, and devoted 15 member of his community. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 17 Ranzenhofer. 18 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Thank you, 19 Mr. President. 20 Before I say a few words about Rick 21 Martin, I just want to welcome back to the 22 chamber -- I'm not sure if he's still here or 23 has left -- our new Health Commissioner, 24 Dr. Shah, originally from my hometown. I just 25 wanted to welcome him back to the chamber.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 I did want to say a few words about 2 Rick Martin. Rick Martin is the only 3 professional athlete that I ever had a chance 4 to know on a personal level. And it's really 5 unfortunate that he just died recently at a 6 very young age. 7 Rick Martin really transformed the 8 City of Buffalo when it comes to hockey. In 9 Buffalo, hockey is a very passionate sport. 10 And he came to Buffalo from Quebec, Canada, in 11 the '70s and joined what's probably the most 12 famous hockey line in all of professional 13 hockey, a line called the French Connection. 14 He set all sorts of scoring records, both 15 individually and as a rookie and also over the 16 season. 17 But more importantly than his 18 hockey accolades, he was a man that was very 19 involved in his community. He was very 20 involved in a number of charitable and 21 community organizations. But probably the 22 thing that I remember most about him is just 23 his smiling personality. He was a fun-loving, 24 joking individual, loved to play golf, was a 25 very successful businessman. And he would

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 give you the shirt off his back. If there was 2 a community event involving kids or really 3 involving anyone and you wanted him to be 4 there, he would come and give his time. 5 He also volunteered his time 6 helping the Sabres long after he retired, 7 helping to develop some of the younger 8 players. 9 But I know when they had a memorial 10 a week ago in HSBC Arena, there were about 11 2500 people that showed up. And one of the 12 people that spoke was his line-mate, Rene 13 Robert. And the picture that they showed is 14 he had a cigar in one hand and a beer in the 15 other, and just talked about his joking and 16 larger than life and loveable personality. 17 So again, I just wanted to say a 18 few words about Rico Martin. He was really 19 one of the best hockey players in Buffalo and 20 a real community-minded individual. 21 Thank you, Mr. President. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 23 you, Senator Ranzenhofer. 24 Senator Kennedy. 25 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President. 2 I too want to rise in memory of 3 Rick Martin, famous Buffalo Sabre, famous for 4 his work and his talents not just on the ice 5 but in the community. 6 I appreciate Senator Ranzenhofer 7 putting this resolution forward in memory of 8 Rick Martin. The Buffalo Sabres and Western 9 New York community united in mourning earlier 10 this month, as already articulated, as French 11 Connection winger Rick Martin died of a heart 12 attack while driving in Clarence. Teammates 13 and coaches remember Martin as a fierce 14 competitor, prolific scorer, and an all-around 15 great guy who gave back to the Western 16 New York community. 17 A Canadian professional ice hockey 18 left winger who played in the NHL with the 19 Buffalo Sabres and L.A. Kings for 11 seasons 20 between 1971 and 1982, he was perhaps the most 21 famous for playing on the Sabres' French 22 Connection line with Gilbert Perreault and 23 Rene Robert. 24 Martin was drafted fifth overall by 25 the Buffalo Sabres in the 1971 NHL amateur

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 draft after a junior career with the Montreal 2 Junior Canadiens of the Ontario Hockey 3 Association. He played 685 career NHL games, 4 scoring 384 goals, 317 assists, for 701 5 points. His best season was the 1974-1975 NHL 6 season when he scored 52 goals and 95 points 7 in only 68 NHL games. 8 Martin was selected to play in 9 seven consecutive NHL All-Star games, 1971-'72 10 through 1977-'78. He was selected as the 11 official NHL All-Star First Team Left Wing in 12 1973-'74 and '74-'75 and official NHL All-Star 13 Second Team Left Wing in '75-'76 and in 14 '76-'77. 15 Martin holds the Buffalo Sabres 16 franchise career records for hat tricks, 17 four-goal games, 40-goal seasons, consecutive 18 40-goal seasons, 50-goal seasons -- tied with 19 Danny Gare -- and consecutive 50-goal seasons. 20 His Number 7 was retired along with 21 Rene Robert's Number 14 on November 15, 1995, 22 flanking the Number 11 of Gilbert Perreault 23 under a French Connection banner. On 24 October 25, 2005, Martin was inducted into the 25 Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. In 2010,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 in commemoration of the Sabres' 40th season, 2 the Buffalo News ranked Martin as number 4 out 3 of the top 40 Sabres of all time. After his 4 untimely death this past month, the Sabres 5 honored his memory by painting the Number 7, 6 the number he wore for most of his career in 7 Buffalo, behind each goal in the HSBC Arena 8 for the duration of the 2010-2011 season. 9 I'm humbled and honored to speak in 10 honor and in memory of Rick Martin today. 11 Thank you. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 13 you, Senator Kennedy. 14 Is there any other Senator wishing 15 to be heard? 16 The question is on the resolution. 17 All in favor signify by saying aye. 18 (Response of "Aye.") 19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 20 Opposed? 21 (No response.) 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 23 resolution is adopted. 24 Senator Libous. 25 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 there is a privileged resolution at the desk 2 by Senator Hassell-Thompson. May we please 3 have it read in its entirety and please call 4 on Senator Hassell-Thompson before it is 5 approved. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 7 Secretary will read. 8 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 9 resolution by Senator Hassell-Thompson, 10 commending Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., 11 upon the occasion of its Annual "Delta Days in 12 the Capitol" on March 29, 2011. 13 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this 14 Legislative Body to recognize that the quality 15 and character of life in the communities 16 across New York State are reflective of the 17 concerned and dedicated efforts of those 18 organizations and individuals that are devoted 19 to the welfare of the community and its 20 citizenry; and 21 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such 22 concern, and in full accord with its 23 long-standing traditions, this Legislative 24 Body is justly proud to commend Delta Sigma 25 Theta Sorority, Inc., upon the occasion of its

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 annual 'Delta Days in the Capitol' on Tuesday, 2 March 29, 2011, to be held in Albany, 3 New York; and 4 "WHEREAS, This auspicious occasion 5 will bring sisters from the Delta Sigma Theta 6 Sorority together from across the State of 7 New York to address many social concerns. The 8 2011 conference will focus on the important 9 issue of education, including the need for 10 increased access to higher education, the need 11 for increased funding for STEM education, and 12 the need for increased funding for vocational 13 education and job retraining programs, as well 14 as other critical topics; and 15 "WHEREAS, Delta Sigma Theta 16 Sorority was founded in 1913 on the campus of 17 Howard University to promote academic 18 excellence, to provide scholarship, to provide 19 support to the underserved, to educate and 20 stimulate participation in the establishment 21 of positive public policy, and to highlight 22 issues and provide solutions for problems in 23 their communities; and 24 "WHEREAS, Today, Delta Sigma Theta 25 Sorority has more than 250,000 members and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide. The sorority 2 uses its five-point programmatic thrust of 3 economic development, educational development, 4 international awareness and involvement, 5 physical and mental health, and political 6 awareness and involvement to create its 7 national program; and 8 "WHEREAS, Delta Sigma Theta 9 Sorority, Inc., was once led by past national 10 president and acclaimed civil rights leader 11 Dorothy Height. In 1994 and 2004, 12 respectively, Ms. Height was awarded the 13 Congressional Medal of Freedom and the 14 Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian 15 awards in the United States; and 16 "WHEREAS, Upon her death in 2010, 17 Ms. Height was honored by President Obama for 18 her many years of service to our country and 19 the world. Other dynamic women who have 20 served the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority in the 21 capacity of national president include Frankie 22 Freeman, Esquire, the first woman appointed to 23 the United States Commission on Civil Rights, 24 and Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge; and 25 "WHEREAS, New York State has been

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 home to many notable Deltas, including the 2 late United States Representative Shirley 3 Chisholm, New York State Assembly Deputy 4 Speaker Earlene Hooper, New York State 5 Assemblywoman Annette Robinson, Queens Borough 6 President Helen Marshall, and the Honorable 7 Jacqueline A. Berrien, chair of the United 8 States Equal Employment Opportunity 9 Commission; and 10 "WHEREAS, For 98 years the members 11 of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., have used 12 their collective voices to advocate on behalf 13 of their communities. Since 1989, Deltas 14 gather annually in Washington, D.C. for 'Delta 15 Days in the Nation's Capitol,' a three-day 16 conference designed to educate and inspire 17 members about important national issues. At 18 the conclusion of Delta Days in the Nation's 19 Capitol, members conduct meetings on Capitol 20 Hill with their respective federal 21 legislators; and 22 "WHEREAS, In March of 2003, Delta 23 Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., became a 24 nongovernmental organization (NGO) and was 25 granted Special Consultive Status as an NGO to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the Economic and Social Council of the United 2 Nations. On a local level, members of Delta 3 Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., regularly conduct 4 meetings with their local, state and federal 5 political representatives; and 6 "WHEREAS, It is the practice of 7 this Legislative Body that when an 8 organization of such noble aims and 9 accomplishments is brought to our attention, 10 it should be recognized and applauded by all 11 the citizens of this great Empire State; now, 12 therefore, be it 13 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 14 Body pause in its deliberations to commend 15 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., upon the 16 occasion of its annual 'Delta Days in the 17 Capitol' on March 29, 2011; and be it further 18 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 19 Body pause in its deliberations to commend 20 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc." 21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 22 Hassell-Thompson. 23 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 24 you, Mr. President. 25 For nearly 100 years women of Delta

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Sigma Theta have used their collective 2 strength to promote academic excellence, 3 provide scholarships, and to support 4 underserved people throughout this country. 5 As active participants in their communities, 6 the Deltas have sought to educate and 7 stimulate participation in the establishment 8 of positive public policy and have worked to 9 provide innovative solutions to problems. 10 These women took their 11 civic-mindedness -- those such as Dorothy 12 Height, about whom you've already heard; the 13 first African-American woman elected to the 14 Congress, Shirley Chisholm; and many of the 15 staff that staff us here in the State Senate 16 and the Assembly -- take their 17 civic-mindedness very seriously and have taken 18 it to a new realm and proved to women across 19 this country that they have a strong voice 20 that can be used to change public policy. 21 You have seen women throughout the 22 corridors today wearing red -- they're here in 23 our gallery -- many of whom are also being 24 honored in the Assembly. And I'd like to ask 25 your appreciation with me today for the work

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 for nearly a hundred years of the women of 2 Delta Sigma Theta as they carry on in doing 3 the work that many of us don't recognize needs 4 to get done. 5 We have members today from Bronx, 6 Buffalo, Syracuse, Nassau, Brooklyn, Queens, 7 mid-Hudson, Westchester, and of course 8 Manhattan. 9 Thank you, Delta Sigma Theta, for 10 being here today. We honor you. And I would 11 like to ask all of my colleagues if you would 12 join me in this resolution as we salute and 13 commend Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 14 Thank you, Mr. President. 15 (Applause.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 17 Smith. 18 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you very 19 much, Mr. President. 20 Colleagues, I know that it is not 21 the practice of our house to acknowledge 22 groups that are in our gallery. But if it was 23 the practice, as we know, I would look up at 24 that red that I see and acknowledge the fact 25 that I do have a little red in my sock --

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 (Laughter.) 2 SENATOR SMITH: -- and explain to 3 my colleagues that this particular sorority 4 for 98 years is one that has blazed a trail in 5 many areas. 6 We have, as my esteemed colleague 7 Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson had just 8 explained, Delta representation from Buffalo 9 and Rochester and Rockland. And I'd be remiss 10 if I didn't say that Queens is in the house as 11 well. And Denise Johnson shouldn't stand up, 12 because they don't allow you to stand up, 13 Denise Johnson, our social action person. 14 (Applause.) 15 SENATOR SMITH: She shouldn't 16 stand up at all, because that's not what we're 17 allowed to do in the house. But if they did 18 allow us, Denise, to do that in the house, I 19 would ask you to stand up. 20 But, Mr. President, these young 21 ladies have done tremendous work over the 22 years. They have done tremendous work for our 23 young men, who, as many of my colleagues know, 24 in particular African-American men are under 25 siege. And you have done some wonderful

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 things for them. 2 So I stand here joining my 3 colleague Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson. And 4 I appreciate the fact that she had not only 5 the intellect and the fortitude, but 6 understanding the importance of who you are. 7 Also, as you should know, that in 8 our ranks on staff that we do have Selvena 9 Brooks -- who I can't acknowledge as well, 10 because that's not approved on the floor -- 11 who is a part of our team, if you will. A 12 number of staff people. But I stand on this 13 floor of the Senate, I stand on this floor -- 14 Lisa Copeland too, that's right. Copeland and 15 them girls -- I'm not going to start naming 16 names. 17 (Laughter.) 18 SENATOR SMITH: However, I will 19 say I stand here today proud to be able to 20 stand and talk on behalf of the Deltas that 21 are here. You are doing wonderful work. God 22 bless you for all that you do. Continue in 23 your work. And we need you. We need you very 24 much. 25 So thank you, Mr. President.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 2 Huntley. 3 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Thank you, 4 Mr. President. 5 I think everything has been said, 6 so I'm not going to repeat all your good deeds 7 because I'm very well aware of them, since 8 you're very active in my district at P.S. 156 9 and other schools doing great things for our 10 young people. 11 So I just want to thank you for 12 coming here today. I want to thank you for 13 what you do. And I want you to continue doing 14 what you do. And it looks great to look up 15 and see all the red. One of my colleagues 16 said to me, Ruth Hassell-Thompson -- I'm 17 calling names -- Ruth Hassell-Thompson said to 18 me yesterday, she says, "You wearing your 19 red?" I says, "For the Deltas, I'm wearing my 20 red." 21 Congratulations. Look forward to 22 seeing you next year. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 24 Stewart-Cousins. 25 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Thank

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 you, Mr. President. 2 I apologize, because I should be 3 wearing red. 4 (Laughter.) 5 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: But 6 despite the fact that I am not wearing red, 7 it's worth taking the time to acknowledge the 8 work that you do and all that you mean to all 9 of our communities throughout the state and 10 throughout the nation. 11 To think that you've been so true 12 to your mission in so many broad way for 13 almost a hundred years is a credit in itself. 14 But when people come and see people like us, 15 women, a lot of times they're sort of 16 inspired: How do you do it, so on and so 17 forth. 18 And so from us to you, I say back 19 at you. You are our everyday people who 20 understand it's all important and find ways 21 every day to manifest that in your lives. You 22 touch people all over in every walk of life, 23 reminding them that education is the key, 24 reminding that that no matter where they are, 25 they can make a difference, reminding people

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 to try to do things outside of what people 2 normally expect. 3 You are our heroes in the 4 community. And I really thank you so much for 5 being the positive everyday role models, 6 excellent and excelling, that inspires our 7 youth everywhere. So thank you so much. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 9 Adams. 10 SENATOR ADAMS: Thank you, 11 Mr. President. 12 I want to thank the women who are 13 here from Delta. You know, I was happy to 14 know that you all were coming here, because 15 everybody knows that this year I'm trying to 16 find a bride. So I'm pretty sure there's a 17 lot of eligible potential brides up there. 18 (Laughter.) 19 SENATOR ADAMS: Let me say this, 20 and clear. One hundred years, 100 years is a 21 long time. And I thank Senator 22 Hassell-Thompson for just taking the moment 23 that we pause, even during this difficult 24 budget time as we talk about the budget and as 25 we talk about how we're going to deal with the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 financial balance of our state. These women 2 have walked the halls of the Senate and the 3 Legislative Office Building, have spoken with 4 us. And to keep us grounded, and to keep us 5 real. And we want to thank you for that, you 6 know, just taking time out of your schedule -- 7 many of you are professionals, being away from 8 your place of employment, your place of 9 occupation -- and to come here and to have a 10 real conversation with us. 11 Because from time to time when we 12 navigate the 87 Highway to come to Albany, we 13 sometimes forget that those lines in the 14 budget, the dollars that we cut, the dollars 15 that we add, the taxes we refuse or the taxes 16 we decide to make, it impacts real people. 17 And for the most part, people are afraid. 18 People are scared. New Yorkers are hurting. 19 And somehow we have to give them faith again. 20 And we can't do it often as State Senators or 21 as Assemblypersons, but it takes everyday 22 folks like yourself that decides that you want 23 to give back in a very real and a very 24 meaningful way. 25 So I want to thank my colleague

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Hassell-Thompson for this moment for 2 us acknowledging a great organization. One 3 hundred years, that's impressive in itself. A 4 lot of people can't stay committed for 5 100 minutes, and you're able to do so for over 6 100 years. And we thank you for what you do 7 each and every day. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 9 question is on the resolution. All in favor 10 signify by saying aye. 11 (Response of "Aye.") 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Excuse 13 me. Senator Libous. 14 SENATOR LIBOUS: I just wanted to 15 also welcome our guests and echo some of the 16 colleagues of our guests today. 17 And as Senator Smith said, if we 18 could acknowledge a special group that was 19 here today -- and although the rules don't 20 allow us to, I too want to stand and say that 21 it is an honor to have you come before the 22 house, it's an honor to have Senator Ruth 23 Hassell-Thompson present this resolution. And 24 we too appreciate all the good things that you 25 do on behalf of everybody in this state.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 So it's an honor to stand here and 2 say thank you and to join my colleagues in 3 this special resolution. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 5 you, Senator Libous. 6 It is a day when seeing red is 7 pleasant. We welcome the Delta Sigma Theta 8 ladies here today. 9 And the question is on the 10 resolution. All in favor signify by saying 11 aye. 12 (Response of "Aye.") 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 14 Opposed? 15 (No response.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 17 resolution is adopted. 18 Senator Libous, Senator 19 Hassell-Thompson has requested that the 20 resolution be open for cosponsorship. Without 21 objection? 22 SENATOR LIBOUS: Absolutely, 23 Mr. President. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 25 resolution is open for cosponsorship. Should

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 any member choose not to be a cosponsor, 2 please notify the desk. 3 Senator Libous. 4 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 5 there's a resolution at the desk, 1100, by 6 Senator Little. May we please have it read in 7 its entirety and call on Senator Little for 8 its adoption, please. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 10 Secretary will read. 11 I would ask for order, please, in 12 the house. The Secretary will read. 13 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 14 Resolution 1100, by Senators Little, Breslin, 15 McDonald and Farley, memorializing Governor 16 Andrew M. Cuomo to recognize March 29, 2011, 17 as the 100th Anniversary of the New York State 18 Capitol fire. 19 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this 20 Legislative Body to recognize significant 21 events which represent turning points in our 22 unique history and which are indelibly etched 23 in the saga of our great Empire State; and 24 "WHEREAS, It is also the sense of 25 this Legislative Body to call attention to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 those historic events in New York State 2 history which serve as lasting reminders of 3 our unique past; and 4 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such 5 concern, and in full accord with its 6 long-standing traditions, this Legislative 7 Body is justly proud to memorize Governor 8 Andrew M. Cuomo to recognize Tuesday, 9 March 29, 2011, as the 100th anniversary of 10 the New York State Capitol fire; and 11 "WHEREAS, On March 29, 1911, at 12 2:15 a.m., a fire broke out in the third floor 13 Assembly library, in the northwest corner of 14 the New York State Capitol building; and 15 "WHEREAS, Although approximately 16 125 Albany firefighters, under the leadership 17 of Fire Chief William Bridgeford, responded to 18 the scene, flames burst through the 19 third-floor windows on the western side of the 20 Capitol and shot up through the Great Western 21 Staircase to the fourth floor. Within a few 22 hours, parts of the facade of the Capitol had 23 totally collapsed; and 24 "WHEREAS, The fire destroyed much 25 of the New York State Library, which was

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 housed at the Capitol, as well as damaging 2 irreplaceable collections of the State Museum, 3 who was also located in the Capitol at the 4 time; and 5 "WHEREAS, It was reported at the 6 time that the damages caused by the fire 7 included 600,000 volumes at the library, 8 including valuable genealogical works and 9 relics dating back to 1776. The Senate and 10 Assembly libraries, the Finance Committee 11 room, the chamber of the President Pro Tem of 12 the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor's office, 13 and much of the Senate and Assembly chambers; 14 and 15 "WHEREAS, In addition, on the 16 fourth floor of the Capitol, the fire severely 17 damaged the offices of the Court of Claims, 18 Bill Drafting Commission, Bureau of Weights 19 and Measures, and many books of scientific and 20 historical interest housed in the State 21 Education Department. Practically all offices 22 below the third floor were seriously impacted 23 by smoke and water damage, including the 24 Executive Chamber; and 25 "WHEREAS, Miraculously, there was

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 only one fatality caused by the fire, the 2 78-year-old night watchman, Samuel J. Abbott; 3 and 4 "WHEREAS, The fire at the Capitol 5 occurred just four days after the tragically 6 infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 7 New York City which claimed 146 lives. The 8 coincidence of these two devastatingly 9 destructive fires spurred New York to 10 undertake massive reforms in fire prevention 11 and labor, health and safety laws; and 12 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this 13 Legislative Body that when events of such 14 historic significance are brought to our 15 attention, they should be recognized by all 16 the citizens of this great Empire State; now, 17 therefore, be it 18 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 19 Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize 20 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to recognize 21 March 29, 2011, as the 100th Anniversary of 22 the New York State Capitol fire, and be it 23 further 24 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this 25 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 to the Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of 2 the State of New York." 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 4 Little. 5 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you, 6 Mr. President. 7 For the past 15 years I've had the 8 privilege of being a member of the Commission 9 on the Restoration of the Capitol, and it has 10 been truly gratifying to be able to see the 11 amount of work and historic preservation that 12 has been done for this beautiful building and 13 preserving the State Capitol, which is a 14 national historic landmark. 15 The Capitol is a living monument, 16 and it is a witness to history. Just think 17 for a moment of all the people who have walked 18 through this building, up and down the stairs, 19 and been in this same room -- presidents, 20 governors, dignitaries, previous legislators. 21 But 100 years ago today, this building and 22 this city witnessed a horrific fire. The 23 entire western side of the Capitol was 24 engulfed in flames, some of them shooting 25 200 feet in the air. And although the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 building was believed to have been fireproof, 2 the contents of the building were not. 3 The fast-moving fire destroyed the 4 legislative library and much of the State 5 Library, which at that time was the fifth 6 largest library in the country. That night we 7 lost hundreds of thousands of books. When you 8 think of those books, documents, and 9 manuscripts that were part of our history that 10 were lost that night. 11 But thanks to the many librarians 12 and state employees at that time who rushed 13 back into the Capitol, and in those hours 14 while the fire was still burning, were able to 15 save 7,000 books and 80,000 manuscripts. 16 Included in those manuscripts was an original 17 manuscript of George Washington's farewell 18 address and an original Emancipation 19 Proclamation written in Abraham Lincoln's own 20 hand. 21 All would have been lost if it had 22 not been for the heroic efforts of the Albany 23 City Fire Department. Responding in the early 24 hours of the morning a little after 2:00, the 25 firefighters fought the flames. And can you

