Sunday, March 24, 2013

Mr. President, on behalf of Senator Ritchie, I move that the following bill be discharged from its respective committee and be recommitted with instructions to strike the enacting clause. And that would be Senate Print 4300.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:So ordered.

Senator Libous.

SENATOR LIBOUS:Thank you, Mr. President. At this time there will be an immediate meeting of the Finance Committee in Room 332, an immediate meeting of the Finance Committee in Room 332.

In the meantime, we will stand at ease.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:The Senate Finance Committee meets at this moment in Room 332.

The Senate will stand at ease.

(Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease at 4:21 p.m.)

(Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at 4:41 p.m.)

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Libous.

SENATOR LIBOUS:Mr. President, could we please return to reports of standing committees. I believe there's a report of the Finance Committee at the desk.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Reports of standing committees.

The Secretary will read.

THE SECRETARY:Senator DeFrancisco, from the Committee on Finance, reports the following bills:

Senate Print 2604E, Senate Budget Bill;

Senate 2605D, Senate Budget Bill;

And Senate 2608D, Senate Budget Bill.

All bills reported direct to third reading.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Libous.

SENATOR LIBOUS:Thank you, Mr. President. I move that we accept the report of the Finance Committee.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:All in favor of accepting the report of the Finance Committee signify by saying aye.

(Response of "Aye.")

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Opposed, nay.

(No response.)

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:The report of the Finance Committee is adopted.

Senator Libous.

SENATOR LIBOUS:Mr. President, if we could just wait till everything is distributed to all the members. We wouldn't want to start before all the members have what they need in front of them, please.

Mr. President.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Libous.

SENATOR LIBOUS:I'm sorry, you were in the middle of a discussion. Do you need to finish that discussion?

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Continue. We're all set.

SENATOR LIBOUS:Mr. President, we'd like to do the noncontroversial reading of Supplemental Calendar 24A.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:The Secretary will read.

THE SECRETARY:Calendar Number 270, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2604E, an act making appropriations.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Krueger, why do you rise?

SENATOR KRUEGER:Thank you, Mr. President. I rise with a point of order.

My understanding is that Section 54-A of the Legislative Law calls for the procedure by which the Legislature addresses issues of public transparency and accountability by providing a conference committee report to be on the desk of each member of the Legislature prior to taking up appropriation and language bills.

Is there a copy of that report available to us?

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator DeFrancisco, why do you rise?

SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I just would like to answer the question.

The answer is no.

SENATOR KRUEGER:Through you, Mr. President, then point of order.

The law requires it to be on our desks. I have it here from 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2012-2013. I'm quite sure there was one in between, but I couldn't find it today.

So why would we be taking up bills if we don't have it on our desks, since the law requires it?

ACTING SENATOR VALESKY:Senator Krueger, all of the budget bills have not been introduced at this point in time. And as a result, your point of order is not well taken.

SENATOR KRUEGER:Through you, Mr. President.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Krueger.

SENATOR KRUEGER:Thank you.

So is it your clarification that we will get this report? And if so, when?

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:I'm simply clarifying as a fact that all budget bills have not been introduced yet, and therefore your point is not well taken.

SENATOR KRUEGER:Oh. One moment.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator DeFrancisco, why do you rise?

SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, the answer to that question is yes, you will get them, we hope. We're trying our darnedest to get all the rest of the budget bills printed by midnight tonight. Once the bills are printed and we've got the whole plan together, we will provide that same report.

But we're trying to jump-start the process. Since there are three budget bills ready for people to discuss, rather than having nine or ten budget bills at one time, we thought this would be the better way to get a reasonable debate on the bills and give everybody ample time.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Thank you, Senator DeFrancisco.

Read the last section.

SENATOR GIANARIS:Lay it aside.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:The bill is laid aside.

THE SECRETARY:Calendar Number 271, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2605D, an act --

SENATOR GIANARIS:Lay it aside.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:The bill is laid aside.

THE SECRETARY:Calendar Number 272, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2608D, an act to authorize.

SENATOR GIANARIS:Lay it aside.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:The bill is laid aside.

Senator Libous, that concludes the noncontroversial reading of Senate Supplemental Calendar 24A.

SENATOR LIBOUS:Thank you, Mr. President. And I believe we can now take up the controversial reading of Supplemental Calendar 24A.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:The Secretary will ring the bells.

The Secretary will read.

THE SECRETARY:Calendar Number 270, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2604E, an act making appropriations.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Krueger.

SENATOR KRUEGER:Thank you, Mr. President. Will the sponsor please yield?

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator DeFrancisco, do you yield?

SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:The sponsor yields.

