1396
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 March 21, 2018
11 3:29 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR JOSEPH GRIFFO, Acting President
19 FRANCIS W. PATIENCE, Secretary
20
21
22
23
24
25
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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 and
5 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: In the
10 absence of clergy, I ask everyone present to
11 please bow their heads in a moment of silent
12 prayer and/or reflection.
13 (Whereupon, the assemblage respected
14 a moment of silence.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
16 reading of the Journal.
17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Tuesday,
18 March 20th, the Senate met pursuant to
19 adjournment. The Journal of Monday, March 19th,
20 was read and approved. On motion, Senate
21 adjourned.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Without
23 objection, the Journal will stand approved as
24 read.
25 Presentation of petitions.
1398
1 Messages from the Assembly.
2 Messages from the Governor.
3 Reports of standing committees.
4 Reports of select committees.
5 Communications and reports of state
6 officers.
7 Motions and resolutions.
8 Senator DeFrancisco.
9 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Mr.
10 President, could you please recognize
11 Senator Little for a brief but important
12 introduction.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Order in
14 the house, please.
15 Senator Little.
16 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 It's my honor and privilege today to
19 introduce to this body a group of Girl Scouts who
20 have come down to Albany to spend some time at
21 the Women's Suffrage Exhibit in the State Museum.
22 The girls are working towards their New York
23 State Girl Scouts Suffrage Badge and learning
24 about how women 100 years ago got the right to
25 vote in New York State -- and in 2020, we will
1399
1 celebrate 100 years for the whole country.
2 They're a special group of
3 Girl Scouts to me because they are led by my
4 daughter, Elizabeth Little Hogan, and her cousin
5 Rhianna is the coleader, and the members of this
6 troop include my granddaughter.
7 And I'd ask each of them to stand
8 when I call your name. My granddaughter,
9 Josephine Ann Hogan. And Alexa Hogan, Claire,
10 Chloe, Ana, Vivian and Lily. I ask you to give
11 them the honor of being here in the house, and
12 welcome them. They're a very special group,
13 working hard in everything they do, but enjoying
14 being Girl Scouts.
15 Thank you.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: On behalf
17 of the New York State Senate, we're very proud
18 and honored to have Senator Little's family here,
19 and all of these Girl Scouts who are continually
20 dedicating themselves to a quality education and
21 community service.
22 So we extend a warm welcome to all
23 of you, and extend the privileges of the house.
24 Please stand, everyone, and be recognized again.
25 Let's give them a round of applause.
1400
1 (Standing ovation.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
3 DeFrancisco.
4 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, can we
5 now take up previously adopted Resolution 3137,
6 by Senator Marchione, title only, and call on the
7 Senator to speak.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
9 Secretary will read.
10 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
11 Resolution Number 3137, by Senator Marchione,
12 memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
13 proclaim March 21, 2018, as Down Syndrome
14 Awareness Day in the State of New York, in
15 conjunction with the observance of World Down
16 Syndrome Day.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
18 Marchione.
19 SENATOR MARCHIONE: Thank you,
20 Mr. President.
21 I rise to speak on this resolution
22 today, but before I begin, I'd like to ask, are
23 you all wearing your Lots of Socks?
24 MULTIPLE SENATORS: Yes.
25 SENATOR MARCHIONE: Thank you all
1401
1 so very much. I know you are, we've been kind of
2 having fun with that today, having photographs
3 taken. And it's a great way, a fun way, to start
4 a very serious conversation about Down syndrome.
5 You know, by wearing your Lots of
6 Socks, you are supporting this resolution and
7 you're advancing this incredibly important,
8 worthy cause and helping to raise awareness of
9 Down syndrome. And again, I thank you each and
10 every one of you.
11 You know, Down syndrome is not an
12 illness, it's a genetic condition affecting the
13 body's development caused by the presence of
14 three copies of chromosome 21 in the cell
15 nucleus. It's also called trisomy 21.
16 There are an estimated 7 million
17 people with Down syndrome worldwide. You know,
18 Down Syndrome International will be celebrating
19 the 13th anniversary of World Down Syndrome Day
20 today, March 21, 2018. This date, 3/21, was
21 chosen to represent that scientific basis of this
22 condition.
23 World Down Syndrome Day is a global
24 awareness that has been officially observed by
25 the United States since 2012. Each year the
1402
1 voice of people with Down syndrome and those who
2 live and work with them and love them grows even
3 louder.
4 But there is still so much more to
5 do in terms of raising awareness. More and more
6 New Yorkers are interacting with individuals with
7 Down syndrome, increasing the need for widespread
8 public education and acceptance.
9 Make no mistake, we're seeing real
10 success in breaking down barriers and raising
11 awareness of this issue. In fact, the 2018
12 Gerber spokesbaby is a boy named Lucas Warren, a
13 one-year-old from Dalton, Georgia, with a
14 glowing, giggly smile who loves to play, loves to
15 laugh, and loves to make other people laugh, as
16 noted by his mother Courtney. Lucas is the first
17 child with Down syndrome to be named a Gerber
18 Spokesbaby since the contest started in 2010.
19 Lucas was chosen from more than 140,000 others to
20 be the 2018 spokesperson.
21 This was wonderful, terrific news
22 and proof positive as to why raising awareness is
23 so critical.
24 You know, as many of you know, my
25 great-nephew Nathan is a child with Down
1403
1 syndrome. Nathan embodies the saying that the
2 only difference between ordinary and
3 extraordinary is that little difference, is that
4 little extra. You know, Nathan has that little
5 extra. He's watching me today on TV. I couldn't
6 be prouder to be standing up here and saying the
7 wonderful things about his beautiful smile and
8 how he inspires us with who he is and what he
9 does.
10 This Down Syndrome Awareness Day and
11 every day, let us continue recognizing the
12 dignity, the worth, and the countless value of
13 the contributions of people and persons with Down
14 syndrome. Let us recognize them as promoters of
15 well-being and diversity for our communities.
16 Let us recognize the importance of their
17 individual autonomy, their independence, their
18 dignity and equality, including the freedom to
19 make their own choices.
20 And let us focus on the incredible
21 ability of individuals like my great-nephew
22 Nathan and Lucas Warren and the hundreds of
23 thousands of our fellow Americans who are bright
24 shining lights and have so much to teach us as
25 they make our communities, our state, our nation,
1404
1 and our world a far better place.
2 Thank you very much for supporting
3 this effort.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
5 you, Senator Marchione.
6 Senator Seward.
7 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 First of all, I want to thank
10 Senator Marchione for bringing this resolution
11 before us here today.
12 World Down Syndrome Day holds a very
13 special place in my heart. For the past over
14 30 years, I have been fortunate to serve on the
15 board of trustees of Pathfinder Village, which is
16 located in Edmeston, New York, a small village in
17 Otsego County about 15 miles west of Cooperstown.
18 The world-renowned residential home,
19 school and research facility is a true leader in
20 community-based services for both children and
21 adults with Down syndrome. Plain and simple,
22 Pathfinder Village is a very special place. The
23 teachers and the staff at Pathfinder do an
24 incredible job and truly are changing lives for
25 the better every single day.
1405
1 Pathfinder has grown greatly over
2 the years, now encompassing some 300 acres that
3 include a dairy farm, community youth soccer
4 fields, as well as a community health center.
5 Just last week, Pathfinder Produce -- it's a
6 weekly farmers market offering affordable,
7 nutritious food to the community -- celebrated
8 its fifth anniversary.
9 And the very close connection
10 between Pathfinder residents and the surrounding
11 community is truly something very special. The
12 Pathfinder residents are truly part of the local
13 community in many, many ways. And it's very
14 inspiring to see firsthand the boundless
15 capabilities of those with Down syndrome.
16 Truly -- and I'm pleased that this is becoming
17 more so as time goes on -- there are no limits to
18 what they can accomplish.
19 You know, Pathfinder's strategic
20 vision says it best: "... that each life may
21 find meaning." And that's exactly what happens
22 at Pathfinder, and that's exactly something that
23 is so important to all with Down syndrome.
24 So I'm very pleased to stand today
25 and pay tribute to those very special
1406
1 individuals, their families and caregivers in
2 support of World Down Syndrome Day.
3 Thank you, Mr. President.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
5 you, Senator Seward.
6 Senator Akshar.
7 SENATOR AKSHAR: Thank you,
8 Mr. President. On the resolution.
9 Senator Marchione, thank you. This
10 by far is probably my most favorite resolution
11 that we do each and every single year. And it's
12 not because I am rocking my Lots of Socks, which
13 I appreciate and I have a lot of fun with, but
14 it's because of the importance of this particular
15 resolution.
16 It's important that we all remember
17 that those with Down syndrome dream just like we
18 dream in this room. And they want to live just
19 like we live in this particular room. And they
20 want and deserve to be respected and appreciated,
21 just like every single one of us do.
22 We owe Senator Marchione, as far as
23 I'm concerned, a big round of applause today,
24 because this is incredibly important. I can't
25 help but think about folks at home that have Down
1407
1 syndrome -- a young girl named Juice, I love her.
2 Great big hug every time I see her. Cooper Bush,
3 a young boy with Down syndrome who has terminal
4 cancer. And these folks bring so much joy to
5 their families and to our communities.
6 We owe you a debt of gratitude for
7 bringing this to the forefront. And again, one
8 of my most favorite resolutions that we do every
9 single year. Thank you, Senator Marchione.
10 Thank you, Mr. President.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
12 you, Senator Akshar.
13 Is there anyone else that wishes to
14 speak?
15 Senator Tedisco.
16 SENATOR TEDISCO: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 I would be remiss if I didn't thank
19 Senator Marchione also. I have my lovely socks
20 on today, like everyone else.
21 And I stand because I think I have
22 to stand on behalf of my brother Joey. And I was
23 about 8 years old when my mother got pregnant
24 with my brother Joey. And along that way, we
25 found that he was a Down syndrome baby. And
1408
1 there was a lot of discussions going on, we had a
2 lot of confusion back then. This was a while
3 back.
4 Joey passed away in the year of 1975
5 at the age of 15, from leukemia, childhood
6 leukemia. If he was alive today, he probably
7 would have beaten that. And I remember my father
8 being in the hospital laying next to Joey for
9 what seemed like maybe days in there, just
10 waiting, trying everything they could to have him
11 survive. And he passed away in my father's arms
12 in the bed in the hospital.
13 But I remember the children weren't
14 nice at that point, and people weren't nice at
15 that point when you were having a Down syndrome
16 child. And they were saying some strange things
17 to me as a child about, oh, boy, this -- using
18 the term "monster." This is terrible, this is
19 the worst thing in the world.
20 So when my mother was going to have
21 the baby, got in the car, my father, the whole
22 family went over there with my other brother
23 Tommy, four years older than me. Got to the
24 hospital, my mother had the baby. And I was
25 really shaken. I didn't know, you know, if I
1409
1 wanted to see my brother or not see my brother,
2 all the things I've heard.
3 And finally, got to go in and see my
4 mother with the baby in her arms, my brother
5 Joey, the most beautiful baby I ever saw in my
6 life. And I was confused. I said, "Where's our
7 baby, Mom?" Well, that was our baby. That was
8 the Down syndrome baby. That's the baby that's
9 the Gerber baby now.
10 And we have an obligation to make
11 sure we understand that the quality of life is
12 important no matter what the challenges are. And
13 Joey had some challenges throughout his life, but
14 I can tell you this. The doctor actually went in
15 to my mother and said, "You're probably going to
16 want to send your child to a facility out West.