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 imagine arriving at this building, the size of 2 this building, in horse-drawn fire wagons and 3 a horse-drawn aerial truck? No hook and 4 ladders available at that time. 5 They fought the fire heroically and 6 had it out in a number of hours. But the fire 7 was so hot that it actually melted some of the 8 columns of the sandstone on the Great Western 9 Staircase. And unfortunately, it claimed one 10 life, the life of Samuel Abbott, who was a 11 78-year-old night watchman, a Civil War 12 veteran, who was found on the fourth floor of 13 the Capitol clutching his silver-handled cane. 14 And as was said in the resolution, 15 this horrific fire happened just four days 16 after the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York 17 City. And from these tragedies we had 18 legislation that first was introduced in the 19 state, and then became legislation nationally, 20 to ensure better working conditions, better 21 building safety, and better fire safety for 22 people working in buildings such as this. 23 It took months to clean up the 24 rubble from the Capitol and more than a year 25 to reconstruct the northwest corner of the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Capitol. The legislatures moved down the hill 2 and had their sessions in Albany City Hall. 3 And while there is no remaining 4 evidence of this fire, it is evident that we 5 shall always remember it. And we will 6 continue to be dedicated and committed to the 7 restoration of this beautiful building. 8 Thank you. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 10 you, Senator Little. 11 Senator DeFrancisco. 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you, 13 Mr. President. I just wanted to add a little 14 something to what Senator Little said. 15 The gentleman who died in the fire, 16 Samuel Abbott, was from Syracuse, New York. 17 He was the night watchman in what we now call 18 the Capitol library area. And those who went 19 through a Capitol tour probably saw that. 20 While the fire was going on, he ran 21 around the building on that night helping 22 people evacuate -- he was 78 years old at the 23 time -- opening windows and trying to save 24 some of the artifacts. And he was the one 25 that sounded the alarm.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 While doing this, he was caught in 2 a room in which a flash fire occurred, and he 3 was tragically killed in the line of duty. 4 His remains were found two days after the 5 fire. 6 Now, a little bit about Mr. Abbott 7 which I think is interesting. He was a second 8 lieutenant in the Civil War. He was a hero in 9 the Central New York Regiment in which he 10 fought. He was active in the Virginia 11 campaigns, where some of the fiercest fighting 12 of the war occurred. He was admired by both 13 his men and those commanders under which he 14 served. 15 When he returned from war, he went 16 to work for the Postal Service and eventually 17 rose to become assistant postmaster of the 18 city of Syracuse. Upon his retirement, he 19 relocated to Albany to be near his family, 20 where he worked as a night watchman. 21 And there was something in the 22 Albany newspapers -- and I believe everything 23 in the newspapers because they're incredible 24 sources of only facts. And what the Albany 25 newspapers reported is that some employees

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 even today maintain that Mr. Abbott's ghost 2 still makes the rounds in his watchman's 3 uniform on the fourth and fifth floor of the 4 building's west side, jingling his keys, 5 testing doorknobs, and turning out lights. 6 Now, I haven't seen him yet, but 7 I'm going to keep looking out for Mr. Abbott, 8 because he was one of our finest citizens from 9 Syracuse. 10 Thank you very much. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 12 you, Senator DeFrancisco. 13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Oh, excuse 14 me, one other thing. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 16 DeFrancisco. 17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: This is 18 important. This building cost $25 million to 19 build. The fire caused $5 million in damages. 20 $25 million to build. 21 Right now and for the last 10 years 22 at least, the roof is being replaced on this 23 building. And I understand that the roof cost 24 is around $50 million. The roof is twice as 25 much as this whole building cost to build, in

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 today's dollars versus dollars a hundred years 2 ago. 3 So I'm giving this lesson to some 4 young people from Onondaga County who really 5 wanted this information today. 6 Thank you, Mr. President. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 8 you, Senator DeFrancisco. 9 The question is on the resolution. 10 All in favor signify by saying aye. 11 (Response of "Aye.") 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 13 Opposed? 14 (No response.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 16 resolution is adopted. 17 Senator Libous. 18 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I 19 believe that Senator Gallivan has a resolution 20 at the desk. He would ask just that the title 21 be read and we move for its immediate 22 adoption. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 24 Secretary will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: Legislative

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 resolution by Senator Gallivan, commemorating 2 the 50th Anniversary of the ARC of 3 Livingston-Wyoming. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 5 question is on the resolution. All in favor 6 signify by saying aye. 7 (Response of "Aye.") 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 9 Opposed? 10 (No response.) 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 12 resolution is adopted. 13 Senator Libous. 14 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 15 there's a privileged resolution at the desk by 16 Senator Young. May we please have it read in 17 its entirety, and if you could then call on 18 Senator Young before its adoption. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 20 Secretary will read. 21 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 22 resolution by Senators Young and Gallivan, 23 celebrating the recovery from critical wounds 24 and homecoming of United States Army Sergeant 25 James Hackemer.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this 2 Legislative Body to celebrate the courage and 3 bravery of the United States Armed Forces who 4 have made great sacrifices in fulfilling their 5 mission as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom to 6 ensure our continued role as a nation which 7 embodies the ideals of democracy and as a 8 defender of liberty throughout the world; and 9 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such 10 concern, and in full accord with its 11 long-standing traditions, this Legislative 12 Body is justly proud to celebrate the recovery 13 and homecoming of Sergeant James Hackemer, who 14 was seriously wounded early in his second tour 15 of duty in Iraq when his vehicle hit several 16 improvised explosive devices in a convoy on 17 its way to Baghdad; and 18 "WHEREAS, At the time of the 19 incident, Sergeant James Hackemer was serving 20 in the 230th Military Police Company, 95th 21 Military Police Battalion, 18th Military 22 Police Brigade. The 230th Military Police 23 Company worked with the Iraqi police to 24 provide training in securing their country; 25 and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 "WHEREAS, Sergeant Hackemer lost 2 both legs and suffered from a massive amount 3 of blood loss and traumatic brain injury in 4 the explosion. He also suffered a stroke 5 during medical treatment and spent more than a 6 month in a coma; and 7 "WHEREAS, Overcoming dramatic odds, 8 Sergeant Hackemer courageously endured lengthy 9 and difficult therapy and treatments to learn 10 to eat and speak again and to learn to use 11 prosthetic legs; and 12 "WHEREAS, Residents of this great 13 Empire State must never forget the courage 14 with which members of the United States Armed 15 Forces have served their country and must 16 recognize that no greater debt is owed than 17 that owed to those who have made great 18 sacrifices for this great nation; and 19 "WHEREAS, The freedoms and security 20 we cherish as Americans comes at a very high 21 price for those serving in the military in 22 times of conflict. It is fitting and proper 23 that we who are beneficiaries of those who 24 risk their lives, leaving their families 25 behind, express our appreciation and eternal

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 gratitude for their sacrifices and courageous 2 acts; and 3 "WHEREAS, It is the intent of this 4 Legislative Body to publicly honor those 5 veterans who have made extraordinary personal 6 sacrifices during their military service and 7 who have fought against great odds to recover 8 and return to their families and communities; 9 now, therefore, be it 10 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 11 Body pause in its deliberations to celebrate 12 the homecoming of Sergeant James Hackemer, a 13 native of Gowanda, New York, and be it further 14 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this 15 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 16 to Sergeant James Hackemer." 17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 18 Young. 19 SENATOR YOUNG: Thank you, 20 Mr. President, for the privilege to talk about 21 Army Sergeant James Hackemer. 22 Gowanda, New York, is a very 23 special place because it's a place where 24 neighbors reach out and help each other 25 through good times and in bad. It's also

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 special because it's unique. Half of the town 2 is in Erie County in Senator Gallivan's 3 district; the other half is in Cattaraugus 4 County, which is in my Senate district. 5 Sergeant Hackemer was in Iraq in 6 March of 2008. He was in third month of his 7 second tour serving our country when that 8 roadside bomb went off. It blew off both of 9 his legs, caused a traumatic brain injury. 10 And while he was initially being treated, he 11 suffered a stroke which left him in a coma for 12 an entire month. He doesn't remember riding 13 in the vehicle, but he does remember the blast 14 and he remembers that he was being lifted out 15 of the vehicle and there was a soldier 16 standing over him saying "Hang on, buddy." 17 He was moved to Bethesda Naval 18 Hospital. And at first, while he was in his 19 coma, it was really touch and go. And his 20 family was faced with a very difficult 21 situation because they felt that they may have 22 to make the decision to take him off life 23 support. But soon he began to show some life, 24 there was a glimmer of hope, and he started to 25 respond.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Sergeant Hackemer is the father of 2 two young children, two girls. And on the day 3 that he was moved out of the intensive care 4 unit, his daughter was born. He could not be 5 there, but he was able to listen to the birth 6 through an audio hookup. 7 So it's been a long haul. He did 8 have to learn how to eat again, how to speak 9 again, how to write again, and his greatest 10 challenge has been learning how to walk again. 11 And he went to Walter Reed Army Medical Center 12 in order to be fitted for his prosthetic legs. 13 He came home this past weekend, 14 back to Gowanda. And we are very excited 15 because on April 3rd, in just a couple of 16 days, the entire community is turning out to 17 hold a special parade in his honor. There 18 will be a party of the entire community at the 19 Gowanda American Legion. 20 And so I want to thank you, my 21 colleagues, for voting to support this 22 resolution. I know that Sergeant Hackemer and 23 his entire family and the entire community 24 will be very excited to know that the State 25 Senate took the time to recognize his

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 sacrifices on behalf of our country. 2 And so we will be there, and I know 3 that you will be there in spirit too, because 4 we are going to show Sergeant Hackemer how 5 much we are grateful for his sacrifice, how 6 much we are so proud of him, and how much we 7 love him. So thank you very much, my 8 colleagues. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 10 you, Senator Young. 11 The question is on the resolution. 12 All in favor signify by saying aye. 13 (Response of "Aye.") 14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 15 Opposed? 16 (No response.) 17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 18 resolution is adopted. 19 Senator Libous. 20 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 21 we will stand at ease for an hour, and we will 22 come back at 5:30 to Room 332 for a Finance 23 Committee meeting. 24 So the Finance Committee should be 25 in Room 332 at 5:30, and the Finance Committee

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 meeting will meet, and until then the Senate 2 will stand at ease. 3 Will you recognize Senator Breslin, 4 please. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 6 Breslin. 7 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 There will be an immediate meeting 10 of the Democratic Conference in the conference 11 room. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There 13 will be an immediate meeting of the Democrat 14 Conference in the conference room. 15 There will be a meeting of the 16 Finance Committee in Room 332 at 5:30 p.m. 17 The Senate stands at ease. 18 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 19 ease at 4:32 p.m.) 20 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 21 at 5:52 p.m.) 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 23 Senator Libous. 24 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 25 there is an immediate, and I say immediate

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 meeting of the Finance Committee in Room 332. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 3 Immediate meeting of the Senate Finance 4 Committee in Room 332. 5 Senator Libous. 6 SENATOR LIBOUS: We'll stand at 7 ease. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 9 Senate will stand at ease pending the report 10 of the Finance Committee. 11 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 12 ease at 5:53 p.m.) 13 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 14 at 6:10 p.m.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 16 Senate will come to order. 17 Senator Skelos. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 19 if we could return to the order of reports of 20 standing committees, I believe there's a 21 report of the Finance Committee at the desk. 22 I ask that it be read. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 24 Secretary will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: Senator

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 DeFrancisco, from the Committee on Finance, 2 reports the following bills: 3 Senate Print 2810C, Senate Budget 4 Bill, an act authorizing funding for the 5 Consolidated Local Street and Highway 6 Improvement Program; and 7 2812C, Senate Budget Bill, an act 8 relating to constituting Chapter 18A of the 9 consolidated laws. 10 Both bills ordered direct to third 11 reading. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Bills 13 reported to third reading without objection. 14 Senator Skelos. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could take 16 up the noncontroversial reading of the 17 supplemental calendar. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 19 Secretary will read. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 278, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2812C -- 22 SENATOR BRESLIN: Lay it aside. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Lay it 24 aside. 25 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 277, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2810C -- 2 SENATOR BRESLIN: Lay it aside. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Lay it 4 aside. 5 Senator Skelos, that completes the 6 noncontroversial reading of the supplemental 7 calendar. 8 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 9 if we can go to the controversial reading of 10 the supplemental calendar. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 12 Secretary will ring the bell. 13 Senator Skelos. 14 SENATOR SKELOS: If we could once 15 again go to the controversial reading of the 16 supplemental calendar. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: We are 18 on the controversial reading of the 19 supplemental calendar. The bells have been 20 rung. 21 The Secretary will read. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 277, Senate Print 2810C, Senate Budget Bill, 24 an act to authorize funding for the 25 Consolidated Local Street and Highway

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Improvement Programs. 2 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 3 is there a message of necessity at the desk? 4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There 5 is a message of necessity at the desk, Senator 6 Skelos. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Move to accept 8 the message of necessity. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: All in 10 favor of accepting the message of necessity 11 please signify by saying aye. 12 (Response of "Aye.") 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 14 Opposed? 15 (No response.) 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 17 message is accepted. 18 Read the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 20 act shall take effect immediately. 21 SENATOR KRUEGER: Explanation. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: An 23 explanation is called for by Senator Krueger. 24 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 25 if I could just make some opening comments.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 2 Skelos. 3 SENATOR SKELOS: This is the 4 beginning of our discussion of the 2011 5 budget, which I am happy that it is not and 6 certainly our conference has not increased 7 taxes, is cutting government spending, and 8 will set us on the road to the creation of 9 private-sector jobs within this state. 10 A lot of work has gone into this 11 budget. I certainly want to thank all of our 12 staff for their good work. And also I want to 13 thank Senator DeFrancisco, who chairs the 14 Finance Committee, and members of the 15 committee and all the members that 16 participated on both sides of the aisle on the 17 conference committee process that has brought 18 us to this point. 19 We're working with Governor Cuomo. 20 We will have an early budget, the first time 21 since 1983, when there was another Governor 22 Cuomo downstairs on the second floor. But 23 most of all, it brings fiscal reality back to 24 this state. 25 With the completion of this budget,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 not only will we be eliminating a $10 billion 2 deficit without raising taxes, we will also 3 bring next year's projected deficit from 4 $15 billion to a more manageable $2 billion, 5 which is less than 1 percent of the entire 6 budget. 7 Within this budget we will be 8 making permanent the Power for Jobs program 9 and businesses will continue to receive 10 low-cost power in exchange for their 11 commitment to creating and retaining jobs. 12 And I want to thank Senator Maziarz, who 13 chairs the Energy Committee, for his good 14 work. 15 I'm also delighted of Governor 16 Cuomo's commitment to hosting a summit with 17 all the stakeholders in making UB 2020 a 18 reality, which will bring jobs and hope to 19 Western New York as well as improvements to 20 the other university centers, which are 21 important priorities of the Senate Republican 22 Conference. 23 So I'm sure there will be more said 24 as we work our way through the budget process. 25 But again, I thank all of our colleagues for

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 their good work, and I look forward to 2 listening very carefully to the debate as we 3 move forward. 4 So if we could just take up that 5 legislation, I believe Senator DeFrancisco 6 will handle the debate. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 8 you, Senator Skelos. 9 Senator DeFrancisco on the 10 explanation. 11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you. 12 Senate 2810C is the transportation 13 and economic development Article VII. 14 Basically, what it provides is several things, 15 many of which were in the Governor's original 16 budget and not changed, so they've been out 17 there since January as far as what the 18 Governor had in mind. And many of the items 19 were approved and in this overall budget. 20 The first one dealt with the CHIPS 21 program and the Marchiselli program, that we 22 concurred with the Governor. And the CHIPS 23 monies are $363.1 million; Marchiselli money, 24 Marciselli money -- depending if you want the 25 Italian pronunciation or not -- was

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 $39.7 million, for a total of $402.8 million. 2 Extremely important to all bridge and highway 3 recipients throughout the state, very 4 important. 5 The second part permanently 6 extended the Department of Transportation's 7 single audit program. Again, we concurred 8 with the Governor. We concurred with the 9 Governor to extend suspension of driver's 10 licenses for certain alcohol-related charges. 11 We also concurred with the Governor to 12 permanently extend the suspension or 13 revocation of driver's licenses for certain 14 drug-related offenses and also concurred with 15 the Governor to make permanent provisions 16 relating to the Motor Vehicle Financial 17 Security Act. 18 Next there was a change. The next 19 section deals with making permanent the 20 general loan powers of the New York State 21 Urban Development Corporation. That's what 22 the Governor's budget wanted to do. We 23 changed it, the legislative budget changed 24 that to authorize the ESDC to issue loans, 25 extending the authorization for only one year

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 rather than making it permanent, which will 2 provide a little bit more oversight by the 3 Legislature. 4 Next, we concurred with the 5 Governor, we accepted his proposal to increase 6 the lifetime maximum per eligible business 7 from $1 million to $2 million. And that deals 8 with the Excelsior Linked Deposit Program. 9 Again, in the spirit of cooperation 10 and bipartisanship, we concurred with the 11 Governor in extending the New York State 12 Higher Education Capital Matching Grant 13 Program. And also, to clarify the state 14 government's cost recovery system, we concur 15 with the Governor. However, we did something 16 else. That provision is basically that the 17 Governor proposed to increase from $55 million 18 to $60 million the cost recovery by the state 19 from public authorities. The Senate further 20 accepted the Executive's proposal to repeal 21 such cost recovery from Industrial Development 22 Agencies. So they will not have that IDA tax 23 going forward. 24 The Governor would not agree with 25 retroactive elimination of that tax. But the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senate showed their position by passing a 2 separate bill to in fact do that, to eliminate 3 that IDA tax retroactively. But the budget 4 does not have that retroactive language. 5 We also concurred with the Governor 6 in permanently establishing the distribution 7 formula for the Community Services Block Grant 8 program. 9 And there was a provision by the 10 Governor to permanently establish the 11 authority of the Secretary of State to charge 12 increased fees for expedited handling of 13 documents. We did not concur with the 14 Governor on that, we extended that ability for 15 two years, and that's in the budget we're 16 going to be dealing with. 17 We disagreed with the Governor's 18 proposal to dissolve the Tug Hill Commission, 19 and that will be in the budget. 20 We rejected the Governor's proposal 21 to eliminate the salary for the chair of the 22 State Athletic Commission, so that salary will 23 still be in the budget. 24 There are several other 25 concurrences that I can go through in great

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 detail. And I probably should, rather than 2 doing that, see if there are any specific 3 questions, because some of these areas may not 4 be of interest to discuss or debate on the 5 floor. So I'll stop at this point. And if 6 there are any questions, I'd be happy to try 7 to answer them. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 9 Krueger, why do you rise? 10 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you, 11 Mr. President. I do have a series of 12 questions for the sponsor, so thank you very 13 much. 14 To start, just to clarify, Senator 15 Skelos, before he turned over the questions to 16 Senator DeFrancisco, pointed out that we are 17 trying to get a budget done on time or even 18 early this year. But of course, for the 19 record, these bills were received with 20 messages of necessity and have only been in 21 print and available to the public and to 22 ourselves for a few hours. And so we do have 23 a series of questions about what's actually in 24 these budget bills and what's not. 25 But if I might start by asking,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 because we're working hard to stay apace, are 2 we expecting any other bills to be brought to 3 the floor this evening? And if so, have we 4 received any other messages of necessity on 5 budget bills from the Governor? 6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 7 Krueger is asking Senator DeFrancisco to 8 yield. 9 Senator DeFrancisco, do you yield 10 to questions from Senator Krueger? 11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: We expect 12 to do one other bill tonight, the state 13 operations bill. It's currently in -- it's 14 been printed, it's currently being reviewed. 15 And we expect to get a message of necessity 16 from the Governor on that bill as well. 17 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 18 And, Mr. President, to follow up, 19 do we know if there's a total budget agreement 20 on all the remaining outstanding issues? Even 21 though I understand from Senator DeFrancisco's 22 answer to my last question there are not 23 necessarily budget bills in print, available 24 for us to see on all the other sections of the 25 budget.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 2 DeFrancisco, do you yield? 3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I do. 4 And I'll answer it in that there 5 was a budget agreement announced on Sunday by 6 the leadership. And since Sunday at about 7 4 o'clock or 4:30 when that announcement was 8 made, there has been discussions among the 9 Assembly, the Senate, and the Governor 10 pertaining to the specific language to make 11 sure everyone agreed that the intent of the 12 agreement was accurately reflected in the 13 bills. 14 So the reason we're doing these 15 three bills this evening is that the language 16 has been agreed to by each of the three houses 17 and is ready to be voted upon. 18 There are still a few cleanup 19 issues that are being resolved; for example, 20 the table dealing with Medicaid and health, 21 because that's one of the most complicated 22 ones because it had some of the most 23 comprehensive changes. 24 However, the agreement is there. 25 It's a question of making sure the language

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 expresses what everyone believes the agreement 2 was supposed to be. 3 And you have to understand that the 4 staffs of the Assembly and the Senate have 5 literally been working around the clock with 6 virtually no sleep. So the process is going 7 as expeditiously as humanly possible. And we 8 certainly expect the remainder of the bills to 9 be in print for review and also to be voted 10 on, we expect, by tomorrow. 11 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you, 12 Mr. President. If the sponsor would continue 13 to yield. 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I 15 would. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 17 DeFrancisco yields. 18 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. So 19 my understanding is there is a full agreement 20 on the budget, at least in principle, in 21 outline, but not necessarily all the 22 individual bills yet in print. 23 Is there information that my Senate 24 colleagues from the Majority could share with 25 us in advance of those bills so that we could

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 see what the specific agreements are between 2 the, so to speak, three leaders in the room? 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 4 DeFrancisco. 5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Well, as 6 you know, Senator Krueger, it wasn't three 7 leaders in the room. Unlike the last two 8 years, we actually followed the law. And we 9 followed the law by following the 2007 Budget 10 Reform Act. And exactly according to 11 schedule, each house had their one-house 12 budget bills done, the joint conference 13 committees were held -- in fact, some of the 14 committees, like the Health Committee, met 15 many times -- publicly discussing some of the 16 most controversial issues. 17 So this isn't three men in a room. 18 Right now, it's the staffs in the room making 19 sure that the intent of the Legislature and 20 the Governor is accurately reflected in the 21 language. 22 And rather than going through 23 what's in the other bills that we will go 24 through in great detail when they're formally 25 in print and available to be debated, we have

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 a bill before the floor right now, and I want 2 to confine my remarks to what this bill 3 pertains to. And I will do the same at the 4 next bill. And as the bills are ushered out, 5 we will discuss anything that Senator Krueger 6 or any other member chooses to discuss. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 8 Krueger. 9 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you, 10 Mr. President. I appreciate the sponsor's 11 response. 12 Again, just for the record, the 13 concern is that there was only an outline of 14 verbal statements and quick summaries from the 15 conference committees and through the mother 16 ship, and we were hoping to actually see the 17 language of agreements before bills showed up. 18 Because we know, as was raised in 19 the beginning, that there's an expectation 20 that we are going to move very, very quickly 21 through the budget bills. And again, 22 information is knowledge, and it would be 23 better to have more than a couple of hours of 24 information and knowledge before having to 25 make difficult decisions on behalf of the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 State of New York. 2 But to start questioning on this 3 bill before us tonight, I'm going to start 4 with some transportation questions -- 5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: So, 6 Senator Krueger, are you asking the sponsor to 7 continue to yield? 8 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you so 9 much. I am asking the sponsor to yield for 10 some questions. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 12 DeFrancisco, will you yield to questions on 13 this specific bill? 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 16 Krueger. 17 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 18 What the total of All Funds 19 appropriation for the transportation budget, 20 and how is that different from the current 21 year transportation budget? 22 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The 23 transportation appropriations are not in this 24 bill. The language -- this is an Article VII 25 bill showing what the agreement is as far as