SENATOR KRUEGER:Thank you.

So this is an appropriations bill on capital projects. So going back to my earlier point that there should be a report -- I believe on the entire budget collection, but my colleague pointed out earlier in my point of order that we don't have all the bills so we can't do it on all of them.

But where is the materials that meet Section 54-A law on this specific capital bill? And that would be including conference committee details -- excuse me -- and specifics on the dollars and cents in this budget bill.

SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: This budget bill has been in print for at least three days, but I think probably more than that, as are the other two bills that we're going to discuss today, which gives everyone ample notice -- not only members, but also the general public -- to look at all the entire list of things that this particular capital projects budget bill, for example, is going to approve by the approval of this particular bill.

The entire plan will be released as soon as we've got the other budget bills in print.

SENATOR KRUEGER:Through you, Mr. President, if the sponsor would continue to yield.

SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:The sponsor yields.

SENATOR KRUEGER:Thank you.

Just to read Section 54, "Report on the Budget": "Before voting upon an appropriation bill submitted by the Governor and related legislation as amended in accordance with Article 7 of the Constitution, each house shall place on the desks of its members a report relating to each such bill. And preceding final action on all such appropriation bills and legislation, members shall be so provided with a comprehensive cumulative report relating to all such bills and legislation.

"The reports prepared by each house shall include, for the General Fund, a summary of proposed legislation, revisions to the Executive Budge for the ensuing fiscal year, and shall separately identify and present all legislative additions, reestimates, and other revisions that increase or decrease" --

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Krueger, do you have any question for Senator DeFrancisco?

SENATOR KRUEGER:I do. I'm just reading from the law.

So to continue the paragraph, "and separately identify and present all legislative additions, reestimates and other revisions that increase or decrease available resources."

Such report for each appropriation bill to be on our desks "shall, where practicable, display and the separately identify and present all legislative additions, reestimates and other revisions that increase or decrease state funds and All Funds spending, including an estimate of the impact of the proposed revisions on local governments and the state workforce."

So yes, the sponsor answered that the bill has aged three days. But again, my question is, under the law, we are supposed to have on our desks a report that lays out these specifications for this specific capital appropriations bill. I'm wondering where that report is.

SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I mentioned before that you don't have a complete report in view of the fact that we don't have all the budget bills printed.

However, I appreciate Senator Krueger's reading that section of the law, because there were words in there that she said a little silently, but it said "where practicable." And in this particular situation, I'd be happy to read them more loudly.

It's not practical in view of the fact that we don't have the rest of the budget bills. However, that summary is extremely important when we're doing it like we used to do business, with messages of necessity where no one really knew what the plan or knew what these bills stood for, and you couldn't read it in such a short time.

We've had plenty of time to do that. It's not practicable. We don't want to waste the time we have here to do three of the many budget bills, so we do it in an orderly fashion. So that's why we don't have it. It's not practicable presently.

SENATOR KRUEGER:Through you, Mr. President. On -- I don't know that I'm on the bill, I'm on my point about we should have a report on our desks. So on the bill.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Krueger on the bill.

SENATOR KRUEGER:I don't believe I was quieter on "practicable," although I agree I have trouble saying that word also.

But since we all know that we don't have messages of necessity, this bill has aged three days -- and certainly in every other previous year since the law passed, we were able to do this work prior to bringing the bill to the floor -- I actually do think it was perfectly practicable for us to have the report on our desks that we should have on our desks.

I'm led to believe that despite the fact that we are in violation of Section 54 of the budget law, we are going to continue to take up this bill. So now I'm happy to open it up to other questions from the floor.

Thank you, Mr. President.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Are there any other Senators who wish to be heard?

Seeing none, the debate is closed.

The Secretary will ring the bells.

Read the last section.

THE SECRETARY:Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Call the roll.

(The Secretary called the roll.)

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator DeFrancisco to explain his vote.

SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Just very briefly, I want to mention a couple of the highlights of this bill that I think most people should be happy with, especially Western New York.

There's Empire State Development money for various projects in Western New York, including Ralph Wilson Stadium, another $2.1 million for the retention of the professional football team, the Buffalo regional innovations cluster, and many, many more. It's part of the Governor's promise for that $1 billion lift for Western New York to get that economy going.

However, the other part that's really important, I believe, is how we dealt with transportation this year. For five straight years we had no increase in CHIPS funding, which is so important for our localities to be able to keep their roads in good shape. And there's a $75 million increase this year, and the plan is for another $75 million increase next year.

And we have a total budget for transportation of $3.4 billion, which is subject to an MOU, and the projects are listed in the MOU, which is available.