17 We have a facility where these children go." My
18 mother looked at him and said, "We take our
19 babies home. This is an Italian family. We
20 don't send our children out West." And "Oh,
21 okay," and the doctor walked out.
22 And we took Joey home. And I have
23 to tell you, probably in my entire life -- I went
24 to some good colleges, had some good educators,
25 some good -- probably learned maybe the most
1410
1 important lessons from my brother Joey. Learned
2 something about unconditional love. Learned
3 something about it's not necessarily the
4 challenges we have, it's the way the family cares
5 for the challenges, it's the way society treats
6 those challenges, it's the way society respects
7 those challenges.
8 And understand, each of us, as
9 neighbor to neighbor, as legislators, the most
10 important objective we should have as elected
11 officials I think is pretty easy, is to do
12 everything we can to remove the obstacles that
13 are for every one of the 19.5 million people,
14 help them to do that so they can be everything
15 they can be with the God-given talents they've
16 been given.
17 And I remember that from that
18 experience of having a Down syndrome brother like
19 Joey. Because he taught us that challenges can
20 be overcome in a lot of ways. And you won't
21 reach perfection, but others have the obligation
22 to help in every way and to respect every
23 individual and to respect every individual's
24 challenges.
25 And I think that's what today is all
1411
1 about. We remember these beautiful children. We
2 remember the importance of the quality of life,
3 quality of life for all of us. Because everybody
4 in this room has a challenge that they need to
5 overcome, or many challenges. Every one of us.
6 And maybe Joey, maybe some of the other children
7 have bigger and larger challenges. We have an
8 obligation to help them fight through those
9 challenges and become everything they can be.
10 And as Senator Seward said, we've
11 got movie stars now, going to make a lot more
12 money than everybody in this room, and doing a
13 darn good job of what they do at it.
14 So I think the lesson from Joey and
15 the lesson that Senator Marchione is teaching us
16 today as we wear those socks and show the respect
17 for all children, no matter what their challenge
18 is, is that we have an obligation to do
19 everything we can to let them reach their full
20 goals. And the goals are much larger now, much
21 bigger. They can reach higher heights. They're
22 living a lot longer. And we have an obligation
23 to even expand that.
24 So I thank you, Mr. President. I
25 thank my colleagues. I thank the Senator for
1412
1 sponsoring this bill. And today I know Joey is
2 looking down and said, Thank you, brother Jim,
3 for standing up and speaking up for me and all
4 our children who face the challenge of Down
5 syndrome.
6 Thank you.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
8 you, Senator Tedisco.
9 Senator DeFrancisco.
10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, I also
11 want to thank Senator Marchione.
12 But we have to also remember Tom
13 Libous, who used to sit in this seat, because he
14 brought this issue up early on when it wasn't
15 much of an issue, and would have a day like this
16 each year in the Senate. Tom didn't get us
17 socks, though. In order to get the new socks
18 every year, we had to rely on Senator Marchione.
19 But it's a reminder to us, as we
20 walk around on this day, how important this issue
21 is to so many people. You may not remember, but
22 a few years ago a young woman by the name of
23 Kayla McKeon, from Syracuse, came up here. She
24 was honored because she became -- a Down syndrome
25 young woman who works at a place in Syracuse, a
1413
1 magnificent place for individuals with Down
2 syndrome to congregate, to learn, to have fun,
3 called GiGi's Place.
4 Well, she was a paid employee there,
5 and she was outstanding. Well, she got an award
6 because she became a national spokesperson for
7 Down syndrome, and right now she moved to
8 Washington in order to perform her job more
9 effectively.
10 And when Senator Tedisco mentioned
11 about how things are so much different nowadays,
12 and things are so much different so Kayla could
13 actually be down in Washington, leaving home,
14 being a national spokesman for this particular
15 issue, is unbelievable.
16 So we've got to keep the momentum
17 going, and Senator Marchione is doing just that.
18 Thank you, Senator.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
20 you, Senator DeFrancisco.
21 As noted, the resolution has been
22 previously adopted. Senator Marchione has opened
23 up the resolution for cosponsorship. If you
24 choose to be a cosponsor, please notify the desk.
25 Senator DeFrancisco.
1414
1 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. Can we
2 now take up previously adopted Resolution 3721,
3 by Senator Tedisco, title only, and call on the
4 Senator to speak.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
6 Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
8 Resolution Number 3721, by Senator Tedisco,
9 commending the Capital Region Chamber of Commerce
10 upon the occasion of celebrating the Military
11 Appreciation event on March 21, 2018.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
13 Tedisco.
14 SENATOR TEDISCO: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 Today we had a wonderful press
17 conference with our UMAC team, and I said "UMAC
18 is on track." And I'm going to explain to you
19 exactly what the Unified Military Affairs Council
20 is here for the Capital Region. It's a program
21 of the Capital Region, in partnership with the
22 Saratoga County Chamber, the Chamber of Southern
23 Saratoga County, and it highlights the importance
24 of the military presence in the Capital Region
25 and ensures its long-term viability and success.
1415
1 And the leader of this was the
2 Capital Region Chamber of Commerce, who got a lot
3 of members together to protect the viability of
4 our military bases and our facilities here, not
5 only as it relates to our way of life and the
6 fact that they protect our freedom and liberty,
7 but the economic impact in the Capital Region.
8 I'm proud to be the Senate sponsor
9 of UMAC Day and have support from our local
10 Capital Region Senate delegation. Today we are
11 calling attention to the global, national,
12 statewide and regional impact the Capital
13 Region's military units have in protecting our
14 safety and security and contributing to our local
15 economy.
16 These military units do more than
17 protect our state and nation and way of life.
18 They're an important part of our community,
19 contributing more than $1 billion a year to the
20 Capital Region's economy and supporting thousands
21 of jobs in the 49th Senate District and across
22 this Capital Region. And I'm sure many of you
23 have some bases in your districts, and the same
24 impact is taking place.
25 Today we're shining the spotlight on
1416
1 the everyday American heroes who work at our
2 bases. I like to call them the best, the
3 brightest, the most courageous and compassionate
4 fighting force for good on earth. They are the
5 men and women of the United States armed forces.
6 I just want to say a few words about
7 the installations themselves. From Scotia, in my
8 district, we have the Stratton Air National Guard
9 Base, which is home to the 109th Air Lift Wing,
10 part of the New York Air National Guard. The
11 unit flies the world's only ski-equipped LC-130s,
12 or "ski birds," as well as traditional C-130
13 "wheel birds."
14 The 109th has the responsibility of
15 flying missions for the National Science
16 Foundation-led program to the polar ice cap and
17 to Antarctica. It's the only mission that flies
18 from America to Antarctica.
19 Out of Ballston Spa, we have the
20 Nuclear Power Training Unit, which trains half of
21 the U.S. Navy officers and enlisted personnel to
22 operate the U.S. Navy's nuclear reactor plants on
23 nuclear-powered warships, submarines and aircraft
24 carriers.
25 We also have the Naval Support
1417
1 Activity, Saratoga Springs, located in the Town
2 of Milton. Its primary mission is to provide
3 operational support to the Nuclear Power Training
4 Unit in Ballston Spa.
5 The other key military installations
6 for the Capital Region is the U.S. Army's
7 Watervliet Arsenal -- which I believe, Senator
8 Breslin, you represent -- which is widely known
9 as "America's cannon factory" and is an
10 Army-owned-and-operated manufacturing facility.
11 It is the nation's oldest continuously operated
12 arsenal, having begun its manufacturing of
13 military hardware during the War of 1812. Today,
14 the arsenal is relied upon by the United States
15 to produce the most advanced high-tech weaponry
16 for cannons, howitzers and mortar systems.
17 Now I'd like to introduce some of
18 the service people, men and women, who are here
19 with us today, and maybe they could stand up when
20 I call their names: First Lieutenant Andrew
21 Streim, Second Lieutenant Joshua Speziale, Master
22 Sergeant Brian MacKay, Master Sergeant Brian
23 Bennett, Sergeant First Class James Montesano,
24 Technical Sergeant Donald Brooks, Technical
25 Sergeant Robert Raymond, Staff Sergeant Brad
1418
1 Owens, Staff Sergeant Greg LaCoppola, Sergeant
2 Caitlin Johnson, Senior Airman Christopher
3 Denegar, Senior Airman Patrick Hanley, Senior
4 Airman Matthew Akiwowo, Airman Antonio Carreras,
5 Specialist Casey Frankoski, and Private First
6 Class John Koenig.
7 Along with them, we have some of the
8 members of the UMAC Steering Committee: Peter
9 Bardunias, and he is the leader of the Southern
10 Saratoga Chamber of Commerce; Tom O'Connor,
11 Capital Region Chamber; Jim Huelle, Division of
12 Military and Naval Affairs; Amy Amoroso, Veteran
13 Business Outreach Center; Kayla Wicks, works at
14 the Watervliet Arsenal, is also a member of the
15 109th.
16 And I would ask you to welcome all
17 these outstanding military personnel and
18 Americans, and thank them for their service, for
19 letting us put our head down on the pillows at
20 night and know they are there, vigilant for us,
21 to keep us safe and protect our freedom and
22 liberty -- and help us get a few bucks into the
23 Capital Region, because $1 billion is a lot of
24 money. So we want to keep you here.
25 And I would be remiss if I didn't
1419
1 mention -- you probably know this, that we have
2 the BRAC commission at the federal government, on
3 occasion, which rears up and decides it wants to
4 close some of our bases across the nation, and it
5 looks into New York when it does that. So UMAC
6 is vigilant and being prepared to make the case
7 that we need these men and women working at these
8 bases, not only to protect our freedom but to
9 help protect our economy.
10 So I wish you would welcome them and
11 offer them all the cordialities of this august
12 Senate body.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank you.
14 We will do that, Senator Tedisco, but I will also
15 recognize Senator Amedore first.
16 SENATOR AMEDORE: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 I rise to also thank Senator
19 Tedisco, as well as the members who are here of
20 the military armed forces and the Chamber of
21 Commerce.
22 I represent part of the Capital
23 Region, and I do know the effects, in a positive
24 way, that the military units throughout the
25 Capital Region have played. It's not just about
1420
1 a billion-dollar kind of investment or economic
2 development or benefit that the Capital Region
3 has because of the investments here, these fine
4 men and women, but it's because of their heart
5 and their soul. No matter when and where they're
6 called to, they go. They go to the call of duty.
7 And there's so many times throughout
8 the Capital Region that we need a little helping
9 hand, whether it's from floods, power outages, a
10 storm -- whatever it is, our military and UMAC
11 comes together and helps out the private citizens
12 throughout the Capital Region. And I applaud you
13 for that.
14 And thank you for your dedication
15 and love of country and your public service.
16 So, Mr. President, please welcome
17 them, as Senator Tedisco has said.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
19 you, Senator Amedore.
20 Senator Marchione.
21 SENATOR MARCHIONE: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 I'd also like to thank Senator
24 Tedisco for inviting our guests to be here today.
25 You are certainly true American heroes, and I'm
1421
1 very honored that you represent me in the Capital
2 Region.
3 I have the Saratoga Springs unit
4 within my district, and I can tell you that there
5 are so many times that we're talking about the
6 military, how the military can -- how we can help
7 the military, how the military can interact with
8 us. And you folks are there. Amy Amoroso is
9 there.
10 We're working on a new website that
11 we can hopefully get some more information out to
12 our military, our veterans within our district
13 and the partnerships that we form, as the
14 economic dollars that you bring in, the heroes
15 that you are, the protections that you give our
16 country.
17 Thank you all so very much to the
18 Chambers of Commerce and both of your leaders.
19 You guys are great partners as well, and you can
20 see that by how you're all here together today.