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 what Article VII proposals we accepted, what 2 Article VII proposals we rejected or modified. 3 There will be a separate 4 appropriations bill, in detail, with each of 5 the numbers that you're looking for, in a 6 subsequent appropriation bill. 7 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 The first question I think 10 highlights the dilemma for us in trying to 11 move forward with the budget, that we are 12 being asked to vote on language bills that 13 explains how money is going to be used without 14 actually having seen the appropriation bills 15 yet that show the dollar amount of what 16 they're going to be used for. 17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: May I 18 respond? 19 SENATOR KRUEGER: Oh, of course. 20 May -- 21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 22 DeFrancisco. 23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I did, by 24 the way, mention in my opening remarks that 25 that part of this bill dealing with CHIPS and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Marchiselli is in the language of this bill, 2 $363.1 million for CHIPS and $39.7 million for 3 Marchiselli. 4 As far as transportation costs that 5 are related to this particular bill, the 6 language bill, those are the only 7 appropriations in this language bill that are 8 relevant to Article VII issues. So as a 9 practical matter, you do have the numbers that 10 are relevant to this Article VII bill. 11 As far as the point that the 12 difficulty in trying to deal with one bill at 13 a time, the Governor is extremely interested, 14 as is the Senate leadership, to make sure we 15 have a budget hopefully early. And we're not 16 trying to rush anybody into anything, but we 17 also don't want to be in a situation where 18 we're wasting time today when there are bills 19 in print, with the language in print, to be 20 reviewed and gotten out of the way, rather 21 than having a marathon session to try to beat 22 the clock. And I think it's a very efficient 23 way to do it, and it will benefit everyone by 24 doing it in a timely fashion. 25 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President. I don't think anybody wants to 2 have marathon sessions that are unnecessary. 3 We just want to ask questions and get answers 4 to them before we actually vote for or against 5 individual budget bills. 6 And as my colleague so well 7 explained, we're on a language bill -- 8 Article VII, transportation, economic 9 development, environmental conservation -- 10 where most sections of the bill relate to 11 appropriations, but we have yet to have final 12 appropriation language for the bills. It's 13 sort of like when we do the budget each year, 14 spending the money before we do revenue bills 15 explaining where we got the money. So again, 16 this whole process is a little out of order. 17 If I could just jump to -- does 18 this bill lay out any language for plans to 19 either continue the MTA payroll tax at its 20 current levels or change that MTA payroll tax? 21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 22 DeFrancisco. 23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: This bill 24 does not deal with that issue. 25 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Does this bill -- 2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 3 Krueger, do you wish to have the sponsor 4 continue to yield? 5 SENATOR KRUEGER: Excuse me. I'm 6 going to get the rhythm of that, I promise, 7 Mr. President. 8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'm not so 9 sure if we're violating the rules, but I have 10 no problem her asking the question, I'll be 11 happy to answer each one. As opposed to 12 getting permission. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: I will 14 allow some latitude in that. 15 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 17 Krueger. 18 SENATOR KRUEGER: No, no, I'm 19 usually very good at this. So I will stay 20 focused on going through you, Mr. President. 21 Through you, Mr. President, if the 22 sponsor would continue to yield. 23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 24 SENATOR KRUEGER: You have to 25 wait for him to answer.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Yes, 2 the sponsor yields, Senator Krueger. 3 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you very 4 much. 5 What in this bill specifically 6 changes anything in transportation policy or 7 MTA policy, since we have agreed that there's 8 not really money in this bill? Could you go 9 over for me the changes in transportation 10 budget, transportation policy, capital budget 11 or policy, or MTA budget or policy? 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Well, 13 nothing on MTA. But when I was going through 14 my summary, there are a few things that the 15 Governor proposed that we modified somewhat. 16 For example, there were certain -- well, 17 actually, that we agreed with. 18 For example, the Governor suggested 19 the good policy would be to extend suspension 20 or revocation of driver's licenses for certain 21 drug-related offenses. That technically 22 changes the law in that it wasn't permanent 23 before. Now it's going to be permanent. Same 24 with extending suspension of driver's license 25 for certain alcohol-related charges. That's

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 now going to be permanent in order that the 2 Governor proposes. Permanently extending the 3 Department of Transportation single audit 4 program. That was not permanent; it now is. 5 So insofar as some of these issues 6 that I've already outlined, there are policy 7 changes insofar as making policies that were 8 in existence, having them extend permanently 9 as opposed to having to be -- a new bill being 10 put forward because of a sunset. So there's 11 that type of provision in this type of budget. 12 And there's a few others that I could go 13 through if you'd like. 14 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. I 15 appreciate the explanation. Mr. President, if 16 through you the sponsor would continue to 17 yield. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 19 sponsor yields. 20 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 21 Senator DeFrancisco just laid out a 22 number of permanent extenders that are built 23 into this Article VII bill. Why is the 24 Legislature taking the position that we should 25 do permanent extenders of changes in the law

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 as opposed to extenders that match with budget 2 years? 3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Because 4 it's the right thing to do. The Governor 5 proposed it. And these penalties, for 6 example, in alcohol-related offenses, dealing 7 with suspension of driver's licenses for 8 alcohol-related offenses, drug-related 9 offenses, it is good public policy and it 10 should be extended permanently. 11 It's just that we agree with the 12 Governor on these permanent extensions. 13 There's simply no reason to have to do it year 14 after year in a budget bill when it's good 15 public policy. 16 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you, 17 Mr. President. If the sponsor would continue 18 to yield, please. 19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 21 sponsor yields. 22 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 23 Moving into the economic development section 24 of this bill, this is a language bill, as 25 we've already established. And is there

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 language about the state's economic 2 development plan specifically laid out in this 3 bill? Are we continuing to push for a mission 4 of revitalization in economic development? 5 And how are we planning to do that in the 6 context of these language changes? 7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Well, 8 there's only -- well, it depends on what's 9 meant by your question. There is something in 10 here making permanent -- the Governor wanted 11 to make permanent the general loan powers of 12 the New York State Urban Development 13 Corporation. We didn't think that was a good 14 idea, nor did the Assembly, so we only gave 15 that authority to ESDC for one year. We 16 thought more oversight by the Legislature made 17 sense. 18 But with respect to the other major 19 economic development proposals of the 20 Governor, such as the regional economic 21 development organizations, that's not in this 22 bill. That will be in a subsequent bill that 23 we will explain at the time that bill comes 24 out. 25 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President. If through you the sponsor 2 will continue to yield. 3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 5 sponsor yields. 6 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 7 I believe that the Senator is 8 referencing Part DD of this bill in what he 9 reviewed on the UDC or ESDC requiring to 10 submit a financial plan to the DOB and go 11 through the documentation of their various 12 accounts. Which I have to say I think is 13 actually a very good thing for us to be doing. 14 But I'm confused because I don't 15 believe any of this was discussed in the 16 conference committee or the report. Was this 17 part of the economic development conference 18 discussions? 19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You know, I 20 really can't recall. But I can tell you the 21 reports this year were a lot longer than the 22 last two years and had much more detail. 23 Whether this particular proposal was in the 24 report, I really don't know. Some of the 25 information was probably not, and you may be

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 right that this might not have been. 2 SENATOR KRUEGER: Mr. President, 3 if through you the sponsor will continue to 4 yield. 5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 7 sponsor yields. 8 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 9 Again, referencing Part DD of this bill 10 specific to economic development, it 11 references a series of separate accounts 12 within ESDC. Are these new accounts we're 13 discussing or simply a review of all the 14 existing accounts? 15 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: They are 16 existing accounts. 17 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 18 Mr. President, if through you the 19 sponsor would continue to yield. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 21 sponsor yields. 22 SENATOR KRUEGER: There's also a 23 Part EE of the bill which is an authorization 24 for an Empire State New Market Corporation. 25 Could the sponsor please explain what that is

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 to me? 2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Well, 3 that's a very good question. Because I don't 4 know the answer at the moment, but I'll have 5 to consult with someone who does. 6 All right, I've been informed that 7 this legislation allows the Urban Development 8 Corporation to create limited liability 9 companies to take advantage of a federal 10 program. Without limited liability programs, 11 we wouldn't be able to take advantage of the 12 federal New Markets Tax Credit program, and 13 that's the purpose for it. 14 SENATOR KRUEGER: Mr. President, 15 if through you the sponsor would continue to 16 yield. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 18 sponsor yields. 19 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. And 20 following up on this question of these new 21 market credits and the creation somehow of 22 LLCs in order to take advantage of these 23 federal tax credits, is there any matching 24 state cost associated with the creation of 25 this program or this section of the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Article VII language? 2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: No, there's 3 no required matching funds. And the total 4 amount of the potential tax credits is 5 $30 million. 6 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 7 Mr. President, if through you the 8 sponsor would continue to yield. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 10 sponsor yields. 11 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 12 So we have a new program created 13 within this bill which would hopefully allow 14 us to take advantage of some federal tax 15 credits, I hear to the tune of $30 million, 16 and it would be involving LLCs. Would the 17 Independent Authorities Budget Office have 18 oversight on this program? And would there be 19 the same requirements for transparency and 20 audit by the Independent Public Authorities 21 Budget Office as was created in our Public 22 Authorities Reform Act? And don't ask me to 23 say that again. 24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, it 25 would be subject to that review. And in

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 addition, this is technically not a new state 2 program, it's simply allowing us to be able to 3 have the mechanics in place to take advantage 4 of the federal tax credit program of 5 $30 million. 6 SENATOR KRUEGER: And, 7 Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue 8 to yield. 9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I 10 would. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 12 sponsor yields. 13 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 14 So it's my understanding that this 15 section, Part EE, like Part DD, were not 16 discussed at the conference committee tables. 17 Are there any other sections of this bill that 18 we are seeing tonight that did not come out of 19 conference committee discussions? 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You know, I 21 really don't know that. I don't have all the 22 reports in front of me. I'm sure that the 23 reports have been available. They were made 24 public when they were handed up to the joint 25 conference committee. I'm certain that some

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 of the items that are in the final bills were 2 not discussed by the joint conference 3 committees. 4 I understand also that the process 5 is not perfect, that I would love to see every 6 single issue before the joint conference 7 committees. However, that did not happen this 8 year. But there was definitely a good faith 9 effort on behalf of the Assembly and the 10 Senate leadership to have open discussions on 11 as many issues as possible that we could 12 during the time frame allotted. And no doubt 13 some of these were not in the committee 14 reports. 15 Some of the committee reports, by 16 the way, referred them to the general 17 conference committee for discussion, and some 18 of those issues were decided in negotiations 19 by the leaders. And there's no secret about 20 that. 21 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. Actually, I appreciate Senator 23 DeFrancisco's direct answers to my questions. 24 Again, it highlights my earlier point that it 25 would have been helpful had there been actual

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 language available for people to see before we 2 actually were moving the new bill to the 3 floor. 4 And again, for the record, Senate 5 law requires that bills that are being voted 6 on on the floor actually have memos. And I, 7 at least, don't see memos to this budget bill 8 on my desk. 9 I'm certainly not going to delay 10 the process here tonight. But again, for the 11 record, many of the questions that we want to 12 make sure get asked are because we went 13 through conference committees -- better than 14 some years, not perfect -- we were not 15 provided language agreements between the two 16 houses prior to coming to the floor of the 17 Senate. We are desperately reading the bills 18 literally as we are moving them. 19 And again, for the record, I -- 20 perhaps it's on other people's desks, but I 21 don't see a memo to this bill here before us. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 23 Krueger, are you on the bill now? 24 SENATOR KRUEGER: No, I was 25 making a point that there is no memo. Or

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 perhaps I'll make that a question. Is there a 2 memo for this bill? 3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: No. The 4 way I understand the rules is that the memos 5 that are required are on appropriation bills. 6 However, the bill that we are 7 discussing right now was on the Internet 8 starting at 1:20 this afternoon. This session 9 started about 6:20 today. There were five 10 hours. The total number of pages of this bill 11 is 45 1/2. And since we concurred with the 12 Governor on so many of the areas -- the 13 Governor's language has been in existence for 14 two months, two and a half months. 15 So the areas that you have 16 highlighted that you are concerned you didn't 17 have time to read are a small pittance of the 18 amount of these 45 1/2 pages, which all of us 19 could clearly have read in time, in five 20 hours, to be prepared for this. And you're 21 obviously prepared to discuss it by the nature 22 of your questions. 23 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 24 Mr. President, if the sponsor would 25 continue to yield, please.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I 2 would. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 4 DeFrancisco yields, Senator Krueger. 5 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 6 Without ceding agreement that not 7 all bills that come to the floor of the Senate 8 need memos because I'm pretty sure all bills 9 need memos -- the next bill that I'm advised 10 we may be taking up tonight, the government 11 operations appropriation bill, can I assume 12 that there will be a memo for that bill before 13 we take it up on the floor? 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You can 15 assume that, correct. 16 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: And I will 18 do my best to make certain it is on the 19 tables. 20 SENATOR KRUEGER: Because I want 21 to agree with Senator DeFrancisco that this 22 bill we're discussing now is, for budget bill 23 purposes, a relatively small bill. 24 But the government ops 25 appropriation bill that we got I believe

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 around 5:30 this evening was approximately 2 that thick (indicating) in its original 3 format, so a memo certainly would be valuable 4 for being able to improve the questions and 5 the process. 6 Following back up on my questions 7 on this bill, if the sponsor would continue to 8 yield. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 10 DeFrancisco continues to yield. 11 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 12 There was some disagreement over 13 the last few weeks around regional economic 14 development councils. How were those issues 15 resolved in this Article VII bill? Have we 16 established the regional development councils, 17 and do we know what source of funding will be 18 used for them? 19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: This is not 20 in this bill, but the regional councils are 21 going to be in place in a subsequent bill. 22 And it's going to be done by executive order, 23 and I think it's $170 million -- 130. A few 24 million here or there. But $130 million, and 25 it's going to be by executive order.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR KRUEGER: So it sounds 2 like I will go back to those questions at a 3 later time when we deal with the appropriate 4 bill. 5 I want to thank the sponsor for his 6 answers to my questions, and I believe that 7 several of my other colleagues have additional 8 questions to ask. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 10 you, Senator Krueger. Thank you, Senator 11 DeFrancisco. 12 Senator Dilan. 13 SENATOR DILAN: Yes, thank you, 14 Mr. President. I have two questions regarding 15 the transportation Article VII language -- 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 17 Dilan, are you asking Senator DeFrancisco to 18 yield? 19 SENATOR DILAN: Yes, but I first 20 was stating why I'm rising. 21 -- in regard to two items that were 22 agreed upon at the transportation table that 23 are omitted from the Article VII bill. So I 24 wanted an explanation as to why those items 25 are not in the bill. Specifically, DMV and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 private airports and Stewart Airport. So I am 2 asking him will he yield for two questions. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 4 DeFrancisco, will you yield to a couple of 5 questions from Senator Dilan? 6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I will. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 8 Dilan. 9 SENATOR DILAN: Yes, Senator, 10 specifically DMV Part F in the bill, the bill 11 indicates that the language was intentionally 12 omitted. However, at the transportation table 13 the Assembly and Senate did agree to this 14 language. 15 Also, I do have a letter from the 16 U.S. Department of Transportation that if we 17 do not deal with this item we would be out of 18 compliance by October 1, 2011, and we would 19 lose 5 percent federal funding with respect to 20 federal aid for highway funds. 21 So do we know why this was omitted? 22 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Okay, I'm 23 trying to listen to you and two other people, 24 but I think I got it all down pat. 25 It's not in this bill, but it will

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 be in a -- we expect it to be in a subsequent 2 bill tomorrow. So we can discuss that. The 3 language is being refined -- as I mentioned 4 before, some of the language is, and it's not 5 ready yet. So it was pulled out of this bill, 6 it's going to be in one of the other bills. 7 Secondly, I am trying to figure 8 out, because I was told that memos were 9 prepared on both of the bills that we are 10 discussing tonight, and I got -- well, I can 11 tell you that everybody does have memos on 12 their desks that includes a memo, Senate 13 report on Senate 2812C that we're discussing 14 right now. There is also a memo on -- excuse 15 me, 2810C we're discussing now. There's also 16 one on Senate 2812C. 17 So everyone does have those. And I 18 mistakenly said that they were not there, but 19 they are. 20 SENATOR DILAN: I would just, 21 Mr. President, like to indicate that this memo 22 was placed on my desk maybe a couple of 23 minutes ago. So I just want that to be on the 24 record. 25 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Fine.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 There was some confusion, but everybody has 2 them now. 3 SENATOR DILAN: Would he yield to 4 another question? 5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 6 DeFrancisco, do you yield? 7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 9 Dilan. 10 SENATOR DILAN: Yes, Senator, is 11 that the same case with the $4 million of 12 unused funding for private airports and 13 Stewart Airport? 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, that 15 will be -- that money will be in an 16 appropriations bill. 17 SENATOR DILAN: Another question. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 19 Senator, will you continue to yield? 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 22 Dilan. 23 SENATOR DILAN: Yes, the reason 24 I'm asking these questions is because at our 25 conference subcommittee table, both these

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 items were treated as Article VII. Why were 2 they changed to another appropriations bill 3 when we were talking about Article VII 4 language? And we're dealing with an Article 5 VII bill. 6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'm just 7 trying to get the real reason here, and I 8 haven't quite understood it myself. And I 9 just want to -- if you'd give me one moment. 10 All right, the Part F, the language 11 to conform the Vehicle and Traffic Law to 12 federal requirements, will be in a separate 13 Article VII bill. The other issue that you 14 raised concerning the airports is going to be 15 in an appropriations bill. 16 Now, I think it was more mechanics 17 than -- in view of trying to get this process 18 going, other than trying to confuse anyone, it 19 was the mechanics of getting done as much as 20 we could get done as early as we could get 21 done in this budget. And those items, some 22 items were pushed to another bill or two. 23 SENATOR DILAN: All right. On 24 the bill. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Dilan on the bill. 2 SENATOR DILAN: With respect to 3 the omission of these two items in the 4 Article VII language just seems confusing. 5 And for it to be moved into another area 6 without consultation or letting members of the 7 subcommittee know, I think is wrong. 8 Thank you. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 10 you, Senator Dilan. 11 Is there any other Senator wishing 12 to be heard? 13 Senator Stewart-Cousins. 14 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Would 15 the sponsor yield, please, for a question. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 17 DeFrancisco, do you yield? 18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I 19 would. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 21 Stewart-Cousins. 22 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Senator 23 DeFrancisco, I just wanted to go back very 24 briefly to the MTA payroll tax. 25 And I know we'd had disagreements

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 back and forth in terms of what new taxes are 2 and what new taxes aren't. And one of the 3 conversations that we had around the so-called 4 millionaire's tax was that it was a new tax 5 and that was going to be allowed to expire 6 because there are no new taxes. 7 And I'm just wondering what the 8 rationale is, say, for the MTA payroll tax in 9 terms of not allowing that tax to expire. 10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You're 11 referring to the MTA payroll tax that was 12 imposed last year or the year before? 13 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: The 14 same as the so-called millionaire's tax. I'm 15 making the analogy because in my mind they're 16 analogous. 17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The reason 18 is basically this. Number one, the 19 millionaire's tax, both the Governor and the 20 Senate Majority made a pledge that there would 21 be no new taxes. And in making that pledge we 22 wanted to honor that pledge because by 23 extending a tax that expires, we believe that 24 that was imposing a new tax because it's 25 otherwise going to expire.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 The MTA payroll tax that was 2 imposed when we had a different majority, your 3 majority, running the government is a 4 $1.5 billion item. Unfortunately, it was not 5 physically -- or it was not fiscally possible 6 to deal with a $10 billion deficit and also 7 eliminate another tax of $1.5 billion. It 8 just couldn't be done. So that's the 9 rationale behind it. 10 And it was -- you know, it was 11 very -- I think we -- the last couple of years 12 there were $14 billion in new taxes, 13 $14 billion in new spending that we all voted 14 against. And had we not done that, maybe we 15 wouldn't have had to impose an MTA tax if we'd 16 kept spending under control the last couple of 17 years when you were in the majority. 18 So right now what we're trying to 19 do is get the house in order and hopefully be 20 in a position to have an economy that actually 21 creates more taxpayers paying taxes, and maybe 22 be able to get rid of onerous taxes that were 23 imposed the last couple of years in future 24 years. 25 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: I

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 appreciate -- 2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 3 Stewart-Cousins, are you asking Senator 4 DeFrancisco to continue to yield? Or are you 5 going to speak on the bill? 6 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: No, 7 just on the bill, yes. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 9 Stewart-Cousins on the bill. 10 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: I do 11 remember being here last year and the year 12 before and we were looking at several billion 13 dollars, around $32 billion. And I know that 14 as our discussions around this tax, which 15 indeed many, certainly in the Hudson Valley, 16 were very concerned about. But because of the 17 amount of deficit we had to deal with and the 18 recommendations, frankly, of the MTA and 19 others, in order to keep people riding, and 20 transportation being so critical to jobs, it 21 was imposed. 22 But I remember the difference in 23 terms of the feelings of that and was just 24 wondering, frankly, when the opportunity 25 existed to say goodbye possibly to what people

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 consider an onerous tax, why that opportunity 2 was not achieved. So thank you. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 4 Kennedy. 5 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you, 6 Mr. President. Through you, Mr. President, 7 will the sponsor yield for questions? 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 9 DeFrancisco, do you yield? 10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 12 Kennedy. 13 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you. 14 This is regarding the agriculture 15 portion of this bill. Can you discuss and 16 explain the Share New York Food initiative, 17 please? 18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Would you 19 please repeat the question? 20 SENATOR KENNEDY: Sure. Can you 21 please discuss, explain the Share New York, 22 Share NY Food initiative? 23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Can you 24 tell me what section of this budget bill 25 that's in?