There's also some other funding that's available for specific projects for transportation, including aviation, rail, and some of the regional transportation authorities as well as the MTA. So it's a very broad -- and also for SUNY.

So there's substantial capital money here that's been lacking in prior years that we were able to put in this year which is crucial for the infrastructure of the State of New York and to keep our economy going.

So it's an excellent bill, and I'm glad we're going to pass this today.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator DeFrancisco to be recorded in the affirmative.

Senator Latimer to explain his vote.

SENATOR LATIMER:Thank you, Mr. President.

I rise in support of the bill, but I would like to share a cautionary note. We have the major capital project downstate of the Tappan Zee Bridge, which is not just only linking Westchester and Rockland County but is a key connector for business throughout the downstate region.

We have applied for $2.5 billion from a TIFIA loan. We've received $1.5 billion. That leaves a gap of a billion dollars. This budget does not have an allocation of capital to address that, and I think there's legitimate concern that we may be heading toward excessively high tolls if we can't bridge that gap through some capital activity.

But absent that, I will support this bill.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Latimer to be recorded in the affirmative.

Senator Parker to explain his vote.

SENATOR PARKER:Thank you, Mr. President. To explain my vote.

I'm voting no on this bill, and I'm voting no probably on the entire budget, Mr. President.

This has been frankly an atrocity. To have a process in which you have no African-Americans, no Latinos, no women, no Asians involved in the budget process, the third largest budget in the entire country, is just absolutely horrendous. And not to have our leader engaged in this.

As I look over this bill, I see nothing in there for my constituents, I see nothing for Brooklyn. Why would I vote for something does nothing for my constituents?

I have not been able to talk to the Governor for six, seven months about doing something around Downstate Medical Center, have not even had a conversation with him or his staff. I vote no.

I'm looking at a conversation that we're having about minimum wage. We're talking about, you know, phasing it in over three years as a measly $9. By the time we phase it in, it's already going to be obsolete. I vote no.

We haven't done anything about plain-sight marijuana and decriminalizing it. I vote no.

And so because of all the things that are lacking in this budget bill, Mr. President, I only have a couple of seconds, but just in case people weren't clear, I'm voting no.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Parker to be recorded in the negative.

Senator Espaillat to explain his vote.

SENATOR ESPAILLAT:Thank you, Mr. President.

Several days ago we began this budget process with the debt services bill, and now we have this capital projects bill with many worthy projects, including $53.89 million for the Ralph Wilson Stadium. For us football lovers, that will be a great investment.

We also have a $10.25 million investment for zoos and botanical gardens. It was actually increased a million dollars for us folks that like to visit the zoos. That's also a nice investment.

In addition to that, we have $4.6 million for invasive species control, including $100,000 for Lake George, not too far from here, and $20 million for land acquisition.

This is the beginning of a budget process that will conclude with a budget of around $143 billion. And yet there has been no talk as we concluded this weekend -- the Somos El Futuro weekend, where hundreds of young people came to the State Capitol -- there is no talk about the DREAM Act. So it lacks investment in the human capital. And I think that's a very negative shortfall for this budget.

In addition to that, the minimum wage debate continues to linger. And while we shoot for a $9 an hour minimum wage in 2015, our U.S. Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, is asking for a $10.10 minimum wage nationally. And by the time we get to 2015, I am sure that the federal government will have implemented a $9 minimum wage across the country, across states with much lower standards and costs of living than New York City and New York State.

So, Mr. President, this is the beginning of a long process where I, as well as my colleague who spoke before me, will continue to vote no in all these budget issues.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Espaillat to be recorded in the negative.

Senator Libous to explain his vote.

SENATOR LIBOUS:Thank you, Mr. President.

It was commented earlier, and I don't recall who did it, who said it, but I just want to make a clarification. The New York City region, in this budget bill, will get $1.26 billion. And that money is going to go to the Counties of Richmond, Kings, Queens, New York, and Bronx. So I just want to make that point and clarification.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:And, Senator Libous, how do you vote?

SENATOR LIBOUS:I vote aye.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Libous to be recorded in the affirmative.

Senator Kennedy to explain his vote.

SENATOR KENNEDY:Thank you, Mr. President.

I rise today to express my support for the funding allocated in this budget specifically toward the Buffalo Bills, keeping the Buffalo Bills in Western New York and in New York State.

The Bills, as we all know, are an important part of the fabric of the Western New York community, of the New York State economy. It's a strategic investment targeted to benefit our region's infrastructure, our economy, a long-term focus that's going to ensure that we have a positive economic impact felt from the retention of the Bills in Buffalo.