21 Thank you all so very much. And
22 again, Senator Tedisco, thank you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
24 you, Senator Marchione.
25 To the members of the Unified
1422
1 Military Affairs Council present today,
2 civilians, commissioned officers, noncommissioned
3 officers, we extend a warm welcome to you. We
4 want to express our sincere gratitude for your
5 commitment, your courage and dedication and
6 service to our community and our nation. We
7 extend to you all the privileges of the house
8 here today. We wish you all success. May God
9 bless you and continue to keep you safe and
10 strong in your mission.
11 And I would ask all to please rise
12 and recognize these distinguished members of the
13 military.
14 (Standing ovation.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
16 you.
17 The resolution was previously
18 adopted as indicated, and Senator Tedisco has
19 opened the resolution up for cosponsorship. If a
20 member would like to be a cosponsor, they should
21 please approach and notify the desk.
22 Senator Ritchie.
23 SENATOR RITCHIE: Can we now take
24 up previously adopted Resolution Number 4023, by
25 Senator Amedore, read the title only, and call on
1423
1 Senator Amedore to speak.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: We will
3 read shortly, Senator Ritchie, we're just dealing
4 with some logistical issues.
5 The Secretary will read.
6 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
7 Resolution Number 4023, by Senator Amedore,
8 commending Russell H. Reimer upon the occasion of
9 his retirement after more than 32 years of
10 distinguished service to the New York State
11 Legislative Bill Drafting Commission.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
13 Amedore.
14 SENATOR AMEDORE: Thank you,
15 Mr. President.
16 It's an honor for me today to
17 recognize a constituent of mine, a great public
18 servant, Russ Reimer. Russ retired earlier this
19 year after 32 years of public service in the
20 Legislative Bill Drafting Commission.
21 He also served 10 years in the
22 Navy Reserve, reaching the rank of lieutenant
23 commander.
24 You know, many people outside these
25 walls often don't realize the contributions made
1424
1 by staff. But every legislator in both houses
2 knows how crucial of a role they all play in the
3 day-to-day operations of government.
4 Russ is a true professional who
5 played a crucial role in bill drafting for over
6 three decades, starting as a legal assistant and
7 working his way up to the role of special
8 counsel.
9 I have had the good fortune to work
10 with Russ over the years, and I know his
11 retirement will be felt by many members in this
12 chamber who have had the opportunity to work with
13 him.
14 Russ, thank you for your service to
15 our nation and to our state. You epitomize a
16 true public servant. I wish you a blessed and
17 relaxed retirement alongside your beautiful wife
18 Natalie and your beautiful daughter Nicole, and
19 may you have a long life and happiness. Thank
20 you so much, and God bless.
21 Mr. President, please welcome and
22 honor and wish -- he doesn't need the
23 cordialities, because he's been here for so long.
24 (Laughter.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
1425
1 you, Senator Amedore.
2 We have a number of other speakers,
3 though.
4 Senator Gianaris.
5 SENATOR GIANARIS: Thank you,
6 Mr. President.
7 I want to add my good wishes to Russ
8 Reimer upon his retirement. Russ has been my
9 bill drafter since I was in the Assembly. So for
10 well over a decade he has written legislation for
11 me, many important things that have now become
12 law in New York State. And many good ideas that
13 I've had here in the Senate that the Majority
14 won't put up for a vote, Russ was the drafter on
15 those bills, and he's done terrific work.
16 He epitomizes true nonpartisan
17 public service. We will miss him. Russ, good
18 wishes to you, and I hope whoever they assign me
19 next is as good as you've been all these years.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
21 Little.
22 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you,
23 Mr. President.
24 I too would like to wish Russ
25 congratulations on his retirement. But I must
1426
1 say, it was not good news when I heard Russ was
2 retiring. I've had the privilege of having him
3 as part of my team, and we all know that we're
4 here and have to have a team with us working
5 together to do the work we try to do.
6 So I've had the privilege of having
7 Russ as my bill drafter for -- since 1995, 23
8 years, when I started in the Assembly. And he
9 just has always been able to do a great job
10 making things sound good, look good. And so
11 many people have been able to appreciate the
12 words of Russ in legislative resolutions as well
13 as the laws that we do.
14 So thank you very much for all
15 you've done. Best wishes.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: So anyone
17 else? At this point in time I want to indicate
18 that the resolution was previously adopted.
19 You didn't write the resolution
20 either, right, Russ?
21 (Laughter.)
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
23 resolution was previously adopted. And I'm going
24 to say that we will put everybody on the
25 resolution. If you choose not to be a cosponsor,
1427
1 please notify the desk.
2 Russ, thank you so much for your
3 work, for your many contributions to our great
4 country and to the State of New York. We
5 appreciate your hard work and your dedication to
6 the Senate. We wish you the very best, a happy,
7 healthy and enjoyable retirement. God bless you.
8 And may you all please rise and
9 let's acknowledge this fine servant of the
10 Senate.
11 (Standing ovation.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
13 DeFrancisco.
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Can you now
15 take up the noncontroversial reading of the
16 calendar.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
18 Secretary will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 79,
20 by Senator Griffo, Senate Print 2725A, an act to
21 amend the Penal Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect on the first of November.
1428
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
6 is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 188, by Senator Lanza, Senate Print 6294, an act
9 to amend the General Municipal Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
18 Krueger to explain her vote.
19 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you,
20 Mr. President.
21 I rise to explain that I am voting
22 no on this bill. The City of New York reports
23 that this could actually lose them $600 million
24 in revenue per year.
25 And while there is a description in
1429
1 the bill of treating credits and exemptions as
2 not being allowed to be calculated in, therefore
3 decreasing the amount of a property tax increase
4 each year -- that might sound good on its
5 surface. We have to remember many of these tax
6 credits they have to have, such as J-51, we're
7 passing in New York State and telling the city
8 you must do this. And then to penalize them on
9 the other side of the formula just seems
10 incredibly unfair.
11 And we have a pattern of seeming to
12 like to control other's people tax revenue, and
13 this would be our taking, so to speak, of the
14 city's ability to raise its own property tax
15 revenue, the only tax available to them.
16 So I urge my colleagues not to
17 overstep our role as a state legislature and
18 start to impinge on the one municipal tax that
19 anyone gets to hopefully control for themselves,
20 their property tax.
21 I vote no, Mr. President.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
23 Krueger to be recorded in the negative.
24 Announce the results.
25 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
1430
1 Calendar 188, those recorded in the negative are
2 Senators Bailey, Benjamin, Comrie, Gianaris,
3 Hamilton, Hoylman, Krueger, Montgomery, Parker,
4 Persaud, Rivera. Also Senator Dilan. Also
5 Senator Stavisky. Also Senator Sanders.
6 Ayes, 47. Nays, 14.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
8 is passed.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 229, by Senator Seward, Senate Print 5847, an act
11 to amend the Insurance Law.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
13 last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
17 roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
21 is passed.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 278, by Senator Marchione, Senate Print 6942A, an
24 act to authorize.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
1431
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
3 act shall take effect immediately.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. Nays, 1.
8 Senator Bonacic recorded in the negative.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
10 is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 382, by Senator Ranzenhofer, Senate Print 2894,
13 an act to amend the Not-For-Profit Corporation
14 Law.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
16 last section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
18 act shall take effect immediately.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
20 roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 59. Nays, 2.
23 Senators Hoylman and Kavanagh recorded in the
24 negative.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
1432
1 is passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 388, by Senator Ortt, Senate Print 874A, an act
4 to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
6 last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect on the 120th day.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
10 roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. Nays, 1.
13 Senator Little recorded in the negative.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
15 is passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 389, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 1134A,
18 an act authorizing.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
20 last section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
24 roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
1433
1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
3 is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 425, by Senator Klein, Senate Print 1987A, an act
6 to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
8 last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
10 act shall take effect on the 180th day.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
12 roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
16 is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 458, by Senator Griffo, Senate Print 4757, an act
19 to amend the Election Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
21 last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
23 act shall take effect immediately.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
25 roll.
1434
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
4 is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
6 481, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 5852A,
7 an act to amend the Tax Law.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
9 last section.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
11 act shall take effect on the first of January.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
13 roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
17 is passed.
18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
19 509, by Senator Croci, Senate Print 959, an act
20 to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
22 last section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
24 act shall take effect on the first of January.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
1435
1 roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
5 is passed.
6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
7 511, by Senator Avella, Senate Print 1482, an act
8 to amend the Public Housing Law.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
10 last section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
12 act shall take effect on the 120th day.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
14 roll.
15 (The Secretary called the roll.)
16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
18 is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 514, by Senator Lanza, Senate Print 2599B, an act
21 to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
23 last section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
1436
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
2 roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
6 is passed.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 521, by Senator Young, Senate Print 3940A, an act
9 to amend the Private Housing Finance Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect immediately.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
19 is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 635, by Senator Valesky, Senate Print 1237A, an
22 act to amend the State Administrative Procedure
23 Act.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
25 last section.
1437
1 THE SECRETARY: Section 11. This
2 act shall take effect on the 120th day.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
4 roll.
5 (The Secretary called the roll.)
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
8 is passed.
9 Senator DeFrancisco, that completes
10 the noncontroversial reading of today's
11 active-list calendar.
12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Well, then I
13 would suggest and actually ask you to call for an
14 immediate meeting of the Rules Committee in
15 Room 332.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There
17 will be an immediate meeting of the Rules
18 Committee in Room 332, an immediate meeting of
19 the Rules Committee in Room 332.
20 The Senate will stand at ease.
21 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at ease
22 at 4:13 p.m.)
23 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened at
24 4:22 p.m.)
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
1438
1 Senate will come to order.
2 Senator DeFrancisco.
3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Is there a
4 report of the Rules Committee at the desk?
5 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There is
6 a Rules Committee report at the desk, and the
7 Secretary will read.
8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Flanagan,
9 from the Committee on Rules, reports the
10 following bills:
11 Senate Print 516B, by Senator Young,
12 an act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law;
13 Senate 2761, by Senator Amedore, an
14 act to amend the Penal Law;
15 Senate 3698, by Senator Croci, an
16 act to amend the Executive Law; and
17 Senate 7582A, by Senator Helming, an
18 act to amend the Correction Law.
19 All bills reported direct to third
20 reading.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
22 DeFrancisco, I'll entertain a motion to accept
23 the Rules Committee report.
24 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I was just
25 going to do that. I move to accept the report of
1439
1 the Rules Committee.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: All in
3 favor of accepting the Committee on Rules report
4 say aye.
5 (Response of "Aye.")
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Opposed?
7 (No response.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The Rules
9 Committee report has been accepted and is before
10 the house.
11 Senator DeFrancisco.
12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: On Senate
13 Supplemental Calendar 23A, I would request that
14 you do the noncontroversial reading.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
16 Secretary will begin with Senate Supplemental
17 Calendar 23A, noncontroversial.
18 Calendar Number 722 is high and
19 ineligible for consideration. Lay it aside for
20 the day.
21 Number 723.
22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
23 723, by Senator Amedore, Senate Print 2761, an
24 act to amend the Penal Law.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
1440
1 last section.
2 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
3 act shall take effect on the 90th day.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
5 roll.
6 (The Secretary called the roll.)
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
8 Amedore to explain his vote.
9 SENATOR AMEDORE: Thank you,
10 Mr. President.
11 You know, today is Laree's birthday.
12 She would have been 24 years old today if she had
13 lived. And here's a young girl who graduated
14 high school at the age of 16 years old with an
15 advanced Regents diploma, who was a star softball
16 player, who was very bright and brilliant but was
17 bound by addiction.