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR KRUEGER: Part U. 2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: All right, 3 I guess I've been told it's in Part U. 4 We accepted the Executive's 5 proposal to establish the Share New York 6 initiative that would utilize available funds 7 from the upstate agricultural development 8 funds as well as federal funds to improve 9 farmers' market functions and expand access to 10 fresh produce to underserved areas. 11 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you. 12 The Governor originally proposed -- 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 14 Kennedy, are you asking -- 15 SENATOR KENNEDY: Mr. President, 16 through you, will the sponsor continue to 17 yield? 18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 20 DeFrancisco yields. 21 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you. 22 The Governor originally proposed 23 $1.2 million in competitive grants. Is this 24 funding included in the budget agreement? 25 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You're

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 asking if it's competitive grants? 2 SENATOR KENNEDY: The Governor 3 proposed competitive grants to the tune of 4 $1.2 million. Is that funding included in the 5 budget? 6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: First of 7 all, this was never proposed by the Governor's 8 competitive grants. 9 There were competitive grants that 10 are going to be in the bill that deals with 11 agriculture, and those competitive grants -- 12 that are unrelated to this -- have been 13 eliminated. And there are grants that are 14 lined out in the budget, in one of the 15 appropriation bills, that list each of the 16 organizations that get those competitive 17 grants. 18 This was never subject to 19 competitive grants by the Governor. We took 20 his language exactly the way it was in January 21 in his original bill. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 23 Kennedy. 24 SENATOR KENNEDY: Will the 25 sponsor continue to yield? Mr. President,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 through you. 2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 4 DeFrancisco yields. 5 SENATOR KENNEDY: Senator 6 DeFrancisco, could you please describe how the 7 grants would work? 8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Well, the 9 grant money, the way I understand it, is 10 that -- the Governor proposed that these 11 grants would be in the Governor's discretion. 12 We accepted that. And the amount of money 13 isn't really lined out, it's -- how much is 14 going to be available is unknown at this point 15 in time. 16 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 18 you, Senator Kennedy. 19 Senator Diaz. 20 SENATOR DIAZ: Mr. President, 21 would Senator Dilan yield for a question or 22 two, please? 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 24 DeFrancisco, do you yield -- 25 SENATOR DIAZ: No, Dilan. Dilan.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 2 Dilan. 3 SENATOR DIAZ: Senator Dilan. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 5 Dilan, do you yield to a question from Senator 6 Diaz? 7 SENATOR DILAN: Yes. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 9 Dilan yields, Senator Diaz. 10 SENATOR DIAZ: Senator Dilan, I 11 need to understand something that you said and 12 I need to understand it clearly. You asked 13 two questions before, and you said that your 14 table, the committee that was dealing to get 15 to an agreement, you said -- if I heard you 16 right, did you say that there was two things 17 that you agreed on and at the last minute were 18 not included in this? 19 SENATOR DILAN: Yes, what I 20 indicated was that there were two items, one 21 that dealt with DMV, where there's a letter 22 from the U.S. Department of Transportation 23 that we were out of compliance and that if we 24 did not deal with that issue by October 1, 25 2011, we would lose 5 percent federal funding

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 for highway funds. 2 The second issue was with respect 3 to $4 million of unused old money -- yes. 4 SENATOR DIAZ: That's not the 5 question. The question was, Senator Dilan, 6 the question was that you said that after you 7 and the table agreed to include that, at the 8 last minute it was taken out. It's not in 9 this. 10 SENATOR DILAN: Well, at what 11 point it was taken out, I don't know. The 12 only thing is that it's not in the Article VII 13 bill. And when we were discussing this at the 14 table, it was Article VII language. So it 15 should be in this bill, and it's not. 16 SENATOR DIAZ: So, Mr. President, 17 would Senator Dilan yield for a question? 18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 19 Dilan, do you continue to yield? 20 SENATOR DILAN: Yes. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 22 Diaz. 23 SENATOR DIAZ: So you are telling 24 this body here that you sat down with a group 25 of Senators, discussed all these details, and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 you got into an agreement and it's not here. 2 SENATOR DILAN: We sat down with 3 the subcommittee, and they reported out to the 4 mother ship that these were the agreements, 5 the agreements were signed by the chairman of 6 Transportation from the Assembly committee and 7 the Senate chairman. And it was reported 8 those two items were in the final agreement, 9 but those two items are not in this bill. 10 SENATOR DIAZ: Mr. President, 11 would Senator Dilan yield for another 12 question? 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 14 Dilan, do you continue to yield? 15 SENATOR DILAN: Yes. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 17 Diaz. 18 SENATOR DIAZ: So, Senator Dilan, 19 one of those two issues that you said that are 20 not included here, one of those two issues has 21 to do with something about the federal 22 government, we're failing to comply with 23 something and we'll lose what? 24 SENATOR DILAN: The letter is 25 dated November 5, 2010, from U.S. Department

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier 2 Safety Administration, and it's regarding a 3 final determination of substantial 4 noncompliance. The letter was sent to 5 Governor Paterson at that time. And it says: 6 "Thus New York will lose up to 5 percent of 7 its federal aid highway funds on October 1, 8 2011, the first day of fiscal year 2012, 9 unless New York agrees to exclude CDL drivers 10 charged with disqualifying offenses." 11 SENATOR DIAZ: Mr. President, 12 will Senator Dilan yield for another question? 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 14 Dilan, do you continue to yield? 15 SENATOR DILAN: Yes. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 17 Diaz. 18 SENATOR DIAZ: So, Senator Dilan, 19 you are telling us that you are worried that 20 the State of New York will lose 5 percent of 21 the allotment from the federal government. 22 Can you please tell me more or less how much, 23 if you know, how much will be 5 percent? 24 SENATOR DILAN: I've been told 25 that it could be as much as $70 million.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR DIAZ: Mr. President, 2 would Senator Dilan yield for another 3 question? 4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 5 Dilan yields, Senator Diaz. 6 SENATOR DIAZ: And if this is not 7 included -- and we have been promised, Senator 8 Dilan, that it will be included later on. But 9 if we don't deal with this, you are telling 10 everybody here that we are about to lose 11 5 percent of the federal allotment because we 12 are not including that in this budget? 13 SENATOR DILAN: That is correct. 14 We have until October 1, 2011, to correct 15 this. But I believe that I heard the chairman 16 of the Finance Committee indicate that they 17 were going to deal with this in another bill. 18 But not in the Article VII where it should be. 19 SENATOR DIAZ: Mr. President, 20 would Senator Dilan yield for another 21 question? 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 23 Dilan, do you continue to yield? 24 SENATOR DILAN: Yes. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Diaz. 2 SENATOR DIAZ: Another thing that 3 you said that I heard -- and you please 4 correct me if I heard wrong -- it's about 5 Stewart Airport losing $4 million, something. 6 What was that? 7 SENATOR DILAN: It is not only 8 Stewart Airport, it's private airports. And 9 Stewart Airport, Republic Airport. It's 10 $4 million of unused money. If the Division 11 of the Budget agrees to utilize that money, 12 they could use it for those purposes. That 13 was also Article VII language that is not 14 included in this bill. 15 SENATOR DIAZ: Mr. President, 16 would Senator Dilan yield for another 17 question, please? 18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 19 Dilan, do you continue to yield? 20 SENATOR DILAN: Yes. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 22 Diaz. 23 SENATOR DIAZ: Do you know in 24 which senatorial district is Stewart Airport 25 located?

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR DILAN: I honestly don't 2 know. I don't know. 3 SENATOR DIAZ: Would Senator 4 Dilan yield for another question? 5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 6 Dilan yields, Senator Diaz. 7 SENATOR DIAZ: So, Senator Dilan, 8 you're telling me that you did your research, 9 you met with your table, you tried to protect 10 the State of New York by -- to comply, you 11 tried to make us comply with the federal 12 guidelines and also protect some airports like 13 Stewart Airport from losing -- from being able 14 to be affected, and now you are worried -- 15 because this is not included, you are worried 16 that they might be hurt? 17 SENATOR DILAN: Well, I know that 18 the subcommittee unanimously agreed to all the 19 recommendations. There was a report given to 20 what's referred to as the mother ship. We 21 reported it to our conference that that was 22 agreed with. And these two items are omitted 23 from the Article VII language. And that's how 24 the subcommittee dealt with it, and those two 25 items are not in this bill.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR DIAZ: Would Senator 2 Dilan yield for the last question, 3 Mr. President. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 5 Dilan, do you yield to the last question from 6 Senator Diaz? 7 SENATOR DILAN: To the final 8 question, yes. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 10 Diaz. 11 SENATOR DIAZ: Senator Dilan, 12 what would be your recommendation now to this 13 body? 14 SENATOR DILAN: What will be my 15 recommendation? I would have expected that 16 this language be in the Article VII language 17 because that's the way it was originally 18 proposed. So I don't know, maybe these bills 19 were printed in a hurry or something, but 20 these items are not here. They should have 21 been here. How they can remedy, that's their 22 choice. 23 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, 24 Mr. President. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 you. 2 Any other Senator wishing to be 3 heard? Seeing none, the debate is closed. 4 The Secretary will ring the bell. 5 Read the last section. 6 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 7 act shall take effect immediately. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call 9 the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll.) 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 12 DeFrancisco to explain his vote. 13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I just 14 want to clarify a couple of things and also 15 relieve Senator Diaz's mind and Senator 16 Dilan's mind that are worried about this 17 federal money. 18 The Article VII bill, there will be 19 another Article VII bill with the language in 20 it to make sure we won't jeopardize the fund. 21 And it was great that we were providing 22 Senator Dilan the opportunity to help us save 23 this money at our conference committees. And 24 he was diligent in helping us. So that 25 language will, guaranteed, be in another

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Article VII bill, so there's no need to worry. 2 Number two, the second issue 3 concerning the airport funds, those airport 4 funds that were agreed upon at the table will 5 be in the appropriation bill. And I've been 6 informed during the discussion here that 7 traditionally that has been in appropriation 8 bills because you're reappropriating unspent 9 money. So rest assured it will be there. 10 And last, I misspoke on one point. 11 The IDA tax, which I said was no longer in 12 effect prospectively but was in effect 13 retroactively was incorrect. This bill also 14 eliminates the retroactive IDA tax. So I just 15 wanted to clarify that because I misspoke 16 earlier. 17 Thank you, and I vote aye. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 19 DeFrancisco to be recorded in the affirmative. 20 Senator Diaz to explain his vote. 21 I remind members we're on the 22 two-minute explanation. 23 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, 24 Mr. President. 25 I just want to clarify to Senator

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 DeFrancisco that it was not my intention to 2 put him on the defensive. It was only the 3 worry that we would like the State of 4 New York, in this time of crisis when we need 5 money, that we be sure we don't lose 6 $70 million by somebody forgetting to do 7 something and not including what was supposed 8 to be included. 9 So I'm voting yes -- no, I'm sorry, 10 I'm voting no. Voting no. Sorry, I'm voting 11 no. But I could assure that it is not my 12 intention to put Senator DeFrancisco or 13 anybody else into the defensive. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 15 Diaz to be recorded in the negative. 16 Announce the results. 17 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 18 the negative on Calendar Number 277 are 19 Senators Duane and Diaz. 20 Absent from voting: Senator 21 Perkins. 22 Ayes, 59. Nays, 2. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 24 bill is passed. 25 The Secretary will read.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 278, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2812C, 3 an act relating to constituting Chapter 18A of 4 the consolidated laws. 5 SENATOR KRUEGER: Explanation. 6 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 8 Libous. 9 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 10 is there a message of necessity at the desk? 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There 12 is a message of necessity at the desk. 13 SENATOR LIBOUS: I move that we 14 accept the message of necessity. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: All in 16 favor of accepting the message of necessity 17 signify by saying aye. 18 (Response of "Aye.") 19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 20 Opposed? 21 (No response.) 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 23 message is accepted. 24 An explanation has been requested, 25 Senator DeFrancisco.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. First 2 of all, this is an Article VIII bill, 2812C, 3 dealing with the merger of state entities. 4 And I have been assured that there is a memo 5 on everyone's desk. And it's very -- that 6 it's a very short memo, it's only one page. 7 It's a relatively uncomplicated bill. 8 Part A deals with the merger of the 9 Department of Banking, Insurance and Consumer 10 Protection. That was what the Governor was 11 proposing. The Legislature rejected merging 12 the Consumer Protection Board with the 13 Department of Banking and Department of 14 Insurance and instead put the Consumer 15 Protection Board where we believe it was more 16 a more natural merger, namely, with the 17 Department of State. 18 The Legislature also was concerned 19 about the separate roles of Banking and 20 Insurance. Although the two are going to be 21 consolidated, the departments consolidated, we 22 added language to make these separate 23 divisions so that we can have a regulatory 24 firewall between Banking and Insurance. 25 I've been informed that the savings

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 from this part of the bill in consolidation is 2 only $200,000, but the assessment savings from 3 banks and insurance companies because of the 4 merger is going to be a $2 million savings. 5 Part B is the merger of the 6 Department of Correctional Services and the 7 Division of Parole into the Department of 8 Corrections and Community Supervision. 9 We modified the Governor's proposal 10 to allow the merger of these departments into 11 the Department of Corrections and Community 12 Supervision and reduced the number of Board of 13 Parole members from 19 to 13 by having the 14 Board of Parole maintain its current authority 15 and include language to ensure that the board 16 would not be hampered in any way by the new 17 entity. 18 And basically there will be an 19 annual report required as well with regard to 20 the number of parolees that are charged with 21 violations of parole and the outcome of those 22 violations. 23 That savings is estimated at 24 6 million this year and, in the following 25 year, $8 million.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Part C, the merger of Division of 2 Criminal Justice Services with the Office of 3 Victim Services and Office for Prevention of 4 Domestic Violence and State Commission on 5 Corrections, the Legislature rejected that. 6 That was going to be a $477,000 projected 7 savings, but we thought that these were such 8 disparate organizations that had such separate 9 functions that it made little sense for that 10 amount of savings to have the consolidation, 11 and the Governor agreed. 12 Part D, the merger of the 13 Foundation for Science and Technology and 14 Innovation -- that's NYSTAR -- we modified the 15 Executive proposal to merge NYSTAR and ESDC by 16 creating a separate division for NYSTAR in the 17 Department of Economic Development to ensure 18 the retention of the technical personnel who 19 made NYSTAR the great program that it is. But 20 despite rejecting the entire proposal, there 21 still will be $1.9 million in savings. 22 And lastly, agency reorganization, 23 the Sage Commission, we modified the 24 Executive's proposal that permits the Governor 25 to examine further changes and further

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 consolidations. 2 And I'd be happy to answer any 3 questions, and I promise I will not be 4 defensive in answering those questions. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 6 Smith. 7 SENATOR SMITH: Yes, thank you 8 very much, Mr. President. The explanation is 9 accepted, and I'd like to just speak on the 10 bill. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: On the 12 bill, Senator Smith. 13 SENATOR SMITH: In particular, 14 with regard to the Banking Department and the 15 Insurance Department merging, one, I want to 16 congratulate the Governor on his critical 17 analysis of two agencies that weren't merging. 18 I think the savings that will result from the 19 merger will be worthwhile to us as legislators 20 and consumers. 21 I also want to congratulate you, 22 Mr. President, also as chair of Banking, and 23 Mr. Seward, as chair of Insurance, for the 24 work that your committees have done on this 25 particular merger.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Three items I do want to cite that 2 I thought the Governor at least yielded to, 3 one was there was some concern with regard to 4 overreaching into the Attorney General's 5 authority for investigations as well as 6 subpoena items, which he then changed in his 7 20-day amendment. 8 Secondly, there was obviously -- 9 many of us have concerns about mortgage fraud 10 and foreclosure issues, which he has assured 11 will be addressed with this merger. 12 And then thirdly, obviously, his 13 deciding not to have Consumer Protection 14 merged within Banking and Insurance. 15 So I think this is a good bill, 16 Mr. President, as you and Mr. Seward as well 17 helped shepherd it, and I encourage my 18 colleagues to vote yes on it. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 20 you, Senator Smith. 21 Senator Rivera. 22 SENATOR RIVERA: Thank you, 23 Mr. President. 24 One of the mergers that is proposed 25 in this bill and that was proposed originally

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 by the Governor was a merger between the 2 Parole and Corrections. And these two 3 entities, I had certain concerns. I had 4 serious concerns, since I believe that the 5 mission and the functions of these two 6 entities are separate. 7 This final version of the bill is a 8 vast improvement over the original proposal. 9 It does a few things. It has an independent 10 budget line for Parole separate from DOCS. 11 There's at least three instances in the 12 language that give a certain level of autonomy 13 to the Parole Board. It even allows for the 14 creation of community-based programs for 15 former offenders to actually reintegrate into 16 society. 17 So I am -- I will be voting in the 18 affirmative on this bill. This was one of my 19 concerns, and I'm glad that it was addressed. 20 But as ranking member of the Crime 21 Victims, Crime and Corrections Committee, I 22 will remain vigilant in making sure that as we 23 go forward after this merger has been achieved 24 that the -- certainly the savings are 25 important, but I believe that most important

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 is to make sure that these two entities, which 2 have missions and functions which are 3 separate, remain independent of each other. 4 So even if we achieve the savings 5 that we're saying we're going to achieve, the 6 two entities should continue to be independent 7 and their functions should be separate. I 8 believe this bill does that. And I will be 9 voting in the affirmative. 10 Thank you, Mr. President. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 12 you, Senator Rivera. 13 Is there any other Senator wishing 14 to be heard? 15 Senator Diaz. 16 SENATOR DIAZ: Would Senator 17 DeFrancisco yield for a question, please. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 19 DeFrancisco, do you yield? 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 22 Diaz. 23 SENATOR DIAZ: Senator 24 DeFrancisco, Part A, when you merge the 25 Department of Banking, the Department of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Insurance and the Consumer Protection Board 2 into the Department of Financial Services, 3 would this affect the authority and the power 4 of the Attorney General? 5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator, we 6 don't. We rejected the Consumer Protection 7 Board being put in with the new Department of 8 Financial Services that includes Banking and 9 Insurance. 10 We merged the -- the final bill 11 merges Consumer Protection with the Department 12 of State. And it will not affect the 13 authority of the Attorney General at all. 14 It's just how the former organization is now 15 going to be operated, Consumer Protection 16 would be in the Department of State. 17 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you. 18 On the bill. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 20 Diaz on the bill. 21 SENATOR DIAZ: Because we are 22 here merging and cutting in the name of saving 23 money for the state, to the state, I would 24 like to first congratulate you, Senator 25 Griffo, because you've been doing a great job

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 as the President. 2 And at the same time, I wonder 3 whatever happened to the Lieutenant Governor. 4 Because he was here every day, and after you 5 merged everything too, and you took away the 6 power, he disappeared. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: He 8 shrunk. 9 SENATOR DIAZ: Maybe the next 10 step will be to eliminate the office of the 11 Lieutenant Governor, we save money. 12 So I'm voting no. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Is 14 there any other Senator wishing to be heard? 15 Seeing none, debate is closed. 16 The Secretary will ring the bell. 17 Read the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 19 act shall take effect immediately. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call 21 the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 24 Seward to explain his vote. 25 SENATOR SEWARD: Yes, thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President, very briefly. 2 This year's budget-making process 3 created quite a challenge for the Legislature 4 and the Governor, closing a $10 billion 5 deficit. But with every challenge comes an 6 opportunity, an opportunity to make changes 7 that will benefit the people of the state. 8 And this consolidation and merger piece that 9 we are now passing is such an opportunity for 10 the people of the state, to save dollars and 11 also improve services for the people of 12 New York. 13 Zeroing in on the Department of 14 Financial Services -- working very closely 15 with you, Mr. President, as chair of the 16 Banking Committee, as we brought together the 17 Insurance and Banking Departments -- quite 18 frankly I had some initial concerns of the 19 original proposal in terms of being 20 overreaching and not in the best interests of 21 either the people or the industry in those two 22 areas. 23 This legislation before us is a 24 much improved product after much consultation 25 with the Governor and the Legislature. I'm

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 pleased that the Legislature includes some 2 specific legislative intent recognizing the 3 fact that it is necessary for our regulatory 4 system to be responsive, effective, and 5 innovative in order to compete in this global 6 marketplace. 7 And I see this legislation as being 8 a first step, a big step toward our ultimate 9 goal of transforming and modernizing the 10 regulation of insurance, banking and other 11 financial products in New York State. 12 So, Mr. President, I am very 13 pleased to vote aye. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 15 Seward to be recorded in the affirmative. 16 I'd ask that we continue to keep 17 some quiet in the house, please, to hear the 18 speakers. 19 Senator Farley to explain his vote. 20 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, 21 Mr. President. 22 I rise as somebody who's been 23 involved with the Banking Committee and 24 banking in New York State for over three 25 decades. And I want to salute you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President, who worked very hard on this 2 issue. It was a very controversial one and 3 one that was very much a cornerstone of the 4 Governor's platform and one that he was very 5 interested in in consolidation generally. 6 This is a massive consolidation. 7 And I think that many of the things that the 8 Legislature did, and particularly the Senate, 9 in its hearing and so forth, to improve this 10 consolidation, number one, I just want to 11 speak to the Division of Consumer Protection 12 which was part of that. It was something that 13 I felt was very poorly designed, from the 14 point of view that Consumer Protection was 15 going to get its funding from fines that it 16 could get from cohabiting with Insurance and 17 Banking, and kind of weird. So they have 18 moved that over to the Department of State at 19 the suggestion of several of our members, and 20 I think that was a very good idea. 21 Also, there's been a -- the 22 state-chartered banks are our lifeblood. They 23 fund our Banking Department. And in there is 24 an area that is going to promote the state 25 charter, encourage them to come back, that I

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 know that -- to return to the state charter. 2 And I know that you, Mr. President, 3 as chairman of the Banking Committee, and 4 myself as vice chairman, are going to work 5 very hard to promote the banking system and 6 keep New York State the financial center of 7 the world. 8 I vote aye. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 10 Farley to be recorded in the affirmative. 11 Thank you. 12 Senator DeFrancisco to explain his 13 vote. 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I 15 just -- something occurred to me as I was 16 listening to the debate on both of these 17 bills, and that is it was obvious the depth of 18 the knowledge of the Transportation Department 19 part of the budget, the transportation part of 20 the budget that Senator Dilan had in 21 expressing his concern whether or not a very 22 serious issue was actually included. And it 23 was explained that that was included -- it's 24 going to be included in another Article VII 25 bill.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Similarly, with the last bill, 2 Senator Rivera obviously had an in-depth 3 knowledge of the Parole Department and the 4 Corrections Department and was able to analyze 5 the budget bill as it came out, to express his 6 point of view. 7 And I think what this demonstrates 8 is how important following the 2007 Budget 9 Reform Act is and how important it is for 10 everybody to be involved in the process by 11 these conference committees. That it's really 12 very -- it's very important, and I'm very 13 pleased to see that it happened. As ranking 14 member on the Finance Committee last year, I 15 knew nothing about anything until the final 16 budget surfaced. 17 So hopefully we can continue this 18 process in future years, follow the law. And 19 I think it's healthy for all members of this 20 body. 21 Thank you very much. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 23 DeFrancisco to be recorded in the affirmative. 24 Senator Marcellino to explain his 25 vote.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 2 Mr. President. 3 I would just like to point out -- I 4 will be supporting this bill. I'd just like 5 to point out that the Committee on 6 Investigations, which I chair, held a joint 7 hearing with the Banking Committee and the 8 Insurance Committee, and many of the 9 recommendations that came from that public 10 hearing are incorporated in these two bills 11 that we have been voting on today and others 12 that will come. 13 So I am very pleased that we were 14 able to contribute to the budget process. I 15 will be voting aye. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 17 Marcellino to be recorded in the affirmative. 18 Announce the results. 19 THE SECRETARY: In relation to 20 Calendar Number 278, those recorded in the 21 negative are Senators Diaz and Duane. 22 Absent from voting: Senator 23 Perkins. 24 Ayes, 59. Nays, 2. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 bill is passed. 2 Senator Libous. 3 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 4 can we now go to the reading of the 5 noncontroversial calendar, please. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 7 Secretary will read. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 139, by Senator Fuschillo, Senate Print 3452, 10 an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read 12 the last section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 14 act shall take effect on the first of 15 November. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call 17 the roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll.) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 21 bill is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 182, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print -- 24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Will you 25 lay that bill aside for the day?