This isn't just about football, this is about jobs. This is about keeping jobs, the thousands of jobs that are important to the Western New York economy, the New York State economy, working.

If the Bills were to leave Buffalo, it would send a negative economic ripple effect throughout our community, throughout our state. Businesses throughout Western New York would have to consider laying off workers. Merchandisers, restaurants, bars, food suppliers, busing companies, shipping companies and others all would feel an economic pain.

Negotiating a lease deal for the stadium was a long process, but it was essential to keep the Bills in Buffalo. The Governor and other stakeholders deserve a great amount of credit. All the stakeholders came together to devise a solution that will work to benefit our economy, our county, our state, our football team, and our fans.

I want to thank also Senator DeFrancisco for giving us Syracuse University's coach, Doug Marrone, who undoubtedly are going to lead the Bills to the Super Bowl in the very near future, to see the fruits of our labor. And the next step is finding a quarterback to ensure this is a positive investment for all of New York State.

Again, I vote aye on this budget portion of this bill and look forward to seeing the Bills' successes in the near future.

Thank you.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Thank you, Senator Kennedy.

Senator Kennedy will be recorded in the affirmative.

And just let the record reflect that I in fact represent Syracuse University. So thank you.

Senator Grisanti to explain his vote.

SENATOR GRISANTI:Yes, thank you, Mr. President.

I won't go any further on the Buffalo Bills issue than they're getting their funding and God pray that they get a quarterback.

But, you know, this budget bill isn't just about the Buffalo Bills. I mean, it's about numerous things across New York State. This is first time EPF funding has been increased, ladies and gentlemen, a $19 million increase. It affects a variety of issues across your districts, from research to farmers to protect against pollution in the environment. That's very significant that that actually went forward.

In particular, they have the New York SUNY 2020, New York CUNY 2020, significant amounts of money, a combination of $110 million.

The CHIPS funding alone, the CHIPS funding alone -- an increase that has not been seen for five years -- is mandate relief for your municipalities. That is money the municipalities do not have to spend on various infrastructure, that we have given them some mandate relief with regards to those areas.

And in particular in Western New York, there's numerous funding in here for the waterfront development, for parks and for various municipalities to deal with environmental issues.

And it's a budget on the capital projects that's much needed for the state, but in particular for Western New York. I vote aye.

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Grisanti to be recorded in the affirmative.

Announce the results.

THE SECRETARY:Ayes, 60. Nays, 2. Senators Espaillat and Parker recorded in the negative.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:The bill is passed.

The Secretary will continue to read.

THE SECRETARY:Calendar Number 271, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2605D, an act authorizing.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Read the last section.

THE SECRETARY:Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Rivera, why do you rise?

SENATOR RIVERA:Thank you, Mr. President, to explain my vote -- on the bill.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Rivera on the bill.

Senator Rivera, you're recognized to speak on the bill.

SENATOR RIVERA:Thank you, Mr. President. And as I am speaking on the bill, I will also explain my vote, so it covers two at the same time.

I will be voting in the affirmative on this piece of legislation. There's a couple of things that I think certainly that we needed to do a little bit differently. Certainly the closing of the facility, of the Beacon facility, is something that we have been concerned about, certainly myself and many members of my conference, particularly my colleague Terry Gipson. I'm sure he will speak to it.

But I wanted to speak briefly about one part of the budget that deals with the transfer of the Fulton Correctional Facility. It is a former work-release facility that is in my district.

We have been, the last couple of years, working -- along with members of my conference, certainly Senator Ruth Hassell- Thompson, and many members in the Assembly as well as folks on the second floor -- we've been working on putting together something that hopefully with this transfer of a facility will actually come a little bit closer to fruition.

Many folks that are incarcerated in upstate New York right now and in places all across the state will come back to neighborhoods like the ones I represent in the Bronx. And we want to make sure that when these folks come back, they have a way to become productive members of society again.

What this facility, once it starts operation, and hopefully this will -- this definitely gets us closer to that -- it will serve as a one of a kind and first of its kind reentry facility in the Bronx, providing both housing and education opportunities, as well as workforce development. It will allow an opportunity for folks that are coming back to the city, and particularly to the Bronx, to be able to train so that they do not go back into the criminal justice system.

I am very glad that we were able to include it in this budget process. We are transferring the facility now to an organization known as the Osborne Association that has done excellent work with incarcerated individuals, formerly incarcerated individuals. We still have a long way to go to make sure that this program and this facility is up and running, but the first part of it has to be this transfer of this facility. So I'm very happy that we are doing it today.

I will be voting in the affirmative on this piece of legislation, Mr. President. Thank you.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Thank you, Senator Rivera.

Senator Parker on the bill.