18 And Patty Farrell, who many of us in
19 this chamber know because she used to work here
20 in the Senate as a sergeant-at-arms, fought tooth
21 and nail every single day to try to get Laree
22 free and in recovery. And one day, about five
23 days before her 18th birthday, Patty found her
24 daughter Laree dead upstairs in her bed because
25 she overdosed on heroin.
1441
1 So I appreciate the support. And I
2 know today Patty couldn't be here because of some
3 very urgent health issues that she's going
4 through right now. But I truly believe that
5 Laree is looking down on us, and as a body we are
6 obligated to do everything we can to fight this
7 scourge of addiction, substance use disorder.
8 Yes, we need more funding for
9 prevention and education. Yes, we need more
10 treatment, more recovery services or CASAC
11 workers. Yes, we need to make sure we have
12 everything possible readily available for those
13 most vulnerable in our communities who are
14 struggling with addiction. Recovery is possible.
15 But yes, we also must give our law
16 enforcement the resources they need to go after
17 the big drug dealers who are putting the poison
18 on the street and cutting it with more deadly
19 chemicals like Fentanyl and carfentanil.
20 So, Mr. President, today -- you
21 know, it's emotional for me because I spoke to
22 Patty today. And if I could only go through with
23 you on the floor -- and I won't, because it's
24 personal -- what she's going through right now.
25 I just know that good things happen to good
1442
1 people. So this is not a life wasted, this is an
2 investment that Patty and Laree have made to the
3 future of the residents of the State of New York
4 who are bound by addiction but who struggle to be
5 in recovery. This bill will go a long way in
6 helping them and help others to overcome such
7 addiction.
8 So thank you, Mr. President, and I
9 vote aye.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
11 Amedore to be recorded in the affirmative.
12 Senator Krueger to explain her vote.
13 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 I think all of us have been hit with
16 the reality of losing someone to a drug overdose
17 at this point, given the rate of opioid addiction
18 and overuse in this state and in this country.
19 And I appreciate that the sponsor
20 thinks this is an answer to the problem, but I
21 can't share his view. This bill is written in
22 way too broad a way so that, as I have raised in
23 other years on this floor, a teenager who steals
24 some drugs from perhaps his mother's
25 prescription-drug bottle and then crosses county
1443
1 lines, say, from Manhattan to the Bronx and gives
2 it to his friend, who might overdose and die from
3 it, would be defined as a kingpin and end up in
4 jail for 15 to 25 to life.
5 We want to do everything we can, as
6 the sponsor just said, to get these drugs off of
7 our streets and away from our adults and young
8 people. But frankly, returning to a concept
9 where your solution to drug addiction is to
10 penalize the addicts is not the answer.
11 And despite the presentation by my
12 colleague about who this bill targets, it targets
13 a much broader universe of story lines -- not
14 ones that the solution ought to be lock them up
15 forever but, rather, get them off the drugs too
16 and get these drugs out of the hands of way too
17 many people who have them and easy access to them
18 now.
19 So I vote no, Mr. President.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
21 Krueger to be recorded in the negative.
22 Senator Robach to explain his vote.
23 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes, I want to
24 thank Senator Amedore for getting this bill
25 across the goal line. This was one of the
1444
1 recommendations from the first task force.
2 And I'm not sure what is being read
3 or what bill is being looked at. I don't think
4 this bill does anything. It takes out users,
5 casual users. This is absolutely to focus on --
6 and we know they're out there -- the people who
7 don't use who are selling drugs that they know
8 has a good potential of killing people or OD'g
9 them, and holding them responsible and
10 accountable.
11 And I think the time is long
12 overdue. I would agree with Senator Amedore, we
13 should do all we can to get people out of using
14 it. Unfortunately, people continue to use, but
15 there's nothing being done about the people who
16 are literally selling death, and they know it.
17 There's a gentleman in Rochester,
18 not yet apprehended, that's selling just
19 Fentanyl, there's not even heroin in it. They
20 know it's deadly. And for their profit, they
21 want people to die, yet the penalties are
22 relatively low. That really should change.
23 And it's very, very hard to look
24 into the eyes of a family or a victim and say,
25 What are we doing about this, and the answer
1445
1 really is not too much. Commerce is open. We're
2 open for letting them sell this death for a very,
3 very small penalty.
4 So I would ask my colleagues and
5 everybody else to take a very, very close look at
6 this. There is a reason -- this is a different
7 type of drug. This is not casual death, slow
8 death. As a matter of fact, in Monroe County,
9 without Narcan, we would have three people a day
10 dying. And there's only a few people selling
11 this very deadly material out there every day.
12 This is one where we should definitely do all we
13 can to shut down the supply side as well as
14 trying to get people off of addiction.
15 So I will be voting in the
16 affirmative and would encourage everyone else to
17 do the same.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
19 Kavanagh to explain his vote.
20 SENATOR KAVANAGH: Mr. President, I
21 wasn't going to -- thank you. I wasn't going
22 speak on this bill, but I just -- this is -- this
23 bill has about 17 lines of text and it's pretty
24 straightforward. And the Majority members are
25 standing up and asserting things that are not in
1446
1 the bill.
2 There is not a general exception for
3 casual users in this bill. There's a very
4 limited exception that if you acquire the drug
5 with the deceased with the intent to use it with
6 the deceased, then you're exempt. There's not an
7 exemption for casual users, there's not an
8 exemption for small-time sellers, there's not an
9 exemption that would affect the scenario that Liz
10 Krueger, my colleague, described. There's not a
11 reference in this bill to dealers who might be
12 cutting other substances into the drugs and
13 that's what's causing the death.
14 This is a very straightforward bill.
15 It says if you provide an opiate to somebody and
16 you cross a county line or you do any of several
17 other actions that would cause you to be brought
18 up on this, you're guilty of an A-1 felony. It's
19 a very aggressive bill.
20 And many of us who have worked with
21 people who have suffered from these conditions
22 and have great sympathy are voting no because
23 this bill just is far too broad for its intended
24 purpose.
25 Thank you, Mr. President.
1447
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
2 Kavanagh to be recorded in the negative.
3 Senator Akshar to explain his vote.
4 SENATOR AKSHAR: Mr. President,
5 thank you.
6 I can't help but scratch my head. I
7 love to hear some of my colleagues stand here and
8 talk and make excuses about why we shouldn't do
9 something.
10 We're losing a generation of people.
11 It's time we stepped up and did what is right.
12 I'm a former member of law enforcement and a
13 proud cochair of the Senate's Task Force on
14 Heroin and Opioid Addiction, and it's very
15 infrequently in which I say we should be
16 advancing enforcement pieces. But this piece
17 makes sense.
18 Senator Amedore, thank you for your
19 leadership on this issue. We have in fact made
20 record investments in treatment, prevention,
21 education and recovery. And every now and again,
22 my friends, we have to advance a piece that deals
23 with enforcement on this particular issue. And
24 Laree's Law is exactly what we should be doing.
25 And my friends across the aisle,
1448
1 there's something called judicial discretion,
2 prosecutorial discretion. We would hope, of
3 course, that prosecutors and judges would use
4 that discretion.
5 And to my dear colleague Senator
6 Kavanagh, who I respect, I think lines 19 through
7 23 address the issues that you're speaking of.
8 Paired with judicial and prosecutorial
9 discretion.
10 Mr. President, I'm proudly voting
11 aye today.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
13 Akshar to be recorded in the affirmative.
14 Senator Parker to explain his vote.
15 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you very
16 much, Mr. President.
17 First let me thank Senator Amedore
18 for his concern on this issue and all my
19 colleagues in this chamber. This is something
20 that we have consistently talked about over the
21 last three or four years that we have -- as you
22 heard Senator Akshar refer to, we have done some
23 significant actions together on the issue of
24 education and treatment.
25 There's a lot more, actually, on
1449
1 those fronts that need to be done. And so I rise
2 today, both as the ranking member on the Senate
3 Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, but
4 also as somebody who comes from a family where
5 this has been a real serious issue. My older
6 brother Eric Davis Parker died as a heroin
7 addict. Right? And so I lived with that as a
8 young man until he died in 1988. And so I've
9 seen this firsthand.
10 And certainly we know the personal
11 story that brought this legislation to bear, and
12 certainly we continue to mourn and grieve with
13 that family and all the families in the State of
14 New York and, frankly, across our country who are
15 suffering with opioid addiction.
16 But again, I think part of what we
17 understand is that doing draconian criminal
18 justice enforcement actually doesn't solve drug
19 addiction. And it actually doesn't even stop
20 drug sales. And we know this already. The
21 history tells us that. It didn't work with the
22 Rockefeller drug laws, so much so that even on
23 the federal level they rolled back most of those
24 provisions because it has not stopped drug
25 addiction. It didn't stop us from getting into
1450
1 this opioid crisis.
2 And so I don't understand how going
3 backwards in our criminal justice modalities
4 would do something that we already know does not
5 work.
6 We need to do better around mental
7 health issues, we need to do better around
8 quality of life in our communities, we need to do
9 better -- you know, we've done some things around
10 education. We need to do more things around
11 education, about drug use and opioid use. We
12 need to do more around treatment to make sure
13 that -- so we've done some things, but we haven't
14 done enough.
15 And as you heard both Senator
16 Krueger and Senator Kavanagh both indicate, this
17 legislation is written way too broad to do those
18 things. We certainly want to stand in unity and
19 address these issues, but this specific piece of
20 one-house legislation is not the way that we
21 believe is going to get the job done.
22 Thank you, Mr. President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
24 Parker to be recorded in the negative.
25 Senator Rivera.
1451
1 SENATOR RIVERA: Thank you,
2 Mr. President.
3 I'd want to piggyback onto a couple
4 of the comments that my colleagues made. With
5 all due respect to some of my colleagues on the
6 other side, this does not -- this bill does not
7 make sense.
8 As we've talked for the last couple
9 of years, I am thankful at least that there has
10 been a conversation about opioid addiction,
11 moving away from it being a criminal justice
12 issue and having it be dealt with as the public
13 health issue that it is.
14 To take a bill as broad as this for
15 the sake of doing some sort of enforcement does
16 not actually address the real issue.
17 I will also remind my colleagues
18 that even to this day, when we're talking about
19 opioid deaths, most of them are happening in
20 neighborhoods like the ones that I represent.
21 And those deaths are not new. People have been
22 dying from overdoses in places like the Bronx for
23 a very long time.
24 And as I said, I am thankful that
25 some of my colleagues in the last few years have
1452
1 finally come on to the boat that many of us have
2 been on for a while of trying to deal with this
3 issue not by putting more and more people in
4 jail, but by trying to figure out how, as a
5 public health issue, it can be resolved. And
6 this bill does not do that.
7 And lastly, I will say that as far
8 as judicial or prosecutorial discretion, much
9 judicial and prosecutorial discretion has existed
10 for many of these bills for a while now. And
11 sadly, we still see -- not only on that side, but
12 also on the law enforcement side as far as people
13 getting arrested -- only a few weeks ago, we
14 found out that in the City of New York, even
15 though the number of total arrests as far as
16 marijuana possession arrests had been cut by a
17 lot, which is a positive thing, most of the
18 people still being arrested were still black and
19 brown people.
20 So prosecutorial discretion and
21 judicial discretion in the hands of a system that
22 unfortunately has criminalized people of color
23 and communities of color for way too long, is not
24 the way that we resolve this issue. We're not
25 going to solve our way out of this problem by
1453
1 putting more people in prison.