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And I thank Senator Dilan for 2 pointing out some deficiencies in the bill. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Lay it 4 aside for the day. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 226, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 2209, an 7 act to amend the Penal Law. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read 9 the last section. 10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 11 act shall take effect on the 90th day. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call 13 the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 16 Announce the results. 17 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded in 18 the negative on Calendar Number 226 are 19 Senators Duane, Hassell-Thompson, Huntley, 20 Montgomery, and Parker. 21 Ayes, 57. Nays, 5. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 23 bill is passed. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 25 244, substituted earlier today by Member of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the Assembly Cusick, Assembly Print Number 2 108, an act to amend Chapter 395 of the Laws 3 of 1978. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read 5 the last section. 6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 7 act shall take effect on April 1. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call 9 the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll.) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 62. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 13 bill is passed. 14 Senator Libous, that concludes the 15 noncontroversial reading, with Calendar Number 16 182, Senate Print 2903A, by Senator 17 DeFrancisco, laid aside for the day. 18 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, 19 Mr. President. 20 At this time we are going to just 21 stand at ease momentarily, and then I would 22 expect very soon I will be calling a meeting 23 of the conference committee. But that's not 24 going to take place yet, so if we would just 25 stand at -- what did I say, the conference

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 committee? Well, it's a new committee we 2 created under the rules yesterday. Didn't you 3 read it? 4 (Laughter.) 5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 6 Senate will stand at ease pending an 7 announcement. 8 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 9 ease at 7:39 p.m.) 10 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 11 at 8:05 p.m.) 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 13 Senate will please come to order. 14 Senator Libous. 15 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 16 there will be an immediate meeting of the 17 Finance Committee in Room 332, and the Senate 18 will stand at ease. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 20 Immediate meeting of the Senate Finance 21 Committee in Room 332. 22 The Senate will continue to stand 23 at ease. 24 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 25 ease at 8:06 p.m.)

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 2 at 8:21 p.m.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 4 Senate will come to order. 5 Senator Libous. 6 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 7 could we go back to the reports of standing 8 committees. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Reports 10 of standing committees. 11 The Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Senator 13 DeFrancisco, from the Committee on Finance, 14 reports the following bill direct to third 15 reading. 16 Senate Print 2800E, Senate Budget 17 Bill, an act making appropriations for the 18 support of government: STATE OPERATIONS 19 BUDGET. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Without 21 objection, the bill is reported to third 22 reading. 23 Senator Libous. 24 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 25 there is a supplemental calendar. If we could

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 take up the bill on the supplemental calendar, 2 please. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 4 Secretary will read. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 281, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2800E, 7 an act making appropriations for the support 8 of government: STATE OPERATIONS BUDGET. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 10 Libous. 11 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 12 is there a message of necessity at the desk? 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There 14 is a message of necessity at the desk. 15 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I 16 move to accept the message of necessity, 17 please. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: All in 19 favor of accepting the message of necessity 20 signify by saying aye. 21 (Response of "Aye.") 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: 23 Opposed? 24 (No response.) 25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 message is accepted. 2 SENATOR BRESLIN: Lay it aside. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 4 bill is laid aside. 5 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 6 at this time could we now take up the 7 controversial supplemental calendar. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 9 Secretary will ring the bell. 10 The Secretary will read. 11 SENATOR BRESLIN: Explanation, 12 please. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: We're 14 going to let him read first, Senator Breslin, 15 and then an explanation has been called by 16 Senator Breslin. Senator DeFrancisco will be 17 ready. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 281, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2800E, 20 an act making appropriations for the support 21 of government: SENATE OPERATIONS BUDGET. 22 SENATOR BRESLIN: Explanation. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 24 DeFrancisco. 25 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: This Senate

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Bill, 2800E, is summarized in a memo that is 2 on everybody's desk. And it basically 3 provides for the operations of government, 4 it's the appropriations bill for the 5 operations of government. 6 Generally speaking, this bill has 7 in it approximately a billion dollars in cuts, 8 accomplished primarily by the Governor's 9 proposed 10 percent across the board cuts for 10 all state agencies. The Department of 11 Corrections and Community Supervision was cut 12 $253 million; State University, $118 million; 13 CUNY, in parity with SUNY, $55 million; State 14 Police, $52 million; Children and Family 15 Services, $27 million; Public Health, 16 $19 million; Parks, Recreation and Historic 17 Preservation, $12 million; General Services, 18 $12 million; Environmental Conservation, 19 $10 million; Temporary and Disability 20 Assistance, $6 million; Criminal Justice 21 Services, et cetera, $8 million; Law 22 Department, $11 million; Audit and Control, 23 $14 million; and others, approximately 24 $87 million. That totals $684 million. 25 Savings achieved in other funds:

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 State University, $116 million; Mental 2 Hygiene, $159 million; Transportation and 3 Motor Vehicles, $76 million. Basically, 4 around a 10 percent cut across the board. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Is 6 there any other Senator wishing to be heard? 7 Senator Breslin. 8 SENATOR BRESLIN: Yes, through 9 you, Mr. President, will the sponsor yield for 10 a question or two. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 12 DeFrancisco, do you yield? 13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I 14 would. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 16 Breslin. 17 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you. 18 About 5:15 we received the 700-page 19 Print D version of this bill of operations. 20 And we're now on E, I believe, is that 21 correct? 22 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 23 SENATOR BRESLIN: We had an 24 opportunity, albeit a little tight, to review 25 D. Through you, Mr. President, can you tell

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 us the differences between D and E? 2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 3 DeFrancisco. 4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: There were 5 two things that were changed from Print D to 6 E. There was $16 million more added to SUNY, 7 and a series of Governor's reappropriations 8 were put in this E print of the bill. 9 Ninety-nine percent of the bill is the 10 Governor's original budget, because the 11 Legislature agreed to go with the 10 percent 12 cuts that he had proposed in his budget. 13 SENATOR BRESLIN: Mr. President, 14 would the sponsor continue to yield? 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 16 DeFrancisco, do you continue to yield? 17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 19 sponsor yields. 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: But I 21 misspoke, it was $60 million restored to SUNY. 22 SENATOR BRESLIN: Would the 23 sponsor continue to yield. 24 That was the first question, can 25 you tell us what that $60 million was for?

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It was 2 basically for the teaching hospitals that are 3 throughout the State of New York. 4 SENATOR BRESLIN: The SUNY -- 5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: SUNY 6 teaching hospitals. 7 SENATOR BRESLIN: Again, would 8 the sponsor continue to yield? 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Will 10 the sponsor yield? 11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 13 sponsor yields, Senator Breslin. 14 SENATOR BRESLIN: In this 15 operations budget, from the original proposal 16 of closing 3500 beds in the prison system, 17 it's now been increased to 3700 beds. Can you 18 tell us what the additional savings will be 19 for those incremental beds? 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I can't 21 tell you what the additional savings is, but 22 the procedure for those closures is really 23 left to the discretion of the Governor. And 24 if I knew what the 3500 beds savings was, I 25 could probably give you a good estimate what

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 3700 is. But I'll get that number as soon as 2 counsel -- as soon as you're ready here. It's 3 $72 million. Whoever said it is correct. 4 SENATOR BRESLIN: Through you, 5 Mr. President, the additional 200 beds results 6 in a savings of $72 million? 7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The total 8 is $72 million. There was no additional money 9 associated with the additional 200 beds. 10 That's the estimate of what the intent is to 11 try to close the additional 200 beds. DOB 12 will -- well, the Governor ultimately will 13 make that decision and DOB will tell us what 14 the ultimate savings might be. 15 SENATOR BRESLIN: And again 16 through you, Mr. President, will the sponsor 17 continue to yield. 18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 20 sponsor yields. 21 SENATOR BRESLIN: In another 22 area, the Judiciary budget has been cut by 23 $170 million. Can you tell us, because of the 24 extreme importance of the Judiciary and what 25 it does and what it performs, if any of those

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 cuts are substantive cuts that would affect 2 either programs or judges' ability to rule on 3 decisions in a proper and fair and timely way. 4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Well, first 5 of all, the total cuts to the Judiciary is 6 $170 million, and $100 million of that was a 7 voluntary cut that the Judiciary graciously 8 agreed to do. 9 The Governor indicated that he felt 10 that the Judiciary should cut 10 percent like 11 the other state agencies and left it up to the 12 Judiciary, since it's a separate branch of 13 government, to determine where those cuts 14 should be. 15 The Judiciary has submitted to the 16 Governor and to the Legislature a proposal as 17 far as where that's going to go, how they will 18 make the cuts. And that is being reviewed as 19 we speak. That information will be part of 20 the Judiciary budget when it's presented 21 hopefully tomorrow. 22 SENATOR BRESLIN: And hopefully 23 through you, Mr. President, one last question. 24 From the D print to the E print, 25 there was mention of additional

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 appropriations. Can you tell us what those 2 appropriations were? 3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: They were 4 reappropriations of prior funds from prior 5 years, not new funding. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 7 Breslin. 8 SENATOR BRESLIN: Through you, 9 Mr. President, can you tell us the amount? 10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 11 DeFrancisco. 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It's cuts 13 across every single -- excuse me, 14 reappropriations across every single agency. 15 They weren't cuts, they were actually 16 reappropriations added to this budget. 17 No new spending associated with 18 those. These are reapropps for projects that 19 were already in the pipeline. 20 SENATOR BRESLIN: And again 21 through you, Mr. President, can you tell us 22 the purpose or use of those funds? 23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I can't 24 give you a total breakdown of every reapropp, 25 but these were dollars that were authorized in

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 prior budgets that were not spent. And if I'm 2 not mistaken, some of those items were going 3 to simply be swept, and the Governor agreed to 4 reappropriate them so that they could be used 5 by each of the respective agencies. 6 SENATOR BRESLIN: One last 7 through you, Mr. President, if the sponsor 8 would yield. 9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 11 DeFrancisco yields, Senator Breslin. 12 SENATOR BRESLIN: Can you give us 13 any additional information on those 14 appropriations -- detail the numbers, the 15 amounts? 16 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: There are 17 hundreds of reappropriations, and they all are 18 contained in the budget bill. I can't give 19 you a summary chapter and verse because of the 20 extensive number of them. But again, it's 21 nothing new, no new money, no new projects. 22 It was things that were appropriated in prior 23 years and each one of them appears in the 24 actual budget bill. 25 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President. 2 Thank you, Senator DeFrancisco. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 4 you, Senator Breslin. 5 Is there any other Senator wishing 6 to be heard? 7 Senator Stavisky. 8 SENATOR STAVISKY: Would the 9 Senator yield for a number of questions -- 10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 11 DeFrancisco, do you yield? 12 SENATOR STAVISKY: -- on the 13 higher education part of the budget? 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 16 DeFrancisco yields, Senator Stavisky. 17 SENATOR STAVISKY: It's sort of 18 difficult because this is the first I've seen 19 of the budget. So if it's already in there, I 20 apologize for the repetition. 21 First let's start with SUNY. 22 There's been talk of a rational tuition plan 23 proposed by the trustees of the State 24 University of New York. Is there anything in 25 the budget that talks about the rational

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 tuition plan for the future? 2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: No, that 3 was not placed in the budget. There was no 4 agreement on doing that between the Governor 5 and the two houses. 6 SENATOR STAVISKY: If the Senator 7 will continue to yield. 8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 10 Senator yields. 11 SENATOR STAVISKY: So there's no 12 provision to increase tuition either at the 13 State University of New York or at the City 14 University of New York? 15 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: That is 16 correct. 17 SENATOR STAVISKY: In 2005 we 18 authorized an increase in tuition for 19 out-of-state students, and that apparently was 20 never implemented. Can you tell me what 21 happened to that authorization and whether the 22 increase in tuition for out-of-state students 23 has ever been collected? 24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The 25 authorization was there. And whether it's --

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 it's up to SUNY whether to implement that 2 authorization. I quite frankly don't know 3 whether they did or didn't. But the authority 4 was there back several years ago, it may have 5 been 2005. And it was up to SUNY whether to 6 actually implement it. I don't know whether 7 they did or didn't. 8 SENATOR STAVISKY: If the Senator 9 would continue to yield. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Will 11 the Senator continue to yield? 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 14 Stavisky. 15 SENATOR STAVISKY: Can you tell 16 us what the appropriation is for SUNY and CUNY 17 and how this compares to the Governor's 18 original funding proposal? 19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The only 20 change is the one that was mentioned before, 21 that there's an additional $60 million for 22 SUNY teaching hospitals. 23 SENATOR STAVISKY: No, there's 24 been cuts -- 25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Stavisky, are you asking the Senator to 2 continue to yield? 3 SENATOR STAVISKY: Yes, I am. 4 Senator, haven't there been cuts in 5 both operating aid for the four-year 6 institutions or base aid -- well, community 7 colleges are in the budget -- but the 8 operating institutions? There have been a lot 9 of cuts. 10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Right, 11 but -- I'm sorry, I misunderstood you. I 12 thought you meant whether there was any 13 additional funds. 14 It's on page 9 of the memo, the 15 Legislature restores the $60 million for the 16 SUNY hospitals, restores $135 million for the 17 acquisition of Community General Hospital by 18 State University Hospital at Syracuse. And we 19 restore $4.1 million to the Long Island 20 Veterans Home. 21 Other than those restorations, the 22 budget is as the Governor proposed. Whatever 23 the cuts were that he proposed are in there. 24 SENATOR STAVISKY: If the Senator 25 would continue to yield.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 3 Senator yields. 4 SENATOR STAVISKY: Of the 5 proposed cuts, how will the various branches 6 of the State University be affected, whether 7 it be Stony Brook or the University at Buffalo 8 or SUNY Albany, New Paltz? 9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: We can only 10 determine in the budget process what money is 11 spent and what money is available for 12 spending. As far as how those cuts are 13 absorbed, it's really up to the SUNY board of 14 trustees, the CUNY board of trustees and the 15 respective chancellors, and those are policies 16 they're going to have to make. 17 Obviously no one is happy, 18 including the chancellors of these 19 organizations. But there's nothing much we 20 can do at this point to lessen the burden. 21 They have to make the best decisions from an 22 educational standpoint with the funds 23 available. 24 SENATOR STAVISKY: Now, I'm 25 sure -- if the Senator would continue to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 yield. 2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 4 Senator yields. 5 SENATOR STAVISKY: I'm sure 6 you're familiar with the Central New York Cord 7 Blood Center. 8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I am very 9 familiar with the inability to have that move 10 forward over the last five years, yes. 11 SENATOR STAVISKY: If the Senator 12 would continue to yield. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 14 Senator yields. 15 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 16 SENATOR STAVISKY: In 2007-2008, 17 I believe, there was an appropriation of 18 approximately $10.5 million, and there have 19 been appropriations in subsequent years in the 20 $200,000 to $300,000 range, approximately. 21 What's happening to that money? What happened 22 to the $10 million, and what has happened to 23 the other appropriations for the blood center? 24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The problem 25 is the dollars for that project -- by the way,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the Cord Blood Center is similar to a blood 2 bank, but it happens to have umbilical cord 3 blood that's from the umbilical cords after 4 births, which is a rich source of stem cells 5 that have cured people. In fact, in my 6 district, someone went to the Duke Hospital in 7 North Carolina to get cured by these stem 8 cells. 9 It's been held up for the last five 10 years, the $10 million has not been spent. 11 For whatever reason, we can't seem to get it 12 off the ground. SUNY hasn't made it a 13 priority. Apparently they're now interested 14 in moving forward and making it a priority, 15 and hopefully that will happen. 16 That capital money is not in this 17 bill but it's going to be reappropriated, from 18 what I understand, in a subsequent capital 19 bill. 20 SENATOR STAVISKY: If the Senator 21 will continue to yield. 22 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 24 DeFrancisco yields, Senator Stavisky. 25 SENATOR STAVISKY: Since the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 $10.5 million appropriation has been sitting 2 there for the past close to five years now and 3 it doesn't seem anything seems to be 4 happening, wouldn't it be useful to use that 5 for some of the Upstate Medical Center 6 expenses? 7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Absolutely 8 not. I think a priority -- everyone is being 9 cut in this budget in a proportional way as 10 best we can in accordance with what the 11 Governor thinks is the best judgment. 12 It seems to me that that dollars is 13 a small pittance of an investment to save some 14 lives of people that could use that blood 15 bank, the average citizen that doesn't have 16 money to store privately their umbilical cord 17 cells. 18 So I think it's a question of 19 priorities, and quite frankly I'm just very 20 upset that it hasn't happened yet. So it's a 21 question of priorities, and I think that's a 22 very important thing for the state to have 23 such a center like they do in states like 24 North Carolina. 25 SENATOR STAVISKY: Obviously I'm

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 not being critical of the concept or the 2 appropriation. 3 If the Senator would continue to 4 yield. 5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 7 Senator yields. 8 SENATOR STAVISKY: Let me switch 9 to the City University of New York. 10 I have been asking about the 11 $40 million sweep from the Governor's 12 Executive Budget that was allocated by the 13 Governor for the midyear tuition increase for 14 the City University of New York. Has that 15 $40 million been restored to the budget? I 16 cannot find it. 17 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: That 18 $40 million was scheduled dollars that was 19 actually not swept, it was money that would 20 have come from a tuition increase. But since 21 we rejected a tuition increase, those dollars 22 are not available and therefore were not 23 swept, they were simply eliminated from the 24 budget. 25 SENATOR STAVISKY: If the Senator

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 would continue to yield. 2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 4 DeFrancisco yields. 5 SENATOR STAVISKY: This 6 appropriation, though, was put into the 7 Executive Budget by the Governor, so 8 presumably the allocation is there, it was 9 going to be used, and it was taken out of the 10 budget. Isn't that correct? 11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Not really. 12 Because that was anticipated revenue that he 13 put in his budget on the theory that there was 14 going to be a tuition increase. Since there 15 was no tuition increase, that anticipated 16 revenue was not correct or it was not realized 17 by not providing the tuition increase, so it 18 had to be taken out. 19 SENATOR STAVISKY: If the Senator 20 will continue to yield. 21 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 23 DeFrancisco yields. 24 SENATOR STAVISKY: It's my 25 understanding that the CUNY trustees have

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 approved an increase, though, in tuition. 2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: That I'm 3 not aware of. 4 SENATOR STAVISKY: All right, 5 let's continue on the subject of the City 6 University. 7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I've just 8 been informed a more complete answer. I 9 didn't know the answer. But I'll tell you 10 what the answer is, that that was authorized 11 but it was not allowed to be implemented. And 12 as a result, even though it was authorized, 13 it's not going to actually take effect. 14 That's the best answer I can give. 15 SENATOR STAVISKY: If the Senator 16 will continue to yield. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 18 Senator yields. 19 SENATOR STAVISKY: I'm at a loss 20 to understand how it was not -- it was 21 authorized by the trustees. But it would be 22 implemented, presumably, in our budget, the 23 allocation would be in our budget. 24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The tuition 25 increase was scheduled for the spring.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 However, the authorization to spend the funds 2 from a tuition increase was not granted. Now, 3 whether CUNY actually goes ahead with the 4 increase or not, they may have a -- there may 5 be money that's out there, but they're not 6 authorized to spend that money. So it would 7 be a tuition increase that would be put in a 8 pot someplace without authorization to spend. 9 SENATOR STAVISKY: If the Senator 10 would continue to yield on a different area. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Does 12 Senator DeFrancisco yield? 13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I 14 would. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 16 Stavisky. 17 SENATOR STAVISKY: The press 18 reports that there is only a 2 percent 19 reduction in the state budget. Do you 20 consider education to be from kindergarten 21 through grade 16, through college? 22 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Do I 23 consider that? 24 SENATOR STAVISKY: K through 16, 25 as we like to talk about it.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I think 2 education is a lifetime opportunity and a 3 lifetime goal that we all should have. In 4 fact, I'm learning things from you at this 5 moment. 6 SENATOR STAVISKY: And I from 7 you. It must be that Syracuse education. 8 Therefore, my question -- if the 9 Senator will continue to yield -- 10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 12 DeFrancisco yields. 13 SENATOR STAVISKY: Higher 14 education has been subject to a 10 percent 15 cut, which to me is disproportionate to the 16 rest of the budget. If education is only 17 going to be cut a small amount, higher 18 education has been singled out for excessive 19 cuts. Would you agree with that? 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yeah, I 21 think that's probably true. I would agree 22 with you. 23 And, you know, there are some -- 24 I'm not speaking for the conference, but there 25 are some who believe that a rational tuition

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 increase is something that ought to be done. 2 Unfortunately, it did not become part of this 3 budget. And hopefully, in order to provide 4 the funds necessary for a strong higher 5 education, that something like that -- that's 6 even asked for by students -- will ultimately 7 become part of the law of the State of 8 New York. But unfortunately not part of this 9 budget. 10 SENATOR STAVISKY: Two more 11 questions, if the Senator would yield. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 13 DeFrancisco yields. 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 15 SENATOR STAVISKY: The budget 16 before us talks -- in relation to the City 17 University of New York, they refer to 18 fiduciary funds. And yet this is not the case 19 with the State University, where they are 20 subject to sweeps, periodic sweeps. And the 21 question has been if the State University -- 22 let me ask you this. Has the State University 23 of New York funding been put into the 24 fiduciary funds, or is it in another part of 25 the budget, another part of the state?