SENATOR PARKER:Thank you very much, Mr. President. On the bill.

In a move that's probably going to surprise this chamber, I'm voting no on this bill as well, Mr. President.

I want to maintain, I guess mostly for emphasis, my problem with the process. And we talk about -- you know, there's a lot of conversation about dysfunction in this body and, you know, dysfunction in the Legislature and dysfunction in Albany. And understand that dysfunction was a term that talked about the three men in a room.

We now have four men in a room. And this is not personal to who the four men are. It's that you have 150 people who represent, you know, 20 million people, and you only have four of them making decisions.

And if anybody tries to raise issue of those tables, which are just jive -- I mean, they're less than a billion dollars. You're talking about a vote being taken over the next few days on, Mr. President, 142-point-something billion dollars. Right? And you put less than a billion at these little tables that we're doing, you know, it's tricks.

And it is what it is. And, you know, I get we're doing it for effect. But, you know, don't -- don't tell me that. Right? I mean, the reality is that we have not been part of it. I don't know why I would vote for something in which my input has been not just ignored but essentially told no.

I came to the table essentially with one major issue, which is the preservation of Downstate Medical Center as both a medical school and health center as well as a hospital. Could not even get a meeting with the Governor or his people for seven months. For seven months. We wrote letters, I stopped people in the hallway, went to the Governor's mansion and asked the Governor personally, and was denied a conversation.

Why would I vote for a budget when I've asked for one thing and I was told, Mr. President, that I can't even have a conversation with the people making the decision about the one thing that was the most important to me? Why would I give you my vote on anything in this budget?

This is a medical center that 85 percent of the people who get services there and primary care there are African-American and people of African descent and Latino. And this is what you think is the right thing to do, Mr. Governor? We produce 800 medical professionals every single year. And you want to close the hospital and fire people in this economy?

So you want to run these nice ads about New York is open for business? It must not be open for business in Brooklyn, because you're closing the fourth-largest employer in Brooklyn. And then you want my vote for that.

This bill is not -- this bill doesn't deal with that directly, and I understand that. But my objections on all of this stuff, I cannot vote for any of this due to the fact that things that I'm asking for are not being resolved.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator DeFrancisco, why do you rise?

SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'd ask if Senator Parker would please yield to a very quick question which may make him feel better.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Parker, do you yield?

SENATOR PARKER:For my friend Senator DeFrancisco, absolutely.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Parker yields.

SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Senator, as I mentioned earlier, we don't have all the budget bills prepared in print. But, however -- oh, this one is in print, actually. I'm sorry, I'm mistaken.

But this is Budget Bill 2606D. There is a provision. There is a provision concerning the Downstate hospital that you're concerned about that was negotiated. And I can refer you -- or actually, Senator Hannon is in a better position to refer you to the exact section, and maybe can you take a look at that before you -- Part Q of that bill, 2606D.

SENATOR PARKER:Okay.

SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: And you might want to take a look at it, because I think there was an extensive provision concerning your issue.

SENATOR PARKER:Thank you, Senator DeFrancisco.

If I can continue on the bill.

ACTING SENATOR VALESKY:Continue.

SENATOR PARKER:I have two problems with Downstate, and I'm going to kind of end here.

One was about the need for about $150 million -- and this is according to the SUNY people, and the chairman there, have indicated they need $150 million. I have not seen anything -- and in fact, everybody I've talked to has said it's not been there. I'm hoping that the clarification I got from Senator DeFrancisco is in fact correct and in fact there is some money there to make this hospital go further.

My second problem is language that privatizes the hospital. And I don't think there's any place for privatization in a public hospital.

And the reality is we have public institutions, and the reason why we have government is that frankly there isn't a market to do some of the things that need to be done in our society. Point-blank, period. That's why you need government. If there was a market to pave every street in the country, then in fact, you know, there would be private companies that did nothing but own the streets and pave them. If there was a market to educate everybody, then you would not need public schools, you would just have private education.

The reality is there are some things that we actually do better, believe it or not. And efficiency cannot just be about economic efficiency, it has to be about service efficiency. It has to be about quality of care. It has to be about making sure that people in our society get the things that they need.

And so I can't vote on a bill that begins the process of privatizing a public hospital and a public medical center.

I have vast concerns about other parts of this budget. No DREAM Act. I think, again, a woefully inadequate minimum-wage proposal. The fact that we have not dealt with just many, many of the important things, including the developmentally disabled community that's going to lose about $120 million, is my understanding still, and that we haven't resolved.

And so some of these things have to be resolved before I can feel comfortable voting yes on this budget.

Mr. President, I vote no.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Thank you, Senator Parker.