2 And so, Mr. President, I'll be
3 voting in the negative. Thank you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
5 Rivera to be recorded in the negative.
6 Senator Young to explain her vote.
7 SENATOR YOUNG: Thank you,
8 Mr. President.
9 I too want to join the voices and
10 the chorus lauding Senator Amedore for this very
11 important piece of legislation.
12 And I can speak about experience
13 that we have in Cattaraugus County, because on
14 February 24th of 2016, Matthew Harper, age 42,
15 was sold heroin -- it was sold as heroin to him.
16 It actually was pure Fentanyl. And the dealer
17 knew, she knew that it was Fentanyl and that it
18 most likely would kill Matthew Harper. And still
19 she sold it for a profit, as has been pointed
20 out.
21 She was charged and she actually
22 pled guilty to criminally negligent homicide, and
23 I think it was the first time in New York State
24 that that has happened. But that is
25 extraordinarily rare.
1454
1 We need to toughen the laws. If
2 people know that they're killing people, they
3 need to be responsible for that. That's what
4 this legislation does today. Senator Amedore,
5 thank you so much for this. We need to make sure
6 that this gets passed all the way through the
7 process so that this becomes law in New York
8 State and we can stop these people who are out on
9 the streets murdering our New York State
10 residents every single day.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
12 Young to be recorded in the affirmative.
13 Announce the results.
14 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
15 Calendar 723, those recorded in the negative are
16 Senators Alcantara, Bailey, Benjamin, Comrie,
17 Dilan, Gianaris, Hamilton, Hoylman, Kavanagh,
18 Krueger, Montgomery, Parker, Peralta, Persaud,
19 Rivera, Serrano and Stavisky.
20 Ayes, 44. Nays, 17.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
22 is passed.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 724, by Senator Croci, Senate Print 3698, an act
25 to amend the Executive Law.
1455
1 SENATOR GIANARIS: Lay it aside.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Lay the
3 bill aside.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 725, by Senator Helming, Senate Print 7582A, an
6 act to amend the Correction Law.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Read the
8 last section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
12 roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
15 Helming to explain her vote.
16 SENATOR HELMING: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 The numbers don't lie. Contraband
19 in correctional facilities, whether it's drugs,
20 weapons or something else, is a growing problem
21 that endangers both our corrections officers and
22 our inmates.
23 More and more, we are seeing
24 visitors finding new innovative ways to get
25 contraband into our state facilities. This often
1456
1 leads to a hostile environment for the inmates
2 and more attacks on our correction officers.
3 2017 marked the most violent year
4 inside state prisons since 2007, the year the
5 statistics began being recorded. In 2017 there
6 were almost 4200 incidences of contraband,
7 compared to just under 2400 in 2010. This year
8 alone, as of March 1st, there have been 797
9 contraband instances.
10 Procedures and policies must be
11 updated to end these growing problems that are
12 occurring in prisons and jails all over our state
13 and our nation. This legislation does just that.
14 And I want to thank my colleagues
15 for your support passing this measure and for
16 standing with our corrections officers who have
17 one of the toughest, most dangerous jobs in law
18 enforcement.
19 Mr. President, I am committed to
20 being a strong advocate for commonsense policies
21 that make New York State correctional facilities
22 safer and more secure, and for this reason I
23 proudly vote aye.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
25 Helming to be recorded in the affirmative.
1457
1 Senator Gallivan to explain his
2 vote.
3 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Thank you,
4 Mr. President.
5 I'd like to thank Senator Helming
6 for putting this very important legislation
7 forward.
8 We know that contraband is at an
9 all-time high in state prisons. Assaults are at
10 an all-time high. And really simple, if we're
11 able to keep drugs and weapons out of the hands
12 of inmates, our correctional facilities will be
13 much safer for everybody -- for our staff, for
14 the correction officers, for the inmates
15 themselves.
16 And when we look at the concern
17 about trying to change the mindset of those that
18 are victimizing people in our communities and try
19 to give them the skills so that when they're
20 released from the prison they do not continue
21 their victimization, if they don't have to worry
22 about their own safety -- I'm sorry, if they are
23 not concerned for their own safety, then they
24 could properly rehabilitate.
25 So I support this, I thank Senator
1458
1 Helming for putting this legislation forward, and
2 I urge all of my colleagues to support this as
3 well.
4 Thank you, Mr. President. I vote
5 aye.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
7 Gallivan to be recorded in the affirmative.
8 Announce the results.
9 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
10 Calendar 725, those recorded in the negative are
11 Senators Dilan, Montgomery, Parker and Sanders.
12 Ayes, 57. Nays, 4.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
14 is passed.
15 Senator DeFrancisco, that completes
16 the noncontroversial reading of Senate
17 Supplemental Calendar 23A.
18 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Could you
19 please take up the controversial reading.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
21 Secretary will ring.
22 The Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
24 724, by Senator Croci, Senate Print 3698, an act
25 to amend the Executive Law.
1459
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
2 Peralta.
3 SENATOR PERALTA: Thank you,
4 Mr. President.
5 Through you, Mr. President, can
6 Senator Croci explain his bill?
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
8 Croci, do you yield?
9 SENATOR CROCI: For a question,
10 yes, Mr. President.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
12 Croci yields.
13 Senator Peralta.
14 SENATOR PERALTA: Through you,
15 Mr. President. Senator Croci, can you explain
16 your bill?
17 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
18 Mr. President, a year ago this month, the former
19 United States Attorney for the Eastern District
20 of New York held a press conference announcing
21 the arrest of 13 MS-13 gang members for the
22 brutal killings of four of my constituents in
23 Brentwood.
24 The quote from United States
25 Attorney Capers was: "The MS-13 street gang's
1460
1 primary mission is murder. For far too long,
2 Long Island members of MS-13 have been meting out
3 their own death penalty. MS-13 continues efforts
4 to expand and entrench itself in our communities,
5 both by sending gang members to illegally enter
6 the United States from Central America and by
7 recruiting new members from our schools and
8 neighborhoods."
9 I can't tell you, Mr. President,
10 what this has meant to our community and how
11 devastating MS-13 has been in peddling the same
12 kind of heroin and narcotics that we have been
13 talking about here with previous legislation.
14 This bill ensures, in a way
15 consistent with our values as New Yorkers, that
16 we allow federal law enforcement and our local
17 law enforcement to cooperate and then, at the
18 same time, if we have individuals who live in the
19 very vibrant communities in our state that I
20 represent, they will not be penalized, even if
21 they're here illegally, if they have to report a
22 crime if they have children in our schools, if
23 they are the victim of crime, if they needed to
24 be treated at an emergency room.
25 So this piece of legislation,
1461
1 Mr. President, differs from what may be debated
2 elsewhere in our country. It's a New York-based
3 piece of legislation designed not only to protect
4 the residents but uphold federal law,
5 specifically 8 U.S.C. 1324.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
7 Peralta.
8 SENATOR PERALTA: Thank you. Would
9 the sponsor continue to yield.
10 SENATOR CROCI: For a question,
11 yes.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
13 Croci yields.
14 SENATOR PERALTA: Now, your bill
15 talks about, in Section A, the compliance with a
16 detainer request issued by a federal law
17 enforcement agency pertaining to an individual
18 lawfully detained by the local government and
19 entity. Is that correct?
20 SENATOR CARLUCCI: That is correct.
21 SENATOR PERALTA: Senator Croci --
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
23 Peralta, do you want the sponsor to continue to
24 yield?
25 SENATOR PERALTA: Yes, can the
1462
1 sponsor continue to yield?
2 SENATOR CROCI: For a question,
3 yes.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
5 sponsor yields.
6 SENATOR PERALTA: How many
7 localities and offices, departments, would
8 currently be in violation of this bill, currently
9 today?
10 SENATOR CROCI: I'm sorry, I don't
11 understand the question.
12 SENATOR PERALTA: How many
13 localities or counties would be in violation of
14 this bill if this bill were to pass today?
15 SENATOR CROCI: Well, through you,
16 Mr. President, the purpose of the legislation is
17 to ensure that there is no violation.
18 And we have many municipalities
19 throughout the state and throughout the country,
20 some have taken a step to say that they don't
21 want to comply with the U.S. Code, and some say
22 they do. So as of today, I think it depends on
23 the municipality and the locality who has these
24 kind of laws and who has not yet enacted.
25 But, Mr. President, the detainer
1463
1 request -- I have one right here from the
2 Department of Homeland Security -- would only
3 apply to those who have a prior felony conviction
4 or have been charged with a felony offense, those
5 who have three or more prior misdemeanor
6 convictions, those who have prior misdemeanor
7 convictions or have been charged with a
8 misdemeanor for an offense that involves
9 violence, threats or assaults, sexual abuse or
10 exploitation, driving under the influence of
11 alcohol or a controlled substance, unlawful
12 flight from the scene of an accident, the
13 unlawful possession or use of a firearm or other
14 deadly weapon, the distribution or trafficking of
15 a controlled substance, or other significant
16 threat to public safety.
17 The detainer requests that we're
18 talking about were updated in April of 2017. And
19 the recent case in Texas in which the appeals
20 court upheld the use of these detainer requests
21 specifically stated that these new forms must be
22 used.
23 So they will not have probable cause
24 unless they're meeting those qualifications in
25 this detainer request.
1464
1 SENATOR PERALTA: Mr. President,
2 will the sponsor continue to yield for a
3 question?
4 SENATOR CROCI: Yes, for a
5 question.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
7 sponsor yields.
8 SENATOR PERALTA: Now, would -- is
9 theft of services included in that definition?
10 Because I didn't hear it.
11 SENATOR CROCI: I'm sorry, you said
12 theft of --
13 SENATOR PERALTA: Theft of services
14 included in that definition. Of the detainer
15 request.
16 SENATOR CROCI: The detainer
17 request would have to be three or more prior
18 misdemeanor convictions, and I believe what
19 you're talking about is a misdemeanor.
20 SENATOR PERALTA: Yes.
21 SENATOR CROCI: So it would have to
22 be three or more misdemeanor convictions. To
23 answer, Mr. President, the Senator's question.
24 SENATOR PERALTA: Okay. So
25 Mr. President, through you, will the sponsor
1465
1 continue to yield?
2 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR PERALTA: So the compliance
6 with a detainer request issued by a federal law
7 enforcement agency pertaining to any individual
8 lawfully detained by the local government entity.
9 Can you define "lawfully detained"?
10 SENATOR CROCI: Lawfully detained
11 by a member of law enforcement who has probable
12 cause.
13 SENATOR PERALTA: Would the sponsor
14 continue to yield for a question?
15 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
17 sponsor yields.
18 SENATOR PERALTA: So it can be an
19 arrest.
20 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
21 SENATOR PERALTA: It is an arrest.
22 It would be an arrest.
23 SENATOR CROCI: It could be an
24 arrest, yes, Mr. President.
25 SENATOR PERALTA: Through you,
1466
1 Mr. President, will the sponsor continue to
2 yield?
3 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
4 sponsor yields.
5 SENATOR PERALTA: So if a person is
6 detained or arrested by a police officer for
7 allegedly committing a crime, will this bill thus
8 allow ICE agents to start a deportation
9 proceeding?
10 SENATOR CROCI: Not unless,
11 Mr. President, they meet the probable cause that
12 is highlighted in the new detainer request, the
13 notice of action. That would be the
14 qualification which was just upheld by the court
15 of appeals in Texas.
16 SENATOR PERALTA: Through you,
17 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
18 yield?
19 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
21 sponsor yields.
22 SENATOR PERALTA: So it would
23 include theft of services, three instances of
24 theft of services, which could include jumping a
25 turnstile or not paying a tab at a restaurant.