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It hasn't 2 changed. 3 SENATOR STAVISKY: It hasn't 4 changed. 5 So the tuition money -- if the 6 Senator would yield. 7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 8 SENATOR STAVISKY: This tuition 9 money, then, will not go to the campuses; is 10 that correct? 11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'm sorry, 12 I missed that. 13 SENATOR STAVISKY: The tuition 14 that's collected by SUNY does not go to the 15 individual campuses the way -- for the State 16 University, which is funded differently. The 17 City University, as you know, is in the local 18 assistance part of the New York City budget, 19 so they are not subject to the 10 percent 20 budget cut and the tuition goes to the 21 campuses. 22 The State University, the complaint 23 has been that tuition money should go to the 24 campus where it's collected. Is there 25 anything in this budget that helps the tuition

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 money wind up at the campus where it's 2 collected? 3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: All the 4 tuition money stays with the campuses. 5 As far as the sweeps are concerned, 6 in prior years SUNY authorized the sweeps. 7 The sweeps were in prior budgets. There's no 8 sweeps here in this budget. It's just that 9 they're not getting the funds that they 10 believe that they're authorized. 11 SENATOR STAVISKY: "Sweep" was 12 not the right word for me to use. 13 Lastly, if the Senator will yield. 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 15 SENATOR STAVISKY: NYHELPs, which 16 is part of the Higher Education Services 17 Corporation, is the student loan program, 18 which been very helpful to students. And yet 19 there are funding reductions in the NYHELPs 20 program. It's an acronym for the Higher 21 Education Loan Program. 22 There are going to be students who 23 will not be able to take advantage of the 24 NYHELPs program, where student loans are 25 somewhere in the 8.5 percent range, rather

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 than going to a private bank where the loan 2 rates are in double digits. 3 How many students are going to be 4 affected by the cuts to the NYHELPs program? 5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Did you ask 6 how much? 7 SENATOR STAVISKY: How many 8 students. 9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It depends 10 on who had applied for what amount of money, 11 depending on how many students would be 12 affected. But we simply adopted the 13 Governor's proposal. 14 And, you know, it's not a good 15 thing. I'm not going to stand here and 16 attempt to justify or say it's acceptable that 17 this is happening. But I can't say it's 18 acceptable that education funding is going 19 down and teachers are being laid off. Or that 20 different other bad things are happening in 21 the budget. 22 The fact of the matter is, just 23 like a family, a family that loses a job or 24 some of its income, the family has to cut 25 back, and the state does as well. So I could

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 go through every area of the budget and say 2 that this is not a good thing, including SUNY, 3 including NYHELPs. But it isn't going to 4 change the fact that we have to do what we 5 have to do this year. 6 SENATOR STAVISKY: Thank you, 7 Senator, for your responses. 8 On the bill very quickly. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 10 Stavisky on the bill. 11 SENATOR STAVISKY: What we've 12 seen is the state support for higher education 13 being reduced year after year. In the last 14 twenty years or so, we've gone from somewhere 15 around 65 percent of the cost borne by the 16 state to below -- coming close to 40 percent 17 now. And I think it's time that we remember 18 that education starts perhaps in pre-K and 19 continues and certainly should include 20 college. 21 I'm very troubled by what I think 22 are disproportionate cuts to higher education. 23 I know it's a difficult time, but at the same 24 time I think we've got to be mindful of the 25 students in college.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Thank you, Mr. President. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 3 you, Senator Stavisky. 4 Senator Huntley. 5 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Yes, 6 Mr. President. Will the Senator -- 7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 9 DeFrancisco yields, Senator Huntley. 10 SENATOR HUNTLEY: He's so kind. 11 Before I ask him, he's up. Thank you. 12 I would like to know, in the mental 13 health on the joint committees, I did not see 14 anything that talked about the lawsuit that -- 15 the disabled advocates versus Paterson. As 16 you know, there was a lawsuit for about 17 $42 million or more. 18 Now, I want to know what happens if 19 the state loses the appeal in the Second 20 Circuit and needs to comply with the court 21 decision. Where will the $42 million come 22 from? I don't see it anyplace, so I was just 23 wondering. 24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: What I'm 25 told -- I wasn't familiar with this, the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 dollars, but I was told that $40 million is in 2 the budget as a reserve to take care of that 3 lawsuit if unsuccessful. 4 SENATOR HUNTLEY: So the money 5 has been appropriated for that. 6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It's there. 7 It's in there, like Prego. 8 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Because I 9 didn't see it. That's why I'm asking. 10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It's in 11 there. I've been assured that it's in there. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 13 Huntley, are you asking Senator DeFrancisco to 14 continue to yield. 15 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Through you, 16 Mr. President, would he continue to yield. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 18 DeFrancisco yields. 19 SENATOR HUNTLEY: The 600 beds, 20 how did the Senate arrive at a cap of 600 21 beds? Mental health, I'm talking about. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 23 Huntley, can you speak up, please, into the 24 mike. 25 SENATOR HUNTLEY: How did the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senate arrive at a cap of 600 beds? The 2 Governor's original proposal did not call for 3 a cap. So I wondered how you arrived at the 4 mental health at 600 beds. Because there was 5 no cap. 6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: What it is, 7 I think the cap is for the protection of 8 people in need of beds. Because the 9 Governor's proposal just indicated that there 10 would be cuts in numbers of beds without 11 giving an amount of beds. The purpose of the 12 cap was to make sure it would not go beyond 13 that number and that there was some control so 14 that it wouldn't be 1200 beds. 15 So the cap, I think, is to the 16 advantage of those who may need those beds at 17 some time in this next year. 18 SENATOR HUNTLEY: So there's no 19 cap for the beds. 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: There is a 21 600 -- 22 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Well, there's 23 a -- yes. But I think what happened is the 24 Governor's original proposal did not call for 25 a cap.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Right. And 2 that's the point. The point is his proposal 3 was he could close beds. Closing beds could 4 mean 600, 1200, 1500. The cap was in order to 5 make sure there was a limit as to how many 6 beds could be closed. 7 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Okay. So the 8 purpose of the closure is to get the 9 10 percent. 10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The purpose 11 of the closing of beds, right, is to reach for 12 that 10 percent or thereabouts in savings. 13 But again, the Legislature wanted to make sure 14 there was a limit as to the number of beds 15 that could be closed. 16 SENATOR HUNTLEY: I -- 17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 18 Huntley, are you asking him to yield? 19 SENATOR HUNTLEY: I'm sorry. 20 Through you, Mr. President. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 22 DeFrancisco yields. 23 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Will you yield? 24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 25 SENATOR HUNTLEY: How do you know

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the 600 will get you there? 2 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: All I can 3 tell you is that in this case we relied on 4 what the Division of the Budget indicated 5 would be enough beds in order to reach that 6 percentage. And we're relying on that number. 7 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Okay. Would 8 you yield for another question? 9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 11 Senator yields. 12 SENATOR HUNTLEY: I want to go 13 back to the $42 million for the lawsuit. 14 Could you exactly tell me where that is in the 15 budget? Because I have not been able to find 16 it. And I'd like to know where it is so I 17 could -- 18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It's in the 19 local assistance portion of one of the other 20 bills -- the local assistance bill will have 21 those dollars spelled out. And you'll see 22 those hopefully tomorrow, if that bill is 23 ready. 24 SENATOR HUNTLEY: Okay. Thank 25 you.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 2 you, Senator Huntley. 3 Is there any other Senator wishing 4 to speak? Seeing none, the debate is -- 5 Senator LaValle. 6 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you, 7 Mr. President. On the bill. I just want to 8 talk a little bit about the higher education 9 portion of the budget. 10 This year I think the committee 11 worked very hard, very diligently in creating 12 a new process that allowed every member to go 13 through both the SUNY and the CUNY budget line 14 by line. And I think the committee members 15 learned a lot about what was in the bill and 16 what was not in the Governor's legislation. 17 That was followed by a series of 18 conference committees that many people 19 participated in. And when we reached a final 20 decision -- and Senator DeFrancisco talked 21 about the things that we added back into the 22 budget -- with one dissenting Assembly vote, 23 it was unanimous. 24 During our deliberations in the 25 conference committees, I talked about over the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 last four budgets that the State University 2 had lost $1.5 billion, it's leaner by 3 $1.5 billion including this. Our house, this 4 majority, this majority fought very hard to 5 get a higher amount in the budget to deal with 6 a problem for the State University hospitals. 7 And two of the hospitals, without additional 8 support, could be in great trouble. 9 So in this budget that's 10 $60 million. Along with other relief that 11 will represent another $28 million in pension 12 relief for the three hospitals, it adds 13 $88 million. In our one-house bill we had put 14 in $115 million. But the process is very 15 fluid. It's a give-and-take. The Assembly's 16 number-one priority was also the hospitals, 17 under the amount that the Senate put in. 18 Again, we put in $115 million, the Assembly 19 put in some $60 million. 20 The other priority that was 21 identical was that we restore money for our 22 community colleges. When we finished, we were 23 below the amount that we had really targeted 24 in our one-house budget bill. 25 But I would say some of the other

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 issues that came up -- and we discussed it 2 openly in the conference committee, and we 3 discussed it when we passed our one-house 4 bill -- was things like maintenance of effort 5 and Senator Stavisky's question about the 6 fiduciary fund, that we wanted to make sure 7 there was a wall around that so it could not 8 be invaded. We actually had language and had 9 hoped to get that language into the budget. 10 Senator DeFrancisco talked about 11 and I talked about openly in the conference 12 committee was rational tuition policy. This 13 house brought up rational tuition policy, but 14 quite honesty time ran out, so we could not do 15 that. We have other needs. We talked about 16 City University -- that could be on the table 17 when we discuss rational tuition policy -- 18 UB 2020 and other related things. 19 From my perspective as chairman, I 20 have great hopes -- sometimes hopes are 21 dashed, but I'm optimistic that we will 22 address these very issues that have been 23 brought up. They were discussed thoroughly in 24 the conference committee, they were voted upon 25 by the conference committee, what was on the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 table that Senator DeFrancisco talked about. 2 And as I indicated, one dissenting Assembly 3 vote. 4 I think, given the resources and 5 the budget deficit that we had, we plugged 6 some holes for the hospitals, to save those 7 hospitals, with the community college and some 8 other items both for SUNY and CUNY. 9 So with that, Mr. President, I 10 think that Senator DeFrancisco did a really 11 terrific job in talking about the questions 12 that Senator Stavisky asked him. I just 13 wanted to round out, as the chair, to bring 14 all the members up to date as to where we are. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 16 Krueger. 17 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you very 18 much. 19 Through you, Mr. President, if the 20 sponsor would please yield to a question. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Will 22 the sponsor yield? 23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 25 DeFrancisco yields, Senator Krueger.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 2 As I am combing through the memo 3 and the legislation, I come across a section 4 on miscellaneous items; it's page 7 in the 5 memo. Can you explain what the special 6 emergency appropriation of $100 million and 7 the special federal emergency appropriation of 8 $1 billion are and will be used for? 9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: What page 10 are you on? 11 SENATOR KRUEGER: Page 7 of the 12 memo, miscellaneous items, third bullet from 13 the bottom. 14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I've been 15 informed that the $100 million is a dry 16 appropriation, that it's the authorization in 17 case of emergency to spend for that emergency. 18 However, there's no cash behind it. 19 Is that correct? That is correct. 20 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you, 21 Mr. President, if the sponsor would please 22 yield to an additional question. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 24 DeFrancisco, do you yield? 25 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 2 Krueger. 3 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you. 4 A year ago when we were dealing 5 with the budget and we were on the other side 6 of the aisle, we were asked in debate why we 7 were hiding this billion dollars of special 8 federal emergency appropriation money. In 9 fact, Senator Young was on record in the press 10 that we received a billion dollars in 11 unrestricted federal funds which we could be 12 using to help our dairy farms as well as 13 restore other funds to other programs. 14 So I guess now that we're on the 15 reverse side of the aisle, I'm curious to just 16 get a clarification. Can we use this billion 17 dollars for other programs that we're 18 apparently cutting, in fact, 10 percent across 19 the board at this time? 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: We cannot. 21 SENATOR KRUEGER: We cannot. So 22 thank you, sponsor. And we could not a year 23 ago. 24 Thank you, Mr. President. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 you, Senator Krueger. 2 Senator Hassell-Thompson. 3 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 4 you, Mr. President. 5 I think some of the questions that 6 I'd like to ask probably would be better asked 7 of Senator Nozzolio, perhaps, if that's 8 appropriate. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 10 Nozzolio has not spoken, and the rules of the 11 Senate do not allow that. So I would -- 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I would 13 yield the floor to him. I'm getting kind of 14 tired anyways. 15 (Laughter.) 16 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'll try to 17 answer it. And if I can't, maybe he can help 18 me. 19 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: 20 Through you, Mr. President, if the Senator 21 would then yield. 22 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 24 DeFrancisco yields, Senator Hassell-Thompson. 25 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 you. 2 Senator DeFrancisco, I listened to 3 the answers that you gave when Senator Breslin 4 asked you about the bed closures, the 5 additional 200, and you talked about what the 6 savings would entail. And I just -- was there 7 an exact procedure by which these prison 8 closures were agreed upon by the Senate 9 Republicans? 10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You mean a 11 procedure by which facilities would be closed? 12 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Yes. 13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The budget 14 language does not have any particular 15 procedure. It leaves it in the control of the 16 Governor. 17 But I know I was at the news 18 conference where the budget agreement was 19 announced on Sunday at about 4:30, and the 20 Governor at that news conference indicated 21 that he wanted to do it with the consultation 22 of the Legislature and also make it 23 geographically fair. And there was sort of 24 his word that that's the way it would go. 25 But according to the actual

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 language, the language really leaves it up to 2 the Governor. 3 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: So am 4 I correct -- through you, Mr. President. So 5 am I clear, then, Senator, that the language 6 is unclear to you in terms of what that 7 process would be, that there's a promissory on 8 the part of the Governor to include the 9 Legislature but there's no real language that 10 spells out how that's going to happen? 11 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The 12 language is very clear. It leaves it to the 13 total discretion of the Governor. But his 14 announcement indicated that was a procedure he 15 expected to follow. 16 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Okay. 17 So you don't know who will be involved in the 18 process other than the Governor himself. 19 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: The 20 Governor, if he chose to close whatever 21 prisons he wanted to close, he could do that. 22 But I would expect, in view of the trust I 23 believe that's been established during this 24 budget process, and everybody trying to work 25 together, both houses, I would imagine that he

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 would be true to his word that he would 2 involve at least the legislative leadership in 3 those decisions. 4 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: One of 5 the things that -- 6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 7 Hassell-Thompson, are you asking Senator 8 DeFrancisco to yield? 9 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 10 you, Mr. President. Through you. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 12 DeFrancisco, do you yield? 13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 15 Senator yields. 16 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: One of 17 the things that was very clear in each of the 18 prison closures that I've been involved in in 19 the years that I've been here is that the 20 community has a major stake in these closures. 21 Is there any indication that the community 22 will be involved in any way in this process of 23 a closure? 24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: No, there's 25 no language to do that. And -- but there is

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 some economic development money that is going 2 to be in one of the other budget pieces, I 3 think. I know it's going to be in. I don't 4 think it's in this budget. 5 And that economic development money 6 is in order to help those communities attract 7 businesses and jobs to try to offset some of 8 the economic problems that those communities 9 might experience. 10 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: 11 Through you, Mr. President, if the Senator 12 will continue to yield. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 14 DeFrancisco, do you continue to yield? 15 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 17 Senator yields. 18 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 19 you. 20 I'm a little bit confused, and I 21 think I'm not the only one in here perhaps who 22 is. But we're talking about the closure of 23 prisons and we've increased the numbers of 24 beds that are going to be included in that by 25 an additional 200. It's unclear what factors

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 will be used to determine which prisons will 2 be closed, how many will be closed. This 3 totally is being left up to the discretion of 4 Governor. And what did you get for all that? 5 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: We got an 6 on-time, early budget. And we got a 7 commitment from the Governor that he would 8 discuss the process and what prisons were to 9 close with the legislative leaders, and he 10 gave his word that it would be geographically 11 balanced. 12 And for that, we're going to have 13 the first early budget in my tenure and I 14 assume in the tenure of everyone here -- most 15 people here, I should say. Most people here. 16 So, you know, that's what we got for it. 17 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Okay. 18 Current law requires both 12 months' notice 19 and the development of an adaptive reuse plan 20 prior to these closures. Now, over the next 21 year, will the Executive be required to abide 22 by this statutory condition? 23 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: No. That's 24 changed -- the one-year notice, is that what 25 you're referring to?

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: 2 Mm-hmm. 3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: That in 4 this budget is changed -- as soon as they stop 5 talking -- 60 days, correct? Sixty days. 6 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: So 7 through you, Mr. President -- 8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: For this 9 year only. For this year only. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 11 Hassell-Thompson is requesting the sponsor to 12 yield. 13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. Yes, 14 I would yield to any questions without having 15 to ask me every time. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 17 DeFrancisco yields. 18 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Again, 19 I guess the more questions I ask, the more 20 confused I get. And that's not usual for me. 21 So I publicly admit that. But I think -- 22 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Maybe you 23 should listen more carefully, because I think 24 I'm very clear. 25 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: I'll

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 try. I'll try. Speak into your mike and I'll 2 try. 3 But in the meantime, what I think 4 what the confusion is, not necessarily what 5 you're saying or not saying, is necessarily 6 that we fought so hard last year to save two 7 upstate prisons, Ogdensburg and Moriah. And 8 if the next year the commissioner were to give 9 60-day notices that Ogdensburg and Moriah 10 Shock were going to close, what recourse would 11 Senator Little or Senator Ritchie have to save 12 these prisons under this budget agreement? 13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: We all 14 happen to be residents of the same state that 15 has a fiscal crisis at the moment. It's not a 16 matter of recourse, it's a matter of trying to 17 get the budget in place and closing beds that 18 have to be closed. 19 We trust the Governor's word that 20 it's going to be geographically balanced and a 21 process by which economic development dollars 22 will be provided to create more jobs in 23 whosever district it's put in. And there is a 24 level of trust that this is going to be done 25 fairly. Maybe last year there wasn't a level

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 of trust with the prior governor. There is 2 with this governor. And that's all I can tell 3 you. 4 And all of us are concerned about 5 our parochial interests, but there's a state 6 problem here that we're trying to correct. 7 And with the Governor's word that it will be 8 geographically fair and that there will be 9 economic development money to try to offset 10 that. That's what we have in the budget, and 11 we believe that's a good approach and that's 12 the best approach to get this budget done in 13 this fashion. 14 And I hope I spoke loudly enough 15 and into my mike so you could hear me. 16 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Okay. 17 Through you, Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 19 DeFrancisco yields. 20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 21 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Let me 22 ask you this, then, Senator DeFrancisco. It's 23 been said by one of the members who has 24 prisons in his district that 20 prisons across 25 the state virtually sit next to one another.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Let me ask you about a stretch of prisons that 2 are virtually next to each other across 3 upstate New York. That's geographically 4 across upstate New York. 5 In Senator Gallivan's district 6 there's Collins medium facility, Gowanda 7 medium facility, Buffalo medium facility, 8 Wendy medium security. In the district of 9 Senator Nozzolio is Attica maximum security, 10 Wyoming CASAT facility, Livingston medium 11 county, Groveland medium facility, Orleans 12 medium security facility, Butler medium 13 security, Five Points maximum -- and I can go 14 on and on and on. 15 And I can go to Senator Griffo's 16 district: Mid-State medium security, Marcy 17 medium security. In Senator Farley's 18 district, the Hale Creek CASAT facility in 19 Fulton County, the Mount McGregor medium 20 secure facility. In Senator Seward's 21 district, the Summit shock facility, Greene 22 medium facility, Coxsackie medium facility. 23 In Senator Little's district, Washington 24 medium security; Great Meadow maximum. In 25 Saland's district, Hudson medium security

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 facility. 2 Now, under this budget currently 3 written, could the commissioner close any one 4 of these facilities with as little as 60-day 5 notices and still be geographically fair? 6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: It's not up 7 to me to make those determinations. 8 But I believe that what -- number 9 one, last year the last closures happened to 10 be in only Republican districts. So I'm happy 11 to hear that you are concerned about only 12 those prisons in Republican districts this 13 year, because we are concerned about all 14 districts throughout the state. 15 As far as geographically balanced, 16 I think the general population centers in the 17 State of New York are upstate and the New York 18 City metropolitan area. I would think 19 geographically balanced would mean, to me -- 20 it's my definition -- upstate and downstate. 21 But the Governor has not committed to any of 22 those, and any of these prisons could be fair 23 game. 24 Lastly, at our table and in our 25 one-house budget we proposed consolidating

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 administrations of various prisons in order to 2 save money, rather than close prisons. And 3 unfortunately the Assembly did not believe 4 that was the right way to go, and it didn't 5 happen. 6 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: On the 7 bill. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 9 Hassell-Thompson on the bill. 10 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: There 11 is nothing in the language of this bill that 12 protects any prison anywhere. And I'm not 13 questioning the veracity or the integrity of 14 the Governor's word or whatever that means. 15 But what I am saying, that the 16 prisons upstate are maximum and minimum 17 security prisons, and the prisons downstate 18 are work release programs. They don't fit 19 into the same category. That's number one. 20 Number two, if this is the case, 21 why does this budget -- which has been 22 negotiated, admittedly, by the Republicans. 23 Everybody is taking credit for this on-time, 24 very committed budget-saving budget. How does 25 it give you any legislative oversight or

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 protection for prison closures for the next 2 12 months? And also, have you heard from 3 NYSCOBA about your agreement in any of these 4 approvals? 5 It amazes me that communities who 6 have so much at stake, who have built their 7 townships around these prisons, are going to 8 have -- are going to be the most devastated 9 and take the greatest loss. And yet on a 10 word, and not words that are written in stone, 11 are we making a commitment to allow prisons to 12 be closed. 13 I think it's disingenuous of you, 14 Senator DeFrancisco, to suggest to me that -- 15 particularly since the work that I've done has 16 always been in Republican prisons. So to even 17 to infer or to imply that I have no concern 18 about the entire State of New York is totally 19 unfair and inappropriate for you to make 20 toward me. You may make that to almost 21 anybody else in these chambers. But I think 22 that I have demonstrated, in the years that I 23 have stood here in this place and represented 24 the people who are in those prisons -- because 25 they happen to live in my district, which is

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 interesting. But more than that, I have cared 2 about the townships and the communities that 3 were built around the prisons. And I've gone 4 to those communities, spoken with townships, 5 with municipalities, and heard the stories and 6 have spoken with teachers, with store owners, 7 with people who when those prisons are closed, 8 will have nowhere to go. 9 Those correction officers can be -- 10 based on their seniority, can be -- on a bump 11 system can be placed anywhere in the state 12 that there's a job for them. But for the 13 people who are stuck there, who came there, 14 who built their lives around those prisons, 15 they're going to be devastated. 16 And there is nothing that is 17 demonstrated in this budget or in the budget 18 plan that goes forward that says that there 19 are any protections for those prisons or for 20 the people in those communities. 21 So it saddens me -- 22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 23 Libous, why do you rise? 24 SENATOR LIBOUS: Would the 25 Senator yield for a question.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 2 Hassell-Thompson, would you yield for a 3 question from Senator Libous? 4 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: 5 Certainly, Senator Libous. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 7 Libous. 8 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, 9 Mr. President. 10 Senator, I believe your passion. I 11 really do. But where was your passion in 2009 12 when you controlled this house and my prison 13 closed? And they only had 60 days -- because 14 that's what was changed in the budget -- they 15 didn't give them a year, and I now have 16 260 acres of open space, and it's closed. And 17 yet I didn't see this same concern and passion 18 from you when I stood on the floor and talked 19 about the closing of my prison. 20 Now, I believe you're sincere. But 21 yet the rules change. The -- 22 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Are 23 you asking a question? 24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: You've 25 yielded to Senator Libous to ask a question.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Well, 2 ask a question. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 4 Libous is posing his question, Senator 5 Hassell-Thompson. Please be patient. 6 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Okay. 7 I'm waiting for -- 8 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 9 she's right. I asked her a question, and 10 sure, I would yield for the answer. 11 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: The 12 answer to your question, Senator Libous -- 13 through you, Mr. President -- from the moment 14 your prison began to close, I began to work, 15 because I was on the committee. I wasn't the 16 chair of the committee, but I was on the 17 committee. And I actively began to look at 18 what kind of legislation we needed to do in 19 order to keep prisons from closing without 20 notice. 21 I happened to -- at the time your 22 prison closed, there was conversation about 23 closing Fulton, which is in my district. And 24 so we had something in common, Senator Libous. 25 And if you will remember the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 history accurately, you will know that that 2 was the moment that I began to have 3 conversations with Betty Little and some of 4 the other Senators in these chambers about the 5 prisons that are in their district. And 6 that's when we began to do the work that 7 culminated in the bill that we passed last 8 year. 9 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 10 would the Senator yield for one other 11 question. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 13 Hassell-Thompson, will you yield? 14 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Yes, 15 certainly. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 17 Senator yields. 18 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, 19 Mr. President. 20 Senator, did your prison close? 21 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: No, my 22 prison did not close. 23 SENATOR LIBOUS: Okay, thank you. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 25 Hassell-Thompson, are you still on the bill?