Senator Gipson on the bill.

SENATOR GIPSON:Thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to speak on this bill.

There are some very good things in this bill that I am very happy about, and one of them is the local government efficiency grant program. This program will allow local municipalities that are experiencing severe budget crunches, it will help them in reaching out for more opportunities to share services and making the entire process more streamlined. And it will, more importantly, speed up the process in which grant money is brought back to these local governments. I'm very happy to see that that is in here.

I'm also happy to see that this adjudication of traffic violations has been changed from what the Executive was originally proposing. The Executive's proposal would have taken power away from our local governments, it would have taken power away from the ability for them to plea bargain tickets. This would have led to an increase in trials, and the resulting expenses would have gone back to our local governments.

This new solution will reduce local governments' traffic court expenses and, more importantly, it will continue an important stream of revenue for our local governments.

These two things are good. However, in this bill there is one thing that is particularly bad. And that is that the Beacon Correctional Facility, which is located in the southern end of my district, is proposed to be closed.

As many of you know, I fought hard to keep this facility open, along with many of my colleagues. There are women there that receive valuable services that will be unfortunately displaced to other locations that will not be able to offer the quality of care that they were receiving there. Jobs are at stake. And more importantly, the local economy stands to suffer greatly from this decision.

Having said that, apparently I'm left no other course of action than to try to find a way to make use of this outstanding facility, which is over 300 acres right in the middle of a thriving metropolis, the City of Beacon. It's a great place to visit. If you haven't been there, I hope you'll come and see what they've done there, on their own, with art galleries and restaurants. The education system there is growing. It's an exciting place to be.

So what we have to do now is we have to find a way to revitalize this important venue there. And so I'm committed to working with the Governor's office and the local community in finding a way to make sure that we develop good local jobs at this location and that we find a way to make sure that the economy continues to grow as a result of the work that we're doing there. And that's where my focus will be moving forward.

As I said, there are good things in this bill that I support. But the fact that a facility that offered so many good services and such a great economic benefit to my community is being closed, I will have to vote no on this bill.

Thank you, Mr. President.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Thank you, Senator Gipson.

Seeing no other Senator who wishes to be heard on the bill, the debate is closed.

The Secretary will ring the bells.

Read the last section.

THE SECRETARY:Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Call the roll.

(The Secretary called the roll.)

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Announce the results.

THE SECRETARY:In relation to Calendar Number 271, those recorded in the negative are Senators Espaillat, Gipson, and Parker.

Ayes, 59. Nays, 3.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:The bill is passed.

Senator DeFrancisco, why do you rise?

SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I just wanted to explain my vote very briefly.

It was just mentioned by Senator Gipson about this help to the localities, not only in these local efficiency grants, but one of the biggest things in my community -- and, I know, a lot of people upstate -- the Governor wanted to take away plea bargaining on various motor vehicle provisions. And the intended purpose was to make sure that tickets were not plea bargained down to an offense that only the localities receive the funds.

There was a great compromise so that the localities could still plea bargain and not have the cost of trials or additional cost because of not being able to get a lower charge, but also so the localities could keep the funding, which was critical for the towns and villages especially.

In addition, there's another provision in here that I think is very important with respect to safety in the schools. And we've included language in this budget to allow the Commissioner of Education the discretion to eliminate earning limitations for retired police officers employed to districts as school resource office. In other words, they can allow for more than the minimum amount of wage for retired police officers dealing with this 211 waiver.

It gives the flexibility for the school districts to hire these officers and be in a position to make their schools safer. So I think that's a significant part of the public protection bill as well.

Thank you. I vote aye.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator DeFrancisco to be recorded in the affirmative.

The bill is passed.

The Secretary will continue to read.

THE SECRETARY:Calendar Number 272, Senate Budget Bill, Senate Print 2608D, an act to authorize.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Parker on the bill.

SENATOR PARKER:Thank you, Mr. President.

I rise to vote no on this budget bill. I don't see the 18-a utility assessment surcharge in it. And I wish that meant that it was going to go away, as it should. This is a harmful tax to our constituents and people who use utilities across the state.

And even though that's not in this budget, we still have failed to do many of the important things, Mr. President, that I think that we need to do to take care of the people of the State of New York, particularly the people in my district.

Downstate Medical Center's financial crisis and the privatization language in the budget must be dealt with. Education, particularly restoring the full funding for our schools and restoring the $250 million to New York City schools has to happen.

We also have not held up our promise for the Campaign for Fiscal Equity. And so we have high-needs districts across the State of New York, from Buffalo to Bath, from Brooklyn to Brookhaven, that all are suffering because we have not fulfilled our promise to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit.