1467
1 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, the
2 federal government of the United States,
3 particularly our federal law enforcement, like
4 the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the
5 Department of Homeland Security and the Drug
6 Enforcement Agency, are not equipped to expend
7 federal resources to go after an individual who
8 has jumped a turnstile three times.
9 The specific point of this
10 legislation to ensure that, like what is
11 happening in my community of Brentwood and
12 Central Islip, that this distribution network of
13 narcoterrorists are able to be prosecuted and
14 pursued by federal law enforcement, working with
15 our own law enforcement.
16 It has been such that our local law
17 enforcement reversed their positions over the
18 years because of the killings in our community.
19 And when I talk about killings, Mr. President,
20 the Suffolk County medical examiner recorded the
21 most gruesome attacks that they had ever seen in
22 killing our residents, our New York residents,
23 with machetes and baseball bats.
24 So I am -- this bill is not intended
25 to deal with people who jump over turnstiles.
1468
1 It's to deal with a very specific threat in the
2 United States recognized on both sides of the
3 aisle, and upholds federal law.
4 SENATOR PERALTA: Mr. President,
5 would the sponsor continue to yield?
6 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
8 sponsor yields.
9 SENATOR PERALTA: Now, the
10 definition is lawfully detained. And yes, they
11 should or they could or they must fall under that
12 definition, but lawfully detained.
13 So the person is lawfully detained.
14 Would they be able to start deportation
15 proceedings if they fall under these criteria, if
16 they're just lawfully detained?
17 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, I
18 think we're falling outside the scope of this
19 legislation. The determination on whether or not
20 to begin deportation hearings resides within the
21 federal government, in the different departments
22 and agencies.
23 This bill is designed for the law
24 enforcement who are on the ground. We do not
25 need to send our law enforcement into places
1469
1 where they have conflicting guidance. And they
2 know what they have to do to protect the
3 residents of my community, and that has been the
4 case now with the federal task force, working
5 very well with law enforcement in Suffolk County
6 and Nassau County and the counties within the
7 boroughs.
8 But also they have the ability and
9 the clear guidance, or in the military they say
10 rules of engagement. Law enforcement has very
11 clear guidance. Their job is to -- if there's a
12 federal investigation, they have the additional
13 tools they need to ensure that somebody who's in
14 custody, under valid reasons that they're in
15 custody, law enforcement has the ability now to
16 act at the federal level, particularly when it
17 comes to this kind of a criminal network.
18 SENATOR PERALTA: Through you,
19 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
20 yield?
21 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
23 sponsor yields.
24 SENATOR PERALTA: So in New York
25 State we have the City of Albany, Ithaca, Nassau
1470
1 County, New York City, Onondaga, Wayne County,
2 Westchester -- they're all sanctuary counties or
3 sanctuary cities that limit cooperation with the
4 federal government.
5 So currently we also have an effort
6 to try to reform bail laws. And we have hundreds
7 of people that are sitting in jail now because
8 they can't afford bail.
9 Would this allow ICE then to come in
10 and start deportation procedures because they're
11 sitting in jail, for a person who's sitting there
12 and can't afford bail?
13 SENATOR CROCI: Well,
14 Mr. President, first I would just like to bring
15 up, not only to the members here but to those
16 jurisdictions that you mentioned, that harboring,
17 specifically under the United States Code -- and
18 I cited earlier 8 U.S.C. 1324 -- there's been a
19 number of years that the federal courts have had
20 cases to interpret what harboring means. And
21 harboring means any conduct that tends to
22 substantially facilitate an alien to remain in
23 the United States illegally. Punishable by a
24 fine and up to five years in prison.
25 So I would be very skeptical, as
1471
1 somebody who is part of a municipality or
2 somebody who has to cast a vote, of casting a
3 vote or creating a policy that is in violation of
4 this federal statute. Which hasn't -- it didn't
5 just happen. It's been on the books since 1986.
6 It was renewed in 1996, 1995.
7 So there have been periodic
8 opportunities for the federal government to
9 address this, not only in our Congress but in the
10 federal court system. And there have been times
11 in our federal government where both parties have
12 had the opportunity to change it. For some
13 strange reason, it's remained federal law.
14 And I'm reading to you from the
15 United States Attorney's Manual.
16 So, Mr. President, I understand
17 where my colleague is coming from. But at the
18 same time, we have an obligation to ensure that
19 our state upholds federal law, particularly when
20 it involves the very basic things that we are
21 sent here to do, to protect our people.
22 And in my community there are people
23 who came to this country to get away from these
24 kinds of criminal syndicates and these kinds of
25 terrorists, and they were followed here by these
1472
1 very people who are now killing them in our
2 streets.
3 So I understand where -- my
4 colleague's question, but I would respectfully
5 say there are larger issues here of federalism.
6 I leave the proceedings that occur at the federal
7 level to the federal law enforcement agents. I
8 would just like to see that federal law is upheld
9 because it will help law enforcement do their
10 jobs and give them the tools to do it on the
11 streets where I live.
12 SENATOR PERALTA: Mr. President,
13 will the sponsor continue to yield?
14 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
16 sponsor yields.
17 SENATOR PERALTA: Now, being that
18 we are in the United States, we do believe that
19 people are innocent until proven guilty. These
20 local laws that prohibit compliance with the
21 federal detainer, with federal law enforcement,
22 maintain that belief.
23 So doesn't that prohibit -- doesn't
24 a prohibition on complying with federal detainers
25 conflict with that belief?
1473
1 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, this
2 is a little outside the scope of the legislation
3 that is before the house.
4 SENATOR PERALTA: Would the sponsor
5 continue to yield.
6 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
8 sponsor yields.
9 SENATOR PERALTA: So what
10 provisions are in place to protect a person who
11 is falsely accused of a crime in your bill?
12 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, the
13 same protections that exist in our system of
14 jurisprudence for the last 250 years. And that
15 is you have the right to due process, you have
16 the right to counsel, you have all the rights
17 guaranteed to us by the United States
18 Constitution.
19 Which, by the way, is why we have a
20 system of laws in front of us like the United
21 States Code, to protect that system.
22 SENATOR PERALTA: Mr. President,
23 through you, will the sponsor continue to yield.
24 SENATOR CROCI: Yes, for a
25 question.
1474
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR PERALTA: Isn't this
4 eliminating the right of due process? If you are
5 detained, lawfully detained, and you fall under
6 this jurisdiction of you meet these criteria,
7 right, there will be a proceeding that will start
8 by federal agents. In this case, ICE.
9 So wouldn't that be a lack of due
10 process if the -- if that individual is just
11 detained, lawfully detained?
12 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, my
13 colleague just nailed it on the head. That
14 proceeding that is commenced is the due process
15 afforded to that individual who's in custody.
16 SENATOR PERALTA: Would the sponsor
17 continue to yield?
18 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
20 sponsor yields.
21 SENATOR PERALTA: So what you're
22 saying is that if the individual is detained,
23 lawfully detained, then with your bill, ICE then
24 will not start the deportation process.
25 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, I'm
1475
1 a State Senator. I don't know in each case what
2 ICE will decide to do or not to do. I do not
3 know what the FBI will recommend, if the FBI is
4 the one who is requesting that individual be
5 produced.
6 That is the decision that should be
7 left to the men and women right now who are doing
8 the job. Our job, in my opinion as a member of
9 this body, is to ensure that the law enforcement
10 at either level have every tool available to
11 them. We should not in any way be hampering
12 their ability to prosecute these individuals and
13 fine them.
14 SENATOR PERALTA: Mr. President,
15 will the sponsor continue to yield?
16 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
18 sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR PERALTA: So if -- to your
20 point, it's not up to the state, it's up to the
21 federal agencies to continue that. But this bill
22 would allow the federal government to come in and
23 start deportation procedures on an individual who
24 has been lawfully detained by a county or a
25 municipality.
1476
1 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, no,
2 this bill will not allow that, because it is
3 already the law of the land. That is already
4 occurring.
5 SENATOR PERALTA: Except -- except
6 if you're --
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
8 Peralta.
9 SENATOR PERALTA: Through you
10 Mr. President. Except if you're talking about
11 New York City, the City of Albany, Ithaca,
12 Nassau, Wayne and Westchester.
13 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, with
14 respect, the concept that you're talking about is
15 not recognized by this federal law. The United
16 States Code does not recognize your ability to
17 just opt out of federal law.
18 SENATOR PERALTA: So through you,
19 Mr. President, so you're saying that all of these
20 seven cities are violating federal law.
21 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, if
22 any of those cities or any individuals are
23 harboring -- and that's conduct that tends to
24 substantially facilitate an alien's ability to
25 remain in the United States -- specifically
1477
1 individuals who are being sought after by the
2 federal government in context of a federal task
3 force on gangs and narcotics, Mr. President, that
4 is up to the municipality, that is up to the
5 individual member, and that is up to the
6 individual person.
7 But I can just tell you that there
8 is a law that is on the books, and that law will
9 help law enforcement in my communities do their
10 job and ensure that they are not going to be
11 given conflicting guidance, and it will make the
12 men and women and the families that we represent
13 safer in this state.
14 SENATOR PERALTA: Through you,
15 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
16 yield?
17 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
19 sponsor yields.
20 SENATOR PERALTA: Section 4A says:
21 "No state funding shall be appropriated or
22 disbursed to any county, city, town or village,
23 or any agency office, department or authority,
24 including a sheriff's department, police
25 department, or district attorney's office
1478
1 determined to be in violation of this section."
2 So therefore, that would mean that,
3 again, the City of Albany, Ithaca, Nassau,
4 New York City, Onondaga, Wayne and Westchester
5 will not receive any state funding, according to
6 your bill. Is that correct?
7 SENATOR CROCI: That is absolutely
8 correct.
9 SENATOR PERALTA: So through you,
10 Mr. President, if the sponsor will continue to
11 yield.
12 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
14 sponsor yields.
15 SENATOR PERALTA: So your
16 justification for this bill is to enhance public
17 safety. So under your bill, if a local police
18 department does not comply with federal law, then
19 they will lose state funding.
20 How does a loss of state funding for
21 local police and sheriff's departments make us
22 safer?
23 SENATOR CROCI: So, Mr. President,
24 our -- my local police departments, the ones who
25 are fighting this fight, want to comply with
1479
1 federal law.
2 SENATOR PERALTA: Through you,
3 Mr. President, will the sponsor continue to
4 yield?
5 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
7 sponsor yields.
8 SENATOR PERALTA: What protections
9 are there in place for a case of mistaken
10 identity?
11 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President,
12 again, we're dealing with something that's
13 outside of the scope of this particular bill that
14 would be handled in that hearing and in that due
15 process that each individual who is detained is
16 afforded in this country, whether you're here
17 legally or not.
18 SENATOR PERALTA: Mr. President,
19 will the sponsor continue to yield?
20 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
22 sponsor yields.
23 SENATOR PERALTA: But again, let's
24 get to the core of your bill. Your bill says
25 that anyone, any county or any municipality who
1480
1 has a sanctuary city or a sanctuary town will
2 therefore not only lose state funding but ICE can
3 start deportation proceedings on someone who has
4 been lawfully detained. Which means simply an
5 arrest. Not a conviction, but an arrest. It's
6 an alleged crime.
7 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, the
8 FBI or ICE or DEA or whoever is making this
9 request, if they meet the elements for probable
10 cause and a court deems it appropriate, then that
11 will happen, yes.
12 SENATOR PERALTA: Through you,
13 Mr. President, will the sponsor continue to
14 yield?
15 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
17 sponsor yields.
18 SENATOR PERALTA: So again, we do
19 believe in innocence until proven guilty,
20 correct?
21 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President,
22 without question.