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Yes, 2 thank you, Mr. President. 3 It seems to have escaped notice 4 that I also was one of the hardest fighters 5 for the reuse adaptive plan that was proposed 6 and passed in these chambers last year. And 7 is there a reuse plan in this budget? No. 8 Mr. President, I think that we're 9 obviously disappointed and frankly disturbed 10 that the leaders in Albany have chosen to make 11 drastic, unnecessary cuts to many of our 12 prison systems rather than seeking to cut the 13 ever-growing and costly bureaucracy that is a 14 part of the Department of Corrections. The 15 announced cuts will have very serious impacts 16 on the safety of our jails, putting more lives 17 at risk and jeopardizing the structure of the 18 entire New York State prison system. 19 With this budget, the leaders in 20 Albany have stated unequivocally "We care more 21 about numbers on the spreadsheet than the 22 lives of the people and their safety." 23 I'm sorry that that's the response 24 that we have given, but that's what this 25 budget reflects to me.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Thank you for your indulgence, 2 Mr. President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 4 Diaz. 5 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, 6 Mr. President. 7 Would Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson 8 yield for a question or two? 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: You're 10 asking Senator DeFrancisco to yield, Senator 11 Diaz? 12 SENATOR DIAZ: No, Senator 13 Hassell-Thompson. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 15 Hassell-Thompson, will you yield for a 16 question? 17 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Yes, 18 Senator Diaz, I will. 19 SENATOR DIAZ: There was a prison 20 in my district called Pyramid. And when that 21 prison was marked for closing, I did 22 everything in my power, in my duties, to keep 23 it open, to the point that I even crossed the 24 aisle and went to Joe Bruno and asked him to 25 help me. And that prison was open that year.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Then the next year they closed it on me. 2 So I'm saying this to make clear 3 that I have been working and I've always tried 4 to protect my prison. Because when people 5 elected me, they elected me to protect them. 6 To protect their jobs, to protect their turf, 7 to protect their services. 8 So, Senator Thompson, I heard here 9 that Senator DeFrancisco said to you that we 10 have given up everything to the Governor in 11 the name of an on-time budget. Is that -- 12 that's what he said? 13 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: That's 14 what I heard. Through you, Mr. President, 15 that's what I heard. 16 SENATOR DIAZ: Mr. President, 17 could I -- could Senator Hassell-Thompson 18 yield for another question? 19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 20 Hassell-Thompson, will you yield for another 21 question? 22 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Yes. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 24 Diaz. 25 SENATOR DIAZ: So you are telling

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 me -- you've got to enlighten me because I 2 have to be clear on what I understand. So you 3 are telling me that elected officials, people 4 that are elected to protect their services and 5 their jobs, have given up everything just for 6 the sake of an on-time budget? That's what 7 you're telling me that he said? 8 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: 9 Through you, Mr. President. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 11 Hassell-Thompson. 12 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: When I 13 asked the question "What did you get?" the 14 answer that I heard was "We got an on-time 15 budget." 16 SENATOR DIAZ: Mr. President, 17 would Senator Thompson still yield for a 18 question? 19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 20 Hassell-Thompson, do you continue to yield to 21 Senator Diaz? 22 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Yes. 23 Yes, Mr. President. 24 SENATOR DIAZ: So those jobs -- 25 and I protected my prison to the point that I

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 cross the aisle to the Republicans to help me. 2 So nobody could tell me that I didn't -- have 3 not done that before. And I am angry because 4 I lost the prison. 5 But to those people in the areas 6 where those prisons are going to be closed and 7 their jobs are going to be lost and their 8 means of supporting their family might be 9 lost, what would their elected official tell 10 them? "Oh, I'm sorry, but I did it for an 11 on-time budget?" Would you think that's 12 right? Senator Thompson, would that be right, 13 to go to those people and tell them, "Oh, I'm 14 sorry, but it's an on-time budget"? You're 15 going to lose your job, you're going to lose 16 your means of supporting your family, you are 17 going to lose everything that you have worked 18 for, you're going to be in the street, but we 19 have an on-time budget. Is that right, 20 Senator Thompson? 21 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: 22 Through you, Mr. President. I'm fairly sure, 23 Senator -- first of all, the short answer to 24 your question is no, that's not right. 25 But I'm fairly sure, Senator Diaz,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 that's not what will be told back in the 2 district. 3 SENATOR DIAZ: So when we are -- 4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 5 Diaz. 6 SENATOR DIAZ: Through you, 7 Mr. President, will Senator Thompson still 8 yield for another question? 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 10 Hassell-Thompson, do you yield for an 11 additional question? 12 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Yes, 13 Mr. President. 14 SENATOR DIAZ: So when we all go 15 campaigning and asking the people to vote for 16 us, do we tell the people, you know, you vote 17 for me, but when the time comes for an on-time 18 budget, I'm going to throw you under the bus? 19 Is that what -- we said that when we were 20 campaigning? 21 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: 22 Through you, Mr. President. One of the 23 difficulties -- let me answer the question 24 this way, Senator Diaz. One of the 25 difficulties is that the press has done a very

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 good job of convincing the people of this 2 state that they need an on-time budget and 3 that Albany is broken. And so in their zeal 4 to cater to the press and not to the people, 5 we have an on-time budget. 6 Now, if this is a good budget, the 7 best budget that's in the best interests of 8 all of the people of the State of New York, 9 I'm not clear that that was taken totally into 10 consideration by anybody. But I do know that 11 the thing that people promised their 12 constituents, they would give them an on-time 13 budget. Well, they got it. 14 But one of the things, Senator 15 Diaz, that I told the people in my district, 16 I'm not voting for an on-time budget. I'm 17 voting for a budget that's in the best 18 interests, and I will stay here and I will 19 keep the budget process open for as long as I 20 can. And if that's the process by which you 21 determine that you want an on-time budget, you 22 can have an on-time budget. In fact, we could 23 have passed the budget when the Governor 24 handed the budget down in January. They would 25 have had an on-time budget.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 But would they have had Title 20 2 put back in the budget? Would they have had 3 $270 million put back into the education 4 budget? Would they have had any of the things 5 that have been restored in the budget if we 6 had done it in January? And the answer to 7 that is no. 8 And if we stayed a little longer, 9 the $8 million that my district is going to 10 lose in the education of the poorest children 11 might get put back in the budget. And in 12 Andrea's district, $17 million might get put 13 back in the budget. But because we're going 14 to get an on-time budget, two communities in 15 Westchester County with the poorest children 16 are going to lose $25 million so that we can 17 have an on-time budget. 18 Do you have any more questions for 19 me, Senator Diaz? 20 SENATOR DIAZ: Yes -- 21 (Laughter.) 22 SENATOR DIAZ: Mr. President, 23 would Senator Thompson yield for another 24 question? 25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Hassell-Thompson, will you yield? 2 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Yes, I 3 will, Mr. President. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 5 Hassell-Thompson yields. 6 SENATOR DIAZ: Are you getting 7 angry at me, Senator Thompson? 8 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: No, 9 sir. No, absolutely not. 10 SENATOR DIAZ: Because I'm with 11 you. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 13 Diaz, will you pose your question, please. 14 SENATOR DIAZ: Yeah, the question 15 is -- 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Can I 17 have some order in the chamber, please. 18 SENATOR DIAZ: Senator Thompson, 19 so there are going to be prisons that are 20 going to be closed again. People are going to 21 lose services and people are going to lose 22 their jobs. And could you show me the names 23 of the prisons again that are going to be 24 closed and the name of the areas where they 25 might be closed? Please, will you read it to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 me again? 2 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Read 3 it to you, sir? 4 SENATOR DIAZ: Yeah, the name of 5 the prisons, will you please read it to me 6 again? 7 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: 8 Through you, Mr. President. In Senator 9 Gallivan's district -- 10 SENATOR DIAZ: Senator who? 11 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: 12 Gallivan. Senator Gallivan. 13 -- Collins medium security, Gowanda 14 medium security, Buffalo medium security, 15 Wendy maximum security. 16 In Senator Nozzolio's district, 17 Attica maximum security, Wyoming CASAT 18 facility, Livingston medium county, Groveland 19 medium security, Orleans medium security 20 facility, Butler medium security, Five Points 21 maximum security, Willard Drug Treatment 22 Facility, Auburn maximum security, Cayuga 23 medium security. 24 Senator Griffo's district: 25 Mid-State medium security, Marcy medium

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 security facility. 2 In Senator Farley's district, it's 3 Hale Creek CASAT facility in Fulton County, 4 the Mt. McGregor medium security facility. 5 In Senator Seward's district, the 6 Summit shock facility, the Greene medium 7 security, Coxsackie medium security. 8 Senator Little's district: 9 Washington medium security, Great Meadow 10 maximum security. 11 In Senator Saland's district, 12 Hudson medium security facility. 13 SENATOR DIAZ: So through you, 14 Mr. President, will Senator Thompson yield for 15 another question? 16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 17 Hassell-Thompson, do you yield for another 18 question? 19 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Yes, 20 Mr. President. 21 SENATOR DIAZ: So Senator 22 Thompson, we could all, at once, could tell 23 all the people that might lose their jobs in 24 these districts "We have on-time budget, 25 bingo."

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 2 Diaz, could you pose your question, please? 3 Are you speaking on the bill or are you asking 4 a question? 5 SENATOR DIAZ: No, I am asking a 6 question. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Then 8 pose the question, please. 9 SENATOR DIAZ: The question is 10 Senator Thompson, can we all at once tell all 11 those communities that might be losing their 12 jobs and that might be losing their way of 13 earning a decent living, could we all together 14 could tell them, "Hey, we have an on-time 15 budget"? Could we, and that would solve their 16 problem? 17 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: 18 Through you, Mr. President. No, Senator Diaz. 19 I don't think that that would solve their 20 problem at all. 21 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you. 22 On the bill. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 24 Diaz on the bill. 25 SENATOR DIAZ: We have a big

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 problem here, ladies and gentlemen. I lost -- 2 they closed a prison in my district. And I 3 know what it is, I know what it is for people 4 that depend on those jobs to be on the street 5 without those services and those -- and that 6 way of earning a decent living. So I know 7 what I'm talking about. 8 And now for us to come here and say 9 that we have given the Governor, that we have 10 given the Honorable Andrew Cuomo all the power 11 in the world to decide upon himself to close 12 these prisons and that we trust him and that 13 we are telling all those residents and all 14 those districts, elected officials are 15 telling, are telling their communities "Oh, 16 don't worry, we have an on-time budget, and we 17 trust the Governor." 18 Well, ladies and gentlemen, if that 19 is the way that people do campaigning 20 upstate -- in the South Bronx, this black guy 21 with kinky hair from Puerto Rico, I campaign 22 different. I promise my people that I will 23 support and protect them, and I trust no one. 24 I trust no one. Not the Governor, not the 25 Lieutenant Governor that he disappeared from

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the chamber -- come on, I'm serious here. 2 Not -- not -- no one. When it comes -- when 3 it comes to the well-being of the residents of 4 the 32nd Senatorial District that I represent, 5 I trust no one. 6 And for me to hear, to hear that 7 people are saying to their district and to 8 their -- to the residents of the districts 9 that they represent, "Oh, don't worry, we 10 trust the Governor," I hope, ladies and 11 gentlemen, I hope that those residents 12 remember that. Because if this is the way we 13 do business, we should then abolish our 14 duties. We have no reason to be. We have no 15 reason to be. 16 If the way to do it is, "Oh, we 17 need an on-time budget, we trust the Governor; 18 Governor, go ahead, do whatever you want," 19 then what they do they need us for? Shame, 20 shame, shame, to come here and say we tell the 21 Governor to do whatever he wants and we have 22 an on-time budget. I mean, this is -- do we 23 understand what we're saying here? Do you 24 people understand what you're saying? We tell 25 the Governor we have on-time budget -- do

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 whatever you want, Governor, but we have an 2 on-time budget. 3 I am black, I'm Puerto Rican, and I 4 have broken English -- I don't even 5 understand. Maybe I'm from another planet. 6 But to hear, to hear lawyers, people that went 7 to Yale and Harvard and Princeton to come here 8 and say, "Hey, we trust the Governor, and the 9 Governor told us to trust him and we have an 10 on-time budget" -- bingo, we have an on-time 11 budget -- in the words of the Governor, "I am 12 not that type of person." 13 And whoever, whoever, whoever plays 14 with the rice and beans and the services of 15 their constituents that way doesn't deserve to 16 be reelected. Anybody that plays, that plays 17 with their constituents' rice and beans and 18 ways of living, earning a decent living to 19 play this way and come here publicly and say, 20 Yes, Governor Cuomo told me to trust him -- 21 trust Governor -- trust Governor Cuomo. 22 He wants to be president. Governor 23 Cuomo wants to be president, and he will do 24 anything to be president. He will take away 25 the Medicaid from the people, he will take the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 services from the poor, he will take the money 2 from education, he will close all your areas 3 and he will put everybody on the unemployment 4 line and then he will say "I balanced the 5 budget. Elect me for president." Shame on 6 you. 7 Thank you very much. 8 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Excuse me, 9 may I be recognized? 10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 11 DeFrancisco. 12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I need to 13 answer that diatribe if I could, please. And 14 it will be very brief. 15 First of all, if anyone wondered 16 about the merits of having this group of human 17 beings in charge of this body and the 18 individuals who entered into that charade of a 19 debate by asking questions upon questions 20 about nonsense surely would have their 21 doubts -- their doubts -- 22 SENATOR SMITH: Mr. President. 23 Mr. President -- 24 SENATOR KRUEGER: Point of order, 25 Mr. President.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: -- would 2 have their doubts -- 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 4 Smith, why do you rise? 5 SENATOR SMITH: I have a point of 6 order, Mr. President. 7 SENATOR DIAZ: I'm rising too. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: You are 9 not recognized. Senator Smith is recognized. 10 Please take your seat, Senator Diaz. 11 Senator Smith, you're recognized 12 for your point of order. 13 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. 15 Mr. President, I know that this is 16 a late hour and it's getting emotional. But I 17 would ask Senator DeFrancisco if he wouldn't 18 mind controlling that type of personal attack. 19 Talk about "these people" versus "these 20 people" does no good for either side of this 21 chamber. 22 For those that are watching, this 23 is a very distinguished body of individuals. 24 Senator DeFrancisco, Senator Skelos is doing a 25 great job as Majority Leader, as he should be

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 doing. Senator Sampson is doing the same. 2 And I think we all deserve the type of decorum 3 that is necessary of professionals that are on 4 this floor. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 6 you, Senator Smith. Your point is noted. 7 Senator DeFrancisco, you have the 8 floor. 9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'm 10 responding to the personal attacks that I just 11 heard from Senator Diaz talking about how he 12 cannot understand how people with certain 13 educations could possibly say what was said in 14 response to the questions that were answered 15 before. 16 I want to make it very clear that 17 in addition to the fact that we have a budget 18 agreement, that I indicated quite clearly that 19 there was funds available and economic 20 development dollars that will assist those 21 communities who are unfortunate enough to have 22 a prison closed and lose some jobs. 23 In the revenue bill which will come 24 out tomorrow, the tax credit program will be 25 clearly spelled out which shows exactly the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 economic development benefits companies will 2 have in order -- if they create jobs within a 3 five-mile radius of a closed prison. I'm not 4 going to go through them now, I'll go through 5 them another time. 6 That was negotiated by the 7 Legislature, by this house. It was not in the 8 Governor's budget. So the comment that we're 9 simply abdicating our responsibility and 10 giving the Governor clear control of 11 everything that goes on in this city is not 12 correct. 13 It may very well be that Senator 14 Thompson after the closures went into those 15 districts and went to meetings and was on a 16 commission and was compassionate with people 17 who lost jobs. That's great. That didn't 18 save one job or do anything other than give 19 the people in the community some sense that 20 someone cares. 21 Well, we did more than that in this 22 budget, and you'll see it in the revenue bill. 23 We created a vehicle whereby businesses will 24 be encouraged by tax credits to come to those 25 areas, wherever they might be, in order to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 create jobs that were lost. As the Governor 2 has said many times, prisons are not an 3 employment agency. If we've got to downsize, 4 we've got to downsize. But we owe it to those 5 communities to provide a vehicle to get those 6 jobs back. 7 So we didn't abdicate anything. We 8 negotiated a very important component of this 9 prison closure issue. And we should be proud 10 of that component and not derided for it as 11 abdicating our responsibility, because there's 12 nothing further from the truth. 13 Thank you, Mr. President. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 15 you, Senator DeFrancisco. 16 Senator Nozzolio on the bill. 17 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. 19 The time is not for rhetoric, the 20 time is for seriousness. And this debate is 21 one of serious consequence to the citizens of 22 the State of New York. We stand here deeply 23 concerned with the fiscal condition of the 24 State of New York. We are on the precipice of 25 economic ruin. This is not a time to laugh.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 This is not a time to joke. This is not a 2 time for theatrics. It's a time for serious 3 consideration of the dire economic 4 consequences faced by every tax-paying citizen 5 of this state, every job producer of this 6 state. 7 Those of you who have been in this 8 chamber for a number of years know that I have 9 stood many times in support of a rational 10 prison system in New York State, a system that 11 protects primarily the people who work there, 12 the brave men and women who walk the toughest 13 law enforcement beat in America, the 14 correction officers and other correctional 15 personnel, and to keep our citizens safe. 16 During that period of time when I 17 stood at this place, on this spot, and talked 18 about prison conditions and consequences of 19 policies, we heard a great deal of rhetoric 20 from those who represent nonprison areas 21 saying that prisons are just job factories for 22 upstate New York. 23 I contend, Mr. President, that we 24 do not build prisons to create jobs, we build 25 prisons and keep prisons operating to keep

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 people safe and primarily people safe in the 2 City of New York. Because that's where the 3 major concentrations of crime occur, although 4 crime is not -- there's no place in this state 5 that's immune from violent crime. 6 We stand today with a very 7 difficult decision before us. The economic 8 consequences that we are confronted with 9 require cuts across the board. And this 10 conference, this Republican conference, this 11 Republican conference that has advocated time 12 and time again for the safety and protection 13 and a rational prison system must be faced 14 with having to make difficult economic 15 decisions. And among those decisions are to 16 join Governor Cuomo's position as he laid out 17 in his budget address to close a number of 18 correctional facilities. 19 We are not happy about that 20 decision. We only support that decision out 21 of the dire consequences that are resulting 22 from a budget that has for two years spent too 23 much and taxed too much. 24 And when you closed prisons in 2009 25 and 2010, they were all upstate facilities and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 they were all in areas represented by 2 Republican Senators. And you tell me that 3 that is fair? You tell me that that is 4 rational? You tell me that that has any 5 consideration whatsoever with the economic 6 situations confronted by those communities 7 that had prisons closed? I stood during that 8 debate the last two years, I don't recall 9 anyone referencing a concern on the other side 10 of the aisle at all about any of those 11 concerns. 12 Senator DeFrancisco just talked 13 about establishing a transformation program 14 where tax credits and other economic 15 development incentives are part of this budget 16 because the Senate Republicans, working with 17 the Governor, have achieved that objective. 18 So at least we will have some economic 19 development incentives for those communities 20 confronted with this dire situation. 21 But let's understand historically 22 why this has happened. The drain in our 23 prison population has occurred in great part 24 because of the so-called Rockefeller Drug Law 25 reform that we saw took place two years ago.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And I stood on this floor and warned you all 2 who were voting for it that that was in fact 3 the "Drug Dealer Protection Act" that allowed 4 a get-out-of-jail-free card for not just drug 5 offenders but very violent, very violent 6 offenders who also committed crimes with 7 drugs. 8 Governor Cuomo has been vilified by 9 members of the other side of the aisle. We're 10 not happy with the decision that needs to be 11 made, but we're willing to make the decisions 12 that need to be made. And those decisions are 13 that we need to cut spending across the board. 14 I could argue forever on the wisdom 15 of those so-called reforms that helped create 16 additional murderers in Syracuse and Rochester 17 and even the small city of Geneva where I 18 represent. One let out of jail because of the 19 Rockefeller Drug Law reforms but had a violent 20 history that was suppressed because of these 21 so-called reforms that were placed. 22 Governor Cuomo made the commitment 23 publicly. And I believe that he will live by 24 this commitment, that the system will not be 25 targeting prisons but those that will be

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 rationalized and cut will be across the board 2 in a way that has geographic balance. And 3 geographic balance is the best that we can 4 hope for in these troubled economic times. 5 We've rejected the elimination of 6 the 12-month notice requirement so that, when 7 economic times are better, that there will be 8 broader notice if there are any other 9 facilities that need to be closed in the 10 future. But this temporary suspension, that 11 gives them 60 days. That's 60 days more than 12 Lion Mountain received last time it was 13 closed, 60 days more than the Washington 14 Correctional Facility in Senator Little's 15 district, the annex that was closed, 60 days 16 more than Camp Gabriel when it was closed, 17 60 days more than Senator Libous received when 18 Camp Pharsalia was closed, and 60 days more 19 than I received when part of the Butler 20 Correctional Facility was closed. All 21 Republican districts, all upstate New York. 22 Mr. President, my colleagues, this 23 is not the policy that we would prefer. It's 24 not what we like to do. But under the 25 circumstances, it is what we must do. And

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 that's why I believe this measure should be 2 supported and voted on in the positive. 3 Thank you, Mr. President. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 5 you, Senator Nozzolio. 6 Senator Saland. 7 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. The hour is late; I'll be 9 brief. 10 What seems to have been overlooked 11 during this entire debate is that this 12 conference, through our public protection 13 budget conference subcommittee, in fact 14 offered a proposal which contains some 15 $42.5 million worth of savings, savings that 16 were intended to mitigate the closings that 17 were proposed by the Governor. We strove 18 mightily to mitigate those closings but lacked 19 a partnership. Neither the Governor nor the 20 Assembly would accept those cost-saving 21 measures. They basically dealt with 22 nonpersonal services and, as somebody -- I 23 believe Senator DeFrancisco -- alluded to 24 earlier, savings derived from duplicative 25 administrative personnel in prisons in close