Lack of progress on minority and women-owned business enterprises is really a problem. In fact, my understanding is that this budget is going to contain a $3 million deduction when in fact we are actually supposed to be increasing the amount of money that we're putting in for MWBEs.

That in fact for you to in fact get to the threshold that the Governor himself has said he wants to see every agency get to, which is 20 percent -- which is laudable, but it's one thing to pay lip service to it. It's another thing, Mr. Governor, to put your money where your mouth is. And we need about $14 million across the state in agencies in order to make a 20 percent goal happen in each agency. And I don't see that reflected in this budget, so I'm going to vote no.

Lack, again, of marijuana decriminalization and public protection. Some of you have heard in Brooklyn that there have been a number of disruptions and civil disobedience in regards to the death of a young man named Kimani Gray. That's in my district.

You know, when are we going to do something about stop and frisk? We've been asking for months to do that. We could have done that in this budget and dealt with something that's important for the people of the State of New York. And, again, failing to provide a significant living wage is also a real problem.

Let me suggest, as I close, that we get together with the Assembly and take back our power on the budget. I know that a number of years ago that there was a lawsuit, you know, and we sued and lost. And because of that, we are now the most ineffective legislature in the entire country as relates to a budget negotiation.

We could actually take that back by deciding what is fair, coming up with a bill, passing it. Of course, the Governor won't sign it, but we can bring it here and we can override the Governor's veto and take back our own power. Instead of having these tables with $550 million, which is than a half a percent of the budget that we're making decisions on.

You know, we lost all of our member items and capital funding -- at least we did in the minority, we didn't have any. Member items -- and you know, let's call it the nice word, legislative initiative funds -- was less than $200 million for the entire Legislature. And the Governor has scooped that up, put it in his little Economic Development Councils, and have left our communities, particularly black and Latino communities, bare, without an ability to decide where funding goes in our communities.

And so what continues to get funding are large organizations. And meanwhile, community-based organizations that are doing a lot of the grassroots work that is really critical in districts like mine, is not getting done.

For all of those reasons, I vote no on this budget.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Kennedy on the bill.

SENATOR KENNEDY:Thank you, Mr. President.

I rise today to express my support for the language included in this bill that brings New York State in line with federal regulations regarding distracted driving.

It's vitally important that all drivers and those with whom they share the road are protected from dangerous of texting while driving and distracted driving. We've been long fighting to end distracted driving, but lives continue to be put at risk by motorists that are texting while driving or engaged in other distractions behind the wheel.

The expanded provisions in this budget bill take another step in the right direction toward improving roadway safety and ultimately saving lives.

Momentum began building to ban texting when driving as a result of the work in Western New York by Kelly Cline, a Western New Yorker who lost her son, A.J. Larsen, to a texting while driving accident. Since then, Kelly has been an unwavering advocate for safer driving laws.

Together, we passed a ban on distracted driving back in the last couple of years. I was proud to vote for a statewide ban against distracted driving here in New York State.

In the first year since the ban, more than 20,000 distracted driving tickets were written. As law enforcement officials continue to crack down on this dangerous activity, lives are being saved across our state. The language in this bill will prohibit drivers from using handheld mobile telephones or portable electronic devices while operating commercial motor vehicles.

Thank you, Mr. President. I vote aye.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Gipson on the bill.

SENATOR GIPSON:Thank you, Mr. President.

I am very happy about some things in this bill that really will help promote farming in my community. I want to point out that the Environmental Protection Fund not only helps protect our environment, but it also helps protect our farmland. For every $1 invested in the EPF, New York's farm economy will help generate $7 back into New York's economy.

Our state is a leader in agriculture. We are the third-largest dairy industry in the nation. And with the right investments, our agricultural industry will continue to grow.

Farms in New York today face a immense pressure to sell land for development, especially farms in the Hudson Valley, where my district is located and where property values have increasingly been on the rise. However, funding from the EPF helps protect this farmland so that farmers can obtain additional land or keep the land from being sold.

Recently the Farmland Protection Program was not seeing the types of funding that it really needed to assist farmers. But now, with this bill, we'll be changing that. And as you know, food security is critical to protecting our farmland.

I would also point out that my district is the home of the Dutchess County Fair, which is what I consider to be a real jewel in terms of promoting agriculture in not only my district but in New York State. So it is my goal over the next few years, you're going to see an increase in agriculture in the Hudson River Valley because of what the EPF fund is doing in this bill.

So thank you, Mr. President.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Latimer on the bill.

SENATOR LATIMER:Thank you, Mr. President. On the bill.