23 SENATOR PERALTA: So if you --
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
25 Peralta, are you asking Senator Croci to continue
1481
1 to yield?
2 SENATOR PERALTA: Yes.
3 Mr. President, would the sponsor continue to
4 yield?
5 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
7 sponsor yields.
8 SENATOR PERALTA: So if you're
9 hampering these counties and you're giving ICE or
10 a federal agency an opportunity to walk into a
11 jail and start deportation proceedings, then you
12 have just taken back your comment of absolutely,
13 innocent until proven guilty. What you're saying
14 is the complete opposite: You're guilty until we
15 find you innocent.
16 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President --
17 SENATOR PERALTA: Because we're on
18 the verge of deporting you.
19 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, Nisa
20 Mickens, Kayla Cuevas, Oscar Acosta, and Miguel
21 Garcia-Moran were all innocent but found guilty
22 by MS-13. That is guilty before innocence.
23 In this country, the individuals who
24 are apprehended go to a facility where they're
25 fed and taken care of and then law enforcement
1482
1 makes the determination -- and a court makes a
2 determination on whether or not that individual
3 and that request should be honored.
4 So the innocents are the individuals
5 who are being killed with machetes and baseball
6 bats.
7 In this country -- listen, we live
8 in a free society, and making a baseball bat
9 illegal or making a garden implement illegal is
10 not the answer. The answer is to go after the
11 individuals who are doing this.
12 And it's very clear who they are.
13 We don't have poppy fields on Long Island. The
14 heroin is coming from another country, and it's
15 being distributed by a very sophisticated network
16 of facilitators and logisticians, drug dealers
17 and enforcers. These are the ones with the bats
18 and the machetes. These are the ones who are
19 distributing their own brand of justice. These
20 are the ones who pass a death sentence on
21 somebody because they're 15 years old and they're
22 in the wrong spot.
23 SENATOR PERALTA: Mr. President,
24 would the sponsor continue to yield?
25 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
1483
1 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
2 sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR PERALTA: I understand the
4 grave concern you have about MS-13 as they've
5 grown in Long Island and in different places in
6 the state. But let me tell you, MS-13 has been
7 in New York City for a while. And MS-13, I
8 understand their cruel tactics on how they commit
9 crimes.
10 But I also understand that in this
11 country you are innocent until proven guilty. So
12 even if, even if there's a mound of evidence
13 against you, you're still considered innocent
14 until proven guilty. And that's the basis of
15 this country. We want to ensure that we continue
16 that basis.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
18 Peralta, are you on the bill now?
19 SENATOR PERALTA: No, a question.
20 We want to ensure that we will
21 continue that basis. And by allowing, by
22 allowing ICE to come into a jail cell to start
23 deportation proceedings, this bill will eliminate
24 these sanctuary cities. Is that correct?
25 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, I
1484
1 think my honorable colleague is mistaken in
2 thinking that somehow it is currently
3 permissible. In fact, federal law states, and
4 under the Supremacy Clause is the law of the
5 land, that harboring and other offenses under the
6 United States Code are not permitted. And the
7 concept of sanctuaries, sanctuary cities are not
8 valid under federal law.
9 So this bill does not do something
10 affirmatively, it just ensures we are upholding
11 federal law. No due process is eliminated,
12 Mr. President.
13 SENATOR PERALTA: Through you,
14 Mr. President, will the sponsor continue to
15 yield.
16 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
18 sponsor yields.
19 SENATOR PERALTA: There must have
20 been a reason, I believe, that all of these
21 cities and all these counties decided that they
22 wanted to create these sanctuary laws. And I
23 believe that part of the reason was to protect
24 due process, was to protect an individual who is
25 either falsely accused or mistaken for someone
1485
1 else or wrapped up in an environment or rounded
2 up with a group of people who they had nothing to
3 do with. Right? Simply because they were of
4 either Mexican descent or Salvadoran descent or
5 maybe have two or three tattoos on their neck,
6 but happen to be blue collar workers. But they
7 happened to be in the area, so they could have
8 been rounded up.
9 So you have these counties who
10 believe in due process and say, Let's not allow
11 federal agencies to come in and start these
12 deportation procedures until we are sure that
13 that individual did what he or she -- we think
14 law enforcement has arrested them for. So --
15 SENATOR CROCI: Is he on the bill,
16 Mr. President?
17 SENATOR PERALTA: The question
18 is -- the question is why, then, would these
19 counties implement these sanctuary laws?
20 SENATOR CROCI: Well,
21 Mr. President, I don't know what's in the mind of
22 the legislators or the executives in those
23 branches. I'm sure they have good intentions,
24 but perhaps their counsels should advise them
25 about the status of the federal law and exactly
1486
1 how the federal government and the local
2 governments are taking care of these individuals
3 and providing them due process.
4 And with the new changes as of April
5 of last year, there are more protections for that
6 due process than fewer. So perhaps they haven't
7 been told or haven't been counseled by their
8 staff why they are not in compliance with federal
9 law.
10 But, Mr. President, I would charge
11 that the due process that my colleague is looking
12 for already exists, and the recent decision by
13 the appeals court in Texas I think bolsters that
14 due process and that protection.
15 SENATOR PERALTA: Mr. President,
16 would the sponsor continue to yield?
17 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
18 SENATOR PERALTA: One last
19 question.
20 SENATOR CROCI: Yes.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The
22 sponsor yields.
23 SENATOR PERALTA: So this due
24 process, you're saying that the -- your bill,
25 which will eliminate state funding for all of
1487
1 these counties and all these municipalities, does
2 not eliminate the due process because due process
3 already exists. But at the same time, this bill
4 says that you are allowing or the federal
5 agencies are allowed to start deportation
6 proceedings while that person -- because that
7 person was lawfully detained.
8 SENATOR CROCI: Mr. President, this
9 bill -- all this bill does is ensure that
10 municipalities and agencies within the State of
11 New York are complying with federal law.
12 I have other bills that also ask
13 that the State of New York -- for some reason, we
14 have a problem complying with federal law,
15 whether it's road signs or Real I.D. or, in this
16 case, something that we know the government needs
17 us to do in order to protect our citizens.
18 This bill does nothing but ensure
19 that the municipalities in this state and the
20 agencies in this state understand there is
21 federal law here that keeps us safe and has made
22 a difference in the last year, because the
23 arrests and the other intelligence gathered since
24 the federal task force has been in Central Islip
25 and Brentwood and throughout Long Island and
1488
1 Nassau County and the City of New York, they have
2 produced results, Mr. President.
3 And local law enforcement and
4 federal law enforcement, both the FBI and the DEA
5 and Homeland Security, deserve tremendous credit
6 for the work that they have been doing.
7 SENATOR PERALTA: On the bill,
8 Mr. President.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
10 Peralta on the bill.
11 SENATOR PERALTA: I wonder, if you
12 didn't know who I was and I wasn't wearing a suit
13 or a tie, I wonder, if I wasn't standing in this
14 chamber and you didn't know me, what would you
15 think if I was walking down Roosevelt Avenue --
16 or what would an ICE agent think if I was walking
17 down Roosevelt Avenue in my district and I was
18 caught up or rounded up in an area where a crime
19 occurred? And because I looked like one of them,
20 then therefore I was brought in and I was
21 legally, lawfully detained.
22 Now, I represent a district in
23 Queens with neighborhoods considered one of the
24 most diverse in the state. In fact, just several
25 years ago -- I don't remember who answered the
1489
1 question, but somebody asked the question "Which
2 is the most diverse district in the Senate," and
3 somebody mentioned my district, Senate District
4 13.
5 The fear factor that exists in my
6 district is real. The situation is at DEFCON 5.
7 There are parents who fear bringing their
8 children to school because they're afraid ICE
9 agents are going to swoop in and take them. I
10 have constituents afraid of going to the
11 supermarket to do some basic shopping or grocery
12 shopping so they can feed their families.
13 Immigrants in Queens are scared that the New York
14 City Police Department will knock on their door
15 and instead they'll be ICE agents. They won't go
16 to hospitals because they believe the hospitals
17 are in cahoots with ICE. The rumor spread that
18 ICE agents are across the district. It
19 contributes to an increasingly unsafe community,
20 an undemocratic environment.
21 Now passage of this bill today will
22 only add to that problem. It adds a chill that
23 freezes out immigrants and leads to their
24 self-detainment. Those are feelings that are
25 real and they exist.
1490
1 What this legislation does, it
2 removes a person's right to due process in this
3 country -- in this state. What if a person is
4 lawfully detained for something that they didn't
5 do, right, or never been convicted in a court?
6 Once a handcuff goes on a person, whether they
7 committed a crime or not, that person under this
8 legislation could be deported.
9 This is un-American. It's about due
10 process. And we're violating that right now.
11 This bill violates that. Because it allows the
12 federal government to come in, regardless of
13 these sanctuary cities, and say: I don't care
14 what you passed, we're going to do what we have
15 to do because we feel that person who's been
16 lawfully detained is now under our jurisdiction
17 and we can do what we want with him, whether
18 convicted or not. And that's a problem.
19 Places represented by those on the
20 other side of the aisle, your side, like
21 Onondaga, Wayne, Nassau, Ithaca, they thought
22 about this. And they talked about due process,
23 about how it's needed, because that's what we
24 stand for as Americans. This legislation says
25 that your counties should be punished, stripped
1491
1 of their funding, because they want to protect
2 due process.
3 Providing sanctuary means that we're
4 not going to just stop people on the streets --
5 people who look like me, people who are your
6 American constituents who happen to be Latino or
7 African-American or Africans or Asians or
8 South Asians or even Irish.
9 Providing sanctuary means we will
10 not spread fear among immigrants and prevent them
11 from helping law enforcement with investigations.
12 This legislation before us only divides us,
13 discriminates against all immigrants and makes us
14 less safe.
15 We're casting too wide a net on
16 this. And I thank you for limiting it from what
17 you previously had, but this is still too much of
18 a wide net. This is wholeheartedly what I see,
19 what my constituents see, what they feel every
20 day as they walk up and down Roosevelt Avenue.
21 They feel that this is un-American. They fear
22 ICE even if they did nothing wrong. If they jump
23 a turnstile because they can't afford to get on
24 the train, they will be lawfully detained. And
25 that's something that has to stop.
1492
1 So my colleagues, I encourage
2 everyone in this chamber to vote against this
3 bill. Thank you.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
5 Serrano.
6 SENATOR SERRANO: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 As you know and my colleagues know,
9 I represent the 29th Senate District, which is
10 home to one of the largest --
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
12 Serrano, are you on the bill?
13 SENATOR SERRANO: I'm sorry, on the
14 bill.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Senator
16 Serrano on the bill.
17 SENATOR SERRANO: I apologize.
18 -- East Harlem, the South Bronx,
19 some of the neighborhoods that have a very long
20 history of immigration. And not just recent
21 immigration with the Latino community, but for
22 generations of Irish-Americans and
23 Italian-Americans who first called East Harlem
24 and the South Bronx home.
25 And it's a rich tradition that I
1493
1 cherish. In the Bronx, for example, we have one
2 of the largest and emerging West African
3 communities, and it's a wonderful thing. My wife
4 and I are raising our two children in our
5 community because of that level of diversity that
6 we feel enhances our children's upbringing, that
7 it is something to be celebrated, not feared.
8 That it lends itself to a deeper understanding of
9 our purpose as humans on this planet.
10 For many years one of the toughest
11 situations I have found in the immigrant
12 community is this level of fear and trepidation
13 for immigrants to come forward. When they've
14 been the victims of crime, when they've been the
15 victim of any malfeasance, they are reluctant to
16 come forward to report domestic violence, to
17 speak out against harassment in their apartment
18 building or place of work. And that chilling
19 effect I believe has made our communities
20 everywhere less safe.