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 proximity. A perfectly reasonable proposal, 2 but one which again our friends in the 3 Assembly and the other side of the aisle and 4 the Governor saw fit to reject and not to 5 consider. 6 I heard talk about somehow or other 7 falling, worshipping before this idol of an 8 on-time budget. Perhaps some of us forgot our 9 civics lessons. Giving due to the reality of 10 the situation in which we find ourselves, we 11 have what is the most powerful Executive of 12 any in the 50 states. And that was certainly 13 buttressed by the Court of Appeals decisions I 14 believe in '04 and/or '05. 15 This Governor, as has been widely 16 publicized, has basically said "I'm going to 17 ram it down your throat if you don't negotiate 18 the closure in time." And the simple fact of 19 the matter is this house negotiated, under the 20 most strenuous and challenging of 21 circumstances, any number of concessions and 22 any number of modifications in this budget 23 that are going to benefit our constituents 24 from one end of the state to another. 25 So when we look at the current

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 moment, and it's quite literally nearly 2 10 o'clock, I would merely remind those who 3 engaged in at times a seemingly harsh if not 4 vitriolic treatment of this side of the aisle 5 that for some two years we endured what was 6 among the most bizarre of governmental 7 behavior in a one-house or one-party-dominated 8 system. 9 And when one of my colleagues said 10 one of the difficulties is the press has 11 convinced people that the system is broken, it 12 didn't take a lot of convincing. Because 13 certainly the last two years, if there were 14 any doubters, made everybody well aware, as 15 we -- we? -- as the system, as the 16 one-party-dominated system taxed and spent to 17 the tune of some $14 billion, not taking into 18 account what the aftermath would be as if we 19 could go on forever. 20 We can't go on forever. We're here 21 to pay the piper. And the decisions are 22 painful. Nobody envies us the decisions we 23 have to make. But governance at times is 24 about making difficult decisions. And if you 25 weren't prepared to make them, we

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 unfortunately find ourselves in a situation 2 where we're going to have to make them for 3 you. 4 So, Mr. President, with that little 5 reminder of history, with that little reminder 6 of our system of government, and with that 7 little reminder of our efforts to try and 8 mitigate the prison closures, I would merely 9 echo the comments of Senator DeFrancisco and 10 Senator Nozzolio and certainly will be 11 supporting this measure. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 13 Adams. 14 SENATOR ADAMS: Thank you, 15 Mr. President. I just want to respond in an 16 uncharacteristically calm way to -- 17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: That is 18 greatly appreciated, Senator. 19 SENATOR ADAMS: -- to some of the 20 comments that were made. And I think that to 21 allow them to stay out there would be 22 incorrect. 23 First of all, the prison population 24 did not decrease based on Rockefeller Drug 25 Laws. It decreased because men and women

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 throughout the state that adorn law 2 enforcement uniforms, which I happen to have 3 been one of them, was resilient and dedicated 4 to protecting the people of this state. It 5 started long before two years ago, the 6 decrease in crime that permitted our prison 7 population to decrease. 8 So anyone that states that prison 9 population decreases merely because of the 10 Rockefeller fair drug laws is incorrect. 11 The second thing that needs to be 12 important to mention, we did not do soft 13 crimes that cause crimes to escalate in other 14 parts of the state. New York State has become 15 one of the safest states in the nation because 16 of correct law enforcement policies. And 17 that's commendable for the entire State of 18 New York. 19 And I don't believe my colleague 20 Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson or even Senator 21 Diaz, Ruben Diaz -- they were merely making a 22 point that I've heard several times on this 23 floor. The goal in our state is not an 24 on-time budget, it's a right budget. And if 25 it means we need to be late in doing so to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ensure that we're not harming the lives of 2 New Yorkers, then we have to do so. 3 This is not a race, a 50-yard dash. 4 This is a marathon. Because the people of 5 this state expect for us to deliberate, 6 debate, argue, and come up with the right 7 budget. I heard on this floor today we would 8 have done better in education but we ran out 9 of time. What time? I don't know what clock 10 we're going by. I'm going by the clock that 11 states when we get it right, we leave here. 12 So I'm proud that last year it took 13 us longer. I'm proud that last year we went 14 beyond the designated time. I'm proud that we 15 were resilient enough to say we're going to 16 get it right, because we've got to make tough 17 decisions that's going to impact people and 18 we're going to stay here until we get it 19 right. 20 Those who want to just go after an 21 April 1st deadline, that is not why I came to 22 Albany. I came to Albany that when I make 23 decisions that's going to take funding from 24 public schools, when I make decisions that's 25 going to take funding from CUNY and SUNY, when

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 I make decisions that's going to close senior 2 citizen centers, when I make decisions that's 3 going to state that the people who are 4 dependent on us needs to know that we made the 5 right decision, I want to go back to my 6 district in good conscience to state that if I 7 have to stay up here longer, if I have to stay 8 through the weekend, if I have to stay into 9 the month of April and May, I'm willing to do 10 so. 11 I'm not on a clock. I want to make 12 sure that we do what is right for the people 13 of my district, because that's what the 20th 14 Senatorial District sent me here for. When I 15 go back to them, they don't want to know, 16 Eric, did you finish by April 1st? They want 17 to know: Eric, did you do the right thing? 18 So we did not cause the dismantling 19 of our prison system. We did the right thing 20 by having the right laws, and we have the best 21 law enforcement officers in the entire country 22 that did the right thing to prevent crimes in 23 the State of New York. 24 So I want the record to be clear, 25 because anyone who stated that Rockefeller

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Drug Law emptied the prisons, that is not 2 true. That is inaccurate and that is not what 3 took place. 4 Thank you, Mr. President. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 6 you, Senator Adams. 7 Senator Breslin. 8 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you, 9 Mr. President. 10 At the risk of extending what is 11 already a very long night, I stand to salute 12 my fellow Democrats for the passion that they 13 have exhibited, a passion that comes -- and I 14 salute the majority side for their passion as 15 well. I salute our side because we represent 16 everyone -- upstate, downstate, black, white, 17 men, women -- and we are in suffering 18 districts that are losing money for schools. 19 And we are, as Senator Adams said, senior 20 citizen centers being affected. We are, as 21 Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson and Senator Diaz 22 said, wondering where those 3700 beds are 23 going to come from for many prisoners or many 24 prisons that are located so far away from the 25 families of the defendants.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 So there are many, many issues that 2 confront us. But at the same time we look at 3 a $10 billion deficit, other states looking at 4 us and seeing how we're going to cure it, and 5 we do have a budget that's been presented that 6 has no borrowing and no taxes. And we can 7 argue whether that's right or wrong, but we 8 are approaching an on-time budget and we're 9 approaching an on-time budget where this 10 Governor, a Governor of our own party, will be 11 given a great deal of confidence from all of 12 us to make decisions that really at times 13 we've made in the past, including which 14 prisons will be closed. 15 I for one have confidence that 16 those decisions will be made in the best 17 interests of the people sitting here and the 18 best interests of the families of those people 19 across the state. Can I guarantee it to 20 anyone? No. Do I have trust? And maybe that 21 trust is misplaced, but I do have that trust. 22 And I think it's about time that we 23 do begin to create a trust in ourselves, a 24 trust in others who are elected officials, 25 including the Governor, so that we can turn

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 this state around. And turn this state around 2 not in bickering back and forth, but trusting 3 in what we do to make this state a lot better. 4 And without that trust, we fall apart. We 5 fall apart as a state. 6 And I believe and trust in my 7 Democratic conference, that with our passion 8 and with our trust we can help turn this state 9 around. And accordingly, I vote aye. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank 11 you, Senator Breslin. 12 Senator Parker on the bill. 13 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. On the bill. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 16 Parker on the bill. 17 SENATOR PARKER: I actually 18 intend, despite my displeasure with large 19 parts of this budget, to actually vote yes on 20 this budget and -- on parts of it at least. 21 And the part we're voting on at this moment 22 I'm going to vote yes on. 23 But, you know, this is not a good 24 budget, Mr. President. It's not a good budget 25 year. I know we all understand that. What

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 there is some disagreement about in this 2 chamber is how we got there. I initially got 3 on the list to speak because I wasn't happy 4 with some of the comments that were being 5 made. But this is really not a time to assign 6 blame. This is really a time to start looking 7 and figuring out how we can work together on 8 solutions. 9 There's no one in here who wants to 10 see teachers fired or schools closed. We all 11 would like to see us be able to afford to do 12 different things with education. We would 13 like to see -- I know especially my colleague 14 Senator McDonald, and the work he does around 15 autism and people with disabilities -- would 16 like to see that budget restored in full, in 17 fact increased, because we really can't do 18 enough to protect people in our communities, 19 in all of our communities, with things like 20 autism and other kinds of disabilities. 21 But we can't do those things now. 22 And we've decided to go down a course and the 23 budget is closed out and we're now taking 24 votes on that budget. But we should be clear 25 about what our values are and the things that

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 we care about. That I know, from my 2 conversations with everybody in this room, 3 that everybody here cares about their 4 families. They care about the children in 5 their communities and their constituents. 6 That we all want to see a state that educates 7 every single child beyond just a regular 8 level, but that we fully educate people so 9 they can become full participants in our 10 communities, so that the life chances of 11 people in our community can be as bright for 12 every single person from Buffalo to Brooklyn, 13 from Bath, New York, to Brookhaven, Long 14 Island. And I think we're only going to get 15 there if we continue to try to work through 16 some of these things together. 17 I think that what we're doing this 18 year I really disagree with. And I am 19 dismayed that we look like we are in fact 20 balancing the budgets on people who need 21 social services, we're balancing the budgets 22 on the backs of children who are going to 23 public schools across our districts, and at 24 the same time giving a tax cut to the rich. 25 In this budget we're going to be voting on,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 we're going to be cutting the corporate taxes. 2 We have restructured the Excelsior program 3 such that we can give more tax breaks to large 4 corporations, many of which haven't created a 5 jobs since they've been in the program. We 6 are, you know, doing lots of things that are 7 supposed to help us but I'm not convinced that 8 those things in fact will get us there. 9 I do know that over the previous 10 two years we spent a lot of time trying to 11 right the wrongs that were done to many 12 communities over the state. And Rockefeller 13 Drug Laws, whether people agree with them or 14 not in this chamber, we can disagree about our 15 perceptions, but we can't disagree about the 16 facts. 17 And the facts of the matter are 18 mandatory minimum sentences and the kinds of 19 things we were doing vis-a-vis Rockefeller 20 Drug Laws did not work in this state. They 21 have not worked in the states across this 22 country. They have not worked on the federal 23 level. Which is why there are in fact federal 24 proposals to get rid of mandatory minimums and 25 get rid of the laws that look like Rockefeller

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Drug Laws in this state. 2 We have for such a long time in 3 this state made a bad economic decision in how 4 we structure economic development. And we've 5 done it from a top-down perspective, and we're 6 going to continue to do that in this budget. 7 But I'm hoping that as we go forward that we 8 really look at how jobs are created. But 9 right now, as much as we talk about job 10 creation, we have in this body -- and it's my 11 fault as much as anybody else's in the 12 Legislature -- that we have not developed a 13 small business program. 14 When we look at how jobs are 15 created in this country, you know, 70 percent 16 of all jobs that are created are in small 17 businesses. Right? Those are businesses 18 defined by, you know, employers who employ a 19 hundred or less people. And then of that 20 70 percent, about 50 percent are actually 21 employed in mom-and-pop shops, which are 22 defined by employers who employ 25 or less 23 people. 24 And we haven't done anything in 25 this budget to help those people. And those

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 are the people we need to put back to work. 2 We need to give those folks full-time jobs at 3 a living wage with benefits so that they can 4 in fact take care of their families. Because 5 that's all everybody wants to do. And so that 6 they can in fact contribute to our tax base so 7 that we can in fact help those people take 8 care of those who can't take care of 9 themselves. That's what our role is here in 10 government. 11 And so as we go forward with just 12 this debate tonight and the rest of the debate 13 over the next couple of days, I hope that we 14 in our conversations discuss the 15 controversies, that we look at the places in 16 which there is in fact conflict and try to 17 figure out how we work by those things. But 18 remember to keep our eyes on the prize and 19 work on our collective values of providing 20 full-time jobs at a living wage with benefits 21 for our communities, for educating every 22 child, making sure that people with 23 disabilities in fact have the same kind of 24 opportunities as those who are supposedly 25 fully functioning in our communities, and to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 make sure that we have a healthcare system 2 that's both affordable and accessible to 3 everybody who needs it. Because there's only 4 two kinds of people in the world, people in 5 hospitals right now and people who are going 6 to need hospitals at some point in their 7 lives. 8 And so this is not at all what I 9 got up to say, but I'm hoping that as we go 10 forward that -- we're stuck with this budget. 11 We're stuck with it at this point -- but that 12 next year that we get to a place where we're 13 really doing some meaningful things in this 14 budget, in a bipartisan way, that our 15 conversations will lead us to a place where 16 everybody can get taken care of. 17 Because I honestly believe there's 18 enough resources even in a reduced $132.75 19 billion budget. If you divide that, you know, 20 by 20 million, there's enough resources in the 21 State of New York to make sure that every man, 22 woman and child has the resources that they 23 need so they can achieve their life chances. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 25 Montgomery.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, thank 2 you, Mr. President. 3 I won't let this moment pass 4 without this historical statement that I'm 5 going to make. And that is I want to say that 6 for the first time in my life I agree with 7 some of Senator Nozzolio's sentiments. 8 (Laughter.) 9 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: So I could 10 not -- I could not let that moment go. 11 I do -- I have said to, you know, 12 people that I speak to that one of the dark 13 secrets of our state is that we have built 14 this economy based on a growing, extensive 15 prison system. And it's costed us 16 extremely -- a lot of resources, both human 17 resources as well as financial. And in fact I 18 think that the largest manufacturing system in 19 our state may be in that prison system. 20 So this is quite shameful. And of 21 course we have been addicted by it because 22 it's pretty easy. Between us here, the bills 23 we pass gets passed down, and then communities 24 like mine ship these people up. And 25 everybody's happy. And we've lived with that.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 But finally our Governor has said 2 that is immoral. And I am so proud of him for 3 making that statement. It was time for a 4 Governor to make that statement. Because a 5 lot of us have been in the wilderness talking 6 about it, but he is in a position to change 7 how we do business in our state. And I'm 8 happy that he's willing to do that. 9 And I just want to say that I am 10 proud of the Republicans who did agree to take 11 this very painful piece and negotiate it. 12 Because closing a prison for you is like 13 closing a hospital for me. That's the same 14 problem. We have it on both sides of the 15 aisle. And we all have to make those painful 16 decisions. 17 So I'm not going to complain. I -- 18 in fact, I complain about you all the time. 19 (Laughter.) 20 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Every day. 21 But at this moment I am only going to 22 compliment the Republican Party for standing 23 up to say we agree with the Governor, we must 24 move away from this system of this massive 25 incarceration program of a certain part of our

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 population in order to employ another part of 2 the population. 3 We all agree that was wrong. We 4 were just addicted to it. We couldn't give it 5 up. But with the Governor's help, we're 6 moving away from that. And I applaud that. I 7 just want my people and I want you to know 8 that's how I feel. Notwithstanding whatever 9 else you've heard, let's do this. 10 And the Governor has offered to 11 help us do it. He's offered to figure out a 12 way to repay those areas and help us move to 13 another system of an economic engine. And 14 that's what's going to keep our young people 15 in the parts of the state like Buffalo and 16 like Watertown and Senator Little's district. 17 I want to see some young people who want to 18 stay there and not have to choose between 19 leaving and working for 30 years in a prison. 20 So I'm very happy that we're moving 21 in the right direction, and definitely I am 22 voting for this bill. So I'll be voting aye. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 24 Krueger. 25 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President. 2 Well, clearly passions run high. 3 We're all upset. We all know we need to get a 4 budget done. We all know there's a 5 $10 billion deficit. We all know there will 6 be large cuts on many, many parts of the 7 budget that we each care about. And sometimes 8 passions run high and people might say the 9 wrong thing. But I did want to make sure 10 before we close that we set the record 11 straight on a few things that were said. 12 I want to thank Senator Adams for 13 getting up and clarifying the reality that 14 prisoner reduction is not due to what we did 15 with Rockefeller Drug Law. It's simply not 16 the fact. And it's also true that there are 17 reasons why the crime rate is going down, 18 because of very hard work by our police and in 19 our communities. And that is a win/win for us 20 all. 21 There was also some aspersions 22 thrown at when we, the Democrats, controlled 23 the Senate for two years out of, oh, most of 24 the last century. The budget increased a 25 hundred percent, $60 billion to $120 billion

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 between 1996 and 2008 when we had a Republican 2 Senate and a Republican Governor. Our debt 3 doubled during that time period from 4 $25 billion to $52 billion. Between '89 and 5 2008, this house, under Republican control, 6 voted to raise taxes by $131 billion. And the 7 budget was late, 1999 to 2006, by 819 days. 8 So we all can share blame. And we 9 all have to take responsibility for getting it 10 right now and dealing with the tough issues. 11 But to make statements on the record of the 12 Senate without making sure that they are 13 clarified, for the facts to be written into 14 the record of this wonderful institution, is 15 that this was not something because of this 16 side for two years or that side for 92 years. 17 (Laughter.) 18 SENATOR KRUEGER: We all have 19 responsibility to bear. And we need to move 20 forward. 21 And I think that some of my 22 colleagues were passionate about their anger 23 about some of the cuts in this budget on both 24 sides of the aisle. And that's real. And 25 whoever told us that watching the sausage

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 being made was all nice and easy and pretty? 2 It's not. We're watching, we are making the 3 sausage here tonight. And it's not pretty. 4 But it's going to get done in a reasonable 5 period of time. 6 And I agree with my colleagues it 7 won't be the best budget we could have done, 8 and it's not going to be a good budget for 9 many people in many of our communities. But 10 we have to go forward and we have to go 11 forward with civility on both sides of the 12 aisle. 13 And despite the fact that I have 14 major problems with much of the budget, I also 15 tonight will be voting yes on this bill and 16 believe that we will be passing it soon. 17 Thank you, Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Seeing 19 no other Senator wishing to be heard, debate 20 is closed and the Secretary will ring the 21 bell. 22 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 24 Skelos. 25 SENATOR SKELOS: If I could just

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 mention that I think it's totally 2 inappropriate for anybody, including members 3 and nonmembers, to be taking pictures in this 4 chamber when on the floor. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 6 point is well-taken, Senator Skelos, and I 7 would ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to please 8 comply with all the rules of the chamber. 9 Technically, electronic devices are 10 not to be used in the chamber, by rules of the 11 Senate. And there should be no one taking 12 pictures in this chamber. So I would again 13 ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to please be aware 14 and to enforce the rules of the Senate. 15 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 16 you mean with the exception of the Senate 17 photographers, of course. 18 (Laughter.) 19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: With 20 the exception of the Senate photographers. 21 Read the last section. 22 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 23 act shall take effect immediately. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call 25 the roll.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 (The Secretary called the roll.) 2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 3 Robach to explain his vote. 4 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes, 5 Mr. President, very briefly. 6 I'm going to support this. And 7 while I would agree with many of the 8 colleagues' comments on this not being 9 perfect, it is certainly a responsible step 10 and one we have to take. 11 I could say that I'm happy that 12 we're here three days before the budget 13 deadline getting this done, because I do think 14 transparency and timeliness are important. I 15 could not disagree more with the comments made 16 that the timeliness of the budget -- 17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 18 Robach, excuse me. 19 Can I have order in the chamber. 20 We have a member speaking, please. 21 Senator Robach. 22 SENATOR ROBACH: I couldn't 23 disagree more with the comments that the 24 timeliness of the budget doesn't matter. If 25 you want to put content or perfection on

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 anything, we'd never get anything done in this 2 chamber. 3 And when you talk about protecting 4 the law or abiding by the law, it is the 5 Constitution of the State of New York which 6 says we should have the budget done on 7 April 1st. Which you're right, we can all 8 take some concern with we haven't for a long 9 time. But we should. People that go to work 10 every day have to show up on time, get their 11 duties done. We should too. We owe that to 12 the people of New York. So I'm happy for that 13 part. 14 And then also, while there's many 15 challenges and things I would have 16 differently, I think it's very important that 17 everybody understands in this process that 18 there's been an exodus of people in upstate 19 New York, where I live, the census data came 20 out, because we have overtaxed, overspent, 21 driven business out. And no matter how hard, 22 we need to move in a different direction. 23 This budget does that. People 24 talked about hopefully we can do something 25 down the road. In order to do something down

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the road, you have to make changes today to 2 accommodate that. We can no longer stick our 3 head in the sand, kick the can down the road, 4 so to speak, or do that. That's been done far 5 too long. 6 So I applaud the Governor, the 7 people that worked very hard on both sides of 8 the aisle in the conference committees to get 9 this done and start the process. And I think 10 this will send a message for the first time in 11 a long time to people all across the state, 12 but especially the ones that I have the 13 privilege to represent, to say we hear you. 14 We're not spending more money than we have. 15 We, like you, in our household budgets are 16 making some tough decisions, just like you 17 have to in your budget to get this done. 18 I know I'm over my two minutes, but 19 I do think this is important. And I really do 20 think that this is the right thing in the 21 right direction. It's something we need at 22 this time. Thank you, Mr. President. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 24 Robach to be recorded in the affirmative. 25 Senator Libous to explain his vote.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR LIBOUS: Senator Libous 2 wants to say is there any further business. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Is 4 there anybody else wishing to speak? 5 Announce the results. 6 THE SECRETARY: In relation to 7 Calendar Number 281, those recorded in the 8 negative are Senators Diaz and Duane. 9 Absent from voting: Senator C. 10 Kruger and Senator Perkins. 11 Ayes, 58. Nays, 2. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 13 bill is passed. 14 Senator Libous. 15 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 16 is there any further business at the desk? 17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There 18 is no further business before the desk. 19 SENATOR LIBOUS: All right, I 20 have an announcement. The Republicans will 21 conference at 9:30 tomorrow morning. 22 Mr. President, there being no 23 further business before the Senate this 24 evening, I move that we adjourn until 25 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The 2 Republican conference will conference at 3 9:30 a.m. And there being no further business 4 before the Senate, the Senate stands adjourned 5 until tomorrow, Wednesday, at 10:00 a.m. 6 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 7 I'm sorry, would you please call on Senator 8 Hassell-Thompson for an announcement. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator 10 Hassell-Thompson for an announcement. 11 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 12 you, Mr. President. There will be a 13 Democratic conference at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow 14 morning. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There 16 will be a Democrat conference in the Democrat 17 Conference Room at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. 18 And there being no further business 19 to come before the Senate, on motion, the 20 Senate stands adjourned until Wednesday, 21 March 30th, at 10:00 a.m. 22 (Whereupon, at 10:24 p.m., the 23 Senate adjourned.) 24 25

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