There is an omission in this bill which may be caught in some bill before we're finished with our work on the budget, but for the moment the Governor placed in this section of the budget a proposal to implement recommendations made by the Moreland Commission on utility storm preparedness and response.

There are many good people in my home district in Westchester County and I suspect in other parts of the state -- in Queens and Staten Island and Long Island -- that are very concerned over the performance of the utilities during Superstorm Sandy. And the Governor was very forthright, and I think accurately so, in indicating that we needed to beef up enforcement of the Public Service Commission.

That whole topic area has been left out of this bill. I'll look to see that it's referred in some other bill going forward. But I think it's a very important point, and I don't think we can afford, if we're going to deal with these issues within the budget, to close this budget without dealing with that proposal by the Governor. Because I think many of our residents are expecting to see us respond with a greater degree of enforcement of these regulations.

Thank you.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Seeing no other Senator who wishes to be heard, the debate is closed.

The Secretary will ring the bells.

Read the last section.

THE SECRETARY:Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Call the roll.

(The Secretary called the roll.)

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Carlucci to explain his vote.

SENATOR CARLUCCI:Thank you, Mr. President.

I want to thank Governor Cuomo and my colleagues for working on this budget, this budget bill particularly. We have language in here that addresses a real commonsense issue that we realized in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

In the days following Superstorm Sandy we came to realize the painful truth, that our state is dependent on gasoline. And we saw that when gas stations can't pump gasoline, that our society, our economy grinds to a screeching halt.

In this legislation, in this budget bill, we put in language to make sure that gas stations have backup generators, that the prewiring -- that gas stations will be able to get money to do prewiring so that when a disaster strikes, generators will kick in to make sure that that gasoline can pump.

This is a commonsense approach to make sure that we can move our society along, to make sure that our economy doesn't grind to a screeching halt, and to make sure that emergency service workers can move throughout the community. What we saw in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy was traffic lining the streets, emergency service workers not being able to get by, people not being able to get to work.

This is an important piece of legislation. I want to thank my colleagues for working on a commonsense approach that helps the gas stations, helps commuters, helps emergency service workers to make sure that we can provide relief in the aftermath of a disaster like Hurricane Sandy.

So I vote aye on this and want to thank my colleagues for doing the same.

Thank you, Mr. President.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Carlucci to be recorded in the affirmative.

Senator Farley to explain his vote.

SENATOR FARLEY:I rise to bring attention to one part of this which is very worthwhile, and I applaud my colleagues for fighting for it. And that's CHIPS for our roads upstate and around the state. Because here we're spending millions to actually save billions.

It's something that's been very, very important, and I'm pleased to vote for this.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Farley to be recorded in the affirmative.

Senator Grisanti to explain his vote.

SENATOR GRISANTI:Yes, thank you, Mr. President.

You know, what Senator Carlucci said, it is very important for downstate and those gas stations. However, the initial proposal was for it to go statewide.

Now, being a Western New Yorker from Buffalo, we don't really have those type of storms that would require these gas stations to spend $40,000 to $60,000 to implement a generator program. So I'm glad that upstate was actually taken out of that particular part of the bill.

However, they can opt in if they want to, if federal money becomes available. So that's very important that it would not add that burden on the gas station industry in upstate New York.

And then besides CHIPS funding and everything else, what's important in this legislation as well is that trappers do have a separate identity when it comes to their licenses, so they're not grouped together with other hunting licenses. So I know that that was very important for the trappers to maintain their separate identity.

And in the previous legislation, I appreciate everybody's vote with regard to the increased aid to Roswell Park Cancer Institute so they can continue with their capital projects moving forward, for the economy as well. We know it's important not only for Western New York and the state, but they're world-renowned in the research they do and saving lives in cancer research.

For those reasons, on all three of those budget bills, as I said before, I vote aye, Mr. President.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:Senator Grisanti to be recorded in the affirmative.

Announce the results.

THE SECRETARY:In relation to Calendar Number 272, those recorded in the negative are Senators Espaillat and Parker.

Ayes, 60. Nays, 2.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:The bill is passed.

Senator Libous, that completes the bills on Senate Supplemental Calendar 24A.

SENATOR LIBOUS:Mr. President, did you call my name?

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:I did.

SENATOR LIBOUS:Since you called my name, is there any further business at the desk?

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:There is none.

SENATOR LIBOUS:Mr. President, there being no further business at the desk, I move that the Senate will adjourn until March 25th -- that's tomorrow, Monday -- at 11:00 a.m.

ACTING PRESIDENT VALESKY:On motion, the Senate stands adjourned until Monday, March 25th, at 11:00 a.m.

(Whereupon, at 5:36 p.m., the Senate adjourned.)