21 I feel that if we ensure that
22 immigrants feel that when they come forward or
23 when they interact with any agency, government
24 agency, that they will not be questioned about
25 their immigration status -- which unfortunately
1494
1 may not be perfect. When you consider a lack of
2 comprehensive immigration reform and real
3 immigration leadership for many, many years, you
4 can see how immigrants would just not want to
5 rock the boat much, maybe not report what's
6 happening, maybe not want to be able to provide
7 the information that they need.
8 So my big concern, and I've seen
9 some real data on this, this has been the
10 chilling effect that it can have. And a bill
11 such as this would lend itself to that.
12 And I also fear that legislation
13 like this or discussions around issues like this
14 sort of panders to an ideology that the immigrant
15 community is somehow prone to criminality, when
16 in actuality we are a nation built on
17 immigration. We are a nation that is so
18 wonderful because we dared to come up with
19 something that no other nation in the world had
20 ever done before, and that is to welcome people
21 from everywhere, most who were fleeing very
22 difficult circumstances, imperfect circumstances,
23 to say the least, to come here and build a new
24 world for themselves, to build a new life.
25 And that is why this is the greatest
1495
1 nation on earth, because we have dared, we have
2 risked to do something so crazy to break through
3 the notion of a homogenous society and say that
4 through this diversity, we will create the best
5 that we can be.
6 So I know this is sort of a much
7 bigger way of discussing it, but my concern with
8 a bill like this is that it would have a sort of
9 unintended consequence of a chilling effect where
10 the communities will actually be less safe when
11 you have less people coming forward and reporting
12 crime, when you have less people coming forward
13 and interacting with law enforcement.
14 You know, one of the things that I
15 have found that has made my community in the
16 South Bronx where I live so much safer over the
17 years has been this really great interaction
18 between the police precincts and the community.
19 And that's something that has grown really to a
20 great degree in the last 10, 15 years, where at
21 every community event you see the police there,
22 they're there to interact with the kids, they're
23 there teaching them a lot. There is this
24 breakdown of this myth that there needs to be
25 this fear and tension between law enforcement and
1496
1 the community. And I think that has made the
2 South Bronx so much safer than it was when I was
3 a kid in the '70s and '80s growing up.
4 And I hope that that continues in
5 all communities. And I hope to see that
6 everywhere throughout this nation. But I feel
7 that this bill unintentionally could chill that
8 and make it harder for that type of good
9 interaction, that good sharing of information
10 from happening. So I will be voting against this
11 bill for those reasons.
12 Thank you, Mr. President.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Thank
14 you, Senator Serrano.
15 Senator Alcantara.
16 SENATOR ALCANTARA: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 I'm an immigrant from the Dominican
19 Republic, and I would like to thank the Senator
20 for taking an interest in protecting the
21 immigrant community of his neighborhood and
22 throughout New York State.
23 But as someone who's an advocate and
24 who has spent half of her life organizing
25 immigrant workers, many of them undocumented, and
1497
1 who works with organizations such as African
2 Communities together and the New York Immigration
3 Coalition, I can give you a little bit of a hint
4 on what it is that immigrants need.
5 Well, if you are so interested in
6 helping out immigrants, this is what we need. We
7 need driver's licenses to get to work and to take
8 our children to school. We need the DREAM Act to
9 make sure that our children go to college. We
10 need to be in a safe place where we don't have to
11 have an Amanda from Suffolk County spending three
12 months in a church in Washington Heights with her
13 children because she is afraid that she is going
14 to be deported.
15 So if you are really sorry for my
16 colleagues that are so interested in protecting
17 immigrants and protecting our constituents, what
18 people that look like me and sound like me need
19 is to be able to walk around any neighborhood
20 without being profiled. Which we know it was
21 determined by a judge that New York was
22 profiling, stop-and-frisk, thousands of black and
23 brown men.
24 What immigrants need to feel safe is
25 not more law enforcement. We too are afraid of
1498
1 MS-13. My husband's family is from Guatemala,
2 and they fled because of MS-13. His mom is a
3 resident of Long Island. And not once -- you
4 know what she tells me? "I want my church
5 members to be able to drive and go to work. I
6 want my church members to send their kids to
7 school without feeling like Immigration is going
8 to come and deport them. I want my church
9 members to go to the supermarket, and to buy a
10 house without worrying that they have to leave.
11 I know now thousands of immigrant
12 Haitian workers. You know what they need to feel
13 safe? TPS, so they can stay in the United States
14 and they don't have to flee back to a war-torn
15 country.
16 So what immigrants need is to have
17 the same opportunities as the Italians, the Irish
18 and the Germans had in this country. We came
19 here to work, to do the dirty work that no one
20 wants to do -- to be cab drivers, to be
21 farmworkers, to be housekeepers, to mow the lawn.
22 That's what we need. We need protection, we need
23 to be treated with respect.
24 This whole issue with MS-13 is just
25 a way to antagonize Latinos and to create this
1499
1 myth that all of us are gang members, that all of
2 us are walking around killing folks, when the
3 majority of people in my neighborhood are
4 hardworking immigrants that came to this country
5 for the same reason that I'm sure your parents
6 and grandparents did.
7 And for that, I urge all my
8 colleagues to vote no on this bill. That if we
9 really care about immigrants and about protecting
10 our communities, we should think about passing
11 laws that actually help immigrants' communities,
12 not demonize them.
13 Thank you.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Is there
15 any other Senator that wishes to be heard?
16 I will call upon Senator Croci, the
17 sponsor of the bill, to close debate.
18 SENATOR CROCI: My colleagues have
19 struck a chord, particularly Senator Serrano, who
20 represents East Harlem. Because it was another
21 wave of immigrants that lived in East Harlem that
22 resulted in me being here. My father is from
23 East Harlem, 119th Street and Pleasant Avenue.
24 And I got to know that neighborhood through
25 trials and tribulations.
1500
1 I understand very well from the
2 stories my grandparents told me about what it
3 meant coming through Ellis Island and some of the
4 arduous process that they needed to go through to
5 come to this country. And so I assure my
6 colleagues that where I'm from and where you're
7 from -- you know, we live in tight spaces. And
8 the communities that we have are better because
9 we have men and women who have come to this
10 country.
11 You know, I was going back over
12 something that President Clinton said in one of
13 his State of the Union addresses. He said, you
14 know, "We're a nation of immigrants but we're
15 also a nation of laws. And it is wrong,
16 ultimately self-defeating for a nation of
17 immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our
18 immigration laws we have seen in recent years,
19 and we must do more to stop it." And he said
20 that in a State of the Union address.
21 It was the part about ultimately
22 self-defeating that got to me. Because the
23 families that I know -- and I think I'm the only
24 Senate district in the State of New York that has
25 an El Salvadoran consulate. And when I was
1501
1 supervisor of the Town of Islip, I was working
2 with the El Salvadoran consulate to meet a lot of
3 the needs that my colleagues have been talking
4 about. So this is not a new community to me or a
5 community that I didn't go through storms and
6 fires and brutalities with. We know each other
7 pretty well.
8 But I think my colleagues should
9 understand that we took great pains to ensure
10 that this language doesn't create the kind of
11 chilling effect. And we went back to the Bureau
12 of Justice Statistics from the Department of
13 Justice under Attorney General Holder, who went
14 through all the major studies, the most reputable
15 study being the Davis, Erez and Avitable study of
16 2001. And what they found -- the most reputable
17 survey in the Department of Justice's opinion --
18 was that the most commonly mentioned reason for
19 not reporting a crime in immigrant communities
20 was the language barrier was first, 47 percent,
21 followed by cultural differences, 22 percent, and
22 a lack of understanding of the U.S. criminal
23 justice system, 15 percent. In fact, they went
24 on to say that the crime reporting by Hispanics
25 after implementing certain programs actually goes
1502
1 up.
2 There was a 2009 study of calls to a
3 jurisdiction in Florida, a county, where they
4 found the implementation of a 287(g) partnership
5 program -- that's the community and law
6 enforcement working together -- enabled local
7 sheriff's deputies to enforce immigration laws,
8 resulting in significantly more removals of
9 criminal aliens, and did not affect the pattern
10 of crime.
11 Further, the overall findings of the
12 Bureau of Justice Statistics -- and the DOJ was
13 pretty thorough in their analysis of all of these
14 statistics and these studies -- was according to
15 the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2012 only
16 44 percent of violent victimizations and
17 54 percent of serious violent victimizations were
18 even reported to police. In 2012 the percentage
19 decreased.
20 So all of these studies were looked
21 at by the Department of Justice, and they have
22 been thought through. And they have found, the
23 Department of Justice has said that there is no
24 chilling effect that these laws have, there is no
25 such evidence of a chilling effect from local
1503
1 police cooperation with ICE, according to the
2 Bureau of Justice Statistics.
3 So I don't know what better evidence
4 we're to turn to as we craft laws to protect the
5 men and women of our communities. And I
6 understand that this is not something that makes
7 everybody comfortable. But if you're a
8 legislator and you represent families who came to
9 this country to get away from these kinds of
10 murderers and you do nothing to prevent more of
11 them from coming in -- when we have been told
12 that that is exactly what they're doing --
13 Mr. President, I don't believe that we're
14 effective in our responsibilities.
15 And I understand that people have
16 problems with the current state of the federal
17 law, and I think the members of Congress should
18 take that up. Come up with a solution like they
19 did in 1986 that not only allowed a lot of
20 immigrants who were here to stay, but also
21 tightened the laws on the individuals who weren't
22 coming here for a better life, they were coming
23 here for profit and to establish territory.
24 And that is what the United States
25 Attorney in my district, the Eastern District,
1504
1 found when he made these arrests. Ten of the
2 individuals of the 13 arrested were here
3 illegally, and they weren't here for anything
4 more than profit.
5 So Mr. President, I understand the
6 concerns of my colleagues. I think we've
7 tailored something that not only upholds our
8 responsibilities to protect our residents but
9 also upholds federal law in the state.
10 Thank you.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Debate is
12 closed.
13 The Secretary will ring the bell.
14 Read the last section.
15 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
16 act shall take effect immediately.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Call the
18 roll.
19 (The Secretary called the roll.)
20 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Announce
21 the results.
22 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
23 Calendar 724, those recorded in the negative are
24 Senators Addabbo, Alcantara, Avella, Bailey,
25 Benjamin, Breslin, Brooks, Carlucci, Comrie,
1505
1 Dilan, Gianaris, Hamilton, Hoylman, Kaminsky,
2 Kavanagh, Kennedy, Klein, Krueger, Montgomery,
3 Parker, Peralta, Persaud, Rivera, Sanders,
4 Savino, Serrano, Stavisky, Stewart-Cousins and
5 Valesky.
6 Ayes, 32. Nays, 29.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: The bill
8 is passed.
9 Senator DeFrancisco, that completes
10 the controversial reading of today's supplemental
11 calendar.
12 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes, is there
13 any further business at the desk?
14 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: There is
15 no further business at the desk.
16 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: You'll --
17 you'll -- everybody will want to hear this.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: Order in
19 the house, please.
20 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Can we have a
21 little order.
22 It's very important that I move to
23 adjourn until Thursday, March 22nd, at 10:30 a.m.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT GRIFFO: On
25 motion, the Senate will stand adjourned until
1506
1 Thursday, March 22nd, at 10:30 a.m.
2 The Senate is adjourned.
3 (Whereupon, at 5:39 p.m., the Senate
4 adjourned.)
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